Summery

Does anyone have the address of Summer? I need to send it a "Thank You" card.

For the first time in my life, I don't want summer to end. I have intensely disliked summer my whole life, but this summer has been different. Everything changed this summer. I will never forget my old boss, Vic, (at my birthday party at Ottavio's, his restaurant that was about to close forever) asking to see me do the "balla da luna" or "Moonwalk" for him. To hear it in Italian made it all seem so new for some reason. And the sound of the helicopters and the sound of my feet running on the pavement and the sound of my own voice learning how to pray...and the sound of Stevie Wonder...singing. And for the first time in my life, understanding what "Faithing" means.
This illness has made me see life as if for the first time. There were times this summer, when I had the strength to walk at sunset, when it was so bewilderingly beautiful, that I felt like a person who had died, but that Heavenly Father, in His mercy, had let come back to see this earth- one more time...and that, was when Arcturus looked at me.
Truly, I did not know what beauty was till this year, what it really means for something to be beautiful.
It is amazing what Heavenly Father allows a person to learn sometimes, out of faith in US.
The Autumnal Equinox happens at 5:18 PM tomorrow, so I have a little over 24 hours to keep learning what this summer came to teach me...94 days of curriculum that I never dreamt could have been mine.
Then I will have to convince my heart to Fall...
What light will there be in Autumn?

Happy Birthday, Bro.

Ty's Amazing Birthday Party 08/22/09

Saving Space.

Prince Edward Island 07/29/09 - 08/02/09

Saving Space.

My Last Performance at Ottavio's 07/18/09

I can't believe that this place is closed now. I would not be the performer I am today, if it had not been for Ottavio's. Now it is gone. Keith, the accordion player was crying and crying...yeah. That night, after closing, I went back and sang for the closing party. I sang "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin and we all cried.

My "Michael Jackson" Birthday Party

The Cake. Made by the amazing Britt Blumquist.



*Click to enlarge*

*Click to enlarge*

Side shot of Brandon.

Abbie Warnock and her FABULOUS Michael Jackson Pepsi Commercial Jacket.

Vivian in her gorgeous silver heels...it reminded me of "The Wiz." Brandon and Ty, and a great shot of Siena's back and Tess is outside talking to my Mom.

The AMAZING Magistro Family. And Kim closing her eyes. SORRY KIM!!!!

Me, taking pictures, wearing the jacket that I wore to the Memorial Service.

The Miraculous Tess Yadete. How this boy inspires me. He is the one with the corn rows.
And here is the lovely Adriana Robinson, in the red shirt.

And this is her husband, Mike and her little boy. If you can believe it, she actually brought a little stuffed chimp, "Bubbles", I was sooooooooooooo sad I didn't get a picture of it!!! DANG!!!

Lisa and Jay Johnson and their lovely children. And Heather Dailey in the background and Cameron, too.

My old roommate from New York, Veronica and her husband, Chris. She is giving me "Disney Eyes."

Me, Abbie Warnock, aka Michael Jackson, and Vivian Williams.



What on earth could I wish for...I had already been blessed with so much.

I wished for the same thing that came to me, all those years ago...I am faithing that it WILL come true. I Believe.

Here is Ms. Britt. We danced till we almost passed out. What could be cooler than almost fainting because you have been dancing to Michael Jackson music all night? Yeah, I can't think of anything either.

I never dreamed you'd leave...

How could I ever have dreamed as a little girl, watching "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", falling in love with you-with a child's love...that one morning, I would be running through the gates of LA...running all the way to your funeral?

How could I ever have imagined that day, crying in front of the video to "Man in the Mirror"- watching as my life's mission unfolded in front of me...that one day I would call out the words "Michael Jackson, you changed my life!" and your family would hear me?

How could I ever have known as I practiced moonwalking down the hallway until my feet were covered with rug burn...that one day, I would watch as your brothers walked down a hallway with you...covered in roses?

I got in to the Michael Jackson Memorial at the Staples Center

Today was an exercise in surrealism. Getting in to the Michael Jackson Memorial and the events leading up to it, together, were the most tangible miracle I have ever experienced in my life. I will remember it for as long as I live.

Right when I got there, it was a military compound...helicopters and police everwhere...it was the way it was his whole life. I will never forger the sound of those helicopters...as I ran...and ran...and ran...

I was still faithing for a ticket to get in.

The morning. And I got a ticket. For $200. It was a Miracle from Heaven.

Someone right before he passed the security to go in.

My seat, I literally ran in right when Lionel Richie was singing.

Letting out.

My favorite, favorite part of the memorial outside.

The Passing of a King

Journal entry June 25th, 2009

The news of Michael Jackson passing today is...I don't even know how to describe it.

A few hours before I found out, I had been asked by two neighbors about when or what it was in my life that made me want to work for the UN as a Goodwill Ambassador to Africa. It is ironic because for the past month I have been asking myself the same question over and over again, since visiting the UN four weeks ago. I came up with the answer that it was about seven years ago. But I could not peg it to a specific event. Today jogged something in my memory though that gave me my real answer; the memory was of me, sitting on the carpeted floor of the t.v. room in our basement in our old house, watching the MTV video for "Man in the Mirror." That was the thing that did it. I was eleven years old, and I would sit in front of that video and hear that music and weep till I didn't think I could weep any longer. It was then that I knew, I knew that I had to do something about it, about Africa and about the suffering of the human race in general; to ease it somehow, to make it better somehow. That song and that video literally changed the course of my life.
A few hours after hearing the news (and countless news specials) my feelings drove me out of the house to walk passed that old house that we lived in when I was a kid...sitting on that carpet, as my life changed before me...I had to see it, to go and look in that basement window...I needed to share that space again. I wept uncontrollably as I approached it.
I think the thing that is happening to those of my generation, the UNBELIEVABLE grief that we are all experiencing is that...today, we are all remembering, for just a moment, what we USED to feel like, how inspired that we all USED to be...and most of all, we are feeling the way that it USED to feel...as kids. And for all of us, who are too-soon so world weary, it has made us remember that, hard as it is to believe- we were once children, too. And so, in a way, today, we are mourning a death of ourselves.

God Speed.

This has actually strengthened my resolve to keep going. I want to fulfill that dream that came to me...the one that surged through me at age eleven. Perhaps he inspired a dream in you, too? I pray that you will live it!

p.s. MTV will be playing Michael Jackson videos all night tonight...just like it used to be; about the music. I don't know if I will go to sleep...I'd rather stay awake and watch, and feel, just for tonight, the way that it used to be. And maybe, the answer to make my dream happen will come to me...as I watch Michael Jackson.

Back from the Big Apple

I love how our Captain announced that it was going to be "mostly clear skies for our flight." Well...I guess in all fairness, that is a subjective statement.
I could not tell you the address of this cloud.

My favorite New York airport, La Guardia. The polka-dot tower always made me feel like I was home.

NEW YORK HAS CHANGED

I can't believe how much. The thing that struck me the most was how New Yorkers smiled back at me immediately. Many of you know that when I lived in New York all those years ago, that I would play the "smiling game"; I would smile at people and time how long it would take for them to smile back at me. The average time, if they smiled back at all, was just about two seconds. That seems short, but as you are waiting for that reciprocation of a friendly gesture, it seems like an eternity. Now, they smile back immediately...I'm not exaggerating, I was so shocked that I started talking to a lot of people about it...they say that it has been this way since 9/11.
This was so encouraging to me that I turned my "bucket of sunshine" meter up all the way to 11, and smiled at almost EVERYONE (if I didn't think that they would follow me all over Manhattan for doing so).
Also, because it had been so long since I had been back, I was truly a tourist again.
So, if you had seen a snapshot of me...it would have been me smiling at everybody...in between me looking up at every skyscraper, in heaven.
What a bright spot I will always remember this trip to be.

Just one more...
Yeah, boring ol' Times Square. :)

The United Nations

Wow...this morning changed me forever, I think. The feeling in the United Nations Headquarters is like nothing else I have ever experienced; there is a feeling of peace and goodness there that is almost overwhelming. Holy Moly.
My friend, Muriel Glasgow, who has worked at the UN for over thirty years, specifically for UNICEF, showed me around, a totally behind the scenes tour...it was so amazing I don't even know how to describe it to you. And if you can believe this, the guards even let me into the Security Council Chamber, which is TOTALLY sealed to the public. Muriel said that it was only the second time she had ever seen them let a civilian in that room, in all the years that she has worked there. She truly believes that I will be able to be a UN Ambassador to Africa; my dream...for so many years.

The General Assembly Room


The Trusteeship Council Room


The Security Council Chamber

Um. Yeah. Priceless.

Here she is, Misses Muriel Glasgow. She is a giant among women.


One of my absolute favorite pieces of art at the UN. Underneath text is from one of the UN's official websites. It describes the mosaic done from Norman Rockwell's "The Golden Rule."

"On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1985, this mosaic was presented to the United Nations by Mrs. Nancy Reagan, the then First Lady, on behalf of the United States.
It is based on a painting by the American artist Norman Rockwell called the Golden Rule. Rockwell wanted to illustrate how the Golden Rule was a common theme of all the major religions of the world, and depicted people of every race, creed and color with dignity and respect. The mosaic contains the inscription 'Do unto Others as You Would Have Them Do unto You'."

Please.


Unreal. Unreal. UN Real.


I have been given so many blessings and miracles while on this trip. I am so grateful. So grateful. So grateful.
What an experience it has been to be back in New York City.
All the best, Jeanne

Radio City Music Hall

Why? Why Keane Merch team, why?

I would like Radio City Music Hall Security to know that I was pinged with two of these glowing projectiles during the show. It's cool.

Keane...at Radio City Music Hall? Top.

