Back Home In Umbria

1. We've been here in Italy for almost two weeks. It's been a whirlwind.

We are staying for a shorter period than usual, but there is so much we need to do!

It's great to be back at The Nut. We have already been to Florence for a day to get art supplies,

then several days in Venice to see shows we missed earlier in the year.

    And, don't ask me why, but this blog site I have been using for years has decided it has a mind of it's own, so if any of the text looks wonky, please don't think it's because I've been drinking a bit too much wine (I have, but that's not the point). 

We arrived in Rome, which is our routine...so we can have a first night pizza at Pizzeria Remo.

As always, it was great..

The pizza here is always worth the hellish flight from California! 

Waking up in Umbria is also a pretty damn good prize. 

It was quite warm and muggy when we first got here, but now it's really pleasant.

It's nice to be back, connecting with our pals and getting settled in.

First sunrise in Umbria, September 2022.

It's always fun setting out to do some shopping. 

We love the country stands that pop up on the roadsides.

A very good haul, I'd say!

I look forward to fixing meals here, because I have the time to just have fun with the stuff we've found at the markets. 

The tomatoes are good, and we had some baked ricotta I bought in Rome, so our first night's dinner at The Nut was a typical bruschetta. Yum!

Grilling on the stove top here is really fun. I grilled up a bunch of eggplant to have around for lunch, or just snacking.

We had a lunch of the eggplant with some aged pecorino cheese and tasty tomatoes.

Not bad at all...

Besides chowing down, we've been enjoying our morning walks, as usual, and also driving around to see favorite spots.

I had to capture the hay 'bales' with these trees. We've always called them the walking trees.

Part of a favorite morning walk...

Back in the village, we were met by some new town characters...

These temporary sculptures are all over town. I love them.

It's great to be back. I hope we can get everything done we came to do this time.

We'll see!

More to come, if I don't get too frustrated with this blog site. Grr.

Anyway, stay tuned, and ciao!

Burn Shine Fly…Ugo Rondinone Soars!

We love Venice.

We know that many people don't, and that is just fine...but we love Venice. It's become a must do side trip every time we are here in Italy. We feel so at home here.

This time we spent four nights. We were in Venice last April for the Biennale, but we missed a few shows, so we wanted to return to see what we missed. I'm so glad we did!

The weather was great...maybe a touch warm for me, but so nice for sitting out in the evenings. 

The requisite hotel elevator 
Mirror Shot!

 

The weather was fantastic...except for one night of lightning, thunder and torrential rain.
Yes, we got really wet!

What's not to love?

A scene near where we love to stay.
Off the beaten path...

I'm concentrating on one show in this post. 

We missed it back in April, and we had one day to see it before it closed. I planned the trip around this show...

I think I'll just say this...It was so worth the wait. 

As we approached the venue, we were greeted with this massive golden structure...

Golden branches creating a perfect circle...

Seeing this huge piece in the courtyard of the church we would then enter, I already had goosebumps...

Ugo Rondinone is an amazing artist that we've enjoyed viewing in various venues here for years. I really looked forward to seeing this show!

The venue was the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista. Whew. An amazing space in it's own right, this exhibition really made it special.

Just looking in from outside took my breath away.

I'm just going to let you cruise through these photos. There really isn't much I can say.

It was an amazing experience, well worth coming back to Venice for. 

Damn. It was so good.

Why did I like it so much? The scale of it...these life sized figures floating in this particular space...painted like a cloudy sky...I mean, come on! It was right in my wheel house.

The modern sculptures with the old sculptures and the paintings...I just was so taken in. I think I had a smile on my face the entire time we were there, and then for hours afterwards.

The thing I can never get over is this: How does one one come up with the concept?

I'm just so grateful to have been able to see this work in person.

This...this is why we come here.

The Nut View

We'll be heading home tomorrow, and wanted to highlight the changes we've seen in the seasons over the past 3 months. 

This is our longest stay in Italy...ever, and we've never been here this time of year. 

I'm loving it, but it's getting too warm for the two of us.

We arrived at the end of winter and it's really the beginning of summer now. Watching the landscape go through all the color and texture changes has been a pure joy. 

So, I've selected a bunch of photos I've taken from our little terrace. From sunrises to sunsets, I've run outside to capture the light. I'll really miss the view...

One of the first things I do with our 'little terrace with the big view', is arrange pots and plant pretty things in them...I figured I'd show this change, as well...These little color spots give me lots of pleasure while we're here.

Because I wake up really early, I've been able to get some great shots at all times of the day...

Looking to the left...from late winter, through this morning. The sun sets in this direction.

 

Also to the left, but more towards the forest...

The view straight ahead, over the fields and to the lake...this is what sold us on staying here at The Nut.

Johnny's studio looks out to this view, and the road that winds out to the farm house below has been an inspiration in many of his paintings

This year, the fields were filled with the bright yellow flowers of rape (rah-pay), a plant that makes seeds for oil. This was a real treat to see.

Finally, the sunrises and sunsets were incredible...

We plan to return later this year...We'll see.

Thanks, Dear Nut! See you ASAP.

#thenutview

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