Some days in South Beach, one of the most popular places in Florida.

A great place to forget about the speed of time…

This is seriously one of the most impressive collection of modern art I’ve ever seen. Picasso, Dali, Martisse, De Chierico, Van Gogh, Chagall, Kandinsky, Cezanne, Warhol… really amazing. Plus it is in the City which is always a nice place to visit…

Welcome to the MoMA!

I know, I am a bit late for this movie published in 2004 but I have to say it is good. Good rhythm, good story. It was a while I wasn’t watching a movie able to capture my attention. The topic is not new but the way it has been proposed is quite interesting and full of all sort of twists and turns. Great.

The interesting thing about planes is that they are all almost the same all over the world. Right, when you change countries and continents you may find different cars, bicycles, public transportation… but plane are not that different. And when it is cloudy you could be wherever: Italy, Quebeck, Quatar Austria, USA, UK… wherever. Also safety procedures are the same… sure the language spoken by the crew can change, but at the end you will often have the English version of the story.

Right now I am sitting on this plane, a McDonnel Douglas MD80. Under me Europe hidden under a ocean of puffy clouds… and I can easily read the label on the phone close to me: “TELEX Minneapolis, MN, USA”… I was exactly in the same spot (same kind of plane, same sit) one year ago flying from Boston to Atlanta. Dejavu.

He knows why… bella Beppe!

This is one of my favorite paintings ever. It is commonly known as “Vampire” but I’ve never liked this title… And it has been good to find out that this painting was originally titled “Love and Pain” and that “a critic named Stanislaw Przybyszewski mistakenly interpreted this painting as being vampiric in theme and content”. And the painting became known as “Vampire” only after his erroneous assessment of it.

Yes, I’ve always thought that the woman in the painting was consoling her lover, not sucking his blood. Even if, in Italy there’s a common saying that some women (especially some wifes and lovers) are sucking blood…

It is so intense and warm, isn’t it?

Another couple of versions:

The warm colorS of sumMer… the beautiful smile of a woman in love… K

Some pics from Engadin the valley between Italy and St. Moritz (St Moritz on google maps):

And this is St. Moritz:

… waking up this morning… I guess this painting is a good summary…

Who remembers old movies about Vegas wouldn’t probably recognize it from the previous posts (unless your movie is Ocean’s Eleven). In fact, the last day in Vegas I visites the old strip. The old strip is exactly what I was remembering from the movies, compact, full of lights, unique. The atmosphere was great.

Fremont Street - Las Vegas (click to enlarge)

And to make it attractive an interesting roof/screen has been built. The screen is the biggest screen on earth and is playing a show every hour. Check out the pictures to have an idea… but you know, live is completely another thing.

As I always say… before judging a place, visit it. In Vegas there are nice things and bad things… check it out!

Another interesting Casino in Vegas is “The Venetian”. As you can imagine it has been inspired by Venice. I have been to the real Venice many times and a copy of it is just a bit weird at first. However I have to say that the atmosphere in this Casino is not bad at all. The ceiling (as you can see in the third pic) is kind of cool too. And think about it, the guys/girls driving the Gondolas are singing Italian song like “O sole mio”.

The Venetian Casino - Las Vegas (Click to enlarge)

As I have been to the real Venice recently, I wanted to compare the “Palazzo Ducale” in Vegas with the one in Venice. Take a look of the following pictures. They did a great job.

Vegas	Venice

Have a look of the “Rialto Bridge”… water makes a big difference in here…

Vegas	Venice