Dowd adventures in Bologna

martedì 17 aprile 2012

Roma e Napoli

Finally we have all made it down to Roma and Napoli. the train is only 2.5 hours to Roma, the hotel we booked used very good photography to express what was not there. Thankfully Jayne went to reception and complained and the next day we were moved to an apartment on the top floor(5) with two large patio areas, with views over the area. The first day we visited the Colosseum and forum area, rather long line to get in, but l guess it was worth it, though the Colosseum does have a sense of hollywood, with so many tourists and a gift shop. But you are impressed by the fact that it is still standing, and it is huge, quite remarkable, and to think nothing has changed in 2000 years, as l can't help compare Telstra Stadium or whatever it is called now with it, though l feel the food would have been better 2000 years ago. There is the same box seating areas, the nose bleeding section, the shop areas to buy food or trinklets, and the same entry and exit system which works so well, and though they didn't have the covered roof, they did have a sail system to give some shade. But the obvious difference is the condition of the playing surface, much better even now at the Colosseum. As we left there, the sky turned very dark, and the wind picked up, my natural meteorological instincts took hold, l new something was about to happen, so we made quickly for a cafe, and just in the nick of time, as those who took no notice scattered about buying 2 euro collapsable umbrellas from the street vendors, and when l say collapsable, l mean they just collapse when you try to open them. 1 hour later when the weather cleared, all the bins in the area were spouting collapsed umbrellas. That night we all rather tired so decided to eat at a local Irish Pub, terrific decision , as there were tvs nearly at every table areas, the service was friendly and the food tasty, and not pasta.
Day 2, which was easter monday, a holiday, and a day when most galleries are closed took some thinking of what to do, but we found more than enough to keep us busy. Went for a 4 wheeled bike ride around Borghese gardens, which was alot of fun, and Jayne just like when l drive a car, was quickly telling me to watch out for the people in yellow coats and spinning windmills on their heads. We visited Piazza Navona to see a Bernini fountain sculpture, and two other excellent ones, it was a favorite of mine, and was full of a market of artists and their terrible paintings, which gave me great confidence. Later we went to Francesco church to see three brilliant, and l mean brilliant Caravaggio's, the great thing was that it was not busy and we were able to spend plenty of time looking without a crowd. And then the Pantheon, which defies belief that humans built it, and that it is still standing. The design, 43 meters in diameter, and a 9 meter hole, was copied exactly for centuries, as no one understood how else to do it, it really is quite amazing, and
like the Tardus, looks plain on the outside, and remarkable and bigger inside. A visit to Popolo Church to see two other great Caravaggio's of the man with the horse over him, the other was Saul on the cross, the upside down character, this was also not busy which was a real treat.
Day 3, we had a tour with only two other people around Medici Palazzo, the tour was very good, and the garden area is quite impressive, but what is most impressive is the fact that the French government, allow artists to apply from all around the world to attend there for 2 years and work on their personal projects, the only condition is that you speak French. The fact l cant speak Italian very well, makes it rather hard to pass in French, but the studios are terrific, and the atmosphere is very inspirational. The palazzo is situated at the top area of the Spanish steps, which is one of the Roma hills, with breathtaking views over Roma, of which l took many photos, and some quick sketches. The spanish steps is a complete waste of time, as they are covered in all types , eating and meeting. If it was not for a movie like the Trevi fountain, they would be no more important than any other steps or fountains.
We then headed off to the Vatican, along with several large buses, and many nuns and priests. It did feel like entering a theme park, but we never saw Mickey Mouse and his colleagues. Jayne had booked tickets for 3pm to enter the museum and the Sistine chapel, the museum was obviously amazing, and they move you along very efficiently , just like a theme park. The room of maps was incredible, and we found the fresco map of the Bologna area, which was fun, this room l really liked. Other rooms had statues of animals, ex popes, religious poses etc. Of course there was a Bernini, and a Caravaggio, so that impressed. You can't help be impressed, such wealth, such art, if the Catholics gave us anything, they got some great art, its how they got it that makes you wonder. The Sistine chapel is a bit like a cattle yard, and sounds like one, until the attendant every few minutes yells out silencio!!, which seems to not be quite right in a chapel. The fact that there are signs reminding everyone that it is a place of worship, and not to take photos, everyone is chatting away and snapping and flashing. Even with all that , how the hell he painted that by himself on his back, with bad light and so close up, is a mystery. The Sistine chapel proves that Michaelangelo was a absolute brilliant painter, and a good sculptor, as Bernini and Cellini proved they were better at sculpture. We did the usual tourist thing and sent a post card to Aunty Barb, back in Ballarat, but it seemed the right thing to do, after all she is a nun. That night we caught up with Georginia, (PEA) Coy and her Italian husband Frederico for dinner at their house in the perfect Farnese piazza. Though it was quick, it was great to see Pea and Fred, and we hope to see her and the kids soon in Bologna. It is always good to have a laugh with another Australian, especially when that Australian lives in Italy.
Last day in Roma, we had booked tickets at 9am to go to the Borghese Museum, this was one of the best experiences l had in Roma, and in fact in Italy. The Bernini sculptures l saw changed my view on everything, l honestly think he is the greatest artist ever, and sadly did not know much about him before, that along with a few Caravaggios made this place a absolute must to go to. Unfortunately they keep you to 2 hours, and l needed more time, so l will return just to stand in-front of Bernini's works and wonder.
