i (wendy) made it safely to DC to give a talk at the RSA’s annual conference.
here i am on the program (the guy i speak after already has 3 books… yikes)
the hotel is swank (a legit starbucks in the lobby) and the weather is amazing! when i landed at the airport i immediately bought a sleeveless top and put it on in the bathroom because it was so warm. no gloves and coats here!
i will hopefully give a few US updates over the next week.
Watching Zeke play in a staff match. I think some teachers are working out their aggression. (Zeke is number 6 up by the goal) the MGS staff won this match that was a practice for next week’s match against the MGS parents. despite how grey it looks in this picture, it actually was quite fun to be outside at the school.
(disclaimer: no new photos, all of these have been posted on Facebook already)
the past two months have sped by. the last blog posts were from wendy’s trip to venice where we kept in touch having Skype dinner dates.
wendy brought back a few ingredients for our valentine’s dinner. a couple of years ago we started a tradition of making a nice dinner together instead of going out to a crowded restaurant. it’s especially nice now that we’ve become better cooks.
this year we started with ciabatta and delicious balsamic vinegar from venice, and then chilli pepper heart-shaped pasta with a mushroom and shallot cream sauce. (soy cream, that is)
before dinner wendy baked a chocolate cake that we iced with pink champagne icing, pink sugar and candy hearts. and zeke put his cookie-decorating skills to use decorating valentine cookies.
we had plenty of sweet treats that week.
wendy also brought back another treat for zeke from her layover at the airport in amsterdam. zeke loves these dutch sprinkles that they put on buttered toast. (yes, people are allowed to eat this for breakfast!)
he also grew a beard. (that was shaved into a moustache last weekend for his cowboy character in the murder mystery dinner party hosted by the thorps)
february was also a hard time as wendy’s grandmother passed away. wendy had a wonderful last visit with grandmama at christmas, but was still very sad to not be there with the family and to be instead busy with things here in manchester. a cheery present from ashley arrived at just the right time.
ashley mailed a few friends these glittery shoes (a la sisterhood of the travelling pants). wendy wore them around the house with pjs and ate chocolate cake and remembered grandmama.
we also had a bit of snow in manchester in february.
other than that, february was a busy month with zeke’s work load increasing at the school and wendy preparing to turn in her 3rd chapter for a phd panel and being a teaching assistant for her advisor’s class. there were a fair amount of migraines, stressful days, and sleepless nights in february. despite this, we were really grateful for the time we were able to spend at brunches, lunches, murder-mystery dinners, bible studies, american tv nights, and manchester united matches with some great friends here in manchester.
and now that it’s march, if you know zeke at all, you’ll know it’s just the beginning of a continuous stream of basketball-watching in this house.
wendy’s panel this week went very well. (if you ever wondered what wendy’s advisor meetings looked like, see this scene from the disney movie tangled)
yes, i do often have this unsure look on my face, but i feel very blessed to have such a supportive advisor. (though i don’t think she’s just using me for my magical hair)
now i’m grading essays and preparing to give my first 1 hour lecture to undergrads next tuesday and then wednesday i head to D.C. to give a talk at my first (as KG and i say) “big girl” conference. luckily i’ll be able to stay in the states for a few days and even go to a friend’s wedding in the triangle. zeke, however, will be in manchester doing lots of work and watching lots of basketball. i’ll be sure to eat enough mexican food for us both!
so the vaporetti (water buses) that are a main source of transportation around Venice were out of commission today because of strike action. i had read that they would operate the main services between 7am-9am and 5pm-7pm, so i thought i’d be ok to get to and from the museum (which is directly across the canal from the vaporetto stop near my flat). so i got up earlier to get to the stop by 8:30am.
sunrise over chiesa di frari from my window.
