Back at Tjolöholm this Thursday again – for some more treasures. Surely you would want to visit with me again?
Before a walk in the garden, a short overview of the unusual and impressive lamps in the castle. All ordered by the lady of the house, Blanche, and all from Osler in London. My favourite is the first one, looking like underwear laundry…
The garden had the same Swedish architect as the house – but I guess Blanche had her say about things as well –
Plants in every corner, colours and textures – how I envied the people who got the opportunity to work here.
…and little children rambling on their own.
And, finally – I give you: The vacuumcleaner!
Early morning, and our private guide arrived again.
Today we went to see the snow sculptures and some interesting shops and cafés.
There was an outdoors movie, the award winning ”Sameblod”. Luckily we had seen it before, so it seemed unnecessary to sit down for some hours in -20 degrees C…
After some researching, we found there were no snow sculptures this winter – only a playground and a maze. But they seemed much frequented!
Emma guided us to her favorite store, a paper shop with lovely cards, pencils, parcel papers and origami. And more – plus a lovely lady behind the desk.
Some hours later, there was a sudden need for warming up toes, fingers and cheeks…and we ventured up to ”Nya Konditoriet”…
…an old patisserie, opened in 1927 and still looking almost the same.
Very tasty – and their team won the Nordic Pastry Cup in 2017! The old chandeliers and decorated windows totally won my heart. Brought back something of my childhood.
Why this cake?
Because my daughter loves baking smashing things just for fun!
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – why not join in!
Frosty
Lily
Yellow
This is my old garden sofa…now resting, decaying quietly among the lilacs. For more furniture, click here.
The name Bunratty, Bun Raite (or possibly, Bun na Raite) in Irish, means ”river basin” of the ‘Ratty’ river. This river, alongside the Bunratty Castle, flows into the nearby Shannon Estuary. We visited for some hours and really enjoyed its genuin feel.
The first recorded settlement at the site may have been a Norsemen settlement/trading camp reported in the Annals of the Four Masters. in 977. But several castles were built – and lost – here.
The fourth castle, the present structure, was built around 1425. In 1956, the castle was purchased and restored by the 7th Viscount Gort, with assistance from the Office of Public Works. He reroofed the castle and saved it from ruin. The castle was opened to the public in 1960, and with its genuin 16th-17th century furniture, tapestries and works of art it has become a great tourist attraction.
In Dublin there are many capturing buildings, but never did I imagine myself trying to photograph shopping centres…and with such relish.
St Stephen’s Green felt like a rather newly built, modern place, with all the light and all the windows I could dream of.
So, we went inside to explore. And I truly found a dream of white and green – the same fresh green colour dominating many of the interior decorations we saw in Ireland.
Quite the cake! We walked through the whole building and found the architecture fresh and matching in every detail.
Then we walked up to one of Dublin’s oldest shopping centres, Powerscourt. I wanted to see the old mahogany staircase – original from the 18th century.
Live piano music filled the air with dreams from another century…
…and the open court was an old style dream – filled with lovely tea drinkers chatting away…
But nowhere was the mahogany staircase to be found. We marvelled at old hat shops and new hat shops, colourful furniture, jewellery stores and old, wooden floors. Where was the staircase? When we had given up trying – we finally found it on our way out, at the back of the store.
I first saw it in the mirror, and was so taken in by it, that I found myself in the mirror as well…
In the 18th century…the wood carvers were very skilled. The smooth feeling of the wood, the beauty of colour and shine, the intricate patterns… I wonder how long it took them to finish this magnificent staircase.
I guess I loved both shopping centres – but only in one of them had a kindred soul.
Our little town is right now the lucky host of the only exhibition of Carl Larsson’s art outside Dalarna and Sundborn. A visit to this tiny, but exquisite, exhibition was on the menue today. Our 39th wedding anniversary.
Carl Larsson (28 May 1853 – 22 January 1919) was a Swedish painter representative of the Arts and Crafts Movement. His many paintings include oils, watercolours, and frescoes. But, when we think of Carl Larsson – we first of all think of his watercolours of his wife, children and home at Little Hyttnäs, Dalarna.
He considered his finest work to be Midvinterblot (Midwinter Sacrifice), a large (6-by-14-metre oil painting completed in 1915) painting now displayed inside the Swedish National Museum of Fine Arts.However, this great work was at first rejected by the board of the museum, and later sold to Japan. The fresco depicts the blót of King Domalde at the Temple of Uppsala. Decades later, the painting was purchased and placed in the National Museum, on the wall it once was intended for.
Carl Larsson was born on 28 May 1853 in the old town of Stockholm, at 78 Prästgatan. His parents were extremely poor, and his childhood was not happy. His father told the young boy that he ”cursed the day he was born”. A younger brother of Carls´ was the much loved son, but he died at an early age. Throughout his life, CL could never forget his father’s words…and…
…with him was forever the wish for being loved. Much loved.
And he found his great love in another young artist, Karin Bergöö, whom he soon married. Together they worked in perfect harmony – he painting and she designing and working mostly with textiles. She bore him 8 children.
Through their paintings and books, Little Hyttnäs has become one of the most famous artist’s homes in the world. The artistic taste and harmony of its creators made it a major line in Swedish interior design. Despite its controversialness to the style of the time. The descendants of Carl and Karin Larsson now keep the house open for tourists each summer from May until October.
Why do I love Antonio Gaudí? Maybe because of his love for nature’s wonders – starting when he was only a small child. His way of using nature’s forms and designs in everything he created. Making the pillars in Sagráda Família with scars like the tree trunks get when they have lost a branch, making lamps look like flowers and light spill out like waves in the sea…
In every detail he was …mirroring nature.
In Comillas, on the north coast of Spain, you will find this ”folly” – El Capricho – by Gaudí, built for Máximo Díaz de Quijano (a relative of the marquis of Comillas) in the 1880´s. You immediately recognize his style using iron structures, glazed pottery and stained glass.
Come, let’s take a ”folly” walk …
In my dreams, a dinner with Antonio Gaudí would be optional… to get the opportunity to listen to his ideas and maybe discuss nature’s impact on humans – body and soul. I would have had many, many questions…
I was lucky enough to meet him in his garden, sitting there admiring his work. I tried to get some answers, but mostly we sat quietly contemplating…me admiringly of course. But, I am so thankful for having finally met him – my favourite architect.
Leya 
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