Dowd adventures in Bologna: 2012

mercoledì 19 dicembre 2012

As we head into xmas

Well much has happened since last l wrote, importantly we have moved from Piazza Santo Stefano to Via Cesare Battisti, 23. Though we were happy and it was a great place to live, this new apartment is much bigger (320sqm) has a car space and the most incredibly decorated frescoes on three of the ceilings, and to cap it off it is cheaper. Now this is partly because finally Italians are realizing the world is collapsing around them, and it is the smart ones who have realized and dropped their rents to market, the other ones who like the dodo bird may not be with us too long, live in the dream and wonder around in their fine old suit, smoking cigars while they have dust settle in their empty rooms.
The boys are very happy, Jayne is happy and so l am happy. It is lovely to look out some of the windows down onto a garden and trees, to hear the birds, and see the snow fall as we did last week.
On the sport front, the boys are getting better everytime at calcio (soccer) and thankfully with this new club (Bologna) they play every weekend. The only problem, l seem to every week make a mistake with the navigator, or the 24 hour clock system and arrive a bit close to time or like last week, thinking l was there 30 minutes before, finding out l was 30 minutes late. Though the boys do worry a bit that they wont be any good at aussie rules, l keep telling them they might play soccer when they get back instead, as they probably will be the best!
On the art front, l have been busy in the studio, with shows in Hong Kong, Australia, and Bologna booked for next year. The work is very clear and directional now, working in many mediums all in the one group of work, you will have to wait to see it , to believe it!!!
The New Zealanders left, which was a sudden change, as they were going back to NZ just for xmas, then off to Brussels, but business is business and it appears they may now stay in NZ. The boys and we were sad to see them leave as they were very helpful to us in the beginning and always good for a laugh, so fare well, Blair, Rachel, Ben, Josh and Brily.
I turned 50, and so much unlike my 40th, l celebrated with 50 close Italian friends, with a few outsiders thrown in. We had it at the new house, and ended up finding an Australian who has been here for 10 years to cater for it, everyone loved the food, and obviously the wine as we ran out. I made the big effort to get some grappa as the Italians like to drink it at the end of a meal, and it does make sense, as long as you only have one, it aides the digestion. But no one drank it, so l can only imagine there were some upset stomachs the next day. I got some lovely scarfs, hats and champagne. The family got me this terrific life size skull in Egyptian blue, l am not sure if it is meant to resemble me, but l have a hankering to rehearse the lines from Hamlet when l see it. A lovely surprise was Gitte was able to make it along and stayed with us for 3 days, she has not changed and it was great to catch up, also Diego who helped us settle in and give us a letter of recommendation to stay here came down from the north, very brave of him, but he must have felt something, as he went back on the last train that night.
We have done a lot of school searching in the past few weeks, as we thought of pulling the boys out of the International school, and moving them to a school that gave them more Italian. But as we knocked over the possibilities, firstly Italian schools were going to be way to hard for them to learn the language and do the subjects in Italian, especially entering middle school. We then looked at a school that is sort of International, it works on a Swiss method, a guess typically neither here nor there when it comes to picking a side! Much as we loved the grounds and many of the teachers and some of their thoughts, we could not help wonder why there were no kids in the classrooms!
So they stay were they are, and l think just finalizing that with them, has helped, the anguish of not knowing what was going to happen in January was making them act a bit weird, or in Hunters case weirder.
So Santa is coming, and Hunter made up a list, cool pants, cool sunglasses, cool hat, and a fridge, yes a fridge for his room to keep his drinks cool, l cant help think he may have some of my not so perfect habits in him.
Ewan still is with the robots, though thankfully meccano seems to work quite well instead, especially if it has a motor, and cash. He is the realistic one.
We leave soon to go skiing in the dolomites again, but this time to San Cassiano for a week with some good friends of ours, Andre and Bereniese and their son. We then come back for new years eve here.
Its obviously cold now, and everyone has got their big fur coats, or puff jackets out, Bologna does do a beautiful job on street decorations, and all the shops look so lovely, especially with everyone out and about in their winter cloths, all looking rather smart.
Had a wonderful meal last night Max, my art historian took me out to his favourite restaurant, an old flour mill, that happened to be at the end of the road we lived in for two months when we got here, Via Malvolta, it is called Osteria Satyricon al Mulino Parisio, one of the best places l have been. Not expensive, small and cosy. had the best lasagna l have ever had, horse meat which didn't taste like horse meat, mind you what does that taste like, just meat, uncooked with some tabasco and onion. finished the night with a licorice liquor which was rather yummy.
So tata for now.

