July 27, 2008 at 2:59 pm (Friends And Family, Uncategorized)
It was great to have Grandma Monika visit with us for 10 days in June. As usual, she brought with her lots of energy, love, presents (including a great bag that I LOVE) AND her new soon to be husband, Francesco.
We were all a little nervous about meeting him since we are technically still getting to know my mother. Francesco stole our hearts within the first 2 days of him being here. He’s so sweet, easy going, curious, funny and clearly loves my mother– which made us all like him even more.
I still had to work for a few days once they arrived and our visitors toured Washington DC and the local area while I was at the office. They are both very adventurous and curious – a great match.
It was Francesco’s first visit to the US and I was concerned about showing him as much of America as i could. However, I was also completely exhausted from 6 months of traveling for work, putting in crazy hours and not getting a lot of rest. So, we decided to go the beach for a few days, to give everyone a chance to enjoy some downtime while still making sure that our Italian visitors experienced the US from the perspective of a “native”. I decided to rent a house in Bethany Beach, Delaware– the kids and I have been there many times when they were small and we made some great memories there. The house we rented was outside of Bethany and backing to the Bay and we really enjoyed listening to the birds and wildlife while still being close enough to the beach without needing to get in the car. We rented bicycles for everyone and it turned out that my mother had not been on a Bike in something like 30 years. She was a little nervous at first but by mid week, she was cruising around on her bike like an old pro. The three adults spent a relaxing week of reading, sleeping and drinking Coronas while the teenagers were off on their bicycles, looking for other teenagers.. We took several mini trips to surrounding villages with the highlight being a dolphin cruise I organized. The kids and I have done this many times but neither Monika or Francesco had ever seen a Dolphin in the open ocean before. It was SO cool to see their faces when the boat came to a stop in the open sea and the Dolphins started jumping out of the water, just a few feet away. Being a witness to their amazement made it that much better for us. The weather was perfect the entire week and when it got too hot, we retreated to our house for 2-3 hour siestas in the afternoon. .. Heaven!
I decided that i wanted to introduce our visitors to another East Coast City so we decided to head to Philadelphia “on the way home” (geography was never my strong suit).. We had a blast touring Philly in Duck Mobile– I thought my mother was going to have a heart attack when the driver started barreling into the Delaware River– that was SO cool. We also visited one of my very favorite places to see Art, the Barnes Foundation. It’s hard to describe the Barnes- it is probably the most exquisite private collection of impressionist period art, including over 150 Renoirs.. You have to see it to believe it. Here is a painting that my mother and I both loved:
We headed back to Frederick for our last weekend together and Amy and Shelley hosted a fantastic pool party which involved traditional American food, beer and a spirited water volleyball match.
We had a great visit and it was so nice to have an opportunity to continue to get to know my mother.
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July 6, 2008 at 3:31 pm (Willa travels)
June was very busy! I started the month frantically getting ready for another show, this time in NYC. Those of you who know me well have heard my alternating raves about California and NYC being the two coolest places in the world. I love them for different reasons. NYC is so much more than just a city..it really feels like a big, living and breathing thing (for lack of a better word). Being there leaves you with two options. Become part of it or go insane with over stimulation. I usually take the train from Maryland and usually, I start getting nervous anticipation about an hour before I get there. It feels like I am going on a date–knowing it’s going to be a good one.. Exiting Penn Station ALWAYS makes me turn into a tourist. I stop for a minute and just look UP, sometimes I am standing in the middle of the sidewalk, which is not something I recommend. My last trip to NYC was during a big, big heatwave which added a very interesting dimension to the already frenetic population of the city. I arrived mid day, the temperature was about 95 degrees and I decided to walk from Penn Station to the Javits Center, where I typically spend my work day. The Javits is a giant Glass BOX. It was built in the 70’s, around the same time when plastic pants and matching sofas were in style… The outcome is an odd looking structure, looming by the rivers edge.
In the summer, the Glass Box becomes a giant Greenhouse. Because it’s glass all around, the sun is a constant companion. I can’t imagine what it costs to cool this place– it must be a lot because we typically have no air conditioning during our setup days, making for a sweaty and cranky crew. When the weather outside is above 85degrees, the air conditioning just gives up and being inside feels only a little better. Despite the sauna conditions, we had a great show with lots of interesting attendees although the heat made everyone a little edgy. My evenings in NYC are always spent walking the city, exploring the shops, finding good Italian food and this time, visiting a Salsa Club with my NYC “boyfriend” Michael. I’ve been taking a salsa class and wanted to try my skills, preferably somewhere I could get lost in the crowd. The club we went to ended up drawing an amazing group of what looked like professional salseros and watching them was so much fun! Michael is a struggling actor and musician and he’s lived in NYC all of his life. He has no sense of direction (literally and figuratively ) and is definitely someone who takes the motto “One Day at a Time” very seriously. It’s always so cool to see the city with a native New Yorker–between him and a crazy ex GF who was also from NYC, I’ve seen some pretty interesting places. I love Central Park in the morning, when the mist is rising and the runners and dog walkers are all about. I love Bryant Park in the evening, when the tall trees are throwing shadows and the crowd has thinned out a bit. There are some amazing old Churches in NYC, this one is on 5th Ave
The Public Library is breathtaking too. Every time I go to NYC, I tell myself to go see a show but I still haven’t done that. It’s the part of me that feels that sitting in place for 2 1/2 hours would mean that I am missing out on 2 1/2 hours of wandering the city randomly, finding little surprises around every corner. I am headed back again in a few weeks and this time, I am really, really going to try to see a show..!
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