by Helen | Apr 8, 2021 | Lifestyle
This restaurant is probably known, and frequented by, all of our friends who’ve ever been to Sóller, but just in case you, like us, didn’t know about it, here’s the low-down on Ca’n Llimona.
Tucked away down a side street called Carrer de la Victoria, just off the main drag, Carrer de sa Lluna, it could be easy to miss. The frontage is pretty but it it’s quite a small frontage and so doesn’t really stand out, especially if you pass by when it’s closed. However, we were recommended that we eat here, by the hotel we were staying in – more about them in next blog – and so we decided to have dinner here. We stayed in Soller in mid-May so still quite early in the season, and the restaurant wasn’t busy but this gave us a much better chance to have a mooch and actually speak to Claudia, the owner and head chef. Her passion for what she does is palpable, as she explains the menu, the methods and the inspiration and design for the restaurant. Which, interiors-wise, is beautiful, with a real fusion feel of being in both Spain and Morocco.
Everything is mix & match, which when done well, is just lovely. Painted wooden chairs and tables, display crates, fresh lemons on tables, an apothecary cabinet to display the wines, Spanish tiles, candles, glass lanterns. Everything that I just love in one place.
When life gives you lemons, the place to go to is Ca’n Limona…
The menu is very small – home made pasta dishes and sauces only, and a small range of home made desserts. Do not let this put you off, as you will be missing out on an amazing gastronomic experience. The pasta is freshly made every day by Claudia, and she then cooks it and serves it. What a woman! When you make your choice, the uncooked pasta is presented to you on wooden trays, prior to cooking. A really nice touch, I think. We chose the spinach and ricotta ravioli with a rich tomato based sauce and the lemon tagliatelle with pesto and parmesan, both served with the juiciest, freshest tomato salad. Incredibly simple, but so well executed and the taste was out of this world…
The wine we chose was La Sastreria, a very Spanish palatable dry white – perfect with the pasta and with prettiest label I’ve seen…
All in all, an exceptional dining experience, which just goes to show you don’t need to be all fancy-pants. Sometimes, simple is best. Or, as we always say over at We Are Life Design, less is more…
by Helen | Apr 8, 2021 | Spain, Travel
It’s hard to imagine that there could really be anywhere to avoid on Mallorca. We’d discounted Magaluf, as unfortunately we’re no longer in our early twenties, and so, when booking places to stay, we were pretty confident that every place we chose, would be a winner. When we travel we do our homework. We read reviews, check out websites, look at the area etc. My rule of thumb is, if it’s not at least as good as our own home, we’re not staying there. So, Brondo Architect Hotel in Palma, Lluna Aqua Hotel in Sóller and Petit Sant Miquel Hotel in Calonge were all amazing, and we’d highly recommend.
We decided that we wanted to have a few days doing absolutely nothing, apart from lazing around a pool. We quite fancied a hotel on the western side of the island, so we could catch the sunsets. We definitely wanted a pool. Somewhere that played quiet, chilled out music. Somewhere a bit funky. And we definitely thought we’d found all of this when we discovered La Concha Soul Boutique Hotel, in Paguera.
Now, we’d not been to Mallorca before and so had no idea what Paguera was like. Not that it really mattered when we were looking for accomm0dation, as the plan was to pool lounge for a few days. For those of you who know Mallorca well, you’ll probably know what’s coming, as we checked out of the beautiful Lluna Aqua in Sóller after two amazing days, and set off for Paguera. Looks pretty snazzy, doesn’t it?
The website certainly suggested it was a cool, laid back, chilled out kind of place and the photography certainly reinforced this. Reviews were promising. Just what we’d been looking for.
The first sign that things weren’t going to be as expected, was as we entered Paguera. Gone were the beautiful Mallorcan townhouses, and individuality and beauty, of Sóller and Palma. Instead, a long beach front strip of fairly down-at-heel hotels, souvenir shops, bars, fast food joints and hoardes of tourists. Now, nothing wrong with any of this, IF this is what you’ve come for. But we hadn’t. And I was already beginning to wish I was somewhere else.
