Last Sabbatical Blog and Tintoretto

 

Goodbye Aviano and Friends

I return tomorrow to Atlanta and then to Fairhope by December 17^th. What a fabulous experience this has been!  I would not have changed a minute and that was a real surprise to me.  Friends and family were there ALL along the way and that was a true blessing.  Taking the time for a sabbatical  journey is one thing, processing all I learned, enjoyed, and thought about will take much longer.   I know one thing – it seemed a miracle from the beginning through the end – friends that opened their homes and hearts, travel that clicked into place, a schedule that surprisingly worked, and clothes that were all used and enough for 6 months.

Read this today in a popup : “One simple way to boost happiness is to slow down and take a break. Not all day, not every day, but once in a while to savor life, express gratitude and notice the beauty going on around you. 

"Einstein once said there are two ways to live life: One is as if nothing is a miracle; the other is as if everything is a miracle," Ben-Shahar said. "We need time to savor that miracle."   So very true!

What a great last week in Italy with friends.  Got upgraded to better car, upgraded room at Desiree, had lunches, coffees, and book club meetings with Italian and American friends all during the week.  My last weekend was spend at a Christmas Market at two charming villages on Saturday and a visit to a favorite antique market on Sunday.

Monday, I turned in my car and took the bus to Venice since I had an afternoon before checking into my airport hotel for an early morning flight.  I had missed a wonderful Tintoretto (1519-1594) exhibit at the Palazzo Ducale that will be at the National Gallery of Art in Washington next year.  

Tintoretto was born five centuries ago and Venice is celebrating!  Venice itself is a Tintoretto exhibit without walls and his works are found in many areas of Venice, but the Gallery dell’ Accademia has his younger work and the Palazzo Ducale his remaining work in an astounding exhibit through June 2019.

Tintoretto was a great Venetian painter.  He possessed a flair for business, “leveraging his talents in a society where art was a powerful tool- for conveying family status, religious piety, and the values of the Republic”.  He outmaneuvered other painters by undercutting their prices or agreeing to impossible deadlines.  He gave paintings as gifts to increase his market share and cultivate potential clients. He was able to cover large canvases rapidly.  With the help of a well-organized workshop, he supplied more paintings for 

Venice’s palaces, government buildings, churches, and confraternities than any other artist. This exhibit included painting from many museums, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

A beautiful end to a perfect six months.  

                        

Thank you all for traveling along with me.

Venice Vagabond

There is absolutely nothing I like better than getting lost in Venice! It is actually not that easy to do unless you just head out and try to go where you have never been by turning first this way then that down narrow calli (streets) without any destination in mind.  I am always surprised when I turn up an hour or two later at a known area or landmark in a place I did not think I was headed toward or even near.  After all, it is an island or a series 118 islands!  You can have adventures and see many many interesting sights, but you are never lost long.  I have loved every minute of my nearly 5 days here.  I really covered Venice as shown where pics were taken this week.  I also took water vaporetto on the Grand Canal.

Everywhere I walked and took pictures in 5 days!

On Sunday,  I headed towards the Jewish Ghetto in the Cannaregio area and eventually walked past one of the prettiest churches I have ever seen – S. Maria Assunta Ai Gestuiti - a Jesuit church.

 It was built around 1715-1729 to replace a church built around 1150.  The Jesuit church was a novelty as it has an unusual structure and
beautiful inlaid marbles of white and green, many of which create an impression of elegant tapestries. The Jesuits were suppressed in 1774 for supporting Pope Paul V against the Venetian Republic.  They returned in 1844. It has wonderful paintings, some by Titian, Tintoretto and others.

I am staying at my favorite hotel - The Abbazia near the train station.  The location is excellent and it was an old abby.  It was nice to see Matteo again who still works here.  I am reading "The Unfinished Palazzo" by Judith Macrell and it set the mood to visit that interesting building and modern art collection again. It’s preface sums up Venice to me: “A place of otherworldy beauty – a city floating in the sea, where solid stone dissolved into water and light….A favorite destination of poets and artists, promising an escape from the drabness and constraints of ordinary life.”

Select to see better

  I passed two scenes late in a day that could have been movie sets.  So much of Venice is like that.  The  Squero di San Trovaso is a small gondola boatyard that first opened in the 17th century.  There are few gondola boatyards left in the city, but this one is easy to find as it is near the Zattare.  A famous gelato stop is Nico's on the Zattare just around the corner.

In the 16th century there were nearly 10,000 of these boats plying the waters of Venice's canals.  Today, there are 350, and the job of gondoliers is still a coveted profession as it is passed down from father to son over the centuries. Now they just have to avoid all the motor craft on the water.

