Ten weeks at home in Perth and the south
west has flown by in a bit of a blur – in this case a very pleasant blur of
sunshine, white beaches, clear blue water, coffee, drinks or meals with dear
friends, house and dog-sitting, medicals, haircuts (for me, not Terry) and
other personal maintenance, family gatherings and time with our kids, several
new babies to welcome, all culminating in a gorgeous country wedding at our
friends’ farm. The downside of life in Western Australia? The endless sprawling
suburbs and accompanying aggressive traffic of Perth, the high cost of living
and the isolation from everywhere else, resulting in long, long flights to the
rest of the world.
Christmas in Perth
Terry bonding with our beautiful great-niece, Pia
On the positive side again, arriving in
Perth International is now very quick and easy.
The electronic recognition system is superb and you no longer have to
stand in an outrageously long queue while indifferent Immigration bureaucrats
dawdle over each incoming returnee. It
never made any sense trying to complain about the lack of service – they and
their bosses knew exactly how little they were doing to expedite the wait. Removing them from the process is
wonderful. Departing Perth not so good
yet but when the upper level renovations are completed it should be fine.
Apart from spending many weeks with
Pauline, cooking up a storm, buying new toys like remote FM headphones for the
TV, being treated to a fantastic birthday dinner and going on photographic trips, we spent time at Terry’s brother’s house
and then at his sister’s house while she was away. We got to spend some quality time with our
nephew Louis and enjoyed his company, as well as that of Oscar the dog. It was great to meet Martin's new (to us) partner Claire, and to do some long overdue mother-daughter stuff with Lizzy (and Keith - nice hair!)
Martin and Claire
Down home, we spent a couple of weeks in
our home-away-from home while Andy and Cherry were off in France and were
entrusted this time with looking after Nala the Labrador. She can be a bit of a handful as she is quite
cunning but overall it was nice to take her for walks and have her following us
around the house, presenting us with a dried gumleaf from the garden each time
we returned home. Andy and Cherry
installed a new oven last year and Terry says it’s the best thing ever – it is
a magnificent Electrolux with all sorts of whizz-bang features, plus a second
oven below. The matching cooktop was
also a treat.
On our second trip “down south” we stayed
with our friends Leonie and Steve.
Unfortunately, school terms had recommenced so they couldn’t be home
during the day but we did enjoy our evenings.
Steve and Terry had a mini beer-tasting and we had a great time catching
up on travel gossip (Steve and Leonie have visited about 50 countries to date.) Morning swims with Kath, Kim and the crew were wonderful, and something I will sadly miss until the weather warms up here.
Lots of good times with good friends
We had plenty of time to chase Geocaches
this time and managed to get 61 while we were home, our best ever haul. Our
final week was Hayley and Bryce’s wedding at the Lone Crow vineyard, and a
wonderful country wedding it was, with Jenny and Robbie’s farm looking splendid
and contributions from friends and relatives making it an especially memorable
day. I wish I’d kept my menu – the food was all sourced locally and grown,
caught, cooked and served by friends and neighbours – it was awesome. Hayley
and Bryce looked radiantly happy, and the bridesmaids were particularly
stunning (:
Proud dad and lovely daughter
Bridesmaids delivered by tractor
On our last day in Bunbury, we enjoyed a
birthday lunch with our friends Ann, Robin, Colin, Sol, Simone, Michael and
Glenys and Paddy, our ancient garden gnome who is under Ann's care while we're away, at the Water’s Edge restaurant.
It was a great way to wind up the summer. Heartfelt thanks once again to everyone who put us up, or put up with us! After three more days in Perth, it was
time to leave again for our home on the water, Common Sense.
So, after yet another long flight, here we
were again in Rome, this time staying at a nice little B&B near the
Vatican. Named “ La Lanterna di San
Pietro” after the illuminated dome of St Peter’s that can be viewed from the
balcony, it has very comfortable beds, a wonderful hot bath/shower, fresh croissants
and coffee for breakfast and best of all, the lovely Silvia, who speaks
excellent English and can help you with anything you need to know about Rome. (p.s.
– it also has a lift!!)
Silvia
Roman breakfast at La Lanterna
Our first day dawned in teeming rain, so
it seemed like a good idea to spend it inside the Vatican Museum, the Sistine
Chapel and St Peter’s. A lot of other people obviously had the same thought,
though I’m sure it is way more crowded in the high season. The Vatican has to
be one of the ultimate people-watching locations on earth – flocks of nuns of
many denominations, earnest American Bible study groups, important men in fine
suits, colourful African delegations and tourists of every nation milling
about, stopping to snap the inevitable selfie with the majestic cathedral as
background. Our guide, Silvio, was easy to follow through the throng: a
six-foot-four giant with ginger hair and a booming voice, he was adept at crowd
control and passionate about art. Particularly fascinating were the contrasts
he drew between the serenity and perfection of “religious art” and the realism
and energy of the Humanists. The highlight of the Basilica for me was the beautiful Pieta. I couldn't believe we were really there looking at the most perfect of Renaissance sculptures (in my humble opinion!)