martedì 6 novembre 2012

Barcelona

The boys had a week holiday, 1st term l guess, and so we decided to head to Barcelona, as the weather would still be quite warm, and thankfully it was, while Bologna was in rain.
Jayne as usual found a great apartment that looked up at Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's basilica) This building was never finished when he died, and is still being built, l noted that no date was given for completion. This is partly the reason l feel Spain is where it is, they do have a lovely as it comes attitude, sometimes making the Italians look like Americans. This building is so remarkable, a wonder of the world, even unfinished. There is nothing like it in the world, and Gaudi is so different and inspiring. He was not the only one doing that sort of work, but he was a leader and had some wonderful supporters and clients. His work is based strongly on nature and he makes things look alive in this way, this building along with all the houses he did, or the Parc Guell are must sees in the world. If you have to see one or two houses, l would suggest the Casa Batllo, Palau Guell, the attention to detail, the no concern on cost or materials is exceptional.
Barcelona is bloody big compared to Bologna, but a easy city to get around, taxis are cheap, and the subway works well. The food is generally average, their bars are mainly frozen food heated with those plastic photos on the outside, which to me is a sure sign of a bloody large freezer out the back. But if you get to a good Tapas bar then the quality jumps up, and the service is generally friendly. But like most tourist cities, l think they get tired of tourist, and can be short or uninterested sometimes.
Most women in Barcelona reminded me of Picasso faces, so he got that right, but they don't seem as beautiful as l remember, or as tall, or as well dressed, but then again l have spent two years in Italy and thats hard to beat.
Hunter was a nightmare generally, and is becoming an expert in annoying me and then being soft and kind, he plays me like violin. Ewan on the other hand has been pretty good, and puts up with Hunter annoying him constantly. Hunter one day found a bug, which he kept and let crawl all over him, saying he was training it for the circus, he kept this bug all the way home on the subway, unfortunately dropping it on the escalator out of the subway. The look on peoples faces as we madly try to save it was it was stuck in the end (were fingers are not to go), they stared at us, as we appeared to get nothing, as it was a very small bug. thankfully with the aid of a brochure from a Gaudi house we scooped it out , it only lost one leg Hunty told us. As we came out of the subway we managed to get Hunty to place it in a bush in a near by park, rather traumatized l imagine.
Ewan was eager to use the 10 euros l gave them each on rubbers from his favorite place "the gift shop". Where ever we go he makes sure there is a gift shop, often inquiring will it be any good. I looked but there is no guide to the 10 best gift shops in Barcelona, something for someone to think about! Ewan was a bit disappointed to find we were staying in a serviced apartment, that meant no hotel soaps or shampoos for him to collect.
The only problem with our apartment (Sensation Apartments, del Rosello, 380) was the first two mornings as l went out on the balcony to look at Sagrada Familia l saw firstly pop corn and cigarette butts, l told this too the staff, and they said they think they know who above us is responsible. The next day it was red wine splattered over everything with more cigarette butts. When l told the staff again, they showed me a photo of the kitchen of the suspected culprits, in it was a dozen eggs thrown around the kitchen, all l'll say was Americans. Its a good lesson when traveling we Australians should be on our best behavior, unlike what l hate seeing at Gallipoli. ( drunk australians wrapped in aussi flags)
We caught up with Peter Churcher the artist from Australia who has been living in Barcelona for six years. We spoke to Peter before coming to Italy, and he was rather helpful and insightful re the emotions and attributes to living abroad. Peter cooked a lovely meal, and we saw his recent works from Laos. The next day Peter took us on a tour of his area near the water and the main basilica, a wonderful old area, with tight small streets, lots of feeling, and not as many tourists.
Now for some most valuable information, flying with Ryan Air. Jayne made the , and l thought foolish decision to get on the plane last, as there are no allocated seats on Ryan Air. I said we will be sitting all over the place, so as we entered the aircraft, last! the hostess when Jayne explained we were a family put us in row 2, l had the extended leg room, we had both sides to ourselves, and l cant help say it but felt rather important. The return flight, she said lets do it again, again l felt lets not push our luck, and again we got row 2 all to ourselves. Now an italian women who may have been a man, tried the same thing, now either because she was not a family, or the hostess did not like female impersonators l am not sure, but she was told to move on down.
On the last day we went to the town of Figueres, about 2 hours north of Barcelona, the airport we flew from in Girona is also north about 1 hour, so it worked out well. This town is very lovely, full of tourists, as the Dali museum is there. This museum is one of the most popular in Spain, l don't think its much, the work is early and mostly crap, but one saving grace is the remarkable jewel collection that Dali designed. This work is well worth the hour wait in line, and the crowd of morons who flock to see Dali because his Dali ( the comments l heard made me cringe, basically most of the people where ones who go to monster car events, and think McDonalds is fine dining) Anyway, it is well worth seeing these jewels they are just too incredible.
Other galleries to see in Barcelona are the Miro, which sadly did not have the video of Alexander Calder playing with his puppet circus, but still worth going to, great gift shop!!!!, and the Picasso museum, again generally early works. The Antoni Tapies museum is brilliant, mainly because l like his work, it also does not have a line to get in, Tapies is a major influence it appears in modern Spanish art, and the world, but l cant think he may have been influenced by the work of Alberto Burri.
Barcelona also has a great bike hire service with racks of bikes all over town, much like in Melbourne, but like Italy you do not have to wear a helmet.
Needless to say it was lovely to come back to Bologna, and have some pasta, but we will return to Spain, but next time its Madrid to see some more incredible art of Goya, Vazquez , ElGreco

