Villa Cimbrone, Ravello

Sometimes you are familiar with places which names you don’t even know, because you have seen pictures in the media or elsewhere, but you never bothered to check where they were, nor their story. Then, one day, you end up there by chance.

This happened to me when I visited Villa Cimbrone (now a luxury hotel, but you can visit he gardens), in Ravello, and ended up at the Terrace of Infinity. So, it’s here, I thought. I had seen this place so often, it belonged to my mental images of Italy, and suddenly I was in the picture.

There is something special when places leave the realm of abstract beauty and geography and become part of your experience. You’re there. You can see them, feel them. You read their story on a bench and, for a little while, they're yours.

Mercury's seat. Catullus' poem.

Terrace of Infinity

Terrace of Infinity

The Villa (now a hotel)

The Rose Terrace. Poem by Omar Khayyam.

Capri under the rain

So what do you do when you’re in Capri and against all expectations (why do we insist in having expectations) it is raining, and you’ve already visited and basked in the gardens of Villa San Michele?

You do whatever you had planned anyway, because this is Capri and you’re here and it’s out of the question that you leave without doing the trails, visiting Villa Jovis and the Tiberius Leap behind it, the Augustus Gardens and their view of Via Krupp.

Then of course on the day that you’re leaving the sun comes out and you rush to take the funiculare up to Monte Solaro before doing the 3 hour hike you wouldn’t dare to do under the rain, the Sentiero dei Fortini, on the West side of the island. It departs from the famous Grotta Azzurra, that you can’t visit because of the sea conditions, but you’re rewarded with a clear view of Mount Vesuvius far away.

It’s not difficult to understand why everybody since ancient times (Emperor Tiberius moved to Capri and ruled the Roman Empire from there) has fallen in love with Capri. If only for the views, you want to stay here for ever. Odyssey's sirens didn't leave far away, according to legend. Maybe Capri's cliffs played the same tricks.

But the time inevitably comes when you have your last limoncello, take the ferry and head for the Amalfi Coast – more beauty to come.

The view from Villa San Michele

One of my best friends in Capri (the other one was my umbrella)

The gardens of Villa San Michele

Villa Malaparte, made famous by Brigitte Bardot in Jean-Luc Godard's "Contempt"

Mount Vesuvius seen from Grotta Azzurra

Via Krupp

Sentiero dei Fortini (from the northwest to the southwest tip of Capri)

Back to Anacapri from Monte Solaro

Capri seen from Monte Solaro

Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden, Wuppertal

Some parts of Wim Wenders' documentary "Pina" were filmed here

Pina Bausch's "Nelken", Tanztheater Wuppertal

Before the performance...

The "Nelken" (carnations)

... After the performance

Things

The things you do not have to say make you rich. Saying the things you do not have to say weakens your talk. Hearing the things you do not need to hear dulls your hearing. And the things you know before you hear them, these are you, and this is why you are in the world.

William Stafford, Crossing Unmarked Snow

Daniel Garcia on Charlie Hebdo

Rob Tornoe's cartoon following the terrorist attack against Charlie Hebdo's journalists in Paris

Bach's "Bist du bei mir" by Marilyn Horne

Porto

Foz

Igreja dos Grilos...

... and the view from its impossibly romantic miradouro

Where Douro meets the sea

The spectacular cloister of Serra do Pilar Monastery

Clérigos Tower, the city's landmark

In 1809, during the second French invasion, people from Porto drowned in the Douro river when trying to flee the troops, when the bridge known as Ponte das Barcas collapsed under the weight of the crowds. A small landmark indicates the place of the tragedy. More than two centuries later, you still find candles there lit by old ladies for the alminhas (little souls).



Seen in Porto, Portugal

"Welcome to the centre of your life - Dolce Vita Shopping Porto". Dolce Vita is the name of the shopping mall.

Seen recently in...

... Paris underground

... Paris street

 

... Paris Centre Pompidou

... Nice

... Monaco

 

Aharon Appelfeld

Only the right words can construct a literary text, not subject matter.

Aharon Appelfeld

Almaz's story (BBC)

BBC News published a disturbing illustrated story about maids in Saudi Arabia, based on the interview of an Ethiopian girl, Almaz (name changed). How many Almaz are out there in the Gulf countries, with absolutely no help or assistance?

Pina Bausch, como el musguito en la piedra

A couple of hours ago I saw, at the Tanztheater Wuppertal, “Como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si…”, by Pina Bausch, and I’m still speechless.

 

So far I knew Pina’s work through TV, interviews or movies such as Wim Wenders’ famous documentary. It was the first time I watched one of her shows live, at the very place where she used to work.

It felt… ethereal, magical, like a dream. It was full of joy and humour, in contrast to other works of Pina’s vast portfolio, such as "Vollmond" or "Le sacre du Printemps", also magnificient but darker. I found it poetic that she created a work so full of light without knowing it would be her last (she died in 2009 after a short illness).

I didn’t know, but the name of this work is taken from a song by Mercedes Sosa.

 

 

 

An Iranian journey: 77 beautiful pictures of Iran by Hossein Fatemi

An Iranian Journey

Seen last January on the boat from Siem Riep to Battambang, Cambodia

Love ever after

Lauren Fleishman published a photographic series of NY couples who have been married for more than 50 years: Love ever after.

Azulejos from the Azulejo National Museum, Lisbon

"Macacaria - the chicken's wedding"

Fernando Pessoa by Júlio Pomar

Detail from the church