See Me Now

We are on the train to Bari right now, so it's time I caught you up. It would be hard to find a street in Rome that we did not walk on sometime during the past few days. Wendy is wearing one of those activity monitoring watches - a vivo I think - and we clocked in at over 15 miles on Saturday, and around 10 miles on Sunday. Consequently, we felt fully justified about our gelato intake. Wendy has been experimenting with different flavors but I'm all about the cioccolato, the only decision being 'con panna' or not. Here we are talking about real cream scooped from a freshly whipped batch (not squirted from a can) so actually, it's no decision at all. Si! Con panna! Rome is beyond amazing in many ways and at any given moment you are walking past something extraordinary. However, it is crowded with tourists and traffic and covered in graffiti. It's easy to miss things as you maneuver past other tourists, consult your map and dodge scooters and taxis (hint: they ...

Readers of this blog  (see post from Sept. 15, 2009) may remember the walking sticks, now common in the U.S. but then, something I hadn't yet seen. Today I bring you another type of stick: the selfie stick. Although I am not a fan of selfies, I have to concede that this ingenious little device solves the problems of a) the photographer's extended arm in the foreground of the picture and b) a close-up of nostrils and pores. As I'm sure you've deduced by now, the selfie stick is a telescoping wand with a claw at one end in which you can secure your cell phone. You hold it up, aim it at yourself and snap your selfie via a timer app or a bluetooth remote. The stick folds down to around 9 inches so you can easily tuck it into your backpack or travel purse. We first saw one of these things in use by a young couple at the Vatican, and we laughed at what we assumed must be a misguided sky mall purchase. It turns out that the laugh is on us because they are popular items. We...

Faithful readers know that I've had a lot of food angst on past trips. Traveling to Europe -- especially Italy -- is much about the food, but as a solo traveler, it's hard to have exceptional food experiences on your own. Last year, when I traveled to Ireland with a tour, I finally had folks to eat with, but all of our meals were had at hotels or pre-selected restaurants. They were of decent quality, but limited in range and devoid of creativity. It was rather like attending a conference every night where the choice was chicken, salmon or pasta, Ireland style, which is to say, not great. So, I've been rather excited about having a travel buddy to share meals with. Tonight, after consulting trip-advisor and yelp, we walked to Al Forno Della Soffitta on via Piave, a short jaunt from our hotel. The reviews we read said it was frequented by locals, and this seemed to be the case. When we pushed open the heavy glass door, the restaurant was well populated, but even so, we were...

I know that flying an airplane is accomplished via your basic physics, but to me it is as miraculous and mysterious as such modern day conveniences as wifi, bluetooth and microwave ovens. Ok, microwave ovens are old school by now, but I still remember the days when we stuck a potato in there and nuked it within a matter of minutes as a parlor trick. Anyway, my point is, I take these things for granted, and they pretty much work on demand even though I am clueless about the underlying magic. Thus, I can't imagine how the airplane itself remains aloft despite all manner of interference -- storm clouds, other airplanes, meteors -- while the devices within perform on a par with a phone made of soup cans connected with a string. I'm thinking specifically of the touch screen entertainment system installed on the airplane seat-back. It is a tease. It promises all sorts of diversions: movies, games, GPS tracking, even shopping. But, if the screen responds to anything, it is cer...

I’m pretty excited about enjoying excellent food while in Italy so I recently asked my friend, who once lived in Rome for several months, for some restaurant recommendations. He sent me several and while googling them to scope out locations, I stumbled upon this inviting description, written by the proprietors of La Montecarlo. The entire thing is hilarious, but I have excerpted it below and bolded my very favorite parts. You can bet that La Montecarlo is on our ‘go-to’ list! --------------------------------------------- Welcome to the reign of pizza: "La Montecarlo". Few minutes will be enough for you to understand in what an extraordinary place you are. You entered in a true cross-section of Rome, where to taste is allowed, to enjoy is a duty. The magic of pizza, its sweet smell, its aroma, its unique taste will pervade your body. Don’t be shy: “if you want a pizza, then tell it!” Don’t never frighten for the line. If you think you’ll have to wait for ho...

Hello Fellow Travelers!   I am happy to report that I have another grand adventure approaching. This time, I’m headed back to Italy. Although Ireland was lovely and the fulfillment of a life-long compulsion, I’m still shivering from that trip. So I am especially looking forward to what I hope (no, what I’m counting on ) will be a mild and sunny climate.  photo courtesy of Marisworld http://marisworld.co.uk This trip is also a departure from previous trips because a) it’s a hybrid of do-it-yourself and organized tour and b) I’m not going alone!   Gasp!   Yes, I finally convinced somebody – my good friend Wendy – to come with me. I am so looking forward to having a travel buddy for sight-seeing, going to fancy restaurants, getting lost and embarrassed, and for watching my luggage when I dash to the bathroom at the train station.    Here’s the plan: We fly into Rome, arriving on Thursday 9/24. We’ll spend several days in Rome, then take the t...

As I prepare for another trip, I'm posting here, the route for the last one.  Here is my Ireland route, travelled in 2013.   Stay tuned for my 2014 trip to Italy.