Category: Photos

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Drawing and painting 101

I want to be able to draw and paint better than at my current 10-year-old level.  Alas, I have decided to do something about this during this trip to Italy.  I spend some time in the Marche region near the small hillside town of Camerino learning just that.  There are four students including myself trying to improve our artistic abilities.  Our lessons are taught by Caroline and they are interrupted at mealtimes by her husband, Andrea’s excellent multi-course culinary concoctions.  Lunches are completed with delicious cheese plates and a cup of espresso or two, and dinners are wrapped up with a smattering of Italian digestives.  The whole group quickly learns that if offered food or snack, I will rarely, if ever, say no.  I think that their large dog, Spike, is happy to see me go because he will again be receiving better leftovers.

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Their home is located in the true countryside, complete with the strenuous dirt road to get there and the evening appearances of new bugs and critters.  They have a dog, cats, and a chicken, which is not fulfilling its egg laying duties very regularly.  Their two daughters go to school in the nearby town, and there is a very convenient school bus that comes to pick them up and drop them off each day.

Throughout our time, we experiment with several media including sketching with both water-soluble and permanent pens, capturing landscapes with watercolors, and figuring out some painting techniques using acrylics.  My education includes drawing with proper perspective, creating depth through adding shadows, and figuring out a little color theory.  That said, the biggest lesson I learn is that I need to let go and just draw.  I find that the hardest line is always the first one because I am never sure where to start.  Many times, the best thing to do when drawing or painting is to just start.  We paint things around the home as well as go on field trips into the nearby towns to sketch new things and to enjoy some coffee and gelato.  Wherever we go and whatever we are doing, the conversation in the group never lacks.  We joke, we help each other with our painting, and we more generally just share good stories.

I now have grand plans to continue drawing and painting when I return home.  I collected the names of art supply brands and look forward to experimenting more with these art media.  I hope that I continue, but I also fully realize that dedicating vacation time to it and trying to do it after work or on weekends are different animals, but I optimistically plan to at least do some occasionally back in Boston.

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Ciao, Amalfi

After leaving Vico Equense, I drive half the Amalfi Coast and then start climbing until I reach Ravello, a villa-filled town that often overlooks the sea.  I visit a couple of the more famous villas, as I gather this is what is supposed to be done in Ravello, and then I grab a panino in the main piazza before heading onwards to Ronciglione.  The day is a success in terms of weather, my driving, and not getting too lost along the way.

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Pompeii

Pompeii is overwhelming.  This city, which was captured because of the preserving ashes of the nearby volcano Vesuvio, shows a very different time of human culture.  Strolling through the maze of stones and rubble, I find myself trying to imagine this other time.  The hoards of tourists do not help, and I am reminded when my dad and I visited Jerash in northern Jordan, which was also an unreal and expansive exhibition of Roman ruins but without a tourist in sight.  Pompeii and Jerash are on two different scales in terms of grandeur; however, given the lack of other human life when walking through the ruins of Jerash, it was a bit easier to transport myself to that earlier time thousands of years ago.

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Capri

My first full day in Italy is spent on the nearby island of Capri with its overgrown vegetable plots, sun-bleached peeling stucco and banks of brilliantly colored bougainvillea.  I enjoy exploring and stopping for coffee and gelato when I need a break.

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Nine hours in London

The trip starts with a stressful layover in Newark, NJ that included waiting for a 3-hour delayed flight, a thunder storm, circling above our destination, landing at the wrong airport in Hartford CT, and then finally getting lucky because my connecting flight in Newark was delayed enough to allow my first flight time to take off again and get there.  After the redeye to London Heathrow, even though it is delayed by several hours, I am excited to exit the airport for some fresh drizzly air, some non-airport food, and a little touring around with my good friend Nabihah.

It is almost too convenient to take the Tube into London, where I first get off at South Kensington to meet Nabihah for lunch at a pub where I consume some local cuisine of fish and chips, a beer, and a coffee.  Following “lunch” (the quotations are there because my body is a little confused what meal I should be eating at the moment, but the clock shows a late lunch), we walk around and find some delectable cookies to take with us on the Tube to our next destination, Big Ben.  We walk all around Big Ben and proceed towards Buckingham Palace, because no trip to England is complete without seeing at least one soldier with a black fuzzy hat.  Finally, before we part this great afternoon together, in true English style, we stop at a fancy afternoon tea spot and enjoy some hot tea and scones (scones is pronounced with a soft “o” in London).

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Although only in town for a couple short hours, Nabihah showed me around her hometown of London all the while pointing out spots from her childhood memories.  I am now ready for my second redeye in less than 24 hours as I head onwards to Ethiopia to visit my great college friend, Harya.

