Morandi- Giorgio Morandi

While everyone has heard of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, few has heard of Giorgio Morandi, a native son of Bologna. I was at the Morandi museum in Bologna in March this year and was struck by the simplicity of his life and his work. He didn't have the patronage that the famous Renaissance artists had. All the money and influence of the Medici's were long gone. He lived with his sister, had a few objects in his studio which he arranges and paints and rearranges and paints again. He had this white vase which he puts flowers in and paints, he changes the flowers and paints again. He takes walks and paints, he takes another walk and paints again. His paintings are titled (many of them has the same title) ' a walk' or 'a vase of flowers'.

After his death, his sister donated his work to the city of Bologna and a small museum dedicated to Morandi was started.

It is a very humble museum, a depiction of his humble studio is also on display, his work numbers in the thousands. It is so remarkable to be able to work with so little. I have some 50 art books and I have yet to come up with anything original of notable quality. I need to turn the TV off. I need to go to spend more time in Italy, slowly take it all in and draw and paint something.......

correction

The Eurostar station in London is St Pancras not Paddington as posted. The old station was Waterloo. The new station is now St Pancras and this has shaved about 1/2 hour in the time it takes to go from London to Paris and from Paris to London. I presume it also shaved time off the trip from London to Brussels. The problem was the old rail tracks around Waterloo that slows the train down. I have taken Eurostar to and from Paris and also to and from Brusssels. My first trip to Paris was on Eurostar and I still have the menu for the meal on first class.

Food in Bologna

It is a lot of fun wandering into shops whose array of food is so different from what we have at home. The whole idea of traveling is to experience things that are different. One sees a lot of big whole hams hanging from the rafters, all kinds of cheeses, all kinds of vegetables, cookies and cakes. It is Easter week and the array of Easter cakes is so mouth watering. Wow! It's art, architecture, food and people that will remind us of our time spent in Bologna.

I just received a letter from a friend who is in Paris now and at 60 it's his first trip to Europe and his first trip to Paris. He expressed his thrill of being there and said he didn't think he'll actually in his lifetime be in Paris in the flesh. Europe is easy. I have to say I've become jaded, but not really, the thrill is still there because everything is so different. Even the every day lives of Europeans is thrilling, even their struggles, whether it be trash pick up or lack of in Naples, Italy or the lack of water in Modica, Sicily, whether they are putting Belusconi back in power.....What's going to happen to Alitalia? Will I experience problems when I fly into Terminal 5 at London Heathrow? If I take Eurostar from London to Paris, I don't go to Waterloo station but to Paddington? As Rick Steves' said, 'keep on traveling.'

Enjoying art in Bologna

...and architecture. Bologna is an unusual city in that within the old city all the buildings have covered walk ways that are usually beautifully decorated. Art and architecture is every where to be admired and enjoyed. I'd say it is a very livable city, very genteel, I like Bologna very much.

Antonio Basoli

The wonderful thing about travel is the discovery of minor artists whose work is major. They are mostly celebrated native sons whose work is proudly on display in their place of birth. Without traveling, one would never have heard of the likes of Giacomo Serpotta, celebrated Sicilian sculptor; Renato Guttuso, another native son of Sicily, Morandi and Antonio Basoli, both born and lived in Bologna.

It was Easter Sunday and we were in search of anything that would be opened that day, knowing in our hearts that we might not be able to find anything. So we walked along Via Zamboni to head over to the University of Bologna, started in the year 1000 and the oldest University in Italy. Lo and behold Pinacoteca Nazionale Bologna was opened to our surprise. It was 4 euros to enter and free for the girls who were both under 18. They have their resident collection of Renaissance painting and a huge collection of Christian Iconic art, it was a very large collection, and beautiful and in very good condition. I don't think I've ever seen Iconic art in real life, this was my first time. I was very impressed.

Then they had, in the basement, a baroque display of a lot of Antonio Basoli's work. I've never heard of him but went down to view it anyway. I loved it, I loved his journals. I love the journals of famous artists, I have Eugene de la croix and recently acquired Cezanne, some of their many journals. I took some pictures knowing I couldn't afford the 50 euros book of all his work and besides it'll be too heavy to bring back. I did buy a second hand copy of a book of some of his work, not all of it. It came in the mail yesterday. Now I wished that I have splurged on that 50 euros book of all his work.

