Here is what we have been working on for a long time! Next stop, Lecce.
Ireland
Ireland has always been on my list of places I wanted to visit, but it seemed out of the way and hard to get to. However, once we decided that we would need more time in the US to get everything together for our Italian visa application (just turned everything in yesterday) our itinerary opened up.
For those of you that have been following along with this journey, you will remember that we met a delightful couple from Dublin in May and had a wonderful night of conversation and pizza on the steps of a 17th century church in Lecce. Cooleen and Padraig encouraged us to stop through Dublin if ever our wanderings allowed. This seemed the perfect opportunity and I am not sure I can express how delighted I was with this choice. Whatever you have heard about how beautiful Ireland is and how friendly the people are, it was probably understated.
Cliff walk from Greystones to Bray
Our first outing was to take the commuter train south from Dublin along the coast to Greystones. There is a cliff walk from there north to the village of Bray. The day was cool, a little overcast, and a great day for a walk. There were great views of a storm on the Irish Sea, what appeared to be a seal in distress and the coast as a whole. With the seal, after scratching his back on a rock, he swam off. Who would have the seal-in-distress hotline on their quick dial list? The lady next to us and she used it to call in the incident. They do that here.
Outing along the Dublin harbor jetty
Our hosts, Cooleen, Padraig, and their wonder dog, Harvey, took us for a walk on one of the jetties for the Dublin Harbor. The day ended with a family dinner of the best burgers I have ever eaten.
They actually do swim in these waters on these cool days. We went swimming with Padraig in the Bay of Dublin (Holly went once and I went twice). He actually swam as he does almost everyday and we jumped in and back out about as fast as we could. The waters are cold.
Belfast
Next on our Irish adventure, we took a day trip on the train to Belfast in Northern Ireland. The scenery out the train window was worth the trip. Not too long ago I probably would not have made this trip. I grew up hearing nothing about Belfast but the conflict between the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Nationalists, “The Troubles”, as the Irish so understatedly call it. There were constant bombings and terrorist attacks. However, a few years back it was realized by both sides that they were only doing damage to themselves and their economy. No businesses or tourists want to put themselves in that much peril. With a somewhat uneasy peace, they are getting back on track and it was a pleasant place to visit.
With not much time available to us on the ground, we walked through the town to the Titanic Experience. A museum right next to the site where the Titanic was built and launched. If you are in Belfast and have an interest in that ill-fated ship, it is worth the effort.
Trip to Galway, the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher
At Cooleen’s urging (thank you Cooleen for pushing us out of the nest), we decided to get away from Dublin for a few days and see more of the country. We took the train to Galway on the west coast facing the North Atlantic and the next day (this maybe the only time you will hear this from me) we took a guided tour to the first of the Aran Islands, Inisheer, and the Cliffs of Moher.
The Aran Islands take the brunt of the weather coming in from the Atlantic and they are rugged and spare. I am told the crossing can be very rough and they cancel the trips several times a month. Our crossing was calm. We rented bikes and went around to the four attractions on the island: the cemetery, the castle, the shipwreck and the light house.
The Cliffs of Moher are where the Irish mainland is melting into the ocean. The water always wins. With the changeable weather we had and the natural drama of the place, it was a spectacular afternoon.
Drive back across the country to Dublin
We then rented a car and started off across the country driving on the wrong side of the road. Once you are on the road, driving on the left is pretty easy. Getting out of parking lots and looking the correct direction at intersections is the hard part. I drove and Holly only had one or two heart attacks. Again, I was in awe of the lush green we saw in all directions.
The war that won independence for Ireland got off to a rather inauspicious beginning with the Easter Rising in 1916 and the centennial of that event was being celebrated everywhere we went. We stopped for lunch at an inn in the small town of Granard. We noticed what seemed to be several seeming alters to the Irish revolutionary, Michael Collins. The town was the birthplace of his fiance, and our choice of eating establishments had at one time belonged to her family. Although there is still some controversy about who and the exact reasons why, Collins was later assassinated while on an inspection tour following the signing of the treaty establishing the Irish Republic and leaving Northern Ireland with Great Britain. The conflict over the treaty led to the Irish Civil War and later to “The Troubles”.
One last stop on our journey back to Dublin was the Hill of Tara, the ancient spot used to invest the High King of Ireland. On top of a windswept moor, you could easily believe that an ancient society felt it was an appropriate place of power to crown their leader. The mounds there date back to the 5th millennia BC, making them the oldest site of human activity I have visited.
