irony and art

t h e c o n c e p t i o n o f [ i r o n y + a r t ]

2009-10-06T23:12:00.000-07:00

i haven’t blogged in several months, and this is why.

originally this was a travel blog,

but then I stopped traveling.

at that point my entries quickly became stupid and random and, well—pointless.

eventually, i stopped blogging all together with the excuses that ‘my life became more dull’ and that ‘i ran out of ideas'.

recently, however, i’ve been experiencing a strange inspiration to start an art blog . . .

with only the slightest hindrance that—

i’m not an artist, and i don’t do art.

nevertheless, i did sit down this evening and it occurred to me:

lately, i've been noticing that there often arrives a work of art from the most peculiar circumstances.

i often find myself in unfortunate mishaps, which make for a life far from 'boring' with plenty of 'ideas'.

therefore, the arrival of my new strange journey—
i r o n y a n d a r t .

learning on my off-time

2008-04-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

So I’ve been shadowing my artist friend, not purposely, but specific circumstances [including 2am, lost keys, and freezing cold] came in to play before she took me in. Here is what I’ve learned in the hours of time apportioned for 'sleeping' (2:30am to 6am) …

(a) there are mornings were thick, black coffee is necessary. Coffee.

the kind that can only be made by my friend, here, with extreme attention to detail--such as 1) heat water carefully, pouring into the press before it begins to boil ("other wise it will burn the coffee"). 2) Add course grinds, 3) do not stir, 4) let stand for 5 min.s (not 4 min.s; thank you Starbucks). Next, 5) must be served in your roommate's mug that you covet the most and 6) nothing else. apart from finding out the secret to amazing coffee i also found out...

(b) dilapidated, old type writers are innovative.

(c) AND last but not least, just as i awoke, in the last few min.s—the min.s between waking and sleeping—I encountered a spread on Art & Fear precariously taped to the wall. Somehow, through the haze of my mind i still comprehended that something about embracing fear and uncertainty makes one an artist.

the article said something like: the quality in a human that pushes the boundaries of one’s own individual comfort zone is the quality of a proven artist. There is fear and uncertainty in trying the unknown, and each person will face his/her own boundary at some point. At that point it is impossible to ride in or be revealed in someone else’s triumph—your own point of fear and uncertainty must be discovered and explored.

consider this: the "success" of your work is directly related to the proportion of fear (personal misgivings, uncomfortably, vulnerability, etc...) that you over come to arrive at the finished product. [you know what i mean. ex. sometimes ideas feel like art--you know; think back to a moment where you had an idea, but didn't even want to speak it out. that's where the challenge is.]

Somewhere along the way I also read something about Van Gogh, but that was the more sleeping than waking moment, I suppose.

Anyway, i recognized that i do fear a lot, in regard to pushing and exposing my own 'art'.

therefore, the challenge of an artist: engage that point of fear, and______________.

the possibilities are endless.

for the wedding

2008-03-26T15:51:00.001-07:00

---------------

so my sister is getting married. she and her fiance are thinking of silk screening their wedding invites, so i've begun designing options for them. this is my favorite one -

[if they don't use it, i figure i could sell it on ebay as a 'special edition cold war kids collectors item' or something like that.]

v-day or d-day?

2008-02-19T15:51:00.001-08:00

Feb. 14 @ 11:17 p.m.

Valentine’s day. Last year my friend, Nick, told me his rendition of how Valentine’s originated. Apparently, getting married was outlawed where ever it is that St. Valentine lived. Nick explained the details in full detail and finished saying, “… but St. Valentine, he just kept marryin’ people anyway—yep, that’s how it all started.” Tragic as this may seem, my best friend and I starred at each other somewhat puzzled before turning back to Nick and blurting out, “How many wives did he have?” Okay, that may have seemed like a lame attempt to personalize a lame Valentine’s joke, but it really happened! In fact, this all took place in the Cafe right at those round tables, you know, the ones across from the tater-tots. Anyway, Valentine’s Day has always been a favorite for me in terms of observation. I have a strange appreciation for things that arouse unnecessary controversy, and Valentine’s is great for that. For example, I once knew a girl who observed ‘singles awareness day’ with smudged black eyeliner and sack cloth and ashes. Yet at the other end of the specturm, my roommate celebrates by purchasing chocolate for everyone imaginable, and by hosing our living room down in—what looks like—Pepto Bismal. All this to say: No matter what St. Valentine’s means for you this year it is possible to come away from it with a certain level of enjoyment. I mean, the opportunity to observe such a tremendous paradox does not arise every day.

