Venice canals.

Venice is ready for Christmas.



 

 

 

Venice at Christmas time, as many European cities decorates its streets, houses, doors and gardens, with special lights (at night), Christmas trees, and

nativity scenes.
They also decorate their gondolas.

 

Venice in winter : Piazza San Marco, one of the most beautiful squares in Southern Europe.

Venice in winter, the snow is coming, it's time to listen to concerts and operas.

Venice is also well known for its important role in the history of symphonic and operating music.

Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice.

In the winter season is time to listen to the best operas (La Traviata, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto, Duetti D'Amore...) in wonderful places such as Opera House, Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto, and Scuola Grande Dei Carmini. In this last place musicians and singers from the best Italian orchestras and opera houses perform the finest Opera arias enriched by Eighteenth Century costumes and intriguing handcrafted masks. The extraordinary participation of a ballet dancer performing to orchestral pieces turns the show into an unforgettable dream.

There are many ideal locations with refined junction between Music, History and Art to enjoy concerts.

Venice in winter also gives you beauty and happiness.

"If you walk around Venice probably you will hear the gondoliers sing..."

THE BLONDE IN THE GONDOLA

TIZIANO SCARPA

This is a prose version of the most famous Venetian song:

The other evening I took the blonde girl out in a gondola. But

the pleasure made the poor thing drop off to asleep. She slept

on my arm, every now and then I woke her; but the boat's

rocking put her back to sleep. In the sky the moon was half hidden

among the clouds. The lagoon was calm, the wind had

dropped. Only a light breeze ruffled her hair and bared her

breast. Carefully contemplating the features of my treasure,

that little face so smooth, that mouth and that beautiful breast,

I felt a longing in my heart, a stirring, a kind of euphoria that

I can't explain. For a while I respected her sleep, and put up

with it, despite Love in person arousing me. And I very slowly

tried to lie down there with her; but how can you lie relaxed

with a burning fire beside you ? Luckily in the end I got tired

of letting her sleep, and I behaved like a shameless person, but I

had nothing to regret. Because, my God, what beautiful things

I said to her did to her! Seriously, I have never in my life
been so happy.

Nature also gives us peace and beauty.

Como creo en la teoría del renacimiento, vivo con la esperanza de que, si no en esta vida, en alguna otra podré abrazar con amor a toda la humanidad.

MOHANDAS K. GANDHI

 



London, Kew Gardens : Amazing autumn experiences.

A very  beautiful  place to visit in autumn is The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London. If you are in the city during this season, try to reserve some time to visit the gardens and enjoy the fall colors.

Kew covers an area of over 132 hectares on the banks of the River Thames, between Richmond and Kew in south-west London. This area once belonged to the Royal family a few centuries ago, and these gardens have a long history and preserve many nice memories.

 

 

 

Today Kew ‘s living plant collection is the largest and most comprehensive in the world, containing representatives of more than 1 in 8 of all flowering plants species. This romantic and wonderful garden also has different and important scientific missions.

Many  species within the living collection are endangered in their natural habitats,  and Kew is increasingly involved in their conservation as threats to the world’s vegetation escalate. Specimens of such plants are cultivated and propagated for distribution to other botanic gardens, or, whenever possible, returned to their natural habitats.

The knowledge and expertise of Kew’s scientific and horticultural staff is shared with other botanists and the public by means of publications, scientific conferences and educational programmes.

Kew also has one of the world's foremost botanical libraries, containing over 120.000 books as well as journals, papers, illustrations, and an extensive archive.

These large gardens are an ideal area to come with children,  they not only learn about nature but at the same time have special and extensive areas to play, and also Kew organize  many activities for them, such as children’s egg trails at easter, Christmas activities in December and into the New Year and so.

 

 

 

The art is also present in the Kew Gardens throughout the year. One of the permanent exhibitions that I like so much is the Marianne North Gallery. This painter who was born in Hastings in 1830, travelled widely around the world, often enduring considerable discomfort, in order to paint flowers in their natural habitats.
She also generously offered to provide a suitable building in which to display her paints, and asked her friend, the architectural historian, James Fergusson, to design the Gallery, which was opened to the public in June 1882. This is another beautiful way to enjoy the flowers in Kew Gardens.

 

  

 For further information, you may visit : www.kew.org

 

 

Florence, after sightseeing and shopping, take a break in a caffè overlooking the Duomo, the Appenines and Florence's gardens.

