Category: Travel

We decided to have a more low-key day today. We were up and out at about 10:00 after the usual sumptuous breakfast in the hotel. Our first stop was to take the elevator to the top of one of the towers to get an overview of the city’s panorama.

The off-on bus took us to the church of saint Michele de Bosco, high on adjoining hill, then  to MAMba, the modern art museum, where we saw the permanent collection, an unusual anime special exhibit and lovely paintings from a female artist from Oakland!   We had time for lunch there too: their version of a Caesar salad was not what I expected but was tasty nonetheless. The dessert, which came as part of the formula menu, was delicious, and not too sweet.

On the way back to the hotel, we checked out a museum and another church as we managed to get lost on the way back. The winding streets invite exploration but don’t always take us where we want to go..

After a brief rest we set off again in search of a light meal and found the welcoming  Osteria 015, the sister restaurant of the one we enjoyed last night. The plate of local meats and cheeses was wonderful,  with unusually good freshly baked breads.

We  washed it down with a Spritz Aperol with a hint of Campari, a bit different from what I had in Sicily. We chatted with nearby table companions from Oregon.

We change hotels tomorrow to join our tour group;  we have one more day for our independent exploration of this mesmerizing city before we begin our tour. There is still so much to see and do, and roses to smell along the way!

I hope you’re enjoying our explorations and adventures.

 

 

 

 

It’s the end of the day and I’m tucked into bed. I just checked my iPhone to see the miles walked and it registered 7.8 miles, 17,289 steps and 38 flights of stairs. I’m not especially surprised by the mileage, because I read that the average tourist in Paris walks eleven miles a day, but the stairs?  How did this happen?

We climbed a hill to get to the top of it, to see the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Saint Luca. We walked the porticos to the top.

 

Beautiful Bologna is full of wondrous sights, including porticos, arcades that intersect  the city.  The city fathers may have provided these covered arched arcades to protect the citizenry from the extremes of weather, but it is said that the original idea was for shopkeepers to add space for trade in their stores. Originally made of wood, they became a fire hazard so from 1568 on, they had to be built from brick or stone. The city has 25 miles of these structures.

The Portica of San Luca runs three miles, from the Arch Melancello – we took the #20 bus from the historic center to the site  – to the Sanctuary at the top of the hill, a distance of 2.3 miles covering 635 arches – all uphill. This is the longest set of porticos in the city and was a challenge to us. The reward? Seeing the views and the sanctuary, which were spectacular.

 

Sometimes the incline was a little steep, other times it was gentle, and there were sets of stairs interspersed, always with hand rails. We met people of all ages and countries on the journey. We persevered. We succeeded.

 

I think  this qualifies as a kickass adventure!

The church was small but very ornate at the high altar and the profusion of marble was astounding.

Then we went back down the hill, which was much faster!

After we returned to the city center, our next stop was lunch on the Via Santo Stefano, which was a newly renovated section of town, not far from the center. Many of these buildings housed palaces of the rich which over the years fell into disarray and have been transformed into restaurants, galleries and chic shops.  There are also a few government buildings among them.

We had a delightful lunch – tuna salad and house white wine for me and melon and prosciutto for Ann-  and I chatted with three high school students who were on an educational trip to Italy.  I didn’t recognize the language they were speaking, but they spoke English to our server. Their language was Serbo-Croatian!  Nice kids.

There are kids everywhere in this town!

We strolled down to Piazza Santo Stefano, leading to the Basilica of Santo Stefano,  a complex of medieval churches. Of  seven original churches, three remain. dating from the 5th century. The first church was unlike anything I’d seen before, with rough stairs leading to the altar.  It was dark and foreboding, unadorned except for a huge crucifix. Going down and to the left, we passed through another ancient church with a cylindrical form, passing on to various courtyards. The designs of the brick architecture were intriguing and a bit perplexing. If you’re interested, Google the site for more information.

One hightlight: a cat in one of the courtyards. Obviously it belonged here.

Our last stop was for dessert at the best gelatoria in town, on via Castiglione. We came, we saw, we ate! Delicious.

 

We returned to the room for a rest, then went out later for a light supper and a glass of wine in the neighborhood followed by – what else? -another small stroll through the half-lit streets and back alleyways of beautiful Bologna.

 

Yes, 7.8 miles. It adds up…

Buononotte!