However, we’d already decided that we wouldn’t really be investigating Paguera, as we were going to be relaxing around the pool, so all would be OK. Only, it wasn’t. The hotel, on arrival, definitely did not look as pristine as the one we’d been seeing online. A hunch told me that this wasn’t going to be a long stay, so the suitcases remained in the boot of the car as we went to reception. The main entrance – at least we think it was the main entrance, as we couldn’t find another – was around the back of the hotel, where the car park was located. Plus point – free parking. You’ve got to find these plus points somewhere. The entrance was in need of some TLC – peeling paint, scuffed door, neglected plants. However, we decided to give it a chance – even though the reception area had the feel of a youth hostel…
See, I wasn’t exaggerating. This is the main entrance. OK, that tree to the right looks OK, but I mean, look at the plants on the balconies…
We were advised we’d been allocated a superior room on the top floor, with a view of the pool area. Unfortunately, this was where it all started to go really wrong. There’s no lift in the hotel – not a problem at all, as we’d left our luggage in the car – but it did mean that we got to see the communal hallways in all their glory. Filthy. Scuffed walls and ripped wallpaper. Cleaning was still going on – a plus point, because at least we witnessed that cleaning of sorts happened – but on one of the landings, dirty towels were all over the floor. So many of them, that we couldn’t step over them. There was no way I was moving them, so we had to walk over them. The cleaner wasn’t arsed in the slightest. Unreal. And then, the room. The superior room…
Yep, this is what we walked into.
Above, was the window ledge. Below, the shower cubicle…
We weren’t sure if the bed had actually been properly made, or if this was how a previous guest had left it…
Word to the wise, guys. If you include the word “Boutique” in the name of your hotel, understand that there will be expectations from guests. Shoddy, shoddy paintwork…
Our superior room, with a view of the bins. Sorry, pool…
Safe to say, the receptionist seemed not in the least bit surprised when we headed back down and told her we wouldn’t be staying, and exactly why we wouldn’t be staying. Because we’d booked through Booking.Com, the payment for four nights had already been taken – at this point, we didn’t care. We just wanted out and away. She was very understanding regarding what we were saying about the filthiness of the room, and the hotel in general – she couldn’t really argue once we showed her the evidence. However, she did want us to give the hotel a chance and offered us another room. We politely declined. The manager was called. He too seemed completely unsurprised by what we were saying. Although he also wanted us to look at another room. There would also be a free BBQ that evening and if we left, we’d miss that. He (and the receptionist), to their credit, took everything we were saying on the chin, and finally accepted that we would absolutely not be staying. We were most surprised that the manager agreed to refund three nights – we definitely did not expect this, and certainly didn’t expect that he would do it as quickly as he did. So, another plus point for La Concha Soul Boutique Hotel – but unfortunately, a hotel which was not boutique, and with no soul. We’ve since looked back at the hotel website – and yes, it does make the hotel look better than it is, but look closely and the tell-tale signs are there. We just didn’t spot them, which is unusual – so maybe, good on whoever designed the website or took the photos. They’ve certainly done a good job of glossing over the fact that this is a pretty dire hotel. Although, we seem to be in the minority having this view – as rave reviews are still coming in for it. Maybe we’re over-fussy. Or prefer to stay somewhere that is clean and isn’t the standard of a hostel, but the price of a hotel. Or maybe, we just arrived on the wrong day, at the wrong time. But, we don’t think so. That grime on the window, and around the door and in the shower, had been sitting there, for quite some time.
But, all’s well that ends well – and very fortunately, the Lluna Aqua Hotel, back in Sóller, had one room left. Which unsurprisingly, we booked. And got out of La Concha and Paguera as fast as our car could take us! An hour after taking the above photographs, we were delighted to be back *home*…
The difference between that awful, slapdash paintwork and these beautiful Mallorcan tiles. Attention to detail = a boutique hotel.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the Lluna Aqua Hotel would be a much more expensive a hotel to stay in. It was more pricey, but definitely not at the kind of prices you’d blanche at. And, it was very, very clear what you were paying for.
A real boutique hotel. Full of soul. The real deal.
by Helen | Apr 7, 2021 | Lifestyle
Without realising, until very recently that it’s actually become an annual tradition, there’s a default meal we always make when the first warm days and lighter evenings arrive. It goes back to when we lived in West Didsbury, in Manchester and those first few days of warm sunshine, after a long winter, usually meant we’d fling open the French doors, get out the garden furniture and eat outside, no matter how chilly it got later. And after a winter of carb loaded stews, soups, curries and although usually delicious, always quite heavy food, we always craved a salad. Not a summer one with delicate leaves and light dressing, as it generally wasn’t quite warm enough for that kind of salad. No, what we wanted was the kind that still was substantial enough to withstand a chill in the air, but be a cold dish, with salad ingredients. I think this started out as being made from what we had in the cupboards/fridge at the time, but it definitely wasn’t from a recipe I followed, so the ingredients do change.
