I’ve always dreamed about visiting the Amalfi Coast, a fantasy resulting at least partially from seeing one too many Sophia Loren films and postcard renditions of lemon tree sprinkled mountains plummeting into a sea so sparkly it looks like blue champagne. We stayed in a town called Conca dei Marini, at this incredible seafront villa tucked into a cove overlooking a turquoise-water shore dotted with candy-colored sailboats and red beach parasols. Perfectly sun-baked mornings devoted to reading, bronzing, and the art of being ridiculously lazy and leisurely, afternoons spent adventuring on coastline drives to explore nearby towns, and finally, evenings back at home to prepare sinfully delicious al fresco dinners made from divine local produce . . . la dolce vita.
I visited the Amalfi Coast last summer and have just got back from a holiday in Sorrento, looking forward to seeing more of your photos.
DREAMING!
Heaven!
these photos are incredible!! great hat and bikini! hope you are having a great summer!
your photos are amazing, as always :)
These photos are just incredible! You look so beautiful! x
Kate {Modette}
http://modetteblog.com
these photos are so fun!
LOVE these pics!
My brother got married in Positano, great place =)
Gorgeous shots. The Amalfi Coast looks amazing. Definitely on my wanderlust list. Love your bikini. Great colour.
Christie x
just perfect…
it has been a few years since i have returned to the almafi coast, but it is and will always be my special place. i love everything about it. can’t wait to see the rest of your photos!
xo
kiley
I have wanted to go to the amalfi coast for years.
These photos have just tripled the urge to go, so jealous!!!
Gorgeous photos!
Reading your blog it’s hard to differentiate what is really or an illusion. Not a hair out of place, not a single pimple, not a single stretch mark…makes a girl wonder if you live in a bubble of perfection: windmills, cotton candly, idyllic sunsets, and haute couture….Make me stop and wonder why my life is filled with hardship, speed bumps, and difficulty… why don’t i get to shop, travel, and take relaxing summer breaks at the Riviera…
you are lucky. your world seems like a care free life of ease and beauty…I’m just a working girl in the city….i find it interesting how most women in this world will never get a chance to realize half the comfort and luxury you are blessed with…
i don’t say this with bad intentions…reading your blog just makes me wonder where i went wrong with my lifeand why i have always had to grow up in poverty….i guess some are not born as lucky.
Hi Beast (I’m not clear if that’s your name. Apologies if it’s not):
Thanks for taking the time to write your thoughts. You make valid observations, and I’m genuinely sorry that my blog has made you look at your own life in a negative light. That is certainly not my intention. I made a conscious decision with my blog to make it a place of positivity, beauty and happiness, and not pollute it with rants to an anonymous online audience about my bad days at work, relationship struggles, financial woes, etc. I absolutely consider myself blessed to travel and occasionally buy myself something nice after I have worked hard to afford it, but I do have real problems and moments of sadness just like anyone else – I just don’t think the internet is a place to share those private and personal complaints. That being said, I actually started my blog as a way to advocate that idyllic beauty does exist in the world, regardless of one’s life circumstances, and especially in things and moments that don’t have a price tag (e.g. wildflowers, sunsets, weekends, puppies, sleeping in, etc.). It’s my modest hope that my readers can take this perspective and try to look for small moments of beauty in their own lives. Obviously, a rose-tinted view doesn’t eliminate the fact that life inevitably comes with speed bumps and hardships, but I do think that a positive outlook is incredibly valuable to working through those hardships. I’m sorry that this intention did not come across to you as a reader, and I certainly don’t want you to reduce the quality of yourself and your life by comparing it to my blog. I’m sure you’re a great girl with plenty of wonderful qualities and accomplishments to be proud of :-)
All the best,
Camille
congrats on such beautiful images… gorgeous!
Dear Camille,
As I was looking through your lovely post and comments, I saw this exchange and wanted to respond. As a long time reader of many fashion/lifestyle blogs, I’m truly grateful to you and others for sharing your slices of life with us. Real life is never perfect, but the blogging community has provided readers with momentary escapes and daydreams that inspire us to create our own beauty and happiness (which is why I felt inspired to start my own blog). I couldn’t agree with you more when you said, “I actually started my blog as a way to advocate that idyllic beauty does exist in the world, regardless of one’s life circumstances, and especially in things and moments that don’t have a price tag (e.g. wildflowers, sunsets, weekends, puppies, sleeping in, etc.). ” When harsh realities and circumstances close in on a person, it’s hard not to let negativity or envy take over. But negativity breeds more negativity and true happiness can be found in appreciating the beautiful moments we DO have–because they exist for all of us. I personally don’t think this is an illusion. Instead, it is choosing to create our reality–choosing to focus and write about the things that make us happy instead of the things that make us sad. The best part about blogging is that it provides a place for us to collect our happy memories and dreams so they’re all in one place whenever we need to be reminded of them. And even better, it’s a forum where bloggers can collectively build a prettier reality together as a community.
I look forward to many future posts on The Wild Fleur!
-Annie
Camille and Annie,
You couldn’t have said it better. I firmly believe that “Happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything.” Looking at The Wild Fleur always makes me feel happy and forget any negativity in my own life. I believe that class and luxury is available to anyone regardless of what class you were born into. It’s important to focus on the positive things in your life rather than the negative. Just like Camille pointed out, with hard work, anyone can have nice things. Sometimes people think that middle and upper class people were just given everything they have, failing to realize that we worked for those things. Camille, your blog is an inspiration to me and helps me remember to see things in a positive light even when bad things happen!
Oh Camille, I love the photos, your bikini and I die for your hair =)
Hello Camille,
Your blog is truly an inspiration on how to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us, which I might add is made all the more easy when one has a positive outlook. Your response to Beast was so lovely and I hope she took it heart. On another note, would you mind terribly sharing the name of the villa that you stayed at?
All the very best,
Linda