…this evening were just pulling back into the docks where crowds of locals were waiting to receive them…and why I wondered, was it their families? was it a ritual? had they been away for weeks? but no, they were just waiting to inspect the day’s catch and pick up something fresh f..
Archives : August-2011
…at the masseria I visited late this afternoon near Nardo’ must be the coolest thing I have seen on my Puglia adventures so far – an Animal Estate of the most sophisticated and monumental sort, which from the outside seems to be a fortified castle tower, only to reveal a surprising very contemporary-seeming interior lined ..
…with a dreamy baroque historic center where old men bike around aimlessly and gather on benches with friends you imagine they grew up with on that same block, was once a rival to Lecce, it’s larger neighbor to the north, is the general area of Puglia (or Salento, as locals would hastily/testily correct you, referring ..
…the beautiful beach cove, I had read about and dreamt about while researching Puglia last winter, which is isolated in a nature preserve just north of Galipoli and west of Nardo’ – is where I just happened upon a small B&B sign (Villa Chiara) that was the happy serendipitous answer to the 3pm question ‘where ..
…never happened this year since it would cost the farmers more to harvest them than they could then sell them for – leading to some sad but beautiful fields of rotting watermelons as far as you can see – one of many local agricultural anecdotes, aspects, stories, visions which have brought me here to the ..
…is a pleasure the way all Italian markets are, where you are given an instant taste of the precise season, climate, weather, landscape, culture, economy, history, habits, and personalities of the region, and this morning it was mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms – all gorgeous varieties – being cleaned and prepared by expert knife-wielding hands at my ..
…the Italian town I have been curious about and yet to visit was conveniently on my way from Aix-en-Provence to Brindisi, so after a long windy scenic train ride along the French Riviera with front row seats to the late August bikini-clad bathing French masses, I arrived in this pretty but rough around the edges port ..
…the 1734 mossy mossy mossy green fountain on Cours Mirabeau in Aix-en-Provence where everyone is welcome to enjoy a peaceful primitive moment (despite it’s unfortunate current circumstance as the center of a miniature traffic circle), makes you feel fresh just looking at it, even though it is fed by hot springs – cool, I really ..
…my next stop this afternoon as I gradually make my way by train south from meetings in the Netherlands to a long awaited pilgrimage to Italy’s mysterious heel of Puglia (before continuing on to autumn obligations for projects and talks in Istanbul, London, Den Haag, Reno, Philadelphia, Princeton, New York, Budapest, Sofia, Lodz) – and ..
…the simple casual homey delicious macrobiotic Marais cafe established in 1980, where you feel like you are dropping by your very cool exotic earthy French aunt and uncle’s place for a fresh vegan homemade lunch (bus your own dishes!) – is my Parisian culinary salvation at whose front door I was hungrily waiting at noon ..
…on Canal St. Martin in my new favorite Paris neighborhood of Bellevue is a welcome find this afternoon – again biking my way to all corners of town – where contemporary art, design, photography materials are a welcome jolt of inspiration in a town otherwise shuttered for the month, and I wish every neighborhood had ..
…in the Marais is just around the corner from where I’m staying, so I like to bike (having subscribed to the Vélib’ bikeshare program I am spending all of my Parisian street time on two wheels) through the majestic/hidden portal off Rue de Rivoli no matter which way I’m headed to enjoy this grand outdoor ..
…is the ambitious summer civic project involving sandy beaches, colorful umbrellas, a swimming pool, striped cabanas, exotic palm trees, lounge chairs, and all of the August seaside pleasures of the Riviera delivered to the middle of the city for the beach-hungry Parisians stuck in town, and the fun part was seeing how seriously they received ..
…on this little lake in the woods nearby, where we are spending our days in the sun and water, are each big enough for one – maybe two people – and I’m starting to think that this is all I could ever need – and what more could we want for a quiet Augus..
…which we are later told might perhaps be edible, stops me on my afternoon hike from the lake, down the hill, through the woods, a shock of subtle but extravagant color in the relentless green aroun..
…this morning is slowly making it’s way from one side of the boardwalk to the other and catching my eye – as I am drawn to smaller and slower things here in ..
…took me from Amsterdam to Paris Gare du Nord in a speedy comfy fancy wified Thalys ride, then to a quaint modest pokey regional car out of Gare de L’Est to this hilly wooded region of Eastern France where I’ll be quietly retreating, doing yoga, reading, and che..
…from my a friend’s colorful apartment in MVDRV’s ship-like Silodam sitting over the water on concrete piers – is what I am lucky enough to be enjoying tonight as the sun goes down on a long invigorating day that started with yoga at one of my favorite studios anywhere, an endless afternoon bike ride all ..
…is allowed to go wild and have it’s way sprouting out of the corner between the sidewalk and the house facades all over town – the best part of the spring and summer urban lands..
…are the handy recyclrey designery arty folks I’ll be working with on an upcoming project here in the fall produced by Stroom – so this afternoon in a jet-laggy daze I went to visit their two vast storage/studio spaces to select some materials for my upcoming project Composted Constructions from the amazing collections of industrial, ..
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