The travellers return

We're back. Actually, we've been back for two and a half weeks, but there's been plenty to keep me occupied and no time for blogging. I'm planning to share photos from the trip, but in the meantime here are some of the things we brought back.

I bought this necklace in Paris, from a little shop on Rue des Abbesses in Montmartre. We were stating up near the top of the hill, and walked past the shop many times during our two week stay, on the way to and from Abbesses metro station. The necklace was in the window, and caught my eye almost immediately - I bought on Day 2 of the trip, and later went back for matching earrings. The range of colours means it goes with just about everything :)

And this is how it looks on (with the earrings, and a new hair colour):

The next two photos are of one of my Venetian purchases. It was my birthday while we were in Venice, and I was given some money to buy something for myself (thanks everyone - you know who you are!). Nan McElroy, who I'd engaged to give us an introduction to Venice, suggested that I have a look at Attombri, next to the Rialto bridge. I did, and I met one of the two designers (brothers Stefano and Daniele Attombri - we met Stefano), who showed us some of their pieces. I couldn't choose between this one:

... and this one:

... so I came away with both :) The small glass beads in each one are from among thousands bought by the brothers when a Murano glass factory closed down - I was told they date from the 1920s. The larger beads are newer, and some are specially designed and made for Attombri, like the etched blue disk above.

And then to Rome, where we found Sancesario Bijoux on via dei Banchi Vecchi. Another artisan workshop, the family of designers only make a maximum of six copies of any one piece. The jewellery is all made by hand, using old techniques, and the glass in the earrings and bracelet I bought is Venetian.

Still grey

Change of plans: my hairdresser is sick, so by default I'm embracing the grey. And I'm actually quite happy with that :)

The old grey mare

Time for a hair change. I've been avoiding the hairdresser because I couldn't decide whether to grow it or cut it, colour it or embrace the grey. To hell with it! Had it cut short on Tuesday, and am going in for colour today. But for a few days, this is what it looked like. All the blonde (the most recent colour) is gone - which gives you an idea of how long I've been dithering - the regrowth was (ahem) quite significant.

So now I know what my natural colour is. It's been something close to 20 years - mostly blonde (it was blonde to start with, but I kept lightening it as my natural blonde darkened), but with about three years of pink/purple/blue variations, and a few years a while back (perhaps 10 years ago) of bright orange followed by shades of darker brown. I attempted white blonde, but my hair has a lot of red in it, and it didn't stay pale for long without violet shampoo.

Thought about leaving the grey, but will delay that a little longer. In half an hour, it will change again ... Stay tuned!