 

 

From the bathroom, no less!  Ann and I made all  our connections easily and met at the Bologna airport. We took a shuttle to the third atop, as indicated on the hotel website, with the help of a very nice driver who didn’t speak English but spoke French, and got a taxi there. There was a bookshop at the taxi stop and the kind lady there, who spoke neither English or French  helped us to call a taxi. Five minutes and 10€ later, we were at our hotel.

 

It’s called Hotel Novocento and it lives up to its name. Though the outside of the building is ancient, in the small, charming Piazza Galileo, it’s very modern on the inside and is centrally located to all the major attractions.  Our room is pictured on the site, if you’d care to look. It’s the only twin-bedded room with the white wooded sloping ceilings with shutters, which we kept open. We have a long bench under the eaves – there’s one window in the bedroom and two huge ones in the bathroom, one in the shower!!

The town is a gorgeous Renaissance masterpiece and one can almost imagine Romeo and Juliet flirting in the square. There are present-day Romeos and Juliets doing that now, as it is a very important center of learning for italy. There are kids EVERYWHERE!  I thought I was in campus at Berkeley!

We wandered the central area and strolled for a few hours, then settled in to a restaurant called 015, noted on the map as “a favorite” and it was truly wonderful: we split a lasagna bolognese, and we split a caprese salad, with freshly picked tomatoes and basil, accompanied by buffalo mozzarella cheese  I had a glass of vino bianco of the region, and Ann had vino rosso, also local –  perfect!  The lasagna was not like the American version : it was subtle and not heavy at all. We both sighed when we took our first bites!! Amazing. The price was also amazing, very reasonable for the quality of food.

We strolled back in the dark, the mere few blocks to our hotel, thinking we’d suddenly gotten into a time warp, as the illuminated Renaissance buildings guided our way home.

I managed to get myself a shower; after no sleep in either the ten-hour flight from San Francisco to Paris, or the almost two hour flight from Paris to Bologna, my mind and body shut down at 10 pm. I woke at 2:00 am and assumed I’d not return to the land of slumber; however the next I knew it was 6:30 am  – hooray! I slept better than usual for the first night  I’ll check in later today – or maybe tomorrow morning – and let you know what happened on day 2 of the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am again, at SFO, or San Francisco international. I’m sitting with all these excited passengers, ready to go to Paris. Don’t they look thrilled to be here?

Flying used to be a big deal. We’d wear nice clothes. We’d be excited. I still get a thrill, knowing I’m off on a new adventure – and I am!  I’m flying to Paris on the Air France #83, then will transfer to a flight to Bologna, Italy, where I’ll meet up with my friend Ann from England.  I’ll be on the Airbus 380, in the upper level this time in a seat known as <<première économie>>! I got  deal when I booked with the Overseas Adventure Travel people: airfare was free and upgrades to this class was $50 per flight  I checked the website for Air France and the cost was 900€ per flight! Oh là là – did I get a deal, or what?  Ann is flying from London and our planes touch down at about the same time. We will be on our own for a few days, then will join a tour of Bologna, Parma and Ravenna, then meet up for the main tour in Lucca.

This is not a big city tour  we will go to Florence – briefly – and Siena, but the bulk will be spent with travel in the countryside, which should be good photo ops, good tastings of food and wine, and a good time for all.  If you’d like to see the day to day itinerary, go to Overseas Adventure Travel and find TUSCANY AND UMBRIA: RUSTIC BEAUTY  I will be your tour guide, with insights and hopefully we will have some fun along the way.

It’s almost time to board! Addiamo!

 

 

 

 

“I wish they all could be California girls..” intoned The Beach Boys many years ago.  The song was a hit and a culture was born – or, if not born, at least recognized.

My state – yes, I am a native Californian – is filled with iconic sites, from San Diego to San Francisco and points north, south, east and west, but small towns deserve a shout out as well  We are a big state, and there’s lots to see in California.

This month I was embroiled with matters pertaining to my house, but also saw friends and lunched and dined out in small towns just a short drive away from my house.

My friend Marilyn from Los Angeles was visiting friends from Sacramento, an 80 mile trip.  Commute traffic can be bad  – about a 2-3 hour trip one way – so we decided to meet in Martinez, my county seat. It’s a quaint town with lots of charm. She took the train;  it took her a little more than an hour and she enjoyed seeing the scenery from a different vantage point. The Amtrak Capitol Corridor train goes from Sacramento to San Jose and has lots of riders, fans of the train who, after a long day of work,  prefer gazing out the train window with a martini or glass of wine to fighting traffic behind the wheel of a car.

