Author Archives: Page

As of this writing (Sunday March 1) Linda and I are now back in the United States. Our final few days in Venezia were truly surreal. Coronavirus started appearing in Italy about a month ago, with 2 cases reported in Rome. Then about 3 weeks ago a couple cases were reported in the Lombardy region,Continue reading “Surreality”

It’s pretty tough finding your way around Greece, if you do not encounter anyone who actually speaks English. I belonged to a Greek society in college, but knowing the call letters for my frat, chi psi, in no way prepared me to get about Athens. I did manage to learn how to say thank you,Continue reading “In 2020, Still Greek To Me”

Athens has a height restriction, so none of its buildings interfere with the view of The Acropolis. This and Mt. Lycabettus are the two natural landmarks in the city. And you can see them from everywhere. As with most ancient city states The Acropolis was the location of the first settlement in the area, someContinue reading “Sittin’ On Top Of The World”

This one’s for our friends John and Ken (who don’t know each other). John collects beer mugs and glasses from around the world. Following an earlier post that pictured one of the three local Greek brews Mythos, John commented immediately that he has a Mythos glass in his collection (probably now stored in some boxContinue reading “More Local Brew & Wine”

Over a thousand years passed between the ancient Mycenaeans and the Greeks who competed at Olympia or went to the Oracle of Delphi to have the truth divined. In that same span of time Greek art moved from the archaic to the classical. Archaic sculptures were more stylized figures. They usually exhibited straight hair andContinue reading “Archaic to Classical”

Wherever we went in Greece, our hotel had a drain on the floor. OK, maybe that’s not so unusual. When you leave the shower curtain on the outside of the tub and the water runs out onto the floor, it has someplace to go. But this was different. When you unplug the drain in theContinue reading “Grecian Plumbing”

Venice was in its prime from about 1100 – 1500 AD. We departed Venice this week, during a one week semester travel break, to head back in time. We’re talking 4000 years before Venice peaked out, and 4500 years before our lives as we know them today. On Sunday we flew into Athens and holedContinue reading “Time Travel”

We departed Venice yesterday morning at 7 am with the moon setting over the Grand Canal. We arrived our hotel in Athens later in the day with the moon rising over the ridge to the east of the Acropolis.

Just over the Ponte dell’Accademia, across the small campianello San Vidal on the San Marco side, is the Chiesa San Vidal (Church of St. Vitale). The church was founded in 1084 by Doge Vitale Faller, dedicated to his patron saint. More recent restorations in the 15th and 17th centuries make the church seem positively “modern.”Continue reading “Concerti”

This spring we have arranged for a whole series of meetings with business people and companies for our students. Last week our friend Mike Calder, head of the global division of First American Financial’s title insurance operation, came through here on his way to London from California HQ. This week we visited Gasparini, one ofContinue reading “Gasparini S.p.A.”

Today is the day when we establish our residency in Italy for several months. This morning early at 8:00 we left Casa Artom to meet Laura at Piazzale Roma. There we took a taxi over to the mainland to the Office of Immigration in Marghera. Laura had an appointment there for us at 9:00 am.Continue reading ““Insane Process””

This past week the first excursion for students was to Campo Sant’Agostin. This is a tiny, quiet square in the San Polo sestiere (neighborhood), in the very center of Venezia. High on the second floor exterior wall of a yellow house just off the campo is a remarkable plaque, dedicated to the memory of AldusContinue reading “Aldus Manutius”

We are now sitting in Munich airport. It is 10 am. The flight overnight from Washington was superb, with roomy seats and good food in Economy Plus seating. But getting onto this United Airlines flight was another story. Weather in Washington didn’t delay our Greensboro flight. But the dreaded mechanical issue on their commuter planeContinue reading “En route”

It is January 2, 2020, and only 5 days until we fly off to Venice for our four-month stay at Casa Artom. The Christmas tree has been taken down, and all the holiday decorations are stored away. We’ve brought up suitcases to gauge how much room we have for packing. Errands are being run toContinue reading “Getting prepared to go!”