TRAVEL: hiking at a height of 800 metres in liguria, italy.

[en] hi peeps! standing on one of the highest mountains in liguria, admiring the golden light of a setting sun which left any photo filter unnecessary – this was one of the most extraordinary (and most beautiful) moments of this years roadtrip to italy.

it can also be regarded as a boundary experience.

as long as i can remember i have been suffering from an extreme form of vertigo. thus it wasn't a given that i'd join my girls on this trip, because, after all, it was the goal to hike up to a height of more than 800 metres above sea level – exposure therapy, literally.

of course i didn't want to join my travel mates at first. but they persuaded me, nevertheless, and told me that i might regret my decision at a later time ('the 3 big D's have to stick together – and we're also in need of one last moneglia-selfie!')

i'm glad the girls were able to change my mind.

it was a life-changing experience – and that's in no way exaggerated.

it was a very sponatenous decision to join my travel mates and thus i wasn't very properly dressed for an evening on a mountain top (which can get quite cold, even in summer). i can tell you that my tunic, shorts and leather jacket weren't sufficient and because of that i spent the rest of the night sneezing.

the climb was exhausting, of course, but the sight of the mountains covered in the golden evening sun, accompanied by italian rosé wine and omelettes with parmigano reggiano made up for all preceding exertions.

the bestsellinggerman author hermann scherer says that 'risky' situations unlock a bigger potential for feelings of happiness than so called 'soft targets' or, in other words, targets which you can reach effortlessly.

the experience standing on a mountain varies whether you climbed there yourself or were flown on top by a chooper or the like.

experiences which take a lot of effort offer a greater potential for happiness.

this roadtrip was full of confronting encounters, coping with anxieties of different kinds and deep conversations accompanied by italian wine. you definitely couldn't call this a journey of relaxation, but i don't care.

when i came back i felt more free, open and bold than before.

when I stepped through my front door i realized that i had changed. i realized that i could achieve anything if i only believed in me. i realized that it's worth stepping out of my beloved comfort zone to dare something new (even if some kind of initial help is necessary).

no beach vacation would have had the same effect onto my personality and onto my personal views upon life – but i would enjoy one nevertheless.

the day of our departure i also chose to quit smoking – after 10 very long years. i have tried to quit this bad habit several times before but never succeeded.

and now i can say that i did it, finally!

i'm very proud that i was able to achieve that because it cannot be taken for granted, if you look upon other spheres of my life which bring me to my knees, time and time again.

and now it's your turn: do you remember any occasion which caused you some effort but which also made you very happy in the end?

i'd love to read of your own experiences!

SHOPPING: lo scrigno pisa.

[en] hi peeps! during our trip to pisa we found a true fashion jewel. a beautifully decorated boutique at the beginning of the city which neighbours on the souvenir market and which would rejoice any boho and hippie heart.

the shop is called lo scrigno pisa and it resembles a long hallway, overflowing with colourful creations with paisley prints and gemstones – the perfect place to find your perfect festival outfit. If i visited a festival i'd definitely wear the tunic i bought there – a light and beautiful piece definitely not sparing with an abundance of all the colours of the rainbow … you could say that it was love at first sight!

lo scrigno pisa also offers a nice selection of accessoires, statement necklaces, bags and much more and its owner is absolutely amicable and has a friendly ear for any customer question.

unfortunately the boutique doesn't have an instagram page but there's a facebook fanpage you can visit.

how do you like lo scrigno pisa? would you stop by and maybe shop your next festival outfit?

address:
lo scrigno pisa
via cammeo carlo salomone 7
56122 pisa
italy

OUTFIT: i need vitamin sea.

[en] hi peeps! in my last post you had the possibility to follow me to pisa. after our daytrip we took some time to visit marina di pisa, a district of pisa where you can find different hotels, idyllic sandy beaches, rock beaches and of course the endless amplitudes of the deep blue sea.

i love the sea. it gives me an understanding of the infinite vastness of the universe. i love to see the horizon without any land which could destroy it.

it gives me a hazy notion that i'm only a tiny little dot amidst all this infinite vastness, but at the same time i can be a part of it and … it can be a part of me, because it suffuses me.
and that i can broaden my own life. that nothing seems to be impossible. that i can achieve anything i tell myself to do. that it's worth believing in your own dreams.

some months ago i wouldn't have thought that this year i'd finally be able to admire the beauty of the italian sea.

of course i also appreciate the beauty of a mountain panorama, but since i suffer from vertigo, i prefer the vastness of the sea and all the thoughts it awakens in me.

during our visit in pisa it was cloudy and rainy most of the time but as the hours passed on the sky brightened up and in the end we were blessed with beautiful sunshine and hot temperatures and it stayed like that when we headed off to marina di pisa to delight in the beautiful sea.

and what kind of traveller are you: do you prefer mountains or the sea? or do you like both equally?

