Run Lori Run!

Cinque Terre

Hello gorgeous!  Is this a beautiful place or what?  This is the inland view from the apartment we rented in Riomaggiore. And this is the view to the other side, our balcony looked out over the Mediterranean's Gulf of Genoa and it was more than perfect.

We visited in December and look how beautiful the weather was! It was sunny the whole time and there were even some crazy French people out swimming...

Riomaggiore, which dates from the early 13th century, is the southernmost village of the five Cinque Terre, all connected by trail. The water and mountainside have been declared national parks.

The town is literally vertical and people carve their places into the side of the mountain-- citrus trees, gardens, vinyards.

Multiple times a day we took a maze of stairways to get from the town's main drag to our apartment. That is a lot of stairs ...and no elevators!

The Via dell'Amore or The Way of Love, is a path connecting Riomaggiore to it's neighbor, Manarola and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. 

After World War II, the trail was renovated and became known as a meeting point for the boys and girls from the two towns. A journalist, who noticed all the amorous graffiti along the path, coined the trail’s name: Via dell’Amore. 

Some tourists are put off by the graffiti that covers the trail but it's just part of the history and charm of the lovers’ lane.

Closing a padlock with your lover onto a cable or railing at a lovey-dovey spot—often a bridge—is the current craze in Italy, having been re-popularized by a teen novel. And to profit from this, the hardware store in Riomaggiore sells these locks.

The owner of our apartment met us at the train station and offered to take us on a little stroll to show us around. She met us that afternoon and then... proceeded to walk us over to the next town over! And she has grand children. And she was in heels.  

It was a lovely walk and only further fortified my theory that all Italian woman are in better shape than me.  

She planned the walk perfectly because we ended up at Manarola as the sun was setting.

Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. Manarola is known primarily for its fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned. 

Back to Riomaggiore...

The town of Vernazza wasn't accepting visitors due to the flood that destroyed the town last October so we took the train to Monterosso instead. 

It was beautiful but shocking to see how the flood devestated the town. 

The water in the region is amazingly clear and blue and unseasonably warm. But not warm enough for me to join the crazy, swimming French people.

We visited Manarola again on our last day and I took what I think might be my favorite photo from our time in Cinque Terre:

The sunsets here were so beautiful. The scenery amazing. And the food was out of this world too. And, because of our exhuastive research on tiramisu, we learned that Riomaggiore has the best!

It is so hard to rank our experiences in Italy but this was, by far, one of the best places we visited.  It was such a nice change from the hectic pace of Rome and Florence. 

I highly recommend it!

Watercolor Spring

The sun is finally shining, flowers blooming, lettuce sprouting in the garden... It was (briefly) like a haze had lifted and the colors finally shone through. 

Then it started raining again... Hey, it's Portland, what do you expect?

So I've taken up watercolor painting!  As with most things, I should probably take a class to learn how to do it right, but instead I wing it.

Works for me...

This is a painting I did for my brother's birthday, based on many of my photos from Italy. Can you tell I'm ready to go back?  

Bits of Rome

Okay this is my last Rome post and then we're on to Florence- are you with me?!

There is so much to love about Rome: lofty domed buildings, classical architecture with tile roofs, colorful shutters and bits of greenery tucked into every corner. Yes, the things they say about Rome are true-- it is fast, loud, big, and in some places dirty, gritty, and riddled with graffiti but there still is warmth, light, color, depth--there is beauty everywhere. 

Rome has a definite energy and fast pace but one perk of getting to know my camera over the last year is that I now have a new way of thinking, a new way of seeing the world. Slowing down a bit can bring to light beauty in details I might have overlooked in the past.

I think I must have taken hundreds of photos of windows and doorways!

                                                                                                             Don't you just want to peek inside this window?

During the Renaissance it was Roman custom to build elaborate fountains at the endpoints of aqueducts that brought water to Rome. The Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. 

Monument to Victor Emanuel II who was king of Sardinia and then became the first king of a united Italy since the 6th century, a title he held until his death in 1878. 


