Festa delle Donne

Manuela's Birthday Celebration

This afternoon we celebrated Manela's Birthday over the traditional Sunday lunch at her parent's home in Sesto Fiorentina. Manela's family are warm and welcoming - sono personne molte dolce e senso pretesse.

Il Duomo

Il Duomo is not only a spiritual haven and a source of artistic inspiritation, it has always been my focal point on the Tuscan horizon.

On Sunday mornings I look forward to attending the latin mass which is accompanied by Gregorian chants at Il Duomo in the historical heart of Florence, because I adore all the poetic scene that unfold before my eyes. The elegance of the Italians, the scent of frankinsese mixed with candle wax, the reverency of the priests, the chaotic race for communion, the devotion of prayers before ornate altars, choral voices ascending to the fresco painted dome, and the scent of frankinsese mixes with candle wax. Here my heart soars and I find true peace and stillness here.

PisArt Expo 2010

After lunch Manuela, her two handsome sons, one son's girl friend and I went to Pisa to see the PisArt Expo at Stazione Leopold.

PisArt is an annual - espositivi deli artisti in mostra - an art exhibition show casing the works of contemporary artists from Tuscany. For me the most impressive works were by:

'Passiagata' Giovanni Morelli.

For obvious reasons I would love to purchase this painting.

Stuck' Gabriele Pace. I admire sensitive social commentary.

'Senso Titolo' Simonetta Fontani. Captures the essence of contemplation.

Passigata con Sandra

This morning Sandra rang me to ask whether I wanted to meet her in town for "un cafe, una passigata al centro and a little shopping". Sandra and I both have ecelectic and expensive taste fpr fashion, so this was a dangerous suggestion - but also irrestible.

Despite the warm sun and promise of primavera the wind was bitterly cold, so we wrapped ourselves up in the coccon of woolen wraps and leather jackets and walked arm in arm through the streets of our second home.

Gorgeous, honest and fierce Sandra outside Il Duomo, Firenze

Photography Exhibits

"Photographic portraits offer the double possibility of recognising and denying oneself, of finding oneself "in front of another" and it's exactly this "other" that views us, that photography leads to the eye of the beholder: it is as if a window were suddenly opened and immediately closed in our profound nature of "object" that we have within ourselves".

Quote from: "Volti e figure: Il ritratto nella storia della fotografia."
Golden View Cultural Space. Open Bar.
Via de' Bardi, Ponte Vecchio, Firenze

Images from: "Paris Capital of Photography 1920-40's."
Museo Alinari, Firenze
http://www.alinari.com/

Music by: Giovanni Allevi "Il Bacio" (2008)

A day in Florence

sleep in until it's nearly noon
chat briefly to Mum via skype
have a shower whilst lunch is being prepared
fluff around getting ready to go out
coffee with Marie in a small bar near Piazza Santa Maria Novelle
visit the Museum Alinari to see a photography exhibition on Paris in the 1920-30's
greeted by friends as I cross the Ponte Vecchio
future dinner dates pencilled in
another coffee whilst admiring the kohl eyes of Sophia Loren in the "Volti e figure" photographic exhibition at Open Bar
attend Ashtanga Yoga in Via dei Bardi
final coffee and cake whilst previewing interior design and architecture books at Edison's bookstore in Piazza Republica
cocooned in my mohair brown shawl and leatehr jacket as the temperature falls below 7 degrees
purchase some groceries before arriving home
dabble a little on a creative project before retiring to bed
curl up under my acqua doona whilst gently seranded by the sound of the traffic through the streets of Florence

A once courageous heart

by Kylie Johnson
Murdoch Books, Australia

"This new volume of Kylie Johnson's exquisite poems and illustrations is full of wistful romance and simple humanity. This is a beautifully crafted and designed book, which is both inspiring and uplifting".

Cibo

Non posso fare di piu

ho provato
di seguire fino in fondo
i mie sogni
i mie desideri

sono qui
avevo speranza,
corraggio,
ero forte
e più di questo non posso fare

ma non ho riuscita de realizzare

mi fa triste,
mi fa piangere,
non so cos'altro devo fare

Here

But here looks like it is in the middle of the sea?

Venice

An Italian city rising from the sea filled with contemporary art and beautiful architecture. A city where every angle reveals an expected pleasure and engages the senses.

Scenes from Venice.

Traveling by train just after dawn; walking along cobblestone lanes by the water's edge; and traveling in a traghetto along the Grand Canal at dusk.