TRAVEL: follow me to pisa.

[en] hi peeps! during our roadtrip to italy we thought that it would be a nice idea to spend a day in pisa. after all we're not always able to decide to visit a tuscan city because it's only one hour away by car. it was also the first time i have taken my CANON EOS 600D on a day trip and whenever i look at my photographs i can tell that the additional weight was worth it!

we have experienced a lot that day.

for example we were to witness the full range of weather situations you can imagine, like cloudy skies, mild temperatures, towards drizzle and showers of rain right up to summery heat and radiant sunshine which resulted in a nice sunburn on my shoulders since i forgot my suntan spray at home XD

since i'm not able to digest milk products of any kind, we ate 'italian' sushi in the all-you-can-eat restaurant ZEN which was very delicious and which left us full until dinner time. what i didn't like was that the waiters all seemed to be very rushed, but i guess that was simply due to the fact that the opening hour should end half an hour after our arrival.

we shopped our way through a typical italian fruit and vegetable market and i indulged in some delicious courgette flowers.

of course we also visited some of the nice downtown fashion boutiques and in a beautifully decorated fashion jewel called 'lo scrigno pisa' about which i will talk about in a separate post and where i was able to snatch a beautiful and colourful tunic.

we saw floating men in oriental garments – don't laugh at me but i believe that to be totally fascinating and i'm clueless about how the hell this should work!

we haggled at the souvenir market and i bought a pretty black pashmina scarf, christian devotional objects and a pretty crystalline leaning tower.

and, last but not least, an italian guy proposed to me, but unfortunately he wasn't for me … so that's something i'm still not able to cross off my bucket list XD

but what i need to mention is that i thought that the leaning tower of pisa was … more leaning, you know what i mean? it didn't seem 'leaning' enough, that's why its architecture wasn't really able to sweep me off my feet. nevertheless it's fascinating that it has been keeping this shape for so many centuries.

but the other historical buildings were definitely breathtaking, for example those beside the leaning tower. man-made masterpieces indeed.

i have also been fascinated by all the statues which you were able to discover throughout the whole city. all of pisa is redundant of an ancient and eventful culture which can't help impressing you with awe.

the little bit of tuscan nature which we were able to discover there made me very happy, too. i was so much looking forward to seing the cypress trees which are one of tuscanies manifold trademarks.

the city of pisa is a place worth putting onto your travel bucket list.

how about you: have you ever been to pisa?

TRAVEL: follow me to sestri levante.

F

[en] hi peeps! Some time ago i have gone on a roadtrip to italy with my friends danielle and dagmar. we spent most of our time in italy in the region of liguria – a divine piece of earth with splendid sandy beaches, sparkling blue sea and picture perfect towns which look very good on each travel pic you take.

in todays post i have picked out my most beautiful impressions from sestri levante, the neighboring village of moneglia where our bed & breakfast villa rosetta was located. paola, the owner of the guesthouse recommended this place and when we arrived there it definitely proved to be a must-visit for anyone travelling in liguria.

paola also suggested us an extraordinary location worth to visit: the vis à vis hotel with its beautiful panorama bar on the 5^th floor, offering a phantasmagoric view over the whole of sestri levante and its yacht harbour. the bar is more than suitable for enjoying an 'aperitivo', which traditionally consists of a glass of aperol spritz, rosé wine or other beverages along with little snacks. 

oh, what a dream!

we were lucky because at the time of our visit there was a local fair. pretty stalls offered a lush abundance of flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables and a stall with cute shabby chic furniture and decoration.

i must admit that i liked the picture perfect scenery of sestri levante much better than portofino. it wasn't actually planned by us to visit the latter, but because of a totally bizarre coincidence we had the possibility to visit it anyway.

have you ever been to sestri levante? what would your favourite 'aperitivo' beverage look like?

traditional italian aperitivo.

SHOPPING: my latest fashion favourites from fashionmia.

