Florence, Italy

What do you think of when you think FIRENZE (Florence), Italy? Michaelangelo's David has been forever burned into mind. The 15 foot marble miracle is something that almost takes your breath away (unfortunately, they didn't allow cameras in the gallery). It's over 500 years old and it looks like it will stand for another 5000 years. You can see the metaphor he used in the work. The hands and feet seem huge and the meditative gaze of David, who just killed a giant, is powerful and strange. His nakedness and size is also an important metaphor. And, as Jean said as we were looking at the work, David also danced naked for God.

Florence's (Firenze's) claim to fame reads like a who's who from a college world history class. Da Vinci, inventor and painter. The Medicis, one of Europe's most ruthless ruling families. Danté, whose Inferno stabilized the Italian language and gave us metaphors we still use today. Savonarola, a Reformer a century too soon. Michaelangelo, history's greatest sculptor. Machiavelli, father of modern politicians. Galileo, who redefined the universe. Vespucci, a mapmaker who named a couple of continents. Artists, politicians, writers, explorers. The world would not be what it is today without Firenze. And you can feel that idea as you walk the streets of the city. It's a living, breathing city of art and history (gelato too).

We wish you all were here with us!! We are leaving Italy in the morning. We'll do a little bit of shopping today in Lucca and meet up with Fulvio this afternoon to go see some things off of the tourist track - Ciao!

There were several works in the Piazza della Signoria that were amazing!

Benvenuto Cellini's statue Perseus With the Head of Medusa in The Loggia dei Lanzi gallery on the edge of the Piazza della Signoria.

What do you think of when you think of Firenze? Michaelangelo's David has to be at the top of the list - that and the Firenze Duomo!

We had to get get tight to get the shot, but we did it! This is the fake David, we did see the real one in the Accademia -

A detail of the Duomo - incredible and beautiful!

The Duomo from another angle.


One of the most amazing sites in Firenze is the Duomo - the center of the city. It's amazing and the photographs do it NO justice. The detail and size it truly mind-blowing.

Poppa and Summer sharing Sumer's Ipod on the train back to Lucca.

" Merda" means shit in Italian - I've always liked stick figures.

Momma and Lucky on the train back to Lucca.

A constant reminder everywhere in Europe is that the current administration has really made it hard for Americans living (and traveling) abroad.

Viareggio, Italy

Today started with a long, hard rain storm. It cleared by 1000 and we were on the road to Viareggio, Italy by noon. It was only 30 minutes from the hotel and a very nice drive.Viareggio, Italy is on the west coast. The Mediterranean Sea is gorgeous and most of it in Viareggio is exclusive (private beaches). However, we didn’t know that. So, the first place we went was the beach called “Perla del Tirreno” (see photo below). We were on a private beach taking pictures, picking up seashells and basking in the sun when a young man approached Jean and told her that this was a private beach and dogs weren’t allowed. It was ok, we were ready to go anyway. It was fun and beautiful! Although, there were people in Speedos and Bikinis there that shouldn’t have been (no, not me!).

After the beach, we wandered the beach walk and ate lunch then did some shopping. Just a WONDERFUL time all around and a giorno bello!

A street painter in Viareggio. It seemed he was teaching these two young ladies how to paint. It smelled wonderful.

Isn't this a cute picture!!!??!!

This is the private beach we "used" - gorgeous!!

Another "sexy-beast" shot (at least that's what Jean calls them).

How dramatic!! Our young Drama Queen!!

Summer braids my hair now. This is random but relavant. You know why!

Is that the Med Sea behind us?? Yes it is!!! (sorry Lucky).

This is the play Jean and Summer went to in Firenze!

This is the way to live!! Bella, Bella Bella!!!!!

Köln, Germany & The Netherlands

I needed to take break from writing my thesis/portfolio this weekend. Jean, Summer, Denise (a friend), Lucky and I took a trip to Köln, Germany and then went into The Netherlands to Maastricht.

The weather here has been in the 80s and very beautiful so the drive was gorgeous. It was a 1.5 hours to Köln and another 45 minutes or so to Maastricht. It’s amazing to cross (country) borders without even stopping!! In that way the EU is very cool.

We left Viernheim at about 8AM and got to Köln at 9:30AM so we decided to people watch and have a cup of coffee. Köln is a wonderful city. The people are friendly and the city is extremely “art friendly”. The waitress asked where we were from and I made some crack comment about Denise being a hillbilly from "West Virginny, USA" (she's not, she's from Washington D.C.) and the waitress said something like, “It doesn’t matter to people in Köln, we accept everyone” – Whoaaa! That blew me away, that’s not the Germany I know! I knew Köln was very different the minute I drove in.

