Rome, August 20, 2018

We took the early train, an express, from Milan to Rome at 7 AM on Monday. The scenery along the way was beautiful,  particularly in Tuscany. Though the train ran through Florence, there was no stop in that famed city. We took a taxi from Rome's Termini Station, at the end of the three hour trip, to the Quirinale Hotel, where Verdi and other notables used to stay in the 19th century. At noon, our friends from Iowa Wayne and Steve met us at the hotel. We all walked to Bernini's exquisite church of S. Maria Della Vittoria. The sculptor's masterpiece, the Cornaro Chapel, shows St. Teresea of Avila's mystical vision, carved with a great sense of Baroque drama. On the way down to the Piazza Navona, we passed by the Trevi Fountain, Barberini Palace and the Pantheon. Then at the French church (St. Luigi dei Franceschi,) we saw the art which signalled the start of the Barouque era: Caravaggio's Contarini Chapel, with its three paintings showing events in the life of St. Matthew. Caravaggio's "St. Matthew Writing The Gospels" is sensual, his "Calling Of St. Matthew" shows a focused drama, and his "Martyrdom" shows a wild panorama of exaggerated emotions in the bodies and faces of all involved in the death of St. Matthew, from the victim, to the executioner and spectators. After a short stop at the Piazza Navona we made plans for dinner which would be at the Hosteria Giovanna. It was great to share the day with Wayne and Steve. - Dan

Milan, August 19, 2018

At the start of our last day in Milan, we took the metro to a quiet, residential neighborhood, to see the most important art museum in the city, the Brera Picture Gallery. With its strong collection of Italian paintings, some highlights were works by Raphael, Piero Della Francesca and Caravaggio. We were able to walk to the smaller "house art gallery," the Poldi-Pizzoli Museum, which contains not only paintings, but clocks, watches, armour, porcelain, etc. After lunch at a neighborhood bistrot, Rosa Luna, with Jim's seafood served in a fish-shaped hollowed-out loaf of bread (see photo,) we stopped at our hotel for a short rest. Our final attraction was the ancient, mainly Romanesque church of St. Ambrogio, with its unique early Christian atrium, one of the few sill standing. (Most were demolished in later times.) Seeing the beautiful church was a fitting finale to our stay in Milano. - Dan

Milan August 18, 2018

Saturday morning's first incredible attraction was the main reason why this city was chosen for the first few days of this trip, the pre-cruise part. The visit to Leonardo's "Last Supper" meant Dan was able to see the most important art work he'd explained in his classes for 46 years, but had never visited. Jim also loved the fresco. Who wouldn't? It's all about humanity, aspirations to divinity and perfect harmony. Next to the room of the Leonardo is the beautiful church of S. Maria delle Grazie, begun as a Gothic basilica but finished with Braumante's harmonious dome and apse, a Renaissance marvel and inspiration for later architects.Then we walked to the huge Sforza Castle, where we toured the Museum of Ancient Art (see photo of Dan and the XIV Century statue of Bernabo Vistcounti,) the Picture Gallery; the Museum of Musical Instruments; and
Michaelangelo's "Rondanini Pieta," a separate attraction. But the medieval fortress itself is the most impressive element of the castle. After hunting down ravioli for lunch in the train station, we rested at the hotel. The afternoon's adventures included a return visit to La Scala's Theatrical Museum. The last attraction of the day was a visit to the Ambrosiana Gallery and Library. In some beautifully displayed galleries the museum's most illustrious treasures were a Leonardo "Portrait of a Musician" and Caravaggio's elegant "Basket of Fruit," a small gem. Dinner was at another fine Milan eatery, the Hosteria Della Musica. - Dan

