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Mare Nostrum II: Roma–In the Shadow of Centuries

Capitoline wolf statue
Capitoline Wolf, Museo Capitolini in Rome. Photo by kajmeister.

There are very few places left which can live up to their own hype. Rome does. Use whatever words you like–ostentatious, city of grandeur, over the top–Rome wears them like a toga. You want 2000-year-old ruins? Here’s a Temple of the Vestal Virgins. Over there’s a Colosseum, where one three-day festival weekend, they slaughtered 9000 people in it. You like statues? Here’s a six-foot head of Constantine that used to tower in a piazza or… how about a Michelangelo so close to you that you can breathe on it. Want coffee? Best cappucino in the world at this hole in the wall, mind the scooters aiming at you as you cross the alley. Museums? More than in Washington D.C. Pastries? Sfogliatelle. Religious backdrops? Oh, here’s a church (imagine me waving vaguely at St. Peter’s, the way Edith Head used to wave at all her Oscars).

We’ve seen painted ceilings, beautiful sculptures, and well-turned out meals in many places. Rome just seems to have more. Of everything. Continue reading “Mare Nostrum II: Roma–In the Shadow of Centuries”

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Mare Nostrum I: Venice-La Serenissima

Oh Venice! Venice! when thy marble walls
Are level with the waters, there shall be
A cry of nations o’er thy sunken halls,
A loud lament along the sweeping sea!
If I, a northern wanderer, weep for thee,

What should thy sons do?–anything but weep
And yet they only murmur in their sleep.

—Ode to Venice, Lord Byron

It’s easy to be in awe of Venice; it’s harder to like it.

I am not referring either to Venice, California, in the state where I live, or Venice, Florida where my dad used to live and where I spent the summer of ’78 driving up and down the Tamiami Trail. I’m talking about THE Venice, which is the first stop on our three week sojourn around the Mediterranean. The first thing you observe is the sound of water lapping, nonstop, against the docks, the sound of engines revving up and cutting down as the barges and taxis slip around through the canals. History sings as you ride the boats between the Palazzo Thises and the Ca d’Thats, but, even in sunlight, the buildings which shine in the distance seem faded and dingy close up.

Venice St. Mark's Square
St. Mark’s Square, Venice, photo by kajmeister

Beautiful Decay

One well-traveled friend warned me that she found Venice dirty and odorous, like New Orleans without signs in English. Another said she loved to walk around and just “gawk.” For me, the city inspired thoughts of both. Arriving to the train station via water taxi, the food seems airport-priced, the toilets require coins, and people are jammed into the few available seats and benches. (Don’t sit on the bridges!) Lines for the vaporetto (water bus) tickets are long, signs are confusing, and photo stops at the Rialto bridge and elsewhere are wall-to-wall shoulders and strollers. A vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal listening to a pre-downloaded Rick Steves’ tour seemed like a great “get acclimated” idea, except that the popular #1 line was also crammed full of bodies–where do these tourists all come from? Same place as myself, I suppose.

Continue reading “Mare Nostrum I: Venice-La Serenissima”

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The Mindfulness of Goop

A modern lifestyle brand.
–the tagline for Goop.com

Wellness Goop.com
Wellness at Goop.com

What is Goop all about? Those four words may seem simple, perhaps even empty, but that is where Goop is elaborate in its nothingness. In being modern, it’s about Today, which is so important, for you would not want to focus on fads from Yesterday. And it’s all about lifestyle, which means it could cover anything in your life, assuming your life is missing a $90 cashmere eye mask and slipper set. Goop is about “cutting edge wellness…vetted travel recommendations…beauty, fashion, and home.” What could be broader than all of your life? but, most importantly, your health.  Plus goop (or is it Goop? or GOOP? all three! ) is a brand which means it is not so much what you buy, but the fact that you bought it on Goop which really counts.

In fact, it really doesn’t matter what it is. But that fits perfectly because where else but Goop would you find a $3 lollipop, a $77 tank top, and a $287 In-flight zip pouch? None of your Walmart $0.50 ziploc bags or Amazon $7.69 zippered pouches, heck no. This pouch has slick black accents and is endlessly versatile for, like Goop, it is see-through and comes empty. Nothingness is environmentally friendly and promotes mindfulness.

The Mindfulness Industry

Mindfulness is big business right now, and sites like Goop are taking full advantage of the opportunity. Mindfulness, of course, is a real process, a part of Buddhist teachings and meditative practices that date back for centuries. As a practice applied with structure, it has been used successfully to treat depression, drug addiction, anxiety, and other psychological problems. Continue reading “The Mindfulness of Goop”