145th to Rockafeller

I am at the Public Library of Harlem. It is so cool to be up here, I love these people.
I am now staying with my friend Jen Bishop, she and I had the same agency, back in the day. I wish that I had more energy...I want to make it down to Rockefeller Center today, I have just got to make myself do it.
I believe that it is going to rain tomorrow. It is still hard for me to believe that I am here. I keep having to remind myself that this is really me, existing in New York. I have found that I have changed so much since I lived here 10 years ago. I feel like I have lived my whole life since I left, as if this all never existed. It makes me sad for some reason. Oh! How I did cry yesterday seeing my old place,on 84th and Lexington, and for some strange reason, seeing my old favorite Greek market, Likitsakos, I sobbed...I think I have gone New York Mental...the poor boy cleaning the back deli case I think thought I was going to loose it completely. Last night, I went up to the roof of the 85th and Broadway apartment (that I have been staying in for three days and left just this morning)...and I just looked up at the stars...forever it seemed. The big dipper was so clear that I could even see Alcor. I don't remember being able to see the stars like that when I lived here. Also, from the girl's rooftop you could see the skyline...it was overwhelming. I have been able to do very well in regards to having enough energy to walk to the places that I want to see. I feel so lucky in that way.
I will get to see Keane tomorrow at Radio City Music Hall. That is my dream venue to headline one day. I so very much hope that it happens.
Well, back out to Harlem, and then to Rockefeller, I just GOTTA see it today!
With love from New York,
Jeanne

ON THE WAY DOWN




Ah...to perform here one day.

The guards here still treat me like gold. I don't know why, but they always have. I love Tiffanys.

In truth, this is my dream venue. I like this photo because it looks like it was taken in the 30's.

Lexington-Little Italy-SOHO

I went to see my old apartment today, on Lexington and 84th. And, went to my favorite market up there, Likitsakos.

My poor roommate, Veronica, sang (endured) many torturous duets with me at this little restaurant kiddy-corner from our apt. We would sing "That's Amore." Bless her heart for singing with me on the choruses. Hey, we got free food out of it, right? Man...those were some good times. I will never forget it. This is also where I met my dear, dear friend, Laura Esposito.

My old apartment building. Not much has changed. Not much has changed at all.

Don't ask me why...but of the whole of the New York trip, this is the placed that tipped the scales of my heart the most. I bawled my eyes out as I walked in. After a moderate amount of calm down, I noticed a little girl there named Isabella, shopping with her Mom. She was exquisitely beautiful and I told her so. We left the market at the same time, and little Isabella gave me about six high fives as we walked side by side for two blocks. I love things like that.

LIKITSAKOS
1174 Lexington Ave,
New York, NY 10028
(212) 535-4300

I saw this walking down Lexington...about 64th St. I laughed for a good three blocks after. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!



LITTLE ITALY

IL CORTILE
125 Mulberry St # A
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-6060
My FAVORITE restaurant in Little Italy. And that...is saying something. This is where the Mafia eats. You think I'm kidding...I'm not.

Evil, on so many levels, I know. I didn't eat AAAALLLLLLLLLLL of it!

The reason for the restaurant's name; "The Courtyard." I sang "O Sole Mio" for everyone, it was just like old times. I love being here...I love being here so much.



I am now sitting in an internet cafe in SOHO. Boy was I lucky to find one. Oooo, SOHO. It is almost painful being back down in this area. The cobblestone streets whisper to you...

DEAN and DELUCA
560 Broadway, New York,
NY 10012
at Prince St.
(212)-226-6800
Dean and Deluca. meh-hoo-meh-hoo-meh. If you have been here...you know what I mean.


Somewhere in SOHO.

I got my picture taken by a man named Primativo, on the corner of Spring St. and Green St.. I am so glad that I did; especially in this shirt. If you look very closely, you can see the one of the "doves" is actually a grenade. The name of the shirt is "War and Peace, can you tell the difference?"

Sunset in the East Village.

Union Square.

From the roof of the apartment that I am staying at.

Sunday in Harlem and Central Park

Today, I went to one of the most famous Baptist Church in the world, Abyssynian Baptist Church in Harlem. By some miracle (truly), they let me in...after they had turned 150 people away because the church was already full. The choir was so mind blowing, I don't even know what to say. They were singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic" when I walked in. Coming from them...it was a whole different experience.

The Abyssyinain Choir singing "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

A totally illegal picture. I hope you enjoy it.

I hung out in Central Park the rest of the day with a friend I made named Cindy.
There was a pink sunset over Columbus Circle.
Love.

My favorite Statue of Central Park. He is on the entrance by Columbus Circle. When I lived in New York, I called him "my husband." :)

New York, Day 2; The Necklace and The Met

This morning...one of the most amazing things that has ever happened in my life happened. We were checking out of our hotel room at the Crowne Plaza and I saw that two women were coming near to us. One was a manager named Mary, and the other who worked as a chamber maid whose name was Catalina. As they came towards us I struck up a conversation with them in Spanish and the happiness that was so evident on their faces permeated the hall. The Spanish neural-clusters in my brain opened and I was able to speak it so clearly with them...it was amazing to me. Mary said that if I needed anything, ANYTHING at all, to just give her a call. The thing that I will never forget though, was as we were taking the last load to the elevator, Catalina came back through the hall, and I started speaking to her again, in Spanish. My Aunt was there, too, and as Catalina and I were talking, I noticed the necklace around her neck and how gorgeous it was, and I thought I would compliment her on it (man I can't even think about it with out tearing up...) "Que LINDO!!!" I said. "Te lo doy!!" She said and began to take the necklace off of her neck..."No! NO! NO! Por favor, NO!" But she would not take no for an answer. Fortunately, I had an extra one of my CDs with me and I pulled it out of my purse, "Pues, esto es para ti! Esto es mi cd, yo soy una cantera operatica, para ti." "Tu sobrina tiene una alma bella" she said to my Aunt, and then I handed her my CD.
People...you would think that I had given her the keys to a new car the way she reacted when I gave her that CD. Catalina held it to her chest, did a ballerina twirl like a beautiful little girl and literally danced down the hallway with it and disappeared around the corner. COMPLETELY dumbfounded, I waited in front of the elevator doors and just cried. I will remember that moment, for as long as I live.

The necklace.


All because I spoke their language.

All because I spoke their language.

You know, many of you have heard me say that I feel like the best gift that you can give someone is to speak to them in their own language...but...now I feel, I truly believe that speaking to someone in their own language...is the deepest act of love.


*LATER*
I went to the Upper East Side to stay with an apartment of girls from my church. One them was a ballerina in the American Ballet Theater Company which performs at the Metropolitan Opera and she had an extra ticket that she was not going to use as it was her night off, so she gave it to me. So I got to go back to my old place, the Met, where I worked as an usher for a year. And yes, that is where I saved Placido Domingo.

These pictures are so illegal it's not even funny. Again...I hope you enjoy them.

Man, I remember these...

I am so obsessed with clowns...dangit, I know.

Caruso. One of my absolute heros of all time. Do you know, one of the things that he was famous for was going out on the balcony of his hotel room, or of the Opera House that he was performing in, and he would sing from the balcony to the people down below who were too poor to afford a ticket to go into the Opera house to see him. They called him, the "Singer for the People." I love that. I love that so much I cannot even explain.

New York, Day One

On the bus back to NY. I love going along JFK Drive. What a view these people have every day...and every night.


Wow, today has been amazing, I bussed in from NJ to NY and met my Mom and Aunt and Gramma at our hotel room at the Crowne Plaza in Times Square. I have never stayed there before, it was so cool to be that close to the hub. Before the show, we went to a little restaurant called...

Pure Food and Wine
54 Irving Pl
New York, NY 10003
(212) 477-1010
How can I extol the virtues of this restaurant? The Raw Wonder of New York City? That sounds good. The food was so scrumptious we almost passed out. And there were these delicate flowering trees that kept dropping little white flowers on the tables. It was like a fantasy.

For some reason, the head chef, Neal Hardin, took a liking to us and favored our table with an "Amuse Bouche" of a truffle mushroom on a bed of cashew cream and an almond biscuit. Yeah. Now, I know you may look at this with a hooded eye, but it was so good that we were rendered speechless and just kind of stared off into space for a couple of minutes afterward.

Um...yum. They even let us take a tour of the kitchen. (MAN that is a good shot of my camera case.)

After din-din we went to go see the musical Wicked. Elphaba and Gah-linda were so good it almost went into the realm of being funny.

The Flight to NYC and My First Days in New Jersey

The country side just out side of New York City. So beautiful.

Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. And at the very top, the Williamsburg Bridge.

You can see The Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden (which is round), and if you know where to look, The Chrysler Building. And I just noticed...you can also see the Secretariat of the United Nations, too, by the East River.

Ahhh...Central Park. I actually spent more time in there than any where else when I lived here.

The New Yankee Stadium. It was so cool, there was a game going and we could watch it on the big screen for about 20 seconds as we flew above...so cool.


Hello all it is Jeanne. I have been in New Jersey for three days now and it has been heaven to be with one of my best friends on the whole planet earth, Cynthia Geraldo. This is the first time that I have seen some of these places for over a decade, so, it is a little haunting...memories come back to you and grab you by the heel..."have you learned your lesson yet, Jeanne?" they ask. It was so interesting, coming in on the bus from Port Authority Bus Station in New York to New Jersey, lumbering along as the bus ran the course of the JFK route, that very long street looks right across to the NY skyline; I was dazzled by that sight like a little kid and kept looking and looking. What was interesting though was that the somewhat jaded passengers who look at this spectacular sight every day on their ride home from a long shift at work, when they saw me looking at it with such wonder and glee...they looked at over at it too, some of them even smiled. That made me happy.


*IN JERSEY*

My beautiful, beautiful Cynthia Geraldo.

Cynthia's Mom. I love this woman...she always calls me "La Muñeca" or, "The Doll", for some reason, it always makes me cry.

