Here’s an article a good friend sent: http://lonelygirltravels.com/2010/09/22/pigneto-the-rome-for-outsiders-and-me/
That article is better than these two in the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/travel/22choice.html?pagewanted=all
Gary Kirkpatrick
To Trieste, Part II
July 31, 2014
Somehow we ended up with seats in the first row, as they were still available when we checked in online just a day or two before the flight. The seats were wide, comfortable, and there was plenty of legroom. Alitalia and Ryan Air are a world apart. In less than an hour we passed over Venice on the way to the northeast section of Italy on the Adriatic coastline Trieste is a port town and the bus drivers all learned from Mario Andretti, even the ones who take you to the planes on the tarmac. The ones at the Trieste airport even leave early to get a head start, which in our case meant they left us standing just meters away. Another Andretti came in half an hour.
The central bus station is on the water, but we went the other way looking for lunch. We found a mom and pop place and shared ravioli stuffed with some sort of fish, with a tomato sauce. I’d never had a fish ravioli before. We shared a plate of mixed contorni, which are vegetables that come on the side of any meat or fish dish. We got some of the local white from the spigot behind the bar. Oh, and here in Italy, you can still buy wine in bulk. BYO Bottle. It’s good, it’s inexpensive, and it’s labeled in some detail. The restaurant we ate in last night had about 6 huge vats, several filled with the local wine from the Colli Albani, best for white but good with reds too.
That lunch cost us about 20 euros, with a large carafe of the local. Somehow it did not make me woozy and we made our way to the bus stop, up the hill to our street, well, past our street, and so we were asking the locals how to find our destination. Two of two answers matched and we were at the door. A kind and tiny woman came to get us.
It’s not a super old building but the elevator needs a key to operate so you have to come down to allow your guests to avoid the 5 long flights up the stairs. It is the tiniest elevator you can find, and it’s screwed onto the outside of the building so you have a view as you ascend, not that I could turn to see it as our lovely greeter came in with us and our bags. I survived the claustrophobic moment and gladly I was not connected to a blood pressure monitor.
Next- our place for the next month.
See my art at http://garyartista.wix.com/gary-kirkpatrick-art
To Trieste, part 1
July 31, 2014
It was another early morning mad dash to the airport. We got up at 5 a.m. and walked to Toscolana train station. Google maps said we could do it, and taxi drivers wanted an arm and a leg to take us on a five minute ride at that hour. We did what most Romans do, walk. You can not carry much baggage on a scooter.
The route takes us along one of Rome’s ancient aqueducts. There are houses tucked in between the arches, or the entry to their yards and gardens, anyway. We were looking for a path but found a bar instead. “Buon giorno. Stazione Tuscolana e per la?” I asked. He understood, I understood I hoped, and we continued along the aqueduct until we came across a ‘destra,’ a right hand turn. Cars were moving along, a few anyway, and the direction seemed right, but after a bit I chatted with another friendly pedestrian, who said we were to take the right fork just ahead- now you know why I stopped to ask- and go ‘diretto’ – straight on. She did not say, “You can’t miss it,” which is always a bad sign.
Maybe 1o minutes on we came upon a large avenue; we were out of the boonies finally. Traffic increased, another good omen, and in a few minutes we were on Tuscolana the avenue, and in sight of the station. Now to find a ticket.
Peg went off while I hauled the baggage to the proper quay, returned a few minutes later. No ticket. No people. The machine only takes credit cards that require a pin, and the cash portion was not working. We’ll buy on the train. You can do that. The train arrived as scheduled for which we were thankful, for this is vacation time, and our landlords told us that this train sometimes just does not show up and to allow plenty of time; thus our super early walk.
As I said, this is Italy, although the same could be said for any country over here, so no one showed up to check our tickets, and the ride to Leonardo Da Vinci airport in Fiumicino was totally free, easy, and relaxing as well, after the somewhat tense 20 minute hike in the dawn.
See my art at http://garyartista.wix.com/gary-kirkpatrick-art
An Edgy Zone
July 31, 2014
We walked around near where we’ll be staying starting in September. It ain’t beautiful, at least where we were, and I was a bit disappointed, but saved by the charm of our youngish hosts and later by the street life in the up and coming area.
Back in the 90’s, according to the restaurateur we’d meet later in the evening, he could not even come to the neighborhood. Now subway line C has emerged from two thousand years of antiquities right smack in the middle. First a poor artist or two moved in, then a few more, then young professionals, and pretty soon the area dominated by street dealing and prostitution finds itself with trendy but sill comparatively inexpensive bars and restaurants.
The house itself was designed by the couple. She’s an architect. It was a shop which they divided in two; their friends live next door and smiled as they walked by. On the ground floor there’s a living room. There’s large table at the sliding door (designated art studio), which is next to the single door entry. There’s a full bath and a decent sized bedroom currently occupied by the 5 year old. A steep but short staircase takes you up a level literally, but figuratively up several.
