L’Art'e Cafe and Gallery, Taupo - New Zealand

Every detail had been so lovingly added at L'Art'e Cafe and Gallery ... even the stairs.

But read what L'Art'e have to say ... Judi Brennan has been a successful clay artist for many years. She has won several pottery awards including a merit in the prestigious Fletcher Challenge Exhibitia and has her work all around the world.

The pathway leading to the studio created huge interest from people wanting to make something similar in there own garden – Judi had embedded feature pieces that she had made out of clay eg cats, dogs, fish etc into the paving to form a fun pathway. This interest led to years of producing, with a staff of 5, the Clay Art Studio mosaic feature pieces that everyone has come to know and love.

There is more, so much more, over here on the L'Art'e website.

L’Art'e Cafe and Gallery, Taupo - New Zealand

There is so much to write about L'Art'e Cafe and Gallery ... so much.

The mind-blowingly beautiful location, the friendly service, the truly sublime food, the superb coffee, the exquisite artwork ... and nowhere do I exaggerate.

It's that remarkable! 

This was brunch on that first day back in New Zealand.

Did I Tell You About the Venison Pie ...?

THE Venison Pie ... it was stunning. 

We were talking pies back in Manapouri and Clare recommended that we stop as we pass through the tiny little settlement called Garston ... located on the highway between Manapouri and Queenstown.  We found the Garston Hotel and ordered our Venison pies.

They tasted as good as it looks ... probably better than it looks.

Stunning food.  Thank you Clare.

Something else that makes me happy ...

Whenever I leave Genova, I go through a withdrawal as I leave the source of some truly superb coffee, found at Caffè degli Specchi.

I know there's a shift to make ... from the sublime back to the-best-I-can-find-here.

This was my answer to the spotty quality of coffee found outside of Genova.  A small machine, the most I could afford and yes, it makes me happy.

The small cup is just the perfect size.  An exquisite gift from the mother of my first husband, given to me when she came over and spent a couple of weeks with us last summer.  Thank you, Valda :-)

Leiden, Holland

One of our guests left his super special headphones at our place over the weekend.  Monday found Gert with a day off, us still with another day of car rental, and there we were, searching for a destination.

Since I was small, the journey has pretty much been the destination ... a journey was surely called for and so, we drove 140kms to Leiden, in Holland, and returned Jacob's headphones to himself.

It was a lovely day out and Jacob was a gracious host.  We wandered the  tiny little Dutch streets with him, finding small treasure like the house below ... it was perhaps 4 metres wide. 

Jacob took us out for a most delightful lunch at De Stathouder, thank you to Shannon for the recommendation.