A Monumental Monument

There are monuments and then there are MONUMENTS!  This one falls in that latter category.  The Altare Della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) or the Victor Emmanuel monument as it is known to most travelers, stands head and shoulders above any monument I've seen before.  First of all it is HUGE and second, it's white in a city where shades of brown monopolize the landscape.  It completely dominates a busy intersection just a stone's throw away from the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

Riding high above the street in the center of the monument is Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy.  He and his prancing horse strike a very commanding pose in front of this grand testament to his glory.

Below the Victor Emmanuel statue and located under a  colossal statue of the goddess Roma, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier complete with an eternal flame of honor and the constant vigil of two fellow soldiers.  The tomb was added to the monument after Wold War I.

Looking straight up from street level, I felt dwarfed by the magnitude of this monument.  As one might expect about a monument of this scale, its construction created some controversy.  The biggest controversy had to do with the site of the monument since quite a bit of Capitoline Hill (one of the seven hills of Rome) and the Medieval structures that stood there were destroyed.  Other controversies centered around it being a bit pompous and way too large, an opinion I wouldn't argue with.

In recent years, an elevator was added to the back of the monument letting people ride to the top to take in some spectacular views of the city.  I missed that.  It will have to be on the agenda for my next trip to Rome.

A Supreme Experience

A few years ago, I had an opportunity to hear a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States.  My good friends Julie and Dave were attorneys for a case that made it's way to the Supreme Court so we all went to Washington DC for the event.  Julie and Dave had special seating because they were named in the case.  Julie's mother Glenda and I were there to observe.

Anyone can observe a case at any time.  It just takes some determination, the ability to get up very early, and a heavy coat if the case will be heard in the winter months.  This one was in December and it was very, very cold when we lined up in front of the court hoping to get in.  There are only a select number of spectator seats available so it's important to get in line as early as possible to be assured of a seat.  If I recall correctly, we waited in line in the freezing cold for around two hours before the guards came and issue numbers to us, assuring us of a seat.  Only then were we able to go inside and warm up.  While we waited for the session to start, we went to the cafeteria for breakfast and warmth.

You are not allowed to take a camera or a purse, or a briefcase, or even a coat inside the courtroom.  The only thing you can carry is a pad of paper and a pencil.  We stopped at the coat room where coats were checked and lockers secured our belongings.  After the session was over, I was able to snap this one photo looking toward the courtroom.

It is an experience that I will never forget.  I was lucky enough to hear a case that had impact on the state of Arizona but, I highly recommend hearing oral arguments for any case that is being heard while you are in Washington DC.  The experience of seeing those judges at work is priceless.

Going on Safari

As I sit here to write this post, I can look up above my computer and see this wonderful face staring down at my from my office wall.  I loved this photo so much that I had it enlarged to 16X20 and matted and framed and it now hangs above my desk.  He has such and engaging face, it's hard to believe he could be so fierce.

This post is about my visit a few years ago to Safari Park in Escondido California, an extension of the San Diego Zoo network.  Only this place is like no zoo you've ever seen before.  It's huge, over 1800 acres of rolling hills the look very much like the African savanna.  Of course, I've never been to the African savanna but judging from photos I've seen, this place looks pretty darn close.

They have over 300 species of African and Asian animals all living in very large, natural-like compounds where they have room to roam and get plenty of exercise.

The facility has tram rides that take you through these far away places so that you can get a good look at the animals and they can get a good look at you.  In fact, I think this guy was saying "hey, are you taking my picture?"

In addition to the animals, there are many species of birds.  Some of them live in the compounds out in the open like these beautiful flamingos.

Others live in large aviaries where guests can walk through and get a closer look.  The lorikeet even land on your hands or arms if you offer them the food they love so much.  This was the first time I'd seen a lorikeet.  They really are the most colorful birds I've ever seen.

If you are interested in visiting Safari Park, you can check their web site for more information.  They offer a large variety of tours and safari experiences.  They even have an overnight camp stay that mimics some of the real African safari camps.  I'd love to do that one day.

The Lure of the Underground

Does anyone remember that old poster from 1927 by Alfred Leete?  I have a post card version that is in a frame with some other classic post cards hanging in my hallway.  Here is what it looks like.

