Let us go then, you and I...

I haven't quite descended from the high of my trip, but...ooooh, I wish I was back in Italy already. I miss the orangy-gold sunlit glow of Pisa, the luminous light of Venice as dusk falls with the rain, wandering through winding Florentine streets, being drawn down Venetian calli that lead nowhere in particular, flowers popping up in the tiniest of gardens, gratefully stumbling across a gushing fountain in the heat of midday, the rhythm of the language, the warm reception as I struggled with my few Italian words, shopping for food in small fresh quantities instead of big bulk packages, finding unexpected beauty in the most modest of churches, clothes hanging to dry on every other building, the surge of the vaporetto across the lagoon...

"You may have the universe if I may have Italy"
~ Giuseppe Verdi

We had a fantastic time in England too, don't get me wrong. I definitely want to return to the UK for further exploration in the future, but I feel like I could pick up and move to Italy tomorrow and happily live out the rest of my days there!

Yikes, I'd forgotten how much time it takes after a trip to sort through the massive quantities of photos and souvenirs! (Ok, so maybe I didn't need to take nearly 1,000 photos on our vacation, but my children will thank me for that one day...at least that was my standard response to their whines of "argh, you're such a tourist, mom.")

I find it hard to decide which shots are "printworthy" when looking at them on the computer screen, but I have narrowed the list down to 550 already...so I'll soon be brandishing albums at everyone I meet!

I'm getting bug-eyed from endlessly viewing my photos. I am building my "to be printed" collection in one folder and my "Slow Travel album" collection in another folder. Maybe I'll just finish my ST album and print that collection.

I'm halfway there with the ST album, I have at least finished my albums for Italy and now need to create my England album. I put the Italy photos into four separate albums (Pisa, Florence, Siena, Venice), but am not sure I'll do the same with the England photos. Those might just end up in one gigantic album...well, hopefully not too gigantic (I'm trying to pare them down, really I am!)

As for writing up my trip report for ST, I haven't started that yet...although that's not entirely true since my blog and my journal are really my starting point.

RED = I live here
BLUE = I have been there
GREEN = I want to go there

This is so cool! I first saw this on Leslie's blog (or rather topcat's blog...) and then on Kim's. So natch, I had to try it for myself. When marking places I've been, I did not include all the states we drove through on route from NS to Florida when I was a teen, just the overnight stop (Washington DC) and Florida. Ditto when we drove over to New Orleans, I just marked Louisiana.

I'm not entirely sure how this works on an ongoing basis, but hopefully I will be able to keep it updated as I see more of the world...more, more and more muahahahahhahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

"The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too. "
- Saint Teresa of Avila

I came across this quote recently while contemplating my travels and my mind filled with images:

...lying in a grassy park in Burano with leaves rustling in the trees and waves shushing nearby
...the joy of unexpected early morning birdsong in Florence
...the soul-deep reverence I felt in St. Francis' crypt
...the grace and glory of Duccio's Maesta
...the radiant swirl of Titian's Assumption of the Virgin
...gazing upon Michelangelo's David...sigh
...attending a worship service in England
...swaying with the vaporetto over the choppy lagoon waters
...lying back on the steps looking up at Santa Maria Della Salute and the sky
...walking around Venice under dark and moody clouds
...the sound and smell of the sea in Marina Grande
...standing alone, all alone, in the middle of Stonehenge just after sunrise
...walking the labyrinth at Norwich Cathedral with my daughters
...standing outside San Miniato listening to a woman inside singing Ave Maria for a wedding

I feel quite unique in having been to Budapest. Not very many of my circle have been to, or plan to ever visit, this lovely city. In fact, a few friends have no clue where Budapest is in the world...which surprised me because I thought everyone my age would have learned the mnemonic "Butter passed hungry" to remember Hungary's capital. I was sure I learned it in school, but on second thought, it may have come from my Aunt Phyllis (a brilliant woman from whom we learned a great deal, including a few things about which our mom may have preferred we'd remained in blissful ignorance!)

It's a bit of a lame mnemonic, but memorable - although not, I admit, as memorable as the method Coach, from the old TV show Cheers, used to remember facts about Albania.

(To this day, I remember that Albania's chief export is chrome!)

But back to Budapest...

The last post got me thinking about our trip, and looking back through my photos of the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento.