And so we then left Roma by train to Napoli, and as quickly as we travelled from Roma, the scene changed, and the weather got worse, it rained nearly all the time in our four days there.
The hotel in Napoli on first impressions was not bad, the main room was as big as a squash court, the only problem was the bathroom was the size of a tennis court, with only a small shower, basin, toilet and bidet, what we were meant to do with the rest of the room was a mystery. I don't know exactly where Spartacus was, but the room was very spartan, along with the breakfast, which is always a shame, as you like to load up of food in the morning to keep you going till dinner when you travel l find. Anyway the location was good, though we had a small goat track of a footpath littered in dog shit to traverse to get to the transport or shops. They did have a restaurant, managed by others, and if you like gnocchi, a spartan dining area, a waiter cum chef, dish cleaner, who has a side kick who wanders from the bar into the kitchen with a glass of wine constantly, without ever thinking that the guests might like a drink, then this is the place to go. We went once, at least the desert was not gnocchi tart, mind you it might have been better than the lemon tart he tried to pass off.
The first full day in Napoli was sunny so we headed off to Ercolano, which is near Herculaneum, the town like Pompeii that was lost in Vesuvius. Getting there was a wonderful experience, first we caught a funiculare? which is basically a tram pully to go up steep slopes like in Hong Kong. We then caught the local train to the main station. It is there we met Remo Pessolano, a local policeman who was only too happy to help direct us to the right train. Now l had done some homework in getting there, and they warned on the web, to catch the train to Sorrento, otherwise it is difficult as you need to catch a bus and walk with no signs if you caught the other train. He put us along with himself on the other one. Happily taking us in the train to some seats, he smiled and said hello to everyone, as they all seem to know him. We arrived at a stop, he said this is it, jumped off quickly running into the office to tell them to help get us on the bus, and just as quickly jumping back on the train and waving goodbye. ( as a by note, he wanted to get my website and email address, and we now keep in contact) As it happened in the office was a local and his daughter who took us to the bus stop, which was 400 meters away, it also happened that his wife was English, and they spoke some English. So they then instructed the bloke in the shed in a deserted parking area to put us on the bus to Ercolano, which he did, and instructed the driver to put us off at the right stop, 15 minutes later after driving through the most honest looking towns, and people that reminded us more of the Italians in Australia, we were told this is your stop, up there on the left , turn and walk 200 meters, as so we did and arrived happily at Herculaneum, where we were met by a lovely gentleman who for 50 euro took us on a 1.5 hour tour, which was well worth it. The reason for Herculaneum over Pompeii , is that it is smaller and just as good or better, there is still plenty to see, but all the main stuff was taken and housed in the museum in Napoli which we visited later. After the tour he told us the best pizza place to go to in town, the sun was shining, we ate wonderful pizza, but it was the days experience that made it taste even better. We arrived home safe and sound, and it was one of the greatest days we have had in Italy.
The next day it rained and rained, and like Roma the bins were full of collapsable umbrellas. The Americas Cup was being held at the time in Napoli, but due to the rain, no one was attending the festivities, which were washed out anyway, but the Americas Cup is not what it was when Bondy was about.
Day 3, we went to Palazzo Capodimonte, to see a impressively lit and painted Caravaggio, and while there bumped in to Dario, our friend from Bologna, who was born in Napoli, and had given us all the advice on what to see, After talking about it to us, he got home sick, and quickly decided to visit. Later that night we caught up with him for dinner. But that afternoon, with the weather getting worse we decided to go on one of the bus hop and go tours, at least it was dry, but with the rain on the windows, and with the windows fogging up, it was left to listen to the headset, and imagine. We also visited Palazzo Reale, which was really good!!
Day 4, Dario had offered to take us out to Reggio di Caserta, the royal palace of times past, now this palace and gardens is what Versailles was based on, and Versailles comes out second. Sadly again, the rain ruined much of the day, but by the photos in the gift shop books, the gardens and waterfalls are amazing. The rooms are hugh and perfectly painted ceilings, and decorated with Venetian glass chandeliers. Everything was hugh, and quite spectacular, the only thing you are reminded of was the lack of toilets in those days, and the shitty job of emptying them. Sadly because of the rain we did not see the gardens, but it was quite an adventure, and is about 30 minutes out of Napoli.
Napoli in general reminded me of Buono Aires in Argentina, grand buildings in disrepair, the streets are littered in rubbish and dog shit, there seems to be odd people hanging out everywhere, which keeps you on your toes, and everyone seems to try to be ripping you off, which made the experience a bit awkward. On the other side, the town is alive and very friendly and helpful, everyone is in slow mode, and there seems to be no hurry. Luckily with the bad weather the streets were reasonable quiet, so l would hate to be there when it was busy. We might get back to Napoli, but we will be back to Roma a couple of times first.
The next day we got up and it was till raining a bit, but the sun was tempting it self, but we had had enough of traveling so headed out to the train station and got onto an earlier train, 3.5 hours later we arrived home, happy to be back, but with one hell of a great adventure over the easter break.

