Iowa Girl on the Go

If you’ve never heard of Todi, you’re not alone. Before I got my Portrait of Italy itinerary, I had never heard of it, either. It’s in Umbria, and it’s an ancient city on a hilltop surrounded by lush, fertile ground. The city is small – we figure we can walk pretty much anywhere in about 10 minutes from our central hotel location – but there’s a fair amount of traffic, a good selection of shops and restaurants, churches, banks, historic sites, and the like. Some of the city’s history dates back to the 1^st century BC. So it’s a pretty cool place to be.

We started our day with, well, breakfast, and after that with a walking tour of the town. This is the first day that we have not, at any point, gotten onto a bus or other public transportation. Everything was on foot. I like that. We visited a couple of churches, took in a few scenic overlooks, and went to the local historical museum.

After that we had a free afternoon, during which I posted a couple of blogs and checked my email, ate gelato, walked up 150 steps to the top of one of the churches’ bell towers for a spectacular view of the city and surrounding area, did a little shopping (but didn’t actually buy anything), drank a beer, and then relaxed for a little while before most of our group went to dinner together.

This was another one of those dinners that lasts forever and includes a lot of wine. It was a lot of fun, and some folks in our group ordered brave foods like wild boar. I had a cheese pizza. But it was a really good cheese pizza.

We left the noise and crowds of Rome behind today and headed into the slower pace of the Umbrian countryside. En route to our overnight town of Todi (pronounced “Todd-dee”) we spent some time in the hillside village of Orvieto, home to a lovely duomo and excellent local wine.

To get to Orvieto, you have to take first an escalator or staircase to the funicular, ride the funicular up the mountain, and from there you have a lovely view of the valley below. We continued higher, however, in a small bus, which dropped us off in front of the duomo.

We had some free time in Orvieto to tour the duomo or shop or drink wine. I took some pictures and then set about drinking the local wine. Our original table of five kept growing and growing and pretty soon the vast majority of our group was there enjoying a glass or two.

The highlight of our stay in Orvieto was going to the Zeppelin restaurant for wine and a pasta-making demonstration out on the patio with wine and an appetizer and more wine and the pasta and then we went to our tables inside the restaurant for more wine and lasagna and wine and I forget what came next but then there was dessert and coffee and by this time we were, how you say, happy campers.

There was a lot of giggling back through the streets of Orvieto and I told Mauro our guide that if his goal was to make us drunk and happy, he was entirely successful.

Good thing none of us had to drive. We made it to Todi and in to our lovely Hotel Fonte Cesia in the village. (Mauro says we went from Rome: population 3 million to Todi: population none. This is an exaggeration, but it is very small — about 17,000 inhabitants — and Medieval and lovely.)

We are almost at the half-way point of our trip (I believe tomorrow is hump day) so I figured I had better rinse out some clothes so they’ll be dry before we leave in three days for Siena. My bathroom looks like a Chinese laundry just now and I am proud of myself for staying awake and having enough sense to actually do the wash and write this entry after 10 glasses of wine 🙂

I am so grateful that this isn’t one of those “If this is Tuesday, this must be Belgium” tours because I am pretty darn tired and it’s only our second city.

We started out our day today visiting the Vatican: The Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s magnificent basilica, the Vatican museums. Like yesterday, the tour was much more thorough than when I was here 10 years ago. I was very happy to finally be able to see the Sistine Chapel, because it’s just one of those things you ought to do before you die. My only disappointment today was that Michelangelo’s Pieta was not open to the public. I was really looking forward to seeing that sculpture again, but at least I got to see it before.

After our tour we returned to the hotel and I crashed. I didn’t sleep well last night so I took a nap, which I never do. After I slept for a little while, I got out and walked around but really took it slow and easy. I think jet lag must be finally catching up with me!

I loved Rome the first time I was here, but I sort of felt like I’d already “done” the city before, so honestly I wasn’t all that excited about coming back. But today reminded me of what I really love about the city. It’s just such a wonderful mix of ancient history, art and culture, in a vibrant living environment. And, also, gelato.

We started our morning with a really thorough tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. I had been to these sites before on a guided tour, but it paled in comparison to today’s tour. Our guide took us through the Coliseum, walked us through the Forum, and led us up to Capitol Hill. All the while she told us great stories about the history of each of the places we were visiting. My grasp of history is, admittedly, not the best, but I was happy to be along for the ride.

After we finished the tour of ancient/pagan Rome we encountered a huge parade – I’m assuming it had something to do with Palm Sunday but it’s hard to know for sure. At any rate, our group of 25 parted ways at that point; most took the tour bus back to the hotel, some stayed in the area, and nine of us headed off to Isla Tiberina and points beyond.

This was an area of Rome I hadn’t seen before and our guide had mentioned it was an area he enjoys (he lives in Rome when he’s not giving tours to the likes of us). So we walked there and had lunch and a beer and then meandered through the area. Eventually one couple decided to head back to the hotel, so then it was just seven of us.

We spent some time in Campo de Fiori – at least, that’s where I think we were. There was some sort of farmers’ market / flea market going on there. It appeared that there was a nice mix of tourists and locals.

And then we walked to the place that was my favorite last time I was in Rome: The Piazza Navona. It was in full splendor today, with its cafes and artists and spectacular fountains surrounded by lovely architecture on all four sides. It is an absolute treasure, and it reminds me of one of the things I enjoy most about Europe: the city centers. Most cities and even small towns have these plazas or squares around which you’ll find little shops and cafes and places to sit and meet people. In America, we tend to have strip malls.

So I took my time there taking lots of pictures, and we ate gelato, and it was just lovely.

Afterwards, it started raining a bit so we picked up the pace. We didn’t linger at the Pantheon – of the seven of us remaining, none of us know the significance of the place so we just shrugged and moved on.

I’m back in my hotel now and rumor had it I could connect to the Internet if I went down to the bar, er, lobby, so that’s where I am right now. Not a bad place to be.

Ciao!

Today we left behind the stunning Amalfi coastline and headed toward our second overnight location: Rome.

But first, we stopped for a visit at the Montecassino Abbey. A German stronghold during World War II, the hilltop Abbey was destroyed by Allied bombing and then rebuilt after the war just as it had been in the 17^th century. Amazing! And just as amazing as the Abbey itself (still home to 20 Benedictine monks) were the views of the valley below.

And then: Rome.

Rome holds a special place in my heart. It was my first European destination, back in 2001. There, I saw (and fell in love with) my first Smart car and tasted my first gelato. I can still remember waking up in this city the first morning at exactly 5:20 a.m. Rome time – the same time as my alarm was set back home. I looked at the clock and said to myself, “I am a freak of nature.”

I remember getting lost within the first three or four blocks away from my hotel on the first day. After that, before I left the hotel, I carefully planned my route on the map and highlighted it with a marker. It worked! I walked all over the city.

This afternoon, I revisited the Spanish Steps, whose mass appeal baffled me before and baffles me still. There were thousands of people there. Why? And then I walked to the Trevi Fountain. Now this I understand. The fountain is gorgeous and very famous. Just as I had 10 years ago, I threw a coin in the fountain just like in the movie.

All the crowds and walking and coin-tossing made me hungry and thirsty so I had a pizza and a beer at a restaurant near my hotel.

Here are a couple more photos I like:

I learned a great deal today about Pompeii, perhaps the world’s most famous archeological site. For instance: I did not know that all the people of the town were suffocated by the ash and gas spewing from Mt. Vesuvius. I always thought it was lava that buried them alive. I also didn’t know that there were actually four other towns that were similarly buried when the mighty volcano erupted in 79AD, but they were never excavated. We spent several hours with a local guide there. I was most impressed with the bathhouse because of the ornate carvings and preserved frescoes. I was somewhat annoyed by the presence of groups of rowdy Italian teenagers and other tour groups; that’s the bad thing about doing touristy things – there are always tourists there.

After Pompeii I had my first real Italian pizza on this trip, followed in a few hours by my first gelato in Sorrento. Sorrento is a larger city on the Amalfi coast than the ones we visited yesterday. I loved the orange trees and gardens and, of course, the gelato. I learned to love gelato on my first trip to Italy about 10 years ago, and I’ve never had gelato in the U.S. that rivaled my first taste in Rome. The gelato here, made from the local lemons (and in about 100 other flavors) was, how you say, bellisimo!

After Sorrento, the rest of the afternoon was pretty much just spent driving on the parts of the Amalfi Coast Road that I hadn’t seen before, and it was spectacular. We drove through Positano, and I just kept hearing that song from Nine: “Cinema Italiano.” The Amalfi Coast Road would be so much fun to drive on in a little red sports car with the top down…if there were NO OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD, especially tour buses.

Tomorrow: Rome!

Amalfi is a small town on the coast of the same name in Southern Italy. From the Amalfi Coast Road, it doesn’t look like much, but get off the tour bus and walk into town and it’s a gem. I counted something like 50 gelato stands in 2 blocks. Oh, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but believe me when I say there was plenty of gelato. And ceramics decorated with this part of Italy’s trademark lemons. And a pretty duomo in the center of town. And hand-made paper. And a lovely liqueur called Limencello. And laundry on every balcony.  I bought an adorable little ceramic juicer. I already have a spot picked out for it in my kitchen.

In the afternoon we drove up an even curvier road than the Amalfi Coast Road, into the town of Ravello. Ravello is famous for its summer music festival. I should remember to put this festival on my official bucket list. Located high on a hill, Ravello is also famous for its Villa Rufulo, with its wonderful gardens and spectacular view of the coast.

Here are some of my favorite pictures I took today:

Actually Day 1 and Day 2 combine to make one really long-ass day. Anyone who’s ever traveled to Europe knows you generally fly in the afternoon/evening but when you reach your destination it’s already tomorrow so you essentially lost a night’s sleep. Such is the price of traveling to Europe. I am not complaining.

First of all, let me just say that as I write this, I can hear waves crashing against the rocks just outside my hotel room. I have a teensy balcony and I just stepped out on it and took pictures of the coastline and wow, I could not ask for a more scenic place to lay my head for the next three nights.

But I have already gotten ahead of myself. First, the travel.

I left Des Moines International Airport at 11:11 this morning, well, I guess yesterday morning, and flew to Chicago. Hung out there for a couple of hours and then boarded my international flight to Frankfurt. It was one of those wide-body jets that has five seats in the middle of the plane and then two or three seats on each side. What you do NOT want is seat No. 3 in the center section – you will never see the light of day. I was lucky to get an aisle seat on the outside row, although the luck of the draw for my seat mate was not quite so lucky as he sniffled and coughed the entire time. He was an odd duck, too; I suspect he was a communist.

Anyway, I landed in Frankfurt, Germany, at something like 5:15 in the morning their time. Nothing was open in the airport – not even a place to get a cup of coffee. It was a real quiet place. But not for long – it sprang to life around 6:30 and I ended up standing in quite a long line for passport check and security. (Note to self: Do this when the lines are nonexistent…what the hell are you thinking?)

So, had a little 5 or 6 hour layover in Frankfurt (5 hours planned; more like 6 actual) and then took a short flight on Lufthansa (motto: we serve free booze and actual food unlike you stingy American airline companies). Flying out of Frankfurt was pretty cool because I had a great view of the city that just kept sprawling and sprawling in little concentric circles. And then a series of stunning views of the Swiss Alps. They looked like they had meringue on the tops, and they went for miles and miles and miles and had some little alpine lakes. It got cloudy as we flew south so I think I may have dozed a bit but I perked back up when we got close to Naples because it was green and, well, it just looked like Italy.

Our drive from Naples south along the Amalfi Coast was spectacular (although if you are prone to car sickness, take your Dramamine…I did not and I had to steel my eyes on the horizon a few times). We twisted and wound and hairpinned our way through lemon groves and purple wisteria and olive trees and vineyards and houses inexplicably built on the sides of cliffs and the every-present turquoise water.

So I am now at my destination, as I said, for the next three nights: The lovely Marmorata Hotel….

Note: I wrote this last night but couldn’t figure out the Internet access in my room. I’m in the lobby this morning and it works. Ciao!

After few days of warmth and sunshine it seems as though the early spring flowers popped up overnight. Although it’s far too early to expect the woods to be green in central Iowa, I thought I’d go check out the early bloomers at the best place I know to look for spring flowers — McFarland Park in Story County.

Sure enough, the woods are basically still brown. But look closely at the ground and you’ll see evidence of all kinds of spring flowers starting to pop up. Most are still just bits of green, but there are a few of the earliest bloomers — the shy, small, delicate ones that don’t stay around very long. Blink, and you will miss them.

Hepatica is often the first flower to appear in Iowa woodlands. Purplish white, they rarely rise more than six inches from woodland floor, according to the trusty ISU Extension guide to Iowa’s spring flowers. I found clumps of them everywhere — some more purple, others bright white. I assume they’re all hepatica; I’m certainly no expert. They were mostly growing on the hillsides that characterize McFarland’s woods.

It won’t be long before you’ll see bloodroot, phlox, Dutchman’s breeches, trout lilies, spring beauties, and anemones. And then, my all-time favorites: Virginia bluebells. They will literally cover the woodland floor of McFarland Park.

Other wild flowers that you’ll find in Iowa include nodding trillium, Jack in the pulpit, wild ginger, and May apples. I have many of these right in my backyard.

I’ll be traveling out of state the next two weekends, so I imagine when I come back the wildflowers will be in full bloom. Some may have already come and gone. So don’t wait…get out there and tromp around in the woods!

Gilbert, Iowa — population right around 1,000 — is home to two of the cutest little shops you’ve ever seen.

The shops, J.B. Knacker and Left Bank Studio, make up the vast majority of Main Street Gilbert. (There’s also a consignment shop that’s quite nice and, I believe, a post office.)

The Left Bank Studio is owned by artist Jo Myers-Walker and features the art of Myers-Walker and five other artists, including Sarah Dorn. Sarah was in the shop on Saturday when I stopped by. She showed me around the shop, which is a former bank building. It’s not large, but it’s filled with wonderful paintings and jewelry and whimsical home decor. Much of it is under $20, and Sarah said that Myers-Walker offers custom designs on request.

The shop — and Myers-Walker — was featured in the Des Moines Register’s Iowa Life section in September 2010 and, more recently, in The Iowan magazine’s March/April 2011 issue.

If the artwork doesn’t draw you into the shop, I’m told they serve a yummy lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the “Write Brain Cafe” in the front of the shop. I may have to go back up there for soup, salad, and custard pie one of these days. The Left Bank is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

(By the way, I visited the Left Bank website and found that it was not very up to date. But if you go to the blog, its last update is a little more recent.)

Right next door to the Left Bank Studio is JB Knacker. JBK is my go-to shop for vintage furniture and interior design inspiration. Every time I’ve gone in the shop it’s been filled with different merchandise — all vintage, all funky, all inspired.

JB Knacker opened its doors in November of 2005 after four successful years as an occasional sale. The shop now keeps regular hours on Tuesday through Friday from 1-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The shop is in a 130-year-old two-story building, and on this particular day I found it overflowing with goodies: antique furniture, glassware, homemade soaps, vintage photographs, old spectacles, pillows, dresses, an antique high chair, bicycles, jars, windows, jewelry, gardening supplies, vintage signs, dishes, baby shoes, a bowl full of silver cups, cameras, and much, much more.

I didn’t buy anything on Saturday, but I’ve bought plenty in the past: a pink, floral-upholstered chair for my daughter, an old wooden ladder that I brought home and painted periwinkle, good-smelling soaps. The thing I love about this store isn’t so much what’s in it but how it’s presented. I would never think to display things the way they do, to pair odd items together or pile dozens of the same thing in a vintage bowl and viola! It’s the focal point of your room.

If you go to Gilbert, enjoy these shops — and then do yourself a favor and stop by Ada Hayden Heritage Park just a couple of miles south on Hwy. 69. It’s a wonderful place to walk or bike. There’s a large lake with a paved 3-mile path around the perimeter and a bridge cutting across the north end. I promise to take some pictures and share them with you once the trees start to green up.