-
In Helsinki
I e arrived in Helsinki. Bustling and interesting. I’m loving some of the Victorian and thirties architecture. It’s hot and sunny … 24 degrees. I e booked into the hostel and found my bunk … it seems fine. It’s A very boho neighbourhood near the city centre surrounded by cool bars. I’ll go out exploring…
-
A surprise visit from a dear friend
Yesterday was feeling dull and lacklustre until I received a call from my Parisian friend. He was in England en route for Ireland … he paid me a flying overnight visit. Although it’s only a few weeks since we last met it was great to see him. We caught up and chewed the fat over…
-
After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art… National Gallery
I visited this exhibition on impulse having seen it advertised on recent trips to London. It was worth it. The exhibition examined the way in which Impressionism acted as a catalyst for various movements in Modern Art; Abstraction, Cubism, Post Impressionism, Fauvism, German Expressionism and many more. The exhibition contained works by so many artists…
-
Leaving for home! But before I leave a visit to Musee Carnavalet
Well I start my last day in Europe before I leave for London this afternoon. before I go I’m going to visit an exhibition of Philippe Starck the designer at the Carnavalet Museum nearby.. the whole experience has been wonderful. The first couple of days in Paris was lovely and I enjoyed renewing my acquaintance…
-
Saint Germain des Pres and l’Odeon
This afternoon Cedric and I had ananother wandering tour of Paris around the 6eme … Saint Germain des Pres and L’Odeon. A bougie area very different from the boho vibe of the 4eme. We did a little shopping at Courreges where we both bought something a little extravagant … then to Hermes and to La…
-
I’ve arrived in Paris
After a long and arduous, not to say tedious but exciting, journey I finally arrived in Paris at 2.30am, four hours late because a demonstration on the railway line. Apparently something to do with building a railway line through the mountains. Never mind I’m here and of course when I got to my hotel there…
-
Not ready to leave
I have packed and am ready to leave. I really loved it here and will miss Cristina and her family. It’s been one of the best experiences I have ever had. Breakfast on the terrace with the smell of flower and the sound of the swallows in the sunshine I shall always remember and the…
-
Giovedi … only one more day!
I can’t believe this two week course is nearly over. It’s flown by! Todays morning session was really excellent. Maurizio is always so clear and organised… kind but in control of the class. The three of us had fun creating a story together in the form of a comin strip. We really laughed a lot.…
-
The afternoon tour
This afternoon our tour with the lovely Maurizio took us to the 13th century church of Santa Maria Novella. Not necessarily beautiful architecturally though it was interesting. A large church it’s principal interest lay in the wonderful frescoes in the Tornabuoni chapel by Ghirlandaio from the late 15th century and those earlier frescoes in another…
-
A trip to Museo del Bargello
This afternoon I had a two hour intensive conversation class with Xenia … it drained me after four hours this morning. I enjoyed it and laughed a lot at least. Then after a 30 minute break it was off to the Museo del Bargello with four German students. Why am I the only English person…
-
A visit to the Museo del Duomo e La Battisteria
This morning I awoke a little later than usual. I didn’t realise how tired I was. I had booked tickets for the museum and the Baptistery as the weekend is free. It’s a little drizzly today but very warm. The museum is excellent. To preserve them many of the original sculptures together with Ghiberti’s fabulous…
-
An Italian evening
Yesterday evening I had a nice surprise. Cristina had invited two of her friends to meet me. We had dinner together and I tried to drag my Italian together and have a conversation. Luckily they spoke good English too. They corrected me when I was wrong which was very helpful. They were very welcoming and…
-
Pomeriggio a L’ospidale degli Innocenti
This afternoon we had a wonderful afternoon at the Ospidale. A very beautiful renaissance building by Brunelleschi. It was a fascinating place founded by the guild of silk makers in the fifteenth century as a place where women who were poor, prositutes and abandoned children could be left to be cared for by the church.…
-
A room with a view
I’m sitting at the table having my colazione of cereal, yoghurt, fruit and croissant looking at the view of the terrace in Cristina’s apartment… it’s sunny today after yesterday’s rain and the swallows are flying high squealing … they zoom everywhere. The bells of Firenze are ringing out from the churches. It’s one of those…
-
At Pere Lachaise
This is such a beautiful cemetery. Burial place of the rich and famous. There are so many graves and monuments and it’s so peaceful. Birds and trees and the sunshine today is wonderful … the place is full of strolling tourists. I think there are over a million burials … it’s still in use ……
-
Arriving in Paris … it’s swingtime!
