Fabulous Firenze

We are staying in a 4th floor flat in Florence... 51 steps... So it's a great cardio workout, and I'm really glad I did some working out at the Y this summer! The flat is absolutely lovely, and I was thinking today that hanging laundry on a line while leaning out the window of a 4th floor kitchen, is not for the faint of heart. That was while I was doing it, actually!

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I am travelling with a friend from BC, Serena, and we are staying with her dear friend, Sarah Dunant, who's written many books on Renaissance Florence. Her book, The Birth of Venice, is the first of a trilogy looking at women's place in that world, and we took the train to Prato yesterday to hear her give an illustrated talk on women in Renaissance art. It was excellent! After the talk, there was a reception, and we met two young women from Canada who both married Italian men 20 years ago, have teenage children and live and teach English in an Italian school in Prato. Laura from Vancouver, and Carmen from Montreal. I'm reading her book, Blood and Beauty right now, about the Borgia pope, Augustus 6th. Wonderful detail and well-researched. She brings history to life.

That talk was at the end do a truly rich day yesterday. We started the day by going to the Sant' Ambrogio market to shop for used clothes. What fun! Serena and I each bought a couple skirts, and some gorgeous scarves for a Euro a piece (about $1.50)
But on the way to the market, we popped into a mosaic shop where they cut the stone to create extraordinary stone mosaics. It's a centuries old technique, and some of the new work is at least as complicated as the old. Serena asked if there were any stones from Cahada. He thought a moment and said "labradorite!" And showed  us how they used it to show blue sky reflecting in windows..... The perfect blend of grey and blue, with the illusion of depth.

After our cappuccino, we wandered and came across a wonderful jeweller who has been making jewellery as long as I have: Carla Montemerli. She also makes lovely white lamps and hanging sculptures using  gesso, on fibreglass I think, and showed us pictures of a beautifully lit show she'd had in church. My mind has started popping with jewellery ideas, not specifically from what I'm seeing, but just from the full-surround immersion in art. It's everywhere.

Tonight we are going to hear The Swingle Singers in the Duomo, which has the MOST amazing acoustics. Sorry to be using so many superlatives, but that's how it is. I heard a mass in the Duomo in 2009, and the sound echoed through the church so long that the priest waited for the sound to fade before he started the next prayer. So imagine hearing beautiful a Capella harmonies.

The flat is close the Santa Croce church and piazza, and the church bells sound lovely and resonant in the evening.

To be continued.
Buona Sera from hot and humid Florence!

Arrivederci Roma!

The days have been so full of walking and exploring and getting lost and miraculously getting found again... Of crowds and humidity and buses and tours... that I've been too tired at the end of the day to blog. Also, I'm not impressed with one or two fingered typing on this iPad, though I am getting faster.
Tomorrow we go to Florence, so I must remember Rome before we leave.
Day one: MACRO. I think that stands for Museo Arte Contemporary Roma Something... giggle... Anyway, Serena really wanted to see this museum of modern art. I'm not a fan, but I went along and it was quite wonderful. Not to mention a superb first lunch in the gallery cafeteria.
Day 2: We took the subway to the Vatican... Transit is always SO confusing when you don't have a clue in a strange city... But we were there in time, mostly because I sacrificed having that delicious mornimg cappuccino... The tour itself included the Raphael tapestries, some art in the private collection (the cheapest work in the private collection of modern art is...ahem...$40,000,000. What's that about???) St. Peter's dome, and the Pieta. What I remember is masses of people and humidity, though the tour guide, Alessandra, was lovely and bright (how does she stay that pleasant doing 2 or 3 tours a day in those conditions?) and gave us a lot of good information.
After the Vatican tour, we thought we'd go to the Pantheon. It looked so close on the map. And would have been if we hadn't taken so many unintentional detours through the ancient, narrow, cobblestone streets. We eventually found it, and it was worth the effort. Then we searched for the Trevi Fountain with an equal number of detours. When we found it, We threw in our coins, over the wrong shoulder as we found out later (that was disappointing) and then, totally spent, found a cab to take us home. Ahhhh
Day 3: I slept 12 hours and we got a late start. We walked to the Borghese Gallery, had lunch along the way... Did the audio tour and saw lots of Greek and Roman statues, Caravaggio paintings, and learned about Bernini, who was evidently a child prodigy in the world of marble sculpture. Then we walked more, rested in a lovely, shady children's playground, then rode the city bus for an hour.
Home again with the odious task of finishing the bottles of wine before we leave...
The detours, getting lost, are just part of the adventure. It's all wonderful.
And tomorrow, Firenze!

Finally, Rome

After 21 hours of travelling on little food and no sleep, I've finally arrived. Serena was waiting in the Air B & B we'd booked on Via Montebello. Our first taste of Italy was a glass of vino Rossi at a nearby bar, and a delicious pizza made in an open oven with arugula salad.

Why was the travel so long? Not one but Two consecutive delays leaving the airport... First a small mechanical function that took an hour to resolve, immediately followed by a medical emergency that necessitated finding the passenger's luggage... and that took another hour! Then another hour waiting to have passports stamped. There were definitely 1000 - probably more- ahead of me in line.