We strolled the streets, poked around their many antique shops, and had a sandwich in one place and dessert in another.

We admired the murals, the unique architecture and caught up on our lives.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the Amtrak station to catch her train. I drove home through scenic hills – and no freeways. It took me about 35 minutes.

A few few days later, I met up with my friend Tanya from elementary school days. I drove over to her place in Albany, the town next door to Berkeley, and she drove us to Marin to see our other friend Marilyn. We met in fourth grade and got reunited through the internet. We’ve usually got some kind of outing  planned for the day. Although I’ve lived here all my life, there are places I’ve never been and things I’ve never seen in my own backyard. Many times we go into San Francisco to visit a special museum, like the Walt Disney museum, or play tourist at a site, like Alcatraz, or go to a special exhibit.  Other times we explore Marin. I love Marin because it has a lot of beautiful natural attractions as well as quaint towns. This day we went to the town of Fairfax.

Marilyn always knows the best places to eat, and this day was no exception.  I was happy to learn the restaurant was still serving breakfast, because it’s my favorite meal to eat out.  Tanya liked the idea too;  Marilyn had a salad. We were all delighted with our choices.

Meals with the girls are always filled with nostalgia but also some interesting insights into the human condition. I guess aging gives us a unique perspective on life. It’s always comforting to be in the company of old friends. We discussed the 1953 Presidential Inauguration because we remembered that students in our class were “farmed out” to watch it on television at the houses of others in our class. There was no TV at school.  Not every home had a TV set in 1953.   I remember I was assigned to the house of a girl named Barbara. Marilyn said her family hosted one of the events. Doesn’t that seem odd now?

After eating and talking, we decided to do some walking. Fairfax is sort of a hippie town, even today; in fact, it is the only town in America to hold a Green Party majority in the town council.  In the mid 60s a softball game between the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead took place at Central Field, a public downtown baseball park.  Irving Berlin used to serenade from a treetop piano at Pastori’s Hotel, later known as the Marin Town and Country Club.  Thank you, Wikipedia!

We saw some very nice shops and I managed to snag a pair of pretty earrings and a couple of lovely items for Christmas giving. We loved the scene!

 

A short distance from the East Bay is the Monterey Peninsula area.  Most people have heard of it. This is more a mini break or weekend destination than a quick day trip, and the scenes are breathtaking.    I have friends who own a second house there, and I was delighted to drive down with them to their ever-evolving historic home, just 1/2 block from the beach  at Lover’s Point. They live in Pacific Grove, a lovely, quaint town between Monterey and Carmel.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium is just a mile down the road.

The downtown area of Pacific Grove is filled with beautiful Victorians and unique establishments of all kinds. There are, of course, lots of restaurants and B&Bs here as well. It’s commercial but not as blatantly touristy as Monterey and Carmel, which I think is too cutesy. Real people live in Pacific Grove, and it’s a delightful place to visit and relax.

And then then there’s the ocean..

The ocean is the chief attraction, and it’s not always peaceful, as its name might imply.  Churning, rollicking, cold waves lap up to the sand.  This is NOT Southern California and yes, there are surfers, but they wear wetsuits.  It’s cool here, but the crystal clear water flirting with sun and sky is a sight to behold…

and to eat and drink in such splendor, with the rays of the sun bathing your face through the glass??! That’s the best way to while away an hour or two in the afternoon..

Is that a jacket?! Is it windy?  Yep, but this photo was taken in February.  At least I was not shoveling snow.

Another spot to visit is the mission.   There are missions scattered throughout our state, as every California kid will tell you, since we had to study missions in elementary school.  Junípero Serra and the other founders of the Spanish missions are as much a part of our California history as are founding fathers William Penn and Ben Franklin to the history of Pennsylvania, though Ben was born in Boston.  I love the architecture, the gardens, and the peace found in these beautiful spots. We went to the Carmel mission after lunch.

My all-around favorite local place to visit is one I’ve known all my life, since I was born and grew up 16 miles from it.  It’s called Napa. I knew Napa before it was the world-famous NAPA, with touted gourmet restaurants and fabulous lodgings. I still love seeing the rolling hills of vineyards in the area and go up as often as I can. Napa may no longer be the Napa of my childhood, but the beauty and uniqueness is still there.  Driving the back country roads from Napa to Calistoga, stopping at a vineyard or a garden, or one of the many dining establishments, the Napa and Sonoma valleys can be a quick day trip or a very full weekend. Try it sometime! I’ve been doing it all my life and never tire of its tranquility or variety of options.

