The Neutral Zone

Bruton, UK - We spent a week wandering around (mostly) Somerset, in the UK. After hearing the details of my trip and seeing various photos, my mother told me that, "Not all of the UK is cute." To which I said and still say, "Prove it." Manors We visited several countryside manors in Somerset including Lytes Cary, Montacute Barrington Court, and Stourhead. These were the spectacular homes and gardens of Britain's aristocracy or landed gentry that were turned over to the National Trust as the wealth and power of these families diminished over the years.  Centuries ago, when the families were spending more freely on their estates, they built spectacular gardens and follies. Follies are (as my mother put it) big garden gnomes. More specifically (as Wikipedia put it), they are buildings constructed primarily for decoration, but suggest through their appearance some other purpose, or are of such extravagant appearance that they transcend the range of usual garden buil...

Day 3 in Arles We visited two modern art museums on our third day in Arles. Our first visit was to the Van Gogh Foundation. There are very few Van Gogh pieces; we may have seen two. Van Gogh, being a bit--erm, eccentric--was not much appreciated when he was here and l don't think he had a local patron that kept his art.  Anyway, the Van Gogh Foundation features primarily other artists whose connection to Van Gogh is tenuous. When we visited, they had a large exhibition of works by Nicole Eisenman, whose work often focuses on sexuality, and in particular, a lot of depictions of women giving birth - sometimes to people, sometimes to things. Next, we visited another arts foundation called Luma. The Luma's building is a remarkable structure designed by Frank Gehry. It's meant to evoke the surrounding countryside. The museum curators are quite proud of their foundation and the building. On the first floor, immediately after entering, they have a gallery room that runs a 10-minut...

Day 1 We arrived in Provence and it is exactly as we expected: a Mediterranean climate with rolling hills that are spotted with lavender fields. We're staying in Arles, which like many towns in Provence, is replete with sun washed, ochre buildings and faded blue shutters. Arles was a significant city during the Roman Empire. The Romans built two substantial buildings which are still in use today: The arena/or amphitheater is used for bullfights and perhaps other events. The Roman theater is used for concerts and plays. We visited these and several other monuments when we arrived, including the Church of St. Trophime and its adjoining cloister, the crypts under the old roman forum, as well as the old Roman bath house.  Arles is where Van Gogh descended deeper into madness. He cut off his ear and ultimately entered a nearby asylum a year or two after he arrived here. This isn't necessarily a point of emphasis in the town's promotional materials, which is however eager to poin...

Dear Reader: We visited Italy twice in two weeks in November 2021. This blog has been sitting in my drafts folder since then. I am publishing it now because my family will shortly be arriving in Rome and I have little confidence that they will manage this trip successfully without my guidance. Without further ado:  -------- Our first trip was a weekend jaunt to Milan and our second trip was a weeklong sojourn to Rome during the week of Thanksgiving. Over the course of our several travels, we've developed a sociological theory: the triangle of rules. We believe that rules can roughly be arrayed in a triangle, with the points being actual rules, aspirational rules, and inscrutable rules. Societies can be positioned in the triangle based on the extent to which certain types of rules dominate the social contract. Actual rules are written rules with prescribed penalties that are respected and enforced. In Switzerland, there are many of these: trash may only be disposed of in specially m...