Life Expands as do I

April 29
Life expands

I didn’t write in few days. I did start photographs and storing them and they are now at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v374/judgo/


I think there are some good ones and I have my style liking to take something that captures a moment in time not what I can get on a postcard. Of course I regret loss of the digital slr – this Casio is a good one and it has its drawbacks for photography.
I think I will continue to photograph my espresso and food.
Later I will write about my experiences with food here and cooking in the apartment. I really like that of course since I am so interested in food and cooking.
Whats good for me is that I continue to eat healthy. Speaking of healthy I am enjoying the gym and its an experience – very small and some new equipment from Technogym and some company called Energy. I cannot understand how they get this heavy equipment here. All the other things are very old and rusting – there are machines that do same as ours and sometimes you have to figure out how and even if you know it doesn’t have the same ease of use. Example is Tower from Bay Club and something here has four parts for biceps and triceps and you can change the piece although not many choices. Its all good and I enjoy it. I think he will cut me a good deal to go for the last 2 weeks here. And it has a locker with key so you don’t need your lock and a nice change room and shower. The cutest part is their bird everyone there stops and talks to the bird – I think name is Iago or something like it.
Yesterday I really accomplished something amazing! I decided to use my bank ATM card connected to checking and guess what – every machine has only digital keyboard – my pin is letters – even if there is a letter keyboard it doesn’t work. So that night I call B of A and its closed. The real good thing is I was able to let it go yesterday and go to gym. Yet I didn’t give up – I knew there was a way to translate letters into #. So finally I come upon keyboard like ours letters and numbers – that one tho doesn’t take Plus system that’s for my card. However I read keyboard and I get my digital pin and voila go to another place and it works!
Another good thing was discovering traghetto – this is a gondola that’s plain and it takes you from one side of a canal to other – it doesn’t go on Grand Canal I think cause of that distance. The people here stand and I got in going to Fish and Produce market yesterday and sat. Did shopping, had espresso and tuna sandwich and took it back and I stood for the ride.
I have seen of course much wonderful art mostly in churches last few days and that marvelous Palace – Ca Rezzonico – here I have never seen such exquisite beauty in every room – takes you back to another era of Venice high flying times. Like dot com before with taste
I have seen quite few of Rosalba Carriere portraits and she was the only famous woman painter of that era and she was absolutely marvelous. Right now there is conference in Chioggia to study her work
I went to this marvelous Church Friari cause of old book Barbara Scott gave me and it was amazing place and the highlight was this gorgeous Bellini tryptich
Last night I went out with two ladies here in this apartment area I met from Oxford – both retired and one is also jewish and from Chicago. It was good to talk to people for first time really in 11 days of being alone. They took me to very good restaurant. They have come to Venice few times so know it. Leaving restaurant something happened to my ear and I knew its from this cold I have – the ear completely clogged. Yet I enjoyed waterbus ride on grand canal to St Marks and walking there listening with one ear to these music places outside and just walking and returning on waterbus. When I got back here I was concerned – now what? - I took some ibuprofin from Nina or is she Elizabeth and tea and ate some toast and today Im okay.
This is wonderful time – when I was at Friars Church I thought about something that was really bothering me at home and there amidst the beauty of this 15th place with monument to Titian, to Canova, Monteverdi buried there, and this marvelous Bellini in Sacristy and of course the marble floors walked on by millions I realized how irrelevant all that other stuff is – there will always be things in life not right, not as we think they should be, not fair and really its so irrelevant compared to the possibility that Life is for every human being. I am blessed to be here in Venice seeing what I see and meeting new very nice people and with the resources to get around and even to translate my letter PIN into numbers. All of it – and of course to wake up with return to my health.