ELIZABETH TAYLOR IS GONE

I was surprised by my reaction to the news that Elizabeth Taylor had died.  I was deeply sad to hear it.  Elizabeth Taylor was the very first movie star I was ever aware of, and she has been a constant in my life for all of my life.  At the supermarket checkout, she was a constant, her image flying at me in one unflattering photograph after another--most recently in a wheel chair and cannula in her nose, looking aged and frail.  In this age of round-the-clock celebrity TV, magazines, newspapers and Internet, Liz retained her ability to fascinate long after her peers had faded into retirement and the grave.  As all the obits said, 50 films, seven husbands, hundreds of carats of diamonds, the condemnation of the Vatican, and billions of spilled words all seem to sum up a long and well-lived life. She was never my favorite movie star, and I managed to miss most of her great film work from the 50s until I was in my twenties, yet whenever Elizabeth Taylor crossed my radar, I almost always stopped to pay attention. Does any star have that effect on me now?  Absolutely not.

Drug stores in the late 50s and 60s had big magazine stands.  The movie mags dominated with their own section and you couldn't miss them.  I first became aware of Elizabeth Taylor during her marriage to Eddie Fisher.  I vaguely knew she had lost her previous husband (Mike Todd) in a plane crash. I also was aware that Fisher was a constant comfort to her in the aftermath of Todd's death, to the point where Elizabeth and Eddie became an item, igniting a scandal over his leaving his marriage to Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth.  I was fascinated over the loud disapproval of Elizabeth when only a few months before, there was this tremendous outpouring of sympathy for the widow.  How did I know this at ten or eleven?  My step-aunt, only a few years older than me, had movie magazines and we briefly lived with her, my grandfather and her mother when we first moved to California in the early 60s. In those pre-Internet days, there was little to distract a young kid other than playing outdoors.  There was this gorgeous creature with a fascinating scar on her throat (the result of an emergency tracheotomy) staring from the covers of these publications.  I started to read and became even more fascinated.  This interest would go last for the next 50 years.

When I was twelve or thirteen years old and living in San Francisco, the News-Call Bulletin, a now defunct tabloid much like New York's Daily News, always had screaming headlines, and other than than the death of Marilyn Monroe, and JFK's assassination, no story had more impact on that newspapers front page than the love affair of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.  There affair, which would end their marriages to others, blossomed during the filming of CLEOPATRA.  For a time I sold newspapers in my neighborhood, and I never missed the photos of Liz and Dick on a pleasure boat in the Mediterranean nuzzling in their swimsuits, sunglasses firmly in place, or walking in ancient Roman neighborhoods, hand-in-hand.  Elizabeth was still married to Eddie Fisher. You never saw a photo of them walking together as you did with Liz and Dick.  Eddie was always five paces behind the star, his humiliated, hangdog expression visibly spelled out so clearly.  The movie magazines sided with Debbie Reynolds, a popular studio contract star, but lacking the kind of megawatt fascination and box office of Elizabeth Taylor.  We now know Debbie and Eddie's marriage was already kaput, but at the time, it looked as though Liz had heartlessly taken Eddie away from Debbie.  This instant sympathy for poor Debbie, ignited her box-office appeal, and she would remain a top MGM star for nearly a decade following her divorce from Eddie.

As Elizabeth and Richard played out their romance and eventual marriage, the headlines still blazed.  They trashed hotel suites long before the juvenile antics of Johhny Depp or Charlie Sheen. Richard bought Liz jaw-droppingly huge gems like the Krupp diamond, which managed to enhance her already stunning decolletage. They drew huge crowds to New York's theater district every night while Burton was starring in Hamlet on Broadway.  People thronged to the theater in the hopes they night see Elizabeth with Richard. They were fixtures on the international Jet Set circuit, partying with Frank Sinatra and Princess Grace.  Meanwhile they made movies, drank to excess--their antics and activities somehow enhancing our hum-drum lives. Nothing about them was to trivial to write about, including England laws impounding Elizabeth's dogs from entering the country.  Liz's solution was to hire a yacht to house her precious pets offshore.  Such were the perks of stardom.