Cynthia took me to this unreal Greek restaurant in Tenafly called Axia. Yikes, it was good. I love this girl...I love this girl. I recognized her when I first met her.


AXIA
18 Piermont Rd
Tenafly, NJ 07670
(201) 569-5999

The next morning, Cynthia took me to the town where I used to live, Englewood. It's where I was when I was studying opera and recovering from the whole modeling thing in New York. I was here for about five months. Below is the apartment where I resided with a woman named Hattie.

ROMAN INN
19 W Hudson Ave
Englewood, NJ 07631
(201) 567-2654
This was my favorite place to eat.

Steve Goetz and his work of art. I love the smile on his face. Their subs are so good that when you bite into them...a little tear rolls down your cheek...

*lip quivering*


I head for New York City now, and I will meet my Mom and Aunt and Gramma at our hotel in Times Square and we will go see Wicked tonight. I can't wait to go back to Manhattan. It's been so long that...yeah. I love it out here...I forget how much. Cynthia and I snaked along the darkened Jersey streets last night (headed to go see the new Star Trek, good movie!) being guided by her GPS System and the voice of "Dr. Nightmare"..."In 900 feet, turn right, to arrive at your DREADFUL DESTINATION!! MOOO-AH-AH-AH-AHHHHHH!!!!" I was laughing so hard I cried. I will be uploading pictures as I can.
It's so surreal being back.

One Song-One World

A Mission and a Promise

"There is a subtle difference between a mission and a promise. A mission is something you strive to accomplish- a promise is something you are compelled to keep. One is individual, the other is shared. When a mission and a promise are one and the same...that's when mountains are moved and races are won." -Hala Moddelmog

*great big sigh of relief*

The effect of thought on Water

Seeing this changed my life.

Happy New Year

Someday at Christmas...

Crazy today...treadmilling the Christmas calories off at the gym...still listening to Christmas music, specifically "Someday at Christmas" by Stevie Wonder, and right when it came on my ipod, I looked up at one of the 20 televisions and it was tuned to CNN, and the most recent bombing in Gaza...at least 228 dead...they vow to retaliate against Israel...in the cafes and streets...then came the images of the crying children, the young boys running, the frightened mothers, the destroyed buildings, the men weeping over the dead, their sons are dead...I could not take it, I just cried. I tried to pretend that I was just wiping sweat, but they were tears.

God help us.

I don't care who knows, I would pray for the world if I could!



Someday at Christmas men won't be boys
Playing with bombs like kids play with toys
One warm December all hearts will see
A world where men are free

Someday at Christmas there'll be no wars
When we have learned what Christmas is for
When we have found what life's really worth
There'll be peace on earth

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime

Someday at Christmas we'll see a land
With no hungry children, no empty hand
One happy morning people will share
A world where people care

Someday at Christmas there'll be no tears
When All men are equal and no men have fears
One shinning moment, one prayer away
From our world today

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime

Someday at Christmas man will not fail
Hate will be gone and love will prevail
Someday a new world that we can start
With hope in every heart

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime
Someday at Christmastime

Christmas Eve in Cambridge

I woke up this morning, unbeknownst to me that it would be so, to a live broadcast from Cambridge, England of the "Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols." It was 8:00 AM here in America, and 3:00 PM over there. It was opened by a single boy soprano singing "Once in David's Royal City." I wondered if my Mom's Cousin, "Uncle Johnny" were there...at the church in Cambridge. He lives there. He is the same uncle that I will be singing for in Guatemala, hopefully this summer, for a benefit concert to build schools there.

A Christmas Awake...

Do you know what I love about Christmas? The fact that you see people out and about. People that you never see at any other time of year. But around this time they somehow magically appear and all go shopping at the same time. Every walk of life, every nationality, age and the whole of the socioeconomic strata are there...just shopping. Not the "Black Friday" perversion of Christmas, but the days in between...where everyone is simply coexisting...and smiling at each other. I listen to the conversations and exchanges that are just a little bit kinder...a little bit more patient. They are almost like a special species of animal, these holiday shoppers, that are brought to life only by the December snow, the lights and the Christmas fudge...I watch them, with almost scientific fascination.

Today at the store, I saw my mom's car in the parking lot and, not having seen her yet, grabbed a full box of Peanut Butter Twix, a Blackberry Hostess Pie, Twinkies and two pints of Häagen-Dazs in hopes that she would see me sneaking around with the overstuffed box of naughties and raise an eyebrow or two (hee-hee-hee!!!)...it worked! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! This same mom is teaching me to REALLY play the piano. I am so grateful to her.

I am now snuggling down with what I believe may end up being the favorite book of my life, "A Christmas Carol" (I feel a particular urge for Dickens as of late...I am the same age this year as he was when he wrote the novella). Truly, Dicken's words fill up my soul like no other; they do not appeal to my rebellious nature like Joyce, or any fits of romanticism like Austin or Charlotte Brontë , but to the truest yearnings of the spirit with which I came to this earth, about the world, and easing suffering somehow.
God bless me to do anything half as good with my life.
I will perhaps leave the better part of the reading to tomorrow, it will be Christmas Eve after all. And reading A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve is like blowing out your own birthday candles...*your favorite wish*...on your favorite birthday cake.

I may not go to sleep, I would like to watch Miracle on 34th Street, too. I would rather not sleep anyway, I could miss something. I like staying awake during Christmas... and a Christmas awake is better than any sleep.

And so this is Christmas...

This peppermint hot chocolate was given to me today...for free.

I had left my credit card at home and a girl at the Orem Starbucks told me that it was on the house. I almost started to cry...ah Christmas. Her name was Jordan, "like the Country," she said. We both agreed that the Capital of Jordan is Amman.

Christmas Questions

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, all the way. I am a proud member of the Hallmark Gold Crown Rewards Program. I keep them in business.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real, Real, Real. I don't know people can have anything else. They just smell so goooooooooood. :)
3. When do you put up the tree? Two weeks before Christmas, usually.
4. When do you take the tree down? Two weeks after.
5. Do you like eggnog? Oh yes. I love anything that has to do with eggnog. Ice cream...truffles...eggnog custard pie...yum.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? (I really will have to think about that and get back to you on that one...)
7. Hardest person to buy for? My Gramma. She is my only living Grandparent.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Kath.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. People seem to think they need to run off with the baby Jesus, though.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Real, tangible cards in my own handwriting. :) There is something so magical about getting physical cards in the mail. You can keep them forever. :) And that person's soul is forever present...their own handwriting whispers to you...
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Oh dear...I will have to get back to you on that one, too.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I can't pick one. Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, The Polar Express(seeing this film 3D IMAX at the Universal City Walk was the greatest cinematic experience of my life.)
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? August. No joke.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Dangit...YES! But I am not telling you whose!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Ham and cheddar cheese grilled sandwiches. ;) And Dobosh Torte from Swiss Colony...help me please.
16. Lights on the tree? 600 white minis.
17. Favorite Christmas song? This year, "Someday at Christmas" by Stevie Wonder. Last year it was "Do they Know it's Christmas" by Band Aid...2005 was "Believe" by Josh Groban. The Christmas of 2004, when I was in London, was "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon. I usually have one or two songs each Christmas that really stand out to me...I feel that they represent where I am in my life, and my feelings about our world in general.
I could not tell you my favorite Christmas CAROL...they are all so beautiful, and reside in different sacred places in my heart, all of them. If you have time, though...and the inclination, look up the story behind Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "I heard the bells of Christmas Day." You will never be able to think about it the same. Or read about the unbelievable opposition that came to try to stop Handel's "Messiah" from being performed at it's 1743 London debut in Covent Garden...and about the lead soprano, Suzannah Cibber. It teaches us all about redemption...and that God's music will find a way...it will find a way.
18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? HOME. :)
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Comet, Blitzen, Dancer, Vixen, Prancer, Cupid, Dasher, Donner. And whatever that one reindeer that had that Rhinophyma or something...
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present on Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning. :) Ahhh...Christmas.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Hard to find time actually ENJOY it. And that I feel so many of us have TOTALLY gone bonkers and have missed the train on what Christmas is all about. SO sad.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Colonial...anything old. I love the red and green. And anything antique. Cream and Gold.
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We have EVERYTHING...Turkey, chicken, roast beef AND ham. My "Mashed Potatoes of Death" and Moms's stuffing...oh man...the eggnog...I love it all. Most of all I just love who I get to sit down and eat it with. =)
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new alarm clock radio. The one I have right now...the alarm never turns off once it starts...a white one would be nice.

Christmas Pictures

Up on the Roof...

If you had opened up a dictionary on Monday and looked up the word 'contemplation' you would have seen this picture of me, on the roof of the Standard Hotel in Downtown L.A. .

When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stars
And all my cares just drift right into space

On the roof it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now

When I come home feeling tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet
I get away from the hustling crowds
And all that rat race noise down in the street

On the roof's the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Up on the roof

At night the stars put on a show for free
And darling you can share it all with me
I keep-a tellin' you

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I found a Paradise that's trouble-proof
And if this world starts getting you down
There's room enough for two up on the roof

Up on the roof..........

Barstow, California

Wolfgang Puck's and the Standard

On the roof of my favorite hotel in Los Angeles, the Standard.

I love this pool but people hang aroud here na-kee all of the time. Ew.

I love, love...

love

love

love

love

love

love this place.

Light on the Standard.

I waited two and a half YEARS to have this maccaroni-n-cheese at Wolfgang Puck's Express across from the Standard in Downtown L.A...it was worth it. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


They were playing Vince Guaraldi's Christmas...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....


Everyone go here for lunch.
630 W. 6th St
Library Court Building
Los Angeles, CA 90189
(213) 614-1900
By the way though...they are closed on weekends. Yes, that is why it has taken me so long to finaly get my maccaroni on!!! =)

Christmas in Boulder City, Nevada

"Um, has anyone seen the power bill? Hey honey, why is the paper shredder on?"