{congrats to kristina and nate!}

11:45 p.m.

night ramble

2008-02-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

Feb. 13 @ 11:48 p.m.
So three weeks into my spring semester and - - -
Well, I was hoping that as I began the sentence above an amazing story would naturally unfold upon my keyboard or at the very least that one might blossom in my mind. As you may have guessed by now, no such thing happened. Let’s try it again … So three weeks into my spring semester and I’ve managed to learn an important myth buster about writing: Although creative, writing, is not always this warm emotive thing … your work should demonstrate your creativity and your craftsmanship. The thing about craftsmanship is that it takes discipline, time, application, and all in all – hard work. So here I am forcing myself to write something on this screen whether I have any inspiration or not. Obviously, the ideal situation would be a balance of the more emotive inspiration with long acquired skill. Ah well, along the way to this great hybrid-writing there must surely be a step involving meaningless rambling, masquerading as practice and discipline. Oh, please say there is!

Good night -

12:05 p.m.

reflections on my first week of school: Friday to Friday (ii)

2008-02-12T23:29:00.001-08:00

Feb. 12 @ 11:02 p.m.
… Needless to say I didn’t have time to fuel up on my way to school. Wednesday rolled around, which - in the minds of Rosecrans apartments residents - immediately means: “NO PARKING in this tract 6 a.m. to 10 a.m on Wednesday.” I had to move my car. It only made it one block. Luckily, well blessedly I suppose, I was able to park my car out of ticketing range. However, I now had to deal with the terrible consequences of having run out of gasoline, most notably: not being able to drive! I knew I could put off going anywhere out of walking distance until Friday morning when I needed to be in Santa Ynez for my friend’s wedding. Thursday night rolled around and I began to consider the options I had for rectifying this predicament in the light of my assets, which sadly did not include a portable gas can. Neither of my roommates had one either. The Lord must have known I was handling about as much as I could tolerate because he sent a somewhat obscure boy to hear me gripping about it. Luke had a gas can in his room. I didn’t even bother asking why he practiced keeping it in his room of all places. I was just really excited to have my future looking that much brighter. Luke thanks for being in the right place at the right time!
11:20 p.m.

reflections on my first week of school: Friday to Friday

2008-02-07T23:07:00.000-08:00

11:09pm
I was racing the clock last Friday as I drove to school. Both of my roommates were going away from campus all weekend. Thus, reaching housing to get my key before they closed at 4:30p.m. was crucial to my future - lest I be locked out of our apartment. Due to the circumstances that are my life I arrived at Student Services at 4:27p.m. I didn't have time to think about feeling insecure so I just strolled up to the counter and said with a brimming but questioning look on my face, "hi, i am here to pick up my key?" It was a question because it implied is this the right place to pick up my key and if so how do I go about getting it. It occurred to me very quickly that i was not a specimen to be expected, for the girl at the counter raised one eye brow and mumbled to herself, " hum, Friday," looked down at her watch and sighed,"4:27." I just continued to stand there smiling because it seemed that she may begin moving faster if i didn't move at all. I am not really sure why this idea occurred to me. Subconsciously, it had something to do with me not wishing to usurp even one pulse of energy from the room. She was moving so slowly. I had to throw all of my belongings into the apartment and be back on campus by 5p.m.

Needless to say i didn't have time to fuel up on the way to school...
{To be continued}
11:31pm

PAA - panic attacks anonymous - p.s. "the world is not ending"

2008-02-06T23:30:00.000-08:00

11:30pm
ellen lagasse is one of my roommates. we have lived together for about 3 days now. ellen is 23 years old, 'an excellent speller' and 5'5 and one half. she is really nice because she tries to give me inspiration for getting through homework assignments that i don't like, and she doesn't mind hearing me gripe endlessly about how busy i am. we've found one thing we have in common. apparently, we share the tendency of not properly acknowledging stress or problems that we're facing in life. we identified this little fact yesterday after having a heart to heart about being survivors of panic attacks -- when your body reacts to suppressed stress by violently constricting you breathing. obviously, it is quite a traumatic experience, so we have been on a quest to find new ways of dealing with stress before it ends up dealing with us!

