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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Exploring Lake Como - Varenna - A Less Trodden Gem Glimmering on the Lake



Best explored by the boats which skim atop the glistening blue-green water, Lake Como offers  a cornucopia of vistas including 17th and 18th century villas poking up here and there on the various promontories about the lake, backdrops of frequently snow-topped craggy mountains,  gardens which roll down the hillsides in carpets of color, and many enchanting villages.  The boats are easy to navigate and allow you to visit many of the lake's tiny ancient hamlets whose hilly streets and byways can be roamed for hours visiting shops, beautiful old churches and chapels, terrace restaurants, and much more.

If you have to choose among the towns, make one of your choices a stop at Varenna.  It's fairly easy to get to and is less touristy than Bellagio (although I wouldn't pass this up either.)   There are ferries with frequent stops there from Bellagio, Menaggio, Lenno  and Tremezzo.  On our last trip, we stayed near Tremezzo and took the ferry boat from there to Bellagio, then Varenna and from Varenna back to Tremezzo with a stop at Villa Carlotta.

Varenna's origins date back to Roman times.  Built in the 5th century at the foot of a mountain which rises precipitously almost vertical behind it, Varenna is a picturesque old fishing village with a lovely little harbor featuring views of Bellagio in the distance.

Once disembarqing from the ferry,  make sure you stop at the Information Booth at the Harbor for a map and ask where it's best to climb to the upper town. You can first walk around the island partially on a platform which has been built into the side of the mountain passing under a percola bursting with flowers. A large terrace sprawls under the hillside at one juncture, where you can stop for delightful crepes or Italian sandwich or bruschetta.  (Interestingly enough bruschetta in this area is different than in Tuscany.  It comes on larger slices of toasted bread...quite good but not the bite-sized crostini you might be used to.)

We climbed to the upper town up flat stone steps near the terrace restaurant. Here we visited the parish church San Giorgio, consecrated in 1313 but enriched several times in later centuries once to include large fresco portraying Saint Christopher. Nearby we were attracted to one of Varenna's hotels and wandered into the Hotel Royal Victoria with its panoramic views of the lake from a restaurant terrace. This lovely villa hotel was named after Queen Victoria who visited there in 1838.




In addition to a stopover on a lake journey, Varenna would be a good place to locate during a stay on Lake Como. For more hotel information: http://italianlakesholidays.net/varenna-hotels-guide/

Another place to visit (if time permits) in Varenna is generally known as Villa dei Cipressi (Villa of Cypresses) with its garden of trees that terraces towards the lake.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Unconditional Surrender -- A Sarasota Florida Statue is all in "The Kiss" of a moment

A well-know photo shows an American sailer kissing a young woman in white, presumably a nurse, on V-J Day in Times Square. The photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt and originally published later in Life magazine was among many of those taken during celebrations across the US on the end to a long, costly war. A war during which many loved ones had been lost. A war which separated husbands and wives, lovers, family for almost four years.

Pictures were being snapped quickly then to capture reactions as the anticipated news of the US victory over Japan was announced. But this particular shot caught something that symbolically stuck ...not only as a moment of sheer, spontaneous joy at the end of a war but as a foreshadowing of the promise ahead .... the return of the soldiers too long gone and of the many, many long-awaited kisses to come. It's probably one of the most romantic photos ever taken even though that particular kiss was between strangers.

More recently, a gigantic, pop-art likeness of "The Kiss," entitled more appropriately that anyone thought "Unconditional Surrender," was raised along the main artery in Sarasota, Florida by the bay. Ever since the sculpted couple's very presence has been consumed with controversy...somewhat akin to the battle caused when the Rocky statue was originally placed on the steps in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum. ( There is something about pop-art that requires ripening before it's ultimately accepted for what it is.)

"Unconditional Surrender" was created by eminent artist, J. Seward Johnson, known primarily for his iconic man-in-the-street series...yes one of the looks-real bronzes that on one of those late nights out you might have a chat with . The first rendering of "Unconditional Surrender" was a life-sized version that appeared in Times Square in 2005 to commemorate the announcement at 7:03 PM sixty-years before of the end of WWII. Later the 26-foot version was sited at Snug Harbor in New York for a month before being moved to Sarasota where many of the more patriotic residents wanted it to remain. And so far it has, after a brief visit to San Diego a few years back.

After a combative public hearing, city commissioners agreed  to accept a donation of a $500,000 from a WWII Vet and to embrace the huge artwork for ten years. Still arguments regarding the kissing duo -- appropriateness for "artsy" Sarasota, legal issues (i.e. derivative work licensing) -- drag on. But in the meantime, the huge sailor and nurse continue to smooch behind the palm trees with Sarasota's gleaming buildings as a backdrop.


