Land of so many wonders, Cuba remains home of many broken promises, of lost hopes, and deluding propaganda. In a world full of divergent information, controlled media, and biased interests, people hardly know what to think unless they live through the system, to truly understand it. And not even then.
History
IT: Pompeii vs Herculaneum – Which one is better?
If you have ever had a dilemma while visiting Italy and pondered what is better to visit, between these 2 sites, then you were not alone: Pompeii or Herculaneum? Herculaneum or Pompeii? And here is my answer, if there is any at all.
Pompeii, located in Campania region, is mainly known for the ruins of the ancient Roman town with the same name. A roman colony for about 160 years before the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius from 79 AD left many traces about the roman life, as well as other inscriptions by previous conquerors in the area. With its great position very close to the Gulf of Naples, Pompeii became a very important and large city, it is estimated Continue reading
IT, Florence: Firenze pass – Santa Maria Novella – Santa Croce- Accademia Gallery – Uffizi Gallery – Ponte Vecchio
“Italy is the garden of Europe
Tuscany is the garden of Italy
Florence is the flower of Tuscany”
Falling in love first time is about charm, attraction, fascination, obsession, purity, innocence. But falling in love a second time for the same city, same places, same sky – or maybe different – or just with different eyes but same heart (or same heart but different eyes?) is much more than I can describe in these few words, I probably will never be able to..
“God was the first sculptor. He made the first figure: man.”
IT, Rome: The Colloseum – Roman Forum – Piazza Navona – Terme di Caracalla – Via Appia Antica – St Sebastian Catacombs
As Virgiliu said “it’s the most beautiful thing”, Aristide named it “the capital of all nations”; Atheneu made a “summary of the world”, Ptolemeu the sofist called it “The city of all cities”, most of the people named it “The Eternal city”.
In a lifetime, the human being is continuously trying to find its own purpose on this Earth. Very few of us can truly say they found their own purpose in this life. Our own hobbies, various jobs we go through, the books we read, the places we visit are the real proof we keep looking for something until a moment.
This is how I felt when I found my steps taking me through Rome, feeling like I was born again. I could see how the modern life, present at every corner, blends with the ancient ruins, making me think where we come from, and what we look for. I perceived that almost 3000 past years means almost nothing. I realized how fleeting the life is, I knew there was no time to heal, but then it was the time for me to see, feel, and touch the beginning of this world, to feel how the birth of this civilization became contemporary with us, how we came out of a modern world in the midst of creation. Continue reading
IT, Venice: Wandering through The Old City – St Mark’s Basilica – Doge’s Palace – Grand Canal
Understanding the beauty is totally different than understanding the beast. Once you have a preconception, it is very hard to remove the inoculated idea from the back of your mind. Most of the time, these preconceptions are born from jealousy, or just simply as a reason of personal denial. One should not have any preconception until one’s own eyes and heart are giving the whole picture to the brain to process the reality. And even then, we still have no guarantee the brain will process correctly the information, but we should hope for better.
Rumors that the canals in Venice are actually stinking came to me from different directions, but my refusal to believe or to think about this drove me to the idea that probably the smell was from some other time, season, or even space. And so it was. I was actually amazed to notice that even though most of the walls at the contact with water were slimy, with more or less green hanging weed, the surroundings were not smelly at all, even with the heavy heat I felt on my head from the sunny, and a little bit too hot Italian Sun. Continue reading
CA, Nova Scotia: Louisbourg – Digby – Annapolis Basin
The following day, once in the tiny and cozy town of Louisbourg, we spent the early evening at the little hidden beach that reminded us of our merry times in our 20’s. When you can grab a blanket and a guitar, and your bunch of friends. When the laugh and the glee were the only care one can have.
After that we spent some time shopping in the little family stores full of crafts, and antique pieces of local art.
We saved the major destination: the fortress, where “The past is present”, as the city states itself, for the next day.
Continue reading
1000 Places and Memories 