domenica 28 ottobre 2012

Life of late

I feel as the time passes here l become more entrenched in daily life, and the act of writing a blog is less frequent or even substantial. So l will make more of an effort to bring to life, our adventure, and caste off my daily routine.
And this can start with the fact we are moving from our wonderful apartment in Santo Stefano piazza to Via Cesare Batiste. The reason is simply we need a bit more room, blame it on the trip back to Teneriffe and the open space and size of the house there. Also the fact the boys are turning ten soon, and we feel, and so do they, especially Ewan that they need their own room. The new apartment is also cheaper, and comes with three incredibly frescoes ceilings and a Venetian chandelier. The kitchen is about four times bigger than the one here, so we should be able to swing a female serbian tiger in it, and the kids will have their own play, study room, full of light and space. Of course leaving Santo Stefano will be sad, as it is the best piazza in town, and close to so many wonderful bars, restaurants and shops. But Cesare Battiste is closer to school and not far at all from the main piazza and other shops.
We have discovered a new ice cream shop, owned by our landlords son, and we all agree that we think it is the best in town, Hunty in particular thinks his straccialla is the best he has ever had, and that is high praise.
The boys and l continue to have lunch together every tue, wed, thur out of the school grounds, due to the contamination we would have caused by bringing food into the school grounds. The whole lunch saga is becoming quite the talking point at school, as the school has decided to bill three times a year parents for the meals, and if the child is sick, or misses school, they pay anyway, unless they bring a doctors certificate. This along with the cost going up has made many parents look at the opportunity of bringing their kids lunch, so maybe, fingers crossed l can cause a revolution and we can get a couple of tables in the lunch room, to have for our kids to eat the lunches the parents supply. I love the idea that the mensa (lunchroom) could be divided into the haves and have nots, possible ending in a massive food fight, with of course the final image a pie hitting the principal in the face, ohh the joy of slapstick.
We have just had a delightful guest stay, Di Managan, director of the Wangaratta Regional Gallery. It was great having a guest , just for one night and two days, who was eager to see the riches of Bologna, and Di never rested, walking from gallery, to museum to church, with a quick stop for an apertativo at Zannarini. I have a solo show at Wangaratta Gallery next year, which after Di and l went through it, l feel will be a wonderful show.
Hunter has been a bit sick the last couple of days, and he has tonsillitis, but after some medicine is back bouncing around, annoying all of us.
A couple of days have passed since l wrote this first piece, and l just heard Hunter ask Jayne for a hair dryer for soccer. As he says that when they have showers after their match's all the kids dry their hair with dryers. I have seen this process and it does concern me, thank fully Ewan refuses to have a shower.
We leave to Barcelona today for 5 days, and we are looking forward to it, the boys are becoming so frustrating, especially in regard to their homework, the level is getting worse. They basically dont seem to care, and l fear this comes from the classroom. Jayne visited San Luigi school, which the International school is attached to, it is an Italian catholic school, and very old school. She met the english, language teacher who may take the boys , a couple of afternoons a week through english and italian, and from that we can judge if they can get up to speed to go to San Luigi. We think the stricter, old school method may be good for them, and they will see most of their friends from the international school at soccer or over the weekends. But their new class would have 20 other students compared to 10 at the international.
They play each weekend in a soccer match, and this weekend they played very well indeed, even l with my basic italian could understand the compliments the other parents were saying about them. Hunters speed and skills and determination were as expected high, and Ewan got his teams first goal, and assisted in the pass to the other two. the coach even moved him to striker because of his natural instinct to position himself. He does seem sometimes away with the birds, and slow, but suddenly he bolts down the field, l guess like all full forwards.
Its their 10th birthday in a couple of weeks, and at the moment it is going to be like last year and no party, unless as we have explained their behavior improves. And then of course on the 1st December it is my 50th.
And so until next time, we must go and see Gaudi, Dali, Miro, Barcelo and Tapies.