Playing a little catch up
It has been four weeks since my last post and a lot has happened in that time. We closed out our first 90 days in the Schengen Treaty zone (most of the continental EU) and needed to leave for 90 days. We still needed to come back to the US to apply for our Elective Residency visa for Italy. We took a side trip through Ireland (they are not part of the Schengen zone and that will be the next post). We are now back in Seattle getting ready to appear in person before the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco on September 7th. Holly and I both need to appear and have put together nearly 100 pages each (including FBI background checks) to meet the required documentation for those applications. If all goes well and we are approved for the visas, we will return to Lecce on October 1st.
However, before I completely move on from our adventures in Italy, I want to pass along a couple of more stories and pictures.
Firenza (Florence)
During our stay in Lucca, we were only about an hour train ride from Firenza and how could we be that close and not take at least one day trip there. One of Jamie’s college friends, Christine Walker (also from the Seattle and by now a friend of ours, too), and her boyfriend, Paul Cianciolo were touring Italy and we arranged to meet in Firenza for lunch. We were going to meet them at a specific restaurant in the early afternoon. For those of you who have never been to this place, it is one of the most beautiful cities on earth and hence one of the busiest tourist destinations, the streets are packed with people. After our arrival, we walked to the piazza in front of the cathedral that was filled with throngs people from all over the world and who should we run into? You guessed it, Paul and Christine were right in front of us. The first thing we learned is that they had just become engaged, so congratulations to this lovely couple. Our lunch and conversation with friends from home were a welcome interlude.
With all of the hype it gets and the number of you who have probably visited here, I will not over-burden all of you with pictures of Firenze and its many artistic masterpieces , but thought I would include a couple of my favorites.
Ghibeti’s doors, dubbed “The Gates of Paradise” by Michelangelo, took 27 years to complete and are some of the most beautiful man-made objects on earth.
In the public square outside the Palazzo della Signoria where Michelangelo’s David once stood (a replica still does) there is another statue I have always loved. It depicts Perseus standing over the slain Medusa with her still bleeding head in his hands.
The cathedral in Firenze, Santa Maria del Fiore, is one of my favorite buildings on earth. It is also one of the most photographed. It is so large in this renaissance city of buildings usually not over four stories tall that it looms like a colossus at the end of all the streets leading to it. I am not sure my skills as a photographer allow me to capture the awesome nature of these views, but here is my humble attempt.
A fond farewell to Lucca and Italy for now
We loved our time in Lucca. It is a beautiful city with something to do whenever the mood struck us: from wonderful concerts in 15th century churches to good restaurants everywhere. As we prepared to leave we asked our hostess, Connie, who managed the place we were staying if we could take her and her partner, Martin, out to dinner. They said yes, but wanted to pick us up and drive us to one of their favorite restaurants in the hills outside of the city. Being always up for adventure and not having a car to get to places off the beaten path, we had a deal. The restaurant, the view and the evening were another perfect experience in what has become an overriding theme of our trip so far. Our sincere thanks to Connie and Martin for this wonderful night.
The view back to Lucca
As we got ready to leave Lucca, I woke up to this view from our apartment of the first rays of sun catching two of the many towers here and it seemed a fitting close to this chapter of our “Big Adventure”.
Next up, Ireland
The Walls of Lucca
One of my daughters, Jamie, told Holly that she had not seen enough pictures of the walls of Lucca to really understand what they looked like. So being the great dad that I am, here is my best attempt to give you all a feel for them.
One thing to understand is that the total circumference of the wall is about 2 1/2 miles so without hovering over the city in a helicopter, you just can’t get a picture of the whole thing. To help with that I have included a map.
Not the walls but a sunset taken from our apartment. I couldn’t resist
The map showing the whole thing including the bastions and the green space outside of the wall. The red circle is where our apartment is located.
Holly giving me the whim whams.
Sunset from the wall
Jamie, I hope this helps.
Siena
Siena is famous for several things, but two stand out for me.
First, it has to be one of the most beautiful medieval cities in the world. It is set in the hills of Tuscany and has much of its ancient architecture intact.
Secondly, it has one of the most famous horse races (and they claim the oldest) in the world. Twice a year since the 16th century, once in early July and again in the middle of August, ten of the old neighborhood organizations get together to hold a bareback horse race around the central square. We ended up there between the two events this year.
They haul in sand and dirt to make the course around the Piazza del Campo and make a pageant of one of the most dangerous events you will see. For the animal rights activists out there, this may not be your event. Here is a link to the July race this year complete with a nasty crash.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-gG6A_-Ez4
Our lunch did not compete for the next “Best Food” award, but it did come up as the most expensive lunch we have had since we arrived in Italy. That is what comes from dining in the middle of the race course.
Here are some of the views around town.
Ravenna
Last week we took a day trip to Ravenna. It took over 3 hours by train each way, left at 6 am and got back at 9:30 pm. Like most of the cities we have visited, its history goes back to at least Etruscan times around 900 BC. Julius Caesar gathered his forces here before he famously crossed the Rubicon. It was chosen by Caesar Augustus to be his major naval port on the Adriatic Sea. It followed Milan as the imperial city of the Western Roman Empire and was its last capital when that part of the empire collapsed in 476. It was recaptured by the Byzantines who oversaw the construction of many of the most interesting sites in the city. It has been controlled by various empires for the last 1500 years.
Ever since I used them for research as a theater student in college, I have been fascinated by the magnificent mosaics that cover the walls and ceilings of the ancient architecture found in Ravenna. This was my first visit and there is nothing like standing in these ancient buildings and seeing these works of art in person.
There are 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites in this city. In one day we couldn’t visit them all, but we filled our day with some of the highlights.
Basilica of San Vitale
This relatively small building houses some of the most beautiful mosaics in the world and is a vital resource of anyone doing research on the mode of the era.
Others including the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
The new winner for the best dish we have had in Italy; mussels in Ravenna!
Next up: Siena
What the world needs more of
I know there are a lot serious things going on in the world right now. With the events in Istanbul (both at the airport recently and yesterday’s coup attempt), Nice, last week’s train wreck in southern Italy, Orlando, the Brexit fiasco, black men being shot so often by police, police being shot by snipers in Dallas and the new Trump/Pence ticket in the US (Are we trying to out stupid the UK?), it sometimes seems that the little pieces of fluff I put out here are kind of trivial. But then I second guess myself and think we need a little humor, maybe some insight, some beauty and some things that just make us smile. Hopefully this will make some of you smile.
We had just returned from one of our trips upriver and were settling in for the night when we heard distant drumming. It started getting closer and more insistent. What could we do but go investigate? Following the noise, we soon caught up to a procession with drummers, royalty and champions (who all happened to be carrying crossbows).
Well this looks like fun! They were getting ready for the annual Lucca Crossbow Tournament. I followed along and since stills just don’t tell the story, I took some video . My video skills need some fine tuning and later I found that my lens had a little piece of fluff that you can see at points, but I think you will get the feel.
This group seemed to halt and then I heard a second group coming from another direction and rushed ahead to find this.
And then a third!
A fourth.
And finally a fifth. Thomas Bechard, if you read this, this one is for you.
They were all heading to the piazza in front of the Duomo where the contest was to be held. Once they arrived there, we were treated to more drumming, music and flag waving.
It was not until the next night that the actual tournament got under way.
Setting the target. Are you kidding me? That whole building is in danger.
The shooting station.
Shooters at the ready. This next one is the shocker. Nearly every shooter hit that small target. It got so crowded some bounced off just because there was not much more room.
We didn’t last until the end so I am not sure who took home the tapestry, but it was a great event and we had so much fun. On the way home we encountered this under a street light and it just seemed fitting to end this post.
I do hope some of you got a smile out of this. Holly and I sure did.
Buona notte!
Lucca and Beyond
It is hard to believe that we have already been in Lucca for two weeks and I have yet to post about it. I will do some catching up today and tomorrow. With this post I will not only post about our home for this month, Lucca, but also several of the side trips we have taken so far: Pisa, Cinque Terra and the two trips by train up the Serchio river to some of the mountains of Tuscany.
Lucca
When we drove into Lucca the first thing we saw of note was the most magnificent aqueduct either of us had ever seen. This was fantastic, who knew there was a Roman aqueduct in Lucca?
Well, as it turns out, there isn’t. We discovered this when we were preparing to take a walk to see it up close. The Acquedotto Nottolini was actually designed and built in the 19th century. Well, it was designed to resemble a Roman aqueduct and I doubt we were the first to make that mistake .
Lucca has ancient origins dating back to at least the Etruscan era. It was the site where Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus met to form the First Triumvirate in 56 BC. Its marvelous architecture includes many palazzi, churches and perhaps its most famous asset, the renaissance era outer walls.
The walls were never challenged with an attack and now provide one of the most unique walking/biking trails I have encountered. The path completely encircles the city and since it is on top of the wall, it is uninterrupted by cross traffic. It is a real treasure.
Here are some views of the inner city.
The Duomo
The fosso 
Pisa
I don’t know how we could be less than an hour from Pisa and not go for one day. We did go and had a great time. Everyone has probably seen too many pictures of their most famous landmark so I will not add many, but I will say when we turned the corner and got our first glimpse, it was far more impressive to see it in person.
Got to love these trinkets
The river Arno flowing through Pisa
Cinque Terre
Again, this is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Italy and only a couple of hours by train from Lucca. It is five small towns nestled on steep slopes above the Ligurian Sea with hiking trails and trains running between them. It was a hot day when we went, the first leg of the trail was closed for maintenance and the whole place was a little over crowded for my taste. It is very beautiful nonetheless and we had a great lunch by the shore. There are so many pictures of this place out there, I will only add a couple more to the portfolio.
Up the Serchio
Although, Lucca sits on a coastal plain with an elevation under 100 feet, there is a train line that runs north into the mountains and within an hour you can feel as though you have traveled to the Alps. We have made two visits (it is very cheap) and found lovely scenery and food.
The designer supposedly sold his soul to the devil to get this Bridge to stand up.
The view from the bridge
One Last Note.
Since we have already settled the question of where we want to live for the next year, Lecce, it feels more like we are tourists here. We have not made nearly as many personal connections, but one that I cannot resist posting about was our local butcher. His Macelleria is only a few doors from our apartment. He and his wife have been very friendly and helpful. They leave for vacation today and will not be back until after we have left for Dublin. When we put that all together, they made a present of a bottle of wine. It was a wonderful gesture from wonderful people.
Next up: Crossbows and Ravenna
Magic in Lecce
Hi Friends! Jim has been doing such a wonderful job maintaining this blog, but today is my turn!
This is a post about treasured visions becoming reality. The idea of moving to Italy always had attached to it the picture of playing the piano in Italy. Somehow they have always been linked. When we first arrived in Lecce, I knew that if I just calmly stayed alert to ideas and opportunities I would find the right place to practice. Our first night wandering the town we passed under some beautiful, old open windows where the sounds of an aria were wafting out. Jim and I sat and listened for a while and were enchanted. A while later we heard live piano music and the idea was sparked. After passing the windows daily and coming to learn that it was an art gallery, the day came where I felt my natural reticence subside and I walked up to the owner and said (in my best Italian), “I have heard a piano inside. I am a pianist and I am looking for a place to practice while I am here.” He smiled and said, “Well you could play here.”
From then on I would go to the gallery called Muimart every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and play for hours. It was definitely a dream come true. I made dear friends in the artist/owner of the gallery (Adriano) and another artist across the street (Leonardo – not da Vinci, was the first thing he told me :))
I think Jim was able to capture the scene in a few of these pictures and the video. On every visit, I was greeted with the most amazing generosity of spirit and appreciation for the music. Some days I was even greeted with sunflowers and a kiss of the hand. All in all, truly magical and I will never forget these people and their warmth.
Here is how it looked from the outside.
The Move North
No matter how hard we tried, we have already started accumulating more stuff: a keyboard for Holly’s teaching, a moka coffee maker, a water pik, books from Italian school, a Linkem internet modem (it is bigger than you might think and wouldn’t work in Lucca as we had been told), etc. We were then faced with the problem of how to get all of that stuff to Lucca and/or what to do with it. Since the idea of carrying it on to a train was not a pretty picture, we decided to rent a car and pack it all in (left a small box with Gianfranco) and just kick the problem down the road a month.
Other than hurrying North to arrive in Lucca in time for our landlords to watch the Germany vs. Italy EURO 2016 soccer match (they are Germans living in Italy and were somewhat conflicted), it was a rather long and uneventful, if at times beautiful, drive.
There was one highlight I wanted to share. As anyone who worked with me at Serengeti knows, for 11 years I worked closely with Fran Russo from American Express. Several times during those years we discussed her roots in small hill town in Italy. As it happens, the beautiful little hill town of Cansano was only a few miles out of our way and we decided to take the side trip and have lunch there. We had a delightful meal while a thunder-storm rolled in the distance. Fran tells me her father’s house was just off the town square. I have the picture, but can’t tell you which house.
We arrived in Lucca in time for everyone to watch the game. Even if it took a shootout to do it, Germany beat Italy for the first time ever in a major tournament!
