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Basilica Julia

June 08, 2016

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Forum Romanum, Rome, Summer 2015

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Nobody's boy, Hector Malot

My childhood version. The Dutch title translates as: Alone in the world When I was little, my parents had a big blue book on their bookshelves with beautiful drawings. I loved the story of the young orphan Remi who was sold by his mean stepfather when he was ten years old to a musician, Vitalis, who travelled around with Joli-Coeur the little monkey and the dogs Capi, Dolce and Zerbino. Nodoby’s boy is a beautiful story and I read it many times. Only later did I find out this was a world famous French classic, translated into many languages. The story is probably known: Remi is an orphan and that is why he does not belong to anybody. But fortunately for him he does encounter many people who help him, sometimes for a short while, but often for a longer period of time. Vitalis is a good man, but during a cold winter’s night when they could not find shelter, he dies. Gardener Alcuin takes Remi into his family, but when a heavy storm destroys the glasshouses, fat

Two films about Virginia Woolf and Daphne du Maurier

In the past weeks I saw two films and only when I finished the last one, I noticeds the silimar subject. Both were films about female authors I like, namely Virginia Woolf and Daphne du Maurier, and both films was about their romantic relationship with a woman. So, I decided to combine these two in one blogpost. The first film I liked, but I did not love it and the second one was very good. Vita and Virginia (2018) This film is about the author Vita Sackville West who is a populair author, but not very well respected. She is an open marriage with Harold Nicholson and is infamous for her lesbian affair with Violet Keppel. Now it is 1922 and Vita longs to be taken seriously as an author. She is thrilled when she gets invited to a party with the Bloomsbury group and when she meets them, she falls in love with Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf is respected and a serious writer, but not a populair one (Mrs Dalloway would be her breakthrough) and she is shy and awkward in public. These two

The best of 2016

The last year was a good year for me, on the whole. Although it seemed at some times the world was going mad, personally I have very little to complain about. So here are a few of the best things from 2016 I am quite happy with the direction my blog is going at the moment. Two to three posts a week is a good schedule for me, and I feel much more creative and that is exactly what I was looking for. The photograph that caught the most eyes was this one from the autumn leaves in the sun. Very beautiful indeed. I have seen so many beautiful exhibitions this year, I can hardly pick a favorite. But the Paul Klee exhibition in Paris was really special, and it is also the blogpost that was most read on this subject. And now, for the books. This year I read amazing and beautiful books. In total I read 155 books, 78 fiction and 34 nonfiction. I read 30 historical books and 15 biographies, 26 of these were books by French authors, 13 about Italy or by Italian authors. 18 were in

Squadra antimafia, Palermo oggi (2008-)

I love a good Italian series and when I find one I did not see before, I am very happy. Recently I discovered Squadra antimaffia, Palermo oggi, that came out on DVD in The Netherlands. A very good and thrilling series about a group of policemen and women who fight against the mafia in Palermo. In the first series we meet policeinspector Claudia Mares ( Simona Cavallari ). In 1992 she was a policeofficer and she saved the life of a young girl, who turned out to be Rosy Abate, the daughter of a mafia family. We then fast-forward to 2008. Old friend and colleague Stefano asks Claudia to come back to Palermo, because something big is going on. Before he can tell her, Stefano gets killed. Inspector Mares becomes the new head of the team, but she does not know if she can trust them, especially when it becomes clear there is a mole who betrays everything to the mafia. The only person she trusts is inspector Ivan de Meo. ( Claudio Gioè ) Claudia and Ivan In the meanwhile

Notes from an exhibition, Patrick Gale

Families can have a lot of influence on people, the traits you inherit from your parents, the way you and your siblings interact, all have an impact on the rest of your life. This is also the case for the children of Rachel and Anthony. Rachel was a painter and she and Anthony lived in Cornwall. Rachel was also bipolar, and often the household centrered around her moodswings. But the quiet religous beliefs of Anthony's quakerism also had its impact on the family, it was not an easy thing to live up to. When Rachel dies, all remaining familymembers must come to terms with their memories and their grief. And slowly we learn about Rachel's past and the things that happened during these past years. I discovered Patrick Gale a couple of months ago and read A place called Winter , which I loved, and I am glad to say this second book I read did not dissapoint. I really admore how Patrick Gale manages to write different people at different ages, each with their own voice. H

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