# Field Notes: London, Liguria, Monferrato

- Author: Kojin Glick
- Published: 2026-09-11
- Canonical: https://kojinglick.com/blog/field-notes-london-liguria-monferrato

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Twelve days, three locations, one carry-on to visit friends and celebrate love. Nothing like some time away with friends.

![A crowd filling a residential street in west London during Notting Hill Carnival.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/notting-hill-carnival.jpg)

Notting Hill, London

30 August 2026

21°C · light drizzle, overcast

Eleven years ago, my friend and I attended the Notting Hill Carnival as newly minted _"adults"_. As it turns out, there is a sister festival in Crown Heights, NYC, down the Eastern Parkway. Under the right lens, the similarities start to stack.

![The red brick and terracotta corner turret of the former Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women on Waterloo Road.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/royal-waterloo-hospital.jpg)

Royal Waterloo Hospital, SE1

1 September 2026

19°C · mainly clear, clouding over

Twelve miles on foot, Camden down across the river and back up again. Halfway round, across the roundabout from the IMAX: the old children's and women's hospital, where we invented the "Silicon Valley Spliff" eleven years ago.

![Domed skylight above the plaster cast collection at Sir John Soane's Museum.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/soane-museum.jpg)

Sir John Soane's Museum

2 September 2026

20°C · overcast, dry

A house organized entirely around daylight falling on fragments. A tastemaker's dream, a space designed around the careful collection of classics. Also visited the Hunterian (not depicted), a very different type of collector's fantasy.

![A graffiti-covered granite boulder in Allen Gardens with a circular hole cut clean through it, park and trees visible beyond.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/allen-gardens-stone.jpg)

Allen Gardens, Spitalfields

3 September 2026

25°C · overcast, close

East London repaints itself weekly. The backdrop of my first tattoo, a fitting place to vandalize myself. Stopped by Beigel Bake, and the Truman Brewery.

![The twin crenellated towers of Porta Soprana in Genoa under a bright sky.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/porta-soprana.jpg)

Porta Soprana, Genova

5 September 2026

26°C · mainly clear

Genoa is vertical and shaded; the _caruggi_ stay ten degrees cooler than the piazzas they connect. The gate is located near the ruins of St. Andrew's convent.

![Breakwater at Camogli leading to a small lighthouse, with the headland beyond.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/camogli-breakwater.jpg)

Camogli, Liguria

6 September 2026

29°C · clear

Train from Genoa, twenty minutes. The beach is stones the size of eggs and they get superheated in the sun. The perfect excuse to spend the day in the water.

![Vineyard rows falling away across the hills at Casalotto, Monferrato.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/casalotto-vineyard.jpg)

Casalotto, Mombaruzzo

8 September 2026

25°C · clear, no wind

Asti province, a ridge road with nothing on it. The reason for the whole trip was a wedding two hills over, which stays off the internet. Congratulations to the newlyweds, may their love last centuries (F + A, forever).

![Brick facade and bell tower of the parish church in Fontanile after rain.](https://kojinglick.com/static/img/field-notes-2026/fontanile-church.jpg)

Fontanile, Asti

9 September 2026

23°C · steady drizzle

The doors were closed, but unlocked. Found the opulent beauty of Catholicism, properly evoking the untouchable grandeur of His Kingdom.