When the Burton's tumultuous union floundered, it seem to signal a long slide.  Had they peaked in our fascination?  Certainly Burton's star had waned.  And while Elizabeth's ballooning weight and less-than-stellar movie choice had dimmed her box office luster, she continued to fascinate.  In the late 70s, I got pretty close to her one night in New York at a very flashy opening of a ballet adaptation of THE MERRY WIDOW starring the great British ballerina, Dame Margot Fonteyn

You sensed that as she aged, Liz wasn't always having a good time.  When the Elizabeth and Richard agreed to star in a Broadway revival of PRIVATE LIVES, the reviews were pretty vicious, but you knew this wasn't a good idea in the first place.  The years in Washington as the wife of Senator John Warner didn't look particularly happy for her either.  Elizabeth Taylor seemed constrained and Washington packed more bullshit than Hollywood ever would.  Besides as a bonafide Hollywood heavyweight, Liz was used to speaking her mind and Washington wasn't the place for her brand of spirited frankness and bawdy humor.

Once she left Washington, Elizabeth Taylor seemed to have a rebirth.  She emerged newly slim and as glamorous as ever in her early-to-mid 50s, her black hair edged with white tips, which only accented her gorgeous eyes. A little discreet plastic surgery had her looking sensational and the paparazzi followed her everywhere, this time canoodling with Malcom Forbes.  Elizabeth Taylor seemed reborn.  And then Rock Hudson, her good friend and former co-star, died of AIDS.  Taylor who had enjoyed close and intimate friendships with Hollywood's gay stars, Montgomery Clift and Roddy McDowall, finally found a second act which would perfectly suit her generosity and star power.  Before taking up the cause of conquering AIDS, the disease was thought of as a deadly, highly contagious "gay" disease.  Elizabeth Taylor give the disease a human dimension.  Her righteous anger at the politics and prejudice coupled with her fame galvanized the public, and she was able to make people look beyond the rumors and ignorance surrounding AIDS, raising millions for a cure.  It was a graceful way to engage her energies.  Elizabeth would never have made a career in TV (can you imagine her starring as Cagney or Lacey?). She wouldn't find success as an aging character actress, and she lacked the stamina and acting chops for a stage career.

Liz threw herself into becoming the face of AIDS.  She launched a perfume line, which helped maintain her lavish lifestyle, and wrote a coffee table book about her fabulous jewelry collection. She managed to get married one more time, and her close friendship with Michael Jackson continued to provide her public with fascination, as did her bad health. Even as she succumbed to deteriorating heart disease, we were not treated to a bedside deathwatch.  Unlike Zsa-Zsa Gabor (the quintessential personality who was famous merely for being famous), who seemed to issue press releases on an hourly basis from her hospital bed with the grim news of leg amputations, etc.,  Elizabeth Taylor slipped away with her dignity intact.

The first Elizabeth Taylor movie I ever saw was WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?  I was sixteen and it shocked me. There was a tremendous amount of publicity surrounding the making of the movie and after it opened.  I recall big spreads in Look and Life magazines. I was too young to appreciate its very adult themes.  But I was far more interested in Richard Burton's performance than I was of Elizbeth's.  It seemed to be very one note.  And whenever her voice rose, it lacked dimension. As a friend later put it, Mike Nichols got a very good performance out of her, but imagine what it might have been in the hands of a great actress.  Elizabeth Taylor's voice never worked for me, and it kept me from enjoying many of her performances.  I liked her work a lot in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF and GIANT.  Good as her work is in A PLACE IN THE SUN, Shelley Winters is the performance you remember. My favorite movie of hers is Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. Taylor made few comedies, but she had a flair for the genre. The VIPs was laughable and both Maggie Smith and Margaret Rutherford steal the movie from Elizabeth and Richard.  He's better than she is.  The scenes with Louis Jordan are embarrassingly comedic in their silliness.

I missed many of her movies of the 60s:  THE SAND PIPER, THE COMEDIANS, BOOM!, HAMMERSMITH IS OUT, X Y AND ZEE, ASH WEDNESDAY, THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN.   I did seem REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE, a movie that made no impact on me whatsoever. I do remember her hilariously funny, late-in-the-day turn in THE MIRROR CRACK'D ("Wrinkle, wrinkle, go away," her character said to her mirror.  'Reappear on Doris Day," she finished with mock maliciousness that was truly hilarious).  I preferred the more natural charms of Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Doris Day.  Still, there were those gorgeous eyes, the pale skin and all that dark hair to make you overlook her less than brilliant acting.  She was a mesmerizing screen presence.