lunedì 16 aprile 2012

Art in Ferrara

Recently we went on a trip for the day to a brilliant town gallery in Ferrara, about 40 minutes from Bologna. their was an exhibition of a Spanish artist called Joanuin Sorella 1863-1923. He was a impressionist style painter, who did some wonderful plein air style paintings of gardens in particular, fountains and landscapes near Sierra Nevada. His work has a terrific freshness and immediacy about it. It is always pleasant to discover an artist that the world does not really know but has obvious talent. We went there with Antonio, the great Itatian artist and teacher to the boys, and one of his sons, as well as Marcus and Rosella and their children Sofia and Luca. Ferrara is a very beautiful town, and interestingly the old main street that runs into the castle is designed in such a way that all the buildings get shorter as you go furthur from the castle, adding to the perspective. The castle is hugh and surrounded by a moat, and there is always a market of sorts on in the town centre, It is really a town where bikes have the right of way, and cars are not seen that much. You can hire bikes if you come by train, and the town has many galleries and museums to visit, and is flat. It also has a famous hat shop that Sofia and l bought hats from.

The boys

The boys have been busy and active as usual, calcio (soccer) started back, they go to practice 2 times a week, and just recently the weekend games began. I have mentioned their coach a small, smoking most animated oldish man, who has a good heart, nothing to do with his smoking though. They had a game a week ago, the opposition was more like 12 - 14 years old, the boys just looked and stared back at me, and said their huge dad, my only comment was , they are, even the coach was smaller than them. My best advice to the boys was go out and play like its aussie rules, get in there and play hard, and keep running. l tend to give them some inspiration and advice, as they don't always understand the coach, and he often is yelling at Hunter, calling him Ewan, and visa versa. this is rather confusing when he wants one to attack, and one to defend. Anyway the match ended up 1 - 6, but they played well, and Hunters speed saved a couple more goals, and Ewan is quite the tackler and goal sneak, one just missed the goals.
Their week nights are busy with calcio on Monday, Wed, sometimes Friday, drama on Tuesday, Ewan has piano on wed, they have a small lesson in Italian with a teacher on thursday, and on Fridays they often have an art lesson with Antonio. I was asked by one of the parents why do you send your kids to an art lesson, you are an artist, l explained l have no patience, and they dont listen to me.
Their ltalian is improving dramatically now, Even Hunter is talking in it, but he is best with his waving of the hands, and going dai dai!!! Ewan seems to understand very well, and often talks back to people in the street if they are rude.
Ewan recently was sent home from school by the headmaster after throwing a foam ball at her. He was playing with Hunter and another boy Luca at playtime and the headmaster felt it was unsafe, and told them to stop it, and to play catch instead, so Ewan threw the ball at her in fun, but alas the headmaster did not see it that way, and the concern that other parents and kids watching may also end up throwing balls at her, she quickly sent Ewan to her room and rang me. When l got there and heard the story, l nearly laughed and patted him on the back, but luckily l remembered l was a parent and kept a straight face, and took him home, he was very apologetic and sorry, and felt very embarrassed for him.
A week later Hunter was told to write an apology letter to a teacher for mis-behaving on a field trip, apparently he was not listening to the guide, when l asked him about it he said , he didn't understand him because he spoke in Italian, and wanted to look at the pictures in the art show instead, again l found it hard to wonder what he did wrong, but l am their parent!