Here’s a gorgeous kitchen which flows to the dining table and then onto the large, room-for-a-pony outdoor terrace. It flows seamlessly onto the neighbor’s. The master bedroom is there with another nicely tiled full bath.
I think this will be a fun place to live while our landlords are in NYC. He’s an economist doing some work at Columbia University. Very down to earth with excellent English- hers is more hesitant I think- he was more than willing to talk to me about the economy, the loss of jobs to third world countries and the like, while Peg went to get her computer so we could complete the email fund transfer.
They told us where to find some good places for dinner, and we went looking, and came upon a Japanese restaurant. This should have been a clue as to what we were about to encounter, as the Italians were not receptive to foreign cuisines last we heard. An employee or one of the owners arrived on his scooter- there are at least two per capita here and ushered us in, whereupon we were given a complimentary glass of wine, a seat in the garden, and a recitation of what’s happening in the zone, which probably has a name, but I do not know what it is yet. Stay tuned.
He sent us to several restaurants after warning us to stay on the main drag and shortly we were in a trendy pedestrian area lined with restaurants, bars, all of which offer outdoor seating. Not a tourist in sight- the friendly restaurateur had inquired how in the world we found ourselves here, in fact. He is Italian- very-, by the way, and you cook your dinner at your table with the built in wood burning cook top. And not a sushi in sight, he proudly added.
Not only we were the only tourists, there was a dearth of the conventionally dressed and those of our age in general. The upwardly mobile, I suppose is how you’d class them. Young people with education, and a bit of an edge. The ones with less money sat in doorways drinking whatever they brought with them, the others frolicked more comfortably.
From Rome, With Love
It was an early morning dash to the airport and then some tense minutes while I tried to find Peggy at the airport. But smooth flying and a view of il Coloseo as we came in. There’s a bus from Ciampino to Termini train station that’s quite easy, then an expensive cab ride to our hotel,; it happened to be near the house we are renting for the next several months. It was lunchtime.
Our clerk sent us to a restaurant which was diretto, diretto down the street. Not. But some locals helped us find what we were looking for and we settled on a very local – there are no tourists in this section- and very good restaurant. We ordered a pasta dish which we shared, and a mixed deep fried mixed plate with zucchini including the flower, stuffed olives, a rice ball and a few other goodies. We got a very good local 1/2 bottle of red for 5 euros. It took forever but it was good.
After a bit of a rest we met our future landlords- we start in early September. They have a house they renovated, their friends having bought and done the other half of an old shop. The lady of the house is an architect. She did a fine design it seemed to us. I’ll describe the place soon but there’s a huge outdoor terrace. They dine there 8 months of the year.
More soon.
Water color painting of the Church at Auber-sur-Oise (updated)
July 26, 2014
Last Tuesday a friend and I went to Auvers-sur-Oise, not to far from Paris. It is here that Vincent Van Gogh lived his last months. He died from a gunshot wound, either from his own hand, as we have long thought, but perhaps one of the local teens who’d been harassing him for his odd appearance.
Gogh did a painting of this church, now a famous piece. Here is my rendition in memory of this man who contributed so much to art and who received so little in return. I’d done a pen and ink/water color one a few years ago from a different angle and in preparation I did a sketch beforehand, both below. I needed to be more or less ready to paint when I get there as I doubt I can sit long enough to start from scratch. My butt just about died that day sitting on the ground perched against a tree doing the pen and ink. The angle he did it from is the one I sketched a few days before we went. There is nothing to lean against from his angle so my friend brought chairs. And a bottle of Absinthe.
Parisienne (water color)
My contribution to the exhibit at the Hotel d’ Ville’s exhibit in Paris, this one in water color, and sans any protest.
My contribution to the exhibit at the Hotel d’ Ville’s exhibit in Paris
My contribution to the exhibit at the Hotel d’ Ville’s exhibit in Paris, an delightful exhibit about which I posted last week. It is a protest against the astronomical prices in the restaurants. Try $6-7 for coffee, $15 for a hot dog. it’s become impossible for the average worker to afford to take the family out even once in a while unless they have a employer provided ‘ticket reataurant.’
Croak is a play on words- croque monsieur is a famous sandwich. If I can find someone to translate this for me I might do it up, just a 10 minute sketch now but I think it is kind of fun.
Videoslideshow- Chobe River and Park, Botswana, Our Safari
This is a slide show from our safari in Chobe National Park, Botswana, not far from Livingstone, Zambia. Half of the time is on the river and the rest on land. Some close ups of quite a few critters. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z85NCjOCA4U&list=UUl7YKIwsWVvA_jQrQVcxYRg
Tanzania to Solwezi, Zambia- a slideshow set to Zambian music
These are photos from the moment we landed in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, across 1500 km of Tanzania to Solwezi, Zambia, where we met up with Travis, who is serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small village not far from Solwezi. Coming up, our days in his village.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKXpMILbwFU&list=UUl7YKIwsWVvA_jQrQVcxYRg
