And then Parigi

The end of my semester in Florence was madness and suddenly I find myself in Paris.   And I still LOVE Paris!  It was my ART tour as on previous visits the weather was too spectacular to go inside.  The D'Orsay was fantastic.  The Louvre - crazy.  Saw some incredible art (yes, including the Mona Lisa) but was saturated after only 3 hours.  I'm so happy I got to see some of it.  Wandered, ate, photographed and just took it all in.  It's a magical city. 

An Amazing Experience

        

Naturally I'd rather use photos to describe my last two weeks in Italy.  Photos of the final art Exhibition (& Paris etc)  can be found on my picasa album. http://picasaweb.google.com/gypsylindajean

There was so much to finish for school projects, so many things to do and see before leaving and packing up at the same time.  Oh- had my hair cut & 'done' by Luca at the salon around the corner!  That was worth it for the experience too.   Had to say good-bye to some friends as the days flew by.   Went out to dinner at a couple of favourite restaurants,  Italian exams, Fashion Show by the fashion program on the 12th,  starred in an Italian art video (ok, my hands, feet & voice were extras),  pancake brunch with Experimental Photo class at Susanna's,...began to panic. 

Next thing I knew I was on a plane to Paris.  

Il Campanile: hearing loss

Happy Immaculate Conception. 

OK so...Monday was a crisp (3C) clear day finally.  The Duomo was closed due to the holiday in celebration of the Immaculate Conception.  However, the Campanile/Bell Tower was open and there was no line to speak of.  AND it is 50 steps less than the Duomo; only 414.  :-)  It was FANTASTICO.   Admittedly I did think I was at the top (a few times) until I noticed folks disappearing into a tiny dark corner staircase.  These steps were narrow and dark and a bit challenging to maneuver with a gang of people.   

The photo of me is not at the top but one of the levels on the way up.  One level - THE BELLS - was quite something: the views go without saying.  Then I lucked out (?!!) on being there right at noon.  I may have permanent hearing damage but it was worth it!!!  The bells tolled... and yes the giant bells (not sure how many) chimed for mid-day.  Just when the 20+ folks on that level took their fingers out of their ears  a new tune started.  Amazing. 

I made it to the top and, in total, took 158 photos and two cell phone videos.  Only a little late for drawing class!

www.wikipedia.org/belltower

Landfall! St. Lucia

Photo  by Tim wright
Sundowner made landfall in Rodney Bay Marina, St. Lucia today after 15 days 2hrs 28min 3sec at sea!  They arrived 3rd, despite their 30 hour late start.  Haven't had much information on the trip other than they had some windless days near the end that used up plenty of fuel.   Awaiting a full report.  Info on worldcruising.com  and photos on www.photoaction.com.  (click for links)

'Atta boys!!!

Tijuana & Christmas Lights

   

The Christmas lights are finally being lit!  It's beautiful. The Duomo at night - with  the lovely light pollution in the sky. :-)  Makes for a nice photo.  

Drink from Tijuana!!!!  We went out for Mexican food on Thurday night. It was wonderful.  Funny how a little change is always good - the spicy food was a pleasant alternative to Italian.  IT was a dry warm refuge from the RAIN as well.  

Black Panthers & Solar Plates

Life is a funny thing.  One never knows what a day will offer.  Today - Dec 2! (how is this possible?) our Experimental Photo class had a surprise visit from David Hilliard, one-time leader and co-founder of the Black Panther Party.  I bought him an acqua fizzante!  He knows our Professor from 'back in the day' in California.  She used to photograph members.  

http://www.blackpanthertours.com  

It was a very informative slide presentation and discussion.  Most people don't know much beyond the images of the berets and guns.  They were much more - providing food, clothing and education for their communities.   

Then later we had a demonstration by Dan Welden who invented the Solar Plate printmaking technique.  Sounds like just the thing for a sailboat in the Caribbean!  

After all that I was too tired to go to Beatles night at BeBop.  Maybe next week! 

Libri, foto e autoritratti.

I've been glazing over a lot of the meat and potatoes (or pasta and pizza) of what I'm doing here.  I am doing artwork, studying and such.  Really!  And learning new things.  I've maintained an A- in Italian but only because the quizzes are quite easy.  Spoken is still an ugly mess.  

