Talking Points Interiors: travels

Thursday, 29 July 2010

Installment 2 of our 'Interior design inspirations travel blog'

Tarifa - From our stay in Gaucin we made our way down the mountains, through the other white washed villages that form like a string of pearls in the Andalusian countryside. Our next stop was Huerta Las Terrazas, located just outside the now melting pot of cultures and former remote fishing town, Tarifa.

Set on the most southern tip of Europe, this boutique self catered casita overlooks the mountains of Morocco. Surrounded by three acres of national park the main house is full of artifacts from the owners travels round the world. This provided the perfect place from which to take day trips to Tarifa and its neighbouring towns and villages. We stocked up with some delicious local food and wine for the week and spent our evenings taking stock of what we had seen.

The white washed town of Tarifa still boasts many traces of ancient Rome. Whilst the town has seen modernisation, it has been incorporated within the ancient city walls. The surrounding villages are made up of traditional rustic Spanish country houses, farmhouses and villas with high beam ceilings, terracotta roofs and wood burning stoves.

Local culinary delights

Tarifa church

Traditional Andalucian terracotta roof

Tarifa streets

The entrance to a traditional townhouse

Monday, 26 July 2010

Taking inspiration from our travels...

Here at talking points interiors we love to travel. There is nothing like some time away in new surroundings to provide inspiration.

Now that our blog is up and running, we plan to update you on our travels as and when they happen, bringing you our inspiring thoughts and fabulous finds from along the way. Over the next couple of weeks I will start our 'interior design inspirations travel blog' by featuring some of our recent destinations...

Installment 1 of our 'Interior design inspirations travel blog'

Gaucin - a beautiful white washed mountain village commanding sweeping views to Gibralter and the Rif mountains of North Africa. Situated against the looming dark backdrop of the Serrania de Ronda the village is rich with colour: white washed walls, terracotta roofs, cool green olive groves, bright red poppies, yellow mimosa and pale pink almond blossom. The village is home to a number of artists and you can see why, with it's stunning views, tranquil surroundings and array of colours. From an interior designers point of view the mixture of Roman, Moroccan, Spanish and Arab influences provided by the areas history provide a great deal of inspiration. Many of the villas still contain their old beams and Rhonda tiled floors. Our beautiful little boutique hotel Rural la Fructuosa contained an ancient wine press which has been preserved and presents a great setting for the hotels famous restaurant.