There was never a shortage of opportunities to take interesting photos-- people, food, architecture. I was in heaven. 

The Colosseum is the largest colosseum ever built in the Roman empire and is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus. 

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiator contests, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on classical mythology.

During the games, people from all walks of life crowded together in this noisy and chaotic amphitheater. Besides amusing themselves with gambling and games, spectators sometimes prepared and cooked food, played music, applied make-up, and even scratched graffiti on to the walls and steps of the seating area.

And showcased inside the museum area, along with these slabs of graffiti, are ivory combs, hair-pins, dice, chicken bones, tooth picks, peach pits-- illustrating how everyday people spent their time while watching the games at the Colosseum. So cool!

From the Colosseum we moved on to the Arch of Constantine and then on to Palatine Hill.

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. Recent excavations show that people have lived there since approximately 1000 BC! It stands 40 meters above the Roman Forum on one side, and the Circus Maximus on the other.

According to Roman mythology the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf who kept them alive. Rome is named after the brother Romulus. 

The Domus Augustana, built by emperor Domitian, was the emperor's luxurious private residence. The Domus Flavia was the official part of the palace in which emissaries might be received or state banquets might be held. 

Also part of Domitian's palace, was this open area known as the Stadium of Domitian. Opinions are divided on if this was a stadium for exercising horses or merely a large garden. 

Original walls of the Cryptoporticus of Emperor Nero.

Original fresco in the recently discovered primary residence of Rome's first Emperor, Caesar Augustus (63 BC -14 AD). 

Archaeologists discovered remains of an early settlement, reputedly the dwelling of the legendary founder and first king of Rome, Romulus (771-717 BC).   

The Forum was the city's chief public square, and served as a market and meeting place. It was surrounded by monumental buildings, including temples, the senate chamber, a treasury, and a prison. It also contained arostrum, or platform, for public speakers.

1.Curia  2.Arch of Septimius Severus  3.Rostra  4.Temple of Vespasian  5.Via Sacra   6.Temple of Saturn   7.Colonna di Foca   8. Basillica Iulia  9.Basilica Emilia  10.Temple of Julius Caesar 11.Temple of Vestals  12. Temple of Castor  13.Church of S. Maria Antiqua   14.Temple of Agustus  15.Temple of Antonius and Faustina  16.Temple of Romolus   17.Temple of Venus and Rome 18. House of Vestals  19.Basilica di Maxentius   20.The Colosseum   21.Arch of Titus    22.Palatine

 

    Arch of Septimius Severus

The temple of Castor and Pollux

The Temple of Saturn, a tribute to the god of agriculture, stands at the foot of the  Capitoline Hill. It was originally erected in 497 BC and later rebuilt between 360 and 380 AD (as recorded in the inscription on the facade: "Destroyed by fire; restored by the Senate and people of Rome"). It served as the public treasury and was the focus of the popular December festival of Saturnalia.

The House of Vestal Virgins : the Vestals were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. These girls/women had the prestigious duty of guarding the temple of Vesta and keeping its sacred eternal flame burning. 

Their house was located just behind the once circular Temple of Vesta.

Temple of Romulus

Original walls, Temple of Romulus

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina under construction...

Basilica of Maxentius

So much history in one city. So much beauty. So many scooters....

So many photo opportunities!

I will be back.....

The Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica

Regardless of your personal religious beliefs, Vatican City is well worth the time, energy, and sore feet. This was easily one of the most amazing places I have ever visited! One tip however: we chose the skip-the-line-guided-tour route and that was the best money we spent.  We arrived bright an early, skipped the long lines and had a great tour guide.  She kept saying how she had never been in the Vatican with so few people in it.

Vatican City is a walled enclave within Rome. It has an area of about 110 acres and a population of just over 800, making Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.

            The Belvedere courtyard, designed by Donato Bramante from 1506 onwards.

The Belvedere courtyard was a major architectural work of the High Renaissance which influenced courtyard design throughout Western Europe for centuries.

          The Colossal Head of Augustus inside the courtyard.

And in case you really didn't think it was colossal...

 

 

Today the lowest terrace is still called the Cortile del Belvedere but the separated upper terrace is called the Cortile della Pigna because of the large Roman bronze pinecone, once a fountain, positioned in front of the niche.

Egyptian Lion statue beside the pinecone thingie.

Huge metal sphere thingie by contemporary artist A. Pomodoro

Sarcophagus of Saint Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine I

Pope Julius II founded the Vatican Museums in the early 16th century and can trace their origin to one marble sculpture, purchased 500 years ago:

The Laocoon sculpture which we did not actually see but now know is one of the most famous sculptures in the museum. D'oh!

The sculpture of Laocoön, the priest who, according to Greek mythology, tried to convince the people of ancient Troy not to accept the Greeks' "gift" of a hollow horse, was discovered in 1506, in a local vineyard. Pope Julius II sent Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo to examine the discovery and upon their recommendation, the pope immediately purchased the sculpture from the vineyard owner and placed it on public display at the Vatican.

                                           Artemis statue (we actually did see this one!) in the Gallery of the Candelabra

The Gallery of the Candelabra housed many, many cool sculptures, some dating from 3rd century BC.

              Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana.

So in the midst of all these amazing sculptures, the artwork on the walls and ceilings can be overshadowed. The Gallery was restored by Pope Leo XIII in 1883-7 and he commissioned the German artist Ludwig Seitz (1844-1908) to do some of the frescoes on the ceiling and walls.

“With the grace of God and the effort of will we obtain the excellence of virtue”. 

Seitz, a German artist born in Rome, is responsible for the longest and most important series on the ceiling.The paintings are all derived from the ideas of Pope Leo XIII and his affinity for philosopher and theologian St Thomas Aquina.

In the middle of the ceiling, St Thomas is shown kneeling and offering his works to the Roman Catholic Church. Aristotle (representing Human Reason) is shown strengthened by the works of Aquinas.

         Est rosarium præcipue implorando matris dei patrocinio adversus hostes catholici nominis institutum 

                    Faith and Reason United, with St Thomas Aquinas teaching in the background. 

         Pope Leo III himself

The Gallery of Maps  was commissioned in 1580 by Pope Gregory XIII and contains a series of painted topographical maps of Italy based on drawings by friar and geographer Ignazio Danti.   

Notice how few people are inside with us. This is what is usually looks like:

                             photo credit

The gallery takes its name from the 40 maps frescoed on the walls, which represent the Italian regions and the papal properties at the time of Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585). 

I think this was in the Gallery of Maps...

Raphael's rooms form a suite of four reception rooms, the public part of the papal apartments. They were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope Julius II. It was possibly Julius' intent to outshine the apartments of his predecessor (and rival) Pope Alexander VI, as the rooms are directly above Alexander's Borgia Apartment. 

1.)  Room of the Segnatura

Room of the Segnatura, this photo from wikipedia

The Room of the Segnatura contains Raphael’s most famous frescoes. Besides being the first work executed by the great artist in the Vatican they mark the beginning of the high Renaissance. Originally the room was used by Julius II as a library and private office and then later by Leo X as a small study and music room.

Within the Room of the Segnatura is Raphael’s the School of Athens,  one of his most famous works of art. Gathered are all the great thinkers and scientists of ancient Greece. Socrates is far left, in olive green. Leonardo Da Vinci is portrayed as Plato (pointing up) and Aristotle, next to him, is pointing down. 

 Michelangelo is Heraclitus:

And Raphael painted himself as Apelles in on the far right with a black beret:

2.) Room of Heliodorus

Room of Heliodorus, photo from wikipedia 

Room of Heliodorus: The Deliverance of Saint Peter 

Room of Heliodorus, ceiling

3.) Room of the Fire in the Borgo 

Room of Fire in the Borgo,  photo from wikipedia

At the time of Pope Leo X (1513 to1521) the Fire in the Borgo room was used as a dining room and the task of frescoing the walls was assigned to Raphael who entrusted a large part of the work to his students. 

