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
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.
There are so many reasons that Italy has slipped into my heart but one of the biggest is surely the people I have met here over the years.
The people of Piedmont have simply added to that particular experience of Italy. There was the intensity, the laughter, and the pure joy of spending those hours working with Carla in her restaurant kitchen on Monday ... then the kindness and patience of the people in Acqui Terme's Market with those foreign photographers yesterday. Last night it was all about the generosity of the people who led us through an exquisite multi-course dinner.
There is a saturation that occurs, for me, here. A saturation that is not just of a physical nature but there is a very real sensation of my soul being filled ... or whatever 'organ' it is that stores joy. It fills and overflows and simply sparkles so many times in day when I'm here.
Sure there is the beautiful landscape, the visible histories, the wine, the food, and the language but there are also the people.
Yesterday the lovely man pictured below arrived at Diana and Micha's, laden down with gifts and toting his own gentle charm. Needless to say we adored him, both for the fruit and even more after he called us all beautiful women.
For all that is difficult, in Italy in these current days, there is still so much that is beautiful and I am truly grateful to the people who allow me in.
Genova tomorrow, the day when I get to introduce everyone here to that Ligurian city I love so very well.
As Diana and I put this 5-day photography and storytelling workshop we never let go of the idea that we wanted to create a beautiful space for the work to unfold in.
And it wasn't simply about the physical space, it was about creating a nurturing space too. It is this desire that has informed all our decisions made over months.
Yesterday, making last-minute checks, we were pleased with what we have created. Gift packages that contain not just the physical gifts but a whole lot of thought too. These are the kind of things we would be touched by.
The evenings we eat out are evenings that made us smile as we planned them. We are eating at some very special places in and around Acqui Terme. Our menus for meals eaten here at the B&B have been put together with quite some consideration of what is required each day. And Diana and I will be up early each morning to prepare breakfast.
Our intention was create a safe and nurturing space for those working with us over the days ahead. We believe we have achieved that.
Below is another glimpse ... our tea table set up for those who love tea.
So here I am writing this post from that small desk in front of the window, the one that looks out over the pool set in the heart of the Piedmont countryside. We are ready to begin ...
