Europe – A Long Way to Travel for a "Self Discovery"
We’re back from Germany and Italy and I discovered something I thought I knew about myself but didn’t want to admit that what I knew and was hoping to change – was irreversible…
I don’t journal. One of my Mother’s favorite sayings to us girls (there were 5 of us) was “Buy you books and buy you books – all you do is eat the covers”. A lot of her favorite sayings pop up willy nilly.
I’m so busy looking and thinking that I can’t make myself sit for any length of time and jot down a full thought. My thoughts are pages long and I don’t have the patience to sit through me writing them down. I know, time to reach for the straight jacket (which reminds me I should probably sculpt a self-portrait in a straight jacket made out of ephemera-junk).
This is a picture of my journaling (I’m still searching backs of receipts for more)…
First Impressions:
Germany – (beautiful country – way cool and efficient Train System). When we started traveling in Germany (we traveled by train or on foot (3-5 miles a day) everywhere) I noticed that the Graffiti Artists were awesome and usually confined to the flat concrete walls along the tracks or under bridges (I didn’t see much, if any, graffiti in the towns we visited). Visually, not being able to read German, I didn’t see anything that looked angry. All the graffiti was complete – usually with a background color and then words, few pictures, painted on top. Their technique and use of color was terrific. On our third day in Germany I had to ask myself if I would think the Graffiti was so beautiful if it lined the Amtrack line around Atlanta. I’m not sure – but it sure was pretty.
Germany – (beautiful country – way cool and efficient Train System). When we started traveling in Germany (we traveled by train or on foot (3-5 miles a day) everywhere) I noticed that the Graffiti Artists were awesome and usually confined to the flat concrete walls along the tracks or under bridges (I didn’t see much, if any, graffiti in the towns we visited). Visually, not being able to read German, I didn’t see anything that looked angry. All the graffiti was complete – usually with a background color and then words, few pictures, painted on top. Their technique and use of color was terrific. On our third day in Germany I had to ask myself if I would think the Graffiti was so beautiful if it lined the Amtrack line around Atlanta. I’m not sure – but it sure was pretty.
Italy – (we traveled mostly by car). They didn’t seem to have Graffiti Artists. They had taggers, for most of what I saw and couldn’t read, that appeared to be angry. It wasn’t pictorial – it was written/scribbled on any flat surface – wall, door, post, etc, in and around the Cities we visited. A shame really, because Italy was beautiful. It was like a beautiful woman in a red dress – you throw a pie in her face and all you see is pie. She’s still beautiful and she’s still in a red dress – but all you see is pie.
I gained 5 pounds and my husband lost 2. We were like Siamese Twins – we did everything together – it ain’t fair.