here are some of our4 favorite preventative tips for any closet p.a. sufferers out there:
1) set aside 3 four minute increments each day to lay on your back and take deep breaths
2) eat more green veggies
3) drink more water
4) chocolate cover gummy bears.

now for the drastic measures. while having a panic attack we've found the following to be helpful:
1) distract yourself from whatever has just triggered your attack
2) take about 3 long, deep breaths
3) sit down
4) tell someone you are having a panic attack*
* this last one we have found to be extrememly helpful for 2 reasons. 1) if you pass out someone will know you didn't have a heart attack. 2) when you talk about your panic attack, what triggered it, and/or why you may be experiencing it the drastic-ness of the situation seems to become less bleak. we have not yet found the scientific/phychological reason behind this recommendation, however, at the moment we just know that it works, indeed, and works real well.

good night

11:59pm

15 minutes of my mind

2008-02-05T20:28:00.001-08:00

So I’ve always had it in my head that I should be a writer. Well almost always. For a while there I was dead set on becoming a Shamu rider at Sea World. I confessed this to my little sister last week thinking she’d get a laugh, but instead she looked at me sadly and said with deepest sincerity, “and WHAT happened?” as if I had gone down hill from there. Anyway, one of my teachers assigned me 15 minutes of writing a day, in order to get my ‘juices flowing.’ The said teacher also stated that his goal for the class is to have all of us published in the end. When that really freaked me out I had to do some soul searchin'. I found myself to be really scared of writing for any audience apart from teachers. I’ve known for a long time that I am inexperienced as a writer. After all -- no matter how many personal journals I’ve filled, no matter how many interviews I've written on neighbors, and no matter what number of research papers I've survived -- I still haven’t written much that’s meant for public eyes. Since no one ever reads my work I obviously haven’t had to deal with any form of criticism. yikes! To tell you the truth I don’t even read my own journals, they're too embarassing! yikes! All this to say, I am hesitantly turning over a new leaf. Um, branching out should be good for me, right? Yeah, real good, gulp! After all you never know what possibilities may be ahead if you never try. So Dr. Longinow, here's to you!

Costa Rica - this one's for you em

2008-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

It has been mostly dull around here (in a relaxing sort of way). Except for the other day when we (kendrika, marika, daniel and i ) went out on a hike with my dad. It started out as a simple "nature walk". My father persuaded me to join in order to take pictures of innocuous animals like leaf cutter ants, monkeys, and bulgy-eyed fish. We basically started out by crossing the estero to hike back into the jungle, along the river. I was anticipating seeing cute monkeys and i had my camera ready. But let me just say, everything was a bit sketchy from the very beginning. Specifically, we had to walk along a cow trail. Complete with COW PIES and flies. Eventually we got to a really neat clearing on the side of the river, and I decided to position myself for a cute pic of my little sisters by backing up a bit…but the nest, I mean, the next thing I knew, I was deafened my a swarming, buzzing sound and was literally, no exaggeration necessary, being stung and bitten to pieces…I couldn’t tell which one at the time. I ran over to my dad while swatting and spinning and grasping and screaming. The huge-whatever-they-ares were attacking, all over my back. I started ripping off some of my clothes and tore off my hat hoping they would be thrown off also, but as soon as i got everything off they were back, clawing at my skin and buzzing though my hair. It was a while before I realized my dad was scrapping and slapping at my back with his machete. Apparently, he couldn’t bother touching them, whatever they were. When we got the majority off my bod I could still hear them buzzing loudly all around! There were about thirty crawling in my hair and attacking my scalp! I had to find them and squish them while still in my hair!

I found five in the shower, later that night. huh.

oxford memory

2007-12-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

oh - mad and i went to oxford the last weekend we were in england. it was a really funny trip becasue everything we wanted to accomplish there fell thourgh. we still had a pretty great time just wandering around though...

A202 [tribute to my flat]

2007-12-15T14:11:00.001-08:00

Roehampton University has four colleges, Digby Stuart, Whitelands, Froebel, and SOUTHALNDS. i live on Southlands campus. My flat A202 is a flat of many facets. These images are rough clips from a contact sheet of a random photo-shoot we did at the beginning of the semester.

the girls i live with (top down): Louisa, Jade, Helen, and Natalie

top: Louisa, Jade and Helen appeasing me - and looking so happy about it.

left: our hallway looking really clean. the head fire guy made us move barricade material and clothes drying contraptions after our 'mini fire'.

right: just lounging

my attempts to be in the pictures -

we have a faucet that leaks this much water at all times (i didn't turn it on before taking this pic). helen found a way to stop the leaking tap - one must turn the hot and cold on to equal pressure, turn the hot off tightly and then the cold - it actually works every time.

we went outside for the fire alarm 4 times in one day - this is not a phenomenon. fire alarms are a southlands way of life. in the second week the administration wrote each student on campus a letter imploring us to eat more salads! but the problem is, we never burn things that are meant to be cooked in the first place (chocolate being an example).

bottom pic: our stove and fire extinguisher after rachelle's tin foil managed to go up in literal flames. the alarm didn't go off because there was no smoke, so the only time we actually had a fire the alarm wouldn't set - go figure.

it has been 6:32 for the past four months!

we have a balloon pit, which has served us really well and been useful for anything from guest bedding to bomb scares.

this is the actual 'balloon pit' with jade and helen demonstrating it's purpose as a place to nap.

tired girls at the end of the night.

A202, i will miss you! LOVE danika
[me and my room]

ode to trenitalia - 'We Live On This Train'

2007-12-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

we spent hours on the train from florence to verona...

at the beginning of the day we were perfectly content to act the part of 'travelers' - this is evidenced by the sweet, romantic expression of maddie and beth whilst they write and listen to music.

we really were very happy in the beginning --- just looking at the countryside as it past...

--- dosing, and daydreaming...

--- more countryside...

the hours came and went, we may have been faining contentment by this point but - by the look of it - who would know? tell me, who could tell?

--- more daydreaming...

by the time we found ourselves to be the only passengers left on the train --- it was clear to us all --- we were never leaving. well, at least, that is what it felt like. and sometimes, it is unfortunate - but sometimes - how you feel is all you understand.

after a certain point maddie would have given anything to fit through the window... in hind sight we are all glad there were safety bars.

what would you do with 15 train cars to yourself...

... and 15 hours the enjoy them?

ireland [dublin, wicklow and bray]

2007-12-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

the tour on saturday was so amazing. we started out in dublin and had a chance to visit the coast, cliffs, ruins of a monastic city, and famous bog land ...

... you'd be surprised but i've found that a bog is an incredible thing - let me just say - i had no idea what it would be like. i was imagining a swamp or something of a muddy nature. in reality, the bog, was more like rolling hills of dark plants that seemed to be growing in silver paint. there was water covering everything, it glistened when the clouds parted, and wherever the ground changed drastically the water would form little falls and streams. i really wish i could have gotten pictures but alas, not enough film for everything.

in the afternoon mad and i took a little hike. we both took a ton of pictures and got drenched. the 45 min.s of the day we chose for the hike was the only part in which the heavens unleashed a down pour. the rest of the day was rather nice, just a bit misty.

ireland and abram’s bosom

2007-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last night we came over to Dublin on a RyanAir flight, which cost 2p (that’s 2 pence = 4 cents) ... the flight ended up going smoothly enough. the only draw back being -- they forgot to place our backpacks on board -- yes, they were left in Gatwick! However, we are as happy as two destitute girls can be. Luckily we had the ‘bare essentials’ on person (literally, but, apart from successfully bringing mad’s makeup we are also thankful to have coats, debit cards, and boots made for walking). Our hostel experience has been unique and eventful already. We are staying at the Abraham House down the street from the Issac House. We are not sure what the details behind these strange hostel names are yet. We have, however, established one thing. Being in Abraham is 100% better than Patty’s Palace (two doors down) where everything is painted neon green with creepy leaprecons grimacing from every corner. Here the walls are a tinge better, being either butter yellow (in the dungeons) or a puckish orange everywhere else.

Tomorrow we're getting on a bus christened 'Wild Wicklow Tours: for people who appreciate scenery and a mix of variety"! Well, whatever all that means we're not sure yet, but, it is recommended by Rick Steves (our notorious and loyal travel guide). Beside all of this the wild tour people give a student discounts! But above all we are extremely excited to see the countryside and the coast. Maddie’s new camera is already malfunctioning so i may not manage to get digital pics up anytime soon.

- d

because green is my favorite color

2007-11-30T05:31:00.000-08:00

what: a nice green door in knotting hill

with: mad [cold] and i [appearently trying to be 'wistful']

what: a nice green car in knotting hill
with: marika, me, and amy

what: our favorite green door in knotting hill again

with: mad and i

{note on portobello road}

2007-11-30T05:04:00.000-08:00

"portobello road, portobello road, anything and everything a chap can behold...on portobe-e-llo road."

- actor Sir David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson

in Bed Knobs and Broom Sticks

{mad and i busted a gut on these expressions, they weren't intentional at all. by the look of it i just caught them 1 second short of smiling}

for anyone who hasn't seen 'Bed Knobs and Broom Sticks' - the disney film with angela landsbury - you're not actually missing much except for a knowledge of the ‘portoblello road’ song lyrics and a flyin' bed that doubles as a submarine.

anyway, portobello road is a row of shops in knotting hill that has a crazy open air market every saturday. you really can find everything and anything and what's more everyone and anyone. it is notorious for getting separated with your friends, wondering around aimlessly, people watching, dropping quid on useless gadgets, and getting body piercings. maddie aquired 3 the first time we went.

london update:

2007-11-30T04:39:00.000-08:00

marika and amy came over to visit for thanksgiving, and we all had a wonderful time.

[outside OXFAM - my favorite charity shop - in knottinghill]

we started t-giving day off with melissa, crepes, exchanging a 'what we're thankful for', water color decorations for my flat, and an explanantion of Squato for Jean 'our cleaner'.

later in the day we went to richmond park. it is a 20 acre park previously nobility hunting grounds. it is beautiful but freezing. i felt bad for marika and amy. they had no idea what mad and i meant by 'pack warm' from our emails.

i like this picture. for some reason it makes me think of vitcims of a natural disaster or something drastic like that. we ended up taking refuge in a little cafe for tea. we were forced to retreat when marika became paralyzed with cold. i really wanted to walk into the forest and show the fern valley where the fawns and baby dear keep warm. but alas it was far too chilly for our so cal sisters.

of a friend, for a friend

2007-10-29T05:25:00.000-07:00

The Word‘infinity’

infinity is
forever past
forever onward.

how can this be? here and now.
how can You be -- eternal?

truly, truly I say to you before there was, I AM.

Living Word, Living Water. then and there.
here and now. living always -- how?

truly, truly, I say to you.
anyone who keeps My Word
will never die.

Door To Pasture, Door To Safety. onward -- always.
past, present, Pasture -- where?

truly, truly I say to you.
I AM The Door,
anyone who enters through
will be saved.

infinite is always to-be.
infinitely IAM.

ever-onward is eternal.
ever-onward am I.

then and here.
there and now. forever.
enter, keep and live.

truly, truly I say to you,
I came that they may live,
and live -- eternally.

firenze to verona

2007-10-27T07:00:00.001-07:00

what: italian sunset by camera phone.
why: i like the grime streak and colours in the sky
when: on a three hour train ride from florence to verona

siena 'il Duomo'

2007-10-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

this is what i saw while walking to visit siena's gothic cathedral, 'il Duomo' -- green shutter square --

mad and beth a bit out of focus, even so, just ahead of them is a nice preview of the cathedral. every inch of it is stripped navy and white. it is a bold, massive sight among the grey uniform and more ancient roman architecture everywhere else.

beside the unique gothic aspect of stripped pillars, the cathedral also has amazing tile work, engravings and mosaics of important old testament scenes all over the floor, which is only uncovered for two months out of the year. we were lucky to catch it without thick protective carpet.

below are two of my favorite marble, mosaic floor pieces -- imagine doing thousands of these.

springbreak'07 {promenade}

2007-10-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

my laptop is down, well, my cursor periodically has seizures. due to my mouse malfunction i haven't been able to post more italy images as they aren't accessible -- so here goes some old pics from mad's computer... i often find myself drawn to strange murals and graffiti; above is marika in santa monica against a clown wall and below amy mosebar walking.

we were on the way to our favorite greek cafe on 3rd St. next is mad and marika with menus and a kissing poster.

roman forum+surrounding ruins

2007-09-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

overview of ruins set on Nero's old palace property

mad and beth from Colosseum third floor arch way

- di

a shot from beth

2007-09-16T06:14:00.001-07:00

travel day no.1 -before we left rome for siena we spent time wandering streets near the roman forum. this is a variation on one of bethany's pictures that i really like. next is the natural version - {'godalo'- enjoy it} -

note on fawlty towers hostel, roma

2007-09-16T05:35:00.000-07:00

marika - this one's for you, baby!