[en] Sponsored - hi peeps! from my earlier posts you might already have noticed that i like to visit the online shop fashionmia.com because it offers nice apparel at very affordable prices and good quality (check out my latest fashionmia outfit, wishlist and outfit collages).

today i want to show you my two latest fashion finds which will find their way into my wardrobe within the next few days.

i really love the yellow dress with its ruffled statement sleeves and the statement necklace with its pendants in the form of blue coloured leaves. due to the fact that i have already lost 20 pounds of weight (yay to that!) and feel much more comfortable in my own body i also begin to like form-fitting dresses and i believe that this dress has a good chance to become one of my favourite ones, partly because i'm very much into the colour yellow. the vegetative design of the statement necklace reminds me (only to a low percentage but nevertheless) of the art déco epoque.

i can't wait to bring them to life in one of my next shootings! stay tuned for the results!

have you already purchased something at fashionmia.com and what do you think of my latest picks?  

[de] Anzeige - hallo meine lieben! durch meine früheren posts habt ihr vielleicht bereits gemerkt, dass ich den onlineshop fashionmia.com ziemlich gerne mag und dort auch regelmäßig shoppen gehe (hier findet ihr mein letztes outfit und outfit collagen, auf deren zusammenstellung ich immernoch sehr stolz bin *-*)

heute möchte ich euch meine letzten zwei fundstücke zeigen, welche auch ganz bald schon bei mir ankommen werden.

sind das gelbe kleid und die blätter kette nicht echte hingucker?! das kleid liebe ich wegen dem schönen, warmen gelb und wegen den gerüschten statement ärmeln. ich habe es aber auch ausgewählt, da ich in der letzten zeit bereits ganze 10 kilo abgenommen habe (und worauf ich auch mehr als stolz bin!) und mich nun auch in etwas figurbetonteren kleidern wohl fühle.

die statement-kette mag ich sehr gerne wegen des vegetativen designs, welches mich ganz, ganz entfernt an die epoche des art deco erinnert – aber wirklich nur ganz leicht! In verbindung mit dem gelben, leicht ins ockerfarbene gehende kleid wird das ein schöner komplementärkontrast – was meint ihr?

ich kann es kaum erwarten beide teile in einem meiner nächsten shootings mit leben zu füllen – freut euch auf die ergebnisse!

habt ihr bereits im onlineshop fashionmia.com eingekauft und was denkt ihr über meine neuesten fundstücke?

       

TRAVEL + OUTFIT: a picture perfect outfit location - villa rosetta in moneglia, italy.

[en] hi peeps! the past few days were blessed with much sun but that fotunately has changed since yesterday. if you're afflicted with rain and cloudy skies i want to send you some rays of sun in todays post! i have captured them when i stayed in italy some weeks ago. we spent most of our time in moneglia in the italian area of liguria, a really divine spot on earth. every town is so picture perfect, so typically italian and so wonderfully worthwhile for excursions of any time. our residence also was located near a national park where we amazing hiking tours were possible and of course we also made use of this! because of all this i felt a bit sad when we had to depart … and that's why i will return to italy in this years autumn!

todays outfit impressions emerged at the bed & breakfast we stayed at during our visit to italy. it's called villa rosetta and is located in moneglia. it really has been a picture perfect location for outfit photos. paola, the the owner of this lovely bed & breakfast, has taken very good care of us during our stay, made delicious italian breakfasts and offered us the possibility of amazing excursions i will definitely never forget. a beautiful and absolutely recommendable place to stay at during your visit in moneglia, sestri levante or cinqueterre. the only shortcoming could be the arrival which definitely isn't for people with a fear of heights (like me, for example! #exposuretherapy XD)

by the way this was my first time i had the possibility to experience the 'real italy'. when i was 12 years old i have stayed in italy for the very first time. we stayed in vals in south tyrol, which is best known as a skiing area.

now finally a wonderful time under the bright sun, the amazing blue sea, scenic towns only accessible by train, excellent olive oil, fried fish, pizza and pasta in manifold variations! … but i skipped the ice cream and i really could kick myself but, well, i wanted to follow my diet no matter what, and i guess that counts as a good reason – nevertheless i can tell you that i definitely ate much more carbs during these few days than during the past 3 months XD

have you already got the possibility to experience the 'real italy'? where have you stayed and which places would you still want to visit there?

model & styling: dahi k.
location: villa rosetta, liguria, italy.