Venice, May 16: This much fun down one little street

Venice sail-away, May 5

Si and I spent 32 glorious days on Holland America's Westerdam, sailing from Ft. Lauderdale (April 14) to Funchal, Madeira (April 22) ... then stopping at Cadiz and Almeria, Spain; Ajaccio, Corsica; Rome, Naples and Messina, Italy; Sarande, Albania; Split, Croatia; laying over in Venice (May 3 through 5). I didn't expect the grandeur of our departure from Venice: We sailed our great fat ship right down the Grand Canal! Watching the city's islands go by, from 10 stories up on our top deck, was a stunningly gorgeous half-hour. I'm uploading a photo with this post; more pictures are coming soon.
After leaving Venice, we cruised back to Split and then Athens (May 8, three days after their deadly riot); Istanbul (May 9 and 10); Mykonos; Kusadasi, Turkey; Santorini; Katakalon (Olympia); and back to Venice (May 16). They made us get off the ship, out into the cruel world where no one feeds you eight times a day and cleans your cabin three times a day.
It was a beautiful trip. I hope you enjoy the photos I'll be posting over the next days.

James Joyce's 'Ulysses,' continued...

"Poor jugginses! Damn all they know or care about anything with their long noses stuck in nosebags. Might be happy all the same that way. Good poor brutes they look. Still their neigh can be very irritating."

James Joyce: '...and then the angel of death.'

This painting combines part of a line from James Joyce's "Ulysses," an image from my father's prints, and the inimitable handwriting of Si Rosenthal.

James Joyce: 'He took the bloody old towser by the scruff of the neck and, by Jesus, he near throttled him.'

Another combination: A line from James Joyce's "Ulysses" (the quote is also used by Kingsley Amis in his brilliantly funny book, "Lucky Jim"); Si Rosenthal's handwriting; and two images my father was working on--a still from the movie "Sands of the Kalahari" and a photo from what looks like World War I.

New paintings