Easter Monday 2021 was a lovely warm spring day and we had everything necessary to knock up our first Spring Salad of the year – with enough left over for a working lunch the next day. If you fancy giving it a try, here’s what was included :
- New potatoes – cubed and boiled, then left to cool
- Hard boiled eggs, quartered
- Ripe, ready to eat avocado, chopped roughly
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Thinly sliced red onion (or sliced spring onions if you want a less intense flavour)
- Pitted black olives
- Tuna (I used a tin of smoked tuna, from the Greek range in Lidl) and/or chopped anchovies
- Feta cheese, crumbled
- Olive oil and salt and pepper
There’s no fanciness to the way we do this salad – everything is piled into a big bowl, mixed and drizzled with olive oil. It’s very tasty on it’s own, and because it is actually quite a substantial salad, you don’t really need anything else to accompany it. It’s great as a very quick meal to make for friends and if bulked up with crusty bread or pittas and hummus, it’s a winner as it’s quick, easy and good on the washing up. It also looks very pretty as a centre piece because of the colours.
Oh, and the working lunch the next day? Yes, we did have plenty left over which had chilled over night in the fridge. Perfect to eat as an unexpected April snow blizzard raged outside…
by Helen | Apr 6, 2021 | Renovation
This rather lovely rustic, wooden A-frame ladder, hinged at the top and held together at the bottom with thick rope, hasn’t really been utilised in our house as well as it could have been. It’s usually covered in throws, which as the weather warms up, are discarded from beds and sofas. When we decided to titivate the top bathroom, I suddenly saw the ladder with new eyes and new it was the perfect accessory for what I was imagining in the bathroom.
With a very high sloping ceiling, although the bathroom is quite small floor-space wise, it feels cavernous because it is so high and I knew that the solution was to try and bring down the ceiling. Without actually going to the expense of doing that. So, the idea of a jungle bathroom was born. Although not with real plants unfortunately. The beams from which I intended to suspend the plants, are high and a bit difficult to access so regular watering would have been problematic. Also, because the downstairs bathroom has a powerful shower, this tends to be the one we use most, so chances are we’d actually forget to go in and water plants in the upstairs bathroom. The other consideration was that we have a houseful of faux plants and foliage, which meant I could easily redistribute what we already had, without having to make any additional purchases. The only real consideration then was how to suspend the foliage, without overloading the beams. And, voila – this is when I saw the potential of the ladder, with the hinges removed and the rope cut, so that it could be opened and laid flat across the top of the beams. Because of the angle of the ceiling and the position of the door and walls, it was a tricky manoeuvre, but through sheer determination, we wrestled it into place and started to attach the faux stems of ivy and vines with the rope we’d previously taken off.
A metal wall rack, from Rockett St George, was brought up from the living room and another vine hung over it. I think the green glittery pigeon is very happy in his new home, too.
An adhesive, battery operated LED strip was attached to the join between the back of the bath and the wall, which gives off a very pretty glow. (And yes, they are ready to be refilled recycled gin bottles on the bath shelf. The cut of the glass bottles and the colour of the bath foam is really accentuated now with the lights behind them).
There will undoubtedly be more tweaks that we make to this room, but it now feels a whole lot more “finished”, and a much more comfortable room in which to fill up that bath, pour a glass of wine and sink back and relax.
by Helen | Apr 6, 2021 | Lifestyle
It really only seems a couple of weeks ago that it was Christmas, and yet here we are, having just had Easter weekend. Sometimes we feel that we don’t seem to do much with our time, but with a quarter of the year already gone and the fruits of our labours beginning to show in the garden, I think that we must occupy ourselves quite well, despite not really – until very, very, very recently – being able to really go anywhere. However, slowly, slowly things are beginning to awaken. Although Istria is still in a kind of lock down state, restaurants and bars which have outside areas have started to re-open and tourists are beginning to return. From 1st April, people who have been vaccinated or have a negative PCR or EU-approved Antigen test, can enter Croatia. We’ve started seeing cars from different countries – definitely not as many as we’d normally see at this time of year, but there is something nice about seeing a license plate other than from Croatia.
