chrisholthouse's Blog

Christopher Holthouse's Blog

Chris is terribly excited to be backpacking through the land of eternal breadsticks this summer. He counts photography among his hobbies, exploring among his passions, and a proficiency in most word-processors among his skills. Semper ubi sub ubi.
The Sun Sets in Sicily
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I don't think it really matters. If you're somewhere in Sicily between the hours of 8 and 9pm, you're going to see a pretty incredible sunset. I'm still waiting for that "green flash" everyone always talks about (I'm skeptical) but this sun-atmosphere... Read more
Apollo and the Moon
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The full moon rising over the Temple of Apollo in Syracuse, Sicily: how much more poignant it would be if Apollo were actually the god of the moon? It turns out he's actually the god of the sun—NASA just picked up his moniker for the lunar missions... Read more
Notes From a Train
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As I was scrawling out a rough draft of this blog on the penultimate train ride of my route—a four-hour Sicilian coastal jaunt from Palermo to Taormina—the topic changed. Originally, I was going to go for a snarky little column about the dirth... Read more
Wedding Crashers: Italy Edition
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A few days into my stint in Palermo, I strolled into the tell-it-like-it-is named Church of Jesus. The overload of stucco reliefs, red and white marble, and shiny gold crap everywhere was enough to spin me into a tizzy of Sicilian baroque-ness. There was... Read more
Avoiding Bankruptcy on the Amalfi Coast
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On the Amalfi Coast, the only thing grander than the view is the pricetag. Here's my braindump on ways to avoid leaving this place in the red. 1) Bring your own shade. No one actually does this yet, but I'm thinking it's going to be the next big thing... Read more
My Friend Virgil
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I am part of a smallish, eccentric, and some would say rather confused cohort of individuals that willingly partakes in the study of Latin. Virgil, to me, is a little bit like an old friend. Granted, it's a one-way friendship, and it's more of an "I'll... Read more
Naples: Putting on a Facade
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"Venite Adoremus" - "Come, let us adore him." It's a phrase you can find above the front door of many churches around here. However, not so much at the Chiesa di Gesu Nuovo. I picked up more of a "stay back or I'll poke you" vibe from this facade. This... Read more
That's a Volcano, You Know
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To Naples I have come--just 5 hours by train but light-years in attitude away from the quaint Tuscan towns I've passed through these last few weeks. Naples laughs at "quaint." This city is big, fast, and bold. There's no such thing as deference--you take... Read more
An Unfamiliar Encounter
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After a month on the road in Italy, this was an alien world of many colors. Why can't I find a baby Jesus? Where's my guy St. Francis at? No Latin? How come this one isn't a "fresco?" I wracked my brain for answers to these questions, but to no avail... Read more
The Place to Be During a Thunderstorm
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I only had two days to cover Assisi; that's not a ton of time, but there's not a ton of Assisi. The sky was gray when I arrived at the train station, and I figured it would be best to spend the next few hours checking off as many sights as I could, just... Read more

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