The Giant's Tomb.

Le Tombeau du Géant, Belgium. May 2011.

I spent the past weekend with a bunch of friends in the Belgian Ardennes, in a former water mill near the river Semois and a site called 'Le Tombeau du Géant' (the Giant's Tomb).

It is one of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of the country, and very special to all of us. Some of my friends have been going there for over 20 years, and are still as much in awe as the first time.

I'd been looking forward to this weekend for a while. After a busy few months, I needed some time away from my computer with nothing but good friends and my Kindle for company.

Two days later, I've come home with sun-kissed skin (sun-nibbled and sun-bitten here and there), recharged batteries and a brain buzzing with the remnants of laughter and good conversation.

Of course, being me, I can't help pondering the paradox of wanting to go to places that are wild and virtually untouched by mankind, while by going there, we touch them - inevitably.

However, there are ways of being a respectful visitor, and I count myself lucky to have found so many people who understand this and try to live it.

Here's to friendship, laughter and heart-warming, mind-blowing beauty!

What are your favourite places to unwind?

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Urban Gardening Update.

What a great spring we've had so far. June hasn't even started and I've already managed to spend more time in the garden than I usually get to do in an entire summer - reading in the hammock or enjoying a glass of wine on the patio.

The vegetables are growing well, and I picked the first strawberries today. I swear I've never tasted better ones in my life; I wish I had planted more.

We've harvested so much lettuce already, yet we can hardly keep up. Apart from preparing lots of salads, I've started to experiment using the leaves in other, hot recipes.

They do well in quiches and frittatas, and soon we'll have a fresh batch that will be perfect for making lettuce soup - one of my favourite kinds: velvety goodness with a blue or goat cheese for extra flavour.

It's such a versatile vegetable. You can also use the leaves as wraps, on burgers (vegetarian or not), to make pesto (instead of basil, mixed to taste with other fresh herbs), juice them with other herbs and vegetables or wilt them into pasta or mashed potatoes.

I've found a lot more recipe inspiration here:

• 10 Tasty lettuce recipes @ Vegging out
• 147 Lettuce recipes at BBC's GoodFood

And to conclude, a few more photos of our patio garden in evening sunlight:

What are your favourite seasonal recipes?

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Eco Flash Mob.

This video brought such a smile to my face, I wanted to share it.

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U is for Urban Gardening.

My parents had - well, have - a large vegetable garden. I am pretty sure that to this day, they've never had to buy a single vegetable in a store, ever.

They grow their own potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, garlic, leeks, carrots, chicory, spinach, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, green beans, peas, celery, pumpkins, cabbage, and much more. Not to mention lots of fruit and herbs, all organic.

As a child, I hated having a garden. It meant we had to help out with tedious tasks like weeding, picking green beans or podding buckets of peas.

It also meant we ate vegetables in cycles. During tomato season, we'd eat tomatoes until I had nightmares about them. We had to eat soups that contained so many different, fresh veggies, they always tasted more or less the same.

It's taken me a long time - and many years of city life - to understand how fortunate we were.

Ever since I moved out of my parents' house, I've grown herbs, even when I only had the balcony of my flat at my disposal. When I moved here, the herb patch was the first part of the garden to be finished.

The past few years, I've taken an interest in low-maintenance urban farming. I'm not the kind of person to spend hours a day (or week) digging and weeding. Believe me, I've tried.

After the herb garden, we moved on to fruit trees: apples, cherries and plums. They're easy. You plant them. Water them for a while. Done.

That went well, so last year, we planted berry bushes and got 2 lemon trees for the patio. If all goes well, they'll provide a lot of fruit this year.

And about a month ago, I started growing strawberries and different types of lettuce, in containers. The plants are doing great, and we've harvested our first lettuce leaves last week. They're delicious, but I might be a little biased here.

The container garden on the patio, April 2011.

More vegetables on the fence, April 2011.

Our harvest for yesterday's lunch ...

... transformed, with a little help from non-home-grown ingredients.

It takes little to no effort, you can't get veggies any fresher than that, and they taste even better because you've seen them grow!