Where ever I go in the world, I love to learn about local artists and maybe take pictures of their work or buy a book or two.

McDonald's on the road

We've just arrived in Bologna, dumped our bags at the hotel and went in search of food. We found this funky restaurant and sat down to eat. We were not impressed with the food, it was outright bad. The girls didn''t care for it either. I went in search of the Morandi museum, I left the girls to wander on their own with the specific instructions that they hang out around Piazza Maggiore and around Piazza del Nettuno. I enjoyed a little time on my own while they enjoyed playing the adults sans adult supervision. When I got done with the Morandi museum I went back to the hotel and found the teenagers watching TV and eating McDonald's happy meals. We had a more expensive room in Bologna, 125 euros got us an attached bathroom and TV with CNN and MTV. We were living large in Bologna, it was a bigger room and from our third floor window we could see the red roof tops of many old buildings in Bologna. The Albergo Centrale is right smack in the center of old Bologna.

I was glad the girls were having fun, they had already finished their happy meals and were playing with the toys. I asked, 'how much they paid?' 4 euros for each happy meal- what a deal! The next day we went by train to Ravenna, an hour away. I had intended, before we left home, to go to Verona. I changed my mind in Bologna. After Ravenna, it was still early in the day, so we decided to go to Rimini, at least to look at the Adriatic sea. While waiting for the train, we went into the McDonald's at the train station and ordered 3 happy meals. The sweet Italian girl was so helpful. She made sure each bag got the right toy. I don't know if she knew the meals were for the 3 of us. We had a drink, a hamburger, some fries and a yogurt drink and of course, toys! We ate our meal and played with the toys till the train arrived.

Don't knock McDonald's. I know when we see one in a foreign country, we laughed and think, 'which American would go in one?' I don't eat at McDonald's when I'm at home. I have eaten many times at McDonald's while traveling, mostly in Italy. For some reason they are prolific in Italy. I remember my first trip to Rome, my sister and I ate at McDonald's for most of our meals. We didn't know how to look for good affordable meals and we didn't know that coffee, al fresco, cost 4 euros (then) compared to 1 euro if you stand at the bar. Besides we were always sure of a clean bathroom at a McDonald's.

I remember buying a Coca Cola at a McDonald's in Toulouse, France a few years ago. The prettiest French girl with the most gorgeous blue eyes was serving me. She smiled, said, 'Merci, Bon Journee', to which I replied, 'Merci, au revoir.' French servers are not that nice. Only the McDonald's people worldwide. Don't knock McDonald's, it is a great American institution!!

Blogs on Sicily

A cup of tea and some freshly baked Madeleines and I'm ready to surf. I spent 3 hours on this blog 'sicilyscene' (http://sicilyscene.blogspot.com). It is written by a lady from Wales, who moved to Modica, Sicily to teach English. She details her life there in Modica - of water shortages and other nuisances. Remember the trash problem in Naples? Well, it is now a shared problem, Ragusa (I've been there) is to take 250 metric ton of Naples' trash. It's a fun site, check it out.

The other one I like is 'Siciliamo' (http://siciliamo.blogspot.com). I think this one is based in Marsala on the Western side of Sicily. I, particularly, liked his posts on 'on a shoestring'. More and more people are turning their homes into a B&B. Likewise there's a small movement called 'at-home' restaurants where private homes are turned into restaurants.

I, also like, his posts on wines of Sicily. On the island of Pantelleria, they plant Zibibbo grapes and makes dessert wines from it. The grapes are harvested and left in the sun to dry. The raisins and more fresh grapes are then made into a dessert wine. A bottle of Passito di Pantelleria goes for 30 Euros in a store in Rome.

I left a comment saying, I've just found reasons to return to Sicily for the third time.

Also please view the youtube video (coming up next) about street food in Palermo. They eat a beef spleen sandwich there. I have to go back to taste it.

Palermo's street food

Simple pleasures

$20 worthe of groceries from the farmers' market.

We watched this farmer prepare artichokes at a market in Rome.

It is so good!

