part doo-ay

 i haven't even been home a week and already i have fallen right back into myself, my old routines, my old ways.  which most might think would be a blessing, but how can i fall back into my old ways so easily when i feel that i have been forever changed by my albeit short, sweet time spent in a far away dreamland?   maybe these things take time.. maybe next time i need to stay longer?   ;)  

for just a few days i was falling asleep before 8 pm, waking at 3am, wide awake, still on italian time.  i wasn't annoyed, i liked the oddness of being so wide awake in the middle of the night, thinking about those awake with me, while i lost myself in a book for a few hours.   then last night i couldn't resist more studio time, i found myself up past midnight, inspired & painting.  this morning i woke feeling tired, not so wide awake.  how effortless it can be to fall right back into place. 

as the days slip by my memories of my time in italy are starting to get mixed up and slightly distorted.  i have already forgotten some of the sequence of things.  i cannot seem to intensify the sounds of the bells ringing by just thinking of them, i can't conjure up the exact funky sound of the sirens in the city,  or the smell of the air that danced in my hair while standing on the gray coastline at dusk, the anxiousness i felt while climbing all the many wooden stairs to the top of the tower in lucca and the reward of getting to the view,  the feeling of sitting on the train with my family, euphorically watching my children as they oohed and awed about the view just outside the window,    the timid excitement of trying to speak/learn a few words of a language i do not know,   the humor we found about the differences of their lives and ours,   the warm, honey smell of candles burning in the basilica's & duomo's,  the long afternoon lunches served first with wine and then with espresso, the unbearable heartache i felt as i wept in the hotel room, after my family left to go back home, how badly i wanted to go with them, and how badly i wanted to stay to find my way to orvieto for the next part of my journey...  

 i am trying so hard to hold on this spectacular feeling of whoa, before it slips away into the piles of endless laundry & comforting daily routines...  and so life goes on, as it should...  but i haven't even begun to tell you about my time in orvieto, my workshop, my brave & beloved students & hosts/friends, the art, the convent, the golden sunlight...

Comments

[kt]

I love all your photos and your descriptions of Italy. It is a place that sometimes I take for granted then read someones else's experiences and it conjures up my first awaking of Italy and what it meant and still means to me. I am so glad you enjoyed it.

[beth]

i have traveled a few places which left me feeling that same way....and as long as your photos can help with those memories....well, that's quite a blessing.

and the sadness you felt when your family left, combined with the thrill of your class starting....well, that brought me to tears....

oh sweetie...what an amazing life experience you had. and no matter what you won't forget any of it.....sure it will fade, but it's in your heart forever.

[wanda miller]

what GRAND and SPECIAL memories to be seen here, sweet one...especially your family...and such bitter sweet mixed emotions! alas, life is like this...what would we be without emotions!!!
i too wake often at 3 am and have to decide how i want to feel in the morning...i'm never sorry that i painted when i open my eyes later, yelling uggggh, ohh well look what ya' did, ugggh, will i make it through the day, oh look what ya' did, uggghhh.
i so love your sharing and love sharing back, oh duh, can you tell? xoxo

[Kathryn]

Great photos and you write so beautifully about how memories and experiences get distorted and enveloped by everyday life.

I've experienced that myself and wish I could hang on to the wonder and awe and the feelings I come home with when visiting somewhere new and exciting.

[kristen]

italy is truly my favorite country. i love that you got to go with your family and also have time alone. xo

[sperlygirl]

oh yes, misty, more time here...you have my vote. i smiled through your descriptions they are the very details i close my eyes so as to capture to my deepest memories while we are here. xoxo

[Megan Pickwell]

It looks and sounds so magical Misty - hold onto it, I am enjoying the journey you are sharing. Mx

[Adrienne Berry]

My mother's side of the family comes from Italy I wish I had been able to experience Italy and art at the same time...maybe for another time....For now I am enjoying it through your eyes, lovely.

[ludid]

i love how traveling offers us a shift in perspective every time. thank you for sharing the photos of this magical place.

