A Perfect Pink Island

Okay, now for some happy snaps. Quite literally. These are snaps that will make you smile. You see, they're images of an island. And not just any island, but one that's prone to the colour pink.

Scroll down. You'll see what I mean.

There's nothing like a pink island to make your lips go up at the sides...

This is Harbour Island, a tiny speck of an island in the Bahamas. Or on the edge of the Bahamas, really.  It takes a little while to get to. But it's worth it, believe me.

First you take a pink plane. A hot pink plane.

Then you land in a tiny airport, and find a local who will drive you to the equally tiny pier, where you jump in one of the local boats. (AKA the taxi service.)

This is how you get to Harbour Island. Like this (above). 

See my luggage next to the beer? Clearly the beer has more priority. And that's how it should be.

Then you follow a few pink signs...

And wander past some astonishingly pink flowers...

And a little more pink shrubbery...

Until you arrive at your hotel, which, in my case, was The Landing.

(More on this sublime place in the next post.)

Because by now I was ready for a pink drink...

But first, The Landing's co-owner Tracy Barry kindly offered me a tour of this gorgeous little island. Beginning with the very pink Dunmore Hotel. (Above.) 

Which Tracy loves.

As did I.

You can see why.

This is the powder room.

Fab, isn't it?

(More on The Landing and The Dunmore in the next post.)

Then we wandered down to the beach, aptly named Pink Sands.

It really is a kind of pretty blush pink.

We also wandered through a few abandoned old buildings. Which were also pink. Naturally.

Isn't it beautiful?

Here's another abandoned building. In pink.

Loved this one.

Look at the patina.

It's a perfect pink.

Here's the cemetery. Which had a gorgeous pink wall and gate.

This person clearly likes pink too.

And when the fake flowers blow off the graves in a hurricane, The Landing's chef collects them and posts them on his golf cart, as a kind of 'floral tribute'. If only the cart were pink too...

This is the Doll's House. Fittingly, it's also in pink.

Even the fences were exquisite.

Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics has just bought this building to create a beach house. (I'm sure I can post this as most people on the island know this.) It was a bar. I think that's a perfect fit: Mr Stewart and an eclectic pink bar on a tropical island in the middle of the Caribbean.

And lastly, I noticed these young guys painting an abandoned house one day...

When I walked past again a few hours later, I saw the colour they'd chosen...

I should have guessed, really.

The Pieces of Life

It's been more than a week since I arrived home but the jetlag is still lingering. 

I don't know if it's the exhaustion of 7 gruelling weeks on the road or a symptom of something else (check-up is this week; no doubt the GP will say: "Try and stay off the International Date Line for 6 months"), but I've been sleeping 12 hours every night. 

I'd forgotten how wonderful an early evening at home, and a warm bed on a cold night could be. 

You know that feeling?

Unfortunately, I still have work to do and a book on Provence is due. (Uh-hem, was due!)

But this past week of sleeping, writing, working, sorting bits retrieved from the bottom of my luggage, reconciling travel receipts, catching up on emails and friends, and generally realigning life's quarters has made me think about what one friend dubs "the pieces of our existence".  

None of us ever has a neat, perfectly formed life, do we? Our lives are made up of the flotsam and jetsam of our movements; a few bits from one place; a few more bits from another.

We are the sum of these pieces. 

But sometimes it feels as though some of these pieces are missing.

And sometimes the pieces seem so disparate as to confuse us. And we struggle to understand how they jigsaw together to form our identity. 

Are we a mother first? A wife? A partner? A sister? A writer? Or even (as I feel at times) a simple housekeeper? 

Do we belong at home? In New York? In London? In our offices? Or somewhere else, beyond the doorway, or indeed the horizon?

I've spent the past month connecting with friends whose lives have become 'un-jigsawed'. (Terrible grammar but go with me on this.) The pieces of their lives have, for various reasons, fallen apart. Marriages have collapsed; careers have flatlined; their lives have come to a jolted stop; like the 7.12 train, halfway between two destinations. 

As one friend put it: "My garden of life seems to have overgrown when I wasn't looking... How on earth did that happen?"

(Oh, so many metaphors here!)

Another dear friend confessed to me that, despite being incredibly successful and even winning an Emmy in LA this year, she had a teary moment recently when she realised she was 41 and her life was something of a discombobulated state. 

Who hasn't felt like that at times? 

Life shakes us around, like a cold snap in spring (which the Northern Hemisphere has just had), and I think it does it deliberately, just to see how we cope. That's my theory. 

I also think that the best way to cope is to be kind to yourself. And be true to yourself, to use an old cliche. Remember your strengths. Remember who you are, not who others perceive you to be – especially those who may have only met you for a minute.

Remember what you can do. And how well you do it. 

If you be gentle on yourself, and wait for life to settle once more, you'll soon be able to see the corners of your jigsawed existence again. 

And the rest will fall into place in no time.

That's my words of wisdom for the week anyway...

(All images mine.  Images from New York, London and the Rothschild garden on the French Riviera – which was actually incredibly beautiful.)

The Hollywood Hills

A day or so ago, while waiting at LAX airport, I did a quick post on an extraordinary garden that belongs to friends who live in the Hollywood Hills. 

Unfortunately, I had to delete it, because a) they lived in an extremely private gated estate full of Grade A (ie Oscar-winning) celebs and I didn't feel I could really feature the stars' houses in such a public forum, and b) the garden is part of a feature being included in a new magazine that's being published later this year. However, when my friend (who owns the garden with her husband) saw that I had deleted it, she kindly emailed me to say I could re-instate it, with her blessing. So I have, but have deleted all the stars' names, and the name of the estate, out of respect for all concerned.

I feel really fortunate to have been able to visit this somewhat secret part of LA, and to have also visited one or two of the 'names' that live here. Even if my haze of jetlag, I could recognise that it was a very special treat.

Thank you Jill for being so gracious and generous with your time. I am so very grateful.

PS Having trouble with comments, so have simply added them manually. Suspect my laptop has jetlag too... Thanks so much for the lovely notes Penelope, Elizabeth, Linda and Sarah. Very grateful. Stephanie – I'll email you re the magazine shortly. Just trying to finish writing the Provence book this week. x

penelopebianchi has left a new comment on your post "The Hollywood Hills"
Awesome! I am third-generation Pasadena; and I haven't ever heard of it either! What a treasure!!! LOVE!!!


Elizabeth@ Pine Cones and Acorns has left a new comment on your post "The Hollywood Hills":
I have never heard of this neighborhood, what a special place. You are blessed to have such friends. Their garden is spectacular.


Linda C. has left a new comment on your post "The Hollywood Hills":
Hi Janelle, glad you are back in blogland. You HAVE been really busy haven't you.
Keep well.

Sarah has left a new comment on your post "The Hollywood Hills":
How incredible! What a beautiful place to live and you are so fortunate to know such a wonderful person. Gorgeous photographs. Safe travels.... x


pve design has left a new comment on your post "The Hollywood Hills":
Beautiful and decadent in many ways. Reminds me of a bygone era. Love all your images and thanks for taking us on a tour. pve


smr has left a new comment on your post "The Hollywood Hills.":
What an extraordinary place..an oasis with fountains, pools, terracotta roof tiles and white walls. Its interesting how this mediterranean /spanish influence never really took off in Sydney apart from a few houses designed by Professor Leslie Wilkinson ..