I've had my post card for at least 20 years and I've always loved it.  Maybe because the London Underground lured me in the first time I visited that city way back in 1985.

There is something so cosmopolitan about taking those long escalators deep under the bustling city streets and sidewalks and hopping on an arriving train and being whisked off to my next destination.

And when I get off at my station, I love hearing the whoosh of the train as it closes its doors and speeds out of the station with a burst of wind and the clickety-clack of the tracks as it rolls on to the next stop.

If I take the underground out to the end of the lines, I might end up in a car with only a few people in it.  But, I can assure you that most of the time and especially during rush hours, it will be standing room only inside each car.  I might even have to pancake myself into the car and stand nose to nose with another commuter.  I've done it many times.

Some of the stations are sleek and modern with futuristic features that remind me of Star Trek and spaces so wide open that the announcer's voice echoes through the area.

Other stations are old, quiet and tunnel-like and almost devoid of the crowds found at the more popular stations.  It's times like this when I can close my eyes and see images from period dramas set anywhere from 1930 to 1950 with all the men in wide lapels and all the women wearing stockings with seams and all of them waiting for the next train.

I'll bet this station looked just the same back then.

Gallery in the Sun

On my recent trip to Tucson, I visited the DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun, the studio and home of the late artist Ted DeGrazia.  DeGrazia was born and raised in Arizona the son of Italian immigrants.  He moved from the mining town of Morenci to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona and eventually earned three degrees including a Master of Arts.

He and his wife bought the then remote 10-acre property where he would build his Gallery in the Sun after the city of Tucson grew up around his original studio.  I wonder what he would have done if he had lived to see the city once again grow up around this property.  The gallery was designed and built by DeGrazia using traditional adobe bricks crafted on-site.  He is said to have built the gallery so that his paintings "would feel good inside".

The gallery is home to more than 15,000 DeGrazia originals including oil paintings, watercolors, ceramics and sculptures.

Among those on display is the one to the left titled "Fiesta at San Xavier" painted in 1960.  It's one of my all time favorites.

One of the gallery rooms included this display of DeGrazia's paints and easel.  It almost looks like he just stepped away for a moment.

Also on the grounds is this little mission that he built in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  As I approached it I could hear the call of that wind chime bell high up on the top.

Inside the mission, the roof is open to the sky and the walls are painted with DeGrazia's southwestern inspired art.  Stepping through the door to the mission was almost magical.

In 2006, the 10-acre site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.  The Gallery is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm and there is no admission charge.  It is such a beautiful place, it should be high on the list of places to see when visiting Tucson.

The Colosseum

I released an audible gasp as our taxi approached the Colosseum.  The magnitude and beauty of the place was almost over whelming.  I simply couldn't believe that I was actually about to step foot on such an ancient and historic place.  

It is the largest amphitheater ever built and is considered one of the greatest works of architecture and engineering.  And, construction began in 72 AD.....imagine that!  

Built under the orders of the emperor Vespasian, it was completed under his successor and heir Titus, just eight years later in 80AD.  To me, that's even more amazing.  Just eight years to build something that will last and be admired for centuries.  

I had read in my travel guides that the wait to  get inside can be quite long but, my timing must have been perfect because within minutes after purchasing our tickets, we were inside this incredible structure where between 50,000 to 80,000 spectators gathered for gladiatorial contests and public events.  When it was in use, it had a sand covered wooden floor build over the top of an elaborate underground structure called the "Hypogeum" which literally means 'underground'.  Little remains of the original floor so you can see directly into the hypogeum and its network of tunnels and cages.

It truly is a masterpiece of architectural design and construction.  I loved standing back and looking at  it and picturing the activity around the place all those eons ago.  Was it bustling with people around it just like it is today?

I could even picture a gladiator or two wandering about and guarding the entrance!

At the Lapin Agile

Ever since seeing Picasso's wonderful painting "At the Lapin Agile", I've wanted to see this notorious cabaret for myself and on my last trip to Paris, I made a point of locating it.  After climbing a cobblestoned hill along Rue Saint Vincent (I featured photos from this street on a previous post), I was rewarded with the familiar sight of that pink and green building on the corner with Rue des Saules.  The place has a rather well-worn, ramshackle look to it which is exactly what I was hoping it would look like.  I've seen various paintings of the building and it was refreshing to see it looking just  as I had imagined.  

