Rome!

 It's that season again, the time of year when I attempt to fill my well in far-flung places. I'm on the road, looking for inspiration, this time to Rome and Greece. 

Without realizing it, we landed in Rome during a major holiday, celebrating Rome's founding, with people dressed up in togas and breastplates strutting down the boulevards. The lines at the Vatican and Coliseum were soul-crushing, but off in a side gallery I found... her:

Despite all the noise and craziness, there was peace here, a reminder of the transcendence of art.

Everywhere on the streets, in the cafes, in the parks, everyone was acting so Italian--expressive, waving their hands, kissing their girlfriends. It bled over into the art, too, such as in this pieta at the Palazio Venezia: 

 

Culture feeding art, in the galleries or in the streets...

 

We took refuge in the gardens of the Villa Borghese one afternoon, and I was so surprised and delighted by the hydrochrometer, a clock built by Giambattista Embriaco in 1872.

 

Traveling is exhausting, my internal clock is all confused still, but the sudden moments of art grab me in the midst of the crowds and tell me: Art Is Important.