Wave: La Onda (Spanish) | Le Ondata (Italian) | Tonn (Irish)
We pulled off a great art heist with this one. The absolute privilege to be able to visit museums of this calibre, to discover and absorb pure genius in the flesh while sharing multiple mind-blowing artistic experiences each day with my three artistes. I remember the original idea many years ago was, post their Junior Certs, to take the girls on a father / daughter cultural train tour of Europe to destinations entirely of their choosing. But a plague descended and disrupted our plans. 2 jewels of the Prado (Goya’s Black paintings | Breugel’s Triumph Of Death) contributing to my grasping for dramatic effect there. So it feels pleasing for us to have waded through the trials and tribulations, stepped politely over the bodies, done the planning and then pulled the whole thing off. Major achievement: we didn’t run out of steam before we ran out of money. We also survived without wheels and purchased a steam engine.
I could never relate personally to the trope of the Irish as great story tellers. This format, visual, wordy, researched or half-researched to whatever level feels right, is my flavour of story telling, mostly to myself across time. The simple goal? Capturing images and narrative which persist. The macro is as nebulous to me and therefore as precious to me as any of the micro. The recurring themes of Wandering and Waves. Thanks to the girls for keeping me out of trouble, mostly. I have a tendency to get into minor trouble quite a lot. So black and white that I get ran from places. “Just appreciate the grey” It’s really only when the girls witness it and play it back to me that the pattern is clear. E.g. the Guardian of the Galaxy that followed me around at the Prado, the barista at Starbucks when I reached in to touch a cup on top of the coffee machine. Johnny Cash following me back from Nashville to wander with me. Crackup – Third of May in particular with it's Goya references – resurrecting relevant themes, bringing Goya back from Japan with a bang. U2 (of all bands?) consistently popping into my ears and acting as a lens to focus a handful of resonating themes.
Despite all the gathering
and collating I’ve tried to do, I’ve left so much behind me. Maybe the
cataloguing and deep dives on the artefacts we met on this trip will form
another chapter to properly book-end of the GT project. Maybe.
Tourism is peak
freedom. Tourists have the money and the time, and can travel wherever
they want on a whim. Unfortunately tourism at its current scale, with
its
hyper focus on small sites or cities, is an unsustainable plague. A lot
of
people, hordes of them are very very free and it takes a heavy toll on
unfree
local populations. “We trip along disaster in the whirlwind of the free” Flying
into Dublin, happy to be home but with a real love/hate feeling. The guarantee of warm
weather, with the promise of beguiling light riding shotgun, is something I’ll always
aspire to. The sheer unpredictability and unreliability of Irish weather seeps
like dry rot into the culture I think. We’ve evolved not to expect consistency or much of
anything at all from staples like the weather, our services or even our Government
because they’re liable to change and disappoint at the turn of a breeze. The
rail and road infrastructure in Europe again shines a light on the gaps and failings
in our planning and our resulting infrastructure poverty. The scale and speed
and volume of infrastructure projects which poorer, more dysfunctional, more
politically volatile countries can pull off puts us firmly in the shade, and
it’s embarrassing honestly. Not a country to be young in or grow old in.
This trip, like all of my previous trips brings home the vitality making of travel, and it does make you feel vital. A recurring theme in artist biographies/blurbs on masterpieces across the centuries of the artist relocating to another city / country and the profound, life altering impact the new influences had on their style, perspective or methods. Possibly the most valuable lesson from this trip for two developing, ambitious, brimming with potential, adventuring minds.
One of the
highlights of the trip for me is the growing autonomy, personality and
independence of the girls - a joy to see. Heading off on foot, bargain hunting
in big cities and coming back with exactly what they were looking for. And all it took was "becoming a Google maps merchant" We've done some job on them. What thoughtful, curious and cultured ladies they've turned out to be each finding their niche. And we ouldn't be prouder of them.
I'll publish the Favourites / Grand Tour Awards later in this post once the girls get back to me.