One of the highlights of our stay in Sorrento was the little village of Marina Grande on the waterfront below Sorrento itself. Both Mom and I were struck by the familiarity of the place, it's sights, sounds and smell were very reminiscent of home. Marina Grande has much in common with many a Nova Scotian fishing village: from the aging population, tangy salt air, individual fishing boats, and cries of seagulls wheeling overhead, to the signs of tourism threatening to negate the authenticity of the place.

Often in NS, prime waterfront land is snapped up at exhorbitant prices and developed into high end subdivisions. Then property values in the neighbourhood skyrocket. It's a conundrum, because on the one hand tourism and development are an extremely valuable piece of the local economy,on the other hand, fishermen who've eked out a living in small villages for generations suddenly find their homesteads priced out of their reach. But I digress...off my soapbox and back to Marina Grande!

Mom and I took the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi in March 2006. I found it absolutely exhilarating!!

I came across this video on youtube - camerawork's a bit shaky, but I think the person did a very creditable job of capturing the feel of the Amalfi Coast bus ride:

A recent find in my favourite used book store was a collection called "The Smiles of Rome", edited by Susan Cahill. This old New York Times article will give you a feel for the book.

The ending paragraph in her introduction is this:

In the end, what comes across in these pages, in a wide range of voices, is Rome's astonishing expressiveness. The silence of the Palatine. Bright mosaics, travertine, terracotta, pale pink brick, marble, peperino, so many stones. The light. Early morning in Piazza San Cosimato, the peaches in the market stall. People, unpretentious, affectionate, the dazzle of their sprezzatura. Love of life, the imperfect world made new again, among the ruins of this old, old city.

I was yearning to return before I even started reading the actual content...

And amongst the Overtures, this passage:

...In Rome, in the eternal city, I feel nearer to my own past, and to the whole past and future of the world, than I should in any cemetary or museum....Old places...when spirit dwells in them, have an intrinsic vitality of which youth is incapable; precisely the balance and wisdom that come from long perspectives....
~ George Santayana ~

I believe my delayed discovery of Rome was meant to be. I did not visit Rome until after I turned forty and am convinced that my younger self would not have deeply appreciated that elusive quality of this "old, old city" that seeps into one's soul...

You just never know what you might see while wandering around Assisi . We happened upon this little police car in the Piazza del Comune...

Now this poor guy looks like he sees defeat. I read somewhere that this (temporary) exhibit in front of the Temple of Minerva portrays Francis on his return home from the Crusades.

Come, take a stroll through the streets of Assisi and find out what else there is to see...

Don't you just love odd coincidences? I was at a loss about what to post yesterday, when Assisi popped into my mind. Perfect, I thought, I'll post a little pictoral tour of this beautiful town.

This morning, I check out the Globe and Mail and see this article by fellow Slow Traveller, Sandra Cordon. How cool is that?!?!

Obviously this can only be a sign that I need to return to Assisi post-haste!! (Sure, maybe it was just an ordinary coincidence, but I'd much rather see it as a sign...)

One thing I do know is that when I return to this part of Umbria, I would love to spend a couple nights at Letizia's agriturism, Alla Madonno del Piatto. The stunning view alone would be worth the price of admission! I think this spot would suit Dave too, being the city hating guy that he is.

Assisi, Rome, Campagnia...so many places, so little money. (I'd better think of a few more expenses to cut so I can build that travel fund faster!)

The Rock of Gibraltar...conjures up an exotic mental swirl (deserved or not) of pirates, monkeys, British Tea Rooms, and one massive piece of stone looming overhead!! I don't know much about Gibraltar, but was just googling some information as I armchair travel along with my mother and aunt as they tour Spain and Portugal. I have a copy of her tour itinerary, but it says only this:

March 27 Gibraltar: We take an excursion to Gibraltar. "The Rock", as it is commonly called, remains very British. On our tour we will see St. Michael's Cave, the Ape's Cave and more. During our free time you may want to enjoy a pint in a typical English pub before returning to Torremolinos.

Well...not much there to give me a feel for this distinctive destination. Let's see what Wikipedia has to say. Ok, so the name derives from the Arabic for "mountain of Tariq", one of the first Moorish invaders from the sounds of it. And it was one of the Pillars of Hercules...how I could have forgotten that little tidbit is beyond me! What a rich history this place has. There have been settlements or occupations by so many cultures over the years, including: Neanderthal man, the Phoenicians, Carthinagians, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, the Moors, Spanish, and British!