If I was to leave my first love "Bella Firenze" I would relish the opportunity to live in Venezia because whether I visit during the heat of Summer and the stifling crowds, during the festivals of art and cinema, or at the end of winter - it always romances me with it's style, elegance, grace and ambience and leaves me forlorn at the thought of leaving and not knowing when we will meet again.

When it all ends

tired from searching
and longing for a syncronised rhythm
has brought reality into definition

enraptured with it's mystery
frustrated by it's intangibility
bewildered
and exhausted

i'm in the middle of a sea dividing two hemispheres
i'm walking free spirited through a crowded european street
i'm sleep walking through my dreams
i'm a deer caught in the spotlight

i have to start to imagine how i will feel when this all ends

once all is reliquished
what will remain?

how do i survive,
exist,
breathe,
and dream
- beyond this?

for my senses
and every facet of my being
has been transformed
and i am not
who i was
before

Next important step

I've just finished preparing for tomorrow's visit and scheduled "meeting" in Venice..!!! Tomorrow morning I will be taking the 7am train from Florence to Venice, attending Mass at San Marco's Basilica and then traveling to Conegliano for a professional meeting to discuss prospective work opportunities in Northern Italy. Even though the meeting will be held over lunch and indeed a pleasurable experience, it is such a fundamental stage in my quest to establish a professional career in Italy and admittingly, I'm nervous.

I've waited so long for this moment.

The object of my desire seems both tangible and elusive.

It seems to unbelieveable to be true.

Who know's what it may or may not yield.

I know that I will be focused tomorrow,

but I doubt that I'll sleep tonight.

I've done all I can.

I'm here.

I'm ready to take the next step and plunge deep.

The rest is all in God's hands.

Anastasia

Tonight I went to visit Olga, Angelo and their 2 month old daughter Anastasia in their home in Via Lorenzo Magnifico, Firenze.

In 12 months Olga and Angelo met, fell in love and had a child. Sometimes life accelerates and propels us into the future. They look blissful. A beautiful unit.

It was lovely to see my friend again and to see her settled.

Olga's mother has been staying with them since before the child's birth and returns to Crotia on Sunday. I'm sure that it will be an emotional time for everyone.

Three generations - Olga's mother nursing Anastasia and beautiful Olga.

Passigata

Some of my impressions as I walked through the streets of Firenze on a misty Sunday.

Tessuti

Italian Joy

When you are in love with someone, there is no rhyme or reason as to what you will and will not do, you simply follow your passion. Time no longer matters, you will stay up all night just to listen to their voice or fly to the other side of the world to spend a week with them, when you know the bank account can’t take it. You will do anything for that person; you will fold their washing like it is the most important washing in the world or cross town late at night in the pouring rain to see them, and without giving it a moment’s thought. Love has no fatigue. Your heart leaps when the phone rings and almost breaks when the door opens and your loved one is standing in front of you with a bouquet of hand-picked flowers. The smallest gestures give you the greatest pleasure.

Carla Coulson
http://carlalovesphotography.blogspot.com/

Ministero della Salute, Rome

This morning, I traveled to Roma from Firenze to present the documents I have been preparing since May 2009 and to apply to the Ministero della Salute (Ministry of Health) in Roma, Italia for recognition of my qualifications and nursing degrees to enable me to work professionally in Italy.

Even though this is only the beginning, at least the journey has began.

Roma

The image (above left) of the "Geisha girls sleeping" (2009) was taken at the National Geographic Photography Exhibition at Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale Roma and the white on white interior (above right) and white installations comes from the book cafe within the Palazzo.

Piazza della Republicia was formally known as Piazza dell' Esedra and this is where my Mum's name came from. During my grandparents honeymoon, apparently my nonno gazed out from the balcony suite onto the famous piazza below and announced to his new bride, that if they were to have a daughter he wanted her to be named Esedra.

Unexpected

the moment i entered the room
your eyes followed me
and like before
i noticed how they glistened

when wine was suggested after the concert
your eyes made it impossible to resist

as we rode through the streets of Florence
conversations about friends, architecture and art
trailed behind us like the wind
and over dinner
veneers dissolved
fragilities emerged
and a shard from the past evoked our pure emotions

your intimacy
your reflections
the trace of tears in your eyes
- has left me stationary

out of stillness
has come the unexpected

Florence 2010

Falling, flying, freedom...

After a long flight via Singapore and Paris, I arrived in Florence this morning and was greeted at the airport by a close friend. As we sat chatting over coffee in the familiar surrounds of the Pertola Airport, my fatigue dissipated and I felt still and present. I was able to breathe again.

