"Home again, home again . . ."

I thought I'd better let my ever faithful readers know that I did fly out of Milan without any problems and landed in New York, April 18. It felt as though I was home!
With a quick jet-lag recovery of 24 hours, I had two KC friends join me for the weekend.
We all stayed in my son's apartment, and those of you who have seen the size of the apartment can only imagine the tight quarters for the addition of three women and their suitcases . . . but it worked without any problems. We even have pictures [but only for a few people to see!].
The weather was perfect in New York and the adventure was a wonderful end to the three month travel. On April 23 we flew into KC and I'm slowly getting my mind back to the every day concerns . . . or not!
The travel photos are in the process of getting ready to upload . . . and this will happen, hopefully in the next few days.
Thank you for joining me on my journey!

Learning from history?

Traveling in Europe for the past three months, I have been struck by the antiquity of the countries I have been fortunate enough to visit.
Throughout Italy, Ireland and France, there is evidence of the millions of people who have been here before us, seen in the castles, walled-cities, prisons, orphanages, fortresses . . . many of which date back before medival history. I can honestly say there is a feeling of these individuals permeating from the walls.
There is also somewhat more recent evidence of living history. I talked with Italians who live in an apartment in Savona, Italy, which they tell me sustained damage from WW II. In fact one of the neighbors at the country home in Acquafredda found an unexploded bomb buried close to their home.
The stories you hear fall into two categories: what others have "done to us" and what we have "done to ourselves". We shake our heads in dsibelief and sometimes wonder how people could have been so cruel to others - the child labor in an Irish orphanage, the beheadings during the French Revolution, etc.

Then you turn on CNN.

Becoming "a regular"

I've found a great restaurant across the street from the hotel where I'm staying in Milan. Some of the wait staff even speak a bit of English!
The restaurant is known for serving good fresh fish and meat dishes. I actually was one lobster trying to make a quick get away off the ice display, but to no avail . . .
What's fun about being a regular patron is that it can have it's perks. Leonardo, who is my usual server, has taken pride in creating dishes for me that are not on the menu. Maybe a Top Chef in the making!
If you find yourself in Milan, I highly recommend the Drop In Ristorante and Pizzeria on Via Marghera. Send my thinks to Nino and Leonardo for wishing me Buon Appetito!

Traveling through the seasons

When I first started this trip, there was freezing ice and snow on the ground and the average temperature was hovering around 0°. So naturally, I packed my suitcase accordingly.
Europe is now experiencing temperatures unseasonably warm (I wish I could send some of this hot air to the midwest!). The challenge is to figure out how to dress comfortably with the winter clothes that were packed.
Guess I may have to go shopping for something more appropriate and get rid of some of the clothes I brought (I'm really getting tired of looking at them), because there's really no more room for another wardrobe in the suitcase.
One other unexpected challenge has been booking around exhibitions . . . I was able to get a hotel reservation in Milan for this last week, except for the night before my flight to New York. There is a huge exhibition of some kind happening and there are no rooms available!
However, with some help from 'the local' folks, I have been able to locate a room close to the airport so I should be able to make the flight. (There needed to be just a little bit of drama with this adventure!)

Buono Pasqua (Happy Easter)!

Easter in Italy reminds me of Thanksgiving in the US. The traffic is crazy the day before the holiday, shops are crowded with people buying those last minute purchases for the feast the next day, and there is a feeling of celebration in the air.
The holiday is Sunday and Monday and very much a time for families.
We spent Easter Sunday in Acquafredda, with the family of one of my traveling companions. The group was somewhat international with "respresentatives" from the US, Wales, England, Germany and of course, Italy.
Our noon time meal lasted several hours as food kept coming and coming out of the kitchen!
After a stroll around the nearby village of Millesimo, we returned to the house and sat around talking and singing to guitar and mandolin.
I was told that traditionally, families go on picnics on Easter Monday, but our Monday was a travel day to Florence.
What a memorable experience!

The Beauty of Italy and Chianti Country

Previously, I had only visited northern Italy in my travels - Liguria, which has a rugged beauty with steep tree-covered hills and palmtree-lined coasts along the Mediterrean.
The journey has now taken me to Tuscany, where it is true - the land is bathed in sunshine on the rolling hills which are dotted with tall cyprus trees.
The differences between these two Italian areas reminds me of the differences seen between northern and southern California. (Italy is about the size of California, so the comparison may fit.)
One of my traveling companions arranged for us to stay three nights at an agriturisimo villa (similar to a bed and breakfast) in the heart of Chianti country.
The area is sprinkled with medival walled villages and castles, all nestled in the hillsides blanketed in a "crazy-quilt" of olive groves, vineyards, lush vines of lavendar wisteria and brilliant yellow forsythia bushes.
I wish I could say that I had fantastic photos of the area, but my camera just isn't capable of doing justice to the beauty. You really have to be here!

These shoes were made for walking . . .

