Virginia’s Birthday Weekend - Rome and Lucca

Post author:jlupori
Post published:December 28, 2022
Post category:Culture
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Vincent Van Gogh in Rome

The Tandem Spirits were excited when they heard there would be a Van Gogh exhibit in Rome. The exhibit opened in October at Palazzo Bonaparte. We decided that would be the perfect way to celebrate Virginia’s birthday.

When we got off the train at Termini, it was pouring down rain. Fortunately the squall passed through pretty quickly, and our walk to Piazza Venezia was quite pleasant.

The Exhibit - Palazzo Bonaparte

The Van Gogh exhibit was as fabulous as we hoped it would be. The paintings are on loan from the Kröller-Müller Museum. The founder, Helene Kröller-Müller was one of the largest admirers and collectors of his works. It included various genres from landscapes to portraits. Many of the works highlighted his affinity toward and respect for the people who lived hard lives as they toiled in the fields and factories.

The colors, texture and and technique create a kinetic energy that made many of the works breathtakingly beautiful.

Van Gogh Slide Show - Click on Vincent

Landscape with Wheat, Sheaves and Rising Moon

We had lunch at Osteria Pantaleo Mimesi, a wine bar just outside Piazza Navona.

Visiting Cousins in Lucca

The next morning we drove up to Tuscany in the hills around Lucca to have lunch with James’ cousin Natalia and her family. We had a wonderful time catching up with everyone and, of course, the lunch was amazing. Natalia made Lasagna with pumpkin.

We left Natalia’s around 8 pm. We were staying in a hotel just outside the walls in Lucca, so we walked into town. We stopped into Bistrole Winebar “des Arts” for a small snack and a glass of wine.

On Monday we drove around various towns close to Lucca. We are trying to get an idea of whether any of these locations would be a good place to retire when the time comes. We went back to Lucca and “des Arts” for lunch.

We spent the afternoon walking around the town

It was a rainy day, and we spent some time in our hotel before heading to Pescia to have dinner with James’ cousin Beatrice, her husband Mattia and baby Anna. As we drove the rain got heavier and heavier, there was even some hail!. In the end it was well worth braving the weather. We had a fun evening chatting and playing with Anna, and it was nice to see what they have done with their apartment.