Milan August 17, 2018

After two smooth plane rides, Philadelphia to London overnight, then London to Milan we arrived in Milan and met our driver who drove us to our hotel. The hotel Andreola, a nice classic style accommodation, is located near the amazing Milan Central Railroad Station built in 1931. The station's grandeur, typical of the inter-war period in Europe, proved surprising because it withstood WWII bombings. After a short rest at the hotel we toured the huge Duomo, the Cathedral of Milan, which took 600 years to complete. It's mainly Northern Gothic in style but also features Renaissance façade pediments. Ironically, the Palazzo Reale art exhibit showed Impressionist art treasures from our own Philadelphia Museum of Art! Seeing them felt like visiting old friends abroad. Following the art exhibit we took a spin through the famous Milan Galleria. The final highlight of the day was a superior dinner at Il Tavolino ristorante. All the food was good but the two highlights were an asparagus flan and the eggplant parmesan with crisp, thinly-sliced melazzane in a red sauce, spread over a soft cheese filling. The chocolate mousses desserts were accompanied by complimentary Limoncello, potent and sweet, which the maître'd gave us to make up for poor service from our waiter. The meal was a delightful conclusion to our fine first day in Milan, a smart and vibrant city we hadn't visited in many years. - Dan

  

I Have Nothing To Discuss With trump Supporters

I posted the following essay yesterday on Facebook. One of my husband's Facebook friends apparently took offense, he being a supporter of that evil which is in the White House. Too f**king bad. I stand by each and every word of it.

My post:

I am unconcerned that we have different politics. I do not think less of you because you voted one way and I voted another. We need people to vote and the candidate we select is not always going to win. It is hoped that we will have someone who is competent enough to run our country. That didn’t happen in the last election. We got a thin-skinned egomaniac who has never been held accountable for any atrocities he has committed.

Let me be clear. I think less of you because you watched an adult mock a disabled man in front of a crowd and you still supported him. I think less of you because you saw a man spouting clear racism and you cheered for him. I think less of you because of your willingness to support someone who openly admires dictators and demonizes the press and anyone who criticizes him. I think less of you because you heard him advocate for war crimes and you still thought he should run this country. I think less of you because you watched him equate a woman’s worth to her appearance and you thought that was okay. I think less of you because you’ve seen his appointees systematically destroy legal protections and loot the tax payers money and you are ok with that. You watched, along with the rest of the nation, as he separated families and locked innocent children in dog cages and you were not horrified as the rest of us were. You refuse to accept the fact that this man wants to work with dictators but has alienated our long standing allies. I think less of you because you refuse to review the facts and accept that this man is lying to you on a daily basis. It isn’t your politics I find repulsive. It is your willingness to support racism, sexism, misogyny, and cruelty that I find repulsive. You supported a tyrant and bully when it mattered and that is something I will never forgive or forget. Your lack of morals and basic humanity are devastating to me.

There are some things I can never be civil about: concentration camps, genocide, white supremacy, misogyny, harm to children, mass trauma, state violence, rising fascism, to name a few. There is NO civil discussion with someone who agrees with putting children in dog cages.

So, no...you and I will never be “coming together” to move forward or whatever. Trump literally disgusts me and I hate the sound of his voice spewing hate and dividing the country but, the fact that he doesn’t disgust you is something that is going to stick with me long after this presidency. You have shown me who you really are and the fact that you still support this monster and rush to justify everything he does makes me feel that we have nothing to discuss.

Trains In The Garden At Our Summer Cottage On Fire Island

In Memory Of Juan Punchin

Juan, Jimmy, Jim, Dan, Stephen

Last November we lost a good friend, a decent, fun-loving, kind and generous man who left us all too soon. I will always remember his kindness over the years, the many festive dinners that Juan prepared at "Olay" for groups of friends, the occasions when he joined Dan and I for our annual anniversary dinners out, more than once picking up the tab, and the intimate pre-and-post season quiet times that we occasionally spent together at each other's homes here in Cherry Grove. Juan loved to plant Coleus in his garden, but just as they cannot survive a harsh, cold winter, Juan was unable to survive the often life-saving but difficult and traumatic procedures intended to help him overcome his illness. According to a Chinese proverb: "The saddest thing is the death of the heart." While we are saddened that Juan's physical heart was not strong enough to carry him through at the end, we can take great comfort that his wonderful spiritual bigheartedness lives on in the fond memories of his many friends.

Spectacular Blue Passionflower

Growing in a container on our deck this summer, the first bloom of a 

Passiflora caerulea...