So, if you want to give it a try, here are a few websites with great ideas for city and balcony gardens:

• Urban Organic Gardener
• Urban Gardens
• You Grow Girl
• Life on the Balcony
• NYCGardener
• Farm Apartment
• How To Make a Hanging Gutter Garden (@ Apartment Therapy)

I also wanted to share this video, of a Canadian woman, Carol Bowlby, who feeds her family of 5 with gorgeous organic vegetables, grown in a small back garden in the city. She's inspiring and gives a lot of practical tips.

My Urban Garden by Polly Bennell, National Film Board of Canada

Do you have a green thumb?

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N is for Nature.

Like many people, I have a complicated relationship with Nature.

I love being outdoors, surrounded by lush foliage, flowers and trees
- yet I choose to live in a city, because I like all the options and opportunities it has to offer.

Walking along a rugged coastline and hearing waves pound against the rocks under my feet, calms me down (not an easy job, I can assure you)
- yet I spend a large part of my weekends and holidays indoors, writing, blogging, reading or catching up with friends.

I know I am part of nature. I live and breathe because of the world around me
- yet so often I focus on boundaries, walls and differences.

In the middle of my have-tos and want-tos, I wanted to take a moment to stand still and remind myself of the beauty that can be found in nature.

So I've spent most of the afternoon out in the garden and made a moss carpet for the bathroom (more about that later). Then I've come in to go through my travel photographs and pick a few of my favourite nature shots to share.

Borders, Scotland. 2007.

Mount Rainier, USA. October 2004.

Mount Rainier National Park, USA. October 2004.

Norway, July 2009.

Olympic National Park, USA. February 2009.

Champagne region, France. July 2009.

Borders, Scotland. July 2006.

Botassart, Belgium. March 2005.

Samaria Gorge, Crete. July 2005.

Neuschwanstein, Germany. July 2008.

Now I'm off to the garden again to enjoy the rest of today's sunshine. Have a great weekend!

What kind of relationship do you have with Nature?

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G is for Gardens.

Few things help me relax and come to my senses like spending time in a beautiful garden.

A few weeks ago, I discovered Michael Trapp's garden designs and I knew what my letter 'G' would be.

Since seeing those first pictures, I've been in love with the magic of his designs. Some of them remind me of ancient Italian villas, others hint of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, with a sprinkle of the controlled madness of Alice in Wonderland.

Michael Trapp's style is quite unique. As a collector, an antiques dealer and traveller, he is a master at combining unusual objects and dramatic ornaments from different cultures, eras and styles.

He incorporates them to create environments that feel out of this world: dreamy and enchanting, shelters where time cannot track you.


Have a look at the photographs of his interior and landscape designs on his website at http://www.michaeltrapp.com/ (under 'projects'), and check out the pictures of his garden pavillion: it's the perfect writer's retreat!

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All images are © Erik Owen and are used with permission.

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Sound Health in 8 Steps and 15 Minutes.

Sound affects our lives, all the time. It is a constant stimulus, whether we are aware of it or not. As such, it has an effect on our brain and on our mental health, both positive and negative.

I wanted to share two videos by Julian Treasure, who is - besides a man with a great name - a sound adviser by trade. He is also an author and blogs at Sound Business.

The first video is a 7 minute talk about the effects of sound on our health.

If you are hooked by now and have another 6 minutes to spare, I can also recommend this presentation:

Now, go find a place with lots of WWB. It's good for you!

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Fantastic Landscapes: the Photography of Gary McParland.

The Fairy Ring - (c) Gary McParland


Good photographs are inspiring. They speak to our emotions, like good stories do.

I love taking pictures but I am not a photographer. I would like to be, but my heart and mind are set on writing. Instead of light and a camera, I have chosen words and a laptop (and paper and pens) as my tools.

And I am happy. Day by day I get to experience the joys and pains of learning my trade. I feel alive, perhaps more than ever. The more I read and write, the more I see what I can't do yet. But I improve, and the journey itself is exciting, exhilarating and rewarding. Most of the time.