Hunter has taken to biting his finger nails, and no amount of weird nail polish that is supposed to stop that has helped, he says his hungry, we are increasing his portions at meals.
Hunty asked me a few days ago , at what age to you have to stop holding hands, l said you never have to stop if you don't want to, he smiled and said good, because l always want to hold your hand dad.
Ewan is still getting emotional, when he sees people begging in the street, or when l new kid comes to school and is teased, he really is a saint, though l have my suspicions that he is wiser than we believe, and he knows that when Hunter is misbehaving, which is generally always, he acts more saintly.

Lucio Dalla. March 4th 1943 - March 1st 2012

Last month a most famous and talented singer, songwriter, musician and actor died. I had not heard of him before, but seen him occasionally in the street, as he lived near my old studio. The town of Bologna, infact the country of Italy went into mourning, it is something l found quite moving, possibly like Jim Stynes death. There was over 30,000 people at his funeral, and they had his casket just off the main piazza here over the weekend do people could pass by it, the line stretched for thousands, people going throughout the night, just to say goodbye. All the shop windows had photos or paintings of him in their windows, the words "ciao Lucio" were hanging from the piazza and other windows. there was a mountain of flowers and messages outside his apartment, every age seemed to be touched by him.

Ciao Lucio, Piazza Maggoire

mercoledì 29 febbraio 2012

Thoughts of the day

Warmth is back to Bologna, the last of the ice has melted away, no more icicles hanging above us, the streets are back to the buzz of scooters, and the Bologna shuffle is gone for another year. What is left is a thick surface of dust on the pavement under the porticoes, which leaves lovely foot marks in the house now, as we just dont remember to take our shoes off. Along with that is the dust gets stirred up, and coughing is the new thing in bologna, throats are sore, chest heavy and the chemists are making a fortune with throat sprays. the roads have got worse, all the snow and water has dissolved the base under the stones and so it is rather uncomfortable riding the bike, having to dodge the tough bits, but today in my haste to be comfortable, l elbowed a bus, neither of us was severely hurt.
But the warmth is terrific, as the rules for Italians are clear, you cannot remove your winter coat, until the local council has degreed that winter is officially over, and that spring is here. I of course am not Italian, and speak it badly, so l have dropped the coat most of the time, and can be seen wearing only a colourful check shirt, with bright coloured pants, ohh the looks of envy, well maybe not envy, but the looks l get. Jayne must have become Italian over winter, as she is still wearing her jacket, and got angry with me when l wanted to wear by boat shoes out.
Hunter has been sick with a bad throat and cough, but Ewan marches on. Hunter said to me today, "dad, you know when l bless you!" he has forgotten the word sneeze, and has not yet the word for it in Italian, or he has taken some higher than mighty approach with me.
And as the signs of warmth came, so has the scalffolding come down on so many sites around Bologna, it is as if a flower blooming, the beauty of the restored facias is wonderous.
The school fees have gone up, and the standard down, it is such a pisser that there is no other option, other than attend a local school, but we have been told that that could really bugger up the boys, unless we were here for a long time.
The studio is working well, have been busy as a bee, and though there is no true natural light, all is going well, though we shall see how it is in the heat of summer.
Jayne has just read the blog over my shoulder and has instructed me that she is wearing her mid season coat, not winter coat, so apologize for that.
Better go, before Ewan and Hunter start reading over my shoulder and insisting that other things are not correct.