Michelangelo's Pieta
Of course the crowning glory of
Renaissance humanist art is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. It is revered as a
holy site – the chapel where the cardinals gather to pray for guidance as they
elect a new Pope – so silence and respectful behaviour are required. But to me,
the whole glorious edifice seems to be a shrine to the human body, specifically
the male body, in all its sinewy strength, suffering and drama. I’m sure that
many others have observed that even the female figures are drawn from male
models, either powerfully muscled athletes or beautiful boys – with breasts
attached as a kind of afterthought. Some theorise that it is also a shrine to
the human mind. God’s cloak in the creation scene forms a perfect cross-section
of a brain (Michelangelo was a keen practical anatomist), the whole composition
hinting that the idea of God is contained within the human mind. That kind of
heretical thinking would probably get you excommunicated even today! Terry was distinctly underwhelmed by the
Chapel but was in awe of the Basilica; homoerotic art doesn’t seem to be his
thing.
We managed to do a bit of geocaching in
Rome, despite the challenges of litter, crowds and an abiding concern about
lurking suspiciously near important landmarks. Italy seems to have about
fifteen separate police forces and I don’t imagine any of them take kindly to
suspected terrorists! Nevertheless we had a few successes, and took our tally
to 300 across about ten countries.
Our third day was fine and cold, perfect
for a kind of rally through some of Rome’s finest old churches in search of
works by my favourite Italian painter, Caravaggio. Silvia turned out to be a
fellow enthusiast, and she helped us to create a walking plan.
The Martyrdom of St Matthew
My first encounter with Caravaggio’s
painting “in real life” was in St John’s Co-Cathedral in Malta, where two
amazing paintings stand out, even in the richest and most ornate context you
can imagine. “The Beheading of John the Baptist” is like a snapshot at the
moment of highest drama, with the figures and their facial expressions vividly
lit against the darkness. “St Jerome Writing” is a similar work of chiaroscuro but its mood is a total
contrast. The old man is all quiet power and concentration. In Rome on our last
visit we saw the graphic and quite horrifying “Judith Beheading Holofernes” in
the Palazzo Barbarini. The realism of the characters makes it look like a still
from a horror drama - it’s as though Caravaggio has invented stage lighting in
his imagination, ising a ‘spotlight’ to emphasise stricken faces and violent
gestures. On this latest walk we first found the ancient church of Santa Maria
del Popolo, where “The Crucifixion of St Peter” and “The Conversion of St Paul”
hang in a small chapel. Three paintings from the life of St Matthew hang in the
church of San Luigi dei Francesi, and there is a wonderful Madonna in the
church of Sant’ Agostino, famous for the dirty feet of the pilgrims who
dominate the foreground. All the pictures have such power because they
represent people struggling and
suffering, not beatific saints with painted haloes. They make every other
painting in a place seem pallid and lifeless. Caravaggio’s life was as full of
passion and violence as his paintings – but you can read about that elsewhere.
Madonna (and the dirty-footed pilgrims)
Of course it’s Italy and you can’t forget
about food, even if you wanted to. There was yet another great fresh market
near our place, Mercato Trionfale (called “the stomach of Rome”) with mounds of
oranges, artichokes and gigantic cauliflowers the big items of seasonal
produce, bulk wine to be bottled, butchers, cheese vendors and bakers. We grabbed two simple pork rolls in fresh
bread (€3) and took them on a walk down to the Tiber. Later that night, we
enjoyed an excellent meal at Falcone’s, recommended by Silvia as typical of the
local fare. Each day we took a Hobbit-style ‘second breakfast’ at a magnificent
Sicilian pasticceria presided over by a vivacious young woman from Transylvania.
How do Italians stay relatively slim surrounded by all this? (1. Walking up
hills 2. Smoking like chimneys)
Market produce
Winter walk along the Tiber
And then, after one last wonderful hot
bath at La Lanterna, it was time to
hop on the overnight bus to Licata to see how Common Sense had fared in our long absence.
Now a few random pictures of things that amused me...
Authentic wild boar sausages
We repair dolls, ornaments and holy icons
Another Memento Mori
Smart cars get to park like this. Or on the footpath.