Monday Moments at the Museum

A few Sundays ago, I caught up with a friend to enjoy A Knight's Tale at the Arlington Museum of Art. A close up  look at the decorative detail on helmets, swords, weaponry, and more were displayed. 

 This exhibit was from the Museo Stibbert in  Florence, Italy. Armor, mounted equestrian, etc  - 130  pieces from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and up to the 1800s.  It was all quite interesting and we spent an hour perusing. 

 I keep saying - check out the nooks and crannies in  your neighborhood - small museums are a delight. 

Book Review - Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

 Cover blurb that captures attention - In World War II Italy, Love Was Worth Spying For

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan is a fictionalized version of a young man's true story from WWII Italy.  There are far more tales of Germany, Poland, and France. But Italy had some incredible dark hours and Pino Lella was a teenage in love who had no skin in the game until he DID.  He joined an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps. 

Then, after enlisting as a German soldier, Pino ended up as the driver for General Hans Leyers - a right hand man to Hitler. As a spy for the Allies, inside the High Command, Pino holds a lot of responsibility. Yet, he's still a teen in love.  The author captures all of the emotions of a teen in flux with the backdrop of war and the pressures involved.  We see Pino grow into a man, endure the horrors of war, be involved in death, and fight to live. 

This is a page turning saga and amazing that it's based on a real man. The author did his research, met and talked with Pino Lella, and captured a time and place in history that will live forever.  Well done!

Wednesday Wisdom - Solitude

Each hour seems to bring new madness. 

Let's backtrack and enjoy my pics from Italy in 2014. What a lovely country full of hugs, wine, piazzas, pizza, and more.  I vow to visit again with Ray. Good to have goals.

Meanwhile, let's contemplate Solitude

Solitude is naught and society is naught. Alternate them and the good of each is seen - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Great decisions in the realm of thought and momentous discoveries and solutions of problems are only possible to an individual working in solitude - Sigmund Freud

Solitude is un-American - Erica Jong

If you don't like being in your own company, what makes you think others will? - anonymous

Food for thought folks to ponder at your leisure.                Alone 

It's okay..........

Movie Review Madness - Inferno

Tom Hanks is back as Robert Langdon in Inferno.  Tom is good, Inferno is so-so, but I’ll still give it a C  rating due to the running around Italy part.  Such an awesome backdrop.  I can forgive huge plot holes, the Dan Brown book, and even more plot holes.  Italy and Florence in particular are just freaking awesome.  I paid $5 for this movie, so you I can  forgive me.  You, my readers, can wait for streaming. You don’t have to fork out money. But this movie is harmless and entertaining in a ‘I’m sorta half asleep kinda way”.  Nothing wrong with that. No need to think folks – the art, symbolism mumbo jumbo is just that – all crazy talk.

I go to the movies to be entertained and this sufficed for the afternoon I wanted to enjoy. I like Tom Hanks and he was fine enough – he’s sincere and can project concern over a virus that could kill the world. Only he must solve the crazy puzzle to save us all. What better hands to be in than Tom Hanks? Seriously.   I’m not going to discuss the plot or the reason to run around Italy. Just go with it.

Felicity Jones is pretty, a good actress, and had me convinced until a plot twist. Apparently, the box office disagrees.  Where the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown’s first big book to movie succeeded, Inferno has totally tanked.  Hey, life moves on. 

Book Review - In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri

Cover blurb:  In Other Words is a revelation. It is at heart a love story – of a long and difficult courtship, and a passion that verges on obsession: that of a writer for another language.

Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, chose to move to Italy with her family. She immersed herself in the country, in the language, and then chose to write this book about her journey. She wrote it in Italian, her third language. She grew up in India, her native tongue Bengali. Her parents brought her to America and she learned English, becoming a scholar and award winning writer. But she always loved Italian and wanted to immerse herself in the language. Do you comprehend how difficult that is to do as an adult? To dabble in a new language is one thing. To learn it well enough to write a book in it is another. In turn, her original Italian version of this book was translated back to English by Ann Goldstein, a respected translator. Wow.

If you love words, writing, language, linguistics, learning, scholarship, perseverance, and more – then In Other Words is for you. I’ve always loved Lahiri’s writing – it’s quite lyrical and smooth. Her characters are rich and well developed. In this case, working in non-fiction memoir, her character is flawed and frustrated. She writes of her doubts as she tackles this project. She recognizes the risk she takes to put these words to paper – questions the quality. But she climbs the mountain of words, and while still aware of her baby steps, is proud to share the struggle.