lunedì 8 ottobre 2012

Pietrasanta, Lucca, Carrara

This weekend , we had an extended couple of days, thanks to Saint Petronio of Bologna, so we decided to leave on friday and go to Pietrasanta, a place that Michaelangelo got some of his marble. We stayed at a terrific eco, bio B&B. It is run by an artist, who was originally from the USA, but has lived most of her life in Italy, Kyle, and her partner Dado who like Kyle was the most charming and considerate hosts we have had. Getting to Almora was rather tricky, perfect directions, but as they say you come to a bridge on your left with the sign of the B&B, cross the bridge, well this is where l got a small concern, it was a terribly thin bridge, and l wondered what weight it could take. But what made me wonder most was where did the road go, as you looked at it, it just seemed to finish. So we turned the side mirrors in, and eased our way across, as we got to the other side, l realized that a road did in-fact turn to the right, very sharply, and the road got thinner. Now the mirrors are already in, so, and l know it did not help, but l sucked in and carefully drove around, careful not to smash the house wall on one side or roll over into a river below. Finally after a nervous couple of minutes we made it there, and as they said the second time is much easier. He was right, by the 6th time l was feeling much better, but still breathed a sense of relieve. So as long as you don't have to leave in an emergency, or drink too much getting there is fine. The place had lovely views over a small valley, was quite, but the sounds of birds and occasional cat squealing, or a car horn , as they warned on coming traffic down a thin road they were approaching. We woke each morning to a superb breakfast by Dado and chatted for a couple of hours with delight. Luckily we left sometime in the day to visit Lucca, which is a walled city, rather popular with tourists, reminded me of Sienna, as there were way too many crowds and accents. Had a terrible lunch at a place that trip advisor suggested, but l think that is because most people after eating there don't complain, so that reminds me l must write a review of the place. We hired bikes and rode around the perimeter wall which gave you a great look at the city and sense of size. The area around the wall is terrific, grassed moat area which you can play or ride the bikes, very green. on the wall top there are small porta buildings that have various offerings. One was a most detailed exhibition of a 100 or so mushrooms, and it was impressive. Puccini was born here, and his house is open to see, Ewan and l found it, but by that time Jayne and Hunty were somewhere else, so next time! We got back and made a careful trip down to Pietrasanta for dinner.
Pietrasanta is very arty, the most galleries in a small place l have seen, all mostly modern, and the main piazza had a sculpture on show, as well as in an old Roman church, which is dedicated to exhibiting artists. There are lots of very good restaurants, and it was not hard to get a good meal, that night we ate at La Vineria. The next night it was Giglio, both excellent. Piertasanta is full of artists who are getting their works turned in to marble by either local artisans, or what is popular now sadly laser and computer cutters. So the international artist turns up gives them his/ her marque and goes of to the beach for a few months, checking occasionally, and then returning home, and saying ohh look how good am l. Sadly artisans are nearly lost, as the few that are left come from a generation where they began their training at 12/ 14 and worked in workshops on various area until decided what they were best at, some were doing fabric detail, others hands and feet, some faces etc.
On the last day we went via Carrara to see the marble mines. I am happy to say that we shall never run out of marble, though the arabs are doing their best. It was incredible to see mountains of white marble, blocks 9, 6, 3 x 2 x3 meters cut out at the top half, and even larger blocks lower down. They cut them with diamond chains in a very clever method, and the cost of the marble is obviously dictated by the pureness of the marble. Trucks then carry it down the very winding road, that has used massive blocks of marble to edge the side of the roads. They then reach a gate where the truck is weighed, and the quality priced, and then it is taxed on that. So the government is making money there at least.
The boys and l on the way out, jumped quickly to the side of the road and got some pieces of marble to try to carve at, l can assure you they will never miss those pieces, and we never got taxed which is always a winning feeling.

