Roma, Once More - Preparing for Arrivederci
February 16th 2008 19:30
Greetings mon ami,
Our last night of Barcelona we went along to a flamenco performance on La Rambla, which was very loud and dynamic, with lots of artistic body jostling. The noise came from the loud singing, which at times was more akin to wailing, two guitars, clapping and shoes which made a very loud sound, kinda like tap dancing. Flamenco tells the story of the troubles of the gypsies, who face discrimination and lower living standards than the average citizen. The dancers wore strung out, stresses, worried or agitated expressions on their faces, and dramatically expressed their sense of disenfranchisement through their movements. It was quite interesting, and the restraunt it was set in was visually spectacular.
Yesterday was spent getting from Barcelona to Roma, so we didn't do much apart from that. I did, however, have my first pizza with tuna in it. If it was sold in Sydney I would have assumed this was the Australian version of pizza toppings, but there it was. In other news, I have acquired a sore throat, so it's time for lozenges and hot drinks.
We took it easy today, partially because we've been doing so much sight-seeing and partially because dad has a bit of a cold as well. We just went to one attraction, but it was a good one: The National Modern Art Gallery.
Inside I found a Miro, a Kandinsky (also a favourite), two Van Goghs (I said 'Hi from Fog'!), a Cezanne (a painting of a house), a Monet (water lillies again), a Braque (a composition with grapes and a clarinet) and a group of Marcel Duchamps. I had too many favourites to name, but the stand-out piece was a temporary exhibition which featured five large balls laid out on a pathway from an artificial wall, with a red strip of light illuminating the display, running the length of the wall. It was simple, elegant, and effective. Unfortunately I didnāt get to explore the work in detail as they closed off the room shortly after I entered the gallery, but Iām glad I got the look that I did.
This evening as we were strolling down one of the nearby streets I came across an ad for āSelf Absorbed Shampoo (Bed Head)ā, and had to take a picture. We selected a restraunt which had Gnocchi alla Sorrentina on the menu, so I ordered it yet again and it didnāt disappoint this time (unlike the one I had in Napoli, which I didnāt even finish- a rare example of bad food in Italia).
Tomorrow is my last day in Roma, and I will leave it with find memories of my entire trip - from Sorrento to Barcelona, Pompeii to Amalfi, Positano to Napoli, Capri to Caserta - itās been wonderful. This will probably be the last of my travel series (for a while, anyway), so thank you for sharing the experience with me.
I had this idea to blog about Sydney as if I were traveling in it, with āDay 39 of Sydneyā, but I decided that I would lose track of the number of days I had been there for a while, lol. I hope I am able to retain this sense of inspiration and find a new and unexplored angle of every aspect of my daily goings-on in Syd. Will you help me? Itās simple: Just tell me about the things that inspire you in your life.
Our last night of Barcelona we went along to a flamenco performance on La Rambla, which was very loud and dynamic, with lots of artistic body jostling. The noise came from the loud singing, which at times was more akin to wailing, two guitars, clapping and shoes which made a very loud sound, kinda like tap dancing. Flamenco tells the story of the troubles of the gypsies, who face discrimination and lower living standards than the average citizen. The dancers wore strung out, stresses, worried or agitated expressions on their faces, and dramatically expressed their sense of disenfranchisement through their movements. It was quite interesting, and the restraunt it was set in was visually spectacular.
We took it easy today, partially because we've been doing so much sight-seeing and partially because dad has a bit of a cold as well. We just went to one attraction, but it was a good one: The National Modern Art Gallery.
Inside I found a Miro, a Kandinsky (also a favourite), two Van Goghs (I said 'Hi from Fog'!), a Cezanne (a painting of a house), a Monet (water lillies again), a Braque (a composition with grapes and a clarinet) and a group of Marcel Duchamps. I had too many favourites to name, but the stand-out piece was a temporary exhibition which featured five large balls laid out on a pathway from an artificial wall, with a red strip of light illuminating the display, running the length of the wall. It was simple, elegant, and effective. Unfortunately I didnāt get to explore the work in detail as they closed off the room shortly after I entered the gallery, but Iām glad I got the look that I did.
Tomorrow is my last day in Roma, and I will leave it with find memories of my entire trip - from Sorrento to Barcelona, Pompeii to Amalfi, Positano to Napoli, Capri to Caserta - itās been wonderful. This will probably be the last of my travel series (for a while, anyway), so thank you for sharing the experience with me.
I had this idea to blog about Sydney as if I were traveling in it, with āDay 39 of Sydneyā, but I decided that I would lose track of the number of days I had been there for a while, lol. I hope I am able to retain this sense of inspiration and find a new and unexplored angle of every aspect of my daily goings-on in Syd. Will you help me? Itās simple: Just tell me about the things that inspire you in your life.
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Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I just knew you would love Italy - it`s gorgeous isn`t it? I wonder how different it is from winter to summer though - I was there in the middle of summer and it was scorcher!
Look forward to your unique angle on Sydney - that will be interesting!
Ash
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
It rises up to 15 degrees during the day, and down to about 10 at night, so itās quite different to the summer! There are less tourists, though, and hence things tend to be more affordable.
Italia is incredible, I wish I could go back to Sorrento right now, but itās not to be... I have 20 hours of travelling to do to get back to Sydney, and that doesnāt include time spent waiting for the flights!
Unfortunately my sore throat hasnāt improved from yesterday, so Iām not sure Iāll get up to much today... but weāll see.
Cya,
Epiphanie