The New York Times is full of news articles, and this travel article.

Oh, I just found a ton of information on this unofficial homepage. And also the Gibraltar Government website.

I'm not a monkey fan, so their presence doesn't attact me at all. This blurb about the cable car has me drooling to visit:

From this spot one has uninterrupted views southwards across the Strait of Gibraltar to Africa; westwards, of the City of Gibraltar and across the Bay to Algeciras; a birds eye view of Gibraltar airport and Spain to the north; and the blue expanse of the Mediterranean and the beaches and cities of the Costa del Sol to the east.

How awesome does that sound?!?!? I can't wait to see Mom's photos when she returns...unfortunately that won't be for another ten days or so. I'll have to make do with online photos in the meantime - I wonder if there are Gibraltar photos on Slow Travel, I must go check!

A copy of this wonderful article from the New York Times found its way into my local paper on Saturday. The author, Ian Fisher, does a great job of capturing the feel of Rome's magical golden glow. I enjoyed the printed article so much that I looked it up on the NY Times website to see if there were any extras. I found this slideshow, and this interactive walking tour.

My mom, sister and I spent Sunday afternoon reminiscing about our March 2006 visit to Rome. We hope to return in the not-too-distant future and stroll these golden streets once again. Of course, we may not be so lucky as to have them all to ourselves the next time!

Inspired by Maria's photos of votive trees, here is one of Miss Ninja lighting a candle in Chiesa di Ognissanti last summer:

Oh dear, I just did a very bad thing: I checked airfares to Italy and found out that I can fly over from Halifax this October for little more than $700...and yes, hard to believe but true, that even includes the return flight! (Actually it's two separate return tickets, $574 Halifax-London with Canadian Affair, then another $130 London-Pisa on EasyJet, but I don't mind booking two tickets.)

Oh this is not good...not good at all.

I do so want to spend more, more, more time in Florence, but...can I really afford it, that's the question.

I'd have bought the tickets already if only we weren't going to be tuition-poor with Ginger starting university this fall. (Not that I begrudge my beautiful daughter her education of course!)

Hmmm, but I do have a small investment kicking around from the days before I had a pension plan, and it is a-calling my name ("cash me", it cries, "CASH ME NOW AND BUY THAT PLANE TICKET!!!")

On the other hand, I'm not sure if I should go away so soon after Ginger starts university...what if she needs her mommy? (Ok, so that's probably just wishful thinking on my part!)

Waffle, waffle...

As further proof I'm slipping past the point of no return, I just checked out the apartment (Dante) we rented last summer, and yup, you guessed correctly...it's available in October.

I've also never travelled alone before, but have nobody to go with me right now. My sister isn't in a point in her life where travel is an option, my mom just got back from Spain so isn't interested in another trip so soon (plus I think she wants to take her next trip with her husband), Dave won't have enough vacation time since he just started a new job today...and I can't think of anyone in my circle of friends with both the money and the inclination to humour this whim of mine and come away with me.

Ahhhhh, what to do, what to do???? I guess you'll have to stay tuned for my decision...even I don't know which way it will go!

Enter The London Dungeon at your own risk...

Actually the only risk is to your wallet...man, is it expensive!!! But it was a lot of fun and was one of Miss Ninja's highlights from our family trip last year, as you can see from the following photo.

In Sandra's recent entry about Spello, she mentioned the "Early Renaissance painter, Pinturicchio -- whose real name was Bernardino di Betto (ca. 1452-1513)."

Immediately my mind shifted back to my two visits to Siena, where I had the great pleasure of gazing upon the brilliant frescos by Pinturicchio (1502-07) depicting the life of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Bishop of Siena then Pope Pius II, in the Piccolomini Library.

Pinturicchio was commissioned to paint the library by Francesco Piccolomini Todeschini (aka Pope Pius III) in homage to his uncle Enea Silvio Piccolomini (aka Pope Pius II).

A quote from this website says it all:

The interior of the Library offers the observer an unforgettable spectacle. Many on entering the Library have tried to describe the room, permeated by such luminosity and richness of colour as to result unparalleled.
Indeed, Pintoricchio managed to describe the life and vicissitudes of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, portraying them with the colours of a beautiful and magic fairy tale.

