I’m extremely jetlagged and filled with ennui over being back “home” but I suppose I can take comfort in one thing: wherever you go, there you are (in the Google Doc, in my case). I ordered some Goop Kitchen last night (we’re so back, but in a bad way) and fell asleep at 8pm so this letter will just be chaotic bullet points about Italy that I tap out before dragging myself to hot yoga (not very bonj or even ciao for that matter).
This isn’t really a travel guide per se because I’m not good at those; I prefer chaos mode within a set scaffolding when in other places, i.e firmly booked planes and trains and rental cars but little to no use of “best of” lists or whatever, that becomes too optimization oriented and murders the sense of wonder and discovery that makes the whole endeavor stimulating and joyful? Anyway this one ended up being mostly about shopping, but also about the act of creating oneself? I’m so tired…Tomorrow I will be going to Oasis at the Rose Bowl on two Red Bulls and a prayer…
This year whenever I’ve traveled I’ve found my shopping veering hard into the territory of whimsy and impracticality? It’s hard not to think this is probably an after effect of the fire (piccolo violino) but also technically every thing that happens after the fire is an after effect of the fire. I think that’s maybe a tautology but I’m too tired to look it up. In London I bought many long, bias cut dresses, including one that is pink organza and see-through and so delicate that I accidentally ripped it a bit while trying it on. In Venice I bought red velvet Mary Jane slippers from the classic Venetian slipper shop Piedaterre, as well as a pair of lambskin fingerless elbow length gloves. Incredibly unclear who I think I am, though my therapist and I often talk about shopping as an act of creating a future self. It looks like my future self is shaping up to be some eccentric feminine bohemian workaholic, or at the very least she wants to be (will still find a way to pair a band t-shirt with every single one of these items). Your subconscious is always trying to communicate with you, even through your The Real Real obsessions.
Also in Venice I found this beautiful vintage sterling silver sacred heart pendant at this shop called Luna Creazioni, which was actually two shops down the street from each other run by a mother and daughter team. Each store contained thousands and thousands of pieces of jewelry, mixes of antique and new, from every era. It was heaven? Both mother and daughter are also musicians (piano for the mother, harp for the daughter) and the daughter is a trained gemologist. She polished all my silver because she couldn’t stand the sight of it (my bad). Anyway the flaming sacred heart is a typically Catholic symbol “wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of ‘God's boundless and passionate love for mankind’ ” (that’s from Wikipedia). I’m not Catholic but I like having a tactile reminder of god on my person (I’m pretty sure god is okay with it). In particular, I like jewelry that means something. I saw a note on here once from
that said you should never buy jewelry online, only in person, and that really stuck with me. She’s so right! Jewelry has power - it sits on your skin day in and day out, and the metals and gems have so much history and meaning. Unsurprisingly, Italy has a lot of great antique jewelry. In Rome I found a perfect adjustable silver cowrie shell necklace. The charmingly cranky man at the jewelry shop (it was in Monti, I can’t remember its name I’m sorry!) told me this type of jewelry is best for good fortune, because those shells used to be used as currency. I also stumbled upon this really great shop called Fabio Piccioni where I purchased a gorgeous ring, set with a turquoise stone and a ruby, which I don’t have a photo of because I promptly left it in my cousin’s hotel room before I left to catch the train to Venice. (It’s safe don’t worry). Also if anyone speaks Italian and can call this shop for me (they, wonderfully, do not have an email address or a website) there were also a pair of jade drop earrings I stupidly didn’t get and I need them or I’ll die. (Again what in the Great Gatsby am I doing over here).
Also in Rome I was lucky enough to visit the showroom of the Italian knitwear brand TL-180 which I learned about via
. Coincidentally my cousin’s friend shares a studio with them. It was sort of a Greek myth situation where I was able to try everything on but buy nothing (pain) however that is what online store is for. I don’t know where I would wear this dress (Houston’s?) but am using this as an excuse to post this photo because who knows if I will ever look this good in anything ever again.
The great Amanda Dobbins of The Big Picture podcast let me accompany her to the Venice film festival and besides the fact that I got to see movies every day (mostly good! mostly), I also got to eat many incredible bowls of vongole and frutti di mare. My three favorites, in case you care, were The Testament of Ann Lee, A House of Dynamite, and La Grazia. I am too lazy to fill out Letterboxd reviews. Anyway a Roman friend (hi Enrico!) recommended we go to a restaurant called Osteria Gorgione Da Masa, a restaurant that merges Venetian ingredients with traditional Japanese dishes. This could have gone horribly wrong but it was actually fantastic - the crispy dumplings with a side of pickled peaches (!!!) have remained on my heart and mind ever since.
At the one (1) film festival party I went to, I met a nice Italian man named Massimo who was there with his whole family (I believe he does something related to Italian film distribution?). Upon learning that I do a music podcast, he recommended I listen to the artist Ketama126 and you know what? It’s vibey. The song “33” is particularly fun. Thank you Massimo. (See? There was music in this letter after all).
Before Venice, my cousin and my friend Tierney and I visited Il Giardino Dei Tarocchi (aka the Tarot Garden) in Tuscany a few hours outside Rome, which was created by the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle. I’d be lying if I said I knew about her before - we learned about the garden from some new friends at a party in Porto Ercole (hi Marie and Romain!). I love tarot and it’s been documented that I love whimsy but mostly I loved de Saint Phalle’s mind. What I don’t really love is the idea, that many people seem to have started to rally against, that great art comes from great pain, but in this case it does seem to be true (in many cases - luckily or unluckily we pretty much have all experienced some level of relatively great pain). I won’t try to explain her incredibly difficult childhood but it’s worth reading about, as well as the rest of her work in painting, sculpture, and film (this 2016 New Yorker article is good). Keith Haring once lived in one of her sculptures for three months? She herself lived for five years in a small apartment built into The Empress, a house-sized sphinx-like sculpture in the garden. “On the second level, her bedroom was inside one breast, and her kitchen was inside the other one.” Eccentric feminine bohemian workaholic!!! (Don’t worry this is about shopping too - I spent 200 euros at the gift shop).
Okay off to keep myself awake until 9pm using Coca-Cola and the new Bosch spinoff. See you next week when I will return (probably) to talking about music xx
you're so cool gahh!
Envious of your Euro shopping adventures! I, too, have thought about my tendency towards fantastical sartorial re-creation while travelling, and my therapist really encouraged me to lean into it as a way to break free from the limitations of self-presentation that tend to come with the who you are/where you live/who you hang out with in your everyday life. It's like exploring the inner multitudes that awaken when you wander further afield--still authentic and true, just a self recontextualized! Love that...