I just happened to glance at the soles of my shoes the other day and was completely surprised at the holes.
It's either a sign that the journey is near it's end . . . or that I need to buy new shoes!
Walking in Europe is diffent than walking at home. Most of the cities have cobblestone streets and sidewalks, so you have to be really mindful of what you are doing.
Now that spring has arrived, so have the tourists . . . lots of them. So navigating the walkways has an added challenge.
Of course when I really stop to consider walking at home, I realize it's going to and from my car - not really a means of getting some where.
I've really enjoyed the walking these past three months. I'll need to do some creative planning in order to keep it up once I'm home.

Navigating the Streets of Venice

(First of all, I have to let you know that I had a very short time to write my previous three postings and didn't have time to edit ... so sorry about the typos!)
I have to admit that after using the street book in Paris, I have become somewhat spoiled in thinking that a map should not only have all of the streets identified by name on a map, but the streets themselves should have some indication of what they are called.
Not so in Venice. Not only are the streets not all marked, but what you see on the map as a straight street, in reality may have all kinds of jogs and corners!
However, this can provide an opportunity for adventure and unexpected surprises. Such was the case when we discovered the incredible restaurant, Antica Carbonera. The food was amazing and the waiters (and owner!) personable and charming.
An alternate method of navigating the "streets" of Venice is by water taxi or vaporetto.
The city of Venice is actually a mass of very close islands that sit a short distance from the mainland in a lagoon. There is a bridge from the mainland that crosses to the city by train or motor vehicles.
To travel around the city, you can either walk over the many, many short bridges or travel throught the canal ways using water taxis, vaporettos or of course, gondolas.
There are several smaller islands worthy of visiting - Murano for glass and Burano for Venetian lace.
I have heard more "English" in this city than any other city since Ireland. The square in front of San Marco Cathedral, which is so well-known for the thousands of pidgeons that flock there, was so crowded with people at times, there was hardly foom for the pidgeons!
All in all, Venice is magical and worth a visit.

Capesci?

If you really pay attention to what you hear people saying when you travel abroad, you can begin to pick up phrases that you can also use appropriately.
Usually theese are the nicities such as "Good Morning", "Please", "Thank you", "excuse me", etc.
The real challenge is to remember which country you are in and which phrase you need to be using1
When we first boarded the train in Paris, the conversations surrounding us were French. By the time we crossed the Italian boarder, it magically became Italian.
However, I'm finding that my little bit of Spanish keeps jumping out! Fortunately, the majority of people I've needed to converse with, even on a limited basis, are very gracious and even if they don't speak English, we are able to converse with gestures and smiles.

A train fide to Venice

(March 30)
At the suggestion of one of my travel companions, we boarded a train in Paris at 8 am so we could truly enjoy a trip through southern France, with the final destination Venice, Italy.
What a beautiful ride through the lush countryside, quaint villages budding vineyards, and tunnels through the Alps.
We knew we would have a 15 minute sopover in Milano to change trains, so when we had what appeared to be a rather lenghty stop before reaching Milano, we weren't sure about making our connection.
Sure enough, we rolled into the station two hours late with apologies being announced and raced from our train along with others to the track where a train to Venice was getting ready to pull out of the station.
Keep in mind, I'm hauling a rather large suitcase (three months worth of necessities), and getting myself and my baggage up and down from transportation of any kind is no small task!
We made the train, heading into the first car which is obviously 1st class. We worked our way down through the corridor of the 2nd car and could go no further as there are passengers standing with their luggage also, unable to go any further.
The trip is scheduled to take about three hours! Fortunately, there are stops along the way and after about 1 1\2 hours, there are empty seats available in the 1st class compartments, so we sit . . . to get out of the way of anyone trying to make their way down the aisles.
Which is a good thing, because the aisle was about two feet wide and there were plenty of people who felt inclined to make their way past piled luggage and passengers, smashed against the windows watching the countryside racing by.
We arrived in Venice at 8 pm, found a water taxi, and headed to our hotel before we finally were able to get a meal!

Final tthoughts and tips from Paris

(March 29)
After three weeks of living in Paris, I've picked up a few tips to share. When riding the Metro, always keep your ticket with you until you've exited the subway station.
Fortunately, I had read this in one of the guide books as well as having heard this from one of my travel companions who has traveled extensively.
During the time here, we were actually stopped once by Metro officials who were checking the stubs of all exiting passengers. If you don't have a valid ticket, the fine you pay would probably be enough to cover Metro rides for two full months1
You can really get some great food from shops along the street - affectionally known as "street meat." Be wary of restaurants where everyone is eating the same thing! The food may not be bad, but the prices can be hefty!
Even though the streets in Paris can be crazy (as mentioned by a taxi cab driver with a GPS system in his cab, who said it didn't really help in Paris), at least the streets are clearly marked and accurate maps are readily available.
The Parisians as a whole are extrememly friendly and very helpful. Several times while studying our map, someone would stop and ask if they could help us.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and hope to return. There is so much to see and do and a person could probably spend a lifetime trying to do it all . . . however, it's time for me to head to Venice!