Monday, April 28, 2014

The last two weeks of April

Since Aprile 6th I haven't been running as much as I should, that's why last week I visited my mother on April 20th and decided to do a long run up-hill.  The  road  passes through the countryside and  it even becomes a dangerous track as you can see below. 
While I was running on the way back I saw those two street plates representing a cow and a landslide. 

... and two  minutes later I saw those two cows along the street.
 It may be dangerous especially in the dark



Saturday,  April 26th, was our 24th wedding anniversary and we spent all the day with the kids in Rome where we  visited  the exhibition of  a selection  of  seventy works created  between 1848 and 1914  by the  great French masters, such as Monet and Van Gogh.  Those extraordinary works were  in  Rome for  the first time and will be there  until June 8th.
Paradoxically, although we have been to Paris twice since 2001, we haven't visited the "Musée d'Orsay" yet. As it is known, there are many things to visit in Paris, such as Saint Germain de-Prés, Montmartre, Le louvre, and Notre Dame, but we hadn't enough time. So last Saturday we visited a small part of the "Musée d'Orsay" in Rome. I had took three photos of the paintings before I learnt that it is forbidden to take pictures. I was sorry for that although I took the pictures with my mobile phone and without light which might damage the painting. Here below on the right, I post a picture of a wonderful work made by Claude Monet in 1878, the "Rue Montorgueil" in Paris. The photo doesn't represent the painting nearly as well as it should: while I was watching that work it seemed that those flags were moving. Extraordinary!



















The picture above on the left shows  the Geoffroy's work "Visit day at the Hospital", made in 1889.

As you can see through the following pictures, the weather was perfect for a walk along the old side of the town. The streets close to the main Rome's landmarks were really crowded. In addition to the usual tourists, there were hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world who were filling the town (and they are still filling St. Peter Vatican square) for a historic event involving four popes.







Nice week to everyone!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your 24th wedding anniversary! Great photos of the countryside and Rome and the paintings.

Fran said...

Happy anniversary Giorgio.

But boy oh boy you really offended me by saying Van Gogh is a French master! You should know better :)
The best painters are Dutch LOL

I never have run on the road in Italy because I find it really dangerous compared to Holland. There are no sidewalks or bike paths most of the times and often lots of turns in the road. I didn't feel safe enough to run.

Giorgio said...

To Fran: I'm sorry for that Fran, I know that Van Gogh is a Dutch name ... but I also know that he went to Paris to join his brother in 1886. Consequently, when Van Gogh was young he became French :)

Moreover, the advertising about the Exhibitions, which has been published on a website, say that:

"Exhibitions
from 22.02 to 08.06.2014
Musée d'Orsay.

This exhibition showcases the work of late 19th-century French masters from 1848 to 1914. The 70 paintings on show include works by Corot, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Seurat, Sisley and Van Gogh".

You could read it on the following website:

http://www.wantedinrome.com/whats-on/2003351/musee-d-orsay-capolavori.html

Anyway, I know that the best painters were born in the Netherlands :)

Regards,

Giorgio

Char said...

Happy Anniversary to you and your wife. You chose a lovely way to celebrate. Those paintings are magnificent and I, for one, am not sorry that you took photos when you weren't supposed to.

ajh said...

I would LOVE that exhibition. I swear I"ve seen one of the paintings. I wonder if it is borrowed from DC or New York.
Happy Anniversary!
THose cows could get hurt!
And to answer your question......a lot of cities build high rises along the beach. Are you thinking of erosion or scenery?

Amy said...

Congratulations on your anniversary! The Musee d'Orsay does indeed have some wonderful paintings. I personally really love Edouard Manet. Another neat place to go in Paris is the Musee Rodin - have you been there?

Johann said...

You always have such interesting things to share, thank you! I always take photos where I am not supposed to :) Here in Africa we see cows in the roads everywhere. We have many signs like that and they do cause accidents. We also have donkeys, goats and sheep in the roads sometimes.

Giorgio said...

To Amy: No, I haven't been there yet... it takes time to visit Paris. for instance, "Le Louvre" took two days at least. Then, I visited Les Invalides, Le Pantheon, Montmartre, Notre Dame and so on. Moreover, the girls wanted to go on the Eiffer Tower ... I remember that you suggested a nice restaurant (Brasserie) located close to the Eiffel tower (Rue de Grenelle). Next time I shall visit the Musee Rodin and "La Défense".

To ajh: those high buildings along the beach have a clear and significant impact on the surrounding environment. I mean, firstly, negative changes or reactions in the area's wildlife and natural processes. Secondly, it isn't a good visual impact.

ajh said...

I agree with you about the high buildings. That's why I said not like my beloved Maine. Sadly though it is pretty common in big cities. When I visited my daughter in Oregon it was the beautiful cliffs and rough coastline like Maine.

Black Knight said...

Belle foto ed un gran bel modo per celebrare l'anniversario del matrimonio.
Io sto apprezzando sempre di più le corse in campagna in mezzo alla natura e agli animali.

MeasMedia said...

Congratulations on your anniversary... I've been injured for the past three month's and can't run... it got me too down to blog.