... Cecilia Tallis half ran with her flowersalong the path that went by the river,
by the old diving pool
with its mossy brick wall, before curving away
through the oak woods.
The cool shade of the woods was a relief,the sculpted intricacies of the tree trunks enchanting.
Once through the iron kissing gate,and past the rhododendrons beneath the ha-ha,
she crossed the open parkland ...and came up behind the fountain
and its retaining walland the half-scale reproduction of Bernini's Triton
in the Piazza Barberini in Rome.
Quoted from
Ian McEwan's novel "Atonement"
Click on the last picture
to see the Triton fountain in Rome.
Location:
Schloss Kittsee
40 miles southeast of Vienna
Photographed August 2008
Those gates are just to die for :)
ReplyDeleteMY MELANGE:
ReplyDeleteImagine, they are in the middle of the countryside, incredibly beautiful one at that!
Great pairing of words with images. Atonement was a very powerful novel for me.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you find all of these wonderful snippets of literature? Today's words match your photos so wonderfully! You are indeed well-read. Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDelete~Allie
TUT-TUT:
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
I loved this novel.
ALLIE:
Thank you! :-)
I can't help myself, certain landscapes or images simply bring up the one or other line from a poem or novel. McEwan's "Atonement" has in my opinion some of the best descriptions of summer scenes, he puts you right there. ;-)
Really love the Lion pic.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Atonement, Merisi?
ReplyDeleteI read it recently and thought it was wonderful, although I had to skip some of the more graphic descriptions of injuries during the war.
How did I know that was from "Atonement"..?
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to run under a ha-ha, by a retaining wall...sigh
CHARLES GRAMLICH:
ReplyDeleteThere were really two lions, guarding the steps that lead from a fountain towards the palace. I have to go back one day, I was too exhausted that day to continue photographing outside, after having sweatet through a lot of shooting inside. It was around noon and temperatures in the nineties.
LLAMA:
I have read it twice so far, and the first two chapters I have reread since.
PARIS BREAKFASTS:
That is a good question! Have you read the novel? Then the answer is easy, I'd say, the sultry moods and relentless heat of hot summer days are so vividly described there, they easily seep into the mind, to stay there forever.
PARIS BREAKFAST:
ReplyDeleteI am wondering why you wanted to run "under" a ha-ha, somehow this goes beyond my power of imagination. I thought only moles would be able to do so. During my first reading of the novel, I tried to figure out what McEwan meant when he wrote about the rhododendrons "beneath" the haha- I figured that he must have meant "beyond" the ha-ha.
Oh help, is there any garden architect out there who can explain this to me?
Your photos are perfect along with the "Atonement" lines! So nice.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful...you've brought the words to wonderful, colourful, life!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place...I am also quite impressed with the gates...
ReplyDeleteWILLOW:
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
LAVINIA:
Thank you,
the words walked right into the images, so to speak. ;-)
DEE DEE:
I have been contemplating another excursion there ever since I left the place, it grew on me even more while looking at the pictures I shot.
So beautiful and I liked how you quoted the book to go with the photos.
ReplyDeleteWe saw a haha at Bodnant Garden in Wales on our recent holiday, so I was able to teach my son about the meaning of the word and the function of the thing. I have seen the ditch beyond the haha planted up, by nature or artifice I know not. It could provide frost protection, and not many protect gardens from livestock these days!
ReplyDeletePHOTOWANNABE,
ReplyDeletethank you! :-)
SUE:
I am looking forward to your photos of Wales! :-)