There are some places which require more than one visit in Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Strozzi, and of course it’s very pleasant to walk and shopping in Via de Tornabuoni, where the ground floor of some palaces have been turned into prestigious fashion boutiques, such as Gucci, Cavalli, Ferragamo, Prada, Cartier and so on.

If you need to take a break, there are many well decorated, pleasant, and delicious restaurants, pizzerias, and caffès, but if you want to admire the city without walking, and to have some privacy, there are also some cute caffès and restaurants at the top of some historical buildings. In these caffès overlooking the Duomo, the Brunelleschi’s cupola, and the Appenines , you can enjoy all those wonderful landscapes while you listen to music, and you take your aperitivo, your dinner or just a coffee.

Florence, Piazza del Duomo.

  

Living next to Piazza del Duomo is an unique experience. In the early morning you will be awaked by the sound of bells, at the same time that one bird will begin to sing near your balcony.

If you are lucky, someone very kind will prepare for you one delicious cappuccino while you admire the wonderful sculptures of the Duomo's facade. Now all is done, but it took six centuries to build this cathedral. These brave men of the past didn't have computer programs to design buildings, there were not modern cranes at that time. I tried to imagine how they worked to achieve this kind of perfection.

These innovative men of the Renaissance, workers, sculptors, painters, architects were like angels inspired by one superior intelligence, they were angels with faith. 



Florence, Arno river.

Florence, Ponte Vecchio.

At the end of the day, when the jewelers and  goldsmiths stores of Ponte Vecchio are closed. There are in this place an appointment for many visitors, this is the time of the sunset, and all tourists are ready to see the spectacle, a dazzling of orange and blue colors illuminate the river and the hills while the sun slowly hides. Everybody wants and tries to make more pictures at this moment. And I wondered myself why the sunsets are so wonderful in Ponte Vecchio. This is perhaps one of the places where God shows his best watercolors, his best material construction, and then He inspires to the artists from Florence to paint their paintings, to sculpt their sculptures, to build their palaces, temples, cathedral, and to design  their costumes, dresses, shoes, jewels…This is also a magical and wonderful  place of the city, specially at this time, the sunset.

Florence, "The Medicis" : also a fascinating book.

You can find in Florence many interesting books about some relevant personages (architects, scultpters, painters, kings) and families, one of these families were the Medicis.

The Medicis were a Italian family  very well known and prestigious : we  must  remember that their name is linked to the Florence’s history. The Medicis  ruled  Florence  for three  hundred  years,  although in some periods the political struggle forced them to give up the power. From Cosme el Viejo (1389-1464) until Juan Gastón (1671-1737) the last King of the dynasty, the family live in Florence  not only the age of the splendor but  also the decadence times. Then in all Europe appeared  the national states and the market economy.

 I personally admire two of the Medicis, Lorenzo el Magnífico  and Catalina de Medicis. Catalina became king of France, she always tried to maintain the unity of the country in spite of the wars  between  Catholics and Protestants. She brought to the French royal court many Italian artists, Catalina also introduced in France Italian perfumes, the use of fork on the table, and many delicious Italian recipes.  On a personal  level  with her strong character, she could stand the infidelities of her weak husband with Diana de Poitiers, and also to manage the country in a very difficult moments. Catalina was a cultivated person and also dedicated to the education of her children who later were kings of France.

    

Florence, a pleasant city to walk and to enjoy the nature.

The first thing you notice when you exit from the Florence’s airport is the essence of plants, pines, lavender and flowers. You will see immediately the high Tuscana’s mountains with its forests and the cypress trees surrounding the city and the Arno river.

If you visit the town during the spring or autumn, take your time to walk around the Boboli’s garden far away of the crowds of tourists, you’ll probably find a quiet place to read, to admire a source or to spend a pleasant time with your friends.

Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore (The Duomo).

Florence, a city to dream, to discover and to enjoy.

Today I’d like to remember one of the most beautiful and mystical places of the city. This is the Duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore, this is the house of God and of His people. But the Duomo, like every other church, is above all “the house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7).

So it is also your house, even if you are not Florentine, even if you are not a believer. You can feel the peace of the place.

It took six centuries to build the Duomo. The works of Art inside Florence Cathedral bear a complex of civic and religious meanings, all centred on the idea of the dignity of the human being and of the grandeur and nobility accorded to him by God.