Solo Italy

 The day after our Italian wedding (see previous post), we all went our separate ways. The newly-formed Warner family left for Rome, along with Steve's parents, and then on to Florence and ultimately to Venice, Mel and his girlfriend were planning to go to Capri the last I heard, and I left for the Tuscany/Cinque Terre area via train. 

Barely making the targeted train to Florence, I settled in for a just under four hour journey. I've mentioned before that traveling within Europe is generally quick and inexpensive. It's hard to NOT pack a ton of stops into the itnerary - tempting, at least. But it's also better to leave enough time to really experience the chosen locations. I've been to most areas of Italy, and Tuscany/Cinque Terre would be the ones to wrap it up (mostly, still a few spots here and there left, like Milan). 

I have also talked before about the fact that I've never traveled truly solo before. I had one such trip planned for Portugal, but then Covid happened. I did make it to Portugal a bit later, but was thrilled that my niece and grand-niece were then able to join me. The rest of my Italy trip represented my first truly solo trip. 

I rented a VRBO place in Florence that was a 3 minute walk from the train station. It was a lovely ground floor apartment with a bonus of a backyard (although it rained quite a bit and I was gone a lot, so didn't really utilize it a ton). A grocery store was just around the corner. 

I had decided against renting a car and driving myself around. I know there are other ways to move around in this region, such as by train, though this would be less effective in Tuscany to really get a good luck at the various areas. So I decided to sign up for tours. And I'm glad I did, both for the sake of having someone give information about all that I was seeing, NOT driving and worrying about parking, and especially for what turned out to be an opportunity to make new friends. 

The first day was a tour of the Tuscan countryside. The first stop was Pisa, where, while I'm sure there are other points of interest, the star of the attraction is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I elected to forego going up the Tower, but the lean is pretty impactful even from the ground. 

And of course, even if I was by myself, I had to get
the obligatory holding up the Tower pic. Luckily, a girl asked me to take hers and of course was happy to reciprocate. While I was standing there in my pose, some random guy came running by and high-fived me, lol. Unfortunately, that wasn't captured in a picture. 

Driving through the Tuscan (Toscana) countryside was as beautiful as I had imagined it would be.

The next stop was at the Arrigoni Winery. After a tour through the winery, we experienced a tasting of five different wines (all chianti varieties, I believe) with accompanying tasty food. It was a refreshing break! 

Next up was the medieval village of San Gimignano, which dates from shortly before the birth of Christ. San Gimignano rises on top of a hill 334m above sea level, clearly visible in the distance with its many towers. Today 13 towers remain of the 72 towers of the fourteenth century, when every well off family built a tower to show its economical power (many of them are still visible in the buildings, even if they were cut off).

The first towers rose wide apart in a rarefied urban fabric looking very different from the nowadays compact centre. Towers were used in a different way. Rooms were very narrow, generally 1x2m; there were a few openings, and the walls, about 2m thick, assured cool temperature in summer and hot in winter. Almost all the towers were built next to other buildings in perishable materials such as wood and earth. In medieval times the tower was the higher symbol of power, mainly because the building process was not simple or cheap at all. Materials needed to be dug and transferred to town, and the building site arranged. Only the richest families of merchants and moneylenders could afford the works of construction. The house occupied just part of the tower. The ground floor consisted of workshops, the first floor of bedrooms, and the higher level of the kitchen. The destination of each room followed the simplest security rules. The kitchen, where a fire was usually lighted, was located on the highest live-in room, to escape in case of accidental fire.

The final stop of the day was to the village of Siena. The Palio is the most important event in Siena, taking place on July 2 and August 16 every year. Unfortunately I was not able to see this in person. 

In the Palio, the various Sienese "contrade," or areas in which the city is divided, challenge each other in a passionate horse race in the heart of the city in the Piazza del Campo.

Originally, there were about fifty-nine "Contrade"; now only seventeen remain, ten of which take part in the historical pageant and in the race at each Palio (seven by right and three drawn by lots).

The 17 Contrade which still exist today are: the Eagle, Snail, Wave, Panther, Forest, Tortoise, Owl, Unicorn, Shell, Tower, Ram, Caterpillar, Dragon, Giraffe, Porcupine, She-Wolf and the Goose.

