From Texas to Beyond

Local, Near and Far: Our journey of exploring the world.

Category: Feature Friday (Page 1 of 3)

Every Friday, we take a break from our regular blogging schedule and each author has the opportunity to share with you a bit of their personality, interests, and passions. All of the Feature Friday posts have been filed here; series have been grouped together as well for easier sorting.

Madonna di Loreto in Church of Sant'Agostino, Rome
Madonna di Loreto in Church of Sant'Agostino, Rome

Chasing Caravaggio: Who is Caravaggio?

August 21, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

As part of our continuing desire to bring beauty into focus, From Texas to Beyond will periodically feature brilliant pieces of art that have influenced our lives. We are excited to showcase these universal works of beauty with you.

Before I jump into the three Caravaggio paintings that Rebekah and I viewed in the Louvre’s extensive collection, I want to provide some context to the artist. You may find yourself asking, “Who exactly is Caravaggio?”

Caravaggio’s life and works have filled countless books; I will attempt to oversimplify for the sake of time. If you as the viewer know a little about him, you will better appreciate his influential works.

Let’s look briefly at Caravaggio’s life. A second follow-up article will discuss Caravaggio’s impact on the world of art (Coming Soon!). Continue reading

Gear Review: Scarpa Mojito Shoes

August 7, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

When David and I were preparing for our Italy trip, we talked about doing some hiking between the cities in Cinque Terra. David had done some research and found out that there was a nice trail between the cities that was paved. Later on, we would learn that one of the trails was having some construction work done on it, and we would have a harder and more difficult hike through the Italian countryside, but that is a story for another day.

As we prepared for our trip and were thinking about the various terrains we would be on: asphalt, cobblestone, light hiking trails, sand, and some others, we started to think about shoes that would work best for this trip. Taking a backpack so that we could be mobile, we didn’t want to have the limited space taken up by several pairs of shoes. David had decided he was going to take his hiking boots, but I didn’t have any hiking boots at the time. That led me back to Backwoods to find a shoe that could handle the terrain and wouldn’t be too heavy.

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You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Kids Who Care

July 24, 2015 / / 8 Comments

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

When you can’t travel overseas, bring the world to you!

Here at From Texas to Beyond, we love to travel overseas; but as we all know, sometimes money, time, and other responsibilities limit these opportunities.  That does not have to stop you from experiencing and learning about our world.  In the DFW area there are hundreds, if not thousands of opportunities to meet people from around the world, feast on their traditional cuisine, encounter art, and experience music and dance performances that introduce you to different instruments and rhythms.

Arrival of the International Students

Arrival of the International Students

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View of Church of Saint Vitus from Český Krumlov Castle

The People of the Czech Republic

July 10, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

While traveling, you can see the best art, taste decadent food, and experience the most exhilarating adventures.  But what makes a trip most enjoyable for me is the people I meet.  This is one of the reasons I am addicted to traveling.  Meeting new people, sharing in their culture, and understanding their past is a joy.

Making a Trdelnik, a Czech-Style Donut

Making a Trdelnik, a Czech-Style Donut

When we returned from the Czech Republic, one of the highlights I shared was the incredibly hospitable people!  Our exposure to generous Czechs started before we even stepped in their land.  While we were preparing for the trip, our interaction through email was great.  Then when we arrived, every person from a taxi driver to hotel owners went out of their way to make us feel at home.  It made me want to stay!

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Chasing Caravaggio: Caravaggios of the National Gallery, Part 2

June 12, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Every Friday we take a break from our regular blogging schedule to allow the authors an opportunity to feature a certain topic they are passionate about. In the past you’ve read about art, studying abroad, experiencing culture through food, and the great burger adventure. Through this and other future posts we hope you’ll enjoy reading, we hope to share with you our personalities, passions, and interests on a more personal level.

As part of our continuing desire to bring beauty into focus, From Texas to Beyond will periodically feature brilliant pieces of art that have influenced our lives.  We are excited to showcase these universal works of beauty with you.

Today, we conclude the two-part miniseries examining the Caravaggio painting from The National Gallery in London.  As I mentioned in my first post in the Chasing Caravaggio Series, I am on a quest to view all of Caravaggio’s masterpieces firsthand.  Thanks to a short layover at London Heathrow I found three more in The National Gallery.

Picking up where we left off during the previous Chasing Caravaggio, I was standing before three great works of art by Caravaggio in The Nation Gallery in London.  While the first two pieces, Boy bitten by a Lizard and Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist were delightful, my favorite of the three now had my full attention.

The Supper at Emmaus

Caravaggio's The Supper at Emmaus - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Caravaggio’s The Supper at Emmaus – Courtesy of Wikipedia

The final and greatest Caravaggio painting in The National Gallery, The Supper at Emmaus, was much large than I expected.  The scale of the painting accentuates the viewer’s ability to enter into the scene as Christ stretches his hand out of the painting’s surface, directly to us.

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