Light & Legend - (c) Gary McParland

Deciding to be a writer has only increased my respect for people who have acquired skill and craftsmanship, regardless of what kind. From raising or educating our children to helping us sleep at night. From growing food to presenting it on a plate in the most beautiful and seductive way.



I love men and women who have a passion, and the desire and perseverance to learn their craft and improve. Their work has a soul. It speaks to our emotions, tells us stories and inspires us to come up with our own.

  

The Poisoned Glen - (c) Gary McParland

One of my most recent discoveries is photographer Gary McParland. When I saw his picture 'The Fairy Ring' (see above), I was smitten. My mind took flight. I wanted to write stories and create characters to populate those fantastic landscapes.

What I especially like about his pictures, besides the great choice of scenery, is that he manages to capture not just the beauty and wonder, but also the timeless elemental power of our surroundings.



Based in Northern Ireland, most of the landscapes Gary photographs are situated there, in Ireland, Scotland and the UK. I also really like his nature close-ups, and the boats/wrecks.



His style of photography evokes a fantasy atmosphere, but don't expect candied new-age imagery with purple moons and elves riding unicorns. Instead, he presents the raw, natural strength in nature and interprets it in a full spectrum of emotions that feels very authentic to me.  



Morning Mist - (c) Gary McParland

Sometimes his photographs are gentle and dreamy, like a misty coastal morning or filtered sunlight in an autumn forest; sometimes they are fierce reminders of how fleeting and mortal we are, like ever-changing waves pounding on unyielding rocks. 



His landscapes are no backdrops for frail, winged fairies and pastel butterflies. They inspire to create characters that live, breathe and survive. The fairies who live here bite and laugh and love and fight to preserve what's theirs. These are lands where humans live with dragons. The fire-breathing kind.

I tip my hat to Gary McParland's skill in capturing atmosphere in light, and I can only admire the dedication and the patience it must have taken to create these works.

Thank you, Gary, for the wonderful images and your kind photo permission!

Dunluce Castle at Twilight - (c) Gary McParland

For more information and images, visit http://garymcparland.1x.com/ or http://www.garymcparland.com/ 



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My Home Away from Home: the Cotswolds.

A few days ago, I wrote about the Rollright Stones, which had me go through the numerous pictures I've taken in various corners of the Cotswolds. As always, the memories warmed my heart, just like the area itself never fails to do. I've spent so much time there in these past few years, to visit friends as well as to do research for my novel, that it feels like it's become my home away from home.

All of that gave me the idea to make the Cotswolds star in an article of its own. Because it's travel-related, I've posted it on my other blog 'The Enchanted Traveller', which is still simmering at the moment but will gradually come to a boil.

For the foodies among you: don't miss the feature on my favourite restaurant in the Cotswolds: the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington!

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Accidental Places: the Work of Lori Nix

(c) Lori Nix. 'Library', 2007

 

I recently came across a picture I really liked and after some fingertip research I found out it was 'Library' by Lori Nix, and there were many more in her collection that I really loved.

She's an American photographer and artist who builds and sculpts miniature scenes and landscapes and then photographs them. She encompasses a wide range of themes and places to which she adds a very atmospheric, forlorn quality, which really speaks to me. 

(c) Lori Nix. 'Laundromat', 2008

I was blown away when I found out that everything you see in her pictures has actually been created on a table top in front of the camera. She doesn't manipulate the images afterwards.

Lori Nix was born in Kansas, which is reflected in many of her earlier works. She is currently living and working in New York, and her art also seems to have moved indoors.

I like her more recent series most. It's called 'The City' and the pictures are clever and visionary, be it in an apocalyptic kind of way. They don't just tell you one story. Instead, they make you dream and wonder and come up with dozens of your own.

Here's what Lori herself had to say about how she builds and captures her work: 

"Currently it takes about seven months to build a scene and two to three weeks to shoot the final image. I build these in my Brooklyn living room. I have miniature power tools throughout the apartment, a chop saw under the kitchen table, a miniature table saw on top. The computer room doubles as a model mock-up room. There are two of us who work on them, myself and my partner Kathleen. We split the work according to our strengths. I come up with the concept, the color palette and the lighting scenarios. I build the structures out of extruded foam and glue and paint and anything else handy. Kathleen is trained as a glass artist, specializing in cast glass work. She can paint faux finishes and gild architectural details with gold leaf. After I'm done building the structure and painting it, she comes in and adds dirt and distresses the walls to make it look old and decrepit."
 - Lori Nix

Below are a few more favourites. Look at the variety in textures and the sheer detail of the work, and just imagine them as miniatures!

