I <3 Copenhagen

We spent the past weekend in Copenhagen and had the most wonderful time. Going without any expectations, I completely fell in love. I had this feeling I don't remember having ever before: I wanted to go in every shop that we passed (design, clothing, beauty, all of them- didn't matter); I thought every restaurant looked delicious, as well as quaint and comfortable; everyone on the street was beautiful- most with sparkling blue eyes, and dressed with class and style; everyone rode bikes and everything felt so clean; and it is on the water!! I forget how much I miss being on the coast, but I got my fill this weekend- absolutely beautiful. It is top on my list now of places to go back to. We arrived Friday afternoon and went straight to a modern art museum. The kids were pretty antsy from being on the airplane, so we stayed long enough to see most of the museum, and then headed into the center of town for dinner. We arrived at the house on Friday night after dinner. This was, of course, my first experience with home exchange, so I was curious to see how it worked. The house we stayed in was in the countryside of Copenhagen which was really lovely. It was also so nice to be in a house as opposed to a hotel. You didn't feel guilty about spending your time walking around the yard's apple trees and ponds like you would sitting inside a hotel room; and it was nice to be able to wake up in the morning and cook a small breakfast without getting out of pajamas. Each afternoon, the kids were saying, "We're ready to go back to the house!" It was nice to have that as a home base. The weather was chilly and gray, but it suited everyone fine. It was even nice to be bundled up in coats and scarves for the first time this season. Saturday, we woke up, ate some breakfast at the house and headed into town. We walked around for a bit which was great- lots of quaint streets and great shops.

We spent almost an hour in the most fabulous design store, Illums Bolighus (http://www.illumsbolighus.dk/uk/main.asp?submenu_id=1). It was a 3 or 4 story building filled with classical and modern furniture, kitchen accessories, and an interior design center. Aside from the 10 minutes that I sat on the stairs with Jasper while he was in time-out for touching everything when he was asked not to, I spent the entire time walking around like a kid in a candy store.

I know I always say this but it's so nice to walk up to something and think, 'Oh there is that fabulous Alvar Aalto vase,' 'There is George Nelson's ball clock that I have sketched at least 5 times,' or 'There is that Isamu Noguchi coffee table that Eleni wrote a paper about one time.' It reminds me of my passion for interior design and the knowledge that I have already. One of my favorite things I saw for maybe the first time in person, at least since I've known exactly what I was looking at, was Philippe Starck's Louis Ghost chair. Although I wouldn't consider most of Starck's pieces particularly my style, I do love that chair. I have seen it used in spaces where it is usually unexpected, but the perfect finishing touch. In my "design ideas" binder (created over time from inspirational rooms or spaces I saw in design magazines I'd subscribed to, and from a huge pile of home magazines from Denise Darling from the last 2 or 3 years), I have a picture cut out of the Louis Ghost chair used in an old Charleston house around a round, wooden breakfast table. I believe it was one of Charleston based interior designer, Amelia Handegan's rooms. I am a huge admirer of her work, and remember being impressed by that interior in particular- an upholstered chair would've been too heavy for the already rich room, and the Louis Ghost chair gave a lighter look, and played off the traditional style of the room. I couldn't find the room online (Mom, maybe if you read this and get inspired, you can look in the binder and scan it for me!)

Starck's Louis Ghost chair.

Since I couldn't find an image of the room I described above, I decided to share some of Handegan's rooms that I love.

Now back to the rest of the weekend in Copenhagen! We had lunch at this great place on Saturday that reminded me so much of Rue de Jean. I got a salad that had bread and cheese with it that tasted exactly like the grilled cheese at Rue (one of my favorites after potato soup, of course). Saturday afternoon we walked around a bit more, went to the planetarium, and took a ride on the ferris wheel (for Jasper). We stopped for ice cream on the way home and had a fairly quiet Saturday night. I cooked for the kids at the house, and Shana and Tommaso went out for dinner. Sunday, we had a very lazy morning and spent the afternoon at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. It was the most beautiful museum on the water with incredible views of the Oresund (the body of water that separates Denmark and Sweden). We walked around the exhibits, ate lunch outside at a beautiful cafe overlooking the Oresund, and spent about 2 hours in the children's wing. It reminded me a lot of the Children's Museum in Charleston. We spent most of our time at the arts and crafts station, and Liv and Jasper played some at the Lego station right before we left.