August Sander (1876-1964), a well-known photographer of the 20th Century was born in Köln and did a lot of work here, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to see the city. He created a body of work called, “People of the 20th Century” – I have it. It’s a seven volume set of books, some 1400 pages. He classified the German people into groups. For example, “Artists”, “Farmers”, “Scientist” etc. and then made portraits of them. His seventh and last volume is called “Die Letzten Menchen” or “The Last People”. This is what I am most interested in. I wanted to know what it was like to see Die letzten Menchen on the streets of Köln like Sander did. And I did. Unfortunately, his portrait work is on tour. We only got to see a small collection of his landscape work. It was nice, but not in the league of Die letzten Menchen!

I haven’t been to a city or village in Europe I didn’t like yet. Köln is a place I will return to for sure. Simply for the fact of its connection to photography/art and it’s friendly vibe. The beer is good (Kölsch) and is exclusive to Köln, we had a nice lunch at an open air café called Casablanca and we saw a few of the more popular sites of the city (Köln’s Gothic Catherderal, Köln Turm, etc.) too.

Then it was onto The Netherlands. The border was about 20 minutes from Köln and you could tell you were in The Netherlands immediately. All of the signs were in Dutch (of course), it is a strange and difficult language to hear, read or speak (I tried years ago). In other words, you can’t even begin to guess what the road signs are saying. On top of that, the landscape changed, the look of the houses, the colors, everything – it was wild! The Netherlands are beautiful and the people are very, very friendly. They are an open and progressive people. We had a family (husband, wife and daughter) sitting next to us at a café telling us about how the Dutch feel about Americans. They said the Dutch people will never forget what America did for The Netherlands in WWII and believe that most Americans are good people. However, they don’t care for the current administration and have serious concerns about Iraq etc. but I think even most Americans are waking up to that fact now. We had a nice conversation with them about current world events and national identity. Very enlightening!

Onto the photos....

Yes, you can legally smoke hash, and marijuana in The Netherlands. The places are called "Coffeeshops". They are all over The Netherlands.

I really liked this cup. One side DREAMS, the other side CONFLICTS - this embodies the feeling of the cities in The Netherlands - very creative and art friendly.

Are we in Holland yet? Where are the bicycles???

Dutch signs... an easy read!

I couldn't resist this "Winnogrand" moment in Maastritch! I love this image!

A license plate.. hmmmm, why did I put this here?? It's different from ours in DE.

"Die letzten Menchen" - Heribert, on the streets of Koeln. I could only make out a few words... he was listenign to music and shared some with me. He handed me an earbud covered in blood.

I'm not sure what he was drinking... whatever it was, it was strong.

This seems out of palce, but this is the only thing we drank. Great beer! Made in Koeln.

The "new" RCA Dog in Media Park in Koeln. Lucky loved it and Jean and Summer thought it was kool too!

The August Sander Museum is in this building. They had a Lee Friedlander show and a Wessel show going.. no photographs allowed. This is where we saw Sander's landscapes.

This is another image I really like... the refelctions of two women in the glass, the red hair of the woman next to Denise and Denise's expression.

Starting our day in Koeln with coffee, chocolate muffins, brownies and people watching.

Prague (Praha), Czech Republic (Bohemia)

The Jacobsons in Prague (Praha), Czech Republic (Bohemia) February 2007

 

 



Jean, Summer and Quinn at the 13th Century Charles Bridge in Prague.

 

Summer and Quinn in the Metro in the heart of Prague. You go down many layers in the earth to get to the Green line. It reminded me of the "Journey to the Middle of the Earth" - we kept going down and down. Very steep and fast escalators too. Unlike any Metro we've been on, including Paris, London and New York City.

 

Jean and Quinn enjoying a 1L Czech Beer called Pilsner Urquell made in Plzen, Czech Republic (we drove through it). These were $3 USD each! All you need is one!

 

The famous Charles Bridge (and Prague Castle in the background). Built in the 13th Century (Gothic) by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. Gorgeous and looong! Kitsch booths setup all along it with people trying to peddle their fake tourist-art. And it was packed with people! I can't imagine this place in July! It serves a function, it connects Old Town with Mala Strana.

A Quick Overview of the Week

We spent the last week in Prague (Praha), Czech Republic. It was gorgeous! It's old, beautiful and full of art and history. It blew my mind. As an artist, and a human being, Prague is one of my favorite places so far.

We spent a lot of time in the Jewish Quarter (the ghetto) and went into the old synagogues - the Spanish Synogogue and the Maisel Synagogue. Again, beautiful and full of both incredible and disturbing history. Kafka, The Golem, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square on and on.

The weather was nice too. We went on the Metro, the bus, walked until our legs hurt everyday and then walked some more. It was great fun and we even learned a lot!

Some More Photos



Jean on the Charles Bridge in front of one of the many statues that adorn the bridge. Very beautiful (and large) pieces of art.

 



A musician in Old Town Square.