I made myself a soft bound leather journal with a buttonhole stitch.  Last week we learned the caterpillar stitch; I"m still working on that one.  We finished our postcard project which will be on exhibit at school starting on Nov.27 (US Thanksgiving...for which there will be a dinner).   Current project is using a process called Image-On: printmaking creating an 'altered reality' of Florence.  I used one of my Polaroid emulsion transfers (Experimental!) for this one.  I printed it on the press on Tuesday and it turned out okay.  We'll all get a copy of one another's and bind them into a book.

Sadly I was avoiding Drawing class because I despise doing self-portraits.  This week we were drawing each other which was a little less painful.    

Started some intensive museum and tourist activities too.  There are still a lot of tourists around but not as bad as Sept & Oct.  I've been to Medici Chapel,  Bardini Gardens,  San Marco Museum, Accademia Gallery to see David again, La Specola Zoological Museum... And that's only the tip of the iceberg.  

Speaking of icebergs...it is officially cold here.  It may have been -1C last night.  I'm layering!  Turkey dinner and lots of work before our last school trip to Rome next weekend.  

Venezia

Accademia Bridge
San Marco Basilica
Me, San Marco Square

Short and sweet visit to Venice on the weekend.  Tired after last weekend and a busy week but it was great to get back to Venice ('03).  We couldn't have asked for better weather for November.  Sunshine both days and just enough flooding to say we saw it and take photos!  No wet feet.  No pigeon poop on our heads.  Few close calls with crazy marathon runners though. 

We did get to San Giorgio Maggiore for the "Gregorian Mass" on Sunday but it wasn't what I was expecting. We didn't stay long.  Looked at the woodwork, pipe organ and Tintoretto paintings in the church, then the sailboats docked outside before catching the ferry back to San Marco.  

Shopped, got lost, found GROM, before catching the 4:40PM train back to Florence.   All Good.  

Canary Islands & Boats

Linda on the new yacht in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/canary.htm

And view from top of mountain looking down on banana plantations, etc.

Two days traveling for two days in Las Palmas, but worth it. Great to see Mike/Michel. Gran Canaria is beautiful! The place, the people, the climate, food/wine. My Italian has taken a beating after being in Spain for 2+ days. WE shopped in one of the biggest dept. stores ever, got a fabulous grand tour of the area by Juan and his wife. (Taxi driver - on his day OFF! so kind). Ate tapas, drank Spanish wine.

This weekend: Venice.

Novembre!!! Arte.

    Charcoal sketch

  Memory Game Class project - linocut prints. 

Hardcover with long stitch binding. 

I wanted to add some ART content but I didn't have anything 'worthy'!  Here are  some of the things that I've made or class projects.   

Since Mom was here and Fall Break I've been busy with school mostly.  Learning new alternative processes in Photo - litho negatives, Polaroid Emulsion transfers.  And trying to finish our postcard project in Printmaking/Bookarts.  There is an exhibition of that class work this month at school.  

Tuscany Tour; end Fall Break

Photos: Roman ruins beneath San Giovanni church,  Mom and I at CasaNova Vineyard,  Guinigi Tower. 

Time continues to go crashing by.  My Fall Break week is over, Mom has come and gone, and only two months of school left.  Our plans for going to the South of France fell through so we had to come up with a Plan B spontaneously.  We had a wonderful week seeing some of the jewels of Tuscany.  We tasted wine, ate truffles, 31 year old balsamic vinegar on ice cream,  whole seabass and gilthead (Orata), rabbit stew, king prawns, eggplant, tomatoes & mozza, pasta (mom), cappuccinos and croissants, tiramisu, gelato... :-)  Food is very important in Italy.  

Lucca and Greve were both great towns.  Even Florentines love Lucca - it is just the right size.  And has a fantastic art supply store.  Oh yes, and chocolate.  Because I was missing out on the 83 steps to my apartment while away, I decided to climb the Torre Guinigi (Guinigi Tower).  Towers were built to show the wealth of various families. The Guinigi family dominated the silk industry in the middle ages.  In its heyday Lucca had 160 towers (r.steves).  Right - so i climbed the 227 steps to the top which has trees and incredible views.   Mom chose to pass and take my photo from the street below with her new ZOOM.  

We went to an excellent Mozart and Puccini concert in San Giovanni Church.  Puccini was from Lucca (Madama Butterfly, La Boheme).  The floor of the 12th century church has excavated layers of Roman ruins below the existing floor.  Amazing!!  The entire city sits on similar ruins. 