The kids also enjoyed the park on the grounds at the bottom of a huge hill near the water. The park emphasized "green design" and featured several innovative playground designs that the kids had a blast playing on.

Jasper didn't think the house made out of water bottles was as cool as I did. I guess he hasn't "gone green" yet.

I took the funniest video of the kids rolling down the hill. Warning: turn your volume down- my voice is a little loud and obnoxious since I'm so close to the camera yelling to the kids.

In the end, they decided it wasn't worth it- both feeling nauseous once they got to the bottom.

We had a flight early Monday morning that was actually delayed an hour, so we didn't get back to Rome until afternoon. Everyone was exhausted and in bed before 8 last night. The kids are back in school today, so I am trying to get myself rested for the week and catch up after the weekend. I plan on starting an Italian course next Monday, which I'm really looking forward too. Not sure of the plans for the week and weekend yet. I can't believe I have already been here a month today! I couldn't be happier.

Only me...

Shana, the kids, and I spent the afternoon at the most LOVELY birthday party. The family who had the party is actually the family that Rebecca (the Australian au pair who I had dinner with) works for. The party was at the grandparents house just outside of the city. To say it was the most exquisite Italian villa I have ever laid eyes on (battling even George Clooney's Lake Como house...) would maybe even be an understatement. As you pull through the front gate the long pebbled driveway with tall trees on either side leads you straight back to the house. It is similar to the feeling of pulling into Vanderhorst, but with an old Italian villa waiting at the end as opposed to an old Southern plantation house. The pebbled driveway leads around to both sides of the house and to the left are these two expansive manicured gardens and lawns, separated all by the pebbled paths with perfectly lined trees. The main lawn had a beautiful pool in the middle of the grass; that is absolutely my favorite look for a pool- dark bottom, in the grass with only a small amount of brick or slate defining the edges, so that it looks more natural, like a pond. Defining the edge of the lawn from the woods surrounding the house were these giant potted plants, which is such a classic look as well. Also in the main lawn, all the way in the back was a few old sheds that had been converted into a lovely bathroom/pool house. This is where the story gets interesting... At the beginning of the party, I had to use the restroom, so I excused myself after Marika (the mother and host of the party) pointed me to the back of the yard. As I'm about to walk back out to the party, I see that there is no handle on the door...and it's shut. I wonder how I even got it closed in the first place, but obviously can't remember in my current state of panic. After about 5 minutes I found two keys- one of them fit the door, but clearly worked from the outside, not the inside (who designed this bathroom?!?). I see that there is a window above the toilet, and after about 10 minutes I decide maybe I'll just have to climb out of it because there was NO ONE in sight. So, I climb up on the toilet, peek my head out the window to evaluate who would see me come tumbling out the window if that was the move I chose to make. Of course, the only table of people sitting down closest to the bathroom was the grandparents'. I decided that would be totally inappropriate and go against all my efforts to avoid making a scene. About 20 minutes and a full-fledged anxiety attack later, someone finally came to use the restroom. I explained that I was stuck, slid the key under the door, and they still couldn't even get it from the outside. Long story short, a groundsman was finally able to get the door open and I was out- only causing a slight commotion...much less, no doubt, than if I had come tumbling out the window.

You can see only the smallest bit of the house/grounds in a few of these pictures. They absolutely do not do it justice! It was everything I expect an Italian villa should be and more. The ground floor was mostly open with these huge windows and doors so that you could basically see straight through. Unfortunately, I did not get to go inside the house, but I heard it was gorgeous, and would expect nothing less! It's amazing, as well, what such perfectly manicured grounds add to a house...completes the amazing package.

Liv and Lavinia (the daughter of the family who was hosting the party) below and also the first picture at the top with me.