We’re spending a fair bit of time in the garden, getting it ready for the summer. The lavender plants are now bedded in and the crocus bulbs are beginning to push up through the soil. Where we’ve cleared the trees, we’ve sown wild flower seeds and these are now beginning to show. No sign of the sunflowers, yet, though. The dahlias have all been potted and have been sitting in the warm spring sunshine. Under the well room windows, we have a long raised bed which is now filled with varieties of hyacinths – the blues and purples are utterly gorgeous, and the aroma is just intoxicating.
Good Friday was glorious – very sunny and very warm, so we took the opportunity to begin the job of finishing off the shed which we built last year. When it was constructed and painted, it took quite a long time and I think we were just a bit of sick of working on it, and so a top coat was never applied inside and the door, on the inside, only had one coat of satinwood, so it was all looking a bit sorry for itself. Also, we wanted to investigate why wasps were beginning to find the shed interesting – everything was taken out as we thought there might be a nest. No nest in sight, but an empty shed, so we decided to crack on and get it finished. I didn’t want a shed in the garden to be filled with tools and be a bit of a mess – we have an external cellar that can accommodate work stuff, so the idea has always been to use it for storage of sun bed pads, seat cushions, the hammock – the kind of things we’d use throughout the summer and need easy access to. As well as sitting pretty in a garden we’re now investing a lot of time and effort into. I’ve always been taken by this photo and all along this has been my shed inspiration…
Over Easter, we made good headway with finishing the shed. All of the paint pots and tools have a new home in the cellar and now everything is easy to find. It felt good getting the cushions, pads, throws and hammock out of their winter wrapping and getting order in a little space which we think we finally come into its own over the summer. Hanging baskets, bursting with lilac and white and purple petunias have added immediate colour and our purple clematis has been repositioned against the side of the shed, and this will hopefully grow up and over.
The garden furniture has had an Easter makeover too. The table and chairs – originally brown, but spray painted in an anthracite colour by us – have been spruced up. Two years of sun and rain had weathered them and the colour was starting to fade, but they look as good as new now. Equally, the sun loungers – originally brown wood – were sprayed at the same time as the table and chairs, but were also faded and weather beaten. It’s proving to be quite a slow job, as we’re finally doing them properly – tightened, washed, sanded, two coats – but the one that is almost finished is looking so much better now that it’s been painted in the same soft blue satinwood as all of the exterior woodwork.
We could also finally actually eat outside of our own house this weekend, and after a stop off at the new renovation to begin making a plan with our builder, we had our first visit of the year to our local Konoba in Oprtalj. Overlooking hills and valleys and vineyards, with a sliver of The Adriatic in the distance, it is in the most perfect location. It was a real treat to eat some fresh pasta with local wine, sitting under the big chestnut tree on the terrace, as the sun started to set.
A gorgeous weekend, filled with sunshine, good food, hard work and the thought that summer is tantalisingly close. Fast forward to Tuesday morning. Let’s see how all of those budding bulbs and shoots of wild flowers have fared when the snow has melted away. Just as well we checked the weather, as we managed to get the potted dahlias into the warmth and cover the long raised bed of hyacinths, but we’ll have to wait and see what carnage lies beneath that very pretty snow…
by Helen | Mar 29, 2021 | Spain, Travel
Our trip to Seville was over an Easter weekend, so it was largely taken up with following the routes of the AMAZING Santa Semana processions. But, we did get to see quite a lot of the centre of this beautiful city, in between the Easter fervour. We’re not religious at all, but do appreciate a theatrical extravaganza, and this city gives it all at Easter…
We stayed in a beautiful Moorish inspired hotel, on the Alameda de Hércules, a boulevard located inside the historic district, today considered the oldest public garden in Europe. After renovation and remodelling works, the Alameda de Hércules was once again opened to the public in 2009. Now, it is possible to enjoy the tree lined, pedestrianised area paved with coloured tiles, replacing the previous chalky sand. Although we didn’t know at the booking, we were clearly very lucky to plump for this area of Seville…
For decades, the Alameda de Hércules has been the home of some of Seville’s most interesting social movements. This neighbourhood has become the epicentre for new trends, fashions and cultural expressions, which in turn lead to social customs changing all over the city. All that hasn’t just transformed the neighbourhood’s atmosphere, but it’s had a big impact on the impression that people get of Seville, as being an open-minded city that embraces diversity.Much of that is thanks to the LGBTI+ community. Venues catering to this community have opened up and many of those who belong to it have moved into the area, driving this change of image. But if you consider that just a few years ago it was one of Seville’s most run-down neighbourhoods it’s surprising that, these days, it’s so fashionable. In stark contrast to what it used to be like, today house prices in the area are rising, and every important chain in Seville has either opened, or wants to have, a restaurant or tapas bar here. What’s more, the Alameda de Hércules itself is—thanks to its size (480 metres by 80 metres) and the fact that it’s all pedestrianised—the perfect spot for holding markets, concerts, open-air exhibitions and popular festivals.