then when i got there it seems they were only running vaporetto line #2 and not the #1 that goes between my stop and the museum. so i had to do what the locals were doing and taking the traghetto instead. supposedly this isn’t supposed to be a scary thing… traghetti are basically stripped down, retired gondolas that take you only directly across the grand canal. they have no seats, but usually so few people ride the traghetti at a time that you can sit on the cross beams. since there was the vaporetto strike many more people were having to use the traghetti. so picture 20 people standing up in a gondola cutting across the canal while boats zoom by (motor boats, garbage boats, constructions boats…). an italian woman near me grabbed onto my arm for stability… and then after laughing i grabbed the man in front of me who then laughed at the two of us. it was actually quite terrifying. i was thinking “this is it. i’m going to fall into the lagoon with my laptop and lose all this research.”
but of course it was fine and i had an hour before i had to be at the museum so i stopped for coffee and made more notes for my next 2 chapters. the women working the coffee bar were singing along loudly to every american song on the radio. the best might have been the love ballad from top gun (take my breath away) or “if you don’t know me by now”, especially because they didn’t know all of the words but sang confidently anyway.
one of the shops i passed on the way from the cafe to the museum had these:
the glasses lots of people are wearing in venice, i’ve noticed. think zeke would want some?
then i spent the morning researching more of Mariano Fortuny’s albums of collected reproductions and photographs.
for my lunch break i didn’t want to try the traghetto again to get back to my flat, so i ate at a touristy restaurant near the museum and upped my caffeine for the home stretch of researching.
though i wouldn’t wish the inability to eat cheese on anyone, this pizza was actually pretty delicious. and i think i scared people with how quickly i ate the whole thing. (do you see its size relative to that normal-sized butter knife?)
i went back after lunch to finish looking at the selected albums. the archives director graciously agreed to send me more photographs of Palazzo Fortuny.
this is the ground floor of Palazzo Fortuny very near the water.
after leaving the museum, the vaporetto still wasn’t operating on my stop so i decided to walk the long way around (up to the bridge at the Accademia and then back down to campo dei frari) instead of braving the traghetto again (though i’m not sure it was easier as i had to deal with some, ahem, ‘chatty’ young italianos on the walk).
yesterday’s research also went well. i had an italian translator help at the museum who had studied in oxford and written her dissertation on the Scouse accent! (that’s liverpool for you american readers) we chatted about england for a bit. i also met with a professor of fashion history/theory at the university of venice whose book i had just read (and, like a nerd, asked for as a christmas present). she was enthusiastic, encouraging, and helpful.
i’ve had a wonderful time here in venice this week. the staff at museo fortuny have been excellent and i feel much more inspired for the last 2 chapters of this thesis.
so this is what researching looks like…
because i’m not allowed to take pictures of the cool stuff. but they did say they could provide pictures for me of some things i’ll write about in my 4th chapter, and the head of archives told me that no one had written on these pieces before (an art historian’s dream) or exhibited them. i also met a co-curator at the museum who was very helpful, friendly, and interesting.
the museum is in the middle of being closed for 2 months, so the atmosphere is a bit strange with lots of construction and staff busy working on the next show. but with it being closed to the public, i was given privileged access to pieces i’m writing on in my 3rd chapter.
tomorrow i go back for more notebooks and a painting.
and from this evening’s trip to the grocery store- here’s more proof that venetian ladies love their fur.
i don’t have the time to narrate, but i will make an exception for the picture of the large beautiful piazza (halfway down). as i walked through this gorgeous tranquil spot a man seated on a park bench blared cher’s ‘if i could turn back time’ on his boom box.
another great day in venice.
i (wendy) am here in venice for phd research. (yes, choosing a subject area where the resources are in venice was a conscious choice.)
i love being here in winter! compared to how crowded it was in summer, the city feels deserted (in a non-creepy way). the locals are out like normal and are much more charming when not being annoyed by barrages of tourists.
the first day i was here was the last day of the exhibition ‘Venice e l’Egitto’ at the Palazzo Ducale. it had some interesting ties to my research and i’m glad i got see it, along with touring the Doge’s palace (on right in pic below). also, i got the youth discount without asking, apparently i can pass for 25 or under (woot woot night cream).