The cabaret was the local Montmartre hang-out for artists, writers, pimps and eccentrics but it was made famous by Picasso's painting and more recently by Steve Martin's play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile".  

The Lapin Agile was first called "Cabaret des Assassins" because a band of assassins broke in and killed the owner's son.  In 1875, the artist Andre Gill painted a picture of a rabbit jumping out of a saucepan on the side of the building and locals started calling it "Le Lapin a Gill" or Gill's rabbit.  That name soon morphed into Lapin Agile which translates to nimble rabbit.  That's what it's been called ever since.

One of my friends took this photo of me standing by the lamp post at the corner.  Since I had dragged them along on my search for this place, they figured I needed a photo to remember it by.  

Wind Energy

If you drive to the Los Angeles area from Phoenix along Interstate 10, you will see a number of wind turbines as you near the city of Palm Springs.  The hillsides to the north of the road are covered with these wind turbines.

California produces 5% of it's electricity using wind power.  As of 2013, there were 5 places in California where wind turbines were producing electricity.  This one is located on the eastern slope of San Gorgonio Pass in Riverside County.  That pass is one of the windiest places in Southern California.  I do enjoy seeing them when I start to head down the mountain and into the Coachella Valley.

Space, the Final Frontier

Under development in the middle of the New Mexico desert is America's first commercial spaceport. Spaceport America has been under construction for several years and is designed to support commercial space tenants like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX.  It is currently home to Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo as well as SpaceX's Falcon 9R.  In the photo above you see Virgin Galactic's sleek and sinuous gateway to space building designed by Foster + Partners.  (You can see some spectacular photos of the building by clicking the link.)  The building was specifically designed to be sustainable and sensitive to it's surroundings, blending well into the landscape.

I learned over a year ago that tours of this amazing site were available and I immediately put it on my list of "must visit" places.  I took that opportunity on my recent trip to New Mexico.  Only problem is, now I want to go back.  This place will just start getting more and more exciting as development continues and more tenants move in.

Our tour group got a peek inside the Spaceport Operations Center, another building built to blend in with it's desert surroundings.

Our guide (on the right), explained how this building will be used and how both commercial space clients and media representatives could use the facility.

We got to meet the firemen on duty the day we were there.  John and Jack were happy to explain the state of the art fire fighting equipment they were trained to use.

After our tour of the operations center, the firemen escorted our tour group out on to the 12,000 foot "space way", the extra long runway that will one day see the take-offs and landings of the first commercial space flights.

From the runway, our fire department escorts followed us over the the Virgin Galactic building so we could see this incredible building from the runway side.  My only regret was that this impressive building wasn't open for tours yet.  Our guide did say that sometime late this year it would be ready to host visitors and will contain some exciting video and simulation media.  Obviously, I have to go back again.

Art in Santa Fe

Santa Fe New Mexico and it's surrounding area is the home to many, many artists making the city a hot bed of wonderful artworks and galleries.  Above is a photo of the courtyard of one gallery filled with sculptures that fit right into that southwestern decor.

You can of course find many beautiful Allan Houser sculptures like this one called "Singing Heart".

Inside the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, you can find a variety of wonderful works from pottery, to sculpture and paintings like this one to the right by Star Wallowing Bull called "Chief Cadillac"

Inside the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum you can see many of her wonderful paintings as well as a few by her contemporaries.  Here we see a young artist learning from the master.

Just walking along the street you can see beautiful sculptures outside of galleries.

This whimsical rabbit was outside the Sorrel Sky Gallery.

This family of burros was outside another gallery.

Even inside my hotel room was this wonderful painting by Dorothy Dunn called "The Studio School".

Up on Museum Hill this extra large sculpture by Craig Goseyun called "Apache Mountain Spirit Dancer" dominated the beautiful  courtyard of the museums.

Also in the courtyard of the museums that comprise Museum Hill was this wonderful statue by Estella Loretto called "Peaceful Warrior".

Art can be found everywhere you look in Santa Fe.  That's one of many things that makes this city so special.