On my Way...

to an eventual L.A. ...

Thank Heavens for the invention of the ipod.

And what was I listening to the whole way...?

A Misty Thanksgiving

A very foggy day after Thanksgiving in Boulder City, Nevada.


The way that I never experienced it before. Thoughts I should have written down. That could have given me entry through the door. I am tired now. Like the place I never saw this way, I never saw it this way. I never saw it this way.

Seven Random Things About Me

*Disclaimer*
This list is in participation of a game that my friends are playing about putting random things about themselves on their blogs. Unashamed as I am, I am not accustomed to revealing myself like this on a casual basis.

KAY LISA!!! HERE YOU GO!!!

Oooooo...how honest and explicit should I be with these?

1. I have loved the taste of blood since I can remember. I must have an iron deficiency. Some of my friends who know me very well call me a vampire. I paint with my own blood (not a LOT of it!!!), I get in trouble for it (a LOT of it).

2. I absolutely cannot stand kissing scenes in movies. They make me so uncomfortable that sometimes I get tears in my eyes. I look down or away and then some kind person will tell me when it is over and I can resume viewing the film. I feel an IMMENSE sense of guilt if I watch...the thing is, you would never stare at two lovers kissing in real life (please picture yourself, flopping down right next to two lovers going at it, and getting comfortable with some warm popcorn..."No, NOOO! You two go right-on-ahead! Don't mind MEEEEE!! *munch*munch*). Besides...observing such things makes you lose your focus...and I must keep my focus.

3. I live the life of a nun (you really could spell that N-O-N-E), but nothing could be more the antithesis of my true nature, or personality. Were I not a religious person, I would be an absolute heathen (well, not in all areas, I don't like causing people pain, in any way). My self mastery is due to the fear of God. I sometimes secretly envy those who spend their energy in riotous living...they live interesting lives while I stay at home and write stories about my suicidal fish. I sometimes feel that they are not afraid, not afraid to really live. I guess that somewhere in myself, I feel like I am afraid...to really live.

4. I own about $15,000 worth of makeup.

5. I used to bury toys as a child, and dig them up later; very typical INFJ behavior. I can also see the future (not kidding) and know who is calling on the phone (I really can) and I can sometimes guess people's birthdays down to the exact day. I also love math and physics.

6. I have night terrors so bad that I scare my roommates and my family with my screams. The subjects of my dreams are so nefarious and horrific that I fear going to sleep.

MAN...I should end with a positive one!!!

7. If I could have any super-power, it would be the ability to time travel, or I guess to never die...in retrograde motion...I would be the best historian on the earth that way. And I would perhaps then be able to come up with better solutions for our troubled world. I wish I could time travel so bad that sometimes I actually cry. In truth I have wanted to save the world since I was about six years of age.

ONE MORE!
I can name every capitol of every country in this world (it has taken me a while to memorize them all). YAY!!!! AND STARGAZER LILIES ARE MY FAVORITE FLOWER!!!

*The seven people I tagged* Naomi, Ilaria, Brandon, Priscilla, Suzy, Margaret and Emily.

The Leaf

Where I Live; Fall in Provo, Utah

iVoted

The Pièce de résistance: Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night"

Total Recall

Oh yes, psychotic tea light holders.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween Carnival at The Center, in Downtown Provo, Utah

Cookies and Jack-O-Lanterns

Yummy-Yummy-Yum-Yum...


For Daddy...

For Russell...

Caramelled Apples and Halloween Cards

What a fun party it was last night!!!





And the Cards.

Holy-Moly I did so many cards this year...

I went late into many nights writing them...

They really do take over...

But in truth, I love doing them.

"Fall"

Every time a leaf falls, it is an act, to me, most sacred.
For, in that moment (such fleeting moment!), that leaf is acting as the birds that it has long worshipped...the birds that it has housed and hidden from the bleeding sun.
And, it will only get to do it one time, only once.
It only has once chance...to learn how to fly.
So please excuse me, if I get a tear in my eye, each time I see a leaf float from it's branch to the ground, for I have just witnessed it's supernal act;
not falling from grace but to grace.

Written by me, in 2006

Pumpkins

In hommage to my favorite gourdes. :)

Provo's Farmer's Market

=)

Thoughts

Beatles' LOVE

Saving space for strawberry fields.

The Shakespearean Acting Festival

To Bring An Ending

After six countries, spending enough money to purchase a Fiat, seven gigs of memory on my camera, one month, two hours and thirty eight minutes back in America, I am finally ready to write the summation of my trip to Europe. Let me start out with the disclaimer that all of the thoughts, opinions and expostulations in this work are solely mine, and are not to be taken as any one Else's truth or maxims that need to be followed. This is a short summary of the most life-altering trip I have ever had the privilege to take...even though I tried not to take, but to experience, to love and to accept...to really open my eyes and see.
First I must say that I am glad that I am SAFELY home, I have never felt so much the sting of being hated and looked down upon for being American as I did these six weeks...and the injustice of being poor, because I am from the 'Richest country in the World', 'The Land of Opportunity.' Of being despised for for being a denizen a government who craves the lucre of war...and will go unpunished for declaring it illegally. Had any other country done that...I can only imagine the consequences that they would have suffered. But not my country...not my country. I had never met them before, the people in Europe, but they hated me. Even though I spoke their language, they treated me like American garbage. It is good...good to understand how it feels to be on the other side of hatred...of prejudice. In truth it can be said that it was a trip of extremes, the things I have done stand antipodean to each other: I have stood on the top of the leaning tower of Pisa and stooped low in a prison in Rome where they kept the Apostles Peter and Paul. I have been stuffed with food in Reggio Emiglia and starved in Paris. I have wept in front of the Statue of David and winked at mindblowing graffiti in the same blessed city; Florence. I have attended Sunday Mass in Notre Dame and have been haunted by the Amsterdam streets of the 'Red Light District.' I have aided and abetted criminal activity in Pompei and been spared from being assaulted on a train going from Milan to Genova. I have been kissed on the hand by a Sienese Gentleman and told by a man in a drunken stupor in Arles that I am so big and that I should not eat so much...he said other things which I will perhaps never write down... . I have smiled under rows of EU flags in Brussels where whey are voting on the Black Sea Synergy Cooperation Initiative and I have shivered in the great shadow of the International Court of Justice in the Hague, where out side they were having an immensely graphic demonstration to end torture in China. AND I have been kicked out of the Knightsbridge tube station in London for the very thing that hundreds of people applauded me wildly for in Venice; singing.
I will say that one of the things that hit me hard was the fact that there were almost NO Americans anywhere...it was a little eerie. I find it interesting though that when we DID see the rare American there was this instant kinship, an instant bond solely for the reason of belonging to the same section of map that they call the United States. Then it went to the level of just being drawn to anyone who spoke English as a first language at ALL, the Brits and the Australians, the South Africans. And I had to wonder, thinking Universally, if we were out in the Galaxy somewhere, laboring in some type of interplanetary relations, I am sure that even to meet someone from our same PLANET would cause this same type of bond and feeling, and if that is the case, why can we not feel so now? Love them as one from our own "home" now? For is it not the truth? I think that is why the space program functions so well, with all of the astronauts out there all being from different countries...speaking different languages. I am sure they have their moments, and their arguments, but in the end I bet they look over at one another and think "Oh GOODY!!! A HUMAN!!!
What country are we from?
Earth.

Coming back to America was one of the most poignant experiences of my life.
I never knew what my own country felt like, but I do now. I experienced the surreal sensation of feeling a stranger in my country of origin when Kath and I were back in LA at the airport, I felt it only twice, and it lasted only seconds, but I did feel it, keenly. It must be what all of the throngs of people feel who come here...I am glad that I got to have wash upon me that feeling, even if only for a moment. Waking up in America on the morning of the 4th of July was so perfect, such a wonderful way to feel this place, feel the idea and the dream that is America. I know that in so many ways the war is terrible, and it is terrible, but may I say, at least as a country (not necessarily the Government, but the PEOPLE of this country), it is wonderful to me that first and foremost in the minds of this people is the freedom of those who are being deprived of it, and that some will give their lives for it, for some one they have never met...so that children can live a life out of jail, so that a little girl can go to school and learn how to read and go on to be what ever she wants to be, so that little boys will be spared the terror of going to war before the age of ten. I am proud to belong to a country that feels like we should do SOMETHING. God Bless us to find balance. So, with that in mind, going to the store to buy hot dogs for the barbecue that we had been invited to and hearing a John Philip Sousa march come over the radio, in the STORE and looking over and seeing a man, probably a veteran, wearing his flag belt buckle (which he probably saves only for special occasions) and white tee shirt with an American flag on it, I just started to cry. I love this place. I AM an American. I love being an American. And before now, I never knew why.
I am seeing now that my experiences are going to be filed away into my memory system in moments, in memories...
One of the funniest things I will always remember was coming out of the Hyde Park Corner Underground station on our way to the Hard Rock Cafe and seeing a bloke with a fabulous mohawk speaking furtively into his cell phone counselling his friend and giving him pointers about how to get the assault charges dropped. And one of the most beautiful, meaningful moments to me, for some reason was actually feeding the birds with my Venetian cookie crumbs in the Piazza Di San Marco in Venice...I will never forget the weight of their little, warm, soft bodies in my hands...and that they flew right to me and softly and gently pecked the cookie crumbs out of my hands...I will never forget it, ever. It made me cry for some reason, it was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever known.
But I think the thing that will forever be the most transforming to me, the experience that changed me, I believe, on a cellular level was seeing the actual site, THE ACTUAL CAFE that Vincent van Gogh painted in his immortal creation, "The Cafe Terrace at Night." I looked at it for HOURS, hours and hours. And when we were about to say 'goodbye' to it, knowing that I may never come there again to see it, there in all of it's beauty in Arles, France, I wanted it to be the EXACT scene that Vincent would have seen, most specifically, I wanted that section of night sky to be filled with the same stars that he would have seen, on that early summer night. But no matter how hard I looked, and how late I stayed into the night, I could not see them...not a one. The sky was black. I stood there, almost beginning to cry, I felt that I had in some way failed, failed to see what Vincent saw...but then...I realized...it is quite possible that Vincent didn't see any stars that night in that patch of sky either...but he in fact CREATED them, and in that act made them as real as if astronomers could reckon the exact date by their position in his painting. And it came to me; THAT is oft times what WE must do, to create a way when there IS no way, to paint our OWN stars, even when we don't see them...even when our sky...is black. And by so doing, we are making them as real as any star that ever guided a man, or woman, North. I committed then, right then, to make my own way, to "paint my own stars" just as he must have done. I am the artist of my own life, I am making a way where there is none, I am painting my own stars. I am opening my eyes to really see.
Thank you, Vincent van Gogh, for teaching me that lesson.

