I have been longing to share this with you, but difficulties with the photos and blogging programs on our updated revamped Oz computer prevented me bringing you this beautiful construction which brought us to a screaming halt on the Midlands Highway in the Epping Forrest area of northern Tasmania three weeks or so back. We immediatley knew the maker had a sense of fun, and was, like ourselves and most others, intrigued by Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plains UK. We were fortunate to be able to visit there a few years back, and experienced a little of the same thrill when confronted with this contemporary construction. In the local newspaper a few days later, a photo like this one and a bit of a write up referred to other interesting constructions from hay bales in years past. It seems this has become a local tradition, a temporary landmark which appears and is on display for a few weeks at the end of each hay season. Now that I look again, it bears some connection with the holiday house with mock acqueduct surrounds that I published back in january. 
A new holiday house was noticed at Jose Ignacio last week. Indeed, you could hardly miss this one. They say travel broadens the mind, but sometimes I think people bring back the darndest concepts from their travels; and in this case, IMHO, someone spent serious time in the presence of ancient Roman aqueduct ruins somewhere. Many Europeans now spend vacation time in this area of Uruguay at this time of year, perhaps this is to remind someone of home.
The actual house is two levels; there were people lounging on the patio so I didn’t like to intrude with my camera – although I am tipping I will be only one of many to photograph the amazing, eye-catching, puzzling but certainly grand, exterior of this house this season.
You can see an umbrella just between the columns towering above the centre and right pots, and between those same pots themselves just a hint of the lower part of the house. Now, a structure like this deserves a sweeping parkland setting, perhaps a low but expansive grassy knoll. A decent bit of earthwork would have really enhanced the imposing quality of this structure, but look where they put it…
Thank
goodness I had my camera saturday as we drove through an area we were not familiar with.
Every now and then we find something remarkable architecturally speaking, and this one goes into the Uruguayan Architecture file, (oddities subsection)
We were particularly struck by the custom designed gates at the front entrance, showing up better in the detail.
We have seen a number of follies like this in places around Australia, and always wonder what motivates the builder/designer to go to such extremes.
English