Friday, September 10, 2010

Positano "Rocks"


O.K., ... they aren't exactly rocks.

Our friend Stefano at Hotel Posa Posa told us at breakfast how people in Positano toss their old tiles out into the sea and that they wash up on the beach, time worn, something akin to sea glass. He told us that he chips off the part of the tile without the color and uses the colored pieces to make mosaics. Cool, right? He was asking guests to each bring back one of these "rocks" from the beach for another project. One?

Well, I love a project. (And if has something to do with hunting for things on the beach, all the better!) My Mom and Dad were in on it as well and in the process we found a funky little place with fabulous seafood linguine. The restaurant is basically built on a rock, as you can see in the bottom photo. As you can also see, we got a little carried away with the hunt.





Could it be ... ?










Mom and I sorting just a few of at lunch ...


The waitress laughed, "Positano Rocks!" and used them as a trivet!




Under the restaurant ... if you click to enlarge you can see a little blue tile in the foreground ...




This gives you a better idea of the location of the restaurant!



My mom got so excited by the tiles she thought about making her own mosaic table but my Dad, standing there with his backpack loaded down with tile, reminded her of the hand-painted tiles that were already in her suitcase from Assisi and the other very heavy tiles on hold at the ceramics place in town. So, Mom and I picked out of few tiny ones to bring home as keepsakes and that evening handed Stefano a bag full of "Positano Rocks."

I uploaded these photos and wrote this post yesterday, not realizing after running out of time, that it would post on September 11th. I so hope we can all find peace and healing for the trauma of that day and all that has happened since.


Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

... And if you would know God
be not therefore a solver of riddles.

Rather look about you and you shall see Him
walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms
in the lightening and descending in rain.

You shall see Him smiling in flowers,
then rising and waving His hands in trees.

~Kahlil Gibran
from The Prophet


10 comments:

Kerry O'Gorman said...

Hello kindred one...Looks like we were on the same wavelength today! I think I would have thrown out everything in my suitcase to fill it with these lovely tiles. On another note...I am fortunate to have found peace through my blogger friends...cheers.

Susan Roux said...

Oh my goodness! You're in a beautiful place in the world! My dream is to go to Italy... Love the Positano rock story. How fun to find them after being told about them. Love the pictures. Keep enjoying!

Candy said...

Lucinda, every time I look at your lovely photos and read about your adventures in Italy, I want to hop on the next plane! (I know I've told you that before.) This sounds like so much fun. I think Jim, my mom and some other family members would love to do some beachcombing in Italy!

How's your class going?

KathyA said...

Love the double entendre! Is it just me, or do those rocks look like cookies!!! :)
I collect rocks, too -- and when you're flying, it's ALWAYS a problem.
Positano does indeed rock!!

Loree said...

What a quaint and interesting thing to do. Positano Rocks - I like that. It is a beautiful place.

Cobalt Violet said...

Thanks for the comments ladies!

Kerry, wow you are right about us being on the same wavelength! Love your post!

Susan thank you! ... I am actually back in LA but enjoying revisiting my travels!

Candy, I know the feeling! I always want to hop on a plane!

Thanks Kathy! And yes, they are so heavy that we need to collect feathers!

Loree- it was fun, especially after having a couple of weeks of being on a mission to see things it was nice to sort of meander and explore in a very low key "lolly gagging" (as my mom would say) way!

Turid said...

Absolutely beautiful. What a gem full of gems. I can just about smell the ocean through the stories of your photographs.

Tammie Lee said...

such a lovely post, it overflows with beauty in your photos. I love seeing the tiles and would love hunting for them as well. When I lived in Ca. I use to collect the sea glass thinking I would make a table top one day, in the end.... I believe they went back to the sea...

Theresa said...

As a mosaic artist, I would have been in heaven here.

Cobalt Violet said...

Turid, thank you so much! And you're right, it definitely is a gem!

Tammie- thanks and you completely sound like me ... always coming up with project and in the end ...

Theresa - Oh, I hope you can go someday! If you do leave lots of room and weight open in your suitcase!