Romanian Blouse Day

It's really heartwarming and tearjerking when small initiatives find their echo in a wider community. And this is why I have loved and followed 'La Blouse Roumaine', the mastermind behind making the traditional Romanian blouse a staple of national identity and pride, in an era when we're being told that we should dismiss the past and only look to the future.

Ightham Mote

Discover: Thursley Nature Reserve

There's no more relaxing thing to do on a weekend when you feel like a pick-me-up (other than shopping hehe) than to turn your phone off and enjoy the sun, the air and the open landscape extending further than your laptop screen. 

As a suggestion for a day out of London, I recommend Thursley Nature Reserve, a mix in between marshland, open fields and a sort of plank-walkway that reminded me of Scandinavian beaches.

Petworth House

Another UK weekend, another road trip.

This time, we visited Petworth House in the South of England. The site itself has connections to William the Conqueror and some parts of it have been discovered to trace back to the 13th century. The building as it is today is a mixture of 17-th century style with 19th century alterations. I was a little underwhelmed by the exterior architecture as I felt it lacked refinement. The flying buttresses were far too thick and bare and the wing containing the chapel looked very odd, but it did have some positive attributes too.

The servants' quarters were really nicely reconstructed as they would have been in the 1910s and there were cooking demonstrations too, making the place look more lively and real I guess. 

More notably however is the mansion's distinction for harbouring precious art and artefacts. There are lots to be seen and admired if you like the arts and so I was happy and busy! J.W. Turner was a regular guest at Petworth and had a secluded studio above the chapel. His numerous landscapes inspired by the views over the huge parks surrounding the house are still to be found in the family's collection or borrowed off to Tate Modern. It was here that the largest number of Turner paintings were exhibited in winter 2012 but the current number is not a disappointment in the slightest. There are many marble statues and busts in the neo-classical style, and if you are more interested in the earlier centuries, then you should be pleased to find a 4th century statue of Venus and the only surviving original planetary globe by Molyneux from 1592. 

As far as the outside is considered, it looked vast and almost begged for a picnic but we only walked a little so I can't really pronounce myself on the subject. 

Overall it was a nice day out and for me, even the car journey there was so beautiful on narrow country roads with tall oaks casting their shade and fields upon fields in the distance. The best detoxifying thing ever.

Dulwich picture gallery

On my quest of finding London's hidden gems, I took to Dulwich village. It's quite a trek away from where I live but the gallery looked so promising that I put up with an hour long drive. That being said, I think it best to take the train to North Dulwich station because it's probably quicker. 

Overall, I liked the cosy-ness of the gallery, counting one long gallery and 3 annexed rooms. It's relatively small but the clustered walls reminded me of the Wallace Collection and that being said, the artists displaied in Dulwich are equally as virtuous. Flemish artists such as Dou or Ruisdael, Gainsbourgh portraits, a few Rembrandts and Rubens' as well as Poussin and even a Fragonard (so excited!). 

If, like me, art makes you slightly peckish, fear no more! Further down the main road from the gallery is the perfect French cafe called Au Ciel. The French shop assistants are a guarantee for the authenticity of the products, which I can safely compare with the award winning and super-hyped William Curley desserts. Also, have a try of their chocolate milkshake ^.^

On the way back we had a pretty spectacular view, going through Vauxhall, Pimlico and Chelsea. Oh, I do love weekends!