It's been fourteen years since the death of Princess Diana, and while many famous people have died in the intervening years, including Michael Jackson, I think it's a pretty safe bet that Elizabeth Taylor's passing, while not as shocking, registers just as hugely with the public.

Throughout her life, Elizabeth Taylor never seemed to lose her hold on our imaginations.  Even in the midst of one of the most polarizing love affairs of all time, Elizabeth Taylor provided fascination.  All of her great contemporaries are gone, save Sophia Loren and Doris Day (two stars who has managed to keep the affection of their large fan bases).  Few of the stories I've read since she died, mention that she was made a Dame of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.  But we know Elizabeth Taylor was one of the great Dames of modern times.  She will be missed.

CREDIT REPORT CRISIS/FIRST SIGNS OF SPRING

I know my friends in New York will be highly unimpressed, but we had a snow storm a few weeks ago.  Maybe we got two inches. But it was fun and it didn't last too long.  Rain had it washed away within a few hours and it got sunny again.  These photos were taken at around 7:30 AM.   


The New York State Department of Taxes broadsided me a few weeks ago. Why?  New York State put a lien on my credit report, saying I owed them more than $1500 in tax.  They are liars.  I paid a lot of tax on the sale of my New York apartment, and when I filed my 2009 taxes, I wrote them a check for more than $21,000.  Two months later, they notified me that I was more than $1,500 short of the tax due.  After conferring with my accountant, we found the error and I paid both the state of New York and the Federal government more than $3,000 in additional tax.  In other words, I paid the tax New York State asked me to.  I didn't contest.  I didn't argue.  I figure, you owe the tax--pay the tax.  I have the cancelled checks to prove I paid the tax--last June.


Fast forward to February, 2010--approximately six months later--my banker calls me and says there is a tax lien for the entire $1,500 + on my credit report.  I checked my records and found the cancelled check.  I called New York State Department of Tax where I was rudely accused of ignoring their notices, which I truly never received. The lady on the phone indignantly insisted I was wrong.  "How much more do I owe?" Her reply stunned me:  $20.48!  "If that is all I owe, why was the entire $1,500 listed on the credit report lien."  "We always list the original amount," was her obnoxious reply.  So I lost nearly $12,000 in loans from my bank due to the lying incompetence and mean-spirited attitude of the New York State tax department.  It cost me another $40 more to settle the $20.45 owed plus the cost of a money order and overnight delivery so I could get a quick letter of satisfaction that I had paid this in full for the underwriters of the bank.


Once I calmed down and really looked at the situation I called the NY State Tax thugs back.  "You never sent me any notice for the additional $20.48 and I think you owe me a better explanation for attacking my credit report," I accused.  The pinhead told me it was my fault for being late on the tax in the first place.  Nearly 40 years as a resident in New York and these bullies are treating me like a tax-dodger.  It is infuriating.  I demanded to speak to his boss. She was as unwilling and as unmoving as her predecessor.  I frustration, I accused her of killing me and said, I'm going to kill myself.  She actually took me seriously!  "Mr. Mowery, please tell me you're not thinking of killing yourself over this!"  "What would you suggest?  I've entered Kafkaland, and you're not making one bit of sense," I replied adding a bit more drama than the situation warranted.  Somehow these theatrics turned her back into a sympathetic human being.  We went over the file again and she finally admitted, "I see there was a sincere attempt to pay the tax, so I'm going to try to see if I can get this dismissed from your credit report, but it will take about 30 to 60 days."  My banker told me I would have to start a long letter campaign to get this off my credit report and it could take years. 


The irony here is this incident got me worried about my Federal Tax return.  At the same time I received the notice from NY state, I called the IRS and explained the situation to them.  Two minutes later he said, there was no further monies due the IRS from 2009. But he also stated, if there were late charges, or any other question of your owing the IRS, we would notify you many, many times before attaching a lien to your credit report.  