We shopped of course, but didn't buy much. Mom didn't want more to lug home.  My Italian boots remain elusive.  And speaking of shoppping, we spent one day in Florence so visited IKEA.  I NEEDED a comforter.  Lunch was also notable: baked salmon, veggies, large salad, and red wine.  Almond tarte for dessert.  I am loving my new warm cover (though it doesn't help the big sag in the mattress).  

There is so much more.  Mom got to visit one of the SRISA campus' and met my photo instructor and a few folks.  She amazed me by climbing the Stairs from Hell several times.  We tried to get flights to Madeira to see Mike and Sundowner.  900 Euros each plus hotel seemed steep for a two day visit!  

Ended the week in Rome where it was in the mid to high 20's Celcius.  Friday night we went to see Trevi Fountain which is spectaclar, had dinner outside at a small trattoria, then walked to the Spanish Steps.  Taxi back to hotel.  We shopped a little on Saturday but we had our luggage with us (luggage deposit had a gigantic line).  We parted ways at Track 24 in Roma Termini as mom headed off to her airport hotel and I caught my train back to Firenze.  :-(   Fantastic week.  

In the meantime...

No time to write or figure out why this is underlined.  Photos from the last few days:  Siena, Greve In Chianti, CasaNova vineyard, Linda-Jean&David in Florence.  

Lucca, Mom & The Week in Review

Autumn!  It's difficult to tell in Florence (due to the lack of trees and the 24-27C temps lately).  But we could tell in Lucca on our day trip Saturday.  It was meant to be a shopping trip - for coats and boots, but we forgot to calculate 'the siesta'.  We arrived around 1PM, had lunch, but the shops didn't re-open until 3:30.  I found a couple of sweaters. The other shoppers did much better.  

As always: a lot of churches...and motorcycles! 

6:30 train to Florence. Salmon dinner. 

 

The week was busy with classes, various dramas in other apartments.  Mom, Joan & Lois were in town for two nights.  I got to spend an afternoon with them, have lunch and do a little shopping in San Lorenzo market.  Their tour is keeping them very busy - sounds like fun.  They headed off to the Amalfi coast and then Rome.  Photo of us on roof of Astoria Hotel with Duomo in back.  

Cinque Terre

Ah... Cinque Terre ( "five lands" - villages) of rugged coast on the Italian Riviera west of La Spezia.   5Terre is a UNESCO world heritage site and a National Park.  There is no vehicle access - only train, boat or foot.  Michel and I were there in /03 and loved it.  I got to see a bit more this time.  

 We took the 8AM train to Monterosso where we toured/photographed (some/one swam! and it wasn't ME), then had a two hour feast of seafood, salad, patate fritte, local wine, followed by Lemoncello for dessert.  Sadly...we were all too full to do the 90 min. hike to the next village - Vernazza.  Hopped the train and toured around there.  That's where the fantastic waves were crashing over the breakwater.  It was unusually rough. 

Walked from Manarola to Riamaggiore along the "Via dell' Amore" as the sun was setting. Very romantic!  ha.  Caught the last train out; transfer in Pisa...train delays...back to Firenze around 11PM.   Giorno fantastico!  

 http://www.parks.it/parco.nazionale.cinque.terre/Eindex.html

Sorrento, Naples & Pompeii

The cold that's been going around finally got to me but it didn't damper my trip south.  We took the train to Naples then Sorrento where our hotel was.  Sorrento - known for it's lemons - was a cute little touristy town on the coast.  We went out for dinner on Friday night to 'Da Emilia'  right at the waters edge.  Fantastic seafood, service and lemoncello.  

Saturday breakfast at 8AM then the Circumvesuviana (the train that goes... around Vesuvius!) to Pompeii.  Pompeii was incredible.  Approx 20,000 people died there in 79AD when Mount Vesuvius erupted and created this time capsule.  Truly awesome - I took a lot of photos.  We only toured about a quarter of this former 'colony' of Rome.   We all (15) raced off back to Sorrento to catch a ferry to Capri (pronounced KAHpree).  Beautiful island.  Dinner and gelato back in Sorrento. 

Sunday:  Up for 8AM breakfast again then the Circumvesuviana to Naples where we had a tour guide show us some of the sites.  Naples is famous for it's churches and pizza.  It is so different from Florence and Rome - much poorer but still beautiful.  Naturally lunch was pizza.   We had to catch the train (Eurostar) back to Florence at 4PM.  Back to study for Italian quiz on Monday.  

