Bailey Alexander: Dreams from Northern Italy

  • An embarrassment of crisis, what of our response?

    An embarrassment of crisis, what of our response?

    I interviewed Gary Lachman on our podcast a few years back, and he’s always writing and thinking; about other writers and thinkers. In this article he covers some huge topics and blends them together. He starts out discussing the trouble we’re in…. In his monumental Study of History, a vast, twelve volume work that he laboured…

  • Where to stay in Venice

    Where to stay in Venice

    Here I am riding the elevator, going up, getting older, sliding in to 60 and suprised to say it feels just fine. This last trip, we stayed @ The Hilton in Venice, a 5 star hotel. My guy had points, a great hotel, yet immense. I’d rather walk along the streets of La Serenissima then…

  • In case you’re curious; here’s a list of names

    In case you’re curious; here’s a list of names

    Here’s a list of names for Italian easting establishments. Actually, I think there’s more: Pesceria, Rosticceria, Pizza a Taglio, Taverna…

  • Tiny and not too much money.

    Tiny and not too much money.

    Overnight trip to Venice and the weather was perfect. Finally I booked in advance – it’s the only way to reserve a table; they have two settings, one at 7, then at 9:30. The restaurant is called Osteria Enoteca Ai Artisti, reasonably priced and the four of us had an absolutely fantastic time. I only…

  • All Saints’ today, All Souls’ tomorrow

    All Saints’ today, All Souls’ tomorrow

  • Happy Halloween and driving by Dracula’s Castle

    Happy Halloween and driving by Dracula’s Castle

    Technically, it’s called Peles Castle, known as Bran Castle, unless it’s Halloween – we call it Dracula’s Castle. A great drive back in 2012, in early November, through Sinai, Transylvania.

  • Turning 60 and looking into infinity

    Turning 60 and looking into infinity

    Another trip around the sun, another birthday; like life – they happen so fast. So we went to LeFay resort where we could delude ourselves life can slow down. Where I could celebrate and my guy could relax. Moody day on Lake Garda and looking into infinity….pool. Feeling gratitude, looking forward to another trip around…

  • Why leaves change color

    Why leaves change color

    The Marginalian by Maria Popova: Autumn is the season of ambivalence and reconciliation, soft-carpeted training ground for the dissolution that awaits us all, low-lit chamber for hearing more intimately the syncopation of grief and gladness that scores our improbable and finite lives — each yellow burst in the canopy a reminder that everything beautiful is…

  • Some say Viale dei Tigli’s the prettiest street in Riva

    Some say Viale dei Tigli’s the prettiest street in Riva

    I agree – these trees – but oh, I will miss those leaves…

  • Gaslighting – feel familiar?

    Gaslighting – feel familiar?

    I asked chatgpt, AI did not disappoint: “Gaslighting” is a psychological manipulation tactic in which a person seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or in members of a targeted group, making them question their own memory, perception, or sanity. The term “gaslighting” is derived from a 1938 play titled “Gas Light”…

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