               The Fire in the Borgo

The fire in the borgo, ceiling
 

4.) Room of Constantine 

The Room of Constantine, which takes its name from Constantine (306-337 AD), the first Christian emperor to officially recognize the Christian faith.

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge

Room of Constantine, ceiling

Room of Constantine

Detail from the ceiling of the Room of Constantine

Well, we weren't allowed to take photos of the Sistine Chapel, so you'll just have to trust me when I tell you it was breathtaking. 

The Borgia Apartment was adapted for personal use by Pope Alexander VI and  the paintings and frescoes (1492 and 1494) inside celebrated the supposedly divine origins of the Borgias.

Original blue Spanish tiles from the Borgia period.

                      Saint Gregory the Illuminator

In the Middle Ages pilgrims who reached Rome, touched and kissed the foot of this statue of St. Peter  and asked that he be merciful and open the gates of heaven for them if they died during their pilgrimage.  Some scholars have attributed it to Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302). (You can see these feet has seen some action- they're worn thin!)

                                        "Santa Veronica Ierosolymitana" which means "Saint Veronica of Jerusalem".

As the story goes, St. Veronica was in the crowds that lined the streets as Jesus, carrying his cross, made his way to Calvary.  Veronica broke through the soldiers and managed to wipe his face with her veil and when she looked at it afterwards, the face of Christ was miraculously imprinted on the veil.

Saint Peter's Basilica (1506-1626) is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter.  He was, of course, one of the twelve apostles but also, according to tradition, the first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession.

Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. Bert keeps telling people that you could fly a Cessna inside there and it's true. The thing is huge! And let me tell you if you want to get a view like this one it'll almost kill you.

To get to the top of the dome you can take the stairs (all 491 of them) or an elevator part way and then only take 320 steps.  We opted for the latter thinking, sure, we're fit...

Not.

In some spots, the spiral staircase is so narrow and slanted that there’s only room for one person at a time to climb. There are people in front of you and a 75 year old lady right behind you breathing down your neck and there's no place to step aside and rest if you're having heart palpitations like me.  AND it was the perfect time to polish all the brass in the building creating some scary fumes...

But at least I lived to see the view!

The Vatican Gardens account for more than half of the Vatican's territory. Established during the Renaissance and Baroque era, they are decorated with fountains and sculptures. The gardens date back to medieval times when orchards and vineyards extended to the north of the palace.

Swiss Guards in their traditional uniform

And as we left we had to get the obligatory shot of the Swiss Guard! They must get sick of goofy tourists taking their picture. 

Popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part of an army, the Pontifical Swiss Guard , which was founded by Pope Julius II in 1506. As the personal bodyguards of the Pope, all recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males between the ages of 19 and 30 with Swiss citizenship who have completed their training with the Swiss Army with certificates of good conduct, and be at least 5' 9" in height. I just wonder about those outfits...

Well, you have weathered the longest post evah. You stuck it out. You saw it through. And we're not even through my Rome photos yet!

Merry Bokeh Christmas!

Merry Bokeh Christmas! 

 Lovely Christmas cottage by Magpie Ethel.

Frosty sage in the backyard...

Christmas lights downtown...

Olive dreams in Bokeh...  (If you are a geek like me you have already perused the "Christmas Bokeh" section of Flickr... I highly recommend it.)

I love seeing people's homes all decked out for the holidays, don't you? I like the idea of putting so many lights on my house that it's visible from space.  I am all for having a little santa village in my bathroom. What I can't get into however is the lugging of the twelve huge storage bins up from the basement. So, alas, we have a tree and are calling it good.

So do you guys go all out and decorate your houses inside and out?  Does your electric bill triple during the month of December?  Do you have baubles and snowmen and tinsel in every room in your house? 

Change

So this month's posts are dedicated to gratitude.

