Sextantio Le Grotte Della Civita

Nestled just under the city of Matera, the location of Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita is the perfect spot for experiencing all the luxury of yesteryear along with the comforts of today. You can venture out and hike around the canyon, which is also a lovely location for picnics. Leisure facilities, such as golf and spa treatments can be found with 40 minutes of the hotel, as well as wine tasting and Greek ruins, all of which can be explored either on foot or bicycle.

Sextantio Le Grotte della Civitahas 18 guest rooms in total, all of which were carved along the lanes climbing up to the town of Matera. Boasting spacious proportions, each has been restored respecting the original form and materials used. Although just as luxurious as any modern establishment built recently, the rustic décor with cobblestone floors and granite arches transport guests to back to the Middle Ages. From each room, you can contemplate the extraordinary landscapes of the Gravina district, a spectacular canyon in a beautiful natural park. You won�t miss out on any of today�s amenities, as the hotel provides such modern comforts as WiFi internet access, as well as a restaurant and a bar.

Situated in the Cività district, between the cathedral and Gravina canyon, Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita is the only hotel in the world located within the natural extravagance of prehistoric caves. This world-class hotel represents the most spectacular and well-preserved example of a town where thousands of caves have been used for centuries as dwellings, churches and even palaces. The result is a unique location unlike any other hotel establishment in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage since 1993 where luxurious comfort converges with prehistoric design.

it's about time

Israel to allow clothes, shoes into blockaded Gaza

(Reuters) - Israel will allow a shipment of clothes and shoes to be delivered to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip for the first time in its almost three-year-old tight blockade of the enclave, Palestinian officials said on Monday 29 March.


They said the first 10 truckloads would be arriving via the Israeli-controlled Gaza border point on Thursday 1 April.

Israel is under international pressure to relax its blockade, which the United Nations says punishes Gaza's 1.5 million people over their leaders -- the Islamist group Hamas, who are pledged to Israel's destruction.

Israel prohibits shipments of cement and steel to Gaza on the grounds that Hamas could use them for military purposes.

Its long list of controlled goods also includes items that critics say have no apparent military value, such as children's crayons and books.

Gaza has been getting most of its consumer goods via tunnels from neighboring Egypt operated by smugglers who add on hefty surcharges. Gaza merchants said 10 truckloads would not fill their stocks and demanded that Israel release goods long held in its sea ports.

Egypt is building an underground wall to block the tunnels, which have been frequently bombed by the Israeli air forces since Israel's offensive against Hamas 14 months ago in which some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, writing by Douglas Hamilton; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

bungalow court made new

L.A. Conservancy honors restoration of four Hollywood bungalow courts

Among the eight projects being honored by the Los Angeles Conservancy for preservation next month is a cluster of four 1920s bungalow courts on Serrano Avenue and on Kingsley Drive in Hollywood that were nearly lost to demolition.

Now restored, above, they are homes for low-income and special-needs tenants and full of original details, including pull-down dining tables and other built-ins. Below: before the renovation.

For interior photos of the bungalows click here, or read more about this and the other residential projects cited by the conservancy click here.

dominique browning - losing it

I chanced upon this story by the editor of the now-defunct House & Garden Magazine, Dominique Browning, in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. It's an excerpt from “Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas and Found Happiness,” to be published next month by Atlas & Company. I found it to be thought-provoking because it's an exploration of what really matters in life. It was also a window into someone else's struggle dealing with the loss of a job and going from a fast-paced daily routine to practically nothing. I'm looking forward to the book!

Unemployed, the author became obsessed with gazing at and eating eggs

It begins: "For 12 years, I had a job I loved as the editor of House & Garden, a magazine that celebrated the good life. It would be an understatement to describe this enterprise as part of a company not primarily in the business of philosophical, spiritual or moral soul-searching. Condé Nast’s roots and branches are in the material world. The good life at House & Garden generally meant cultivating your own backyard rather than being involved in the body politic. I pushed against the limits of making a so-called shelter magazine by publishing articles about spiritual issues and the environment, but I always felt clear-eyed about how things stood. I spent more than a decade in the belly of the beast of muchness and more. That was a precarious place to be when the real estate bubble began to leak."

For the rest, go here.

Dominique Browning also writes a column for the Environmental Defense Fund Web site and has a new blog, SlowLoveLife.com.

j crew bags

J Crew has got some pretty amazing bags. They're marketing them as unisex so you can find them in both the women's and men's sections.

Belstaff® Colonial travel bag $695.00

Belstaff® large New York postman bag $795.00

Superior Labor canvas tote $275.00

Belstaff® Colonial shoulder bag 556 $385.00

"The original" leather postal messenger bag $595.00

yes we can

It was an amazing week but I'm glad it's over.



Some good reading:
Tom Friedman - A Tea Part Without Nuts
Paul Krugman - Fear Strikes Out

kind of feels like california - but it's not

It's Manhattan on lower 5th Ave.

Perfection in a New York aerie, with interiors designed by M (Group) and gardens by Alan Schrier.

Even on a dreary day, the penthouse kitchen is cheerful, with abundant windows and an exotic Moroccan tiled floor. To read more, go to New York Magazine.

via remodelista

awesome aussie wallpaper

Julie Paterson, cloth designer, has developed six designs from her current range of fabrics, representing a body of work that spans the past 14 years, inspired by the Australian landscape.

"Designing wallpaper is a natural progression to designing fabric. I want the two to hang together in harmony, adding atmosphere and texture to an interior. It is important that my work feels natural, balanced and authentic because that is how I want my home to be.

I enjoy the collaborative process with Porter's and forging relationships with likeminded companies. We both work in responsible ways, with products all made with care, by hand, and locally.

I hope this collection "From the Land" is as much of a pleasure to live with as it has been to make." Julie Paterson

The collection is being exclusively produced and sold through PORTER'S PAINTS stores and stockists from March 31th, 2010. Available in the US at Reliant Distribution in Tarzana.

Spotcheck

Abstract

Boardwalk

Looking For Water

Stoney

Scratchy

something to do

OPENING: April 2, 2010 thru April 30, 2010

RECEPTION: Saturday, April 17, 2010, 1:00 - 4:00 PM

643 A Project Space

643 N. Ventura Ave. Ventura, Ca.

www.643projectspace.com

643 A Project Space is pleased to announce URBAN INTERRUPTION. Los Angeles-based artists, Felicity Nove and Kathryn Jaroneski will be exhibiting work that reflects the influence of the modern urban existence. A reception for the artists will take place on Saturday, April 17, 2010, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm during Ventura’s Spring Artwalk Weekend

In the paintings of Nove and Jaroneski, the provocation of contemporary life is expressed through techniques of pouring, layering and disruption of flowing paint. Jaroneski’s works on paper capture moments in time, while Nove’s work explores urban forces working at odds with nature.

There will be an opening reception on Saturday, April 17, 1:00-4:00 pm during Ventura’s Spring Artwalk Weekend. The show is free and open to the public. The gallery is located near downtown Ventura on the west end at 643 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura.

For more information call 805.746.0435, 805.263.9174 or visit www.643projectspace.com.

Gallery hours are by appointment.

hump day humor: pun-ishment

Here are the 10 first place winners in the International Pun Contest:

1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, "Dam!"

3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, "I've lost my electron." The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies "Yes, I'm positive."

5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?", they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

7. A woman delivers a set of identical twins and decides to give them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal." The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" the friars to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, dude, this is so bad, it's good…..) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

Thanks Vicki!