Arriving at Lamezia Airport and driving to Pizzo

Welcome to the International Airport of Lamezia Terme (SUF)!

 

When there is not much traffic, you can enjoy a short walk to the terminal :-)

 

When arriving from outside the EU you collect your luggage on the right hand side, where friendly customs officers await you to scan your bags. (One asked me to take him back to Bangkok due to lots of rain in Calabria in the last weeks.)

It always takes a bit of time to get your luggage, even just one plane has landed. Luggage from the EU will be delivered first.

 

If you  have not ordered pick-up service by a hotel or friends, you can catch a taxi outside the terminal. It costs around 35-40 Euro to the historic center of Pizzo. Pre-ordered service might cost more.

If you have rented a car, it is easy to find your way to Pizzo. It's direction south, Reggio Calabria. You can either take the highway which is free in the South of Italy (green sign) or follow the national road (blue sign). We always take the national road, and drive below the highway viaduct, following the signs to PIZZO (about 25km).

Watch out for goat crossing! This is country side!

A taxi driver might not know all the streets of Pizzo. Also some might be reluctant to drive through the narrow alleys. Our friends were dropped in Pizza last summer and had to pull their trolleys down the bumpy alleys to the doorsteps of our house.

Same here this April! Angelo dropped us at San Giorgio church, since our alley is under renovation and no cars can pass (since November 2012!).

That's why we packed light!

Home!

More about the pavement progress later.

Summer Feelings in a special April

from left: pranzo in piazza, castle and beach,  fruit scetch

This April, the weather in Pizzo is much more gentle than last year. When the sun is shining, and it has been shining every single day for the last ten days - it feels like summer!

We all agree, that for us it feels more special being in Pizzo in April, than in summer. 

There are only few tourists around. The

Pizzitani

are among themselves. Including us! We feel more like

Pizzitani

, inhabitants of Pizzo, now, in April, when socializing with the locals seems effortless.

People have time to talk. You don't wait two hours for a pizza (ok, that happened only once in August). And the

piazza 

and

gelati

are even more enjoyable. 

The beaches are empty. You can sun bath and kids can dig holes all over the place. However, the sea is yet too cold for a swim. Even the weatherproof Brits would only bath their feet. 

This April was also special for us, since we had planned a lunch with family and friends for a belated celebration of our son's first communion. When we met in the church San Giorgio on that Sunday, an unexpected small and very special ceremony was organized for us.

Now, our stay is almost over. But no one wants to leave!! It was our best April ever!

We had not much to do in the house. Mission accomplished. Just "bonding" with the house and enjoying  :-)

It's always sad to say good-bye. But the comfort is that summer is near. And with it a very long summer holidays around the corner that we will spend in this

Bel Paese

!

As soon as I have a computer and Internet (not just a smart phone) available, I will post some more. For now, please visit us on

Facebook

for more pics.

Ciao e a presto!

---

PS: I merged the the above photo with the text again. Somehow when you upload a post via email, the text that you write before the photo will appear in the post behind the photo (as I like it), but the text behind the photo does not appear. When I tried to add the missing text, I accidentally deleted the photo. Apparently you can now add photos from your phone to your post via Google+. I downloaded the app, but did not manage. Also, I am a bit reluctant to too much Google services.

Pizzo in April

Pizzo in April. Here we go again. I need to pack light. I mean really light. We cannot reach our house by car. The streets around are STILL not done yet.

As reported before, the old historic center of Pizzo is under renovation. They started in November 2012 (!), I blogged about it here. The downturn of (the often praised) slow life.

I guess, we need to carry our suitcases from the piazza down the alley. We might not even be able to pull the trolleys. In case it is raining, it will be messy and slippery ...

Aaaah, what a contrast to our comfortable big city life in Asia! ;-)
I don't think I am spoiled, but I wouldn't mind to skip this "adventure".

I will keep you posted. Let's hope it is not raining upon our arrival.

photo courtesy of Pino Pitt, our architect (January 2013)

 

photo courtesy of Alfonso Salutato, our electrician (March 2013)

 

 

 

Looking forward to check out my self. Will keep you posted. Until soon.

 

Tanti saluti!

 

 

 

 

Update April 7, 2013:

 

I just found another photo from Angelo, my father-in-law, in my mail box. It says, that they started the laying of the old stones last friday. And our alley looks like this:

 

 

Looks good!



Painting Progress

I finished the third bird. These happy paintings make me quiet proud. That's why the "cock on orange" and the two brothers, "number I" and "number II" get their own blog post to show off a bit:

 

oil, acrylic and decoupage on canvas

(2013) 40 x 50 cm

 

 

oil and acrylic on canvas (2013) 40 x 50 cm

 

 

oil and acrylic on canvas (2013) 40 x 50 cm

My next project is already in the making. After I proofed myself that I can draw and paint, I am tying to get into the abstract painting, kind of Pop Art. Never thought it will be more difficult than "normal" painting. For the "normal" painting, like above, you need craftsmen skills. But for "abstract" art, you need more than that. You need the right "vision", and a feeling for composition and colour. Exciting to dive deeper!

If you like my paintings, you might want to check out my Flickr "ART GALLERY" - Thank you!

my ART GALLERY

ART GALLERY, a set on Flickr - click on the pictures for details


Welcome to my ART GALLERY, and please have a closer look! Some are watercolour paintings, most are all oil on canvas. On my flickr set you will find more paintings and details.

Since 1985, when I just failed the admission to the art school "Kunstakademie Stutttgart", I thought it wouldn't happen, me, an artist, this life. However, almost three decades later, I am into it. Without academic background in arts. But with a lot of passion for art.

Beside photography, I have always loved painting.

Since I can hold a pencil I am drawing and painting. At the young age of six I copied my first van Gogh painting.

Over the years, I learned with different recognized artists in Germany (watercolour), China (ink wash) and Thailand (oil).

Since 2010, I am painting regularly by myself and with art groups in Bangkok. I prefer oil over acrylic.

I find inspiration in daily life, and photography. My favorite painters are post-impressionists, expressionists and modern artists for their bright colours, light, movement, and compositions.

On Palazzo Pizzo I started to file inspiring art here.

And why showing my paintings here on this blog?

When I started painting, I always painted something I wanted to have in my home. First in my parents home, later in my own home. When I started painting with an group of students in Bangkok, our teacher wanted to do an exhibition. That meant we would have to sell our paintings. I said, I can't sell mine. They are too much work and I would never get enough money for the hours, days and weeks I spent on painting them.

Then one day, I painted something just for fun. I found that screaming pink acrylic colour that I needed to buy. I used it for an underpainting. And then I searched for a subject that would be equally flashy. I remembered the cockatoo that I observed once in neighbours garden. And I liked the result a lot. But like always, I did not really believed in my capability (must be my German education). I thought, it was just lucky coincidence that my painting looks great. Then I said to myself, if I am an artist, I have to be able to reproduce the same painting. And when I reproduce, I will try to become faster. Only if I can finish a painting in, let's say two sessions, I will be willing to separate from it. And if I have two, at least I could sell one. I thought. Now, my son and husband say, the two cockatoos are brothers and cannot be separated... But I feel, I am ready now to produce for an exhibition. I feel freed.

I feel like I need to paint, I can't wait to get back to the brushes. That is the first time in my life, that I feel that strong about painting. And that's why, I am "opening" a gallery on Palazzo Pizzo. 

I hope you like what you see. Enjoy browsing and thanks for visiting.