Smells like a bit of an end of an era and if so, what a way to go out. I’m starting a fresh phase reinvention adventure in school. D will be done with secondary school next Summer and may not want to accompany boring oldies on future cultural junkets. Everything moves along. “Aren't we made to be crowded together, like leaves?”
Situations Vacant: Tour Manager (Retired) | Content Creator/Editor 😊
"I’ve loved our good times here.."
Our experiences and adventures hopefully speak for themselves here.
Until future Wanderings…. *Waves*
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| "Can I Be Light And Free?" | I Guess I Lost The Shootout |
Grand Tour Awards | Favourites For A Long Time
Culture
Favourite single art piece which you saw at any point on trip- Me: Garden Of Earthly Delights - Hieronymus Bosch | Guernica – Picasso | David - Michelangelo
- S: Statue of David
- D: Rothko, David
- M: Michelangelo's David, hands down! If I'm allowed 2....Rothko's Green on Purple
- Me: Goya
- S: Goya
- D: Goya
- M: Francisco Goya
- Me: Joaquin Sorolla, the architecture of Firenze Train Station, the fonts of Firenze
- S: Photo realism
- D: Guernica, Isabel Coixet, Goya
- M: Goya’s Black Paintings
- Me: Exposure to Art rewires your brain, colour is a form of medicine. Art is cyclical and a powerful agent of change. Universal themes persist through centuries | Restaurants where its impossible to make reservations are usually very good. Don't judge restaurant staff by their linguistic skills.
- D: How Tapas works
- M: Aperitivos are a thing!
Favourite Museum (and why)
- Me: Prado. So vast, so comprehensive | Gallerie D’Italia Milano - Empty of people, full of surprising art.
- S: The Thyssen because it was more chill
- D: The Thyssen
- M: Thyssen-Bornemisza. Plentiful sit spots to sit and spot. Heart filling art.
Favourite Place (not a museum, not a city. Maybe a place in a city)
- Me: Passeo del Prado Madrid for breakfast picnics & walks to nice restaurants in evening light & nighttime halfcut walks home | The Lungarno breakfast sit spot on the river bathed in Firenze’s morning light | L’Orange Florange of a Friday night (Our family's new local)
- S: Rome
- D: Bridge in Florence, shopping place Milan
- M: Hotel lobby in Hotel de la Ville (L’Orange Florange)
Food
Favourite Pizza- Me: Giotto (Florence N1)
- S: Giotto (Florence N1)
- D: Giotto (Florence N1)
- M: Giotto Calzone (Florence N2)
Favourite Restaurant / Overall Experience (and why)
- Me: NOI – the round table, the excellent food, the service, aperitivos & digestifs, the immaculate vibes
- S: NOI - because of the vibe
- D: NOI and that little place in Florence Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sappori (“Wines & Old Flavours Tavern”)
- M: NOI. Everything was pure perfection!
Favourite Dish (any single course from any restaurant)
- Me: Grilled Seabass @ Barracuda MX, Madrid | Black Cod Saikyou @ Tora, Roma | Filetto di Rombo @ Menagére, Firenze
- S: The starter @ NOI (Parmigiana)
- D: Parmigiana @ Noi | Ravioli @ Vini e Vecchi | Porkbelly Guacamole @ Baracuda MX
Favourite Drink or Cocktail? Bonus points if you can remember where you had it
- Me: The Old Fashioned @ the matching L’Orange Florange
- S: Iced caramel latte in La Menagére (Firenze)
- D: Kiwi cocktail in Noi and Very Berry smoothie in Madrid
- M: Red wine with hearty duck ragu, sweet wine with biscotti (both at Vini e Vecchi)
Best pastry
- Me: The filled, round, pillowsoft one (Vieneziana Crema?) Forno Conti & Co, Roma | Croissant @ Mealleuca Firenze
- S: Breakfast Cinamon Rolls from Umami, Madrid
- D: Honourable mention: Croissant on the roof in Casa Camper Barcelona
- M: The portable Wavy Rosciolis eaten in the Vatican museum canteen
Overall
Favourite Hotel- Me: Toss up between Madrid (the balcony / genesis of prinks) and Barcelona Camper (quality hangs on the rooftop)
- S: Lungarno
- D: Lungarno
- M: Lungarno
Overall Highlight of the entire trip
- Me: The constant oxygen of good fortune in our lungs, our start to finish charmed existence including some of the best meals we’ve ever had, each of our growing autonomies, exactly how it should be. How blessed are we and how blessed are we progressing to be?
