Everyday Beauty - Merve

Meet Merve!

Merve is from Germany and she is also studying Italian in Florence for a portion of the summer. While we are not in the same class, (Merve speaks much better Italian than I) we met on a trip to Cinque Terre a couple of weekends ago. I also run into Merve often at our local cafe where we both seem to enjoy a daily espresso. When I asked Merve if I could take her photo, she responded the way most people do,

"Oh me? Really?! I don't look good in photos."

I assured her that everyone says this exact thing, and everyone who says this about themselves is very wrong. The Everyday Beauty series is about capturing people in a natural state: staring off into the distance, walking down a cobblestone street, enjoying a laugh with a friend. It's about noticing something special about someone. For me, I noticed Merve's relaxed approach to style and killer sunglasses.

I took these photos as we waited for the next train, and while they are a little grainy (the sun was strong and I couldn't quite see the final results on my screen) I loved Merve's positive attitude towards the whole thing. x

Ciao from Cinque Terre!

This past weekend, I visited Cinque Terre.

I went with my language school on a 2.5 hour bus ride to the land of the coloured houses, as I call it. The best thing about bus rides in Italy are the convenience stops along the way that sell NUTELLA AND BREADSTICKS in those little containers with JUICE. My absolute favourite thing to buy, ever.

As for a mini background lesson: Cinque Terre is located in Liguria, and translates as "Five Lands." Of the five villages, we visited four: Riomaggiore, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza and Manarola.

Once we arrived, all I could smell was the sweet ocean.

The houses in Cinque Terre look like they've been stretched in the colours of saltwater taffy. They range from lilac and creamsicle to baby doll pink and Robin's egg blue. To me, colour equals life. People and tourists come in droves to hike the paths and sample the sizzling fried fish along the water. Being there is like walking into a postcard that was then uploaded and enhanced on Instagram. It's that vivid. For lunch I had tagliatelle alle granchio, (pasta with crab), and of course, I finished the day with gelato.

If you're ever in the region, I highly recommend it.

Below are my photos. Enjoy x