23 Saturday Jul 2022
Posted in Art, Gift Ideas, travel
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art, florence, i love italy, italia, italian, italian flag, italian food, italian restaurant, italiana, italiano, italy, italy love, italy map, milan, rome, sharon cummings, sharon cummings art, sicily
A shout out to all of my Italian fans and collectors! I love you guys! Italy!!
19 Wednesday Mar 2014
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amalfi coast, art, art prints, bologna, canals of venice, canvas, colorful maps, colosseum, countries, country, europe, european, florence, genoa, interior design, italia, italian, italian food, italian restaurant, italy, italy map, leaning tower of pisa, map, map of italy, maps, milan, naples, palermo, piazza del campo, pompeii, prints, rialto bridge, rome, santa maria del fiore, sharon cummings, st. mark's square, travel, turin, vacation, venice, verona, wall art, wall decor, wall maps
Do as the Romans do. I always thought that meant something scintillating, but all it really means is: It is polite, and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the customs of a society when one is a visitor. Oh well.
Today’s map study is the beautiful country of Italy! When I think of this place, my first thoughts are always about food. Italian plays a part in my heritage so I can tell you that there is nothing like a homemade pasta sauce with fresh herbs and spices. There is an art to perfect marinara. It cooks slowly all day long. The smells that fill the house are insanely taunting. Turns out that I have Celiac disease and all of that pasta I grew up with was tormenting my insides. 5 years ago I switched to Gluten Free fare and get to still enjoy those delicious tastes!
Some fun facts about Italy:
* Italy is approximately 116,400 square miles (including Sicily and Sardinia), which is slightly larger than Arizona.
* Italy is one of the most crowded nations in Europe.a Its population is estimated to reach 58,126,212 by July 2009. The population of United States is estimated to reach 307,212,123 by that same date.
* Italy is said to have more masterpieces per square mile than any other country in the world.
* In 2007, a dog named Rocco discovered a truffle in Tuscany that weighed 3.3 pounds. It sold at auction for $333,000 (USD), a world record for a truffle.
* When McDonald’s opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists outside the restaurant gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage.
* Parmesan cheese originated in the area around Parma, Italy. Italians also created many other cheeses, including gorgonzola, mozzarella, provolone, and ricotta. No one knows when the pizza was invented, but the people of Naples made it popular.
*Vatican City is the only nation in the world that can lock its own gates at night. It has its own phone company, radio, T.V. stations, money, and stamps. It even has its own army, the historic Swiss Guard.
*Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy. Tourism is vital to Italy’s economy and provides nearly 63% of Italy’s national income.
12 Sunday Jan 2014
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356, adventure, antique, antique car, antique cars, buy, car, car keys, car parts, Cars, chrome, chrome wheels, classic, classic car, classic cars, detail, detailing, details, for sale, italian, key, key hole, keys, online, porsche, porsches, prints, sharon cummings, speedometer, speedster, sport, steering wheel, vintage, vintage car, vintage cars, wheel, wheels
Yesterday while out driving around with my Hubby looking for places to take some pictures, we stumbled across a parking lot filled with vintage Porsche’s. What a sight to see! And best of all, the show was over and there were hardly any people about. We had free reign to take as many shots as we pleased without any pesky humans in the way. 🙂
Whenever I see one of these old classics, I think of my crazy uncle. Doesn’t everyone have a “crazy uncle”? Well I do. And if you are reading this, you are mine Uncle Rick. 😉
When I was around 13 years old and staying with my cousin for a week up in the hills of Georgia, my Uncle Rick thought it would be great fun to teach me how to drive. Now that sounds like a pretty normal thing to do right? Normal unless you consider that he put me behind the wheels of a 1954 Porsche Speedster that he had lovingly restored to absolute perfection. It was a beautiful thing.
All went well until he told me to not be afraid to put on the gas. I listened like a good student. It was a wild and crazy ride through winding roads. I had driven a stick shift once before, so hey, I was practically a pro. My memory gets a bit sketchy, but all of a sudden I took a curve way too fast and didn’t correct myself. Uncle Rick grabs the wheel to help me correct and next thing we know we are smashed into an embankment of dirt. That’s right. I wrecked my Uncle’s shiny Porsche. While I am sitting there drenched in sweat and trying to find my lungs again, I hear cackling. Laughter. Crazy insane guffawing. He thought it was an absolute riot! He told me to start it back up and keep going.
Yesterday I was reminded of that time and of him. And the thought occurred to me that maybe there was some wisdom in that wild ride. Perhaps Uncle Rick wasn’t so crazy after all. What he taught me was that “things” were just “things” and that the experience and people were far more important than an expensive car. He also showed me that it was o.k. to let go of fear and just move forward. And lastly, that no matter how scary and crazy life gets….even if you crash sometimes……you can just start it back up and keep going. Broken and bruised……you can still enjoy the ride….
Abstract Art by Sharon Cummings 