"Welome Home, Young Lady" and waking up in America on the 4th of July

I am home.

Last Knightsbridge

Last night WAS our last night in London.
And...it was the most fun I have ever had in one day...ever.
Here is a play-by-play:

PORTOBELLO ROAD
We got up and headed out to Portobello Road, I had never been there and wanted to go more than anything. But it always seemed to get put off. But yesterday...I got to go...and take all of the time in the world.


I love these houses.

Okay, this was the most enchanting bakery that I saw the whole time I was in London.
The Hummingbird Bakery. (You will see a photo of one of the cupcakes that I bought later in the day =) )


The best red velvet cake on the planet. With cream cheese frosting...mmmm...


So many cool antique shops...

In the background they were playing "Pink Martini."



COVENT GARDEN
This was were Kath wanted to go. I am so glad that we went. I got my little brother the best smelling cologne on the planet at Penhaligons and then we went for afternoon tea at Punch and Judy.

Water condensation on one of the spouts.


Help me please. This was so good...



I love these pictures...


Yeah...it was nice to have a little sunshine...


LEICESTER SQUARE
Kath and I sat down on a bench and just people watched for a good hour in Leicester Square. I never realized how close it was to Covent Garden and Picadilly Circus.
Oh...what a fun day!

Charlie Chaplin.



PICADILLY CIRCUS
I love Picadilly Circus.





HARD ROCK LONDON, THE ORIGINAL
Every true musician has to make it here at least once in their life.



The two guitars that started it all. One belongs to Eric Clapton, the other to Pete Townsend.


OUR LAST DINNER


SAYING GOODBYE TO MY LONDON


This place leaves me awe struck...


My Hummingbird Bakery cupcake that I saved till the very end...

It started getting very late, and as we were walking down to the tube, he started playing "Amazing Grace"....oh...the tears that came...goodbye.


IMAGES OF THE LONDON UNDERGROUND




I think this kid knew something that we didn't.

The London Eye and Being Captive in London AGAIN

I finally got to ride the London Eye today. I have wanted to do that, for a long, long time...I am so happy. What an amazing experience...just amazing.


Well, we just missed our flight. So, we will be leaving to come back to L.A. on Thursday. Just right in time for the 4th of July. We are exhausted beyond measure...hauling ALL of our stuff all the way to Heathrow and then having to haul it ALL of the way back. But we will have a little more time now to see my most beloved city on the earth. I am again, one more night in the land of Kings...and Queens.

Abbey Road

St. John's Wood is the tube stop where you get off to see it, Abbey Road.


The most famous crosswalk in history.

One of the most famous and beloved recording studios in history.

I just had to. =)



Strawberry Fields Forever. I am so glad I got to go and see this today.

Later on the SAME day...

Knightsbridge and Hyding in the Park

St. James Park.

Today, I got up and put on my brightest fuchsia lipstick ("Impassioned" by MAC) and went and sang in the Knightsbridge Underground Station. I sang my guts out til one of the guards came over and said "Lovely as your voice is Miss, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to stop, you have to have a pass for this sort of thing. And them other blokes would kill me if I let ya keep singin'." So, I stopped, but I did get through a rousing version of "Nella Fantasia" first. I think I made about 80p.
A little dejected, I went into Harrod's to get a sandwich, and some chocolate. On the way out, one of the men in the long, green coats opened my door for me. I then went on to Hyde Park. It was a gorgeous day today and so everyone was out laying in the grass and playing soccer. There was one group of girls stretched out on the grass, legs lily white, and they were just giggling at the gorgeous, shirtless soccer players. I have to give it to them, they WERE gorgeous. I continued on to see the huge stage in the middle of the park that they had just had the tribute to Nelson Mandela on. Josh Groban had performed for it. Dare I say that I felt a little pang of jealousy...
I sat down and looked at the outdoor arena and ate my sandwich...then I decided that I wanted to find Abbey Road.

Back Home to London

Yes, I drew this.




I swear this kid is probably thinking "I freakin' hate my job..."




WE WANTED TO GET SOME INDIAN FOOD, WHERE ELSE BUT BRICK LANE?

London's Oldest Pub.

The Swiss RE Building.


BACK AT KEVIN'S
That is where we are right now, in Kevin's flat on Parkhurst Road. We have made it back to England, safely. Wow, it was so wonderful to be able to sleep...just sleep. I think that we will be going to Harrod's today, to get a sandwich or two. And then go walking around Hyde Park. I think we will go ride on the eye today, too. Wow. Kath and I just look at our feet and laugh, all blisters and callouses.
It's a good day.






GOING TO CHURCH AT HYDE PARK CHAPAL
It ia amazing how at home I feel here...

Goodbye Amsterdam

We are about to get on the bus to get to the air port to go back to London. I really feel like I am going home, I even referred to it as home yesterday when someone asked me about it. Of all the places that I've been in this world, it is still England that feels like home to me.
The clouds outside are so big and puffy and white...and the sky is approaching a painful-to-look-at blue. Ah Amsterdam. I truly do not know if I will ever come here again. On the way to the bus, I am going to get a Hard Rock Cafe "Amsterdam" tee shirt. I guess we are lucky, we have been here for three days and have had beautiful sunshine the whole time, and I have heard that Amsterdam has a higher amount of rainfall per annum than even London, England. That is a lot of rain. So yes, we have been lucky. Even though I don't mind the rain at all. Of a truth, I love it, I love rain. I am just waiting here for Kathryn. She went to the Anne Frank Museum and the Rembrandt Huis. I wanted to see those Museums, too, but I wanted to be able to spend as much time in the van Gogh Museum as possible. I think I spent almost four hours in there.
Ah Amsterdam.
Goodbye.
I am going back home.

The flight from Amsterdam to London.

Heathrow Airport Security almost took my camera away for taking this shot so you'd better enjoy it!

A wish of two Brothers

I went to the van Gogh Museum today, I am actually just returned.


To be honest, I don't know what to write.

Hail to all of us...the shadow of the Hague

At the Vondelpark Hostel in Amsterdam, they are playing a song..."Hail to all of us...hail to all of us down here." And my mind is taken back to The Hague. Where the crimes of the world are taken to be tried. Ah...to be a citizen of the world...through all the ages of this world. Why can there not be more peace? Oh that we can find a way.

The International Court of Justice at the Hague. It is truly an imposing place.

This is the extension to the International Court of Justice that was built not too long ago. I got to go inside.

Protesting torture in China...

...in the shadow of the Hague.

The Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague. I got to see this painting. They had one other Vermeer there as well. Unbelievable.

The lake behind the Mauritshuis.



Kath and I stopped at this sandwich and smoothie shop just outside the International Court of Justice. It was very, very good.

I finally understand Professor Frankenhuijsen going on about too many people having cars in America; everyone in The Netherlands rides a bike. Period.

The clock in front of the Hague Train Station.

Amsterdamage

To everything there is dark.

Except.

Expect.

Aspect.

Accept.

Amsterdang

Being in Amsterdam is honestly as strange to me as being on the Moon. I walked off of the train and felt a wave of fear come over me. I have NEVER felt as much in a foreign country as I have here. I am getting a little better now, I guess that you do get used to things. Kath and I walked around last night and just took in how gorgeous it is here. They light up the bridges of the canals, they are so gorgeous.
Kath and I went to The Hague today. It was really cool to see the International Court of Justice. And we went to the Mauritshuis Museum to see Vermeer's most famous work, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and other works of Rembrandt that blew me away.
I still feel like I am on the moon.
Love, Jeanne

Our room at The Vondelpark Hostel in Amsterdam.



I absolutely love this

This is where they stayed, this is where they were found...




What I cannot believe, is that no one ever talks about this place. No one ever talks about Amsterdam. It has more canals than even Venice. It is GORGEOUS here. Yes...it is crazy, too. Many drugs are legal here and prostitution is a legal profession here as well...with it's own pension plan, health benefits and everything. It is disturbing to think about.


Awesome.

Even more awesome.

Mary's Chocolates

Oh, it was good. It was like going to the White House in Washington D.C. to buy chocolate. The boy who sold the chocolates to us was one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen.

Belgium

I loved Brussels. We got to see THE headquarters of THE European Union. It was so cool that I went around with a smile on my face for hours afterwards for no reason at all.







In one of the beautiful parks. I think she is so gorgeous.

The flower of July, The Waterlily.

Hey, we ARE in Belgium after all.

Dang you, Paris!

Kath and I are gratefully sitting in an Internet cafe that actually HAS Internet, we spent the best part of the morning looking for one. But on the way, I DID enjoy my breakfast which included an actual LAVENDER eclair. =)

We will be going to the Musee D'Orsay today, they have one of the best collections of Impressionist Art in the whole world, if not the best. I will see many van Goghs. I will cry. Then tonight, Kath and I will head to Brussels. She will buy an UNHOLY amount of chocolate, and I will contemplate upon the color yellow.

