PJ's Studio: November 2023

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Roman Wedding

My friend Doug is an awesome travel guide. He loves art and now that he has relocated to Rome, he has mastered the art of winding through the alleys to find hidden treasures.

Since we had a few minutes free before our 3:00 visit to the Pantheon, Doug put the Basilica Santa Maria Sopra Minerva on our itinerary.

The church houses a Michelangelo statue – “Cristo della Minerva,” also known as “Christ the Redeemer” and “Christ Carrying the Cross.”

But when we arrived, we discovered that a wedding was taking place. So, I figured we would need to come back later.

As it turned out, I was incorrect. We along with a few other tourists entered, albeit while trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

We had a great view of the ceremony,

the walk down the aisle,

and the pelting of the rice when the happy couple emerged into the sunlight.

Best of all, from our perspective the congratulations included stellar views of Bernini’s Elephant & Obelisk.

I was especially thrilled to see it, because the book I had brought to read on the plane was “The Pope’s Elephant” by Silvio Bedini. The book is about Hanno, the elephant that Manuel I of Portugal gave to Pope Leo X in 1514. Hanno was a big hit with all, including Bernini who in addition to creating this sculpture, also drew him several times.

Here are some other Rome blogs…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2016/01/rome.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/03/rome-2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2021/01/rome-3.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/02/villa-deste.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-rape-of-proserpina.html

Ciao

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Leaves, nothing but leaves

NYC is not having a great fall.

We had too much rain in September and October.

The yellow trees that bloomed early lost their leaves before the other trees even got started.

Yet, when I went to Central Park on Monday (11/13/23) I would say that about 40% of the trees were still green.

Very odd.

Interestingly, I see from a previous year that having a dry September/October also negatively impacts the season.

It’s like Goldilocks – not too wet/not too dry. 😉

And temperature matters too.

Because the vistas were a bit disappointing, I spent my time focusing on individual leaves and enjoying their diversity.

There were lots to love.

Here are some previous blogs of Central Park in the fall…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2021/11/central-park-2021-p2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2012/11/fall-in-central-park.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2014/11/central-park-fall-2014.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2014/12/central-park-fall-2014-part-2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/11/central-park-fall-2015.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2016/12/central-park-fall-2016.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2017/12/central-park-fall-2017.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/11/central-park-fall-6.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2019/11/central-park-11119.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2020/11/central-park-fall-2020.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2020/11/central-park-fall-2020-p2.html

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2021/11/fall-in-central-park-2021.html

Enjoy!

Sunday, November 12, 2023

NYC Marathon 2023

With temperatures in the mid-60’s this year’s NYC Marathon was the party that the city was yearning for.

Since I have a terrific view from my apartment and I am located on the east side of the route, I usually just observe the action from my apartment – going downstairs at strategic points in time to mix it up a bit.

But after 33 years it does get a bit repetitive, so I thought I’d try something different this year, and decided to head down to 59^th Street.

As anyone who runs or follows the marathon knows, when the runners leave the quiet of the 59^th Street bridge and turn onto First Avenue they are hit with a wall of noise. So I thought it would be fun to check it out.

I had a bit of trouble figuring out where would be the best place to stand. Clearly this guy on top of the truck had it all figured out.

I did catch the women leaders as they hit the turn.

But the best part was getting a closer view of the spectator action on the street.

This drumline from Queens – Fogo Azul – was particularly impressive. Although I did find myself thinking that if they continued to do their thing for several hours everyone in the vicinity would end up with a huge headache.