A Stroll in Rome

Ray and Ria Strolling Through the Streets of Rome, oil, 24 x 30"

Today I want to share with you a painting and an excerpt from a current project I'm working on. I'm gathering the paintings, sketches and notes from my trip to Italy this year. At the end of April, I flew over to see my son Ray and his girlfriend Ria while they were spending a semester in Rome on a study abroad program. If you want to see more artwork and sketches head on over to the Italy Paintings page here.  

Italy Trip April 2018 - Excerpt:
Day 2 -4/25/2018
Today is  Liberation Day in Italy. A national holiday celebrated annually on April 25. It marks the fall of Mussolini’s Italian Social Republic and the end of the Nazi occupation in Italy in 1945. The streets were filled with both tourists and natives soaking in the sunshine, enjoying the sights, shopping, listening to music -  like one big street party.  The temperature peaked around  65 to 70 degrees. The blue sky gave way to just a few white fluffy clouds.


First stop on the agenda, the Vatican. Ray and Ria have become so familiar with the streets in Rome. Since they arrived a few months ago for their study abroad program at JCU they have called Rome their home. As for me,  I had to put a little pep in my step to keep up with them. I did the best I could to capture the  scenes with my iPhone. A photo here, a short video clip there.  I don’t think they realized I needed to do double time to keep up with their longer strides by their longer legs. But that’s ok, they would move ahead through the crowds and then instinctively know to turn around to see where I was at. Allowing me time to shot a few photos here and a few videos there and then scurry up to them. They patiently waited for me... what lovely tourguides they made. They also didn’t realize how in shape they were from their daily walking routines and how out of shape I was. (puff - puff)

Every street we turned down there was either a trattoria, ristorante or cafe or sometimes all three! Each one set and ready to serve. The vibrant overhead awnings  stretched out just a  little past the dining tables  offering a comfortable shady spot from the bright sunlight. The tables set with  rolled up white napkins and sparkling wine glasses, sometimes a tiny bouquet of flowers in a glass vase graced the table. The string of lights were definitely for ambiance and character, and I must say they played their part well. As we strolled past each establishment we could hear a friendly voice call out "Buongiorno" - "Good Day".  From the savory aromas, to the  abundant visual scenery and the romantic sounds of the Italian language  - a stroll down the streets of  Rome is sheer bliss.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog - I'll be sharing more of my Italy adventures in upcoming posts. 

Ciao! From the streets of Rome
Linda

Side note: A funny little story to share. The stretched canvas that this painting was painted on I gave to my son for Christmas. I wrapped a blank canvas with a note attached  "Future home of a Linda S. Marino Original Oil Painting" - and 5 months later I gave this painting to him for his birthday.