It's Wednesday again and I've just return from the Santa Monica farmers' market. I love it, I can buy anything I want, it reminds me of Europe. The flower vendors are selling apple blossoms, Spirea and Lilacs. It's an incredibly uplifting sight, some positivity in these gloomy days. Everyone bought flowers, lots of flowers, I see even guys with armloads of Lilacs. Wow! It's fun to watch. I took the bus there, the fare is still $1.25 each way. What a deal! I see lining the bus route, businesses failing and closing. Things don't look good. My 2 brothers recently closed their business and contributed 9 people to the 83,000 who lost their jobs in March. Things are hitting close to home.

Before I left for the market, I chatted with my neighbor who was washing his RV. The thing is costing him and his wife a fortune to maintain, it cost them a pretty penny to buy, money they could have used to pay down their mortgage which is still very high. It is a beautiful RV, it even has a queen size bed inside but what for? We were admiring our other neighbor kid's new muscle car, a brand new, fully loaded Mustang with fancy rims. The car has never left the driveway, maybe the kid can't afford the gas. He lives at home and according to his mom has never contributed anything for living at home.

I told my neighbor, I'm going to pay off my mortgage in 3 years, he said, they're not even making a dent in theirs. For me, the reasoning is, I put up with too much crap at work, I will not spend those hard earned dollars on stuff. If anything I'd like to work less. They (the office) left a message on my machine to see if I want to pick up another shift. The answer is no, I'd rather write and read outside. It's another gorgeous day.

Back to the farmers' market. I bought all these produce for $20! $20 worth of pleasure, they're all going to be consumed and I get to write about it. Artichokes, ah, artichokes. We ate a lot of artichokes while we were in Italy. I watched a farmer preparing them, making it easier for house wives, it's all ready to be cooked when it gets home. Remove the tough outer leaves, chop off the tough tips, peel the skin off the stems, rub with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Put them into a pot of boiling salted water and cook till tender. Drain and drizzle liberally with olive oil and more lemon juice. OMG! They are so good, better than what we had in Rome, this is fresher.

None of my neighbors go to Europe, they spend all their money on stuff. When I'm home I try to create what I have experienced in Europe. It is memories like these that is keeping sane and keeping me going. Someone said, 'when you see what other people are doing, just do the opposite!' My neighbors need to keep up with me. The 'Joneses need to keep up with me. It's easy!

It is memories of traveling with 2 teenagers and teaching them that for not a whole lot of money, we can have a lot of fun. We don't need to get mired in cheap and reckless behaviour. I hope the message sunk in. We didn't even stay in expensive hotels or ate at fancy restaurants. It was very low budget but the experiences were priceless. We even got a free upgrade on British Airways on the way back from Rome and London. Wow! It's simple pleasures like sipping great Italian coffee at a bar in Italy and coming home to cook artichokes like they do in Italy that makes the life worth while.

It's not how much you have

I went to a serious estate sale yesterday, there were so many people at this sale that the line to pay was so long. There were years and years of accumulated stuff, things still in boxes, all going for a fraction of the original price. Some things were free, others were going for $1 each. There is money in every household, more money than we realise but we still feel we could do with more money.

It's not how much you have but what you do with what you have. Having money doesn't make one happy, not having money doesn't make one happy either. At least, the poor know what they want- more money. What about the rich, do they know what they want, they already have money? One author said, 'the trick to money is having some!' I agree, it's having some money and doing the most with it.

Depression and mental illness is so prevalent these days. Everyone is reaching for a pill, the poor reaches out for a pill, the middle class and the rich does the same, the mainstream as well as well as minorities. We are all united by Prozac or a Prozac like pill, the young and the old alike. We've never had it so good in the history of mankind- money, opportunities and freedoms but we are still depressed. I have no answer. I just count the many Prozac pills every day and make an incredible livelihood from mental health or the lack of.

In the end, the answer lies within us, not in a bottle of pills. We have to be contented with what we have, if not, go and make some more or save some more. We are too wasteful a society. We don't have because we waste a lot. Recently we hear of stories of people who spend very little money, they get what they need by 'dumpster diving'- look in trash for usable items- furniture, small appliances and even food. Lots of supermarkets throw away perfectly good food just because they passed the expiration date stamped on them. I've witnessed dumpster diving outside a Paris supermarket. While in Rome last week, I drank only tap water but my nieces refused to do that. I had to buy bottled water for them. The water in Europe is perfectly safe to drink, even the water from the aqueducts all over the city of Rome. I filled my water bottle from these spouts. In probably won't drink the tap water in China (my next trip).