 

 

 

This month has been spent with domestic duties, and I’ve accomplished what I set out to do: I have beautiful new carpeting in my home and the rodents have gone! September will be spent in travel, and I’ll be meeting my friend Ann, who lives in Truro, Cornwall, England.  We met in the 80s on a trip and have been meeting up in cities ever since. She and husband Ronald came here and we did do a trip to the Napa Valley, but we’ve also met up in Paris, London, San Diego, Dublin, and their home. Sometimes I was alone, other times I dragged along the current boyfriend, friend or my sister, much to their delight. They visited my sister in Honolulu on their way back to England from Australia. We are kindred spirits, as Anne of Green Gables would say.  Sadly, Ronald passed away at the end of last year, so we decided it was time for the two of us to do a major get-away..to Italy!

Will I be posting on site? You betcha.  It’s time for another adventure!

It’s time to think about packing. You’d think I’ve had figured it all out by now, don’t you think? Think again.

Any suggestions?

Ciao for now!

Yes. I’ve been home for a while now, but I’m still involved with travel and photography. For me, a trip has three parts: the pre-trip planning, the trip itself and the post-trip reflection.

After a trip some things are predictable:

There will be jet lag. 

It’s  nice to get home but my body is still in Europe, for a time at least. I read a statistic somewhere that for each hour of time change means a day recuperating from it, so for me, a Californian, flying back from Spain or France means a nine hour time change – and nine days to get over it. Of course, some people are not plagued by jet lag at all  but I’ve found it takes me at least a week to get over a European jaunt.  I don’t fight it; I just accept it. As a result, I end up being wide awake at 3:00 AM or find myself  yawning or almost falling asleep during a mid- afternoon conversation.  I keep a fairly quiet schedule for several days and try to stay awake when the sun is out.

I will spend lots of time on my photography. I download photos to my desktop and study them to savor the special moments 

Time flies on a trip and with digital cameras, it is possible to take LOTS of images – some good, most not good, some terrible, and a few great ones, and even though I delete the worst ones from my memory card every night, there is still lots of editing to do after the trip when I get home.  There’s nothing like seeing photos on the big screen of a desktop computer.  Eventually I find my favorites, and then use them in gifts for family and friends.  I make calendars of all types and sizes and create note cards of special images for sale and for loved ones.  I can do this quiet work when I’m up bright and early, during the jet lag days!  Looking at the photos also reminds me so special moments during the trip.

Here are some special moments from the last trip:

I took this image with my phone as we were leaving the Pena Palace, in Sintra, an enchanted village near Lisbon. I love the natural border of the opening over the buildings, with the multi-colored towers.  It was a fairy tale place that I’ve always wanted to visit. We had a wonderful day there.

People often go to the Old World to see ancient architecture but I find the modern stuff just as compelling.   There is an area of Lisbon with great, innovative, creative buildings that glisten and glow. This train station, the gare do Oriente, was built by Santiago Calatrava, a Spanish architect, structural engineer, painter and sculptor, in 1998.  Even though I just had a glimpse of it from the bus, it has stayed in my memory.

Having breakfast within the cloister of the convent in Evora, Portugal was an amazing experience. Our tour accommodations were in historic  buildings which had been converted to four star hotels. The food and lodgings were magnificent.

I’m still totally enamoured with southern Spain and being in Seville again was a real treat. I love this picture of the Plaza de España,  built in 1928 for the Iberian-American exhibition. We had time to stroll all the detailed tile representations of various parts of the country. Truly a masterpiece!

Don’t miss the mesquite in Córdoba! Is it a mosque? Yes, it was. Is it a cathedral? Yes it is. The mixing of two cultures in a seamless fashion is a sight to behold.

After I relive my trip, I get back to my  real world, slowly, slowly..

I was busy working before I left on the trip, so now I’m using summer as a time to “get things done” around the house. As with most people, from time to time, homeowners experience domestic challenges. Even though I have homeowners’ insurance, it took me over two weeks to get two toilets repaired; the first plumbing company was inept but the second one was great. I now have a new toilet in my office and all repairs were done free of charge because of my inconvenience. My next door neighbor sold his place and there is renovation construction going on. As a result of this work, some rodents have also decided to make a move, so I am dealing with rodent roommates, much to my dismay. My next step is to hire a handyman to plug up any nooks and crannies that they’re using as their entrance. I am not a DIY person. I’d rather hire someone to do it correctly.

