National Archeological Museum of Athens

Here are a few of my favorite pieces in the National Archeological Museum in Athens.  When I checked into the lovely Athens Gate Hotel in the shadow of the Acropolis, I found two randy (okay, arty) pictures, almost identical to above, over my bed.  The next day who did I happen upon in the museum but the two lovers, life-size, in the marble.  I'd recognize those abs anywhere!

Love this statue of Aphrodite fending Pan's advances off with her sandal!  On my last day in Athens there was yet another protest march --- by the poets and artists of Athens.  Apparently all their signs were in poetic form.  A poetry slam!  I wonder what the busloads of police in full riot gear thought of this group?  Next stop, Venice....

Protests in Greece...

This evening in front of the Arch of Hadrian.

In Athens, at a meeting at the National & Kopodistrian University of Athens, one of the oldest "modern" institutes of learning in Greece.  We meet daily in the main building which dates to the early 19th century.  Its front plaza, the propylaeum, has been the historical center of social protest for decades (centuries?).  Graffiti is all over Athens, angry graffiti....on historical buildings, statues, stores, houses.....the city is suffering.  And yes, the venal Goldman Sachs had something to do with it (here).

Please follow this link...Morris I know you are listening.  Yiannis Billris, your photographs are amazing.

"Goldman Sachs helped the Greek government to mask the true extent of its deficit with the help of a derivatives deal that legally circumvented the EU Maastricht deficit rules. At some point the so-called cross currency swaps will mature, and swell the country's already bloated deficit."

Attention, crossword aficionados....

Here is the s-t-o-a in the a-g-o-r-a!  One of the world's oldest strip malls, two stories, in the ancient marketplace of Athens.  A little museum shop keeps the commercial tradition alive.  By coincidence, one-across in today's Intl. Herald Tribune crossword puzzle (aka the NYTimes puzzle) was very greek :-).  

The Parthenon, Athens

The original lego construction?

blocks waiting to go in....

The Erechteion, with the six Caryatids, women holding up under pressure.... 

Fountain of Heavenly Bliss, King Humayun's tomb

 

The four streams of water, wine, milk and honey come together at the Fountain of Heavenly Bliss....

"Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India. The tomb was declared a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1993, and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is still underway."  ----from wikipedia 

Wedding Lane, Old Dehli

Peace on Earth

Taj Mahal, Christmas dawn

Our Lady of Ransom Church, Kanyakumari

The century old Our Lady of Ransom Church in Kanyakumari, the multicultural town at the very southernmost tip of India. In addition to the lights, accompanying music was blaring from loudspeakers all over town.  As we were walking away from celebration the entire town was suddenly plunged into darkness that lasted for about an hour.  The electrical load of the rocking Tamil Nadu Jesus was too much for the local grid!

Car window pics, Tamil Nadu

 

 

 

A walk to work in Goa

Don hat and sunglasses against 90 degree heat....say good-bye to cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, and chickens at house....

 walk up hill...

pass daily dozens of supplicants standing outside wall of minister's house hoping for audience....withstand inevitable stares at two odd white people walking by....

acknowledge neighborhood street pig...commiserate about her piglet that was run over the day before....

walk by candy shack....

  

say hi to my hindi-speaking friend (my destination in the background)...

 avoid traffic!....

pass mysterious egg tree....

note "Fuller" brush man has set up in town today.....

 almost to work...one last hill, the one where you finally break into an open sweat....

An Indian Kitchen

I've been thinking a lot about personal space and William Morris lately.  I painted many a rental apartment/house in my youth (cheap labor for the landlord) and have had a burning desire to hire painters since arriving here in Goa.  I forgot how soul-sapping it can be to live in an "ugly" environment, the sine qua non of William Morris's genius. So my drab apartment will do till late January when our time in India is up. I will appreciate all the more my lovely, personalized space when I return home, space that will be even more beautiful with the addition of Indian fabrics.

My son and I are living in a high-rent-district, an upper class neighborhood in the Indian equivalent of a mansion---in fact, it is called Peter's Mansion.  But this country is changing fast; it is seemingly in a time warp between the past and the future.  On tv, nearly all the commercials depict an India that seems to have no connection with our everyday experience here in Goa---the commercials look like people living lives in Europe or the US.  I can't even imagine how weird that must be for young Indians coming of age.  This country is making the leap from developing world to first world, seemingly in a generation.

The front of our house with my laundry (washed in bucket) hanging on line.  Could be art deco Miami, right?  We live on first floor.

 And here is our kitchen.  Note the green plastic two-stage water filter and super-charged Coleman stove for cooking.  The sink has two taps, only one of which works, with water that cannot be drunk without boiling.  I sterilize dishes in the bucket in sink.

Here is the bathroom that gives new meaning to the term indoor plumbing (note sink drain and drain in floor.  When you wash your hands your feet get wet!).  Below is "suicide shower" with a taped electrical element heating the water in the showerhead. 

So, it is probably obvious if you've been following the Indian posts that on weekends we often escape to beach "bubbles" of loveliness.  Next post, my daily walk to work.....

Goa Beach Mandala

 Last weekend, on an early morning beach walk at low tide, I came across this sand mandala.  It's kind of spooky as there are no obvious footprints, however, the sand was very hard.  How was it made?  Is this the tropic's answer to crop circles?

Cannonball tree outside my office

I was not surprised to discover the common name of this wacky and beautiful tree --- and you don't want to be under it when one of these nuts lets loose.  They are larger than a coconut and much heavier.

Apparently the force of impact causes the fruit to burst open scattering the seeds inside.