The Musee D'Orsay


I felt it almost blasphemy to photograph this painting. I...don't even have words.

I considered seeing this painting and the Impressionist section of the museum to be a spiritual experience. I could spend a whole day here on this one floor alone. Just thinking.


We just had to...


Some Final Images of Paris










*Later* (10:36 pm from Brussels)

We are here in Brussels, in the van Gogh youth hostel, wow, it is like staying in a swank club in LA. They are blasting the Rolling Stones from the speakers. This place is nuts. Kath and I BARELY made our train. The subway had a malfunction just one stop BEFORE we needed to get off...I thought I would have an aneurysm. I am glad I did not.
The Musee D'Orsay blew my mind. If there had not been so many people there, I might have fallen on the floor in the impressionist wing, weeping. I got to see so many of my favorite van Goghs. And I fell in love with "Starry Night Over the Rhone." Until you see that painting in person, there is no way that you can understand how amazing it is. The line to get into the D'Orsay was not that bad, and as we were trying to correct the major farmers tan line that we have procured on this trip by rolling up our sleeves the whole way and standing in the sun, I heard an older man whistling "La Vie En Rose"...I looked up and smiled at him. He seemed happy that I did.

The reason that I am angry at Paris is that it made me fall in love with it. Against my will. It is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. I am one of the millions now...those who ever long to return to the city of lights.

TOMORROW:
Brussels, (chocolate) the center of the European Union, (chocolate) I am VERY excited to see the headquarters of the (chocolate) EU.
Goodnight.

Paris, Day #3 The Louvre and the Night

THE LOUVRE





She is so beautiful.

The Venus Di Milo




Man or Woman? You decide.


I love the look on this Mary's face; such intense love.


Ah...we went to Sacre Cour tonight, Paris' highest hill. We saw the city, ALL off it, it was just gorgeous and HUGE. We almost got abducted by a satanic man from some African country who was trying to sell Kath a bracelet, I said the f word and he eventually left us alone. =( The Moulan Rouge is actually in a very scary part of Paris. We were kindly led there by an old opera singer...named Jane. She sang 10 years in Budapest. She thought that the area of Montmarte was "too much about sex!" I agreed with her. I sang in the streets of Paris on the way home.

(Right before we went out...little did we know what was ahead of us...I am so glad we did not get hurt.)


I know, I know, but c'mon! it's Paris!!!

Day #2, Paris on a Sunday: The Bells of Notre Dame

We woke up to the bells of Notre Dame, calling us to Mass, so, we went. I got to go to Mass at Notre Dame, it was just amazing...I don't know how else to describe it. We were there for the main mass of Sunday, so they had the full choir that sang and the music in that cathedral makes you feel like Quasi-Moto will be walking by any minute...what a time. For the night time, we went to walk the Champs-Elysees it was again...just too amazing to describe...I was walking one of the most famous miles of road in this world. It took us two hours, but we walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower, too. What a gorgeous and perfect structure THAT is. Ah...the lovers that where there...watching the tower...I have never seen anything like the lovers of Paris.




AFTER MASS

Sexy.







Believe it or not, that orange circle that you see in the middle of the black is the moon.

Paris Day #1

My very first view of Paris, France.


Candy vendors on Pont Neuf.




Lights over the Seine River.


When we got to Paris, little did we know that we were arriving on the DAY of the legendary music festival of June 21st. It was so epic, I felt like it was New Years Eve. There were MINDBLOWNING bands EVERYWHERE that we went, it was SOOOOOOO surreal. Jazz, Jazz, Jazz everywhere. And the streets were PACKED. Every bridge over the Seine was PACKED, I cannot convey to you how crammed the streets where. And when I looked over at the Eiffel Tower...it was glittering...I cried. I cried just being there. Of a truth, Paris was the city that I was the most excited to see. The first thing that I saw when we got out of the metro station, was the Louvre Museum...it was so beautiful.

Provence

Lavender. I cannot tell you what it is to see a field full of Lavender...in full bloom. Provence is so gorgeous you feel like laughing out loud out of disbelief. I got to drive through Sault. Provence got it's name from being Rome's first "Provence" in France.

Avignon and The Ponte Du Garde

So what does a girl do on a Friday night in Provence??? Spend the best part of her energy flicking cherry pits off of the Ponte Du Garde. And trying to drop cherries on the boys below who are diving in the water when they know they are not supposed to!










The gorgeous, GORGEOUS Provence, France.

The Bakery in Avignon, they have the best croissants I have ever had.

Arles

We just got in to Arles, the place where Vincent van Gogh spent the last part of his life. Being in France is different than I thought it was going to be, it is drier than I thought, but we ARE still in the south of France, maybe it will be greener when we get up north. We are going to see some of the van Gogh sites tonight, and try to find some REAL French food. Bon soir.













*Later*
Arles is truly one of the most beautiful towns I have ever been to in my life. I have never experienced such surrealism being in a place, it is like walking around in a living fireworks show at night...like an eternal evening of the 4th of July. That feeling. It is like the Impressionist movement is still alive here, and I could hear it whispering to me.

I could not resist this shot. ;)

Captive in Marseille

Being here was not comforting. The fact that as I was trying to speak French to people there so that I could find us a hostel, that people looked like they wanted to eat me as a tasty morsel with their fries...yeah, and as I was walking up one of the sets of stairs of one of the buildings to talk to the owner, I saw that he was hiding from someone. He was hiding in the bathroom. I left. Very fast. One very funny thing is that as I was walking around the city I kept seeing that everyone was eating french fries, and I thought "Dang America!!! We are creeping into everyone's country, no one has their own culture any more! It is all being destroyed! Stupid french fries!!! French fries. French fries...French...fries...French...France...french fries are French...oh yeah, I'm in France." AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHA!!!! I felt so lame!!!!
There was also a fire. And a strike. We were looking for some type of little effigy, but we didn't see one. We went to Aix-en-Provence the next day. THAT was cool. We met a cool girl named Clementine. She was born in Orange.

The fire.

Police Headquarters of Marseille.


Aix-en-Provence the next day

The Azure Coast

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful. The water really IS just as blue as all of the postcards make it look. Ah man. I think people keep this place a secret on penalty of some type of torture.

Santa Margherita Ligure

Look it up.
Yachts, people.
Big ones.


On one of our 20 something train rides...I love this shot, though. And getting to ride the trains in Europe is like getting to be on a Disneyland ride the panoramas are so amazing. You always say "Oh, I will just sleep on the train." Nope.

Genova

Okay, Genova rocks. We got Gniocchi with pesto and it was the best I have ever had in my life. Genova is concidered to be quite dangerous, but Kath and I loved it. It is where Christopher Columbus is from.
So, many of you know that Genova is famous for Pesto anything. So, when Kath and I arrived our first thougt was to set out to find a place that would have some pesto yum-yum. We found a steak house, and saw that they had ONE pesto thing. I wondered if it would be any good, since my guess was that they only carried it since they felt it incumbent upon them to do it. So, it was with a little intrepidation that I eyed our waitress as she brought out our plates of obligatory pesto gniocchi.
It was so good, I am ruined forever.


Pesto the next day. This was on focaccia bread, smothered in cheese. Again, kill me please.


Genova at night.


They light up their busses with a mezmerizing blue for night time. I loved it here.





THE NEXT MORNING

Leaving our hotel.


Genova's GROM

Our last Gelato of the whole trip. *snif*

The Cinque Terre

K, everyone needs to go to the Cinque Terre. How can you describe them? They are five little villages that are built right into the cliffs of the sea.

Their names are:
Riomaggore







Manorola





Corniglia
We did not do the hike to see Corniglia, but it is gorgeous, too. It is on the top of a high cliff. My Mom loves that one.


Vernazza











Monterosso








The water is that sparkly turquoise color...and green. Vernazza was my favorite. We got to climb up in the little castle and everything. There were cats everywhere. I ate the best pear I have ever had in my life.

LA SPEZIA

We got to stay the night in La Spezia, Kath's mission city. It was so cool to see that the Sister Missionaries were staying in the exact same apartment.

The farinata there made me want to die. It is a fried pastry made out of garbanzo bean flour. Kath and I dubbed it "fried yum-yum."

La Spezia at night.


The Town Square of La Spezia, right on the edge of the sea. Kath is so lucky that she got to serve here.

Awesome.

Milano

Oh my goodness the cathedral is HUGE. Milan is so much like New York it is crazy. We did not get to spend much time there, much to Kath's dismay. But we DID get to see "The Last Supper" with Massimo, and get a caffe d'orzo with Massimo. I asked him if he liked it. He said he did. I asked him if he wanted to marry it.

Goodbye Switzerland

Is Switzerland really that beautiful?
Yes.
Is Switzerland really that clean?
Yes.
Is Swiss chocolate really that good?
Yes.
I had the most wonderful walk with Massimo...in the greenest green...of the greenest hills. We tried to feed the cows but it didn't work. I am still in shock and awe of that place. Yes, I think that I could live there. I love getting to watch the soccer matches, it has actually been really fun to be in Europe during the Europe Cup. Every night people are going crazy in front of a TV screen, screaming for their team, or at least for the rival of their team to loose.
Ah Switzerland.
Goodbye.

Swiss Humble Pie

I am acutely aware of my shortcomings today. The Swiss rain is drizzling outside...and I am feeling very humbled. Very. In truth, my Italian is not as good as I thought it was. And I find myself unable to speak in situations where I wish most dearly that I could. My brain is also starting to forget things...I am messing up on song lyrics that were never a problem before. It is very humbling, very.
Switzerland is so beautiful, that it is almost impossible to take it seriously. Like a man that is so beautiful, that you would never be able to take him seriously...or feel like you could ever be yourself in the presence of one so lovely. It is like living in one of the books of my childhood, being here. The air is so fresh here, that all you want to do is go outside and breathe. No wonder that people who are from here look as they do, this is the most health conducive place I have ever beheld.