I'll give the state of New York 60 days and revisit the situation.  I've already drafted a letter with copies to the head of NY state's tax department, the governor, the attorney general, the Congressman of my old district, and both state senators as well as the Albany bureau chief of The New York Times.  If I have to embarrass the state of New York, I'm prepared to do so.  The bums. 

The red rose bush, trimmed and ready for it's first blooms (sometime in June).

Tarragon, which is just coming up now.  While the basil, parsley, mint and oregano didn't survive the winter, the tarragon, chives, thyme, rosemary and sage did. 

New chives

Daffodils just blooming.

The pear tree with a few blooms and the euphorbia with their sci-fi light green flowered tops. 

The white camellia, which is just starting to bloom.  All my neighbor's camellias are either red or pink or 

variegated between red and white.  But I think the pure white camellia makes for a spectacular showing.  

I hope my friend Dyanne will be able to give me ideas on what shape to trim it back when she visits this 

summer.  This shrub is really out of control.

Hydrangea, trimmed of its old dead blooms. 

Weeping Snow Fountain Cherry just blooming. 

We've had some fierce rains these past couple of weeks, and finally, though rain has been forecast, it's been sunny and breezy here Portland. The bulbs I planted last year are finally sprouting and I have a few daffodils.  My Weeping Snow Fountain Cherry tree is just blooming now, as is the grafted pear tree that I bought last summer.  If all goes well, it will produce five different types of pears. I'm still trying to decide if it will go into the front yard this summer when I restore the front yard into a garden (it is now an alternative driveway).  The white camellia is just blooming and they are gorgeous (though my mother is always telling me how much of a mess they make as they shed their blooms.  Camellia blossoms disappear awfully fast when they drop to the ground). The tulips and iris I planted last fall (and one iris that is still in the pot) are all sending up news leaves.  The lilac is leafing and so is the mystery shrub next to it.  The lilies and grape hyacinths are also shooting up.  All three hydrangeas have lots of new green leaves, which prompted me to prune the old dead blooms off of them.  I'm about to begin looking for hearty hanging plants to hang outside my dining room.  I'm getting sick of seeing last year's dead plants staring at me.  I miss the spectacular yellow variegated coleus from last year, which I brought in.  While the other coleus plants have survived, that one, alas, is down to two cuttings which I saved for rooting which they are now doing in my kitchen window.  I'd hate to lose that beautiful plant.  

I finally bought a Kindle, and I'm waiting for it to arrive.  I have a few books I'd love to begin reading and can't wait to start downloading them.  


The news from Japan and Libya is very scary right now and I'm hoping the U.S. won't get sucked into a long and involving military action there, though it seems that lots of people, including Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, are wanting for the U.S. to become involved.  I think Europe has far more at stake there and the United States shouldn't be leading the charge in every conflict.  Besides, at a time when Congress is slashing budgets does it make sense to increase the one budget that desperately needs to be pruned:  defense.  Some bonehead on CNN said a recent poll suggest that 46% of Americans would be in favor of us engaging in a military intervention in Libya.  Some Americans have no sense of how seriously bad our economy is, and engaging in another armed conflict is only going to make it worse.  


I'm not sure Japan has asked for the world's help in getting their nuclear reactors under control. But they should. I'm very concerned their government hasn't been more forthcoming about how serious the danger a nuclear meltdown is in those four reactors in NW Japan. 


Time to get back to preparing my tax returns.  Ugh. 

I found this green glass head, which I'm using to hold my old fur hat, which my friend Jon gave me for Christmas years ago.  I'll never wear it out here, because even in the cold of New York City winters, it makes my head boil with heat.  But it's lots of fun to have this glass head to hold and and prevent it from permanently creasing the fur. 

BACK IN THE USA: Re-Entry

Beau resting in his daybed atop the new shag rug.

It's not enough to post four entries from Europe in six days.  No, my fans are demanding new adventures, or at least new posts.  Well since I got back, life is a tad dull.  Except there are new developments in this ever-developing life of mine.  First...


