Paris

Paris surprised me. It really is a beautiful city. The people? There is definitely a clash of cultures between Americans and Parisians. An American living in Paris told me that they really do like Americans and that it's the English they don't like. My experience was 50/50.  I feel so privilaged to have seen and experienced some of the treasures of this city. The Louvre and Notre Dame are exceptional. Fireworks at the Eiffel tower on Bastille day were so much fun set to a great mostly disco soundtrack.

My European adventures has come to an end. It was a blast!

Swiss Alps

The change from the Mediterrainian to the Swiss Alps couldn’t be more dramatic. We make our way up narrow winding roads with incredible views of the alps. I even see a bit of a glacier. Switzerland is cheese country, the government here subsidizes small farmers so they can keep producing their special cheeses. As we make our way through the alps there are cows grazing here and there. People love their cows here and they even name them. Our hotel sits in the little town of Stechelberg in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. The woman who runs the hotel talks a lot. I can’t understand a word she says and I reply in English and somehow most everything is understood. She does this with everyone and it is entertaining to watch these exchanges. I stand in front of my hotel and in every direction I turn the view is breathtaking. This is one of “the” places that base jumpers come for their “earth” jump. Some people in our group sign up for para gliding. I pass on all of the possible jumping options.

    Instead, I take a gondola to the top of Schilthorn peak, it is just under 10,000 feet and the temperature drops significantly. Later, I lunch at the cafe where you can order food, coffee, beer, para gliding, bungy jumping or heli sky diving, I settle on tomatoe soup and tea. Then a few of us take the long walk (two hours) back to the hotel, there are waterfalls scattered along the way, and cows, and amazing views of course. The mountains and fresh air offer a different kind of paradise. This is a good place for long walks, hikes, and just sitting around talking.  Next stop France!
   
   

Mediterrainian Paradise

    Cinque Terre is the small Italian coastal village of my Italian dream. Cinque Terre (five small villages) sits in a remote part of the Italian Riviera. I have a painting I bought years ago that could be one of the five small villages of this Mediterrainian paradise. I looked at it everyday and if someone asked about it I always said that it was the small sea side village in Italy that I would visit someday. Someday came and it is everything I imagined. The energy here is quiet and the most relaxed in Italy. The Mediterrainian water displays an incredible spectrum of blue (my favorite color.) The best thing to do here is to take in the sun, food, and friends.

    My first night starts off with a bang as the group is treated to a seafood lovers feast. I eat mostly vegetarian so I eat my pasta with pesto (one specialty of this region) as I watch the group and laugh as they struggle with crab legs, lobster tail, octopus arms and much more! By now I have bonded with all my travel buddies. We all look out for each other. We branch off with different buddies at every activity depending on our mood. The next day I opt for a boat ride to get a view of the Cinque Terre from the water. It is all beautiful. My view at lunch could not be more perfect. It is warm, sunny, the food is great, and I am in the company of my sister and Patricia a well traveled joyful travel buddy from Anacortes Washington. As we stroll in Monterroso we stumble upon a wonderful little shop and I like everything in it. I splurge on a few gems for myself, literally! I score on a fabulous lapize necklace, a lovely amythist ring and a gorgeous blue topaz pendant. I am happy.

We follow up our day with a group happy hour on the beach, a swim, and opera! I get a taste of opera as I sit outdoors in this perfect Italian village listening to a British opera group that performs this evening, and I discover I am a fan. I walk back to my hotel as the evening cools and shops and gelato vendors have reopened for the night. Tomorrow I say goodbye to Cinque Terre. I am not ready.

Rome

Rome
Rome is a city of stairs. I have climbed so many stairs; the city is one big stairmaster. I am walking so much too, yet, my pants are getting tighter! Probably because of all the pasta and gelato I eat at every turn! Incidentally I did have San Crispino gelato, the gelato place mentioned in Eat, Pray, Love (and the New York Times) and it is hands down the very best!

Rome is big, busy, chaotic, and vibrant. There is so much energy and the whole city seems to be in motion. The Colosseum comes alive for me because our local guide, Francessca, brings it to life with her presentation. She helps me imagine what it might have been like by asking that I feel what each area feels like with the knowledge of the history and psychology of that time. I am a feeler, this is how I connect to the world, her approach is perfect for me.

The Vatican is over the top opulent, as expected. After seeing the Sistine chapel and St. Peters Basilica, we take a taxi back to our hotel because today there is a transportation strike. Their strike is very well organized and supported by the people. During a strike they only run trains and buses for the morning and evening commute. So in the middle of the day walking or a taxi is the only way. Like everyday we have walked quite a bit and now a ride sounds just great. The taxi ride is a small adventure in itself. The rules of the road here are merely suggestions. Lanes, lights, cross walks...all optional. Basically the one with the largest vehicle rules.The taxi driver serves as  an unofficial guide. I sit in the front and enjoy his narrative of life in Rome, as he artfully and narrowly misses hitting pedestrians and avoids collisions with scooters, motorcycles, cars, and buses. His English is sprinkled with Italian and he has the wonderful thick Italian accent that is so fun to listen to. 

By this point in our trip most of our group is tired. We have kept up a good pace for the past couple of weeks. But we are in Rome, so some people keep going, attempting to see all they can and return looking completely wiped out. Some of us give in and take a few hours to rest, nap, and sit on the terrace and drink wine. I’m in the latter group.

I saw what I came here to see and even though there is so much more I accept that I will not see it this time. I relax and stroll in the evening. We join friends for a late night dinner and it is so pleasing. We are the last to leave the restaurant. We are actually the ones waiting on the server to bring our check. They have absolutely no desire to rush us or themselves. They are the most relaxed people regarding time and  the art of doing nothing  ("il dolce far niente") is highly encouraged. When we think we are ready to go, the waiter encourages something more but we all say no grazie. He then mentions lemoncello and insists we have one “on the house” because we “must enjoy.” So I end the evening with my first lemoncello. Others in our group have tried lemoncello’s in each region of Italy. We are now on our way to Cinque Terre and they apparently have the best lemoncello.  Hmm, I will have to do the taste test to confirm. 

Florence

Florence has such a rich history and culture, it is impossible to experience it all in the short time I have.  It is here that I see Michelangelo’s David. It is so beautiful. This 17-foot magnificent sculpture occupies a prominent place under a domed ceiling in a small museum. This alone is worth the trip. Florence was once the home of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and the masters they studied with and the artists who studied under them. This is where serious art students come to study art and some never leave. Like our local guide, Cynthia, who first came to Florence from California to study, she fell in love with Florence then with an Italian. She has lived here since. She guides us through the Uffizi gallery. After our group activity finished, I  sit and admire, “The birth of Venus” and “Spring,” my favorites in this museum.  

I exhaust myself trying to see as much as I can during my free morning and free evening (along with a group activity in-between.) Florentines are just a kind as Venetians. Many times I stop and ask for directions. They are always helpful and I understand what they mean even if I don‘t understand what they say. Many Italians speak English even if only a bit, especially in  tourist areas. Being a foreigner in these countries really gives me an appreciation for all the people who speak English as a second language in their own country. I find myself taking the easy way out and using English whenever possible, throwing in an Italian word here and there, and grazie, grazie, grazie a lot. Mile grazie!

By evening my feet hurt but, I keep going because I want to see the view from the bridge over the Arno river. Finally, Irene and I stop to have a  quick meal at one of the many “bars” in Italy. A bar is a little like a Starbucks but all are small, independent, and each has something different to offer. After a slice of pizza we proceed to a cafe with free wi-fi and sit outside for a bit before calling it a night.  

The Tuscany countryside is beautiful. Traveling from Florence to Rome there are many hillside towns, vineyards and fields of sunflowers. It is all so Beautiful. Now it is time for Roma. Ciao!

Venice

Italia
It is love at first sight! As I cross the border from Austria.  I have my first meal in Italy in a tiny town along the way to Venice, pizza and wine. I’m in love. Even in this first encounter, Italians are joyful and their passion is palpable. They are so different from the Dutch, Germans, and Austrians. They are friendlier, they smile more freely and they joke. There is a lightness in their energy. 

Venice greets me with sweltering heat but I don’t care because I am in Italy. This city has always existed on tourism and it is high season which means the narrow streets are packed with tourists. My first evening in Venice I enjoy a most fabulous meal. The restaurant manager hears our travel guide’s request for dinner and dessert but he is sure he knows better and makes changes to our order. Of course, he is right and dinner is more fabulous because of it,  including the most amazing tiramisu ever. As we stroll back to our hotel the water has begun to rise onto St. Mark’s Square, this will be worse over the next couple days because there will be a full moon (the next night shoes must come off to cross parts of the square.)

Our hotel has excellent air conditioning, after a day of walking and taking in the history, architecture, and art, it is a welcomed retreat. Once we have cooled Irene and I meet our new friends at Harry’s Bar. Harry’s Bar is famous because Ernest Hemingway spent two years at this bar drinking bellini’s and writing. A bellini is similar to a mimosa but is made with peach juice and sparkling wine. Yum, it is delicious and overpriced like everything in Venice. I think that Venice is the most beautiful at dusk as the lights begin to come on and by evening as we cruise the canals in a gondola the city is magical. At this time I miss my honey because this is a very romantic setting. Honey thanks for working so that I can be in Italy. I love my husband.

Germany & Austria

Traveling with a group of seventeen other people from the U.S. and Canada has many advantages. One advantage is we don’t wait in lines at museums or other must see and do activities. I love that! Because it is summer there are several teachers in the group. Teachers are the nicest people! We get to hear from local people about their history and current life in their country. As I listen to the local people I am reminded that governments make policies and wars but that all people want the same things in life. That is to meet their basic needs and to enjoy life.

I have heard first hand accounts from, Herr Jung, an energetic, 81 year-old man who experienced WWII as a 10 year old boy in Bacharach Germany. At ten years old and now at 81 years old he could not make sense of any of it. As he speaks he pauses because the pain of his experience is still there and I feel it too. However, he is not a sad man but rather a man who fully appreciates all that is good in life. He wants children today to know that if they have food and clothes they have everything! He wants kids to know that killing is not a game and would like them to not play video games in which they kill people. 

In Germany I saw castles, cruised on the Rhine river, stayed in a hotel in a 700 year old tower. I am currently staying in a small hotel in a village near Reutte Austria. The Austrian alps surround this tiny town.  The hills are alive la la la... I admire the pristine towns and beautiful green landscape in both Germany and Austria but meeting and listening to Herr Jung and to locals in other locations is the most enriching part of my travels thus far.

There has been much attention paid to WWII on this part of the trip but now I look forward to art and food in Italy.
Auf Wiedersehen!