We went to see Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper", in Milano yesterday, with an old friend of mine, Massimo Nardotto. It was wonderful to see it. And Milano is amazing, the Duomo of Milano is unlike anything that I have ever seen.

Goodbye, My Venice.

Oh wow...I have fallen in love with this city on the water. I sang three times today at the Piazza Di San Marco...oh my goodness it was so cool. I had people that kept following me around to hear me sing at all of the places. It was SO cool. :)
There was a HUGE rain storm again today. Watching the Gondoleers and Passengers alike whipping out the umbrellas was the best. Hee-hee-hee.
(Can you see his rainbow umbrella?)


We also got to go to the Doge's Palace. And see the prison where they kept the innocent. This is one of the famous carved stones in the prison. To see the date on one of the works is amazing; 1319.

We are headed to Switzerland tomorrow. I am so glad that I got to come here again.
With love from Venice, Jeanne

Venice

We are here. Last night there was the most gorgeous lightning storm ever over the Grand Canal of Venice. It was amazing. Kath and I walked around in total awe at how amazing it was...flashes illuminating the little alleyways of every street...over every little bridge. We eventually made it to the Piazza Dal San Marco. And even though there was a huge storm, the musicians of the Piazza San Marco were still playing. The music that they were playing, and the feel of the evening truly made me feel like I had stepped through time...that I was walking around at the turn of the 1800's to the 1900's...it was be-YOND surreal.
Venice is GORGEOUS. It just is. It is unlike any other place on earth.

The Bells of Florence

Yesterday morning...I was sitting behind the statue of David crying. It is probably the most beautiful man made thing that I have ever seen. I was so sad to leave Florence. The night before, Kath and I watched the sunset on the Ponte Vecchio. It was glorious. And after seeing the David, we went to Ponte Vecchio and I finally got to sing "O Mio Babbino Caro" on that famous bridge. Ooo...I will miss waking up to the bells...but now, every so often, when the clock strikes an hour...I will know that somewhere in Florence, bells are ringing.



Me, on the Ponte Veccio...I got to sing here finally. :)

The Ponte Veccio at Night

This was so beautiful. Ah, Florence.

Viva Siena

Wow...Siena blew my mind. I had NO clue how amazing that city was going to be. It is the city where they have the famous PALIO horse races twice a year. Going to the huge Campo in the middle of the city was so fun, I sang there, it was my biggest crowd yet, and I got two encores, it was wonderful. I want to go back there to see the horse races some day. I will always remember Kath reading from the "Rick Steven's Italy" book that Siena is a city that has been "Pickled in a medieval brine..." ah, now there is some good writing. And surely, it is true.




This man kissed my hand. ...Okay so I had to plunk money down in his little basket so he would do it, but STILL!

Back in Florence

Oh my goodness, I love this city. We spent the day in Modena and Kath showed me her city...her favorite place of her mission. It was cool.
(We are doing laundry now.)

There was a HUGE thunder storm when we pulled up to the train station. It was crazy. Ah...but I love the rain.


I think that Florence is the most romantic city that I have ever been to. And by that I mean, that people are not afraid to be romantic here, to show affection to each other here. It is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. Ever.
(Can you see the lovers kissing? These two were straight out of a movie.)

I am so tired that I am feeling a little insane. I am glad to be in one place for a little bit. Our pensione room is wonderful and we have a full view of the famous Duomo from our window, it is like "Room With a View." I am glad to be back here,
it is so beautiful here. I love the rain, and how wonderful it makes everything. This picture was taken from our hotel window. I know, poor us.

The thing about Florence, is there is almost a sacred feeling being here. Like God is everywhere in every brick in every stone. Perhaps it is because the Renaissance was here. And it is where God was, He was the...well, He put in into the people here. And the feeling still exists. Oh! How I love it here!
This was later, when the storm broke and the sun came out. *sigh* I need to live here.



It was quite a balancing act...trying to do all of the things that we wanted to do.

The history that is here is mindblowing. You just can't take it all in.
I want to live here for three months if I can.
Here is Dante. I love this man. He is my peeps.

Goodbye Modena

Welcome to Modena, Italy; where they pour the famed balsamic vinegar over EVERYTHING...even dessert. This is panna cotta (cooked cream) with raspberry sauce and yes, balsamic vinegar poured over the top. It was actually REALLY good.

Yes this is really black bread, and yes I really ate it.

This church is in trouble.

Kath, in her favorite city from her mission...she is so in her element here it is not even funny.

This has been our hub for four days now, and we leave tomorrow. We have eaten like Kings by being the happy recipients of Marianne's gourmet cooking.
(Here she is, the beautiful Marianne Brocail.)

I do not exaggerate, it is like eating at a five star restaurant EVERY night. Tortellini, Lasagne, Crepes, French Onion Soupe, Fettucione...the list goes on and on. This section of the country; Emiglia Romagna and Tuscany are the two most beautiful in Italy. The hills are the famed patchwork quilts of glorious shades of green and beige...and the rain has made everything so lush and diffused the light so that I feel like I am in a dream. I am in a dream. We went to Church with the Tuscan saints today, they are wonderful. It was a regional conference with a broadcast coming in from Salt Lake. Ah, I miss the mission field so much. I got to meet the Volpe Family, after 11 years of waiting. They are from Napoli, so they are crazy, in the most amazing, Italian meaning of the word possible. They were epic. Kath got to show me her church that she loved so much, her favorite place. It has been a wonderful day.
We will leave to go back to Florence tomorrow...we will be there for another three days and then it is off to Venice.
I loved today.
Jeanne

*MUCH LATER* (11:11 pm Emiglia Romagna Time)
We just got done eating one of the most fabulous dinners ever by "Chez Marianne", she spent all day cooking. And for dinner we had chicken, with a pepper and tomato stew, fresh homemade bread and a mascarpone cream dessert with bananas. Honestly, it has been like eating at a ridiculously expensive restaurant every night. Marianne lit about 30 candles all over the eating room and also has a potpourri going...plus relaxing sea sounds and music like you hear when you get a massage, honestly I feel like I am in an alternate universe.

Oh yes, I was a happy Jeannebug.

Waking up to the bells of Florence

The bells of the Duomo woke me up at seven this morning, I just lay in our bed and wept. It was amazing. I could not BELIEVE that I was there. Florence.
We went to the Ufizzi, one of the most famous museums in the whole of the earth and I got to see Bottacelli's immortal "Spring" and "The Birth of Venus.", it was Bottacelli's work that impressed me most. I also got to walk across the Ponte Vechio...the bridge I have been singing about in the song "O Mio Babbino Caro" for the past ten years. It was wonderful. I love Florence. I bought a Florence sticker. :)

Pisa

I have to say, Pisa has the most "Seattle" vibe of any city that I have been in in Italy. Everyone is grunged out and almost hippi-ish. Very cool.
(Kath was in a hurry to go somewhere.)

We ate at a restaurant that reminded me of "OneWorld" cafe in Salt Lake. Pisa is a University town so it is bustling. I loved it.
(I love this picture of Kath, for some reason.)



Here it is, the one and only Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is actually a lot smaller than it looks.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I climbed the leaning Tower of Pisa. For those of you who know about my vertigo...it was hard, and I was scared to death...thinking of course that the day, yea, the very moment, that I climbed the tower would be the moment that it met it's tragic end. I pitied the people that would be up there with me. But I am writing this email, so all is well. It was a GORGEOUS day, and it was one of the neatest experiences ever, to know that I, little Jeanne Madsen, was standing on top of the actual leaning Tower of Pisa.




Right after we got done climbing the tower. I was scared to death.

Cats and Dogs

It has been POURING all day, so I made the executive decision to stay home while Kath went to Ravena today. I also needed to rest my poor feet. We have been walking about 13 hours a day now non-stop for a week and a half. I am tired. But OH! this country is beautiful! They are having a CRAZY amount of rain this year so everything is so green it almost causes pain to look at it. I have needed a day to gather myself. It has been good. Marianne, the French woman that we are staying with, came home for lunch and looked around the whole time for her cat which she calls her "husband."

MODENA

We are here. This is one of the cities where Kathryn served her mission. She cried understandably much as we pulled into the train station. This is the happiest place she has ever known. I have been waiting for almost ten years to come to this city with her, to have her show me every street, and to tell me every story.


Marianne's House is actually in the sister town right next to Modena called Sassuolo.
Here are some images of Sassuolo at night.



And here is her house in the day. It is so gorgeous here, it's sick.

An Accidental Bologna

After one of the most epic nights of my life, ending with a police escort off of our train, (I will explain it all later) Kath and I found ourselves in an accidental Bologna this morning.





We climbed to the top of the highest tower of the city (453 steps), it is almost twice as high as the leaning tower of Pisa, and the view took my breath away. We climbed the one that you can see in this picture that is NOT leaning.

Climbing up the ever-winding stairs.



Bologna is so amazing. Kath and I got up and went to a funky little cafe in the morning to get a cafe d'orzo and they put whipped cream on the top.

Then we went to a grocery store so she could get some fruit. It really is amazing just how many students there are in this city.

They are funky and running around everywhere. One of the things that amazed me were these doorknobs everywhere.

There were many, many more, but chose these to put on here.

There is a very mideival feeling to this place...you can feel the oldness.

Ah...that I could live a hundred lives...one of them would have been being a student here.






This is moderately creepy.

Bologna is home to the oldest University in all of Europe and we got to see it. There are students running around everywhere, it is a very young and funky place.




I was so fascinated with this man. I cried as he left the square, because I knew that in the whole of my life, I would never see him again. God bless him. He was my man of wonder.



My very first cone of Gelato from GROM. It was all over from here.

The Bologna Train Station. We got to know this place really well.

I honestly have no idea what day it its.

