On the Road Again (part 2)

During the change of seasons weather moves quickly, and so do I. Hopping, skipping, jumping, driving, flying, and training, here is where I have been...

Cinque Terre is a place that capes off of the NW Italian coast. Five Villages, perched on the edge of diving cliffs, resist the temptations of the sea and stay nested where they are. These pastel clusters of homes and touristic restaurants  are cuddled by slopping fields of typical Italian agriculture. Evergreen trees and everlasting seas create a harmony of emerald and blue that resonates with a most beautiful tone. 

As I came out of the Milano underground, I immediately lay eyes on the Duomo and my first impression of the city. 

Bergamo Alta, the old stone city a top a hill is where Stefania and her generous Mother and Sister (my temporary host family) took me out for some outstanding pizza and unreal tiramisu. 

First impressions come and go, but lasting impressions are what you carry with you. I walk away from the region of Lombardia with the warmth of a group of friends who are a joy to share a glass of wine with next to a flowing river. 

From new friends to good-old-family, next I went to the airport. Not to catch a flight, but to meet some familial faces at the arrivals gate. From New York I found Uncle Mike, Aunt Sherry, Lovely Cindy, and of course Papa Stevie. We embarked on a Piemonte pilgrimage to visit some not so distant Italian family...

On the Road Again (part 1)

My last few days in Sicily were accompanied by the arrival of autumn. The sun became shy and the rain took its place. The wind shifted and  I had no choice but to succumb to the direction that it blew. I was carried North to where summer was still shinning and to where new friends were waiting my arrival.  


In a small village near Cinque Terre, I met Stefania (maybe you remember her from the dive shop?) and her two friends Marta and Bram. Marta and Bram are a pair of earthly lovers who operate and maintain a Bed and Breakfast/Organic Farm and Garden. The GIARDINO DEGLI ANGELI  has been hosting guests for the better part of a decade, and it receives many regular visitors who go to enjoy a weekend close to nature. The farm, on the other hand, has not been greeted with the same generous accommodations. Twelve hundred square meters of olive trees had been abandoned before Marta and Bram arrived. Countless plots of what would be oil producing plants are overgrown with all kinds of unwanted vegetation.  However, in the four months that our sustainability seeking couple has been working the land, they have transformed a section of the olive jungle into a beautifuly manicured field. Rock walls and gardens give a hint to what the entire property will look like when time has allowed their effort to show. 

The BnB from one of the unfinished gardens 

This town rests above the sea. It is a village that has its own dialect and a square spongy pasta that you can not find in other regions. It is a hidden gem with a simple tradition that is alive and evident as you walk down the paths and through the streets.  

Marta's passion for green life is apparent as she leads a nature walk

This region of Italy is far different from the dusty hills of Sicily 

When I used to think of Italy I did not think of the wilderness, that has changed

 I hope my interest did not bother her, but her scarf was so colorful

 Bram imagines him and his friends inhabiting the homes in this small piazza, I can see it now Belgium beer and chickens everywhere!

Almost, a familiar pair of green eyes

...Over a year ago Jennifer painted for me a beautiful blue dragonfly. Soon after the dragonfly entered my life I flew to Nicaragua to visit my cousin, MJ. It was there I found, in every stream, pond, and river, many metallic blue dragonflies that were the same kind as the one in Jennifer's painting. Sitting on the bank of a rainy season raging river the air moved swiftly over the water and I felt that I was exactly where the universe wanted me to be. 

It turns out, dragonflies are most flexible with their travel plans. With thin delicate wings, dragonflies are in constant danger of damaging their means of transportation. When even the smallest breeze passes by, they must not resist the direction of the wind. If they do not let the moving air take them where it is going their wings will tear from opposition and they will die. 

This metaphor has been inspiration for my travels. My itinerary is with the wind, and it is taking me to places I had no initial intention to go. 

To Be Continued...