The hotel we chose – Patio de la Alameda – was a nineteenth-century mansion, now converted into a charming and unique hotel in the emblematic Plaza Alameda de Hércules in the centre of Seville. We couldn’t have been better placed – and we had the bonus of an underground garage, too.
Images : https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/patio-de-la-alameda.en-gb.html
We didn’t experience the best weather when we were in Seville, but it definitely didn’t stop us getting out and about. It truly is a beautiful city – cosmopolitan, fast paced, architecturally off the scale and full of a sense of history. We also manged to eat and drink our way around a fair few few bars and restaurants, and without exception, every single one, was outstanding. Just outstanding and memorable – even if I can’t remember the names, I can remember the food, the atmosphere and the decor and know we’d be able to find them all again.
food & drink in seville
We did take in a lot of sights, but as we were madly snapping away at the Semana Santa processions, when we were relaxing, we were mostly eating and drinking, so architecture took a bit of a back seat. All there for the next visit, but we did get to experience a little of the flavour of…
the streets of seville
by Helen | Mar 23, 2021 | Lifestyle
The Adriatic Hotel is located right on the picturesque harbour of Rovinj, a Venetian town on the south western coast of the Istrian peninsula. It is in the pedestrianised old town, full of pastel coloured Venetian buildings fringing the sea. Cobbled streets, full of the most exquisite shops, bars and restaurants, wind their way up to the top of the hill and the Church of St Euphemia, who from the top of the spire, watches out across the Adriatic Sea to Italy.
It’s one of our favourite destinations – and we know that we are very, very lucky because now that we live in Istria, we can book out of season when prices are much more suited to our pockets. It is Rovinj’s oldest hotel, dating back to 1892, the most recent refurbishment being done in 2015. The original facade has been retained and in its pale grey render, it is elegant and understated. A terrace outside, with big squishy grey and white sofas, which wraps around the front and side of the hotel, is the perfect place to while away a couple of hours, people watching or just being soothed by the sound of small fishing boats coming in and out of the harbour. The wooden shutters above the grounds floor – which comprises the Adriatic Brasserie and Breakfast Room and beautiful, beautiful bar – hint at the luxury behind them.
By hotel standards, it is small – there are fourteen rooms and four suites. All are different sizes and configurations – there is absolutely no “corporate” feel here. The ensuite rooms and suites have high ceilings with the original old-fashioned cornices retained. White walls are hung with big mirrors, wooden parquet floors have that added touch of luxury with modern black-and-white rugs. The beds are huge, with crisp white bedding and lots of pillows. Lighting is subtle (but sophisticated) and individual artworks, by local artists, can be found in every room. Coffee-making facilities are available, with fresh milk delivered and every afternoon, a little treat of homemade chocolates is delivered to your room. One of my favourite touches – as well as the hand written welcome postcard – is the selection of three mood scents by the bed. Grey-marble bathrooms have black-and-white mosaic-tiled floors, rain showers with glass doors, and Molton Brown toiletries, with matte black taps and handles and radiators. Of all of the rooms we’ve stayed in, the bathrooms have been huge and spacious and light. Communal areas are stylish – black carpets (with not a speck on them) fitted onto sweeping stairs, with almost black walls and very subtle lighting. Just gorgeous.
Although Rovinj is packed with amazing – but reasonably priced – restaurants, including Monte, awarded a Michelin star – the hotel brasserie is fabulous, and definitely recommended. If you don’t fancy eating in the restaurant itself, room service is quite something too. All off the a la carte menu (although you can order form a smaller room service menu too) and brought your room on a trolley, presented in exactly the same way as would be if you dined in the restaurant. Breakfast too, is a real treat – an extensive menu of hot dishes, plus an array of continental options. And, as you are eating it, you can watch the glitterati of Rovinj, strolling past.
by Helen | Mar 17, 2021 | Renovation
So, the exterior renovation of our house, continues apace. We’ve largely completed the interior renovation – but we never say never – and so our attention has been turned to the garden area around the main house and the little abandoned house to the rear. We’ve been working away on the piece of land next to our neighbour’s field and this is steadily being sown with seeds and planted up with bulbs, so that we will have ongoing colour over the summer, rather than one hit. But today, we’ve decided to begin on another area, just for a change of scene.
