tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post8038099316057416765..comments2024-03-17T03:42:21.277-05:00Comments on LEARNING CURVE ON THE ECLIPTIC: Arty Farty Friday ~ Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi & His Colossal WorksTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-49174622482175965272013-08-02T14:56:27.290-05:002013-08-02T14:56:27.290-05:00mike (again) ~ Oh good! Well - not so good about...mike (again) ~ Oh good! Well - not so good about your experience of being treated to their best "let's stick it to the American tourist" attitude. I sympathise. I was lucky in that respect as I was with my first husband (well "lucky" only in this respect - the marriage was a disaster after not very long). He was Italian by birth, had worked in Rome so was very familiar with it all. We stayed in one of those tiny old rooming houses in the cobbled narrow winding streets - I loved those streets! No luxury at all though. <br /><br />I haven't visited Greece. Had a pickpocket incident or two in Spain though, and an attempted one in Tangier. <br /><br />Tourists are fair game to locals, if those locals have to live in very poor circumstances. I tried to be understanding, on that basis - but when away from home and with limited funds it can be a wee bit disconcerting!Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-3085220084093729172013-08-02T12:24:08.011-05:002013-08-02T12:24:08.011-05:00I was in Rome in the mid-1970s. Yes, I've bee...I was in Rome in the mid-1970s. Yes, I've been on the Piazzo Navona with its many fountains. Everywhere I ventured, I was in awe of the surroundings. One of my favs was the Spanish Steps and fountain...mainly for the people watching. Rome is full of amazing everything in the material sense. I was very disappointed with the Roman Coliseum, as it was greatly defaced with graffiti and vandalism, but they refurbished it shortly after I left.<br /><br />However, I did not particularly enjoy many of the inhabitants. Little kids surrounded me on several occassions and I could feel them frisk me (pick-pockets!)...what to do...slap them up-side the head? Simply sitting-down at a cafe or restaurant could cost a couple of dollars for water, place-setting, and waiter, prior to ordering anything. The many produce stalls had signs indicating the price of fruit, but I would be charged up to four-times the advertised price, I guess due to not knowing Italian and negotiating the price, but I did understand the Lira dollar conversion. Same for many of the hotels...much higher prices for tourists that couldn't speak Italian. I bought a ticket to Brindisi, Italy, to take the ferry to Greece...talked to the ticket clerk in Rome prior to departure (she spoke English) and she assured me I had the appropriate ticket. In the middle of the night, the conductor told me that I had to pay full-fare (again!) or get off the train in the middle of nowhere. Many other interesting "robberies" occurred while I was in Italy and I heard numerous other complaints from fellow Americans. Oddly, Greece was the complete opposite...maybe not now-a-days, though!mike (again)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-89166394053172736552013-08-02T11:47:51.063-05:002013-08-02T11:47:51.063-05:00mike ~ I haven't seen any of his work yet. We ...mike ~ I haven't seen any of his work yet. We haven't ventured further East than Columbus, Ohio thus far, and likely never shall, so photos must suffice.<br /><br />You're right, these lovely structures are of another age entirely. Bartholdi did bring them a little nearer to home and to our time though.<br /><br />Nobody ever did this kind of thing better than the Italians. <br />The fountains of Piazza Navona in Rome (among so much else) are unforgettable. Bartholdi's fountains reminded me of them.<br /><br />If you have 10 mins or so to spare there's a decent amateur video showing and explaining Piazza Navona and its fountains. <br /><br />http://youtu.be/R5VRN2zetuY<br /><br />I was there back in the early 1960s, fell in love with Piazza Navona - it was still a tourist trap of course, but much less so than now, I'm sure. International travel was still in its infancy then!<br /><br />Nowadays public spaces contain, if anything, pieces of modern sculpture which, while often attractive, do not display anywhere near the level of skills needed to produce the beautiful work of craftsmen/artists of the past. We're on a downward spiral I fear, in that respect. :-(<br />Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-84153844230866153522013-08-02T09:50:56.266-05:002013-08-02T09:50:56.266-05:00I've never sojourned to the Lady of Liberty, b...I've never sojourned to the Lady of Liberty, but I have seen two of his works: the statue of Lafayette in Union Square, New York City, and his sculpting of the tower at Brattle Square Church in Boston.<br /><br />Beautiful fountains and sculptures seem to be a legend of the past. They are rarely installed in public places anymore and one needs to visit art museums now to admire the more modern pieces. Same for the fine edifices of the old buildings that had intricate carvings in the stone. I've stated in one of your older posts that I luv the old-style gargoyles, which are pieces of art, too...some were massive sculptures.mikenoreply@blogger.com