Each Contrada has its own unique emblem and colors and represents an area of the city. As one walks through the streets of Siena it is easy to know in which Contrada you currently are in by observing the flags and emblems displayed along the street. Much like street signs, corners often designate the entrance into a different Contrada with signs as the ones in the picture below. The Palio is much more than a simple event for the Sienese, it actually is a large part of their lives since the time of their birth. Each person belongs to a Contrada, participates in the life of the Contrada and the organization of the Palio throughout the entire year.

Unable to see the Palio, and having attained my maximum window-shopping tolerance, I instead enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and participated in one of my favorite passtimes...people watching. 

The next day, I joined a tour to Cinque Terre, "Five Lands." We traveled by bus to La Spezia, where we
caught a train to Cinque Terre. As implied by the name, the area consists of five picturesque villages on the northern Mediterrarean Sea coast. We stopped at each one. Each had a distinct personality and vibe. Normally, one can transit via boat between some of the villages, but this day the weather and the sea was way too turbulent for it 

That would have been a great view, but I'm okay with not being out on stormy waters. I may or may not have indulged in more than one Italian gelato that day, but figured the amount of walking I was doing provided a green light. I was easily doing 20,000+ steps a day on the tour days, a lot of which was stair-climbing. 

I had a day to relax, and then a very early flight out of Florence, to Amsterdam. Though I have flown through Amsterdam a few times, I had never actually been into the city. Since I had a lengthy layover, I took a train into the city center. I walked and walked, probably about five miles, followed by a lovely late lunch. So now I can accurately say that I have been to Amsterdam!  

An Italian Wedding

 A couple of years ago, my divorced daughter met an outstanding human, Steve. They took things relatively slowly, as they both have kids and they wanted to be sure of the relationship first. They became sure, and on a backpacking adventure, Steve popped the question. Steph answered that yes, they would indeed become a "Brady Bunch" family! 

One of the most heart-warming aspects to watch in this budding relationship was how well the kids got along with each other. I think it's more than just "ok, I guess these kids aren't the worst in the world." They would all talk about their future life in terms of "when we get married." Marriage, for the whole combined family, was not just between the parents - they were ALL getting married. 

Wedding planning began...and became a source of stress. How big should it be? Who should be invited? Where could it be? Who would cater it? You know, all the usual wedding planning stuff. But it didn't seem quite right to my daughter...a bit too stressful for a second wedding. Since they had decided before the engagement even happened that they wanted to take all of the kids to Italy as a Christmas gift, it eventually became, "well, why not do it in Italy then?" 

So that's how the story of a wedding in Italy started. 

Settling on early April, planning for an Italian wedding began. Probably the uniquenss and limited guest list (plus the allure of the rest of the Italian vacaction) made this version of wedding planning not quite so stressful - although of course there still were moments. 

They rented a very large Italian villa in the village of Amalfi, high on the hillside. It had all the room necessary to accommodate everyone, with several large terraces overlooking what looked like the entire Amalfi coast, though of course it was just a small sliver. 

We arrived on a Sunday; the wedding was set for Tuesday, which dawned as a beautiful day in Italy. 

The ceremony was held on one of the terraces. Because Steph and Steve wrote something to each of the kids to say what they thought was special about each one, both their own and their "new" kids, it was a longish ceremony. But so, so beautiful! The kids all sat in the front row, and they were definitely an integral part of the commitments made that day. 

I don't have any of the "official" wedding photos, but I thought these taken with Steve's phone were especially beautiful. At the point they took these, the ceremony was over, and the new family had gone into the Amalfi village to take photos. 

As I said, it's been so fun to watch the kids together, and especially the youngest four. They all get along so well! So much so that Teague and Owen inisted on sharing a room back home (luckily, it's a very large room). And the focus between Kaiya and Ivy in this photo (and several like it, this is just one example) is so cute! 