This was the very first photo we ever took of this particular piece of land. To the right is the corner of our house and then we have the abandoned property, which was owned by a neighbour. It was held together by the vines and the ivy, part of the roof having collapsed in on itself. The land around was unkempt – full of stones and rubble and strong vines growing underground, as well as weeds. It was a mess. But we had other priorities four years ago…
We completed on the purchase of the small house in March 2020, with the land to the other side. The land above, to the left of the property, does not belong to us – it is like a lot of land in Istria. Multiple owners, scattered far and wide, and no-one assuming any responsibility for its upkeep. We were initially very reticent to do anything with any land around the house which did not belong to us, but we have gradually come to realise, if we are prepared to do the work, no-one will raise an eyebrow. And why would they when they have someone else, keeping their land tidy and in good order? We’re sure that many people will think we are bonkers for doing this, but things out here are very different to back in the UK. If nothing is done with land here, it is literally left. It is overgrown. Uncared for. And with pieces of land like this, unless you have the patience of a saint, it’s unlikely it’ll sell as all owners need to agree to the sale. But we didn’t want to have a beautiful house internally and then be surrounded by a scruffy exterior – so when we purchased the small house, the improvements just evolved.
Our first foray into sorting this area was done with our first Workaway guests – Mariuz and Julie, from France. With a head for heights, Mariuz was up the ladder and chopping away at the unruly vines, which in time, would have pulled down the house. It took days to do this, but gave us our first taste of what things could be like and so motivated us to continue.
For the past few months, we’ve made do with the ground being weeded and covered in plastic sheeting to prevent regrowth, and covered in bark chippings. We also bought three fruit trees – two apple and one cherry – and these are potted up. The whole area has looked a lot more cheery, since we added some lights, a few decorative balls and a chiminera. But it still wasn’t quite as lovely as we wanted it to be, without spending a lot of money. We’re not that daft 😉
But today – a lovely, sunny March day, quite warm when in the sun – has signalled the start of the next phase of the renovation of this area of the garden. The piece of land just outside of the bark chippings has been dug over and the clumps of grass taken out. The soil has been turned over and levelled out. Before Christmas we laid a bit of a wonky path of flagstones as the grassy ground would just get muddy when it rained – it was done quickly and wasn’t ever right, so that’s now been tackled today. We now have a straight path that runs along side the house and to the rear, so no more getting wet, muddy feet in the rain. A channel has been left between the flagstones and the raised bed under the well room windows (currently bursting with spring bulbs) so that we can sow wild flower seeds, and have a burst of colour in the summer. But, the best bit, has been the inspired laying of a double arc of flagstones – not my idea! – providing a pathway AND a lovely area for sowing more flower seeds, as well as a palette that wasn’t being used, which will now be utilised for potted bulbs.
Our potted fern has always been in the shade, so she’s now been moved centre stage and will benefit from full sun, until early afternoon so may well fare a lot better. The dead fronds need to be tidied up, but we think that the sunshine will do her good. And, our white wrought iron table and chairs, which seem to have been positioned everywhere, now do seem to have found a new home until we get the time to renovate these. Tomorrow, seeds will be sown around the big concrete pot and between the two lines of flagstones, and spring bulbs potted up for the palette platform. Then, it’s onto the other side as we create a natural trellis for honeysuckles, made from thick branches and garden twine, to finally mark out the boundary of our land to the rear, meaning we can bring the potted bamboos to this side of the little house, to thicken out the screen at the top of the piece of land, beyond the vintage garden furniture.