Paris is warm and sunny this evening and in the Place de la Republique an impromptu swing session is underway. There are skateboarders and kids kicking a football about; it lifts the spirts. Art Galleries in the Rue Turenne have private views spilling people with their wine onto the pavements. The cafes are full as…
-
At the Tate … dissolving in light … Turner
The wet dawn inks are doing their blue dissolve.On their blotter of fog the treesSeem a botanical drawing. Sylvia Plath, Winter Trees These late Turner’s speak for themselves … almost unknown in his lifetime they are incredibly influential in modern art history; think Monet, Rothko and so many others.
-
Quotes on courage
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. Anais Nin I have accepted fear as part of life – specifically the fear of change… I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back…. Erica Jong It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to…
-
A La recherche de temps perdue
Well I’m lying in my top bunk ready to board my train to Paris later this morning and leave a chilly and dank Geneva. This hostel is terrible. It’s clean and the room is good but it’s so anonymous… like a big hotel with absolutely no atmosphere. 5 floors of anodyne corridors, an empty games…
-
Ravenna III
Baptistery of Neoniano Another beautiful little brick building hiding wonders. Sixth century. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves
-
Ravenna II
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia This tiny fifth century brick building is a jewel inside. It looks nothing from the outside but the interior is full of wonders. The mosaics show early Christian iconography and imagery in Byzantine style; very different from our later ways of depicting Christ. It is utterly moving and so beautiful. The…
-
The Mosaics of Ravenna I
San Vitale I’ll publish each church separately Begun in 525 this remarkable building was built and later decorated under the aegis of the Emperor Justinian and his wife, the powerful Empress Theodora. Both appear in these fantastic mosaics. They are truly inspirational in scale and workmanship. The photos don’t do them justice … the golden…
-
Il Torre Asinelli
I did it … 97.2m and 498 steps … I as terrified but it was exhilarating… and fantastic views of the city … when I dared get close enough to the edge. There used to be over 100 towers in Bologna but only 24 remain. Asinelli is the tallest. The neighbouring tower, Garisanda leans at…
-
The Archiginnasio di Bologna
This is a is a splendid place. The seat of the old university and still in use as it houses the rare book collection of the university and also the Stabat Mater room which is used for some lectures. Redolent with learning and the researches of great minds of the past. It also contains the…
-
The Basilica of Santo Stefano
I took another stroll this afternoon to discover this magical place. I’m glad I did because it’s shut tomorrow. It’s a very early Romanesque complex of about seven churches and chapels centred around a cloister. Two hall churches and one modelled on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It was a wonderful space with some excellent…
-
Some quotes I’ve been thinking on lately which seem to resonate with me more than ever
Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that, in a year’s time, will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings.…
-
Ljubljana and then off to lake Bled
The hostel The hostel … an ex military prison is really chic … voted best European hostel by Lonely Planet. In a bohemian cultural quarter. Clean, modern vibe with great facilities and good roommates. The area outside has some great graffiti and it a little grungy … on purpose I think. Nice breakfast too. Ljubljana…
-
Escaping ….
I’ve called this blog escape to myself and it’s struck me how many people I’ve met are escaping from something… or trying to find a place where they fit. Like me there is a dissatisfaction with their lives and they are consumed with the idea that somewhere there is that place in which they find…
-
A lovely day with a new friend
A lovely chilled day in the sunshine with a coffee and walk around the city with Sophy who lives in Devon. We had a relaxing wander and found we had a lot in common. Lunch of polenta, sausage and cheese rosti at a boho restaurant with a relaxed vibe … outside in the sunshine. Then…
-
A really unexpected evening …
Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world. ….. quote from John Evelyn “Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer”….E.M. Forster, Howards…
Escape to myself
Travelling to reconnect
Escape to myself 