Out Stealing Horses And A Scone

This seems to have become a recurrent type of posts on AUREA - snapshots of a book I'm reading and a scone or other delicious snack. Above, a macchiato and a corn-blueberry scone (at Groundwork, on Rose in Venice) await me together with Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses. In this novel, an elderly man, who lives with his dog Lyra in a remote cabin in the Norwegian wilderness, remembers his youth. The forests and the fjords are ever present, and if the weather is sometimes described in exquisite details, it is probably because in those parts of the world the climactic conditions mean life or death. Sometimes a couple of sentences stand out like Japanese haikus, terse and expressive - for instance, page 121:
A swan comes in to land. Soon there will be ice on the lake.
But mostly, it is a poignant coming of age story with echoes of Turgenev's splendid First Love - I can't say more without giving it away...

And speaking of harrowing literature, have you heard that a poem about Sylvia Plath's suicide, by Ted Hughes, was just found in his papers? It's extraordinary. Hear Jonathan Pryce read a passage from it.

Reading In Los Angeles

Here are the books I read while in Los Angeles...
... I loved Deanne Stillman's Mustang, a gripping history of wild horses in America, with some very sad insights into those gorgeous creatures' situation today...
... thank you to blogger and avid reader Hila, who recommended I read Amos Oz (Fima reminded me of some passages by Philip Roth and JM Coetzee), as well as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a superbly written classic that moved me deeply...
... I have already mentioned great dancer Carlos Acosta's emotional No Way Home - get it, read it, enjoy it!...
... Iran has been dear to my heart since I lived there as a little girl, so I was excited to delve into The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer, a worthwhile but tough novel that leads you straight into the prisons of Tehran...
... finally, I tore through the witty and smart letters of Nancy Mitford; Mitford should be given a lot more credit as a top-notch writer, and I try to do her justice in an Anthology of British Literature, to be published in France soon, in which I wrote the chapter about her - as far as I know, it will be the first time she will be included in such an anthology. Nancy rules, and that will be my last word today.

Bombachas de Campo

Some time ago, in her blog El Beso, an Argentine treasure, Karina featured bombachas de campo, the pants worn, typically with boots, by the equestrian gauchos of Argentina and Uruguay. I loved their style, and asked my mom to bring me back a pair from her trip to Uruguay this month.
They're easier to wear than jodhpurs (while similar to jodhpurs in that they have this baggy-around-the-thighs cut), but also hint at a love of horses, and most importantly, as I walk around Paris, they make me think of Uruguay's beautiful campo, its open spaces...
I love the idea of taking a traditional item of clothing and wearing it my own way. How would you wear them?

Back in Paris - Some News

As I was about to board the Eurostar at London's St Pancras, I spotted this fun illustration by the extraordinary Quentin Blake on a wall outside the station... I love the joy it conveys. I've always been a huge Roald Dahl fan, and I suspect Blake's drawings had something to do with this adoration...
In Paris I was reunited at last with Benjy, aka The Oracle. While I was away, he was bitten on the neck by a large dog on the street... But fret not! Benjy is in good shape and can't wait to resume his guest-blogging. Don't hesitate to leave him questions about Paris, fashion, lifestyle or anything else in the Comments section.

If you're interested in France and food (who wouldn't be?), you might want to know that I've started writing for CalorieLab. See for instance my piece about Smart Choices At French Bakeries and today's article on a French Bill seeking to criminalize encouraging anorexia nervosa.
I miss Uruguay, its beautiful horses and views, so I was happy to stay in touch via this blog's Comments, with Natalia, one of the Maldonado Liceo students whose picture I snapped last week; she's kindly answered my questions about what she and her friends are into, especially when it comes to music. Give Uruguayan rock a go with NoTeVaGustar...

I was delighted to receive this award from 36 Shea's Jill. With her lovely family and fine eye for beauty, not to mention her talent as a seamstress and designer, Jill's enchanting; I also feel I have a special bond with her because she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I spent two years in the late 1990's. Thank you so much, Jill!

At the Jagüel and around Maldonado...

Caballos! Horses are really part of the Uruguayan life. In the countryside, you'll often run into people who go around on horseback, and old-style gauchos, with their typical hat and their guitar, can still be seen, leading cattle with a hyper-active dog in tow... The saddle is usually made of leather, of course, with a plush thick layer of local sheep's wool...
I have always loved horses and ever since I was a little girl, I've gone horseback riding in the Jagüel park, in Punta del Este. These past few days, I have been riding black Lucifer, a gentle beast despite his name, and white Paysandú, in fragrant Eucalyptus woods... Bliss!

I went for a walk in the town of Maldonado this morning... In front of the public Liceo (high school), a group of girl friends allowed me to take their picture before they went to class. Today April 8 is the 18th birthday of Natalia, of the beautiful smile, at the center of the picture - Feliz cumpleaños, Natalia!
Unlike children, Liceo students are not required to wear a túnica. I saw plenty of super slim jeans and Converse sneakers, a style cherished by teenagers the world over these days, and was saddened to see many girls and boys smoking...

British Museum (3)

On the floor of the British Museum's entrance, a beautiful engraved quote by the poet Tennyson celebrates eternal knowledge...

In the dimly-lit Prints & Drawings room, I admired a frustratingly small number of exhibits from the institution's sumptuous collection... I longed to see Dürer's botanical drawings, and am also told the museum has some original illustration by the wonderful Beatrix Potter, but at this time they are not displayed...
(Oh well, I guess I will have to go back!)

Goya is one of my very favorite painters so was thrilled to see these prints, that paved the way for his famous Caprichos. His Gothic imagination conjures up dream-like scenes of ecstasy and madness, don't you agree?

Also on display was the museum latest addition to the Prints collection, namely this large (and actually colorful) portrait of a girl smoking, by Julian Opie.

I spent most of my time with the Youth on Horseback, a Roman statue dating back to the first century AD. I have always loved horses, ever since I started riding as a three-year-old in Kenya; their graceful legs and tender eyes bring me endless joy. This little marble horse, with its boyish rider, seems to be dancing lightly to an ancient fife-and-drum march...