Hello! Summer has finally hit here in Cornwall, you'd be right to think these pictures look a little too tropical though... I spent yesterday wandering around The Eden Project. I'm sure most of you here in England have heard of it but for those who haven't (and those further afield) it's a botanical tropical and mediterranean series of gardens set in two huge biomes. I spent a lot of time there as a teen but until yesterday hadn't visited in about 6/7 years. Those years have definitely done it a favour, it was so much more luscious, the palms are now towering and the fauna was off the scale great. I think we hit it at the best possible season, everything is just still in flower and it's yet heaving with visitors.
The biomes are temperature controlled, so they are heated according to the area they are exemplifying. The tropical biome is my favourite (and always has been) it's incredibly humid and steamy, so it's very easy to feel you've been transported halfway across the globe. At first it feels a little overwhelming but you soon acclimatise and it always feels a bit sad to come back to the normal temperature of Cornwall!
Of course for the day I had to wear an outfit that did the beautiful backdrop justice, I opted for this glorious kaftan that I picked up in a charity shop just before I went to France. It was perfect as it allowed me to stay cool in the humidity (I totally pitied all the jeans wearers - if you are visiting definitely dress lightly, especially in Summer as it gets hotter due to the sun shining on the biomes). The headwrap is actually a scarf from Lush, usually used to wrap up their lovely smellies it makes the perfect wrap for bad (and good) hair days. I've worn it so much since I received it for my birthday.
I was going for a sort of Matisse meets Gauguin look; lots of pattern, lots of colour and a tassels for good measure.
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| Madras Rouge, Matisse, 1907 (source: 1) |
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| Nave, Nave Moe, Gauguin, 1894 (source: 2) |
There is also the Mediterranean biome, this was so much better than I remembered. It's much cooler in temperature and they now have a pizza restaurant in the biome so you can eat amongst the magical plants (we were so sad when we realised as we had just eaten lunch outside!) They have an amazing array of cacti, grape vines and, my favourite, a vegetable patch of tomatoes, aubergines and other med delights!
I'll be back very soon with more of Postcards from Europe series. Hope you're all well!
Outfit Details
Cotton kaftan - charity shop
Lovebird headscarf - Lush
Raffia earrings - Mango
Beaded necklace - car boot sale
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What a fabulous and interesting place, I do not think there is even here in Italy, I would be happy to visit him .. although the tropical climate a little 'scares me! I greeted the jeans for some weeks, soft and fresh clothes, linen trousers, I can not wear other and do not understand people who wear tight jeans also with 37 °! This beautiful your kaftan is perfect in these exotic flowers, you look just like a Guaguin woman! The fouloard Lush are fantastic! And who knows what it was like pizza, you'll have to go back soon!
ReplyDeletetropical? Hot and humid? Sound like my yard! Everything grows like crazy mad here, I've live here for 30 years and I've never watered my lawn, it rains too much.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a fabulously interesting, beautiful post. You look absolutely beautiful, love the caftan, the earrings and the scarf is gorgeous worn exotically like that.
ReplyDeleteI've long wanted to visit the Eden project and the secret gardens nearby (think they're called Heligan) and actually it's really nice to hear that they've improved with age. What a great idea to be able to eat pizza in the mediterranean dome. Thanks for the tip! You've got that Matisse/Gauguin look to a tee! Bet you had lots of admirers. Xxx
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