Firenze

After a great Friday in Rome beginning with a fabulous run through the Villa Bourghese, I was off to Florence to visit Meredith for the weekend. I arrived Friday night and we went to dinner at this great place called Il Latini. My mom and I had gone there before and loved it. There is no menu, the chef basically decides the meal for you, and the seating is communal so you never know who you'll end up with... The two of us were seated with these two middle aged men traveling on business from France and Brasil. It sounds like it should've been awkward but we had a great time and were actually the last table left in the restaurant! It was hysterical. The food was incredible and we ate enough for the entire weekend, but had the best time. Thank you Mom for treating us all the way from Charleston! Wish you could've been there with us!!

Saturday, Burney Pollock (Meredith's roommate at Georgia, and Eleni's best friend from Macon, GA) arrived with her dad to Florence. Burney is going to be an au pair for a family in Reggio nell'Emilia in northern Italy. Burney's dad was so nice as always, and wined and dined us all weekend! We had the best time and owe him many thanks!! I enjoyed walking around Florence on Saturday. Saturday night we took a cab up to Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks the whole city, to have a drink before dinner. We had a great dinner afterwards at a local place that Meredith's family recommended to us. Sunday morning, we went to Mass at the Duomo. It was surreal to be there for Mass, absolutely beautiful. We went to an amazing lunch afterwards at my new favorite place in Florence, and sat outside on the river. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon on the beautiful courtyard of Meredith's house. It was such a wonderful weekend! So great to see both of them!

Knowing how much I love Florence, I expected to visit this weekend and return envious that I was not spending my year in that beautiful place that I so adore. But upon arriving in Rome last night, I got this incredible feeling like I was returning home, somewhere so comfortable and fitting. I am so happy here and really enjoying being in such a big city. It is such a great feeling and I feel so lucky to be here!

I don't have too much planned for this week... several play dates and birthday parties after school, and we're off to Copenhagen on Friday morning for a long weekend. It should be very relaxing- the home exchange they did was with a house in the countryside, and Shana said it should be beautiful. I'm looking forward to traveling with them and getting to see Copenhagen for the first time!

My textbooks brought to life...

For me, the amazing thing about interior design, and something I loved most about studying it, was that it's such a part of your life all the time, whether you realize it or not. Of course...I realize it, especially here! I walk around everyday, still in awe of where I am. Walking through the streets of the city is always inspiring. It is in a way refreshing to know that I have learned so much in school, and also so encouraging to see something (an architectural detail for instance), recognize it, know its roots, and appreciate how it is being used. I was walking near my house the other day and saw this beautiful entrance to a courtyard, so curious, I crossed the street and peeked back. There was the most beautiful dark walkway with ionic columns and the most simple but beautiful coffered ceiling. This led to the gorgeous little courtyard in the back, which was clearly just used as a driveway now. The gates leading into the courtyard were detailed with these beautiful iron quatrefoils, originally a characteristic of Gothic architecture. It was a beautiful addition to the gates though, and fit in perfectly with this incredible, yet quaint entrance. I am so lucky everyday that I am exposed to it all. As I am home looking at the pictures, I think to myself that I cannot believe I did not investigate exactly what this building is, the history, etc. But then I remember that this is just a small taste of what I am lucky enough to walk by every day. I feel more and more blessed all the time.

Survived the weekend as "mom"

As nervous as I was about Shana and Tommaso going out of town last Saturday through Tuesday, things went extraordinarily well. Shana had mentioned to me that usually their babysitters beg them to go out of town because the kids are so much better behaved when they're not around...I couldn't agree more! The weekend went extremely smoothly. Shana arranged a lot of additional help so that I wouldn't be so overwhelmed. Saturday afternoon, Ruth (one of the housekeeper's who has been with them since Jasper was born) and I took Jasper, Liv, and Ruth's daughter to the Villa Bourghese for a little arts and crafts event they were hosting. The kids really enjoyed it, and I got to walk around the grounds while I waited on them. It is so beautiful there. Saturday night, Ruth took care of dinner when we got home, and the kids were asleep by 8. I used the night to do my first load of laundry. Sunday, we had a lazy morning of breakfast and playing games inside, and then Tommaso's sister and her husband came over with their two daughters to take over for a while and take the kids to a movie. So I basically had the evening off, which was nice. I went to eat at a place in Piazza Barberini and sat in the window and watched the rain. It has been storming here almost everyday since the weekend.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids playing at this children's gallery in the Villa Bourghese before the arts and crafts started.

