Piggy, Florence

This little piggy went to the market, and he never came home. Instead, he became a rather ironic display piece.

The meat slicer is the penny-pincher’s best friend. Roast your own meat and slice for a sandwich. It will definitely be short of the $8.99 per pound you pay at the local grocery for sandwich meat. Not to mention better. I’m not sure how sliced ceramic tastes – probably not so good – but I’m pretty sure your own puerco is pretty damn good. Better than Virginia ham.

Filed under:
365 days of stories, Italy, My Art by Courtney

Stairs, St. Peter’s Basilica

This picture is one of those literal pictures that doesn’t require too much story, too much explanation. Italy has any number of long, steep stairways that wind and curve their way up into the domes of various basilicas or towers. There was something special about this one, though, at the church of all churches, St. Peter’s Basilica.

The sunlight flooded in from above, gleaming off the rather pedestrian tiles (compared to the mosaics inside) and gave this photograph an other-worldly glow.

Filed under:
365 days of stories, Italy, My Art, Rome by Courtney

Elephant & Obelisk, Rome

Oh when the elephants, come marching in! When the elephants come marrr-ching in! Oh how I want to be in that square, when the elephants come marching in!

Elephant and Obelisk really has nothing to do with Louis Armstrong, but when I see this guy, he reminds me of the elephants in Disney’s Jungle Book, who marched and sang as they trampled through the countryside.

Which brings us to the Roman elephant. What is he doing here? Elephants don’t belong in Rome. Nor do obelisks. But here they are, a focal point of Piazza della Minerva. The obelisk is a bit easier to explain. (more…)

Filed under:
365 days of stories, Italy, Music, My Art, not just a picture, Rome by Courtney

Street Lamp, Rome

Street Lamp, Rome is a reminder that sometimes you just need to look up. Even on an overcast day, with a chilly breeze, there’s loveliness to be found.

That’s it. A short story suits a minimal photograph quite well, me thinks.

Filed under:
365 days of stories, Italy, My Art, Rome by Courtney

When In Rome

I had originally called this image Tchotchke View of St. Peter’s, but I think I should change the title to When In Rome. This tongue-in-cheek phrase (pun intended) seems to fit the mood of the photo a little better.

A lot of my feelings around this photo are captured in a previous post, “Holy Tchotchke!”. It’s funny how foreign yet how similar a place can be all at once. (more…)

Filed under:
365 days of stories, Italy, My Art, Rome, Silliness by Courtney