(c) Lori Nix. 'Botanic Garden', 2008

(c) Lori Nix. 'Museum of Art', 2005

(c) Lori Nix. 'Aquarium', 2007

(c) Lori Nix. 'Map Room', 2010

http://www.lorinix.net/index.html

Thank you Lori for the kind photo permission!

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Magic, Mist and Limestone: the Rollright Stones.

As some of you already know, the novel I am currently writing is set in the Cotswolds, a gorgeous area in the Heart of England. The region is known for its undulating rural landscape, idyllic villages with limestone cottages in all shades of honey and, as if that weren't enough, for its award winning hotels, restaurants and breweries.

I'm very lucky to have a number great friends who live there, so I usually get to visit the Cotswolds several times a year. Over the years, a few places have become very precious to me, one of them being the Rollright Stones, and another one an absolutely wonderful restaurant.

The King's Men

The Rollright Stones consist of three smaller sites: the King Stone, the Whispering Knights, and the larger stone circle called the King's Men.
The Whispering Knights, a burial dolmen, is the oldest, believed to be 5000 years old. The 77 stones of the King's Men are slightly younger, but still 4500 to 4000 years old.

It's an amazing place. You cannot help but wonder who built these monuments and to what intent. When you walk around there, you inevitably connect with our distant past and with the countless people who have visited this place before us, asked the same questions and were equally awestruck by the magic that seems to ooze from the ground. Especially during twilight or on a misty day, it's so easy to imagine yourself in a place between the worlds.

Lichen on the King's Men

When you get the chance to visit the Rollright Stones, please do so with respect for the unique and ancient character of the place. All too often people sit or stand on the stones, or let their children play on them. The stones are not only ancient and therefore irreplaceable, they're also covered with over 50 types of lichen, many of them several hundreds of years old.

The site is managed by the Rollright Trust, a registered charity dedicated to the protection and conservation of the stones. They have a very comprehensive website with lots of information about the history and the mythology around the stones, and practical information on their location and even how you can book the site for private events.

You can help the Trust to take care of this truly wonderful place in several ways: by becoming a 'Friend of the Rollright Stones', by buying related books on Amazon via the Rollrights site, and they have just released a beautiful calendar for 2011, which you can get here (£6 + postage). I ordered mine 2 days ago, so they should be on their way!

If you've ever visited the Rollrights, I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Read more about the Cotswolds here.

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A Glimpse of Paradise: Zen in Zanzibar.

This must be one of the most beautiful places on earth: a gorgeous hotel in a breathtaking location: the five-star Kilindi resort in Zanzibar.

It's now a part of the Elewana Afrika group, which owns several more splendid hotels, but it's the elegant, luxurious simplicity of Kilindi and its stunning views of the Indian Ocean that appealed to me most.

The resort is located right on the beach and it consists of 15 pavilions, set in lush tropical gardens and with private plunge pools that are connected by water features.
As a bonus they grow their own (organic) vegetables and show their commitment to environmental sustainability a.o. by harvesting rainwater, recycling and using solar energy. Their spa offers authentic, traditional treatments with local herbs, oils and honey.

In all fairness, I haven't (yet) been able to verify this information in person, and I cannot estimate how well the resort is really embedded in local culture, projects and needs. For what it's worth, I think they are, and I'll let you know for sure when I've been there!
My main intent for writing this was to celebrate the beauty of the place, to share the gorgeous pictures and to inspire us to dream about the many scenic gems our gorgeous planet has to offer.

From here on, I'll let the pictures do the talking:

 

For more pictures, have a look at this gallery at PureZanzibar.com, and you can find more information about this and other Elewana hotels on their website.

All pictures on this site are and remain (c) Elewana Afrika.

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