My Top Ten Travel Tips

 

I've been asked many times for travel tips. I have been a little hesitant to share my “expertise” because I feel like any expertise I may have relative to travel is in group travel. I can tell you how to handle things if you should find yourself with four buses full of people at the bottom of Sundance canyon, their dinner at the top, and a blocked road in between. I can teach you how to arrange for a private tour of the Vatican or a cast meet for a Broadway show. (Hint, money helps)

As far as personal travel goes, I don’t know that I’m any more talented than any other traveler. But I realized that all of those years of doing group travel did in fact teach me a lot about travel. Here are some of the things that have really helped me over the years: 

1. Everyone has their own why of how and when they travel, or even IF they travel. It’s very personal. Some of us are willing to wing it; others would like to have everything completely planned and secure. But I would encourage you to step out of your comfort zone just a bit. Travel, especially international travel, can be very intimidating. For example, this year I'm going on a short solo jaunt in Italy. This is intimidating to me, but I want to do it because I’ve realized that I want to travel more than I have people available and able to go with me. I’ve transited by myself before when traveling to support events - in fact, usually did fly by myself. But there was always a company or a group of people waiting for me on the other end. This I have learned: you can handle anything that comes up. AND that my most memorable moments have come from misadventures, the unexpected and the unplanned. Have faith that you can handle whatever comes your way. It is not possible to have ALL the answers and information about your destination. You prepare beforehand as well as you can, and then you deal with whatever else fate throws your way.
2. If traveling across many timezones, adjust yourself to the local schedule as soon as possible. For example, when traveling to Europe, this means you need to keep yourself up until a reasonable bedtime, no matter how tired you are. Do NOT give in to the temptation of having a nap on the day of arrival. It will make it harder for you to adjust. Also, as much as you can, STOP even thinking about what time it is back home. Unless you need to call someone, it doesn’t matter what time it is there and continuing to think about it will contribute to your feeling of jet lag.
3. Take only a carry-on and personal item - don’t check luggage. In addition to taking longer, checked baggage can be damaged, misdirected or lost. More and more, it also costs a lot. And honestly, you just really don’t need all that stuff. If you really truly need it, you can buy it at the destination.
4. Bring copies of your passport, and also email one to yourself. Remember most countries require that you have at least six months left on your passport, and you need to factor in a couple of months of processing time to renew it if needed.
5. Have a basic understanding of the currency conversion rate. Always have a small amount of the local currency for mom and pop shops, but no need to go overboard. Don’t use the conversion kiosks - just use an ATM. If you use a credit card (hopefully one that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees), always ask that they charge you in the local currency - your bank or card converstion rate will almost always be better. Make sure your bank and card providers know you’re going (although I’ve traveled so much, I never bother anymore)
6. You really only need to learn just the basics of the language, unless you’re a language genius. Learn hello, good-bye, thank you, where is? English speakers abound everywhere, and you’d be surprised at how well you can communicate without a common language. Just don’t expect people to know English - express your gratitude when they do. And they’re very pleased when at least some small attempt is made in their language.
7. If you want to go to an extremely popular site, see if you can get reservations and/or front of the line tickets. Sometimes it’s necessary to get tickets much earlier than you would think, and almost impossible to get onsite. I loved Neuschwanstein Castle, but we didn’t get to go inside. Although we started looking into it a couple of months before our trip, the online reservations were all gone. And onsite meant waiting in line for 3-4 hours. Machu Picchu limits the number of visitors every day, so if you don’t reserve it, you might not get in at all.
8. As soon as you arrive, either write down the address if staying at an AirBnB, or take a hotel business card - in case you get lost. This actually did happen to me in Paris, in the middle of the night. It turned out okay, but was a bit hairy.
9. Apply for TSA Pre-Check and/or Global Entry. It will significantly improve your travel experience.
10. Last, but far from least: be as open-minded as you can possibly be when visiting other cultures. You know, the old saying, if you want things like they are in the US, then you should just stay in the US. We are the visitors, and we should not only be interested in their culture, we should more importantly respect it. We are guests in their house. You are missing out on most of the experience if you don’t embrace and respect the culture. To me, that’s the whole point of traveling.

Los Cabos

 Way down at the very tip of the Baja peninsula is an area known collectively as "Los Cabos," or "The End." It is comprised of the cities of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, and the area inbetween known as The Corridor. 

I've been marinating an idea for several years, of wanting to buy a winter place and becoming a snowbird. I truly hate the winter months here in Utah! After doing a great deal of research, it seemed to me that Los Cabos has good potential to be a great fit. In addition to the warm winter weather, it is accessible by a short, direct flight and I believe I can find something within my budget (which is not generous!). 

So in January I took what will probably the first of several trips down to take a closer look. 

My friend/cousin, Sarah, joined me on this trip, which was awesome. 