Monday ended up sunny and nice so I took a “hop on and off water taxi” (a 1^st for Venice) past the cruise ship area, the large lagoon, past St. Marco Square, around the interesting Arsenal  (where they built a ship in just one day in the 1500’s) and to Murano and back.  Met a nice young man from Algeria and we had a nice chat during the trip. I love Venice for walking – as my phone said I walked 18,899 steps Sunday (7.5 miles) and 14,214 – 5.2 miles on Monday.  Nearly that many on Tuesday.  Easy to do as everything is interesting to me and it is mostly flat.

Between 1637 and 1700, there were 140,000 inhabitants in Venice. One third was wealthy, with over a 1,000 males over 25 who made up the sovereign body of the Republic.   216 families, divided into 667 households were of noble rank.  You had to live in Venice for at least 25 years to become a true Venetian.  Today, there are 55,000 – 270,000 Venetians (depending on which news source) and over 20 million tourists a year. The best time to visit is actually in the winter months as June-August is impossible to me as you feel you are walking into a game between University of Alabama and Auburn with equal crowds trying to find a space to walk.

I visited a Vivaldi exhibit where numerous string instruments from the 14^thcentury

onwards were on display and a period workshop to view.

Venice has always been a favorite Italy city due to its uniqueness.  I am glad I had the opportunity to visit again when the tourist crowds were at a low.  I have to say, I have gone most everywhere I wanted in Italy during my extended time here during this sabbatical.  Italy is never boring.  Onwards to Aviano, seeing good friends, and packing out.  Tired of suitcase living and looking forward to being home soon.

 Just a few extra pictures out of many I have not downloaded yet.

Lights, Camera, Action! In the Cairngorms

 

Nethy Bridge, Scotland - where I have lived for the past 3 months, is in the heart of the Cairngorms, the largest national park in the British Isles covering 1,748  square miles in a 5 region area.  You may have visited some of this area without knowing it through your viewing of several films in the past few years:

The Outlander:  The Highland Folk Museum and Tullochgrue at Rothiemurchus (a huge estate) were both used in filming the historical drama.  The old township at the Folk Museum (which we visited) was the setting of several scenes.

The Crown:   The Netflix original telling of young Queen Elizabeth’s reign  was filmed in several locations around the park including Glenfeshie  Estate, Balmoral Estate, and Ardverkie Estate.

Victoria:  Episode 7 featured Blair Castle in Highland Perthshire which Queen Victoria visited often during her reign. Two of the estate’s Highland ponies starred as Victoria and Albert’s personal ponies.  The Atholl Highlanders, the regiment which Victoria founded is also featured.  I always encourage visitors to visit Blair castle at Blair Atholl  - Virginia and Sharon enjoyed their visit to the castle this year.

Outlaw King:  I just watched this and loved seeing a beloved area on film with the lochside (lake side) of Loch an Eilein turned into a township and costumed men marching.  

We always visit this nearby lake near Nethy Bridge as it has a castle ruin near the shore.

Mary Queen of Scots:  This movie will be out in January, 2019 and is based on a well-known biography of Mary Queen of Scots.  I have been reading a good bit of Scottish/English history on my journey and look forward to it’s release.  Parts were films in the Strathdon and Glenfeshie areas of the Cairngorm National Park.

Monarch of the Glen:  Filmed at Ardverikie Estate and also the villages of Newtonmore and Kingussie as well. The train station near Nethy Bridge was changed to Glen Bogle.  This drama is based loosely on the Highland novels if Sir Compton Mackenzie.

Salmon Fishing in the Yeman:  This romantic drama was partly films on Ardverikie Estate and at Loch Laggan.

Frost is on the ground most of the morning now as the weather gets much colder.  We are expecting some snow flurries next week so it must be time for me to head back to Italy, collect my things, and come home.  My next blog will probably be from Venice where I am looking forward to staying a few days before joining my friends in Aviano before flying home in mid - December.

Source:  https://blog.visitcairngorms.com/12-films-shot-in-the-cairngorms

Discovering Scotland

I will be home in less than a month and I am getting excited!  The time has mostly flown by, especially when I view all of my photos and think of how many places I have been.  This has been a 6 month plus journey that was well worth the time and energy.  Due to colder weather, I have taken fewer walks and used time for some inside work – reflecting, organizing photos and files, trying to figure out the approximate cost of this venture, and also setting my next life goals.

Having a bit of “cabin fever”,  I traveled by train to Dundee, Scotland a few days ago.  The train view along the River Tay from Perth to Dundee was a nice trip.  I walked right out of the new downtown train station in front of the new Victoria & Albert Museum (Dundee) and the Discovery Center on the Tay river and found my new hotel just a few more steps away.  Good beginning.  

