venice

there is always that time - some time - after a vacation where you can recall the sights and the smells and the minutia of details. and you can kind of even re-create a flutter in your head or your heart or the distinct feeling of excitement of when you are someplace OTHER. and then it starts to fade. and you rely on the way that you tell these memories to others to conjure. and you rely on the photos [in my case hundreds of photos] that you take. glad that there are these frozen moments of that time because really? how do you encapsulate an experience? and how do you know the repercussions it will have on your psyche? or the influence it may have on your work? your opinion? your taste?



venice was indeed like a magical wonderland [not unlike disney, but really enchanting because after all it is more than just simulacra - at least i think so]

and i can't even really figure out what to say about it because the whole day was an experience - so instead i'll type what i wrote in my journal that evening. [and keep in mind i no longer journal the way i used to post little]


taxi to train. oh italian trains - after 1/2 hour delay - off we went
2 yo gabba's later and some rollings past cows, horses grapes, some marble, a mine and VERONA [i've heard of that town yes?]. every town has a church or a castle, or both.

V E N I C E

leaving the dingy train station you can only utter 'oh my god'
really?
could it be more fairy tale esque?


narrow streets. the GONDOLAS [real ones]. the sheer beauty of every building. the wrought iron details. the tones.


the small stores. the row after row of tourist shops. oh but the wood turning shop. and that kodak sign [neither of which could photo b/c the little was being "tall" on me]

winding around following the signs for s. marco < > ^ >> just pick a way. any way. you'll get there


a square with pigeons.
and more narrow corridors
and another square.
the dragon light with the umbrella shade [also no photo]


and then


as if the world opens up


the square.
white.
huge.


majestic.
morrocan. mosaic.


it's almost too much to take in.
especially with a toddler who with no nap is on melt-down alert.


thank god for pigeons?


the boat ride.
people live like this? water taxis?
the awnings
the yellow
the melon
the green
the churches
people live like this?



do you ever leave venice if you live here?
what other city would be so captivating? [ok. there are other cool cities, but this feels so unique]

the hordes of people


the well dressed woman on the boat [i did get a photo!]


and the little. eating 6 packages of sembei.
drinking lemonata and saying spicy [hands raised to her face]
gelato
the pigeons eating out of ba-chan's hand !!!!!
and finally collapsing
finally
asleep on my shoulder on the train.


venice. i hope i return.

all the pics are here

milano

i have so many balls in the air at the moment that this blog and my blog reading has pretty much been thrown up up up in the hope that i can eventually catch it and continue on as if nothing had happened. [wishful thinking?]

OK so milan. it probably wouldn't be the place i would choose if i were going to pick a city of my dreams to travel to in italy [of course you think florence or rome or the vast countryside] - but it's what was chosen for me... and i'm not in the least bit upset about my fortune.



i mean really. how can you go wrong with old buildings, a massive gothic chruch, wrought iron details, red architectural accents, a distinct color yellow for buildings, shutters, cute new fiats and vespas everywhere, big plazas, mosaics, magnolias blooming, fancy shops, fresh mozzarella cheese, well dressed people, gelato, the best cappuccinos and pastries, chandeliers, and a bunch of people talking - no make that singing - around you [and about your art].



we stayed in a loft - this was the courtyard. it was the home of an artist and her son [which i didn't know at all when i first inquired about her space, but we lucked out. toys for the little to play with, and an incredibly kind host]. like many things in italy there was this wonderful duality - a building with SUCH character - and then through this narrow tiny door with a key that you had to turn over and over to lock and unlock it - and you were in a completely modern space - high ceilings, ikea kitchen, tall white walls.... surreal. the director of the gallery [who has lived in many cities in europe and traveled all over the world] told me that she felt like milan was a city of secret gardens - through doors lay courtyards of opulence and beauty if you were able to find them. it seemed true - the building the gallery was in had an amazing garden, and as i walked around i would fervently look through gates and doors to see if i could catch  glimpse....



i didn't get a chance to do too many touristy things, 1. because i was installing and 2. because when you are traveling with a two year old you have to attempt to keep a napping schedule :)

but we did walk through this amazing cemetery - the cimetrio monumentale. i've never been to a cemetery like it. row after row of huge mausoleums. amazing grave markers and mosaics....







these photos just about killed me every time i saw them. so amazingly haunting.



we also made it to the castello storzesco . this HUGE castle that houses i don't know how many museums and is one type of architecture built upon another... when you think CASTLE - this could be the huge version that broke the mold.



one of my absolute favorite moments. these stripes. in an alcove on your way through one of the many exists of this castle.



i will remember that the little played with fountains here... and stray cats... and pigeons, and threw her first money into a fountain. and she met a baby - mathilda - they screamed and cooed at one another with glee.



i didn't have a bad cappuccino the entire trip. i mean really - you would think that we could make one just as good in the states. but we don't. really. we don't. at least not consistently.





so milan is the center of fashion and shopping, right? so evident by the windows...





there are MANY MANY more photos - and still a few more to come... you can see them all in my MILANO flickr set . i will try and show you venice - and explain how magical it was there [considering i was there for one afternoon]... and my show... yes. the show. the reason. the why. the how i got to go.... that too... but here's one of the gallery women all dressed up and adorable for the opening



till soon.

where to begin?

every time i go on a trip i relish it.

even if there are moments that you don't want to remember but know that you will [the little screaming on the plane as it takes off - i don't want to be on broken airplane - want to go home - get off broken airplane ! {{our flight out was delayed by an hour while they fixed the air conditioning. it was hot. we were forced off. put back on. the little did great. until she was supposed to be buckled in her own seat. then the no-nap flip out occurred. luckily it only lasted a few minutes - though it seemed like an eternity}}]



in the end i learned that the little IS actually pretty flexible. and that she's pretty fascinated by things that surround her, especially if i point them out [in the car from the airport: me: wow look at all these old buildings. little: where are the old buildings mama. where are they?]



and it is incredible to see a new land through the eyes of a two year old. i wonder what she will remember of this trip. what i will remember through her eyes are pigeons [feeding them and especially white ones], trams [the number 2 by our apt was orange. we also rode the number 4 which was green], that we all fit on a boat, limonata is spicy bubbly water, gelato spoons would probably be good for oatmeal back home, cream puffs, fountains, hunting for stray cats at the castle.....



it is so fascinating to me how with in a few days the exotic can become normal. it was normal to see the incredible details everywhere. to pass the duomo on my way to work [installing at the gallery] for 3 days in a row. to hear sing songy conversations and not really understand them [except for a few words like importante and bella and bambino]



to eat amazing treats



to spend time with eireann who seamlessly became part of my family. whose generosity, wit, and natural politeness [and by this i mean a very unique way of participating -- she is present and engaged and opinionated, but simultaneously completely aware and attuned to those around her] was more apparent in person than can ever be discerned from her online persona.



milano was full. full of architectural details. full of color. full of well-dressed people [especially older women]. i will try to write a bit about a few of the places we saw. we spent a day in venice which was like a dream.



and the gallery . i can't believe i have a show in milan. that this was the impetus to go. this is their bathroom. of course more on the show to follow.

but for now? i'm still tackling laundry and an inbox and a huge stack of grading.