What a Journey!

From September 1st through the 18th, I walked about 110 miles between the United Kingdom and Italy.  Our journey brought us to some of the world's greatest museums in London and Rome as well as amazing archaeological sites in both the UK and Italy.

It was truly a life-changing experience, which has yielded so much more than I was expecting in knowledge, understanding, appreciation, and confidence.  The appreciation came to bear at each and every step--e.g. appreciation for the opportunity, etc.  At the current time, though, the appreciation is more focused on resting and enjoying being at home: a home that now feels like a palatial estate after the discomforts of travel.  With regards to the cramped living of Rome in particular, our 2-storey, three bathroom home in quiet Monmouth, Oregon is such a wonderful retreat for a few days of healing and rest.  It makes one not take daily luxuries quite for granted the same way anymore.  And, there's ice!

I was fortunate in that I really had only about half a dozen instances of what I would call trouble on this trip, but other travel companions from Marylhurst ran into some more serious issues.  My low point was getting dropped off by a Roman taxi on the wrong side of the Tiber (I think).  Even with a map and iPhone, I managed to get completely disoriented and ended-up wandering up and down the sides of the Tiber for hours until I could establish my bearings--and get a new taxi.  Another time, I left a gathering late at night with a very low iPhone battery.  Google Maps is hard enough to follow in the United States, but in Europe one must at times disregard the voice directions and pay more attention to the directional arrows; the streets aren't as standard in direction or size as found in the states.  So, imagine a thunderstorm starting at about this time with my iPhone almost out of juice.  Almost half my turns seemed to be in error, and I kept having to retrace my steps.  At one point, Google Maps advised me to turn into a dark and narrow alley that seemed like a particularly bad idea; I kept plodding ahead in the rain.  I finally made my Roman apartment, but I was soaked to the bone, and the phone was almost dead.  All in all, though, the good experiences outweighed the bad ones like this, and we all managed to get along through the end of the journey.   

I surprised even myself with my photos.  In the end, I returned with more than 5,000 photos and videos from my Canon--more with the iPhone.  After deleting a couple hundred poor photos, I flagged my favorites, then uploaded those to (public) albums on Facebook.  As I do with all my photography, all the photos--the great and not so great--are in the process of being uploaded to Flickr.  (This is my photograph backup measure with most photos identified as public, except for family pictures, but restrictions placed on the ability of the photos to be downloaded without permission.)

So, here's where you can find photos online.  I'm also planning an old fashioned slide show event for friends and family.  Contact me, if interested!

Flickr  (more photos coming)

Facebook (London)

Facebook (Rome)

Bigstock (in future)

Art History Lecture Reflections (and Trip Thoughts)

     

"Sunflowers" by Vincent van Gogh

One particularly exciting dimension about my upcoming study abroad program (through Marylhurst University) in London and Rome is the riches of art we will have an opportunity to visit.  What a wonderful privilege and blessing!

     This really came home for me at last week's art lecture at MU.  The talk began with a discussion of the architecture of Rome.  As one of our professors, Dr. Roland, recounted of the Roman architecture and art descriptions of Dr. Jeffrey Blanchard on her Blog: A Passionate Geography: Romancing King Arthur's Roman War, "Rome, he explained, is a city of stratification and juxtaposition–a city where the architecture from one era is layered upon another, where marble columns are recycled into new uses, where buildings are joined together in surprising junctures."  I am going to have to pinch myself now.

     A personal concern is how am I possibly going to be able mentally record or capture the essence of Rome in only two weeks, or so?  I suppose the takeaway is that I probably cannot hope to do so--but that doesn't mean I won't try!  Our itinerary will likely have us visiting Museo Nazionale (National Roman Museum), Capitoline Museum, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Borghese Gallery, and, of course, the Vatican.  (I plan to attend Holy Mass at Saint Peter's on either September 10th or/and 17th.) 

Bathers (Les Grandes Baigneuses) by Paul Cézanne

     In London, we will be visiting both the British Museum and the National Gallery.  At the National Gallery, I will be offering a few words on "Bathers," pictured above.  (Each student is researching and offering a short presentation on a particular piece of art that we will be seeing in-person.)  Coming face-to-face with great art is something much more profound than seeing a photograph or reproduction of the same work elsewhere.  As I have written in the past, great art and architecture (especially sacred space) takes us outside of our own timeline for a moment and connects us with those in the past, present, and future who have (or will) gazed upon a wondrous masterpiece of art.  

Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat.

London/Rome Study Abroad

     It's getting closer to the time of departure, and it's truly hard to imagine I'm finally going to be traveling (and learning) through London and Rome.

     In about eight weeks, I'll be leaving the USA for London along with a group of fellow student travelers from Marylhurst University.  I look forward with great anticipation to seeing the sights of two of the truly great cities of the world.  In making this journey, the focus is really upon learning and connecting the dots  regarding the cultural and physical context of some of the world's greatest art and literature.  I look forward to visiting the libraries and museums of London, and I also am excited to visit the Vatican.  The Globe Theater is also on the itinerary, and I am confident that will be amazing.  For a guy whose only out of country travel has been limited to Canada, I'm confident this will be an enriching experience for all of us student travelers.  

     This study abroad program will be the primary focus of my blog for a while now.  If you want to check for updates, I invite you to search for the following hashtag: #MULondonRome2017 .