Good news: I just made a major purchase of new carpeting, which will be installed within the month. I’m thrilled with it. I’ve been involved in a massive clean up since I have to take all books out of bookcases and find a place for all knick knacks and breakables. What a job!   Now if the mice would just go away, I’d be happy.

In between domestic drama, I’ve also been taking day trips in the Bay Area to spend time with friends, and hope to send a post out on that soon, showing you some small town California charm. Summer has been a bit warm, but not extreme. I was in Marin County yesterday with old friends and the weather was perfect.

I’m also doing some pre-trip planning. I will be off to Italy next month! I’m meeting my friend Ann from England in Bologna for three days on our own, then we will be touring in Tuscany and Umbria..I have done some reading, and I SHOULD be working on my very basic Italian. I took an Italian for Travelers class a year ago, before our trip to Sicily, and I have new CDs I purchased for review. I have great intentions but little self-motivation at the moment.

One thing I always try to do: exercise.  Whether I’m enjoying a walk on the trail  or strolling the golf course on Mondays, I try to enjoy  nature where I find it – and photograph it for you.

Hope you’re enjoying summer, where ever you are. Enjoy each day!

 

 

Again, we must say goodbye before saying hello to new adventures on the road less traveled. This was the view from our window in the Parador of Úbeda.  It was our last historic home accommodation and I admit feeling a pang of sadness at leaving these accommodations.  For me, staying in the restored historic hotels was a good part of the magic of the trip.  When we get to Madrid we will be staying in a convenient modern hotel near the museums, but the historic hotels add that certain feeling of history which came as an integral part of the voyage.

A most unusual comfort stop along the way was a visit to the tiny Cervantes museum, which we visited  before heading on the freeway to get to the magnificent town of Toledo.

We even were able to glimpse a few old-fashioned windmills along the side of the road!

We had to fuel ourselves for the energetic walk to come, so we stopped at the oldest restaurant in the city of Toledo, built on the site of the Roman circus – with some ruins still standing –  for a feast including one of the most iconic foods in Spain, Paella! We started with a delicious mixed salad and finished off with Baked Alaska!  Wow!

We waited in anticipation..

Cooled, fueled and fortified by our lunch, we were ready to conquer the city of Toledo.

We headed up to the escalators, which you can see in the right of this photo, which propelled us to the top of the city.  It was down hill the rest of the way.  We walked in the shadows, careful not to expose ourselves to the sweltering heat, the hottest summer on record for many decades.

The city is located on the Tagus river, which meanders through the city. It was originally founded in the 5th century BC when Jewish inhabitants first settled here. It became an important settlement in later years as civilizations rose and fell, from the Romans, Visigoths, and Moors.  Eventually the Christians took control of the city from the 11th century on, led by Alfonso VI. Toledo was even at one time the capital of Spain, until it was relocated to Madrid. The architecture reflects the various inhabitants and the footprints they left. Today Toledo is considered a cultural mix of its Christian, Jewish and Moorish roots.

It is very difficult to cram all the museums and monuments into one half day’s visit, so our guide focused on a few of the iconic sites.

we arrived at the cathedral at a convenient time, because it was the day before the celebration of Corpus Christie, one of the major events in the Roman Catholic calendar and the cathedral was preparing for a procession the following day.

The cathedral was built between 1226-1493 and is remarkable for its incorporation of light.  It features the baroque altar, several stories high, with fantastic figures of stucco, paintings, bronze castings and medieval mixed media.

Our next stop was to the Church of Santo Tomé.  We ony went to see the famous El Greco painting, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, which we were not able to photograph.  Google it if you wish; it is truly amazing.

We enjoyed the architecture and history inside the Congregational Synagogue of Toledo, the oldest synagogue building in Europe, built in 1180, which is now a museum now owned and preserved by the Catholic Church.  It is also known as Santa María la Blanca.

rhe architecture is stunning, but, wait..it is definitely Islamic. We were told by our very knowledgeable guide that the best architects during this time were Muslim, so, of course, they incorporated their style into the synagogue. This is again a symbol of the harmony that existed between the three major religions during the 11th-13th centuries, where all religions lived together side by side. The building is very impressive.

We strolled the streets, enjoying views of storefronts and shops. This was my second visit to this magical city and I still haven’t seen it all, so if you have time, spend a couple of days here; it is well worth it. It would be neat to stay over so the city would be yours after the day trippers leave.  There are many restaurants and other diversions to spend the time fruitfully.

 

On to Madrid – and more adventures!