COSENZA!

In Enrico's building, on the main floor, lives a family that I love!
Alessandro, Maria Giulia, Martina and Gaia.

I could eat these children up!!!

Not to mention Maria Giulia and Alessandro are wonderful people, I can't wait to see them again, amici miei!!!

NAPOLI!
Despite the fact that Naples is and has been suffering from a Garbage crisis due to....hmmm, corruption and mismanagement...this city is beautiful. I immediately felt very relaxed and at home in Naples...probably because the sea is right there, facing you always...and, I just plain liked the people.

Enrico's friend Andrea lives there and I am certain that this greatly affected my opinion because he is truly one of the coolest people that I've met. I felt like we had always been friends. Not to mention the fact that his Mother invited us for lunch at their home and MY GOD, can that woman cook!!! This luncheon was nicknamed, the SINISTRO, because of our jokes about her preparing this meal for days, sleeping on the kitchen floor waiting for us to come....hahaha....no, really, it was AMAZING.

I must also say, Naples, for me... seems to be like an archipielago that has no true centre...i felt directionless, which was great...let me explain, as we drove around, it seemed that we were winding up and down streets towards i-dont-know-where...and-i-never-knew-where. I generally catch my bearings in most places, but in Naples, it didn't happen for me. I loved it.

I will however, be worrying for the people of Naples. The garbage crisis is longstanding...things aren't getting any better from what I understand and the problem is simply being shifted around instead of being addressed directly.
It made me think of this science fiction movie "Soylent Green" that I watched for my Geography class. I hope that the Italian government a)gets itself together b)takes action to solve this problem from the root of the problem.

And the world can learn a few things from this crisis because it is a global enviro-political issue that we'll all be facing sooner or later.

This seems like a very 'dark and gloomy' end to my post...but truly, I'm sad for the state of the region and the people who live there.
I'm being reminded right here in my own home by Shanesya how important and easy it is to recycle. There is really no excuse not to recycle. I can be very lazy about it, but really, there is no room to be lazy about it because recycling is a necessary effort at the micro level if we are to have an impact on a global scale. It's that simple. Don't be lazy. Recycle. (End of propagandistic blog message).
:-)

SHANESYA'S DAD COMES TO VISIT US IN TORONTO (Ok, he actually went to help Shanesya's brother move...but we all took advantage to have an evening together!)

A few pictures from our "Beer" dedicated evening, The Kean family does love beer.
First, we went to a restaurant called 'the beer bistro' so that Doug could have STEAK TARTARE (in case you are unsure what this means....IT IS RAW BEEF with fancy seasoning...YES, that is correct, RAW).
Then we went to the BIERMARKT...this resulted in Shanesya having to get off the bus on our way home to use the washroom at pizza pizza...I thought she was going to pee her pants. hahahahahahaha

Fun times.

MUM: I've been slacking!!!
F-I-R-E-N-Z-E

I know you've seen all the pics...but this time, THEY ARE NOT SIDEWAYS...:-)
ARTS...
I repeat....THE ARTS = Florence.

The city suffered a catastrophic flood in 66'...a detail that I somehow forgot after Enrico told me because even though he described it as being horrid, it was only when I saw a movie portraying the natural disaster that I could really imagine how awful it was for the Florentine people.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy_regions/tuscany/2006/events/italy-recalls-florence-flood-heroics/

"At 5am on November 3, 1966 the skies over Tuscany opened and poured non-stop for 18 hours, causing an unprecedented artistic, economic and human disaster.

The River Arno burst its banks, flooded the city and claimed 29 lives.

Mud and water swamped the museums, churches and libraries of the birthplace of the Renaissance, ruining many great works.

The damage caused was incalculable.

But it was a fraction of the devastation the city would have suffered without the efforts of thousands of young volunteers who came from all over Italy and from abroad to save the art treasures and help Florence off its knees.

This week Italy is recalling the disaster and the efforts of those volunteers, nicknamed the ‘mud angels’, who did so much to limit its impact.

Over 2,000 of them are returning here to take part in some of the 100 events marking the 40th anniversary of the flood.

These include a mass in Florence’s Duomo in honour of the victims, which US Senator Ted Kennedy and Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli will attend on November 4.

There are a number of concerts and exhibitions, including a show at Palazzo Vecchio of shots of the wreckage and the rescue work by Life magazine photographer David Lees.

All week Italian television has been broadcasting reports and documentaries remembering the events of 40 years ago.

One of the most fascinating clips features British actor Richard Burton making a public appeal for help. He made the appeal in perfect Italian, even though he could not speak the language, brilliantly repeating lines he had been drilled.

“Florence needs us all because she belongs to the world,” said Burton, who was in Italy with Elizabeth Taylor, his wife at the time.

“Everything we can do, we will do, so that this city, which we all need so much, comes back to us”.

Burton was also the narrator of a documentary on the disaster by Florentine film and theatre director Franco Zeffirelli, which will be screened here on November 5.

Zeffirelli said that November 4 1996 was a “very happy date” for him.

“It seems a crazy thing to say but on that day I was witness to an incredible Florence,” Zeffirelli added.

“In a situation of extreme hardship, the Florentines threw themselves into the mud to put the city back on its feet.

“It shows how a city can pick itself up from a horrendous situation”.

Among the masterpieces to be saved by the mud angels was the wooden Crucifixion by Florentine painter Cimabue (1240-1302), considered the last great artist of the Byzantine tradition.

Experts managed to restore the priceless work, even though the fury of the flood water which swept into the Basilica di Santa Croce had wiped off most the paint.