And on any given day, in particular one to do with love (and frequently reuniting) -- an anniversary, Valentine's Day, a day marriage is proposed, a wedding day, a celebration of a soldier's return from a current war, or just a day to be in love, you can see a couple strike the pose in the shadow of a moment that captured the promise of hope, renewal and commitment... and everything love is all about.....





Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Visting or Revisting the US Capitol -- a Journey through US History and Symbols

As you approach the seat of government of the United States of America it appears surreal, the backdrop of a movie set, certainly not a building you are going to enter and walk through. Perhaps this is true in part because the United States Capitol is probably one of the most recognized buildings in the world. Since 1800, it has been where Congress has written and past US laws and where Presidents of the US have been inaugurated.

Visiting the Capitol is a journey through the history of the making of the United States. Its stunning new Visitor Center, "Emancipation Hall," and the recent focus brought to its Rotunda by the new Dan Brown book "The Lost Symbol," make the US Capitol worth the trip even for those who have been there before, self included.

First advice: make appointments.  You can make an appointment for a tour right online at the US Capitol site. To actually watch the US Congress in session though, you will need a pass.  US citizens can get passes through the offices of the their Senators or Representatives, international visitors at the House and Senate Appointment Desks on the upper level of the Capitol.

To reach the Visitor's Center, you can take 1st St. past Independence Ave. across the street from the Library of Congress.  There are ramps and walkways that will lead you from there to the Visitor's Center.   As you can imagine, visitors to the Capitol are tightly screened--don't even think about bringing food, drinks or large backpacks into the site.  If you have a reservation for a tour, just check in and get in-line at the Visitor Centers.  With its soaring ceilings, historic statuary and artifacts, the Visitor Center is worth transversing before you get in line for your tour.


The tour is introduced by a brief film about the history of the Capitol.  The building started its evolution to what it is today in 1793 when George Washington laid the cornerstone.  At first, the House met in a large room on the second floor, and the Senate met in a chamber on the ground floor.   The Senate then moved to a chamber on the second floor, now known as the Old Senate Chamber which you visit during the guided tour.  In 1807, after the south wing of the Capitol was completed a wooden walkway connected the House with the Senate wing.  As new states were added to the Union, the Capitol was extended by adding wings to the ends of the original building.  By 1859 both legislative bodies had been moved to those wings in the Chambers they occupy today.

Another notable tour stop is the old hall of the House of Representatives,  now  National Statuary Hall. Originally it contained a collection of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history.  All of the fifty US states contributed two statues each.  However, the room became overcrowded so in an effort to improve the appearance of the collection, thirty-eight statues were selected to remain in Statuary Hall.  Those statues representing ten of the thirteen original colonies were moved to the Central Hall on the first floor.  The remainder of the statues were distributed throughout the Capitol, some which were moved again, many are in the Visitors Center.   The one pictured here that stands in Statuary Hall is of Daniel Webster (of the famous debates),  a Senator from New Hampshire, who also served as Secretary of State. A list of the entire collection of statues and states that donated them can be found at the architect of the Capitol's website.

 The Rotunda at the center of Capitol between the two legislative chambers is thought of as the heart of the Capitol -- and alone well worth the tour.   It is the space used for  funerals of Presidents, members of Congress, military heroes and other distinguished citizens.  Visiting heads of state are frequently received here.  More recently, the Rotunda has had the added cache of being featured as an important symbolic backdrop in the "Lost Symbol" novel and will undoubtedly receive even more notoriety when the film is released.   On the canopy 180 feet above the Rotunda floor, the Italian-American artists Brumidi painted The Apotheosis of Washington.  George Washington is depicted encircled by symbols from mythology representing  American democracy and technological progress.   Many who read the Brown book and who have never seen or carefully noted this large mural will be surprised by the book's descriptions of the mural.   Also of note are the large American Revolutionary War paintings, by John Trumbull, an aide-de-camp to Washington.

   


The Capitol Visitor Center is open from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except certain holidays.  Additional information on visiting may be found at www.visitthecapitol.gov.

Monday, March 1, 2010

19th Century Travel Book with Charming Notes on Visiting the 5 famous Chateaux in the Loire Valley of France

While researching an upcoming trip to France I came upon pages from a compilation of old travel narratives done for the Nation Magazine in the 19th century. In there was a charming piece though full of misspellings on visiting the five major chateaux of the Touraine (the former province of France in the Loire Valley) where the Kings of France built castles in the middle ages that were later converted or rebuilt into Renaissance chateaux. The five chateaux discussed are among the ones most visited and mentioned in today's travel guides: Chenonceaux, Amboise, Chaumont, Blois and Chambord.

Here are the first few pages of the article...






And for the entire book:

The Clock at Musee D’Orsay