So, it’s coming together, but it’s taking – as ever – a whole lot longer than we anticipated. But at least, we’ve largely finished inside the house and so can concentrate exclusively on the exterior.
by Helen | Mar 3, 2021 | Lifestyle
I can eat a potato in any guise. They form a staple of our culinary output :
- creamy mashed potatoes with coconut milk
- cheesy mashed potatoes, usually on top of a shepherd’s pie or a fish pie
- home made chips in the oven – always thinly sliced, cooked in olive oil and either rubbed with paprika & chilli flakes or sea salt & fresh rosemary
- dauphinoise style
- usually always in soup
- sliced thinly as the topping for a bake
- new potatoes, eaten cold in a summery salad
- small cubes of potato with trofie pasta, pesto, broad beans and parmesan
- sometimes baked – although quite rare, as I don’t usually find baked potatoes to be “proper” food, as in a baked potato with a topping, however nice, wouldn’t constitute a dinner for me
And the last point is probably why we’ve never delved into Hasselback World. Although they look admittedly very pretty, with their fans of potato slices, I’ve always – and I now know VERY mistakenly – just thought of them as a kind of sliced baked potato. Well, my potato world was turned on its head this weekend, when we decided we had the time – another mistaken idea, the one that you needs loads of time, because you don’t – to make the hasselbacks.
Two quite large new potatoes – the best kind, the ones with fresh soil still attached – were sufficient. These were just washed, not peeled, as I wanted the skins to brown and crisp up. Although I’m sure it wouldn’t have been the most difficult task in the world to slice the potato and stop before slicing through, I wanted to make sure it was done successfully in one go, so a stainless steel IKEA serving spoon was utilised. The potato was just placed on the spoon, and sliced very thinly – the scooped out part of the spoon meant that it didn’t cut all the way through.
I’m sure that are a million different ways to cook a hasselback, and aficionados will probably scoff at what we did. But, it was super simple and we LOVED them. Nothing like a baked potato – which seriously need to up their game in the potato stakes. They were baked first for about 35 mins, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt (so it was chunky) and black pepper. They were then brushed with butter and another drizzle of olive oil & salt and pepper and back in the oven for another 35 minutes or so. Not only super tasty – and next time, it’ll be garlic butter we’ll be using – but also very photogenic. Our weekend meal was a proper spring treat – it was warm and sunny and so to accompany the potatoes, we had a mezze platter. Roll on spring…
by Helen | Mar 3, 2021 | Renovation
We knew we had to tackle this part of the garden, because it was overgrown, messy, full of stones and rubble from previous renovation works and the trees were literally being strangled by vines and brambles.The little stone wall was falling down in places, and in other places, held together only by creeping ivy. Nothing could grow at ground level because no sunlight could get to it. We look onto it from the side of our house and from our garden, and it has always been an eyesore, but there’s always been so much else to do, that it seemed a waste of time, tackling this previously.
We also don’t actually own this piece of land. It was once mooted that we look into the purchase of it, as it’s owned by the local Opcina (local council) and they are often willing to sell parcels of land like this – but, it is actually a huge piece of land in total and would have been difficult to keep on top of, and we weren’t actually sure how we’d make use of it. But, now that we’ve finished the internal renovation, it’s been decided that we’ll tackle the bit of land closest to us. The wall was rebuilt last year – it’s now much sturdier and falls apart less frequently! We’ve also planted succulents in many of the gaps, so in the summer, it’s actually now very attractive. So, as spring has now appeared, we’ve been dividing our days between design work and garden work. The first phase of this external renovation is now complete – all of the scrubby, twiggy branches and trunks have been removed, now revealing proper clumps of trees. Vines – so strong that they were probably the kind that Tarzan swung from – have been pulled out at ground level and carefully unravelled from the trees. This was a long, hard job as we didn’t want to damage the trees, but definitely wanted the vines out. They’ve all been removed now, and chopped up as they actually make fantastic kindling for the woodburner.
With the vines removed, we could assess what else was wrapping itself around the trees – brambles were prolific and again these were carefully removed and chopped up. Ivy was another plant which we removed – although we were reluctant to do this initially, because the birds feed off the berries in the winter. However, we reasoned that the ivy on the green wall in the garden, and the ivy covering our little abandoned house, provided a very good supply of winter berries. so went ahead with the removal in this area. Storms and winds had also broken many branches which were either just hanging on, or had broken off and were lying intertwined in other branches. All now gone. Meaning that we have enough wood and kindling to see us through the spring. So, what have the last few days looked like in the garden?
where we started
We had previously put down black plastic sheeting to try and slow down the growth of weeds and vines and ivy. Over the course of the winter however, when we had the car parking area laid, the soil and rubble which was dug out, was dumped in this patch of land, and so this had to be bagged up and cleared before we could do anything. This looks nothing – but this was at the end of the initial clearance.