domenica 26 febbraio 2012

Home Sweet Home. London

Well we are all back from a week in London, and what a week. catching up with Holly and Steve Thomson and baby Rose in Richmond, and then stayed with Kate and Mike Frayes family in Chelsea which was fantastic fun

For me it was a Picasso and English influenced artists at the Tate, then David Hockney "A Bigger Picture" at The Royal Academy of the Arts, and then Freud at the Portrait Gallery, finishing with new German artists at Satcchi Gallery. The Tate modern was terrific, but no major show on that l wanted to see. As well as that we had an exhibition of Scotts expedition to Antarctica in 1912 when he died at the Natural History Museum, and another photographic show of Ponting and Hurleys photographs from Shackelton and Scotts trips. So life was great for me for a week, and the boys enjoyed most of the shows, especially the natural history museums rock/ mineral display and a dinosaur exhibition. A few weeks earlier l was in New York for 5 days, and l must say that London has it on New York for art shows and exhibitions, London to me seems very alive and clever, were New York seemed tired and the same. Don't get me wrong, Central Park, the people, buildings of NY are amazing, and it is New York, but l guess I was surprised by London as l did not expect much. Now we have been in Bologna around 10 months, and it was quite lovely to have fish and chips, steak pies, pork pies with squashed peas to eat, but the coffee and brioches are just too good in Italy to compare, there was alot of Starbucks, which is really crappy. We loved the double decker buses, and you must get an Oyster card to travel with , big saving. The other great delight was so many green areas, my favorite is St James Park, the view and effect of light across the pond is picturesque, but any green area is good,especially from Bologna were there are none really except for Marguerita Gardens.

All our friends were so good to us, Mike kept going out of his way as always to make sure we enjoyed ourselves, and Kate was so relaxed and easy with us, though she had sick kids and no nanny that week. And of course Holly and Steve were Holly and Steve, perfect. It was also good to catch up with my old neighbour from Waterloo Street, Simon Lee who has been living there for 25 years, and has his own most impressive major gallery there, he kindly invited us to his place at late notice for drinks, and we hope to keep in touch alot more. So London was terrific, and l dont harbor the emotions l had of the English nearly as much as before.

We did the "EYE" the big wheel which apparently is London's biggest fund earner in tourism, and l must say it was terrific, we went up on a sunny day, so that helped. The thing we noticed was the queues, we lined up to go into the Natural History museum for 45 minutes, then another 20 minutes to get into the show, then it was 35 minutes at Hockney, 30 minutes at Freud to then get a entry ticket for an hour later, and the wheel was a bout 45 minutes. They say book your tickets on line, and in some cases that can be quicker, but often it is the queuing to get into the show that takes time. My best advice is get a pram and a doll, push up to the start of the line, and say you had to leave quickly from the show as the child had shitted itself, and l feel you will sneak in straight away and for free. Of course you will have to find a pram and doll. Everyone in London is incredibly friendly, from the hotel we stayed in near Richmond at Kew Gardens to the cabbie, underground ticket operator, bus operator, tour guides, it was hard to find someone who was rude or uncaring. Thank fully we made it back to Italy, where as Jayne remarked as soon as the plane landed everyone started pushing and being generally unhelpful, ahh its good to be back home!!!The first meal we had was dinner that night a solid tortellini broda, lasagna, gnocchi, and tagliatelle fungi, simple and perfect. Followed up with a gelati. Its amazing the difference in two places only 1 1/2 hours away from each other by plane, and thank god for that!

