A piece of Brembana Valley

 

In a little spot in the Brembana Valley exists a place called Pagliari. It’s 1313m up in the sky and what you’ll find there are rustic stone houses, greener than green pastures, an icy cold river and a spectacular cascading waterfall.

I was there last weekend with a load of friends and Alpini for their yearly BBQ party – fresh polenta, meat on skewers, sausages, more sausages, all  glugged down with lots of red wine. 

The breeze and fresh air made us forget that in down town Bergamo, the heat was suffocating the life out of some people, and natures calling covered us with insects like biting ants and huge creepy crawly spiders.

http://www.brembana.info/borghi/pagliari/pagliari1.html 

At the Angolone

This is me sipping a mojito at L’Angolone, one of this Summer’s retreats of Bergamo’s venetian walls, near Porta San Giacomo to be precise. 

The cocktails here are pretty darn good starting from 6€ a pop, not to mention the scrumptious burgers (12€ just for the burger), courtesy of Cece e Simo, a restaurant in lower town Bergamo, and the hand cooked crisp-like chips, yum yum.

Thanks darling Maggie for the photo!

Bergamo Edition - The Lantro Fountain

A while back, boyfriend and I went for a stroll along the Venetian walls of Bergamo.

We’ve come across the Fontana del Lantro (fountain of Lantro) before, but on this lucky Sunday, it was open.

The Lantro fountain is situated under the church of San Lorenzo in the upper part of Bergamo, and is a squared stone construction.

If you walk down a few cobbled steps, and walk through a narrow door, mind your head, you’ll see that inside all of this magnificent stone there are numerous arches and vaults which all immerge into the centre of the cistern.

This current structure dates back to the sixteenth century and in the past has provided water in abundance to the local people and animals.

It’s no longer in use, but worth a look see on your travels.

Death: A self - portrait

La Vie et la Mort, Leben und Tod. Postcard, c.1900-10

I recently went to see an exhibition at the Wellcome Collection on Euston Road.

The exhibition was Death: A self- portrait. 

An exhibition that faced me with my own morality and played on the ways of seeing death through works of art (some quite rare) such as Otto Dix (a machine gunner in WW1), Goya and Durer. Not only did I see art but also historical artefacts and scientific specimens, as well as works to show mourning rituals, the dance of death and much more.

The exhibition covers five rooms, each room focusses on a specific idea about death from the contemplation of death, death as an enemy and friend to its commemoration.

 I have to say that it was one of the most intriguing exhibitions I’ve ever seen and one that I greatly appreciated.  

If you go in the right frame of mind you’re sure to find this exhibition positive and rewarding with much to think about when you leave. Here peace of mind is in peace with death.

I even bought the picture album book to remember it all, that’s how taken aback I was with myself for having liked it so much.

You’ll find the Wellcome Collection more or less across the road from Euston station.

The exhibition is only on until the 24^th February so get there quick sharp if you’re interested!

 http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions/death-a-self-portrait.aspx

La Pasqualina

In the heart of Bergamo there’s a street called Via Borfuro.

In via Borfuro there’s a place called La Pasqualina.

At La Pasqualina there’s going to be a children’s English course.

The children’s English course starts next Monday and Tuesday.

On Mondays and Tuesdays you’ll find me there.

La Pasqualina is a beautiful location in the centre of Bergamo where I go pretty often for a tea or coffee.

There’s a spectacular array of products; teas and coffees, cakes and pastries, ice-creams and semi-freddos, hand-made chocolates, hard boiled sweets and lots and lots of creativity that’s gone behind the choice of setting of this location.

La Pasqualina stands on two floors. The lower floor hosts the bar and a ‘tea room’ setting that’s ideal for friends and family. The first floor on the other hand is equipped with tables for lunch time service as well as a more ‘relaxing’ area with poufs and sofas.

When the sun shines you can stop in for an ice-cream and when the cold days of Winter strike, it’s the perfect get-away for a nice warming cuppa.

Visit La Pasqualina and be tempted by all of the scrumptious things that are on offer.

http://www.lapasqualina.it/Home/index/ENG/M-METOP-M0001/ 

Self portrait of Edvard Munch, 1902

Munch, Self Portrait, 1902

This is Munch. It’s a self-portrait that dates back to 1902.

He projects an image of himself as an artist of a tortured soul and an outsider.

Munch made several versions of this self-portrait and with each, he gradually blackened out his body to be left with this final version of just his head.

The portrait can be found at the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset house.

Admission for entry is £6.00 to visit all the exhibitions.

The nearest tube station is Temple.

Trust me, you won’t regret taking a visit there!

http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/index.shtml