Lake Garda

Well just after getting back from Australia, we were invite to spend a weekend with Alberto, Angelica, Vali and Pablo at their holiday home. Perfect weather, and it is a remarkable lake, surrounded by properties, town after town, yet the lake is so big, it never seems busy, and always seems to have a mist over the lake, hiding the shape of the otherside. There was a regatta on that weekend, and we went out in their tinny to watch it, sadly there was little wind and we did not get the see the boats in full flight, as they really can go, sort of large skiffs, with outrigger style trapeezers to sit on, which then contract when not in use, putting more weight to the otherside. We had 8 people in a 5 man tinny, thankfully as the coast guard went by 5 of us were in the water, so l was ready to explain that we, had swam out and were not with the boat, but they never seemed too concerned, probably because there was no wind. Apparently tens of people die each year in the lake, mainly tourists, as like the SSMinnow the weather can change very quickly, and you can get tossed. Very popular with the Germans, as is many parts of Italy. So we had a BBQ, and swam in the lake, the boys went fishing, and played volleyball. The perfect place to relax and exercise, something we find hard in Bologna. The next morning, l woke and watched the Eagles play North melb on the computer, with nearly a 100 point win, so it made the trip even better. Next year l am going to spend the whole finals at Lake Garda.

martedì 2 ottobre 2012

Corte Isolani

After a wonderful opportunity to exhibit in Villa Spada in late June, l was offered the space in Corte Isolani. It is a hugh brick wall about 20 meters high and 10 meters wide. The work was the "Bologna" series l had at Villa Spada, but instead of a round room 5 meters wide and 8 meters high, l was given this. The only thing l had to think about was the weather, as the wall is exposed inside the court. So l simply wrapped them in high grade plastic, to protect them from the rain and wind. this is the problem you have when you work in cardboard!
So after a nervous hang up a 8 meter ladder, drilling the pictures to the wall, while Jayne and Angelica held the ladder, what l hoped would take about 2 hours took the whole day, but finally it was up and looked rather good. I must say l like the plastic wrapping , it gave the work another dimension and sence of viewing Bologna through a different way. The work has been up now for nearly a month, in that time it has rained rather heavily, but not a drop has got through, and thankfully, no one has seen the need to press a cigarette into the plastic.
We are having an opening on October 11th, which will be good, and in the meantime, many hundreds of people have walked by and seen it. During this time l have been busy back in the studio, after a month not working in Australia, and l am on a roll. I have a few shows coming up, a group show in Hong Kong, and a solo show in Wangaratta , Victoria. And of course my monthly or so exhibitions in La Picccola Galleria.
The boys have been rather exhausting lately, maybe from coming back from Australia, or maybe because they can be!
Jaynes Italian moves along well as ever, and mine has moments of clarity, like yesterday, when a artist called Alessandro knocked on the studio door to have a look, he was passing by and saw the picture and me working on a woodcut print. So between his broken English and my shameful Italian we conversed, and l must say, l was surprised how much we spoke, l think it helped with his Italian being slow and him being from the north.
The boys and l have lunch every tue, wed, thur and it is working out well, so far no rainy days. The problem will be when it rains and the school policy not allowing us to eat a meal inside the school , unless it is provided by the caterers. But l may be able to swing a deal with the art teacher to eat in the art room.
So now l will stop, with Jayne continuing to practice piano with Ewan, who seems to not want to play piano, but other days he does, Hunter is just hanging around, bored and annoying all of us. This is after he suggested we join DOJO, a teacher/ student motivational program, giving points for good and bad things. Unfortunetly, he gets upset when he gets a bad point, and therefore losses more points. This of course leads from his gambling habit, and needing to win at all cost. He is now at the computer hassling me and making me laugh at the same time, better go.