here are some iPhone shots i got with captions underneath:
george clooney advert at the piazzette s. marco
sunset from the balcony of the palazzo ducale
sunset and reflection from the palazzo ducale
atlas flanking the golden staircase (palazzo ducale)
golden staircase (palazzo ducale)
view of venice from inside the ‘bridge of sighs’ connecting the sentencing rooms of the palazzo to the prison
other side from within the ‘bridge of sighs’
winter sunset at piazzette s. marco
hello again, tetrarchs.
lots of italian ladies are wearing fur coats.
today i finally went inside basilica san marco thinking of proust and ruskin and my friends bethie (from brevard) and ashley (who hung out with me in a few italian cathedrals). there was no wait at all and i stayed as long as i wanted (until i almost hunger-fainted because i love me some italian churches)
inside the basilica some italian ladies asked me about one part of the church. i managed two sentences of dialogue before they said ‘you’re not italian are you?’ but hey, it’s the 2nd time in 2 days that i’ve been assumed to be italian and at least my speaking wasn’t so bad that they knew right off.
there are no pics allowed in the church, hence why these are iPhone pics of the floor and outside:
beautiful mosaic floors
my gold herringbone toms on the mosaic floor
san marco <3s Doge
on the roof of the basilica
view of the clock tower from the roof
view of the piazzette from the roof of the basilica
doge hanging out with san marco, the winged lion
i wandered back to the apartment and on the way picked up a present for zeke in a cool man store and went into a thrift shop and got a cool button for my sad cardigan. in the tiny square behind san toma (near the apartment) there were many parents who had just picked up their kids from school and were taking them into this beautiful shop for hot chocolate. it was the most luxurious hot chocolate i’ve ever seen (think real european drinking chocolate) and the children were singing and skipping out. it was wonderful!
this shop made me miss dairy pretty hard. but i did get an espresso and watch everyone dip spoons into their hot chocolate.
then i saw these penguins in a bathroom shop on the way home:
zeke would love a penguin rubbish bin!
tonight zeke and i have a dinner date via videochat (thanks for that idea katherine and grant) and then i’ll write a bit more.
here’s my little studio apartment:
i get to write beneath a venetian chandelier! so glam.
there’s a little kitchenette that connects the living/sleeping room to the bathroom. my favourite part is the ceiling and hanging light above this nook:
the rest of the week is devoted to the textiles museum, Ca Mocenigo, and the Fortuny museum where i’ll be in the archives again!
Made the connection in Amsterdam. I feel so short here! Boarding for Venice in a few.
the last week spent in america was great. we got to see more friends and family and had a few more burritos.
here’s a photo of the new year’s eve family jam session referenced in the last post:
we made it safely back to manchester, despite the snow in DC.
wendy got to hear a favourite professor from UNC come speak in manchester and afterwards caught up with katherine and resumed american tv night.
we brought back a few crazy flavoured M&Ms for our british friends to try, so here’s hello america (holiday edition) with ellie, helen w. and helen h. and what they thought of cinnamon, coconut, and pretzel M&Ms:
soon after we got back we also got to host friends from america for the weekend. hailey, a close middle-school friend of wendy’s (our british friends loved her alabama accent), and her husband stayed with us as part of their 15 day tour of the UK from Edinburgh to Southampton. we got to introduce them to a few british things. so here is hello britain and what they thought of banoffee pie:
we are happy to get back into our manchester lives and see our friends here. next week wendy is off to venice for research at the fortuny museum and to meet with academics.
before we left manchester we had a couple of friends over for sugar cookie decorating- a smith family tradition. zeke went for the 12 days of christmas as his theme:
we went to london and stopped by the portobello rd market (with all of the other tourists and hugh grant fanatics) mainly so zeke could get this sandwich:
we went to see matthew bourne’s nutcracker that night. it was a very fun production (people were actually laughing out loud).