I am grateful for autumn; the last fickle bits of this season before we slip into winter.

I'm thankful for obscure varieties of apples and stirring apple butter in a copper pot until my back aches. 

What are you thankful for today?

Freedom

Yes, it's a theme: November = Gratitude.

I've been reading this book and I'm loving it. But page by page I'm reminded how grateful I am to I live in a free country. I can express myself. I can disagree with the government without fear of being "re-educated" and sent to the boonies to live with peasants. I can read whatever books I want, even ones that some people think should be banned. I can occupy _________ and most of the time (except maybe in Tennessee or Oakland) can I express my displeasure in peaceful protest without fear of retribution. 

What are you thankful for?

Thankful

During my usual blog hopping recently, I landed here and here.  And you bet: it's November so that means 30 days of Gratitude. I've seen this around for awhile but never participated-- I just can't commit to posting something every day for 30 days... But I do think devoting this month's posts to gratitude is well worth it because:

 Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

As I was walking downtown the other morning I saw this person, rolled up in a sleeping bag. It is getting cold here in Portland and I was struck by how many people I saw that day who were braving the elements with minimal shelter- sleeping bags outside, a tent, a cardboard lean-to shack. It is easy to marginalize "those people" who are homeless. Who are they? Are they lazy? Unwilling to work? Criminals? How many suffer from mental illness or have battled drug and alcohol addiction? Their stories are more complex than the stereotypes we label them with, I'm sure.

So today I am thankful for my home, for a warm bed, for enough money to not have to choose between heating my home and feeding my family. With more than a few of my friends looking for work, I am grateful to be employed.

What are you thankful for? 

For more inspiration on this subject check out the Gratitude Project on Flickr and Shutter Sister's One Word Project. This month's word is: thankful.

You Rock

As always, my blogging peeps have prevailed! Thanks for your parenting wisdom-- I feel (mostly) better!

I tell my daughter all the time-- and it's true-- that I can't figure out how I got so lucky. She is a perfect little Bean: funny & sarcastic, kind & empathetic, smart & curious-- all rolled into one perfect kiddo. I hope, hope, hope our road isn't too extremely bumpy ahead...

And on that note, here is a picture of a strip club...  

Only to demonstrate that I'm getting a little more comfortable with my camera. I took a walk downtown awhile back with my friend Debbie and we fiddled some more with my camera settings.  I tell you, there are buttons on this thing that I have no idea what they do yet.

And, in case you were not aware:

Photoshop has to be the most frustrating thing on the planet. After my camera.  

Hopefully I will have it figured out soon because I'm going to Italy in December- woo hoo! And I want to take some interesting, creative shots.

Photo Credit

So have any of you been to Italy? Do you have any tips or recommendations for me?

Adventures In Aperture

When did I get this camera again? December? And I hate to admit it but I have been stuck on the AUTO mode since then.  I have many informative photography books and many informative photography websites bookmarked but then... I get all panicky... I can't keep all the lingo straight: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance... I go all deer-in-the-headlights and flip it back to AUTO. Until today.

Lesson number one for me today is aperture. I shot these photos on Aperture Priority Mode so I could control the depth of field and let the camera choose the shutter speed for me. Happily. This photo the aperture is set at f/1.8, ISO 160, shutter speed 1/640 sec. I like the nice blurred background. Still need to work on focus though.

Now the aperture is bumped to f/3.2. More of the photo is in focus, less blur in the back...

And then the aperture is f/14. Crappy photo but it illustrates how most of the photo is in focus.

I walked all over my house trying to find ways to experiment with depth of field, trying to create some bokeh. (Bokeh: the blur or the aesthetic quality of the blur, or the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light. Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field.)  

Dead Flower Bokeh. I wanted to see if I could get some cool bokeh from my patio lights (it works!) but all I had to focus on in the foreground was this dead basket of flowers! 

Creepy Spider Bokeh.

 Typewriter Bokeh.

Day of the Dead Bokeh.

Well, there you have it: day 1 of my photography experiment. More to come!