I have a new toy and in these days where I recover from 'much', I am occasionally playing with photographs taken over weeks.
Roberto took me wandering through Genova, introducing me to this place and that. And this was a place of much quiet beauty and grandeur.
Sometimes, bouncing between worlds take more out of my soul than I expect.
Today I lay down after lunch and woke just before 5pm. I am exhausted again. There was France and another truly exquisite wedding. A love so big that it melted my heart.
Then the Beautiful Truth workshop in Piedmont, where the people of Piedmont impressed me with their open-hearted welcome. Their food. And their wine. I discovered Brachetto. One of those discoveries of a lifetime ... or so is my story.
Then Genova, that city I love more than any other in the world.
And now I am home, doing the re-entry thing. It involves resting a lot, eating vegetables, resting some more.
There is a party to plan. More travels perhaps. My cousin.
It's like that.
And below, another image from the exquisite Ligurian weavers ... Cordani Velluti
The floors have been mopped, almost all of the laundry is done. The rubbish has been sorted and dumped in the appropriate bins. Supplies resupplied, wine not quite finished, and most of my goodbyes have been said.
I have loved being here in this Ligurian city again. Six busy days filled with people and interviews, of photography and so much fun.
Blue skies were there waiting outside my window every morning, temperatures were warm ... 29 celsius
may have been the norm, although I wasn't paying attention in a deep way.
Genova makes me smile, my eyes open wider and sure, I am close to exhausted but these last few weeks have been ...intense. The wedding in France, the workshop in Piedmont, the interview series here in Genova. A huge cold that threatened to bring me to my knees was probably the worst of it.
Anyway, this is how I was looking on Monday. Still bemused by the fact that yes, if you teach a photography workshop then being photographed becomes the new normal. Thank you to Sandy Millar, the photographer and woman who talked me through the agony that is being photographed.
These days in Genova have been filled with adventures of an unimagined kind ...
Anna, from Beautiful Liguria, has teamed up with me and we're working on a project (or two) together. These last few days we have wandered in Liguria, interviewing and photographing some very special artisans. People using techniques that sometimes go back as far as medieval times because 'they still work'. People keeping the personal touch alive in their creations and creating so much beauty in the process.
It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to visit these worlds I knew nothing of and in a region so beautiful that the journey has been as much a part of the destination.
I feel like I have fallen through the looking glass, from one beautiful adventure and into another. And still it continues.
As always, in Italy, it's about the people, and I am meeting truly excellent people. They are kind to this foreigner, that one with so many questions and a desire to photograph all.
Here is a taste of the beauty I saw today. Can you guess what it might be?
Today began with pastries and espresso from a bar along Via San Lorenzo, and then the chance meeting with Amedeo the artist ... and another espresso, this one with that friend I thought I had lost.
There was a walk through the city and the interesting conversation in the Loving Genova office. The delightful post-lunch drinks with Simon and Paola, as they passed through the city on their way back to Brussels.
Then a long catch-up with the artists on Via San Lorenzo, with Amedeo, with Karla, with Franco and the rest too.
Dinner ended being a buffet selection at a bar just off Piazza de Ferrari, with a drink down in Piazza delle Erbe on the way home.
This visit has been about more than a few chance meetings too. I met Anna, from Beautiful Liguria, out there in the caruggi. And tonight it was Roberto, a kind friend who has introduced me to new places in Genova ... he walked into the bar with his friend.
It's good to be back ... as always. And there is this, the painting I might have bought from Amedeo today. Just absolutely celebrating the fact that he made it off life-support and is painting again.
I met Amedeo Baldovino a few years ago now ... I wrote of it here.
A few months ago, I received bad news. He had collapsed in the city and was on life-support. It didn't look good and I grieved for both the man and the talented artist.
Karla kept me informed. He came through surgery, he was recovering ... it was so good to hear but this morning, out picking up breakfast, I stopped to say hi to the artists in Via San Lorenzo.
Angelo gestured to the cafe, I walked in, and it was Amedeo!!! Back painting, back in his weekend spot, BACK.
I didn't quite jump all over him like a happy puppy but I was so very very pleased to see him.
That man ... he painted this painting as a gift to me. He painted me into Genova. You can imagine how much I loved that.
Today I am celebrating Amedeo here on the blog. Everyone should have some Amedeo hanging in their home. If you think you would like to see some of his work, let me know, I'll go photograph some of the delights he has hanging and we'll work out the shipping costs.
Back in Genova, and loving it, as always.
Ciao!
