Seth Madej » Italy

The Greatest Thing to Ever Come Out of the Vatican

Seth — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:19:29 +0000

I’m not a Christian, and certainly not a Catholic. In fact, my beliefs fall pretty much opposite of what anyone could reasonably define as “spiritual,” with the exception that I’m certain there’s a troll living under the Fletcher Dr. bridge. And when it comes to art, my tastes lie with Richard Serra’s monumental, twisted steel plates or Ellsworth Kelly’s radiating colored shapes. Yet despite all of that, the greatest work of art I’ve ever seen, the one that I hope aliens find when they descend upon our dead civilization after following the electromagnetic trail of an ancient Red Lobster commercial, is Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Look, It’s Us

Seth — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:49:40 +0000

I haven’t posted many pictures of us lately, and since my mother and mother-in-law are the only people still reading this blog and that’s what they want to see, here are a bunch. (We’re having a lovely time in Barcelona, by the way. It’s like New York with LA’s weather.)

We Made It to Barcelona

Seth — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:10:17 +0000

My apologies to Civitavecchia which is not in fact the “dingy outskirts of Rome” but actually a rather tony suburb filled with restaurants and hotels and even a block full of carnival games and Italian teenagers. The ferry ticket office, tastefully positioned between the shipping containers and Ms. Bikini beachwear outlet, had enough tickets available not just for us but also for the entirety of the Swiss Guard and their tailors had we happened to bring them along.

The ferry ride itself was pleasant enough, though I was forced to watch most of the video for Sting’s “We’ll be Together” in the ship’s bar.

Out to Sea?

Seth — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:08:03 +0000

We just spent three days in Rome, where we saw tan people in aviator sunglasses and leather jackets in the Colosseum, tan people in aviator sunglasses and leather jackets on Palatine Hill, and the part of the Trevi fountain visible between all the tan people in aviator sunglasses and leather jackets.

Also we went to the Vatican and had lunch with the Pope. He let me wear the hat. Turns out it shows you who’s going to Hell. (Sorry, Oprah.)

Now we’re on a commuter train out to the port of Citavicchia. Our original plan had been to head north to Milan and then make our way by train across the south of France to Spain.

Venice in Brief

Seth — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:27:51 +0000

We arrived in Venice Thursday night with a full moon sparkling on the canals and realized we were in a magical place filled with magical pumpkin dumplings and magical €5 carafes of magical wine, where we drifted to sleep enveloped by magical wallpaper so gaudy that we could hear it. And then we woke up.

In the morning, after finding a $2800 accounting error in the budget (Whoops! No more food this month!) we walked outside to find it pouring rain and windy and freezing. When it rains a lot in Venice the streets flood and walking through the narrow lanes becomes a lot like being flushed down a toilet.