Bathtime in Kerylos

We saw two bathrooms in the villa.  One was just off the entry.  It included a huge shower, as well as a soaking tub, reminiscent of the ones in Japan. The water was moved by jets, like a hot tub, though.  Again, there is the beautiful inlay work as well as the exquisite marble.  This room has electric lighting which has nothing to do with the Greeks and everything to do with showing off the room.  There is also large shower, with the toilet in a separate closet.

An extremely large and deep soaking tub.

The room is round, so the sink is fitted into an alcove.

View over the tub toward the sink.  The lighting was very complimentary.

The second bath was used by the owners.  It was more functional, with a regular, but oversized bathtub, along with the huge walk in shower.

The other bathroom sink.  

Stepping down into the shower.

A nice tub to lounge in at the end of the day.

Kerylos was given to the Institute de France when the owner died in 1928.  Except for when the German's occupied it during WWII, his children and grandchildren continued to live there until 1967, when it was classified as a Monument Historique.

The Decor in Kerylos

The ceiling in the library.

Carved wood ceilings, lovely handmade furniture, built in bookcases and displays, pieces of art that are centuries old; when this place was built, no expense was spared.  The architect was a lover of all things Greek as well, so between the two of them, a beautiful house was built and furnished.

A chair to relax in.

The library, complete with built in bookcases, beautiful tables and chairs, and displays for the may pieces brought back from Greece.

Not a replica, but the real thing.

I really like the designs on the vases.

Blown glass, once again an original not a replica.

Looking out toward the courtyard through the iron gate.  The gates have glass in them to keep the weather at bay.

The lamps, were electrified instead of being oil burners.

Grating was used to aid air ventilation from lower to higher levels in the house.

Door lead from one end of the house to the other, going through different rooms.  This is the private part of the house, with the bedrooms and bath of the owners.

A frieze in the kitchen, high up on the wall.

Lamps that still burned oil, just in case of a power outage?

The Mosaics of Kerylos

Chickens on the walls.

The mosaic are mainly on the floors, but there are a few which are used on walls.  The designs are from original mosaic in Greece.  Seeing the swastika was a bit startling, until I realized it was a very ancient symbol, misused by the Nazi.  Still, to see it in a house built by a Jew whose family would be decimated in WWII, was heart wrenching.

In the library.

There were several different animals used in this piece.

Why use a rug when a tile one will do?

There were several places where a round pattern incircles a room.

Another "rug", this one in the bathroom.

The swastika in the kitchen.

A design which ran around the edge of the room.

A "rug" in one of the bedrooms.

An assortment of designs which took up the entire floor of one room.

Welcome to Kerylos Villa

Looking toward the entrance with the ocean just beyond the low wall.

A sundial on the house.

The side of the house.

The Villa at Kerylos is unique.  Built by Theodore Reinach,  a cousin of Beatrice Ephrussi-Rothschild, who was an archaeologist, among other things.  He spent a lot of time in Greece, then used his knowledge and collections to build this home. It is a rectangle with an opened courtyard in the center.  The home is on the edge of the water, so water views are from every room, as well as a service area for deliveries via boat into the cellars.

The central courtyard of the house.  The drains are fitted to collect rainfall into a cistern. 

The doorknobs are sculptures in their own right.

These doors lead into other parts of the house from the courtyard.

The house is built and decorated in a style the owner thought was appropriate for an ancient Greek home.  The tile, wall paintings and furniture are from designs found by archaeologists.  They have a website too, which is not an ancient design.  www.villa-kerylos.com/en/home

A Greek discus thrower in the entry garden.  Most of the statues are originals brought back from the owners many travels to Greece.

We really enjoyed visiting Kerylos, with Bill taking loads of pictures.  So, I'm dividing up the posts on the villa into separate themes, with more pictures than writing.  Hope you enjoy seeing it, too!

Old Sarum

Aerial view gives lets you see the entire hill.

Old Sarum has been a place to visit for 5000 years.  Bronze age folks came to bury their dead.  In the Iron age, a ring fort was built on the hill.  The Romans were next, followed by the Vikings.  The Saxons defeated the Britons before William the Conqueror took it over to build his own majestic fort.  The original cathedral was started by one of William's brothers.

The entry to the fort.  When William built his fort, there was a draw bridge here.

The dry moat around the fort.

All that remains of the cathedral is the outline and a few stone walls.

Unfortunately, there was a shortage of water on the site, so after several years, a new catherdral was built in nearby Salisbury, with the one on Old Sarum deactivated.  Once the cathedral was gone, the village soon moved, too.

Inside the fort the basic walls are still visible. 

No one wanted the inside rubble.

Several of the rubble walls are quite high.

King Henry VIII finally gave the fort to a friend, who dismantled what was left for salvage, leaving only the tumbled stone interiors of the walls.  Recycling again!

Looking off to the new Cathedral in Salisbury consecrated in 1258.

Regatta of Nice - Trophee Panerai 2013

These are gaff rigged, a style not used too often anymore.  The one on the left is about 140 feet long, while the one on the right is only about 100.  These are Bill's best estimates of size.

 There had been posters up all over town announcing a regatta.  Bill walked down to watch on three days, I went twice.  These were no ordinary boats, however, they were old wooden masted beauties from between 1890 and 1940.

Ahoy, maties!

The races were difficult to follow, as boats of the same style were not always starting together.  Plus, there were several gunshots to start, over several minutes, instead of one.  As long as the crews knew what to do, I guess it doesn't matter that we were clueless.

Two of the smaller boats.

The boats were wonderful to watch, even if there wasn't much wind.  The regatta is a traveling one, as they were in Monaco the week before and left here going to Cannes.  Bill wants a job sailing on one next summer.    

Au Revoir!  Enjoy Cannes!

Sunset in Nice

The apartment has wonderful views to the west for catching the sunset.  Nice has spectacular sunsets.  It probably has something to do with the mountains to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, but there are beautiful clouds most days, which always help to catch the colors of the setting sun.