Arivaderci Roma, The Eternal City

Wow...I find it difficult to describe Rome adequately. Even being there for almost four days, I still feel like I only scratched the surface of that place. Kath and I chose to do a "Best of Rome" tour for our last day there. So, we went to the Vatican City to see St. Peters Basilica (where Michaelangelo's "Pietà" resides), to the Vatican Museum (to see the the Sistine Chapel), and then back to Rome for one last tromp through Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and one lasta treep to Giolitti's Gelateria,(the oldest and most famous gelateria in Rome), then to see the Trevi Fountain, then last of all, to see the Spanish Steps.
Going to The Vatican City (please forgive me, I am about to start speaking in absolutes) was truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. For some miraculous reason, there were no lines at all, that NEVER happens. But Kath and I were able to just walk right in to see both St. Peter's and the Museum. Seeing the Pietà, just in the front of St. Peter's Basilica...I was in shock or denial at first, I think. I casually went over to the glass case where resides perhaps the most famous religious statue in the whole of the world, and waded through the throng of hundreds of picture takers to take a picture myself.

The sculpture sits behind a HUGE two-story-bullet-proof glass wall, and is set back about 20 feet from the barricade as well. I took my pictures along with everyone else, and then stepped away.
I went into the main hall and just looked at everything. I had to hearken back to two months previous when my sister and I where in the Norton-Simons Museum in Passadena and there was a HUGE painting of St. Peters and I remembered looking at it and thinking that in two months time, I would be there inside of that place in real life. For some reason, as I was looking at that painting, I had an ominous feeling that I wouldn't get to see it, that something bad was going to happen that was going to prevent me from seeing St. Peters. So, standing in that great building, I felt a great sense of gratitude. Then something strange happened, I casually glanced over and saw the Pietà again, from a great distance, and I just crumbled in to a heap of tears in front of everyone. I was here, looking at the Pietà, Michaelangelo's work in the flesh (I am tearing up now just thinking on it) I am still in disbelief that I got to see it.

He made it, the Pietà when he was only 23 years old. And as I looked over and saw his beautiful masterpiece...I just cried, feeling so behind, and wondering if I will ever be able to leave a beautiful mark on the world...feeling too late but hoping that I am not. The rest of the cathedral was amazing and I felt honored to be there.
The next thing we got to see was the immortal Sistine Chapel. Kath and I barreled through the literal thousands of tourists in their respective groups to make it into the chapel before it closed. It took us about 25 minutes to get there and we were booking it the whole time. When we got to the actual room itself, which was a bit smaller than I thought it would be, there was a very different feeling there; no pictures were allowed, of any kind. You must be silent when you are in there, and they don't let you wear hats, plus to get in, you must be dressed modestly (I thought that was cool). It took some time to get situated in the room, it was jam packed with people straining their necks to get a good look at a certain spot of one of the HUNDREDS of amazing painted figures to look at...the restoration of painstaking work had been completed a few years ago, so the colors were beautifully vivid. I waited patiently go get a spot to sit down on one of the marble benches that line the perimeter of the room, I had made a scan of all of the famous scenes, the "God reaching to touch Adam" the "Delhpicus" and the other famed portraits of the Prophets and was calm and reverent and in awe. Kath was able to sit down next to me and we sat and bathed in the splendid art for about 20 minutes. Then, for some reason, my eyes rested on the central panel of Heavenly Father straining to spark life into Adam through the electrical current of his forefinger. My eyes rested...and rested...and rested...and then all of a sudden, it truly dawned upon me what I was looking at, truly looking at, and I felt almost drowned in a wave of emotion and literally burst into tears. And I could not stop crying. I could not stop crying. I believe that there is a part of me that will cry for the rest of my life from seeing that miracle (I am fully crying now) I am forever changed, to what degree, I do not know. Kath tried to calm me, I was glad she was there.
I sent my postcards from The Vatican (you have to buy Vatican stamps because it IS it's own country) and we sped out to see the rest of Rome.
Seeing the Trevi was awesome, and I threw in my wish coin and my return coin (you have to do that one backwards). The Spanish Steps were beautiful. But the thing that I will remember about that last part of the day, was the cherry gelato that I got from Giolitti's in the chocolate dipped cone. It was so good. I don't know if I have ever enjoyed anything of that nature, quite that much. I will always remember it.

Giolitti's. Ahh...the best gelato in the whole of the world is sold here.

Ah. Goodbye, my Rome. Till next time.

I LOVE ROME

Okay, this little girl was so cute that I wanted to beat myself with a chair and then run off with her. I think her Mom may have noticed...

We are in Rome, at the Roman Mission home. I know, poor us.

We have been here for three days and I feel like I have had but a taste of this most ancient of cities. When I saw the Coloseum, I cried. For some reason, seeing the ruins of this once great city makes me deeply, deeply sad. Mostly because the corruption of these, the children of God. And knowing, that one day, I will crumble, too.


Note to self: Read "Bread and Circuses."


*Kath got this shot of me, drawing the Coloseum*







One of my favorite photographs of Kathryn, of all time.

I hope this fascinating man found the very thing that he came to find in Rome. I will forever regret not asking him where he was from. And I never got close enough to see what language his Bible was written in.


The Prison where they kept Peter and Paul.


Remus and Romulus

MAN she got a bad deal.



I must say, Romans are the NICEST and most civilized Italians that I have ever met. My sister thinks so, too. I don't know how to describe how amazing they are.
And the Roman night life is like nothing else I have ever seen, it tops even New York City. It's true, Brandon, it really does, by far. Busses run 24/7 to accomodate this and they are JAMMED till about four in the morning.
It is tough, well...impossible really, for me to wrap my head arround a city this old, and with this much history...all of billions of people who have ever lived here. *shake*shake*shake* My brain won't even go there.



I have sung three times while being here, once by the Pantheon, once in Piazza Navona and the last time, last night, in our restaruant in Trastevere.


Trastevere is where all of the sexy/cool young Italians go for dinner and just to hang out. They start first in Campo Dei Fiori for their "apperativo" and then hoof it over one of the bridges of the Tiber river to this cool and sexy district.


I saw the Italian boys, or young men rather, the ones with the brilliant minds talking about anarchy and change and world peace with their beautiful hands...and their beautiful black hair glistening in the lights of the taverns. Other people just sit down in groupes...on some ancient wall...drinks in hand, digging on the night. We stayed out WAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY too late.


It was crazy, Kath and I were on the night bus going home after, and a groupe of kids from Austria recognised me! A cool young girl with the longest dreads I have ever seen, said in a massivly cool accent "Are you the girl who sang at the Pantheon on Saturday night?" She and her friends were there when I sang at the Pantheon, and when whey heard me sing, they sang too (I actually remembered hearing them). That was REALLY cool, I'll have to admit. She is studying social work, and in that respect, will change the world. I gave them all cards with my web address on it.
We will see St. Peter's Basilica today, and I will get to see, with my own eyes, Michaelangelo's "Pietà", I will cry.
We leave for Modena tonight.

Ciao, Massa.

We are leaving today, to go to Rome. I feel like I have been here for weeks, and it has only been four days. The things that we have seen have changed my life, they really have. Pompei was...unbelievable. The food in Napoli, and just getting to be there at all. Capri and Positano yesterday...it is nigh unto impossible for me to describe how amazing it was to go to those places last night. Laura has been the kindest hostess that has ever lived. Every morning we would wake up to find our breakfast set out for us, and every night we would come home to find our dirty clothes washed and folded on our bed. I actually had a tear in my eye once because of it. Italian love is an epic thing. (Last night, she also admitted to me in hushed secrecy that she owns a Gucci bag. "Ah, I LOVE the bags!")

Here she is, the gorgeous Laura Esposito...just look at those eyes.

Laura and her Father and her sister, Gabriela. Gabriela's daughter, Erika. And one other girl whose name I cannot remember. And Kath.


Ahhhh...Massa Lubrense is outside, that is the ACTUAL town that we have been staying in, it is one cove over from Sorrento. The residents here lovingly refer to is simply as "Massa" or "Paradiso." It is one of the most peaceful places that I have ever had the privilege of staying in. The people here still work with garden tools that their ancestors worked with five centuries ago...it is surreal. I saw one of the people working with one of the ancient hoes yesterday...it was like going back in time.

One view from Laura's balcony...where you can hear the bells.


Time is different here.
Time is different here.

Positano

Our first view of Positano, coming on the boat from Capri. MM-hm, yeah, this is where I live.

Dee Boat.

View From the bus stop.


SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GEORGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHSSSSS!!!!!! I sang in the square there tonight.

Waiting for the bus to take us back to Sorrento...

Capri

The most beautiful island I have ever seen.

When Kath and I got there, we really didn't know where exactly everything was, we hopped a bus thinking we were going to see the cliffs and where we ended up being dropped off was the most AMAZING secluded beach...almost a private beach. With the most blue/turquoise water I had ever seen in my whole life (see above picture, that is the ACTUAL COLOR of the water, no color enhancement whatsoever). We felt kind of posh. :)

My Orange...


BEAUTIFUL Houses.

Lunch; this pizza ties for first place with anything we have had so far. Ah, and the caprese...*sigh*

So very, very cool.

This one's for you, Mom. :)

The OTHER side of the island, where we thought we were going at first.

Gorgeous houses. Such tiny, little, winding streets...

Beautiful.

Kath and I had just come from the famous perfume shop of Capri, "Carthusia." My Mom wanted us to get her one of their six world famous scents, "Fiori Di Capri", I got one for me, too. It smells so gorgeous everywhere you go here. The Island of Capri has been making perfumes since the 1600's, it's the monks who made them. So incredible.

That's the old Monestary you can see there.

Pillars of the Monestary.

What a view...Capri has blown my mind.

This gorgeous ship was coming in just as we were leaving, I will never forget turning back, and seeing it sailing into the sunset...and into the harbor of Capri.

Saying goodbye to Capri, and the perfect day.