- S: The Mexican in Madrid (Barrcuda MX)
- D: NOI for the dining experience, Thyssen museum for art.
- M: Seeing David in the flesh / stone
Overall Lowlight for the entire trip
- Me: Ferry Flu followed by werewolf on the steppes
- S: that one taxi ride (Firenze)
- D: The stupid Vatican Sarong Saga
- M: That taxi trip (Firenze)
Biggest regret since you’ve come home
- Me: Not keeping one constant eye on the most valuable bag in our luggage, particularly when in transit
- S: I wished I’d packed more
- D: Not getting that Snoopy Pisa T-shirt. Or a tan
One thing you’d do differently
- Me: Book the popular things earlier (Last Supper, Collieseum, cabins on overnight ferries) | Share the load of tour managing | Have the girls provide more words and pictures - their observations are sharp and insightful.
- S: pack more clothes
- D: Let blisters heal
- M: Allow people to have their off time and not take it personally or stress out trying to keep others happy.
Something we didn’t do that you wished we had done?
- Me: Take in an Opera at La Scala, Milano
- S: Opera
- D: Colosseum Tour. Using my camera
The place (city, hotel, musem, restaurant, whatever) you’d LOVE be back to?
- Me: NOI for a special occasion in the future | Melaleuca Café Firenze for a morning brunch
- S: Rome
- D: NOI [Madrid] | Florence
- M: Hotel de la Ville for the Vibes
Biggest achievement? An achievement of yours or of any one elses that you’re proud of.
- Me: Pulling the whole thing off The flow and unity of it. Oh, and navigating an escape from the endless carparks of Civitivecchia.
- S: getting back to the hotel in Madrid by ourselves after shopping
- D: Becoming a Google maps merchant
- M: S pulling off a Kyoza style trip again. My girls taking off and being independent. Me, able to step up and take care of us all when needed – the marmageddon bag is not optional!
Funniest moment?
- Me: The young waiter in Barracuda trying to guess where we’re from. 10 tries later (including Austria…?), obviously floundering, we tell him we’re Irish. He tells us he’s a huge U2 fan….. but couldn’t name his favourite album. When tip farming goes wrong | S’s super strength Limoncello and its funny fallout | D assisting me in recreating the hipster’s pose in Thyssen.
- S: Skedaddling through the streets of Madrid with our big ahh bags
- D: Saint Corbo | Simone, our tour guide in the Vatican | Pescitos ad
- M: Listening to my girls (a little bit tipsy for sure) sharing and arguing the names for their future children
- Me:Stubbing my toe in the darkest of rooms (Madrid R1) at about 3am on our first night
- S: The Ferry
- D: Ferry or WWIII in Rome
- M: Ferry trip, literally the darkest (and smelliest) sustained 'moment'..
Scariest Moment?
- Me: The second bus in Civitivecchia driving randomly around a car park, realising we were on a descent to really bad vibes if we (I) didn’t manage to pull a rabbit out of the hat.
- S: When dad had his camera gear stolen from the train
- M: Histamine overload in Firenze.
- Me: On the first day of the tour checking off TWO bucket list items by seeing Geurnica and Garden Of Earthly Delights (2 different museums in Madrid). Despite the red eye flight and the exhaustion, something clicked and I knew were were going to have a GRAND Grand Tour. And so it turned out to be.