I have been looking at several different language schools this week. I went to go visit a few, and have narrowed down my options. I hope to make a decision sometime next week, and get signed up to start the following week. Last night, I had dinner and drinks with the other au pair that I met at school. We had a great time and she's extremely nice. It is nice to have a break from talking to kids all the time. Tomorrow, I am going to go to Florence for the weekend to visit Meredith. The following weekend, I am going with Shana, Tommaso, and the kids to Copenhagen for the weekend. Their house is on a home exchange website, and they do that a lot, so we will be staying in a house in the countryside of Copenhagen. It sounds like it will be a very nice, relaxing weekend away. I am looking very forward to it!

I had to post these pictures of this bakery to give everyone an idea of what I have really been doing all week... Shana introduced me to these two DELICIOUS bakeries, and I cannot get enough of them. I find myself purposely walking out of my way to pass by them (and stop in and get something of course). Saturday, before Shana left we all went to one of the bakeries for breakfast with the kids. I had this amazing pastry with grapes on foccacia bread that was basically a piece of pie, and then had a pastry that we got to go for lunch and dinner that same day. I am addicted. Yesterday, I went to one of the bakeries to try another one of their desserts, and it slipped my mind that they did not have seating when I ordered it "for here" instead of "to go". So...I stood outside of the bakery with my pastry in hand covered in powdered sugar, enjoying every second of it with no shame. Needless to say, my ever-present sweet tooth has gotten a little bit out of control lately.

Learning the routine

With Jasper back, both of the kids have been in school everyday this week. After school we have gone to the park for an hour or so everyday, which they love, then have come home to do homework and eat dinner. The kids are in bed around 8, and by the time they're asleep, I'm usually ready for bed myself! Even with the days free, the afternoons can be exhausting. Jasper is adjusting to homework everyday in Year 3, instead of just Tuesday and Thursday homework he had last year...it has been a little bit of a difficult adjustment, but I think he's getting used to it already. He lost one of his front teeth the other day after school! He was so excited and happy to eat normally again! I forgot all about losing teeth- and how bloody they are!

Jasper's smile missing a tooth!!

This week, I have spent my days cleaning up around my room some, and walking around more. Wednesday, I walked to the Trevi Fountain and wandered around some of the side streets because it was swarmed with tourists. I ate outside at a fabulous place. I am taking advantage of eating outside as much as possible while it's still warm.

Thursday, I walked to Piazza Navona, which is one of the most popular squares in Rome. It was absolutely beautiful. It was a little bit of a walk to get there, so I didn't have as much time as I would've liked, but I will definitely be back. There were some great restaurants, and one of the streets nearby is famous for it's fabulous antique shops. I look forward to going back when I can spend more of the day.

I loved the facade of this building in the square. The colors are beautiful and I loved all of the greenery...what a great spot overlooking Piazza Navona!

Shana and Tommaso are going to Torino on Saturday for some of their friends 10th wedding anniversary, and staying in Milan until Tuesday morning...which means, I will be "mom" for the weekend! I have my fingers crossed that everything will be fine. I think it should be, but it is still a little bit intimidating. I have been looking into Italian courses to take- Shana recommended a few schools to me and said she thought they were the best way to meet people. I met another au pair at the kids school yesterday. Her name is Rebecca and she is from Australia. She seems very nice, and I plan on giving her a call when I have some free time. I will be back in touch after the weekend!

Design on the mind...

Since this blog is not only about my experience over here, but also about my exposure to what I have studied, I figured a "design" post was well overdue. I am constantly inspired here in Rome by the architecture, the styles, and the colors. As I was walking around the Spanish Steps, I saw this modern day version of Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair in MaxMara's window display. Interesting how style always comes back around. The Wassily Chair was designed and originally manufactured in the 1920's...and here it is today in one of the most glamorous shopping districts, alongside the new fall collection.

