gochess

One of my favorite places to walk in Paris. It offers a very poetic perspective on life. Some of the neo-classical sculptures are absolutely shunning (for example, see Madame Henriette-Adélaïde Raspail’s site (née Trousseau, 1799-1853) which displays work by Antoine Etex (1808-1888, bas-reliefs pour l’Arc de triomphe de l’Étoile) {nota bene DCD fans}).

Permission was officially denied to hold a recital of piano music by Erik Satie. So just imagine listening to his Gymnopedies as you stroll along . . .

and when you sit down to rest, bring out some poetry by Gérard de Nerval and Paul Eluard to quietly recite . . . they are both there, and probably would be quite honored by your presence! (A friend suggested setting up camp overnight, to get a feel for the afterlife ;-)

« A la fin tu es las de ce monde ancien. » -Guillaume Apollinaire

In 1912 archaeologist, Ludwig Borchardt, excavated at Amarna and discovered Nefertiti. He wrote just one thing in his diary: “Description is useless – - see for yourself.” [. . .] In the 12th year of Akhenaten’s reign and at the height of Nefertiti’s powers, she vanished from history. Egyptologists have failed to discover exactly what happened to her. [Fascinating source: http://www.pbs.org/empires/egypt/ definitely worth seeing the program, “Egypt’s Golden Empire.”]

Very extensive written records were kept, however, the Egyptian rulers were fanatical history revisionists, and so frequently documents were “shredded” when there was a change of regime, or change in religious ideology.

Akhenaten (1352 – 1336 BC), by the way, was history’s first recorded proponent of monotheism. “The visible sun” god Aten was worshipped. So no wonder why sunsets in Egypt are always so beautiful . . .

Check-in to a suite at the InterContinental Le Vendôme, with a clear view of the Mediterranean. Immediately ask the concierge to bring my favorite French pastries from Alain Ducasse’s shop, Tamaris, on Weygand Street. Take a short nap while listening to Fairouz, then explore the rebuilt city-center at Solidere. Invite friends for a mezze dinner in the chic Ashrafieh district, then spent the rest of the evening dancing at the De Prague in Hamra. Wake up in the morning to strong café Arabe. (Was it all a dream?)

So they say . . . “Its beauty is an epic one: cliffs that are the very embodiment of time, bougainvillea-shaded pathways overlooking the sea, trees seemingly hewn out of rock by the Greeks.”

But what actually captivated my attention was a painting, entitled Amalfi Cappuccini by Carl Frederic Aagaard (b. 1833 in Denmark; click on painting for enlargement). I felt this strange sense of familiarity - as if I had taken a stroll there many years past - yet I have never set foot there. The spatial design of this painting is highly commendable. Notice the multiple lines of perspective which drawn you into its calm serenity. One experiences inner enclosure, a beatitude invoked by the classical architectural lines shaded by the Nyctaginaceae vines. Simultaneously, that leads to open promises along the horizon where the eye is greeted by the magnificent Mediterranean Sea (actually, the Golfo di Salerno).

One of Ravello’s attractions is the Palazzo dei Rúfolo (monuments date back to the 11th to 13th centuries—Arab-Sicilian art at its peak), where Wagner found inspiration for his Klingsor’s magic garden in his opera Parsifal.

Then I discover Amalfi is one of 50 Places of a Lifetime by National Geographic.

And there’s Gore Vidal’s endorsement: “Fifty-one years ago, just out of the army, I was looking for a place to write until at least the end of the century. I came to Ravello on a bright, cold day in March where I stood on a limestone cliff overlooking the Gulf of Salerno, Paestum opposite me, and I thought - and think - this is the most beautiful spot on Earth and so, in due course, I made it my own, and so it will remain until the next lucky visitor takes my place among the cypresses, the lemons, the vineyards of Magna Graecia where thesea-sky are so intensely blue [photo]that you cannot tell where one begins and the other leaves off.”

So we have triangulated the location of Paradise by the works of a painter, composer, and writer. Most certainly Amalfi is now on my agenda (nota bene: 89 kilometers southeast of the Napoli Capodochino airport). Creative forces seem to be gently giving me directions. Ciao!

The view from the paths overlooking the sea is simply awesome…

For photos, see:
http://flickr.com/photos/dharmapath/sets/317075/