then we had dessert at a cafe near our hotel where a group of old men were getting quite competitive about their chess matches. (see wendy’s vegan option compared to zeke’s dairy-laden awesomeness)
the next day we split off so that zeke could go to the natural history museum to see the dinosaurs…
and wendy did a quick bit of researching inside the national gallery…
below is a piece on the 4th plinth in london that wendy had just lectured about with her class:
before we left london we met up with a friend from the summer camp we worked at last summer who lives near the tower of london. we had a great time catching up and then attended a carol service at her church which is right next to the ‘gherkin’ building. it was a really nice time. we even saw a few other friends there!
then we woke up monday morning and headed to heathrow. our flight was a little late, but overall it was an easy trip. we picked up our rental car (zeke laughed that wendy picked one with a sun roof, but it has been so warm here that we’ve used it a lot!) and within half an hour we stopped for our first burritos of the trip!
we drove to the cabin and saw family there before heading to the triangle area to see zeke’s brother alex and his wife olynda. we took a stroll through their neighbourhood, ate more mexican food and north carolina BBQ, and watched carolina basketball. see alex and wendy enjoying the park down the street:
then we went back to VA for christmas with the mcpherson and ligon families (pics to come) and headed to greenville to see zeke’s family on the 26th.
yes, that is a light saber. playing with the kids was super fun (despite caitlin’s frowny face, i think she had fun too).
we also have been struck by how the stereotypes of america are sometimes true, but still awesome. after being gone a while, it does seem funny that we have starbucks inside of stores with shopping carts that have cupholders. yes, you could make fun of us for being so fat and lazy that we need caffeine and cupholders to do our grocery shopping- but on the other hand… have you tried it? it’s awesome. and look how big those aisles are! (insert british joke about needing room for overweight americans.)
then wendy went to concord to see her grandmama, who is recovering from her last stay in the hospital. she was in good spirits and really liked the calendar we gave her of the queen’s royal palaces. she rather likes the queen.
then wendy joined ashley, maria, and cam at ashley’s mom’s house in concord for a girly sleepover complete with nail painting, hair curling, and presents by the fire. it was lots of fun!
here are everyone’s paraffin wax hands.
cam says they’re like dead mummy hands.
then wendy met zeke, his mom, alex, and olynda at the NC museum of art where they had just seen the rembrandt exhibition. (they’re big fans, being dutch and all.)
they joked that here, rembrandt painted the first bluetooth.
then we went back to VA and spent new year’s eve with wendy’s dad and his family playing music and Xbox kinect. wendy’s dad played electric guitar with jeremy and uncle big john on drums and wendy on bass guitar. it was fun, but i don’t think recording contracts are up any time soon.
then we spent new years day at the cabin watching lots of football…
in our fan gear
matching fleece football pants were a great present from zeke’s mom.
check out that throwback panthers mug (and the manicure).
we’ve got one more week to see friends and eat more burritos, then it’s back to england where it’ll be good to get back into our routine and see our sweet manchester friends again.
Off to eat Malasyian food before going to see Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker ballet in London!
On an early train to London. Goodbye Manchester.
the past few weeks have been quite busy as we wrap up things in manchester to spend a few weeks back in the US for christmas. tonight we went to wendy’s advisor’s house for a nice get together of american comrades. on the rainy bus ride back home we realised zeke wouldn’t get to go to the christmas markets this year because of our busy schedules. so we did the logical thing and…
went straight to albert square so zeke could have his beloved pork sandwich!
it was a really quick stop, but a good way to kick off our last (for 2011) week in manchester.
here are a few pictures from wendy and maria’s time in edinburgh last week. we were lucky to have great weather!
uncompleted 19th century monument to scottish soldiers based on the parthenon
dog in the window of an old scotch whisky shop
the castle
george street christmas market
