Balcony : stunning !

Stunning is the view and stunning are the tiles !


It was our biggest worry that we had made the wrong decision with these blue tiles. They were not cheap and I thought they might draw off too much attention from the spectacular view.

But look at the result !

I am so impressed myself - the pictures are stunning (maybe more than reality).

The blue tiles underline the impression of floating between sea and sky !!


Of course the different position of the sun let the tiles reflect their blue color differently. In direct sunlight it might appear a bit kitschy - but I am calling it "Amalfi style".



And here are some "before" photos, when I tried to picture with one single sample tile the effect of light and reflection :







Shopping source: these waterblue tiles are from Fornaci d'Agostino from the Emozioni serie

And the finish is diagonal, which suits a rectangular balcony shape best:


Next time I will present our roof terrace. Very "Amalfi"...
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Pizzo : Refreshing Sea and Festivals

After so many hours and days on the construction site - ah, yes the house looks great from the outside - but we have not finished yet the dusty inside - a bath in the beautyful sea is so rewarding !!!

The water temperature is about 26 degree right now in August - what a hard life !!!

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If you are around this area please note:

Saturday, August 8, 2009:

NOTTE BIANCA tra i vicoli di Pizzo

con musica, animazione e gastronomia, quartiere Carmine !

"White night" in the aleys of our quartier Carmine (the name comes from the church next to our house), historic center of Pizzo, sea side, from 8pm on !

See you there !!

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Sunday, August 9:

secondo festival del gelato

2nd ice cream festival with discounts in Pizzo's ice cream parlours up to 20%

Sagra del Tartufo

Piazza San Francesco

Musiche e Balli Latini Gruppo Caraibico "Mantra"

Piazza della Republica

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more info on ongoing festivals next week

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Long awaited latest photos

I am excited and proud to present these actual long awaited photos of the facade : (see also previous before & after pictures)

Our house is too big or the piazza in front is too small, that I cannot take a single picture of the entire palazzo ! - (I have the wrong camera / objective).
We restored the whole facade starting with colored plaster.
The two fake windows were restored (originally only one was elaborated).
All windows and window frames were replaced (we have painted white wooden frames on the inside and aluminium with brown wooden finish on the outside for the sea climate).

All window grids of the ground floor are newly made after our input. The balcony rails of the first floor were just repainted in black (before they were white).

Did you know that we are so close to the church, chiesa del Carmine ? Don't worry, the bells will not ring at 7 am.

The blue details below the balcony were an idea of our architetto, who said that the original facade had these blue elements.

The doors, we have three of them, were delivered last Monday and just finalised yesterday with all accessories including the original mail box cover. I do remember collecting all these pictures of doors to choose the right design. Then we decided one, but I cannot remember which one. - Here is the drawing from this blog's archive - oh, the nails are missing ! - Who cares, the result is great ! We like them all.

However, we have not been asked about the door knobs. But luckily we have been on site to choose the position for the knobs.

- original mail box -

For friendly mail only !

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quick update w/o picture

Weather: sunny and hot !
Sea: crystal blue, turquoise, green, about 26 degree !

House:
We went there after our first swim in the sea - with no camera.
I felt slightly nervous.
We decided to start with the roof terrace.
But on the way I stopped at one of our new windows:
What kind of frame is this ?! Round finish ?
I cannot repeat the words that escaped my mouth ...
but it is clear that we did not order this shape !
It does not fit an old palazzo. It is modern, not even, just bad shape. 30 windows in this style...
This happens when you are not on site.

And the gold-colored handles ? My husband is responsible for this.
Only one time I skiped an appointment with the worker at the factory....

Then the roof terrace:
after the shock about the windows, I felt relieved here:
the blue tiles come out better then we thought !
Not too blue, slightly pale, not stealing the show of the scenery.

The iron doors in the basement:
they look good from the inside. As we had no keyes to open them - we had not met the architetto yet - we could not judge from the garden side.
Also my little lemon tree needs some water, but this had to wait, no keyes to access the garden.

Today afternoon, we went to see a marmista (marble workshop) in Filadelfia up on the hills. We were looking for a light color flooring for our floor under the roof. But somehow, it was too hot and we could not find anything interesting.

Next target: Callipo in Vibo Valentia - we had to drive down hill and up hill. Always small curvy roads. And here it took us about 5 minutes to find the solution: rovere bianca, white painted oak by Berti for the flooring under the roof.

Everything will be fine...

That's all so far.