And the cover story is "Real Rome, Inside Italy's Eternal City"

I loved Rome on my one visit. I cannot wait to read the article, although hopefully it won't make me yearn too much for the Eternal City since I am going, not to Rome, but to Florence in October.

Aw, now don't be jealous, July/August '06 issue, you'll always be special to me...

I was browsing through various sites regarding Florence and came across an interesting entry in a blog called A Life Worth Eating. There are some great recommendations here for gelato, and how nice to have them all in one place. As I read the Florence section, I came to this sentence:

I read about this chocolate shop and gelateria on Borgo Albizi 11r called Vestri in my guidebook, and then later on the Divina Cucina site (which is a great Florence resource, by the way).

I did a double take "Divina Cucina? Hey, I know who that is!"

I know, this is a pretty loose connection since I "know" Diva only from the Slow Travel forums, but, still...I get a kick out of these "it's a small world" moments, even when tenuous at best.

Well I haven't yet found time to figure out how to do the PhotoHunt thing, but Annie's post inspired me to post my own photo of Venetian water:

Annie's recent entry on vera da pozzo reminded me of one of the stories Mom and I heard on our March 2006 Ghost Walk of Venice. (Note: the photos below are all mine, but were not taken during our Ghost Walk...I think they illustrate the story quite well anyway! I am almost positive the Lady of the Well story was told in a campo in San Polo...)

Our guide, Isabella - with her marvellous sing-songy Italian-accented voice - was perfect for this evening tour of Venetian nooks and crannies. We met on the Rialto...

Miss Ninja amongst the treasures of the Glass Museum on Murano...

From Chapter I of Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll:

'Now, if you'll only attend, Kitty, and not talk so much, I'll tell you all my ideas about Looking-glass House. First, there's the room you can see through the glass—that's just the same as our drawing room, only the things go the other way. I can see all of it when I get upon a chair—all but the bit behind the fireplace. Oh! I do so wish I could see THAT bit! I want so much to know whether they've a fire in the winter: you never CAN tell, you know, unless our fire smokes, and then smoke comes up in that room too—but that may be only pretence, just to make it look as if they had a fire. Well then, the books are something like our books, only the words go the wrong way; I know that, because I've held up one of our books to the glass, and then they hold up one in the other room.

'How would you like to live in Looking-glass House, Kitty? I wonder if they'd give you milk in there? Perhaps Looking-glass milk isn't good to drink—But oh, Kitty! now we come to the passage. You can just see a little PEEP of the passage in Looking-glass House, if you leave the door of our drawing-room wide open: and it's very like our passage as far as you can see, only you know it may be quite different on beyond. Oh, Kitty! how nice it would be if we could only get through into Looking-glass House! I'm sure it's got, oh! such beautiful things in it! Let's pretend there's a way of getting through into it, somehow, Kitty. Let's pretend the glass has got all soft like gauze, so that we can get through. Why, it's turning into a sort of mist now, I declare! It'll be easy enough to get through—' She was up on the chimney-piece while she said this, though she hardly knew how she had got there. And certainly the glass WAS beginning to melt away, just like a bright silvery mist.

This lovely bas relief is in the Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. All I remember about it is that it's right below a blazingly lit reliquary case in a side chapel. Why I didn't make some notes on it, I've no idea...obviously I liked it enough to capture it in a photograph! The detail and finish are quite wonderful, I think. (Except I'm less fond of the cherub heads around the edges...I generally prefer my angelic figures to be full size with massive, graceful wings...)

Anyway, I wish I knew who sculpted this bas relief and when. It must be a very minor work that doesn't warrant much notice, because I cannot find any information about it online...I've googled high and I've googled low, but nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero.

I just surprised myself by realizing that I know what these scenes are, and who each of the figures is...at least I think I know these things. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

The scene on the left:
The Deposition of Jesus
Jesus, of course, is the central figure
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are the bearded men holding Jesus
Mary and Mary Magdalene are the two women bent over Jesus
The final figure puzzles me a bit...I first thought it was a woman, then decided it is a man since the head is not covered. Considering how most Renaissance artists portrayed John the Apostle, I'm guessing this is he. Of this I am unsure.

The scene on the right (which I assume is closely related, but a slightly different timeframe, as frequently seems to be the case in Italian religious art):
The Entombment (?)
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus again...again unsure.