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Week 1 – Bike & Build

6/15 – 6/18: Portland, ME
Mileage: n/a (arrived by airplane)
Host: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 678 Washington Ave

After a couple days on our own, the trip leaders are joined by the 24 other riders whom we will help safely reach the other side of the country. We play name games, give presentations on what they should expect, share a couple meals, run through a couple practice rides, and stress anything safety-related whenever possible. We teach our riders how to care for their bikes, how to communicate on the road, and how to prevent common bicycling errors. Policies and rules are discussed, fears and anxieties are addressed, and general excitement for the adventure to come is shared.

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We also get to have our first build day at the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland. We install windows and put up insulation, climbing around scaffolding and up ladders all the while. There is a slight drizzle and breeze making the day almost too chilly, but the pizza provided by Habitat helps to warm us all up.

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6/19: Kittery, ME
Mileage: 71
Host: Second Christian Congregational Church, 33 Government St

First ride. First day on the road. We dip our rear tires in the Atlantic and are on our way. Some riders are better acquainting themselves with cue sheets, riding as a group, and learning how to communicate with each other. A couple groups of riders may have gotten themselves a little turned around throughout the day. Lunch is had in a beautiful park in Kennebunk, ME, and a sigh of relief is shared upon completing this first slightly trying yet absolutely beautiful ride.

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6/20: Andover, MA
Mileage: 60
Host: The Pike School, 34 Sunset Rock Road

We start the day with a little more routine than before. Chore groups complete their tasks. Riders prepare the bicycles with more ease. Morning route meeting is relatively efficient and seemingly smooth. And the spacing between rider groups almost seems natural. After bicycling for about 60 miles including some challenging hills near the end, we have our fabulous dinner with the Webbers and start feeling a little more comfortable with the idea that we might be doing this for the next several months.

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6/21 – 6/22: Fitchburg, MA
Mileage: 44
Host: First Parish Church Universalist Unitarian of Fitchburg, 923 Main St

Today was a shorter ride coming in at just over 40 miles, and it was nice arriving at the host a litter earlier. The extra time meant we could take a slightly more leisurely shower at the nearby YMCA as well as enjoy some of Neil’s anecdotes. Neil greeted us at the First Parish Church and even though he was a bit older than the rest of us, he spent the night on the floor in a sleeping bag in solidarity. Both mornings—one before our build day and one before our bike ride—Neil serenaded us as we woke in the chapel. Neil was full of facts, stories, and just general enthusiasm.

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The build day was particularly exciting as we were asked to move about 30 tons of stones to fill a trench in the backyard. We finished the task with 2 minutes to spare at the end of the day. It was fun seeing the hustle in our team after lunch.

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Scottish Coffee

From mashtuns to worts to washbacks finally to distillers, we learn how malted barley, water and yeast are processed to become moonshine. Little flavor is added at this stage other than peatiness, while most of the taste comes from the maturation process. Maturation happens in wonderfully stacked casks, and the process which coopers use to create the watertight oak casks without anything other than natural wood and several metal hoops is a trade that takes decades to master. Master coopers practice their crafts for forty years and teach the art through an apprenticing system to new coopers. The distilleries we visit are beautiful, whether they are polished ones of Glenfiddich and Macallan or the more authentic kind like Tomintoul. After many years in the casks, the moonshine from before becomes Scotch.

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A wee bit of learnin’

Today, the tour of the Kilmainham Gaol, the former Dublin prison, enlightened us about the last couple centuries of Irish history. The prison, which was built at the end of the 18th century, housed many an Irishman, especially through the troublin’ times of the potato famine. Also, it wasn’t always a pretty site, as it became the site of many public hangings. Through hearing about the history of Kilmainham Gaol, we also learned of the Irish struggle for independence from the United Kingdom starting mostly in 1916 and the controversial treaty that was signed in 1922 that began a very messy Irish civil war. Ireland hasn’t exactly had an easy history, and the bumps and bruises worn by this prison can tell much of it.

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The other part of our educational day happens at the Guinness Storehouse. We learn of all the ingredients that go into this fine beer: barley, hops, water, and of course the propriety Guinness yeast. The barley is milled and then mixed with hot water and mashed. The grain is filtered out, the hops and barley is added, all of which is followed by the whole concoction being boiled. Arthur’s yeast is added to ferment, everything is allowed to mature for a while, and finally the beer is then packaged, shipped, and drunken. “Guinness is good for you.” ~Guinness’ slogan

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Cloudy with a chance of rain

As it turns out, the luck of the Irish doesn’t always extend to the realm of weather. Our first day in Dublin and Dalkey may have been more an anomaly; however, being day one, we didn’t fully understand the magically delicious weather we had. Day two starts still sunny, but by the end of the day when we arrive in Cork, our luck had run out. And by the end of day three, the heavens open up as we walk home the two blocks to our lovely B&B in Galway. Our faces are pelted with small water pellets and enough wind to make it look like we had a healthy sunburn.

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Nonetheless, rain cannot stop us. We will visit the sites, explore the town of Cork, tour the Kilkenny Castle, and drive around the Ring of Kerry all the while stopping in small towns along the way to find delectable bites of stew, fish ‘n chips, and pork served in every which way.

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