Monday, May 28, 2018

A Renaissance

As soon as my college job ended for the year, I began and finished a new episode of Alan's Italy which I completed in less than 3 days. The diminished pressure of not having to prepare for my courses, get to the college, and perform and get tired (especially at my age!!) gave me a renewed sense of purpose and here I am. I chose a theme which was conceived while we were in Rome last January. We left our family in the Roman Forum in the early afternoon of Sunday, Jan 14, took a makeshift rick-shaw from the vicinity of the Colliseum to the Piazza Navona where we spent the next 2 -3 hours sipping one of the finest wines in Italy, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. We enhanced the experience with some snacks and then let the Sunday afternoon crowds of Rome unfold before us. It's like watching a play with the piazza as the stage. As you will see, several hours just sitting and relaxing, watching the world go by on one of the most famous piazzas in Rome can be a delightful experience. Since I knew this would be the theme of a future show, I took three videos which capture the majesty of the moment. I hope you enjoy.

In the future I may have some trouble creating future shows since my material is thin. I have an inkling to explore one of the famous Florentine churches, the Church of Santa Maria Novella and we do have a lot of photos to show. That would be my guess as the next episode of Alan's Italy.

Anyway it's good to be back.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

We Are Back!!!!!

After months of inaction on my part a new video is uploading. After the cancelation of the trip we were supposed to have taken in May 2017, I lost interest for a number of reasons. First, a lot of material I would have brought home and indeed planned for were not there. Second, I just lost interest in the creative process. I found that creativity is not always there, so I gave up the process. I could produced with shows on things which we had not photographed for a while, but that would have required a lot of research and I just wasn't up for it so the channel, Alan's Italy, was in a state of abeyance.

However, we took a fabulous vacation in Italy in January 2018 for 2 weeks, did some photography and videography and my creative juices came back with some ideas. You will see one of them in show # 144 - What's New in Florence, 2018. I focus on a couple of restaurants, one old with a new owner and one totally new, both on via della Scala. I also talk about the renovation completion in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the new emphasis on bicycles in Florence, and the new opera house.

The show is not one of my best, although I should leave that judgement to my audience. I didn't feel comfortable and I believe that may come through in the video. I have some more ideas that I hope to get into. I also must sadly report that my dear friend Sharon Hirst, Ric's wonderful wife of many, many years passed away recently. It was quite devastating and shocking even though she had been sick for a long time. Her courage and fortitude were astounding during her final years, months and she will always have a place in my heart. Ric indicates to me that he would like to continue to do shows with me and we have one idea that is almost ready to be pursued.

I have a show I would like to do next on the wonderful and famous Piazza Navona where Laura and I spent two hours just sitting and relaxing and watching the world go by. I took three videos which I will include plus some photos and background material.

Meanwhile we are up to 204 subscribers and over 54,000 views, so even though I have been inactive, the audience has not. Thank you.