On the motor ride to my apartment in San Marco, we drove through familar streets and places etched in memories from the past: Baccio di Montelupo; Stazione Leopold; and Lungarno with Ponte Vecchio in the distance. As the crisp morning air gently carassed my face and ruffled the folds of my winter shawl, I breathed in the scent of Spring and smiled. I smiled because even if I have changed, Florence was still here exactly as I remembered it. Happiness beyond measure.

The apartment in San Marco has not changed either. It remains full of warmth, light and the energy of young women. My house mates are two female students from France; Marie and Giovanna. Before I retired to bed to sleep we had lunch together; pasta, insalata, Parmaggino e Proscuito di Parma.

I have just awoken after sleeping all afternoon. A deep robust sleep. Apparently I have slept through the sound of my housemates trying to wake me, the phone ringing, and possibly even the sound of the doorbell (a Courier from the airport tried to deliver my misdirected luggage from Paris).

Without my belongings there is little I can do apart from rest and settle in and I think that for the next few days, that is how things are mean't to be.

As for now I will finish the cup of tea I've been sipping as I've been writing, have a shower and curl up in bed with a book before the sounds of Florence lull me to sleep again.

Navigating through my dreams

The preparations are complete... this afternoon I leave for Firenze.

I'm inwardly excited and happy to be returning, and focused upon all that I want to achieve during my brief sojourn.

This morning as I relax in Acland Street over coffee and the paper, different thoughts and images will meander through my mind (i.e. " what will this next trip to Firenze unravel, reveal and revolt...?")

I can't wait to see the beauty of Italy again.

To the nucleus of love in my life whose support, inspiration and consolation is transparent and always accessible - Thank you. I couldn't have made it to this moment without you.

Meter high waves

i plunged into the warm ocean,
tonight at dusk.

the waves were over a meter high,
they crashed against me,
they made me tumble,
and struggle to swim,
but again and again i happily dived in.

holding my arms open wide,
embracing the ocean,
with the enthusiasm of a child,
plunging beneath the water,
full of hope and anticiaption,
smiling,
and wanting -
to go deeper into the sea.

tomorrow i leave for Florence.

All in the mind

"All in the mind."
The Age. February 17th 2010.

A collaboration between artists, engineers and scientists at the University of Western Australia has won first prize in the VIDA 12.0 awards in Spain, which focus on arts that use new technology. But Silent Barrage is not just a work of art; it's a 3D model of the electrical activity in the brain, designed in the university's SymbioticA lab to represent epileptic seizures.

Artists Phil Gamblen and Guy Ben-Ary installed 32 robotic poles that respond to electrical activity in a neural network - one grown in a Petri dish. Scientists hope that the work will help them discover ways to treat and control epilepsy.

wwww.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/silentbarrage

Six sleeps to go

this time next week,

I'll be flying above the clouds on my way to Florence,

leading up to my departure my heart and thoughts are air borne,

the reflection of the sand and sea looks brighter,

and I'm excited by the moments that lie ahead.

A key & a door stopper

I am leaving for Florence, Italy on Tuesday February 23rd 2010 & returning to Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday March 24th 2010. A small Italian sojourn to replenish the soul with the intricacies, mysteries and beauty of Italy. To close some doors and (possibly) to wedge others ajar.

Next rendez-vous

Ciao Amici,

Ti volevo scrivere per fare sapere che ritorno a Firenze febbrario 23rd 2010.

Sai che e stato piu di uno anno di quando sono partuto e mi mancha Italia tantissimo. Anche se il mio tempo in Italia sara breve questa volta, sono contentissima che ritornerò a Firenze e non vedo l'ora di vederti.

Mi fa contenta sapere che fra pocco sarammo insemi.

Con affetto e baci
Jules

Summer storms

As I sit working at my desk overlooking the Elwood promenade, lightning and storms illuminate the dark sky and the silence.

Pranayama

Darren, my yoga teacher tonight spoke about "Pranayama" (the art of yoga breathing) and stated that

"the breathe should be followed by movement".

A concept to mediate upon.

Da Vinci's List

Professor Nel Glass

Professor Nel Glass launched her book ‘Interpersonal relating: Health care perspectives on communication, stress and crisis’ at St Vincent's Private Hospital today.

I was delighted to be present and the chance to toast to her achievements. The speeches were engaging and poignant. The atmosphere collegial and respectful.

I wish Professor Nel every success with this book and future endeavours.

Professor Nel and her mother (above) & Effie Nel's Personal assistant (below).