Marcel Breuer's original (above). MaxMara's window display (below).

Meredith actually spotted this Artichoke lamp in a store on Via Nazionale as we were walking on Saturday. We came to know the Artichoke lamp as we studied modern design in our Historic Furnishings and Interiors class. Poul Henningsens designed the lamp in 1958, and it is still mass produced today. I had never seen one in person until this window display. It is the one in the center on the stand that looks exactly like an artichoke! It's design is supposed to produce glare-free light from 360 degrees.

I would feel like this post would be missing something if I did not mention the amazing interiors of Shana and Tommaso's house. Shana has a passion for interior design and has amazing style. She inspires me, as I think it would be so hard for me to pull off this look, but she does it flawlessly. I am surrounded everyday with fabulous design, without even leaving the house...

Here are a few photos of the main areas.

Weekend with Meredith

After Shana and Tommaso left with the kids on Friday night, Meredith and I headed to a very late dinner. We ate at this great restaurant that I plan on going back to called Gusto. Shana gave us the suggestion and told us that it is owned by one woman who bought out basically the whole building, and there is a pizzeria, a wine bar, a more formal restaurant, and a kitchen store all in one! We had a huge, delicious dinner which didn't even start until 11:15, and there was even a short wait when we got there! People were still sitting down at quarter after twelve. The whole time we were wondering how all of these Italians are so fit when they're eating pizza at midnight all the time!

Saturday, we walked to Campo dei Fiori (my new favorite area) and ate lunch at this delicious place called Obika (they actually just opened one in New York, Kater- you'd love it). It is a Mozzarella Bar, and for your dish you choose which type of mozzarella you'd like and what you wish to accompany it with (I got seasonal vegetables and Meredith got tomatoes). The best part is that it is served with a side of pesto!! Right up my alley. As we were eating in the square there was a fresh market in the center, so we had a long lunch with lots of people watching.

After lunch we walked down to the Spanish Steps and then up to the Villa Borghese. On a whim, we decided to rent this rickshaw type buggy that you pedal yourself. It was completely ridiculous and hysterical, but we were able to see most of the entire grounds in an hour! We walked back home after that...stopping for gelato on the way, of course.

After showering, we went to a hotel near my house (that Meredith and her mom had had a drink on their rooftop when they were here) for some proseco and a cheese plate. We then headed to Scholars Lounge- an Irish pub to watch the Georgia game. Andrew and Allison Cole have a friend, Taylor Whitmire, that they both grew up with who is living in Rome right now. He went to Georgia, so I messaged him to see if he would be watching the game. Luckily, he was in town and not working, so it worked out perfectly that we were able to meet up with him, watch the game, and finally experience the bar scene (tried Friday night, but were clearly not in the right spot- it was a ghost town). It wasn't your typical Italian bar by any means...Sweet Caroline and Summer of 69 blaring with tons of drunk (and everything but Italian) girls screaming the words- very Bourbon Steetesque, how appropriate while watching the Georgia game. But, we were happy just to be out and socializing, and I could've sat in their for hours people watching. Meredith has a friend who was a foreign exchange student at her high school from Italy. He is living in Rome now going to medical school, so he also came and met us also which was fun! We had a great night, and were thrilled to be meeting some new people. The Italians stay out very late, so I am exhausted after the weekend.

Shana and Tommaso arrived back with the kids late this afternoon. We watched Narnia and had gelato. Tommaso has some of his business partners coming in town from DC tomorrow for dinner, so he and Shana are busy planning the meal tonight. The two of them are both amazing cooks and love trying new recipes, so it will be a very elaborate Italian dinner, and delicious I'm sure. Hopefully their skills will rub off on me. I told Shana I was interested in a cooking class and she said she would help me look into that. I think I would really enjoy it. I had a great night with the kids and enjoyed talking with Shana and Tommaso. They are both great and make me feel very at home.