Beau was his usual low-key self when I arrived home.  Kyle had taken very good care of him, as usual, but it always takes Beau a day or two to return to his usual lively self after I've been away.  I slept the sleep of the dead and still managed to wake up at 5:30 the next morning.  I didn't bother to fight it.  Up at once, I was ready to face all the responsibilities that had been put on hold for about seven days.


I'm starting a retail business-a medical supply store, and Kyle will be managing it (he had previously done this when he lived in Tucson).  There was a lease to approve before signing, insurance for the business to arrange, and other matters.  I've got several publishing projects underway, and a never-ending renovation in my basement to get back on schedule.  Despite the fact that I had taken my laptop to Italy with me, there was a mountain of e-mail to deal with.  And lots of news from Mubarek's resignation as President of Egypt, and the Republicans latest and predictable attempts to get rid of Planned Parenthood, abortion, NPR, PBS and any other progressive government program that they deem a waste of tax-payer dollars  to Elizabeth Taylor's latest medical emergency (meanwhile, Zsa-Zsa Gabor keeps going on and on and on!).


Upon my return home, I discovered my bank (Chase) has turned down my loan request to help me fund the business.  I'm done with Chase.  They were appalling about my mortgage, insisting they needed more time to close after I had given them 60 days. They also couldn't find the deed to my apartment in New York, threatening my closing there.  The high-handed way I was treated by my own bank was appalling.  They have every damn dime I own.  Yet they feel no reason to do anything for me.  Oh sure, I can get a secured loan.  Hell, I don't need my bank for that!  We went to BankAmerica and they scoffed they didn't loan money to start-ups. The nerve!  American taxpayers gave them a bailout--it's the bank's fault that we're in the financial bind to begin with.  The idiot at the bank had the nerve to reply, "yes, and we paid them back with 5% interest! "And we're all damn grateful for your effort," I replied with as much withering scorn as I could muster as I left this pinhead's office. At USBank they found a way to loan me some of the money and were creative enough to help me secure the rest of the financing I needed to get this business launched. Time to tell Chase to take a hike and move my money elsewhere.


But first New York State has a lien on my credit report.  I paid NYS a boat load of money in taxes on the sale of my New York apartment.  Ditto the federal government.  Not complaining.  I did well on the sale.  An accounting oversight on my part, which I didn't tell my accountant about had both federal and state coming after me for an addition $3K.  I realized my mistake and paid the bills asap.  What I didn't realize is that my accountant gave me the new payments and the state was underpaid by $20.  They never sent me a bill.  But they put the entire $1500+ lien on my credit report.  Let me tell you, it ought to be as difficult for anyone to attack your credit report as it is for you to repel their absurd attacks.  That $20 underpayment cost me $40 in a post office money order and priority overnight mail.  Is it any wonder why everyone is angry at government. There are deadbeats not paying their taxes. Not me.  Pay the tax.  Life is just easier.  But they won't take a credit card payment, and it will take weeks to get this mess off my credit report.  MEMO TO TAX PEOPLE EVERYWHERE:  YOU SUCK!


As if I don't have enough going on in my life, I also decided I had to change the carpet in my bedroom.  The carpet that was here when I moved in just didn't work for me.  And it looked depressingly old and it had to go.  Up at 5:30 am this morning to empty the bedroom so that the carpet installers could come in and do their thing.  The new carpet is a low pile shag. I'll call the color dark cremini mushroo.  The choice surprised me. I never thought I'd ever pick shag (so 60s).  I had a teenage memory of a blue cotton shag carpet my mother bought for the "dorm" room at the top of the house that I shared with my brothers.  That damned carpet shed blue on everything.  I went to high school for three years looking a creepy color of blue.  Fed up, my brothers and I took it up and threw it out of the window into the back yard. Nasty.


I saw my first Metropolitan Opera HD broadcast in a movie theater last week.  John Adams' NIXON IN CHINA.  It was a fascinating work with a story that played fast and loose with the real facts.  The best characters in the opera were Pat Nixon, Chairman Mao's insane wife, and Chou En Lai.  Henry Kissinger was reduced to a ridiculous sex fiend, which really didn't bother me.  I always thought his reputation was woefully undeserved.  Mao himself is reduced to a a nearly senile and somewhat enigmatic character.  Forget about the millions who were killed during the years of his domination of China.  I loved the second act best.  Adams' music is very appealing.  Only the third act disappoints, but that's the libretto and Peter Sellar's absurdist direction.  To see this newer high-definition technology puts the audience right in the center of the action, which makes the experience of viewing often thrilling.