Another illustrious local, Wanda Ferragamo - the wife of celebrated footwear designer Salvatore Ferragamo and the president of the company he set up - also remembers the flood well.

“The power of the water was so strong that it swept away everything in its path and our company s shoes were found kilometres away days later,” she said.

“Ours was not an isolated case. The city’s shopkeepers wept that day, when the Arno seemed to have taken away the future. Many people cried, but not in front of the TV cameras.

“Rather than wasting time complaining, all the Florentines rolled up their sleeves, showing strength of spirit, solidarity, civic responsibility and, above all, love for the city”.

Flood protection of the historic centre of Florence, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, has since been beefed up by a series of dams, civil-engineering projects and the construction of higher embankments in the city.

But experts warn that more still needs to be done to make the city and the surrounding area totally flood-proof."

NOTE 1
I get emails everyday from the Universe, thanks to Amanda, and I love them. I like to figure out how they pertain in the moment i receive them.

"If you ask me, Kate, I'd say the main thing to keeping the main thing the main thing, is reminding yourself as often as you can of where the most joy will come from.

Ain't no thing -
The Universe

Thoughts become things... choose the good ones!
www.tut.com

In other words, Kate, the main thing is keeping focused on your true end result, not the "hows" of getting there. And there is no more effective end result than happiness."

-----------------------------------------
NOTE 2

I was in Chatham just recently for a little visit with my Mum and to attend an event...and during that time, I found my Jack Johnson CD in my Mum's jeep. fantastic. whether you like him or not, he's alright. Not to mention he's Lena's secret boyfriend.
When I was listening to this song today, first on the CD, I decided it was blog material...just like the notes from the Universe, the lyrics to the song are pertinent...I'm directing them to the scemo. I'm more than excited for him to meet my Mum, finally, see more of my friends who are desperate to talk to him and be their crazy selves with him and be in snowy Toronto together to help shovel if need be. just kidding, that's cruel. we'll take the ttc.

JACK JOHNSON

"Better Together"

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepiatone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together

MMM it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at the stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone
When the morning light sings
And brings new things
For tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too
Too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression
I was somewhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be
We'll Sit beneath the mango tree now

It's always better when we're together
Mmmm, we're somewhere in between together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together

MMmmmm MMMmmmm Mmmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no, combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're better together.

During my time in the UK as an overworked (but well-paid) nanny, I used to hear 2 songs daily on the radio in the kitchen that would absolutely turn my day around...seriously...when I hear them now, I am still reminded of those times in the kitchen...preparing breakfast/lunch or dinner for three kids at the age of 22, thinking, sure, I wanted to get to Europe for the summer and work, but, really??? As a nanny???!!! Never again.

The two songs?

1. Al Greene - Let's stay together (I learned from my time living in the southern US that stay generally means remain, or live together)

2. Gladys Knight and the pips - Midnight train to Georgia (funny I ended up living there...)




But truthfully...the same thing happened during the end of my first semester at UF...I would listen to Julieta Venegas - Algo que esta cambiando...I wasn't usually able to write papers with music on...but Julieta caused no problems for me....



Lately, I play a 'mix' CD from Italy a lot when I'm at home and I think of mornings alone in Enrico's apartment with the radio on... and I'm not gonna lie, I danced around on my way to the shower...to this last song...
Rooney - When did your heart go missing



...and there was another that came on the radio a lot also....Ligabue - Niente Paura

Alright Mum, time for some pictures of Italy...buildings, fountains, statues...yes, and a few of Enrico and your beloved daughter along the way....:-)
Let's start with Bologna...
Bologna is in north Italy, it snows there and it snowed on us. Birthplace of tortellini. It has the oldest University in the world (1088). The two towers you can see are well known landmarks of the city. I read that during the renaissance, Bologna was the only Italian city where women experienced the freedom to excel professionally.
As you are walking through the city centre, you stroll through gorgeous 'porticos'...archways...I didn't get a good picture of this I think, booo me! (I'll steal one off the internet and post it!!)

I heard a person comment on happiness the other day and that triggered me to think of happiness and joy. I want to live my life with joy emanating from my soul. Happiness is fantastic but it is affected by circumstance. I'm not saying that I can be happy all the time because i live with joy in my heart, but i think that living a joyful life is beneficial for the self, life fluctuations and for those around you. If you're just content with happiness, what do you do if it dissipates for you for a time...if it dissipates, what was it based on? Do you build your own foundation of joy or do you wait for / depend on something to make you happy and potentially unhappy...


"Consider it pure joy"
James 1:2

Mum, Enrico wanted you to see the first pic, he really likes it...and i think the second one is fun! Bird bath, latrine or public drinking fountain??!!!

Ovillejos de Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra



¿Quién menoscaba mis bienes?
¡Desdenes!
Y ¿quién aumenta mis duelos?
¡Los celos!
Y ¿quién prueba mi paciencia?
¡Ausencia!

De este modo en mi dolencia
ningún remedio se alcanza,
pues me matan la esperanza,
desdenes, celos y ausencia.

¿Quién me causa este dolor?
¡Amor!
Y ¿quién mi gloria repuna?
¡Fortuna!
Y ¿quién consiente mi duelo?
¡El cielo!

De este modo yo recelo
morir deste mal extraño,
pues se aúnan en mi daño
amor, fortuna y el cielo.

¿Quién mejorará mi suerte?
¡La muerte!
Y el bien de amor, ¿quién le alcanza?
¡Mudanza!
Y sus males, ¿quién los cura?
¡Locura!

Dese modo no es cordura
querer curar la pasión,
cuando los remedios son
muerte, mudanza y locura.

Mum, these are some pics that I highly enjoy...