04/08/2023[1]
Hello,
So, I am back from my one-month research trip. It was a very full-on month with its ups and downs, but I achieved most of what I set out to do, which was to see the artworks I needed to see. I was in my motherland, ITALY, you know, the place with incredible food and good drinks, a place with lots of ancient broken things and plenty of fantastic art. I was there for almost a month, starting in Milan for two days and then moving to Padova (Padua), where I spent a week and a half-ish, doing day trips and whatnot. To Verona for art and family time. Then, I went to Bologna for a week (which did not end up being a week) and ended my trip with a week in Florence.
The trip was different from previous times before. Maybe because I was older, perhaps because I was alone, maybe because it was work, or most likely, the answer was all the above. The social bug was doing its own thing for most of the trip and only occasionally showed up over my month. I just focused on my work and got where I needed to go. I also knew I would have some free time towards the end in Florence as I had the least work to do there and was seeing friends. The artwork I was able to see was beautiful. See, I didn't get to see it all because Italians, being Italians, don't always tell the public via their website when museums are closed. You must catch a train for two hours to a destination and read it on an A4 piece of paper in Calibri print stuck to the museum door saying, 'We are closed for just general maintenance. We are opening on the 23rd of September.'
Nevertheless, the artworks I did see rejuvenated some of my love for my research topic and excited me for the following two chapters I will be writing. I saw my two favourite cities again, Venice and Florence, and remember Verona and Rome's beauty. Outside of my standard research practice of visiting museums, palazzos, and churches, I spent my free time going to the different Ghettos, learning about the history of the Jewish communities in Italy, visiting their museums and synagogues. The one thing I wasn't expecting was the heatwave. It was hot, too hot for most of my trip; 40 degrees was a bit much, and I found myself escaping hot windless cities to just as hot cities with a bit of wind. I had a tight schedule of being out in the morning and back before late afternoon before it got too hot. But alas, I made it with no heatstroke, and although very little writing was achieved, that was okay. I aimed to see the work I had set out to do, and I saw 85%, and the ones I didn't see were no fault of my own.
That is all I am really going to say about the trip. I am still processing portions of it and going through my notes and pictures of artworks. I was happy to go, which was rather unusual for me. I never wanted to leave Europe when I had been there in the past, but there was something about this trip. I was ready to get home and continue with everyday life. Having said that, the jet lag has been really shit. It is never fun, but the price of long-distance travel, which, at the end of the day, is a price we Aussies fortunate enough to travel are always willing to pay.
The site is not up and running, but I am making progress. We shall see how it goes in the next little while.
Until next time,
Love Me
[1] I have completely changed the date of when I am writing this blog. It is mainly because it is later than I wanted it to be, and the date was too far ahead of what I would have liked for a July Blog. I know I probably could have just gotten away with it and not told you, but I like to think I am being honest with you guys. So alas, here we are. I was in transit when I would have liked to of written it and have been jetlag to provide you with a legitimate excuse.