The floating floor will minimize any damage in case of future leaks. The open-framed view on the upper right is the door to the bathroom. 

The framed closet.  Now I have to find a door!

Finally, we're making progress with the basement. Leaks have been sealed.  The walls have been framed, insulated, and dry-walled.  Mudding is nearly complete and then the finish before painting.  there's even a closet framed now.  The floor is about two-thirds completed.  The bathroom will come next.  The whole thing could be done by April. Progress!

ARRIVEDERCI TURIN

Christine Goerke, as Kundry in Richard Wagner's epic PARSIFAL

How sad...the week has flown by and I'm on my way home at the crack of dawn.  Thank god I don't have to fly Alitalia and will connect through Paris and my Delta flight home via Air France.  


I attended the final performance of a new production of Wagner's PARSIFAL starring my good buddy, Christine Goerke, as Kundry.  Surrounded by an outstanding cast of fine singers, a good orchestra, and outstanding chorus, and a pretty good production, Christine has a fabulous success in this her second Wagner opera. The audience gave her an overwhelming ovation at the end of the second act curtain call and again at the opera's end.  Bertrand de Billy, was the fine conductor.  

Christopher Ventris (Parsifal) with Talia Or (right) a Flower Maiden and her husband, Judd Perry, who played a serving man to the Knights of the Grail

Mark S. Doss (Klingsor) with his adorable wife, Dawn.

Christine and her Amfortas, Jochen Schmeckenbeche cutting up.  

I was honored to meet most of the cast and enjoyed lunch and dinners with several of them and now have made friends with Christopher Ventris (Parsifal) and Jochen Schmeckenbeche (Amfortas).  I also enjoyed several leisurely lunches with Laurie Feldman, an opera director who is based here in Turin.  Laurie often directs at the Metropolitan Opera and other operas houses.  

This is a view from the stage into the Teatro Regio di Torino. It is a very modern opera house, built 

in the 1970s to replace the orginal that had burned in a fire.  The new theatre seats only 1600 or so.  

The previous theater seated 3400.

Last night most of the cast assembled for a final dinner celebration.  I was pleased to be asked to join them. It was wonderful to see how this cast has bonded as a team.  Clearly they have great affection for Christine, and it was fun to watch the teasing and laughter as they recalled the many moments, high and low they've experienced these past six weeks of rehearsals and performances.  


Christine had woken up this morning with the onset of a cold, and was really panicky that she wouldn't be able to sing well.  Fortunately she was able to rise to the occasion, but by the time she had finished her pasta, she was ready to go home, and we reluctantly said goodnight.  


The adrenaline of a great performance was still with me, and I read until about midnight and then slept in until 8:30 this morning.  Out for an early breakfast, I was back to get most of my packing done an meet Christine and Laurie for lunch near the Royal Palace.  Ristorante Taverna Fiorentina is a very pretty dining room with yellow walls, splashed with red, white trim, and elegant white trim.  For a change, the lighting was natural and not glaring with electricity.  We were offered a large corner table.  Laurie knew at once she was having the raw artichoke salad, and that seemed a good idea for me as well.  The finely shredded artichokes were adorned with thin slices of Parmesan cheese and given a splash of olive oil.  All that was needed was salt and cracked pepper.  The musky flavor of the artichokes tasted of the earth. Pure spring.  I had a pasta dish called Malfogliata, or flat and irregular shaped pieces of pasta, cooked and then sauced with wild boar sauce.  This was a rich and aromatic dish, it's Florentine roots, appropriate to the restaurant's name.  Laurie had grilled beef while Christine chose a braise of beef with polenta.  A carafe of the house Barbera and a bottle of sparkling water made the lunch truly wonderful. 