Our first week was spent in the Cabo San Lucas area, along the Corridor area. It was a short walk to a great beach (Medano Beach), one of the few swimable beaches in Los Cabos. The non-swimable beaches are gorgeous, but there are extremely dangerous rip tides. Since I'm not much of an ocean swimmer anyway, a nice beach is all I need. Closer to Cabo, there are an annoying number of vendors but where we were was not bad at all. 

In between having a ton of fun with various activities my real estate agent Jesus took us around to look at properties for sale in the Cabo San Lucas area. It gave me hope that I really can find something that will work and affirmed my desire to follow through on my plan. I am not sure at this point in my quest if Cabo San Lucas is the right place for me to be, but now it's not so much an "if" I'll proceed with the plan, but more just working out the best situation. 

As noted, we managed to find plenty of time for fun activities, and Cabo San Lucas is definitely the place to be for this. The prominent feature in this area is The Arch, seen in the above photo (though from a distance). This is literally the point where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez. In that area, there is Lovers Beach, and then from there, going to the Pacific side, Divorce Beach. The local joke is that couples go to Lovers Beach, but if one lover wants to get rid of the other they send their lover to the beach on the Pacific side. Divorce beach because it's so dangerous. Maybe it should be renamed Widow Beach. 

Our first adventure was Whale Watching. The peak time is in January, and though I didn't make my plans with that in mind, it was a happy coincidence. It was pretty rough going on the boat ride to get to the whale watching area, with extremely choppy seas. But the whales did not disappoint. I am not even sure how long we were out there, but it was one breach after another. We were also on one of the glass-bottomed boats. That didn't really mean much in deep waters, but it was cool to see the marine life below us in more shallow waters. 

The next adventure was para-sailing. Some people think of this as risky or an extreme sport, but really the rise is gentle, like an elevator. The only thing I  really worried about was dropping my phone! 

We also spent some time in town, trying different restaurants (including Cabo Wabo - perhaps a bit of a tourist trap, but fun) and souvenir shopping. I'm actually not much of a souvenir shopper (or any kind of shopper, really). I did want to buy some Mexican vanilla, and that was easy to find. I generally don't bring home gifts for my kids or grandkids, unless I find something great for a birthday or for Christmas. I have traveled so often, I'd be bankrupt if I brought back gifts every time! And my kids travel so much, it frees them from having to think they have to bring something back. But Sarah was in full shopping mode. I think she managed to find something special for all her peeps back home. 

The last Cabo adventure was a Sunset Jazz cruise, which was just the right vibe. There were perhaps a dozen people on a spacious boat. Light refreshments were served (which was, in fact, our dinner) and included drinks. I tried a margarita, but it was a bit watery, so I switched to white wine. Mellow jazz played as we cruised around the Arch, and then up the Pacific side a bit. Perfection! As we were sailing along, all of the sudden one of the crew members goes rushing by. I thought maybe someone had fallen overboard, he was moving with such purpose. But no, he was just running to his fishing line...and reeled in a good sized catch. 

It was time to move to San Jose del Cabo, since I wanted to consider both areas. I really liked San Jose - it's more laid back and more streets are paved - by far - compared to Cabo. Our Airbnb was again located not too far from the beach. A bit further than the Cabo location but still within walking distance, and the beach was good. 

Activities are not as plentiful as they are in Cabo, so we decided to take the bus to Todos Santos, about 2 hours (bus time) north of San Jose. Todos Santos is an art town, so we spent the day eating, drinking and looking at art - mostly the first two.

 

Back in San Jose, we did a taco tour, and it ended up just being the two of us and the tour guide. We went from place to place, trying a dish at each location, including a tequila tasting stop. After the tour, we hung out at the Art Walk, which drew a lot of people. 

A few practical notes: Uber is plentiful and very cheap. Most of our rides were in the range of $2-4. Regarding airport transportation, Uber is not allowed to pick up at the airport. Before we left on our trip I saw a name recommended over and over again in Facebook groups for transportation services, Juan Pablo. He met us at the airport, and made a stop at a grocery store (Fresco) so we could stop for supplies. Fresco is very American in nature. 

Prices, Uber not withstanding, are actually on the high side compared to what I expected. More like prices at home. We stopped at an ATM when we got there to get pesos, but when we ran out of those towards the end of the trip we used US dollars with no problem. We also used credit cards in many places - just be sure to ask them to process it in pesos. Your card's conversion is almost certainly better than the USD price. 

Yes, I think winters in Los Cabos (or maybe La Paz?) will be absolutely lovely.