- S: Going to the Collesium
- D: Orange Bar (L’Orange Florange) | Masimiliano’s taxi to Rome | Music playing in the square in Florence that night
- M: Walking around David, enjoying it all with time and space
Song which will forever bring you back to the Grand Tour
- Me: U2 - Every Breaking Wave + The Wanderer w/ JC | Fleet Foxes – Third Of May | Fontaines – No
- S: Ed Sheeran – Shivers (ferry)
- D: Roman Holiday - Fontaines DC | Worth it - Fifth Harmony | Sangria Wine - Pharell Williams & Camila Cabello | 212 - Azelia Banks (Mam and Dads room in Madrid was room 212 and we'd sing that on the way over to them | I Love It - Icona Pop and Charlie XCX (played EVERYWHERE and followed us the whole holiday)
- M: Not really 'bring me back' but really REALLY enjoyed our impromptu disco aperitivos to Fontaines
Favourite Photo (which you took or someone else took)
- Me: Geological Waves (see top of this post and elsewhere)
- S: group selfie with the sunset on the bridge in Florence
- D: Photo I took of the sunset on the bridge in Florence
- M: Me & S outside NOI
Favourite Thing We Brought Back from the trip
- Me: The biggest bucket of the most precious memories. So much learning and leads to be followed up on
- S: My SPQR hat
- D: Vintage silky purple dress | Very Glee season 4 Reigionals | Labello lip balm | Backpack charm for my bracelet
A thing you learned about yourself on this trip
- Me: A stoic approach is the only approach to disaster based on how quickly I came to terms with a massive setback
- S: chill on the lemonchello's
- D: Don't spend money with drink in you
Overall Trip rating out of 10
- Me: 9.5/10. I had 0.5 stashed in a pocket of my camera bag for safekeeping.
- S: 10/10!
- D: 10.. duh
Vote
Wheels or Wheel-less?- Me; Wheel-less. Thousands of voiceless local ghosts and train station workers thank us for the silence.
- S: Wheels!
- D: Wheels
- M: For The Grand Tour, definitely wheel-less. Easier on cobblestones and in crowded stations
Location for next Bucket List adventure (even if it takes us years to get it together):
- Me: Camper Van Patagonia
- S: Carrabian Islands!
- D: New York - Broadway show
- M: Greek islands for sun, mythology and a rewriting of our family ferry lore
GTA Mentions / Meta Analysis
A quick, wholly unnecessary, nerdy but revealing analysis of the data. Most mentions for NOI in our favourites list. Unanimous clean sweeps for NOI (favourite overall dining experience) and Giotto (favourite pizza). Goya, David, L'Orange Florange, Thyssen make up the rest of the top 5. I think that about covers it. Interesting to see Guernica and Civitivecchia tied at 3 mentions, reflecting the true horror of both.
- NOI: 10 Mentions!
- Goya | David: 6 Mentions each
- Thyssen-Bornemisza | Aperitivos/Cocktails/Limoncello | L'Orange Florange: 5 Mentions. When the girls have flown the coup and teleportation becomes more reliable, L'Orange Florange will be our family's local, a place for the diaspora to reconvene, reconnect and slurp & chew through the issues of the day. Our Milliways, Restaurant The End Of The Universe [where patrons can watch the end of time itself as dinner entertainment, dining in luxury while safely viewing the final collapse of the universe. And then safely return to their own time]
- Ferry Terror | Giotto | Hotel Lungarno | Barracuda MX | The Bridges Of Firenze: 4 Mentions each.
- Guernica | Civitivecchia | Fontaines | Vini e Vecchi: 3 Mentions each.
- Melaleuca | Garden Of Earthly Delights | Roma | Vibes | Umami | Camera Bag Heist | Casa Camper | Taxi Terror | Menagére | La Scala | Colosseum: 2 Mentions each.
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| Collectibles. Note the original GT photo album from 1937, bought at auction. An incredible pre-trip aperitivo from Tracy |
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