Secrets from the Eichstätt Garden. Fourth Plates.

When tomatoes were still called "love apples" people loved from a place they could not quite fathom. They dove into the sea of enrapturement and plummeted to depths unexplored, breathless till their lungs ached and their hearts strained and finally something had to give.

---

Juliet:
O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.

Romeo:
What shall I swear by?

Juliet:
Do not swear at all.
Or if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self,
Which is the god of my idolatry,
And I'll believe thee. (120)
^{Romeo and Juliet: Balcony Scene, Act 2, Scene 2}

‘Tis easier to sing:

than to die in love.

And so most of us go through life broken hearted, happily from time to time, lucky some of the time, dying, anyway, all of the time.

---

Below: the things one can find on an antique market secondhand book and postcard stall

A postcard of Cap Zebib; where once upon a time, when was it? Ah, yes, when Properzia our peach-pip sculptor was around - when was it not though - the Peach-Seller spent five years doing business.

---

---

Some Images to Go With The Above

This is not Romeo and Juliet’s balcony. They never got round to sitting down to the long view of the sea they never got to sail. They never went on a journey together and gathered no memories together. Edgar Chaparro took this photo, in Positano Italy, which looks good enough to advertise a holiday appartment let or feature in a hotel brochure.

---

---

This photo more or less is called “Positano de nuit” (“Positano by night”. That is to say this sunset picture which hardly illustrates twillight even, let alone night, is meant to make a rather remarkable four hour night time shopping exursion look attractive, which you can book for 69 Euros, for Friday 31st July next year. A great Christmas gift idea, perhaps? Click link above to book now!)

---

---

Another great Tip Away for anyone not quite ready to defog or defrost their car windows: a Dolce Vitality Wellness Retreat on upcoming 3rd-9th November. Complete with nutritionist, mountain guide and health and/or fitness coach. Not forgetting a yoga coach (the one who is recommending this retreat afterall!); or maybe even most relevant to your rest and relaxation, a spam manager. Oops sorry, misread that. A spa manager (who does what exactly?... “awaken my five senses”, apparently; if anybody could kindly fill me in on how - and what about the other seven? - please let me know in the comments below. My booking might depend on it.)

---

---

The season for giving is nigh upon us! If you gave you heart away already (Christmas seems to be the time for it, according to one late Greek singer) and you don't want to resort to puppies, follow my Gift Ideas in the posts leading up to Christmas.

If you know someone whose lamp is at the end of their tether/suffered a snapped cord, think of this glowing - cordless! - gift:

Today’s Exclusive Charming Plastic Seasonal Gift Idea (£329.00):

Iittala X Magis Linnut lamp Kirassi 270 x 460 mm.
More details: in Finish or in English

Iittala X Magis Linnut -kokoelma on toteutettu Oiva Toikan, Magisin ja Iittalan yhteistyönä.

-	-
--Finnish----	-- English----
Kirassi on elegantti lintu, jolla on syvän sininen pää ja hienostunut nokka – hauska yksityiskohta sistustuksessa sisällä tai ulkona.	[The Linnut Magis Kirassi features an elegant body, vibrant blue head and sleek beak that adds lovely detail inside or outside.]
--Finnish----	-- English----
Ne loistavat myöhäiskesän illanistujaisissa terassilla, tuovat pehmeää, rauhallista hehkua öiseen lastenhuoneeseen ja toivottavat yökukkujat tervetulleeksi pimeässä eteisessä.	[Linnut, a playful collection of five cable-free, movable, and rechargeable sculptured lamps that bring a warm glow to outdoor dinners, brighten a dark hallway or serve as a nightlight in a child’s bedroom.]