[Jennifer White]

You'll remember as you continue to right all these events down...documenting the photos, the workshop, etc. It will never be the same as being there, but there are pieces of you that are forever changed because of these travels... and think, just think about all of those that you crossed paths with that are in Italy and how their lives have changed after getting to know you. x o

[samm]

hmmmm.... you're doing ok with your descriptions cos I could swear a "funky siren" just flew past my door, and arent those cooing pigeons outside my window lovely and oh, yum, chocolat and limone gelato for breakfast... keep describing!!! the more you write, the more you'll remember xoxo

[francesca di leo]

che viaggio meraviglioso...

oh misty your photos are divine.. you've captured so many beautiful moments. moments recorded in time. i can't wait to see some of your painting after this trip. so much inspiration to draw from.

i love part due, and can't wait for 'il terzo'

hugs
francesca

[Lisa]

Lovely photos...I so wish to go to Italy and the south of France one day.

[charlane]

what beautiful memories and photographs. it is odd how quickly we can slide back into the routines. which makes these watercolored photos and even more beautiful dream.

[Brittany]

your pictures definitely speak a thousand words. <3
btw, i just love the way your daughter dresses. or if you dress her. either way, so cute!

[shona]

Misty, I know how you feel about the memories slipping away. every year we go to Ireland and live a different life and I try to hold on to the good bits, but then it fades and becomes less real, especially as the jet lag leaves. You have expressed it so lovely here. your photos are beautiful. thanks for sharing. I can't wiat to hear about the workshop.
shona

[katie]

you describe this aspect of life so well, the immersion and evaporation, at least to a large extent, of a well-lived experience in the present moment. "foreign" lands and activities can really awaken a part of us that so often lies dormant. i long to go to a foreign place too, emerse myself and senses. soon...:-)
and, i just have to say once again, you are such a gifted photographer; they have a presence in the experience and take me there, what a gift.
i wish i could sit across the kitchen table from you while you tell me of all your adventures while they are so fresh in your memory. did you journal some about them? i hope so...that way next time i'm there you can pull out your notes if you need to ! miss you so.
xoxoxxx

[Faith]

Love your photos, descriptions, everything. It is soooo easy to slip back into the routines after a trip, but I love those first few days when you just get back and you have your "being away eyes" and are able to see everything at home in a fresh way! Love that! xo

[Deb]

Magical beautiful photos......I recently found a box of old photos from years gone by, looking at them now brings back all the memories especially the children when they were even littler and some not born yet.

[Bill Steiner]

Yes, memories fade and merge, but the spirit is forever changed. It runs deep in the soul, its imprint felt forever!

[The Noisy plume]

What a beautifully captured trip!

[lorraine lewis]

Tears came when I read about your heartache Misty- I know how very heartbreaking that must have been for you.
Your photographs are amazing. You have captured the magic of Italy so beautifully and I am enjoying the journey through your beautiful images.

Take care beautiful Misty.

[Erin]

What a fantastic post! The pictures are amazing, and it totally sums up that feeling of travel; the initial amazement, settling into a routine, then being ripped from that contentment back to reality and trying to summon up a feeling or a smell or a sound of that amazing place. Lovely.

xo Erin

[Janice Scherer]

I love what you wrote. I felt like I was right there. When you need to remember, go back and read what you wrote here. Your writing is so moving. It happened, all of it. And when you think you've forgotten, call a friend and ask to be reminded. The photos are phenomenal.

[Anne]

Your head must be swimming with ideas.

[Mary Beth Shaw]

Misty, your photos are so evocative; they are truly extraordinary and they *do* capture so much. I understand what you mean though about memories and falling back into your same life. I often feel that way and wish I had some sort of dvr in my brain.

[Angela DiGiovanni]

You are an AMAZING photographer! My ancestors are from Sicily, so anything Italy just pulls at my heart. <3

[deb taylor]

thank you for taking us along, and sharing the rich experience you had here....as always your photos make me feel like I am there with you.