Secret business in New York

martedì 18 settembre 2012

Back in OZ, but just a month

So we arrived in Melbourne on the 31st July for a month stay. I had an exhibition "The Grand Tour" at MARS gallery, and it was a chance after nearly 18 months away to see our family and friends. So it started us being picked up at the airport by mum and dad in a stretched 10 meter limo, which the boys loved, though l could not help think of the amount of bucks parties and second rate rock stars that had sat in the 80's style layout. Of course this was not the first time mum and dad had been in the limo, ohh no, they were out at the airport the night before to pick us up, as the Ethiad itinerary had us arriving then, they had failed to account for the extra day of travel. That along with the limited legroom is a reason l may not fly with them again. So take two they finally picked us up, and we did the long way home, as a 10 meter car cannot drive down every road. We left Bologna's hot humid temperatures and arrived in the coldest winter Melbourne has had for quite some time. Bologna is empty in August due to the heat, but there were times when Jayne wished she was back to escape the cold.
The first day was in Melbourne, and it was good to see mum and dad, and see how little things had changed, in fact l still had a bag of clothing there from when l left, which thankfully was winter clothing. The boys found some toys they used to play with, and l had a coffee with Tim Edwards, something that was a bit of a ritual when l was in Melbourne. The biggest change we found was the cost of living, l could not believe the cost of a coffee or a meal, ridiculous, and without sounding rude, the food was generally average, but the cafe latte's were still the best, though the expressos need help.
In an overview we spent the month driving back and forth to Melbourne from Teneriffe, and the occasional trip to Ballarat, other driving was across town in Melbourne ( which the traffic seemed worse than before) we had some meals with friends and family and truck loads of coffees.
It was all very exhausting and tiring, but it was always a delight to see our friends and family, and too realize nothing had changed ,it was as if we had left the week before.
So first we had my exhibition of paintings l had done of cities and towns we visited in Italy, all painted on IKEA cardboard, along with a series of woodcuts of Rome. I was fortunate to have the incredible Flip Shelton help me with media, and she did such a good job l was busy as a bee that first 10 days. We had an interview on Italian radio in Melbourne, which was a hugh success as many people came to see the show from that, another radio interview on 3AW with Dennis Walter, and then a couple of articles in the Age newspaper. But the art market is a bit sad and so sales were very minimal, one! But a great picture sold to some wonderful friends and collectors of my work. As all artists say, they dont understand me, you wait, the world will discover the importance of them one day!. But it may be the fact that cardboard was just too foreign for most, much as l mentioned Ian Fairweather's name to them. Anyway enough of may banter, on with the adventure. Ohh one thing we did, which Andy at MARS organized, a workshop in the Dandenongs at Folly Farm, sixteen people came, and we had others wanting to come, but that was the limit. We spent the day drawing the garden and still life, and when l say we, it was Antonio Postacchini who really helped, Antonio came over from Bologna a few days after us and spent most of the time traveling in the back seat with the boys. Antonio runs an art school in Bologna and is a dear friend of ours, and takes the boys on a class every friday. Antonio has a soft nature to him, and when we split up the group to do some drawing, l noticed only 2 came outside into the cold with me, the other 14 remained inside with Antonio as he taught them still life drawing, Morandi style. I of course put this down to the cold, but l think it may be the fact that Antonio is a great teacher.
After that we had a lunch in the near by village and back for some more drawing in the afternoon, finally leaving around 4pm to go back to Teneriffe. We had some lovely reports everyone enjoyed themselves, so that was nice!