Christine outside the Basilica Consolata

The main altar of the Basilica Consolata

Afterward Christine wanted to show me the Basilica Consolata, a large and beautifully appointed church not to far away.  It sits on a tiny square and once again, what looks to be small from the outside is huge inside with soaring high walls, an ornately gilded dome with windows to let in light, masses of various types of marble everywhere and many small side chapels, including one below street level.  Clearly this church has wealthy parishoners who keep this place in very good shape.  I admired just about every nook and cranny from its simply carved wooden doors to the ornate altar and the elegant pews. Even the paintings were relatively subdued.

We did some shopping along the via Garibaldi, a pedestrian shopping area with no cars, strolling slowly, and stopping to sit on a bench and basque in the mild weather.  Despite the fact that Turin is surrounded by the Italian Alps, the city has enjoyed more than a week of balmy and sunny weather, and I have been walking around in the afternoon with only a sweater on.  It's funny to watch the Turinese in their fur coats, and hats and scarves and gloves, acting like it's freezing outside.  They should only be in New York this winter.  I'm sure it climbed to 60 today and not for the first time this week.  


I'll have a final dinner with Christine tonight, and come back for the final packing and into bed early.  Claudio, the owner of the hotel, will take me to the airport at 5:30 AM for my flight!  


It's been a wonderful trip, but it's time to come home.  Can't wait to see Beau and Bit (Kyle's cat), and find out what's happening at home. 

POST LUGGAGE TRAUMA ALLOWS ME TO REALLY SEE TURIN

Warning:  Photos took forever to upload over here and my computer act very slowly and strangely. Spell-check on my blog highlights every word here, so is useless.  Forgive any mistakes and thanks.  

Apple fritters from Stefanone

Now that the luggage drama is over, I can hopefully settle down and get a better look at the city. I started this morning by going to my local cafe for a caffe latte, which they do differently than I've seen before. I was presented with a glass of hot, foamy milk with a tiny pitcher with a shot of espresso, which you pour into the milk.  My eye caught a scrumptuous looking croissant with chocolate strips baked into its puffy top. It was filled with a hazelnut crema--utterly obscene and completely irresistible.  One outside, I headed for the inside of the two churches flanking one end of the Piazza San Carlo  with my camera.  Chiesa San Carlo and Chiesa Santa Christina don't look anything alike despite the fact they are side-by-side.  Churches are always worth a look in Italy, mostly because they are fanciful, or opulent, or scary in their projection depending on your spiritual persuasion.  Their soaring spaces, generous use of marble, elaborate carving and competitively decorated side chapels are hardly tasteful, but that's the beauty of these amazing structures. Some have scary depictions of the Virgin swords plunged into her heart, such as the below.  Even crumbling churches in Italy inspire awe.


Circling over to the other side of the piazza I found Paissa, a store selling fancy packaged foods, wines, champagnes and spirits since 1884.  Everything is beautifully packaged and displayed and the staff is friendly and eager to please.  Around the corner, I was back on via Maria Vittoria, and stopped into Stefanone, an elegant small shop specializing in take-out foods.  I was able to talk to the chef, asking if I could take photos of the enticing foods on display.  We talked amiably as he described to me all the wonderful things the shop sells, such as

A chocolate croissant filled with hazelnut pastry cream.

  

I'm not Catholic and can't even begin to explain this.  

Some of the amazing foods found at Paissa

Chocolate confections at Paissa

The inner historical center of Turin has many of these retail arcades with soaring open areas completely enclosed and easy for shoppers to avoid the possibility of bad weather.

Christine invited me to lunch with her Parsifal, tenor Christopher Ventris, and Laurie Feldman, an American opera director who makes her home in Turin.  We ate at a restaurant specializing in deep fried foods, such as calamari, shrimp, zucchini blossoms, artichokes, etc.  You place your order and then eat your meal on benches with wire cones to hold the containers of cooked food.  They also sell beverages to go with your meal.  It was an unusual and tasty lunch. Afterwards, we decided to take in the sights at the Egyptian museum--the largest collection of Egyptian art and mummies outside of Cairo.  I found the museum a mixed bag of the bizarre--they have at least ten mummies, a mummy head, and they are just plain weird.  I don't get the mummy thing other than the odd fascination of seeing a completely dead but remarkably well preserved corpse with skin that is leathery and just plain strange.  The sarcophagus boxes held limited fascination, their heiroglyphics didn't capture my fancy, and the artifacts are just okay to these eyes.  The culture of the Pharoahs does little for me, and mostly I found the museum to be disappointingly musty. Christine however, loved all the sandals!