mercoledì 15 febbraio 2012

The Bolognese Shuffle

Winter in Bologna, they warned us how cold it gets, and the chill gets into your bones, but like Antarctica it is not cold if you wear a jacket!
So everyone in Bologna wears either a Woolrich or Pueterey jackets, l personally prefer the more fitted Pueterey, there are of course those who wear puffy jackets but lets not talk about them, as they often wear their Ugg boots as well, and need to have sun glasses on. So its not that cold, colder in New York, the most important piece of clothing are boots, l wear Sorrells or my Redback work boots, but no boot is designed for the terracco polished walkways under the porticos. With just a bit of water or snow, they become a skate rink. And so the Bolognese shuffle comes to life, you see well dressed people shuffling along the walkways, rarely moving sideways, which is something they continue in summer as well, so wearing large jackets is essential as there is a lot of shoulder work. You look forward to a stretch of regular stone floor or concrete, but then you hit the open area wear the snow and ice are stained with the yellow tinge of dog pee, or ochre colour of shit. And beware of the falling icicles from the blocked guttering high above, if there are not casualties from this l will be most surprised, as Bologna is decorated like a christmas tree with these icicles dangling down.
The streets are silent, no scooters, few cars, and the people go quite, there seems to be less smoking as well, snow is such a leveller, it flattens space and softens light, it reaches into the people and subdues them, calms them. Winter is when the Italian bars come to life, they are a sanctuary from the cold or snow, a quick pit stop for a una caffe e brioche, and back out again, just enough time to warm the face and let the snow melt from the boots, leaving puddles in the bar. And cardboard, the material that l search for around the bins in the streets to paint on, takes on a new life in winter. Everyone is busy looking for large bits of cardboard in the streets, its a battle , as they use it to place on the portico floors to soak up the water, make it less slippery outside their shops, of course this brilliant idea has one small drawback, its cardboard! And so a couple of hours later it turns dark, and begin to break up, there upon wedging small pieces into the sole of your boots, making them now less likely to grip a surface, and the cardboard ends up spread over a hugh area, thank god there seems to be a never ending amount of cardboard in Bologna.
Now on another direction, we have had two lovely weekends lately with friends, going to Ca'Shin in the hills of Bologna, a co-op style restaurant, that has courses and holds events, it is a most beautiful villa in the hills, at the moment covered in snow, the kids can play outside, and the food and service is relaxed and most enjoyable. The other place was a Brazilian restaurant out in a nearby town called San Lazzalo, great to eat lots of meat again, and the best thing is their is a ten pin bowling place next door. Finally all those years l spent at the Golden Bowl came back to serve me well. Those who know me well, may know l have my own bowling shoes, that l somehow pinched years ago from the Golden Bowl, a red/white/blue banded pair, with number 8 on the heel, leather sole of course, the perfect dress shoe. I wont harp on about the bowling just to say the kids had a lane, the mothers another, and the fathers another. I came a solid second beaten by Christiano, the gentleman! who bowled wonderfully, having two strikes. But if l could say, l still have that lovely style where my back foot slides behind and across me as l let the ball go, it is as professional footwork as you could get, years of watching the professional drop outs bowl, while having a super thick shake with Simon Lee and Jason at the Golden Bowl.
The boys school, has been closed for a week over this snow period, why is another question, as you can still move about, and suddenly every parent had to change their lives and job times to suit having the kids at home. No homework was sent out by email, no thought of asking the parents what they wanted to do, no leadership, no bloody idea what to do. Well l am glad to drop that heavy load, just dont get me going again on the school, the cost and the moronic thinking that comes from this supposed International School begs belief.
Jaynes Italian is better and better, she has classes every day from 9.30 - 1.30, as well a her friend Berenese, who speaks solely in Italian to her, with the occasional English for correction, she is French, but speaks Italian perfectly, and is learning English, and this is the way to learn a language, speak it. Sadly l am in the studio listening to talk back radio, and mumbling to myself in a language that is yet to be recognized.
The boys have a young girl who picks them up from school on thursday, and spends two hours talking only in Italian, and so they are improving well, and have a better understanding than you think.
Off to London with the family on Friday, the school has a weeks holiday, called ski week, don't get me going !!!! So we are going to London, to see Holly and Steve, (the boys god parents), and Mike and Kate Frayne, as well as the natural history museum, David Hockney exhibition, Lucian Freud drawing show and have a go on the big wheel.