We did sift a lot of the soil to go back onto the plastic, as this would form the basis of what would become the lavender patch. This was a particularly horrendous job, as it was raining at the time, and once the red clay soil gets wet, and on your wellies, that’s it.It is impossible to remove completely and inevitably gets dragged across the painted patio and up into the house. And is an utter nightmare to clean off. But, another job we knew we had to do, as there was no way we were buying additional soil when we already had this.
The next thing that had to be tackled was the undergrowth – and this had to be done by hand, as it was too thick and the trunks too strong for our cutters. The amount that we wanted to cut back seemed daunting, but we knew that the tangled, knotty undergrowth had to be cut back if we were to create something a little bit more magical, so teeth needed to be gritted and the tree saw put into action.
Once the red soil was down, we then dug a channel around the perimeter to sink in the small fencing, to create the bed for the lavender plants.
Top soil was added and we started to position the plants – but it became increasingly clear that our optimistic purchase of twelve plants was way short of the mark, having underestimated the size of the patch we’d created, so it was back to the nursery to purchase another dozen. Plus a couple of beautiful mimosa plants, to add to the colour elsewhere in the garden.
Next up, was quite a bit of fire pit action, to begin getting rid of the dead branches and cuttings etc. I’m sure that anyone who saw us lighting a fire-pit would have thought we were mad. Round here, you just seem to set to fire to things like this, on the ground – definitely not in a garden fire pit. But we didn’t want to be responsible for an out of control fire, and so played it safe…
As there is no lighting – yet – in this part of the garden, solar lights are in place for the time being, just so that when it’s dusk, there’s a little bit of light, which does look lovely from the kitchen, which overlooks this area.
We had a couple of day’s work, cutting back the trees to the side of this piece of land and keeping on with the pulling up of vines. At some point in the past, someone has chopped trees down, as once the undergrowth was removed, the ankle-breaker tree trump stumps revealed themselves, meaning more work, sawing these down to ground level. We could go on and on, cutting and chopping and tidying, but I think we needed to take a view and be realistic, especially as it’s not our land. So, we’ve taken the clearance back to where we think is a reasonable point – and to be honest, we’ve now so much wood to chop for the woodburners, that we needed to stop or we’d have nowhere to store it.
By the weekend the trees were beginning to become more defined – instead of scratty branches and growth around the base, they were now standing in clumps, with the trunks exposed. It won’t be long until the leaves are back on these trees, and hopefully the shapes will be much better too, as we’ve also done a bit of pruning and shaping here and there. You can see the ivy and vines, still twisting around the bases of the trees and which took ages, to pull up and clear. But, it had to be done, otherwise it wouldn’t be long before we were back to where we started.
The red field will hopefully soon be planted up – we don’t know with what this year, but it always looks beautiful come the summer and so hopefully will continue to be a lovely background to our garden. These tree trunks have never been this exposed – I’d always thought we had inherited quite ugly trees, but it turns out all they needed was a bit of TLC.
One of the lovely surprises we’ve had since clearing the ground, is that these hardy, wild crocuses have suddenly bloomed over the last few days. Every morning we spot more, and so hopefully we’ll have a few clumps of these until the wildflower seeds which we’re sowing today, start to emerge. Looks like that great big pile of branches and leaves and twigs has kept then warm under the soil and the spring sunlight is now sufficiently warm enough for them to push up through the soil. We’ve definitely not planted them and we’ve not previously ever noticed any colour in this patch, so hoping that our efforts are reviving them.
I think at times we’ve felt a bit defeated by this task. It wasn’t one that was in any way necessary, especially as it’s not even our land. But it was irritating that we looked out onto something so messy, and so we knew that we would tackle it. It’s been really hard work and seems to have taken a long time – but in reality, in just over a week, we’ve done the really hard part. It’s quite amazing looking at the first photograph above and then seeing this one, below and realising how far we’ve come. And, as we keep we reminding ourselves, it will only look better from now, as we have some gorgeous plans for it.
So, onwards and upwards. We have cold snap this weekend, so the planting of the dahlia tubers will have to wait a little longer, but over today and tomorrow, the rest of the sunflower seeds are being planted and a mix of wildflowers will be sown in front of this wall above (so on the other side of the lavender). Then the big sowing in the patch we’ve cleared above. This summer, one way or another, is definitely going to be a riot of colour in our garden and around it.