If anything, this trip reminded me to take advantage of nearby areas and seek out the events going on all around you.  We tend to say “not this week” and we can miss so much! Fairhope and the surrounding area always has something going on worth seeing. I have always said “If you are bored in Fairhope, somethings wrong with you!”.  As for me, I look forward to taking advantage of more events and activities in my own hometown of Fairhope and nearby areas in the future.

Dundee has an interesting history as a shipbuilding  and textile

center.  They also are known for jam.  The brand new Victoria & Albert Design Center by noted Japanese architect , Kengo Kuma is well worth seeing for the building design alone.  It looks like a futuristic ship. 

I visited the “Ocean Liners: Speed and Style” and “Designs of Scotland” exhibits.  The Ocean Liner exhibit showed the history and  “Style” of the great ocean liners of the past (no Celebrity Cruises here). Dressing for all meals, beautiful interiors and staterooms, and the oceangoing life of the really affluent who regularly travelled abroad.  A spacious First Class outside cabin with a private bathroom on the Queen Mary was just $295!  That is about $3,900 in today’s money.

Of equal interest was the actual ship “Discovery” built in Dundee in 1901.  Its first mission was the British National Antarctic Exposition with Capt. Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton that was very successful.  I did not know much about this and the videos and exhibits were really well done. 

The Discovery was locked in ice for two years and ice frequently had to be dislodged from the inside cabin walls.  Sadly, in 1912, when Scott tried to be the first to reach the South Pole, he arrived 5 weeks after the Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen made the summit.  Capt. Cook died on the way back from his failed attempt to be the first person at the South Pole.  It was amazing to tour the insides of this ship and walk the same planks they did!

I enjoy movies and missed several now showing in the states due to limited movie houses and show times here.  That was rectified when I heard about the Dundee Contemporary Arts Center.  This exhibit space also had two movie venues with excellent movies showing while I was in Dundee.  I was able to see “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Fahrenheit 11/9”.  Both different and worth seeing.

Company is coming from Edinburgh this weekend and next week and that will be fun. Barbara’s mother bought this house years ago.  Nethy Bridge is gaining in popularity due to all of the nature and sports activities nearby and is a great place to visit. As for me, I am blessed to have friends who have places such as this and that they are willing to let me lease for this long period.

This Cartier tiara was saved from the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915,
Lady Allan, wife of a Canadian banker and shipping magnate was saved although her two daughters died.
Her maid put this tiara in her pocket for safekeeping.

A Wee Crime Festival

“A Wee Crime Festival”

I have not been a big reader of crime novels but that may change as a result of attending the “Sixth Wee Crime Festival” in Grantown-on-Spey a nearby town near Nethy Bridge.  The

festival, that highlighted some of the country’s best-known crime writers was put on by the powerhouse owner of the well-loved independent “Bookmark” in the town of approximately 2,500.  Marjorie  Marshall, bookstore owner, began the festival with an opening night whodunnit, written by Douglas Skelton (author) and performed by other festival authors. 

I was able to attend the four excellent and informative panel events on Saturday exploring various issues affecting crime writers and how they develop plotlines as well as series. It was an education for me and one of the most interesting days I have spent in a while.  I came away with several books and a personal commitment to read books from each author in the next year.  They were all very entertaining and gave me an increased appreciation for this genre.  

I was reminded that people can make a huge difference in small towns  - by showing initiative such as Majorie regularly does in this Highland area.  I was honored to meet her. Her passion for books reminded me of our own Mary Riser’s passion for films. Don’t forget the Fairhope Film Festival coming up next weekend!

 Our own independent bookstore – Page & Palette is a place we should also treasure and support as they also bring well-known authors to our own town regularly. 

It was late when the sessions would end, but Marjorie, even during her busy day, made sure I had a ride home instead of my catching a late bus so I could stay until the end of the sessions.  People are so welcoming and nice time and time again. She even loaned me an advance copy of Douglas Skelton's "The Janus  Run" a week before the event.  I enjoyed it as well.

Check out these authors, many of whom set some of their works in the USA:

Alex Gray, Stuart MacBride, Craig Robertson, Douglas Skelton, Thomas Enger, Michael J. Malone, Neil Broadfoot, Caro Ramsay, Margaret Kirk, Helen Forbes, Sandra Ireland and one of my favorites, Alexandra Sokoloff who lives in California part-time.  I am reading “The Unseen” and it is hard to put down!

