Convivium

    An oil painting of 100 historical personages is one of the Internet’s newest sensations. Figures ranging from Fidel Castro to Shirley Temple are depicted in the large-scale 20′ x 8.5′ (6m x 2.6m) oil painting entitled “Discussing the Divine Comedy With Dante.” The painting also includes world landmarks like the Great Wall of China, the [...]

Heaven, Vienna mine I’m in the spell of your charms divine Dressed like a queen, with life so gay You are the love of my heart today Heaven, Vienna mine Laughter and music and stars that shine Wonderful city where I belong Of her I sing my song Dear Friends, The quote above is from [...]

April may be cruel. It certainly seems so here in Toronto where we are still seeing gusts of snow in mid-April. But this week, many around the world are celebrating the great religious festivals of Passover or Easter. And April is Poetry Month. For some years now, I have subscribed to The Borzoi Reader from Knopf. [...]

A GRAND TOUR OF ITALY FOR GRAND CHILDREN AND THEIR GRANDPARENTS (Recommended ages 10 – 16) Dates:  June 30 – July 11, 2012 Intergenerational travel is now one of the fastest growing segments in the travel industry Picture this – you and your grandchild, or even grandchildren, drifting down the Grand Canal in Venice. Visiting [...]

  Have you noticed that the conversations you find yourself in are more and more about “What now? What next?” with an undertone of anticipation, urgency and trepidation. In many ways, we have more choices before us than at any other time in our lives. Yet, we don’t yet know what to do with this [...]

WALKING WITH SOCRATES This company offers learning vacations with a difference  By Laura Robin, Ottawa Citizen April 2, 2011   Ann Kirkland runs a company called Classical Pursuits that takes people on trips based on readings and ideas. She also puts on summer sessions at the University of Toronto with courses on topics from Virginia [...]