Any writer will appreciate In Other Words – the writing, the process, the constant need to check a dictionary, the constant pruning and cajoling needed to finish a thought.

And you’ll want to travel to Italy….. Pronto

Oh Italy a Year Ago

It's been exactly a year since I went to Italy with Ann Summerville.  We had such an awesome time.
Beyond words.  Met such great folks on this Trafalger bus tour - The Aussie gals were fabulous - Chris, Di, Jacquie and Julie, plus Paul and Dianne. I never laughed so hard in my life.

Italy itself was amazing and the people were generous, full of life, and truly seemed happy.
The history, the scenery, the gelato............OMG

so, cheers to travel. Cheers to memories. Thanks for indulging me one more time on pictures
My happy face hovering above Florence sums it up,.

Bellisimo........

A to Z - Eye on Texas: I

Eye on Texas is NOT going to Italy, Texas.  I am making a rude assumption that they have bad pizza

Idalou, Texas is near Lubbock and involves cotton farming. Good for them, but does not make for a thrilling blog post.  Yawn

How about Iraan Texas - I bet that name can cause some issues these days, if you misspell it. This Pecos County town in West Texas was named after ranchland owners Ira and Ann Yates. 1926 discovery of oil is key to the boom growth at that time. Today the town of 1,600 has NO tourist attractions.

Let's throw in a bonus Downton quote from the Dowager - First electricity, now telephones. Sometimes I feel as if I'm living in an H.G.Wells novel.

So much for the Letter I

Wordless Wednesday: Gee, Ya Think It Will be Pics of Italy?

Wordless Wednesday

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Silent Sunday - still milking Italy

Italy is dramatic, even the night sky.

Friday Fresco and Frivolity

 Look everywhere in Italy and the art is fabulous.  This was in the Pantheon.

 Vivid colors

 Stop along the Amalfi Coast and smile. No wonder the Italians are such a happy people. Lovely scenery and a gelato break ease the mind

The colorful fishing village of Burano in the Venice Lagoon area was picture postcard perfect.

Bernini and more

 Forget cramped airlines, crappy airline food, and jet lag.  I traveled to Italy with a good writer friend, Ann Summerville, and we hit the streets of Rome on Saturday September 20th, running.  You can't go wrong in the Piazza Navona. It is dramatic, gleaming, and a dream come true.

 Bernini sculptures have to be seen in person. Pictures do not do them justice. The detail, the creativity, the story, the characters, the size - I was in awe.

So many statues, so little time.  This was just day one, hour one and it got better and better. My eyes are full of beauty - Italy itself, the people, the food, the art, the history. I shall share the adventure until you scream "No more!"

Ciao until October

Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Verona, Lake Como
Pasta, gelato, Chianti

I am off to Italy with a writer friend.  Poor Ray shall hold down the fort, and hope for a t-shirt.
I shall bore you with pictures when I return and shake off the jet lag.  Stay well, my friends.

Ciao
Joanne

Armchair Travel

Summertime - Been hanging poolside after work. Dip in and out, read, dip some more. I read a lot in the summer - hence more book reviews. I also peruse magazines and Travel & Leisure has been a new treat. Ray had some kind of points rewards program and told me to use points on a magazine. Okay. Let's travel.

The newly arrived issue (July 2013) of Travel and Leisure is a gem. I enjoyed this writer's style and laughed out loud.

p. 12  Devin Friedman   The biggest difference between Italian and American beach culture is that Italians really know how to do nothing. We Americans are not quite as good at it   (I can believe that, though I can ooze into sloth pretty quick)

p. 40 Vocabulary lesson : Vanity Flair  The creative display of toiletries - a mosaic of toothpaste, lotion, soaps on your hotel bathroom counter, artfully arranged by housekeeping while you were out
Darn creative wordplay.

p. 68 Devin Friedman  But anyone who knows anything about Italy knows they have figured out lifestyle.  Lunch. Naps. Working hours. 

National psychology - Hey guys, no one is ever going to get their act together on a societal level, so let's go small bore and construct our daily lives as perfectly as possible. Let's make sure we have good coffee, never eat a tasteless tomato and throw ourselves with extreme prejudicein the pursuit of vacation. Let's suck out all the marrow of life.

Anyone else packing bags for Italy?  Someday....someday.   
Until then - Ciao, baby.