Note 1 - all photos above from Pompeii.  Lots more on picasaweb.

Note 2 - Spike Lee in town on Tues. promoting his new movie.  A few folks met him at the press conference.  

Studio l'arte a Firenze!

3 Photos from my walk-about last weekend.  The giant 5 Euro cappuccio... lesson learned.  Don't sit down for a large coffee in a high tourist area.  Busy week with classes.  Projects are starting to pile up.  We have a postcard project using a pangram and the letterpress, a  Memory game project that we have to print two lino cut images.  The class will all do two and we'll create a game and all get a copy in a clam shell box we make.  I have to do a presentation on an alternative processes photographer and print 5 GOOD B&W images for my Symbolism project.  I'm thinking of dropping drawing!   Naples and Pompeii this weekend.  

Karen C and Paula T arrived in Florence yesterday.  Gave them a quick tour of the San Lorenzo Market and a cell phone/internet spot.  Paula forgot her cell phone charger.  Having dinner with them tonight.  

Mike/Michel arrives on this continent today!  So close...and yet so far.  

Must run.  Devo andare! ciao

Photo Meditation

First - we have hot water!  Went out again on Tuesday.  

Second - I forgot how much I loved being in the darkroom!  The smell of the chemicals (true!), the quiet and the rocking of the trays while watching your photo come to life.   I"m happy with how my negatives came out - I seem to remember how to take photos on Manual.  Eccellente!  

Book arts/Printmaking: Sewed up my sketch-notebook with coptic stitch instead of pamphlet.  And made accordion books in class.   Will post photos soon. 

fake foot

The fake foot of David with the Duomo in the background.  

A little old and new, and a paper store NOT open on Sunday morning.  

It rained for most of Saturday so it was a quiet day at 'home' which was nice. Made one excursion later in the day to buy paper but the shop was chiuso (closed).   Skyped Mike and Joe who were in Bayfield... and was feeling a bit lonely.  So checked online for directions to a couple of jazz clubs I heard about, then asked Jessi if she wanted to go check one out.  WE picked the one easiest to find and headed out in the rain.  Pink umbrella purchased en route! 

Found the BeBop Music Club! A little place in a basement.  Band came on at 11PM... and to our surprise it was a Led Zeppelin cover band!!!  Too funny - this long curly haired 'old' rocker guy is yacking away in Italian then breaks into a decent rendition of Ramble On. Had my first mojito at a ridiculous 7 euros!   It was fun but got too hot and loud so left about 12:30.  Couldn't resist trying the baklava at a spot across the street, then home to bed. 

Up early Sunday to take advantage of the sun (non-rain really) to go shoot some film (that's this stuff that people used to put in cameras and have to get developed before seeing their photos- crazy mixed up thing).  Walked and walked:  Duomo, Uffizi, Piazza della Signoria, Santa Croce...   Across the Ponte Vecchio to the old neighbourhood where we stayed in 2003.  Stopped along the way for a croissant and cappuccino (2.20 euros).  And yes, I popped into a few stores along the way too.  Crawled up the $%^&*# stairs around 3:30pm.  

(Photos on picasaweb albums- there's two now. Ask me)

Early supper of gluten free pasta with pesto chicken.  Again, to keep things honest ;-)  I joined in watching an episode of America's Next Top Model on someone's laptop (our TV still doesn't work).  My brain enjoyed the brief mush.   

Tonight's forecast:   10 Celcius!!!!  

holy hail storms

Friday:  WAs out shooting B&W for a project (with my new camera argh) when it got dark and started to thunder and lightening.  Barely got home before this hail storm went over!   

Cooled things off at least. 

 

wine, piazza & just hot

Martedi/Tues... great classes. Found vino shop where return with your bottle and fill it with whichever type you'd like. Had our first communal dinner of salmon, smashed potatoes and caprese salad! 

Mercoledi/Wed.  35 C hot.  Drawing class sitting outside in various piazza drawing statues and fountains.  Two american ladies (new york and new jersey) said they wanted to take art classes after they saw my instructor, Marco.  lol 

giovedi/Thurs.  Forecast for 36C- and felt like it.  Made books (yahoo), sketched in the botanic gardens. Not as nice as Tortola's!  Skipped walking home before my 4:15pm class; instead opted to spend quality time in school (read Air conditioning).