There are people whose career it is to write about saving money. There's never a time as now when we need to educate ourselves about saving money. Last Saturday night, I switched off all the lights and lit a few candles. It was a very spiritual experience. I might do this at least once a week. It was earth day and I was supposed only to use candlelight for an hour, oh, well.....

I've already switched off my sprinkler system preferring to water the lawn with a hose. I take baths using much less water. I walk a lot or take the bus when I'm not at work.

I was musing, if Brittney Spears had backpacked around Europe, subsisting on pizza, travel on a railpass, have just another change of clothes, stay in hostels, do laundry in the sink, dry wet clothes on the radiator grill, she'll be much happier. She wouldn't need those psychiatrists or a pseudo psychologist or those hangers on she calls 'manager'. Poor little rich girl.

I have only a minuscule income but I'm living large. There's a saying among us skiers, 'one bad day skiing is better than one good day working.' I'd say, 'one bad day traveling is better than one good day at home'. Well, not really. Or ' being jammed like sardines on bus #64 in Rome is better than being stuck in traffic on the 10 freeway in Los Angeles.'

It's not how much you have, it's what you do with what you have.

Food on the road

a pizza of shrimp and rocket, very unusual taste, very good, we spent 35 euros on that pizza dinner for 3 people.

starters of salad and salami, simple but very tasty, to save money, we shared 1 salad, 1 starter, it was plenty to go around for 3 people.

even this Treviso radicchio looked like art work, a masterpiece.

More lettuce...I love being in Europe in Spring, the abundance of all kinds of greens is so uplifting. It is beautiful things like this that is condusive to a creative life, that's why Europeans are so creative.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity of taking a picture of this pretty lettuce in a covered market in Ravenna.We were buying olives from this vendor.

A street market in Rome, near Roma Termini where we stayed at a cheap hotel, 90 euros for the 3 of us, that's the cheapest I've found.

The countryside was started to wake up after winter, there were fruit blossoms every where. Much of Italy is still covered with farms and agriculture. Friends have mocked me, 'why go to Europe, it's just a place of old and moldy buildings?' I love old and moldy buildings, the older the better. But it is more than that, the scenery is so uplifting, the old style of living and farming is still evident, gives me hope in this world of so much blood shed. We must choose life and living and creativity.

St Paul and Rome

This year I resolved to read the bible in its entirety, starting at both old and new Testament together. Yesterday I read, 2 Timothy 16-17,

'May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me.'

St Paul did not travel to Rome as a tourist, he was in chains, he was to appeal his arrest and imprisonment to Caesar himself. It was a hard and tortuous road to Rome. When I read that, I was compelled to go back to the Acts of the Apostles to reread the details of that fateful trip. Luke, the author of Acts of the Apostles was there with Paul. Many times throughout Acts Luke used the word, 'we'.

Acts 27:1, 'when it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius'. (This was no cruise ship.)

Acts 27:3, 'the next day we landed at Sidon.... from there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus...'

Acts 27:13, ' ... so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. (before they were shipwrecked.)

Acts 28:1, ' once safely on shore, we found out the island was called Malta.'

Acts 28:11,' after three months we put out to sea.... we put in at Syracuse (Sicily) and stayed there three days.'

Acts 28:24, ' and so we came to ROME.'

vs 16, ' when we got to ROME, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him'.

While many has deserted St Paul there were a few who were loyal. This fellow, Onisiphorus, happened to be in Rome at the same time as Paul. Paul was under house arrest. Maybe Onisiphorus knocked on many doors, looked among new arrivals from the Holy Land, followed every lead, walking the same cobbled labyrinths, as us tourists today, looking for a Christian prisoner.

The first visit to the Mamartine prison was a very emotional one for me. I was there again the last trip, it's about the few places which is not fenced in, the rest of the Forum is now fenced in because they want you to pay to see it. We looked from the outside, not wanting to pay.

Rome, the eternal city, city of Caesar, Nero, Constantine and so many others. Rome, the city where St Peter and St Paul met their deaths. Rome, the city, featured so prominently in our bible. I am deeply humbled. The Mamartine prison was purported to have held St Peter and St Paul.