I wish.

[so many things]

[environmental] thoughts

ok...so i realize that the amount of carbon emitted from this family trip, in addition to the amount of traveling i have done in the past 20 years, is probably outstanding.

so, my plan is to donate money to forest conservation efforts, or to plant my own orchard to offset this carbon.

apples, anyone?

[art] thoughts

from Picasso (Ediciones Poligrafia):
"The modernist objective...was to find a method of representing reality within the superficial condition of painting which has its own coherent, internal logic." (5)

"Thus the painting itself becomes an object, one more element of reality, endowed with specificity and autonomy."

In the Palais de Tokyo, Christina Boltanski's exhibit:
"What remains of a person's existence but a few objects and some unlikely photographs?"

Is this the sole evidence of being?

Also, an interesting piece at the Palais de Tokyo (I forgot to grab the artist's name):

heights

So this is a bit overdue...

but my senses have been on overload, and it's takes time to process.

a curious fusion of antiquity, history, modernity, avant-garde art, fashion and architecture...

the eurotrip was quite a frenzy, but some quality family time was had. we started in blackpool at the uncle's and made our way through the continent.

paris had me at champ elysees and cafe du trocadero. beautiful, posh, the hub of art and fashion... i loved the museums, especially the musee d'orsay and the palais de tokyo. bonnard and vuillard, added to a list of favorites. trying to understand modernism, impressionism, cubism, expressionism, surrealism.

madrid, mature, historical. el retiro a beautiful park in the heart of the city...a real retreat. the reina sofia and the museo thyssen-bornemisza had very comprehensive collections.

and barcelona...bustling and alive. gaudi! so organic - the synthesis of aesthetics and function. his work and his inspiration is striking.

much thought about art, about purpose, about the meaning of words and images.
the fragility of memory and life.
the documentation of existence, of being...

and don't even get me started on the foods... [thought, i must say, nothing lived quite up to the cuisine in italy...] let's just say i enjoyed the wining and dining.

i also now speak "euro" which is a cacophonous mix of italian, french, and spanish. i am amazed at those who have mastered them individually! one day...

so many sights, sounds, tastes, smells, thoughts and memories i'm trying hard to hold on to.
and it doesn't stop, won't stop until i'm sitting on a plane headed for a school in jersey.

so trust that i'm coping, enjoying, missing, and living...

here's a few from the trip: