Leaving Genova ... again

The floors have been mopped, almost all of the laundry is done. The rubbish has been sorted and dumped in the appropriate bins.  Supplies resupplied, wine not quite finished, and most of my goodbyes have been said.

I have loved being here in this Ligurian city again.  Six busy days filled with people and interviews, of photography and so much fun.

Blue skies were there waiting outside my window every morning, temperatures were warm ... 29 celsius

may have been the norm, although I wasn't paying attention in a deep way.

Genova makes me smile, my eyes open wider and sure, I am close to exhausted but these last few weeks have been ...intense.  The wedding in France, the workshop in Piedmont, the interview series here in Genova.  A huge cold that threatened to bring me to my knees was probably the worst of it.

Anyway, this is how I was looking on Monday. Still bemused by the fact that yes, if you teach a photography workshop then being photographed becomes the new normal.  Thank you to Sandy Millar, the photographer and woman who talked me through the agony that is being photographed.

There are so many reasons ...

There are so many reasons that Italy has slipped into my heart but one of the biggest is surely the people I have met here over the years.

The people of Piedmont have simply added to that particular experience of Italy.  There was the intensity, the laughter, and the pure joy of spending those hours working with Carla in her restaurant kitchen on Monday ... then the kindness and patience of the people in Acqui Terme's Market with those foreign photographers yesterday.  Last night it was all about the generosity of the people who led us through an exquisite multi-course dinner. 

There is a saturation that occurs, for me, here.  A saturation that is not just of a physical nature but there is a very real sensation of my soul being filled ... or whatever 'organ' it is that stores joy.  It fills and overflows and simply sparkles so many times in day when I'm here.

Sure there is the beautiful landscape, the visible histories, the wine, the food, and the language but there are also the people. 

Yesterday the lovely man pictured below arrived at Diana and Micha's, laden down with gifts and toting his own gentle charm.  Needless to say we adored him, both for the fruit and even more after he called us all beautiful women.

For all that is difficult, in Italy in these current days, there is still so much that is beautiful and I am truly grateful to the people who allow me in.

Genova tomorrow, the day when I get to introduce everyone here to that Ligurian city I love so very well.

To Step Out of the World ...

To step out of the world, to stop for a little bit ...  I discover that I am tired.

I discover so many ideas clamouring to be explored. 

I see a need to change how I live.

Here in my exquisite room, going over workshop notes, I need to lie on my bed periodically ... to rest, just for a couple of days.  And there's time, we don't begin until Sunday.

My mind was still racing and so I began with one of those meditative visualisations ...imagine you are lying on a beach in a beautiful place, then smiled, as I understood my reality.  I am here in a beautiful place, lying on a comfortable bed in a exquisitely decorated bedroom, in Italy.

Viktoria Mullova is playing Bach on my laptop, quietly, without destroying the peace of the Piedmont countryside. 

Sitting outside earlier, just before Diana and I set out to the market in Acqui Terme, I looked up ... of course there are grapes growing overhead here.

France ...

You must learn one thing.

The world was made to be free in.
Give up all the other worlds
Except the one in which you belong.

David Whyte, extract from Traveling With Pomegrantes.

I was in France these last 5 days, near Lyon, for a beautiful wedding and was startled to realise that not every hotel offers good internet connections.  The one I was on was pre-Flintstones and I was unable to reach the back-end of my website.

It was disappointing because I use my blog like a journal on occasion.  I was reading a superb book full of ideas that I would love to have noted and there were photographs like the one below, taken that first evening.

And now, two full days to process a few hundred wedding photographs before flying out unbelievably early on Thursday.

Tot straks.

Why I Won't Buy An Electronic Reader ...

A poignant and compelling book about feminine thresholds, spiritual growth, and the relationship between mothers and daughters, Traveling with Pomegranates is both a revealing self-portrait by a beloved author and her daughter, a strong new voice, and a momentous story that will resonate with women everywhere.

One of the things that stops me from falling for an electronic reading device is my huge love of secondhand books.

My lifestyle demands the light and easy convenience of an electronic reader but I remain completely unable to commit to one.  Everyone talks of 'how many' books they can load and read.  And I admit, I end up traveling with as many as 5 books if I'm away 2-3 weeks, muttering about the weight of my luggage but still I just can't commit to 'electronic'.  I came close recently but I felt grey inside when I imagined it all.

Yesterday I walked into my favourite secondhand bookshop here in the city and discovered Traveling with Pomegranates, by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor. 

So many of my books have been serendipitous finds and there are bookshops, dotted around the world, described by me as those places where treasures are found.

Shift this hunger for paper and serendipity to Genova, in Italy, and I have La Feltrinelli's.  Their English selection isn't huge and yet I always come away with something superb.  A book that allows me to leave feeling as a good Catholic might feel just after the Pope has touched their hand. 

You know ... ?

Or in Istanbul, where time spent in the Robinson Crusoe bookshop was time I considered most delicously spent.

I can't comprehend the notion of not spending hours exploring bookshelves nor do I want to miss the pleasure of opening a new book ... or a new 'old' book.  I love looking to my left, here at my desk, and seeing the 3 red bookshelves loaded up with books I have loved and read ...and those books still to waiting to be read.

It's like that for me. 

Below, a completely unrelated image that I rather liked ... titled, Chris's science experiment in London, Clare will remember.

Aperitivo and The Opera Of It All...

I have these incredibly talented friends ... Peter Furlong, the fabulous tenor and Julie Wyma, a truly talented soprano.

Back in July when I was in Genova, and referring to the post that follows this one, Simon began posting dreadful photographs of me on Facebook.  His Facebook comments section came to life.

It turned out Julie and Peter were reading it all in Berlin and voila, before Simon and I had moved on from our third aperitivo bar, the song of it all was there on the internet.

I love them.  They make me laugh.  They did another short opera about my new office chair ... over here.

The lovely Veronica features in it, warning Simon of witches and calling him mean.