Teneriffe was in good nic considering the time away, we have a couple looking after the garden and lawns and general upkeep, they live in my studio / apartment and look after Gus (dog). One thing we realized was how big the house is, after being in a small apartment, but it was great to have a big kitchen, and we all missed the space, that was the common thought with us all, and also for me the horizon line. Antonio found it very expansive and commented how he just could not take it in easily, only before we left did he start to understand the landscape l think. He was fortunate to see two large roos boxing, and lived in fear of what animal might harm him, as the boys told him a few fibs in the back seat.
We caught up with our good friends, Nedra and Tony and their son Finn who is the boys best friend, and of course Simon and Kym and Ranni. I luckily had two wonderful body treatments by Kym, which l had really needed, and the boys had a sleep over at Finns. When we picked them up one night from Nedra's l saw the most warming sight, the four kids in the dark standing around a bomb fire cooking marsh mellows, something you would never see in Italy. No one around them in the middle of a paddock, just chatting away, perfect. I wont say more, just it was a delight to see our friends in the country, and it did make us a bit homesick.
We travelled to Noosa, mum and dad were up there, and l had a very relaxing time, finally able to do very little and have some good sleep. It was warm, in fact we went swimming a few times, got a bit of sun, and had the usual perfect walks in the national park. The boys love it there, both eager to go fishing of the jetty or the boat, Hunter seems happy to spend hours out there. Ewan discovered the paddle ski and went on adventures across to the spit all day, often taking Hunty with him, Hunty sitting in the front and Ewan paddling. They build castles and went on adventures, on their own little tropical island. They found a diamond trevally half alive in the shallow water, which we got them to hold up as if they caught it, it was a hugh fish, the memories of my Golden trevally back in 1985 at Fraser island came flooding back.
Noosa is the perfect place, nothing changes, even after 30 years, we went down and got our boost juices, and Ewans card still was active, so got a free juice a couple of days later. It was great having mum and dad there, as dad kept the boys going on the fishing, and took us out on the boat, and mum kept their maths and reading going, plus more rest time for me. And of course the noosa market, what a delight, the foods, the breakfast and the good feeling you get going there.
Jayne went to Ballarat a couple of times, and l came with them the second time, along with Antonio. Jaynes parents seem to be in good condition, and l am sure were happier to see her. Ballarat was cold, but whats new in that, the lake was lapping at the edges, and l must say it is a lovely place. I caught up with Watto, who now teaches there, and life there seems to suit him.
Had a visit to Melbourne Grammar school, in particular Wadhurst, for the boys to see what it was like and to get them to do a test to see where they are up to. As expected, Ewan was fine and Hunty needs to do a bit more work, but then again he is a great actor and painter and sports person, so you cant have everything. We went for a tour of the school, the boys were very impressed with the first rooms, art, drama, music, science, singing, they thought this school is perfect, it has all the things we love, they they spoilt it by taking us upstairs to the english, maths and language. Finally we went on a tour of the library, as we entered this amazing building, that was full of computers and magazines , not a typical library, Ewan held my hand and asked , Dad is this the gift shop?.
The rest of the time , we visited the doctors, dentists, caught up with a few friends for dinner, and coffee. Finally it was time to go, and l must say l was happy to get on the plane and have a rest. As l always know l will be coming back to live in Australia, and nothing really has changed.