We had a 8:00 dinner.  Just down the street from her apartment is Trattoria La via del Sale, a place I had turned down the night before because it wasn't too busy.  I'm glad Christine suggested it, because our dinner there was not only delicious but fun.  She had invited another cast member to join us, and the baritone singing Amfortas in PARSIFAL, turned out to be a smart, funny, insightful dinner companion.  His name is Jochen Schmeckenbecher.  I had heard him in Philadelphia when Christine was singing Rosalinde in DIE FLEDERMAUS.  He is a very busy and in-demand German baritone--a fine singer and a good actor.  We hit it off, and had a fun evening eating good food (a delicious potato and anchovy salad with a parsley pesto for a first course, followed by gnocchi with cheese and cream, and then a rich braise of beef in red wine and lemon sorbetto for dessert).  Christine and I polished off a carafe of Barolo and I got lured into a grappa with Jochen (which I paid for with a nice hangover the next day).

  

Those are the Italian Alps that you see in the far background--an amazing sight on the city's horizon!

Saturday morning, I slept until nine--finally the jet lag is over.  After a leisurely morning, I met Christine at her apartment.  We were to meet Laurie plus Mark S. Doss, a baritone also singing in this Parsifal, and his lovely wife, Dawn, for lunch.  We meat at Dual--a very contemporary restaurant near the opera house.  Christine recommended the pizza, and in my case it was a red onion and gorgonzola pizza.  It was fantastic. 

After lunch we were to meet Laurie's husband, who is masterminding a big installation at the Palazzo Madama of a recreation of the first Italian Senate of 1871.  This was the famous senate created during the unification of Italy.  Giuseppe Verdi, the grand master of Italian opera was a member of that first senate.  We arrived at the Palazzo Madama, an imposing building on the same square as the Royal Place, home of the House of Savoy Kings and Queens of Italy.  Palazzo Madama is was created as a retreat for the dowager queens of Savoy.   by the Queen of Savoy. The installation, which opens in March is well underway with scaffolding supporting the recreation of the original senate hall.  The opera house's principal set designer is in charge of the physical recreation, while Laurie's husband is producing the event.  It was thrilling to see this production in its early state.  It looked like the creation of an opera house production and these pictures show just where the project stands at this point.  

Installation of the recreation of the first Italian Senate room during the unification of Italy in 1871.

Prior to this we were taken to the palazzo's tower where we enjoyed thrilling views of the city surrounded by the majestic Italian Alps.  The city is in a low valley surrounded on three sides by these huge mountain peaks. 

We later toured the museum, which houses a superb collection of art dating back to Renaissance Italy in the 14th century.  The museum was opened four years ago, and is quite beautiful.  They've restored the palace to it's original beauty, with new fabrics that recreate the orginals, restored ceiling paintings, and gilt plastering, and wall paint.  The museum's collection encompasses a vast array of paintings, sculpture, furniture, and household items such as silver and glass ware, a child's wagon, and other treasures. The top foor houses a stunning collection of pottery and porcelain objects, table settings, candelabra and other impressive decorative objects.  It was a very worthwhile visit and we later enjoyed a bicerin, a delicious drink of espresso chocolate and whipped cream after our tour.  This was a big highlight of my visit to Turin.  

This room is filled with these beautiful vitrines showing off the House of Savoy's bountiful collection of porcelain, pottery, silver and glass.  This "table top" comes from all over Italy with one display case filled with objects from Vienna.  You could set a proper table for a year and not use all of this stuff.  

A generous cup of bicerin, a locally created drink that combines chocolate, coffee and whipped cream. 

We enjoyed our bicerins in the palace's former vegetable "cellar" which is now a storing place for some of the palace's massive silver collection. 

The facade of the Palazzo Madama

This afternoon I'll see the final performance of this run of PARSIFAL and join the cast for a party at a local restaurant to celebrate the completion of a successful run. 

I can't believe tomorrow is my last day in Turin already!  Because of the difficulties getting to Turin, I had to sacrifice my plans to see Genoa.  But I'd love to come back here.