we were nervous before arriving at our first hostel. of course, we have heard terrible stories, which involve all horrors from cockroaches to serial killers. we were even more alarmed upon climbing into the lift because it is barely a cardboard box with room enough for two...we needed to go five stories. let me just say the name of the hostel didn't help things, and as far as i am concerned it may as well have been called the 'tower of terror.'

okay so we're naive - not every hostel is a fate worse than death as mad would point out over and over again. these are photos of the hostel's beautiful interior murals.

they are recreations of Gustav Klimt's art. you've probably seen his most famous 'the kiss.' - di

note on metro roma

2007-09-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

there isn't much to say...bottom line - it's an urban work of art - the graffiti is incredible. i didn't get shots that do it justice becasue mad's camara has no setting for motion but here goes...

- di

'il colosseo' - roma

2007-09-16T04:11:00.000-07:00

from london about rome:

the Colosseum as you'd imagine was a great experience. Mad, Beth and i took the guided tour, which was awesome. We learned facts and history about the Colosseum and surrounding area.

the Colosseum has lasted to this day because its foundation was built upon the foundation of Nero's manmade lake. The lake was originally part of Emperor Nero’s 80 acre property that held his 'Golden Palace' and the 90 foot, golden statue of himself. The statue was called ‘Colossus’ due to its size. The Colosseum was built just in front of the statue at the same height, thus acquiring its common title. Initially, the Colosseum was referred to as the ‘Flavian Amphitheater’ because its construction started about 72AD, when Emperor Flavius Vespasian decided to use Nero’s self-indulgent land for public enjoyment and unity. The Colosseum is an architectural phenomenon; It was designed to seat around 60,000 people who could evacuate within several minutes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the cross:

There is a cross that was erected in the Colosseum. Some believe that the cross was raised in honor of Christian prisoners who were executed.

The guide of our tour mentioned that experts today are not certain whether or not a surplus of Christians were actually killed in the Colosseum. They now say that the cross was erected because the Colosseum was used throughout the medieval era as a stone quarry for Christian churches and as an international church meeting place.

- Interesting little fact to look into

roma - - spanish steps/mad and eye[i]

2007-09-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

of all the amazing things to see and do in rome one may not pick the "spanish steps" as the no. 1 higlight, however, a really amazing thing took place while we were there (shan, you should appreciate this one). to be specific maddi and i took the best picture of our trip (to date). you must understand that mad does not often like any pics of herself, so "awsome" pictures of the two of us are in short supply. here is an example of one gone wrong -

and NO, marika, we are NOT recreating the comedy/tragedy theater masks!

now that you all understand the predicament here is an all time fave. i titled it mad and eye[i]

this is so great to becasue it is the best picture of maddi and i together in roma, a great self portrait (if i do say so myself) and the spanish steps are in gleaming condition.

here is another of mad overlooking the steps...

- di, from Firenze

siena photo

2007-09-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

view from the bathroom, and beth drinking the espresso i made. look at the cute italian press (bottom left). maddi said "a mosebar could never be satisfied with drinking such a small cup of coffee."

we made her try it...she loves it

siena photos

2007-09-05T13:17:00.001-07:00

view from the kitchen of our siena hostel.

siena

2007-09-04T03:02:00.000-07:00

oh siena, i have not even left the hostel yet and i already know i love it here. this morning the land lord came just to welcome us and clean our room -- we arrived last night after quite and ordeal, apparently no buses run on sundays in siena -- but instead, he ended up showing us how to make authentic italian espresso and explained the history, pride, sorrow and beauty of "il palio," sienas (sorry cannot find the hyphen on the keyboard) intense bareback horse races. according to migel (the land lord), the palio is "il cuore e la durata del siena" or the heart and life of siena.

mad and beth are across the street trying to download all of our pics -- we took some amazing shots in rome and want to share them with all. i stayed up here to make some espresso and start this blog. i made the mistake of offering some to a couple from southern italy, i thought they were french so i figured they would not know it was too watery. however, they DID! the conversation did that a turn for the best. i now have a list of southern cities that represent "true italy." all three of us girls are talking about coming back next summer, we are loving it italy!