Fall Arrived Along with Company in the Scottish Highlands

If you are like me, the ancient history of kings and queens of England and Scotland are a bit muddled in your mind.  While in Scotland I have been reading about Mary, Queen of Scots and a few others trying to have a better understanding of this unique history.

A favored residence of Scotland’s kings and queens was Stirling Palace near Edinburgh.  History came to life as we visited the palace where knights, nobles and foreign ambassadors once flocked to the Royal Court. At the heart of the castle was the Royal Palace of James V with the Stirling sculptures along the outside of the building. The Archangel Michael, cherub heads, a laughing woman, animals, Venus, Saturn, and King James V grace the building.  It is visually amazing. Especially when you realize they were painted with color in the past.   The recently renovated great hall is a great sight with a stunning “hammerbeam” ceiling modeled on the ceiling of the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle and does not contain a single nail.  The William Wallace Monument is nearby.

 Mary was crowned Queen of Scots in the Chapel Royal at just nine months of age.  She much later gave birth to her only child in Edinburgh Castle and he became both James VI of Scotland and James I of England – see how confusing it can be?

My sister Betty and brother-in-law Lee and I often travel together and they were here for a week to enjoy Nethy Bridge (where they have also rented over the years).  We met at the London airport and traveled back to Edinburgh together.  They had been on a Mediterranean cruise and came here after docking in Rome.  

We stayed with Barbara Henderson and ate out at a lovely Italian restaurant. Barbara visited us in both Atlanta and Fairhope  and it is always good to see her.  She also traveled by train to Nethy Bridge for a few days while they were here.  It was nice to have a longer visit with her. We visited some nearby sights with her.

Having Betty as a sister and Lee as a brother-in-law is one of my most treasured blessings in this life. As a slightly older sister, Betty has always been there for me and provided guidance in my life. We visited several sights I had not gone to which were of interest and went out to eat at the Muckrack Hotel Restaurant.  We took a couple of nature walks between cold and rainy weather and other activities. The more I am here, the more I find of interest.  

 

We also spent a few hours in Inverness.  The Scottish Episcopal Church near the River Ness was a nice visit.  We had a nice lunch in the church parish hall.  The embroidered kneelers reminded me of the amazing work for St. James done by Beverly Clark and her group a few years ago.  You can see the Inverness Castle from the river walk.  

If you are caught up in the mystical Outlanders saga and want to be swept away to Jamie and Claire’s world, come to Scotland.   Standing stones, breathtaking landscapes, castles, old kirks (churches) and historic villages abound.  

 

Replicas of 18^thcentury turf-roofed Highland crofts in the Highland Folk Museum near Newtonmore was worth a visit, where we learned how Scottish Highlanders lived, built their homes, dressed and more. The unique replica 1730’s “Baile Gean” Township or community of rural tenants  were used for period scenes in the Outlander Series.

A 1937 school where school age visitors were briefly under the tutelage of a headmaster, a Church, an 1890 “Blackhouse” where smoke filtered out through the thatched roof, a tweed cottage, tailor’s shop, and people preparing flax for oil and to weave was interesting. 

 

Another highlight of our time this week was a visit to a nearby Sheepdog demonstration by a true native highland shepherd.  It was a chilly day mid-week and we were surprised when we drove up to find about 20+ people waiting.  Neil Ross owned 12+ trained sheepdogs and noted that each one had his own commands and that you should keep all commands to a minimum with each dog.  

He had a herd of sheep in the distance and one dog soon brought them to our viewing area.  He showed how simple whistles, voiced commands, and a series of sounds could result in a dog going to the left, right, slowing down to a crawl or walk, waiting, speeding up or even separating the sheep into two groups was possible with just a few commands.  Even when he almost whispered, the dog heard the command!  

 

The other dogs sat obediently until he called them each up with their own commands.  He showed how this was done two or three times in the demonstration.  

Savan shearing a sheep!

He then pulled a sheep out of the flock and showed how they shear it using a pair of manual shears in the winter months. They use an electric pair in the summer. He stressed none of this is stressful to the sheep. The sheep actually looked very comfortable and trotted away soon after.

I even had a turn shearing the sheep with a few others.  We ended up with a huge pile of fleece and enjoyed this experience very much.

As we were leaving after the demo, Barbara looked at the sheep in the pasture and said, “I’ll bet when they see the cars coming at 4:00 each day, they say to each other ‘Oh, here we go again!”  It was a fun day.

Today, Betty, Lee left for Edinburgh and their plane back to the USA after we ate a farewell breakfast at the Nethy House coffee shop. Barbara was able to ride back with them.  It was a delight for them to all be here.  The weather turned out better today, so I may just need to take a woodland walk!

 It is Fall in the Highlands of Scotland!