Much more about the day that we needn't repeat, but when dear Jean from Sydney Australia offered me her seat on the train from the airport to Rome, I shed a tear at her kindness?

Tomorrow we wander, Friday the Vatican tour.

Now if only I can figure out how to get a photo taken on this iPad, to this blog, I'll feel pretty smug!

Oy what a day!

I'm wondering if everyone has the same thought, at this point the day before the trip:
WHAT WAS I THINKING!?

I found out Saturday that my roof is leaking. So that's why the drywall on the living room ceiling is blistering! Was able to find a recommended roofer who's able to fit the job in on Wednesday, but I'll be away and the cats will be terrified.

And one little nuisance after another, not worth describing...  I googled Mercury Retrograde, but it doesn't start till tomorrow. Maybe mine started early. I do have a lot of Mercury in my chart.
We shall overcome. All will be well. Be calm dear heart.

Next time I blog, it will be from Roma!

http://www.astrologyzone.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-mercury-retrograde/

La Bella Italia... io ritorno!!!

In only 5 more sleeps - well, actually 6 after the overnight plane trip, but who knows whether I'll  actually sleep - I'll step onto the land of my ancestors... La Bella Italia!

The earthquake in the mountains in Central Italy was a shock, and has put a cloud over the thrill of the trip, but I still can't help but be excited. I love Italy so much.

My great-grandparents, Pietro and Aurelia Lamborghini, lived their harsh, difficult lives north of Bologna, but my grandparents, Virginia and Luigi Borgatti, left there to come to Canada around 1907. I visited that area in 2009 but this time I will land in the city Michelangelo knew so well, beautiful Rome, and then spend a week in the city of his birth, Florence. With my dear friend, Serena, from BC, we'll explore the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Villa Borghese; we'll sit and drink leisurely glasses of vino in shady piazze (that's plural for piazza... you'll note that I'm thinking plural here...) that's about as far as I've planned so far for Rome.

Then we take a train to Florence and have a week of so savouring the delights of the Medici. We'll drink in the Uffizi, the Galeria Palantino, the gelato, the pizza which must be eaten standing in the street, the coffee ... THE COFFEE! is the best anywhere! ... and oh... the ciocolatta, warm molten chocolate in a cup that I savoured in 2009 outside the Academia, waiting to go in to see Michelangelo's David in the flesh. ... not literally, of course but it's the real one that he actually made with his own real hands, not a copy.

Then we have a few days in Orvieto, then to the south of Rome for a few days before coming home to Canada.

I plan to include some photos, so let's try one right now. Here's one of my favourites from Florence in 2009......  Ciao for now!

 

Singing at Eaglewood

I went to an overnight music camp this weekend at Eaglewood campground, southeast of Lake Simcoe. These musical experiences are always so INTENSE!!! mainly because people who love music are so passionate about it.

We all learned half a dozen songs in three 3 hour sessions, led by Tom Leighton and Carol Hasek, then sang them for a tiny audience and a tape recorder on Saturday night.

In addition, we had the opportunity to sing in a master class, which amounts to a mini lesson in front of other people, and also to perform on Saturday night. And there were music circles and singing in cabins till the wee hours; fiddles, mandolins, bodhrans, penny whistles etc.

Well I leaped through the hoop of fire, had wonderful learning experience with Carol in the master class, and decided to take the opportunity to sing in the evening in front of the audience. Tom played a great jazz accompaniment on the piano to my version of Teach me Tonight, a torchy song written in the 50's, and I actually had fun! Fun! Me! The nerves I felt were minor compared to the fun I was having. Now that's a new experience, and one I'm going to keep in my treasure chest of useful memories!

Happy 2011

I've been so involved with getting OSSIA off the ground that I forgot all about blogging! I just remembered now, because I was thinking how much I want to share everything I've been learning and doing...

But first, an update. My starting group, the 15 dear people who've joined me on this singing journey, met weekly in Mudtown Pottery, a beautiful gallery space with great accoustics, above a pottery studio. On Dec/ 20th we gave a small concert to invited guests, and raised some money for Safe 'n Sound, an organization serving the homeless in Owen Sound. On the whole, it was a very successful evening. We all enjoyed ourselves and laughed a lot. A great aspect of this kind of music is that it lends itself to audience participation, and the audience seemed to delight in singing along with three pieces: Dona Nobis Pacem, the Contemplation Chant, and Light is Returning (a Solstice song).

Now it's 2011 and because of the unpredictability of the winter weather here, we meet casually at my house on Monday evenings. I sometimes have ginger tea and honey on the stove. There are a few new faces joining us and I have faith that the group will grow.

A new development is our Sunday Meditation and Singing group. We spend half an hour learning a few of the simpler and more introspective songs, then meditate for 15 minutes. Then we sing for half an hour, repetitively and without any conversation... the minute of silence between each song is powerful... then end with mediation. Our first meeting was so emotional for me that I phoned one of the CCLT teachers for suggestions on how to ground and prepare the group to go back to real life. Denis suggested that I use poetry, and directed me to John O'Donahue... and thus begins another beautiful trail...

"May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul."