Friendship Force Bliss

One of the most delicious things about my sixties thus far has been travel. 

Andean woman in traditional garb. The goats were only a week old.

Last November I visited Peru with the Dayton Friendship Force. Friendship Force International was founded in 1977 by Warren Smith and Jimmy Carter. Its mission is: To promote global understanding across the barriers that separate people. Travel with Friendship Force includes a home stay in addition to touring places of interest. Chapters have outbound experiences, like my trip to Peru, and inbound experiences, where the chapter hosts both domestic and international groups.

The Dayton chapter recently hosted fourteen visitors from New Zealand. I was fortunate to be able to have several of those visitors and their Dayton families over for a cook out on my deck. People who belong to FF are citizens of the world. They love travel, meeting people, trying new things, and are very curious and friendly.

As I sat and listened to travel stories being shared, I was astounded by the number and variety of places these folks had been. One woman shared that she had just returned from Russia after having visited there in 1994. It was fascinating to hear how things have changed and how they have remained exactly the same. You experience a country differently from the living room of a new friend than you do as a business traveler or tourist.

I am traveling with my son to Puerto Rico for a basketball tournament in November. Several folks had been there recently and suggested we schedule an outing with a boat company that will take us out to where the waters are luminescent. And, I got a follow up email the next day with reservation information. I have always wanted to experience this and also have a desire to see the Northern Lights. I gathered plenty of suggestions about that as well, including both the best time of year and the best vantage points. If you want insider travel tips, talk to FF travelers!

By the end of the evening my heart was full. I had some new friends, some travel inspiration, and felt so very fortunate to be able to revel in it all. Life is good.

Fontanelle, Rome’s Little Fountains

I love travel. I love being in a new place and discovering what makes it unique, its specific charm. One of my favorite quotes is, “Travel is the one thing you buy in life that makes you richer.” Today I am feeling very rich indeed.

I’ve just spent a lovely week in Rome. It was not my first visit there and as I was meeting some friends to write; I was not focused on the tourist high points, amazing as they are, but rather on feeling like a Roman going about my daily work.

It was about a two-mile walk from my hotel in the Veneto area to my writing group at University of Washington University Rome Center near Campo dei Fiori,  just a few minutes from the Tiber River.

As I knew I would be indulging in delicious Italian cuisine all week, I vowed to walk to and from Campo dei Fiori to burn some extra calories. Walking and writing... bliss! The weather was glorious, sunny and in the seventies. I had a date with some friends at Mercato Hostaria on the campo the night before the group was to meet. This was an opportunity to familiarize myself with some walk routes and time it so I could arrive promptly the next day.

I purchased a bottle of water to store in my backpack for the walk. When I got to the restaurant, within view from our al fresco seats I could see a small fountain, nothing pretty or elaborate, with water running continuously from a down spout. As I watched, people refilled their water bottles. The vendors from the square were also filling buckets to use in their booths. Upon inquiry, our waitperson declared the water not only safe to drink but delicious. I had to try this. Not only was the water good, it was icy cold! It was not necessary to buy bottled water. 

I began to look for other fontanelle, “little fountain,” and realized they were everywhere, most are iron containers with a plain metal down spigot but some are more decorative. There are about 2,500 in Rome. The photo at the top is my personal favorite located a few steps off Campo dei Fiori on one of the charming side streets. I think the animal head is a boar.

The other name for the fountain is nasoni, “big nose”, a reference to the shape of the metal spigot. You can cover the bottom, nostril if you will, with your thumb or palm and the water will spurt through a hole in the top making a drinking fountain for those without bottles to fill.

Given the drought in many parts of the USA, I was amazed by the constantly flowing water. I was glad to learn the water is recycled. The elaborate fountains in Rome, such as Fontana di Trevi and Fontana del Pantheon get their water from aquifers as well. The height or force of the fountain spray is related to the gravity available, depending on the source for the water. Trevi was deliberately sunken to allow for more gravity and a higher spray. The fountain near the Pantheon has a gentler flow. Fascinating!

Trevi Fountain

Fountain at the Pantheon

If you are fortunate enough to visit the Eternal City, don’t hesitate to refresh yourself with a drink of icy cold, delicious water from a nasoni, a unique Roman pleasure. And then have another drink for me!

Ciao!

Winter Be Gone!

Although it is officially spring, Dayton is covered in snow. I've been away from this blog since November first when I began participation in NaNoWriMo National Novel Writing Month. I've also been doing some extensive traveling in the past year: Cuba, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and will be in Rome in April. With the travel, finishing the draft of my first novel,  following my beloved Dayton Flyers basketball team and then the NCAA beginning rounds here in Dayton, I've been neglecting my blog. I'm happy to be back and will do some catch up posting on my travel and writing experiences to get back in the blogging groove.

When all this snow arrived I decided I needed a dose of spring, set out to find some pansies to buy, and saw this sign. This was just the booster shot I needed. I got my free pack and purchased several more. When the snow melts I'll plant them in a large pot by my front door but for today they are braving the snow surrounding a garden stone I made. Enjoy!

Czech Mates

Helena and Matej

A few years ago, when my friend, colleague and author Jed Diamond invited me to a party in Willits, California to celebrate completion of his Ph.D. I met his and Carlin's son Aaron. Aaron composed a song in Jed's honor that was such a generous act of love that I asked to hear it again later. At the time, Aaron was engaged to marry a woman from the Czech Republic. Jed emailed Aaron about my trip and I received a lovely email from Aaron full of suggestions and tips for my stay in Prague. Aaron's now married and living in the CR. His wife, Helena is a school teacher and volunteered to play tour guide and take me outside the city on the day her school was closed for a holiday.

Helena is warm and witty and generous with her time. Seven-year-old Matej practiced his English with me. Czech schools begin English instruction in the second grade. Our first stop was a brewery tour to the Staropramen Brewery. I was so impressed with the interactive videos, as good as any I've seen at Disney World.

Multimedia Presentation

We drove out of the city to the former site of the village Lidice. I say site because it looks like this.

Where Lidice once stood

In 1942 the village was mistakenly identified as having an association with one of the men who committed the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich.  As a collective punishment for the assassination, the village men were lined up and shot. The women were separated from their children and sent to a concentration camp. The children, except for a small number of young children selected to be raised by German families, were kept for several weeks before being transported to a different camp and gassed. The village was set on fire and then destroyed, literally leveled to the ground. The museum on the grounds had photos of everything as it was all documented by the Nazis. Most heart rending were the letters from the children begging relatives to send them food, clothing and essentials. The children were told they were at camp. There was video of a few of the women who survived the camp and children who had been raised in German homes. If their mothers survived the camp, they could not communicate with their children because the children now spoke only German while the mothers spoke Czech. Can you imagine not being able to talk with your own child? The empty fields are haunting. The sculptures of the eighty-two children gassed will tug at my heart for years to come. A new village of Lidice was constructed nearby after the war, but this memorial will forever bear witness to what happened here.

Bronze sculptures of the eighty-two children

To counteract the sadness of Lidice, Helena took me to see two castles. Years earlier, Helena was a tour guide at the first in the village of Nela Hozeves, birthplace of composer Antonin Dvorak. His talent  was first nurtured here.

Nela Hozeves

Antonin Dvorak Statue

The second castle, from the 1800's, was a hunting lodge. The photo of Helena and Matej was taken in the wooded area leading up to the castle.

Veltrusy

  On the drive back to the city, Matej began to tell his mother jokes. He would tell one, she would translate, and we would all roar with laughter. It has been a while since I had the pleasure of second grade humor and it was a treat to watch this mother and son interact. I am so grateful to Helena and Matej for their kindness in sharing their beautiful country with me, and to Aaron for sharing his family. The best way to learn to love a country is through its people.

Prague Alchemy

Earth

Air

Fire

Water

The beautiful old city of Prague is rich in art, literature, music, architecture, and history. A few months before I arrived, a new museum, Speculum Alchemiae, opened. This museum is in an old building in the Jewish Quarter (Josefov) where, after some recent flooding, they discovered a lower level with a series of artifact-rich workrooms and two tunnels. One led to the Old Square (Staromestske Namesti) , the other to Prague Castle (Prazsky Hrad). They provided a way for the alchemists who occupied the building to travel unseen to these two locations.

The entrance room to the museum is bright and airy.  You enter the museum proper through a doorway with a thick door, that when closed behind you leaves you feeling a very different energy. This room has been restored to the time of the alchemists with mostly reproductions and a few original pieces. There is a chandelier that has three masks that bring to mind the devil because they have horns. My guide told me they represent Abraham and the horns represent power. This chandelier is placed over the spot the alchemists believed was a vortex.

Chandelier Over Vortex

Close up of Abraham Representation

This bookcase has a small dragon carving on a lower shelf that when turned opens the bookcase revealing stairs that lead to a series of rooms with ovens and work tables and old glass beakers used by the alchemists. They found some bottles that still held an elixir. They had the elixir analyzed and have reproduced and sell in the front shop area as Elixir of Life. It has all the original ingredients except one, poppies. 

Bookcase that opens to a secret passage

One of the hidden workrooms in the lower level secret chambers

My guide was giving her first tour in English so she was testing her explanations on me. She did an excellent job, sometimes giving me clues to help her find the right English word. For example, the small carving that turned to open the case was a bit hard to see. She said it flies, it is from China, enough clues for me to provide her with the word "dragon" and for me to make out what the carving was.

The beautiful art at the beginning of the post was on the four corners of the wall in the main room. They represent the four classical elements. It brought to mind a favorite song of mine from Libana's A Circle is Cast album. If you are unfamiliar with Libana they are a women's group that often performs a cappella. The song is "The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water" that you can click here to enjoy.

This kind gentleman shared his Yorkie with me!

Meeting Prague

My first Czech beer, Krusovice

Do you have a list of places you long to visit? My wish list is lengthy and constantly growing. I love to travel and have made it a priority for my sixties. Prague was near the top of my list and this month the dream became reality.

I am quite comfortable traveling alone. The journey itself is company enough. In the past I have struggled with jet lag on my first day or two after flying east. I discovered a wonderful remedy for it in the Isabella Catalog,  Dr. Singha's Travel Tonic. So I arrived in Prague feeling alert and refreshed. After checking into my hotel in Mala Strana (Lesser Town) I walked down to Stare Mesto (Old Town), about a thirty minute walk. The square is probably the most heavily tourist laden place in Prague. I chose an outdoor table and settled in for some journaling, people watching and traditional Czech food and beer. The Czech Republic is well known for their beer and I was not disappointed with this one. I remained there through the gloaming, just beautiful. The square is surrounded by old churches and their lighted towers were dramatic against the night sky.

The public transportation system is excellent in Prague. I traveled by tram as opposed to subway so I could see as much of the city as possible. Most people in Prague speak some English so it was easy to find help as needed. Czech children begin English instruction in second grade and French in fourth.

On my first full day I visited Petrin Tower, a smaller size replica of the Eiffel Tower. I climbed the 299 steps for a 360 degree view of the city. 

Petrin Tower

It was a beautiful clear day. I could see the Vltava River, Prague Castle, and in the distance the mountains in Germany.

Prague Castle, Vltava River, Mala Strana, Petrin Park

After one day I was enchanted with Prague. The city was just beginning to reveal her secrets and I was pleased that I had another week to explore and experience her. 

Olive, an urban dive

An equally appropriate name might be: Olive, an urban dream.

Kim Collett, owner of Olive, an urban dive is quite a gal. After following the evolution of Olive on its face book site and enjoying several delicious lunches in the newly restored Wympee, I was anxious to meet her.

When my friend Lori treated me to a birthday lunch at Olive I had a chance to chat with Kim and walked away wowed. She took on the birth of Olive with spirit and grit. It was a hands on rehab of a very grungy Wympee. Kim, in one of her many prior career turns, had rehabbed for Habitat for Humanity on New York’s Lower East Side. She used every bit of the experience garnered there to gut the building and create a charming restaurant with an urban groove. Her mantra is:  “Use everything!” Her business model: “I’m Scottish!” Her work ethic: “I’ve never taken a job that I didn’t do like I owned the place.”

White Chimney Belgian Beer Bottles Repurposed as Lights

I believe there are many ways to get an education and that a college degree is not the only path to success and fulfillment. There is currently a lack of respect for the apprenticeship model, a lack of respect for craftsmen and artists. We are telling kids that the only way to be somebody is to have a college degree. It is refreshing to meet Kim whose life long willingness to try new things and create new and better ways to do something has led her to this point, restaurant owner and entrepreneur.  To stretch two months of travel money into a two and one half year stay in Europe, she established a nanny service while in England, bartended in Greece, and offered three day tours of Paris to fellow hostel dwellers. She's a creative problem solver and likes to find a niche and fill it!

The food at Olive is mostly local. On this day, the wait staff was wearing shirts sporting the list of local resources. She has a mutually profitable relationship with the vendors from Second Street Market and sends her compost over to The Garden Station.

The daily soup pays homage to the "use everything" mantra as it is created from unsold food from the prior day. The soup that accompanied my Ahi Tuna Tacos was Pork Barbecue and Sweet Potato. That sounded strange to me but was.... delicious! The slivers of basil added just the right touch. The Ahi mix for the build-it-yourself taco had cannellini beans and garbanzos! 

Kim's current dream for Olive is to watch it grow. I will not be surprised to see her at some point turn it over to someone else. She likes new challenges. In this tough economy she used her "I'm Scottish." business model to garner the $52,000 in promissory notes she needed, in combination with many woman hours, for start up costs. She's well on her way to paying those notes back. I think she's achieved a dream, starting a successful restaurant, that many aspire to but few actualize. 

So head downtown, to the corner of Third and Wayne, for delicious food and friendly service. Have a chat with Kim if you can rope her down for a moment. This time, she's working like she owns the place because she does! The Virginia Wolfe quote, "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." is just right for this warm and welcoming place.

A rare moment, Kim sitting!

Hello Beautiful!

August 1, 2010

The Story Circle Network invites women to write for their blog One Woman's Day. They describe the blog this way:
Today a woman somewhere is laughing, weeping, grieving, or celebrating. Someone is giving birth; someone is losing a loved one to death. Relationships are forming, others are ending. For some this will be an ordinary day filled with many of the same activities as yesterday. For others, something unexpected will suddenly make this day unforgettable, one that they may tell their children and grandchildren about in the future. In the same way that we are curious about how our grandmothers lived, future generations will be interested in learning about what an ordinary day was like in our lives.

One year ago I was visiting Siesta Key Florida and had one of those days. I wrote the blog post, submitted it,  and pretty much forgot about it. I was surprised and delighted to start receiving responses to that post while I am again in Siesta Key. Please click on this link to read my post at One Woman's Day.

Yesterday I did a yoga class on the beach with my god daughter. The sun was warm on my skin, the sand was soft under my mat, and the waves and sea birds provided mood music. I felt comfortable and confident in my body and, yes, beautiful.

Siesta Key Beach 2011

July 4th

Happy Fourth of July! I love my country. I love to travel but am always so grateful to come home. On my way home from Paris, as we descended to land, I had a vivid recollection from that first trip to Italy with my mom and a group of mostly senior citizens. When the wheels touched the runway, they spontaneously burst into song, "God Bless America." At first it was just our group but then it spread throughout the plane and strangers were nodding and smiling and singing. I was so choked up I could barely sing. Unabashed love of country.

This trip, I was alone but as we approached Newark I began to sing softly to myself.

God bless America
Land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.
From the mountains
To the prairies
To the oceans
White with foam
God Bless America
My home sweet home
God bless America
My home sweet home

Irving Berlin

Again, I choked up. Across the aisle was a couple visiting the USA for the first time. They asked if I was all right. I smiled through my tears and replied I was fine, just grateful to be home.

On this day I value my freedom and I appreciate both my country and its citizens. Here's Martina McBride singing it more beautifully, but in no less heartfelt a way, than I ever could.

Happy 4th of July!