I was driving down 5th Avenue on my way to the beach last week. It looks so different in the morning when very few people are out and there are lots of parking spaces along the street. In the evening it is a major traffic jam but a very high energy place to be.
When I spied these trees dropping their blossoms like trees dropping their autumn leaves, I had to pull over and capture the fun.
Tabebuia caraiba
This week Frizz has posted the letter H and my photos will reflect a Historic look at some items found at the Palm Cottage in Naples, Florida. The Palm Cottage was purchased by the Historic Society and made into a museum because it was one of the first houses to be built in Naples.
Naples was established as a resort so many people relaxed on this big screened porch, sitting in the warm Florida sun as the cool gulf breeze blew through.
These were wealthy visitors so they would have spent time in the library, writing letters to people back home and mailing them at the post office on Naples Pier at the end of the street.
We were told that when one family owned the cottage, the flag flying meant that there was a party that evening and everyone was invited. I bet there was some dancing.
Originally the only electricity was at the hotel at the other end of the street so everyone ate there. Later a kitchen was added to the back of the cottage. Fishing and hunting were popular activities so supper would have been the fresh catch of the day. Ice was shipped from northern states packed in sawdust.
This chandelier hangs in the center hall. The center hall has doors at both ends to allow the cool breeze to blow through.
Here are a few other glimpses of life as it would have been lived about a hundred years ago. It isn’t that long ago – how much things have changed as history was being made in southwest Florida.
Frizz is eagerly waiting for you to visit to check out other interpretations of H and to add your own.
This sign will look familiar to those who joined me at the Third Street South Farmers Market in Old Naples last November. I recently spent a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon walking around Old Naples and this post is my interpretation of what Third Street South is all about.
When I say Old Naples, many of you on the other side of the pond will laugh because old is relative. I remember talking to a farmer in England who said his house was new – it was just a little over a hundred years old. The first residence in Naples was built in 1887 when the area could only be reached by boat. People came because of the warm weather, the beautiful beach, and excellent fishing and hunting. It was built as a resort town for rich northerners but didn’t take off until train service reached the area in 1927 and the Tamiami Trail was finished in 1928. The Tamiami Trail (US 41 or 9th Street or 5th Avenue) allowing travel through the Everglades to Miami and north to Ft. Myers and Tampa.
We have been coming here for about 30 years and remember when it was a sleepy fishing town. Now it has the amenities of a large city (which it is although the city of Naples only has about 21,000 residents) and the soul of a small town. Residents have an ambivalent attitude towards the snowbirds and tourists because we fill the streets but bring money to spend. There are a lot of languages heard while wandering around Old Naples.
Old Naples is that area between the Gulf and the Naples Bay/Gordon River where the city was first established. Third Street South is the more upscale shopping area of the two that are in Old Naples, although both need deep pockets if any serious shopping is to take place. Wandering around is free, though, so please join me on Third Street South.
Strolling together and Intimate moments
Sporty cars; Fun food
Flowers in pots; Galleries of Fine Arts
Fine foods under an umbrella
Architectural detail to delight the eyes
High-end shopping; Conciergerie helping
Keeping the old; Making it new
Sculptures and Fountains
Rest over lunch; Talk over drinks
I am excited to have found Dawn’s challenge at her blog The Day After. I love windows and did a post a while back on the subject that you can view here.
Now I am in a Southern Florida sort of mood – especially Old Naples. I am intrigued by these windows that seem to be in an attic or loft. They are open to catch the gulf breeze but a little secluded behind the palms. A perfect place to dream some time away.
Most of my life I have lived in one-story houses. There were a couple of years when we were first married that we lived in a two-story. I also have memories of sleeping over in upstairs bedrooms. They were restful. I felt like I was away from, above the activity of the street, even though I could still listen to it. Climbing the stairs was even an act of climbing up from whatever was going on below.
The act of “mental visualization” for stress reduction and relaxation uses this method. One of my favorite places of mind retreat is up some stairs. It is my own room that has windows very similar to these. And it is decorated the way I need it to be decorated whenever I visit it – sometimes warm and cozy, sometimes cool and airy. It is where I go when my world gets too busy or too mean or however overwhelming. It is peace.
I spent a couple of hours walking around Old Naples yesterday looking for images that reflect the culture and atmosphere. I have 85 favorites, and here is one of them.
Live Oak
I love the structure, but also the fact that it is home to lots of ferns and mosses.
A New Day: Living Life Almost Gracefully 