What a magical vacation Bob and I enjoyed in Northern Italy the last two weeks of September, one filled with beauty, laughter, and great inspiration for many stories yet to come.
We experienced many wow moments every day as we walked with reverence through duomos that took centuries to build; toured the palazzo and gardens of Isola Bella, built as a gift of love from Carlo III Borromeo to his wife Isabella D’adda; cruised the Grand Canal in Venice lined with former palaces of nobility, dating back to the thirteenth century; walked the quaint lanes of colorful homes on Burano, the Venetian fisherman’s island known for their intricate lace making as well as their seafood; perused the shops of Bellagio on Lake Como, makers of some of the world’s finest silk; tapped into some of Ernest Hemingway’s inspiration from the Albergo Verbona where it’s said he wrote
While these magnificent places have etched permanent grooves of joy and wonder in my memory, it’s some of the small moments I’ll remember most vividly. One of the best happened on our first full day in Milan when we stepped into a small fruit and vegetable market and were greeted warmly by the owner and his wife who knew not a word of English. They so enjoyed my yelps of delight when I saw ripe figs (my favorite fruit) tucked in between Italian-grown apples and pomegranates. A great conversation of pointing, smiling, and pantomiming ensued. They taught me how to say figs in Italian, fichi. From then on, I asked for fichi at every fruit stand I passed.
That colorful, pleasant moment will linger. Add to this the moments of eating fruit, cheese, and prosciutto for lunch in a quiet piazza, drinking a cup of tea with my sweet husband while overlooking a beautiful lake, feeding a white peacock bits of bread, taking an after-dinner walk in the cool evening air and enjoying the lights reflecting on the water—those are the moments I want to capture on paper.
What about you? Do you have any vacation moments that stand out? What about a recent moment from your daily life that caused you to pause and take notice? Write one of these moments and share it with us in the comments section below. We’d love to experience this special time as well.
I also want to put a plug in for my former client who made all the arrangements for our wonderful vacation. Barbara Powell, CTC, ACC (I’m not sure what all those letters mean, but they sound important.) recommended the tour company we used, set up our airfare, gave us great direction, and even helped me what to pack. She is an independent travel consultant who is affiliated with Travel Leaders in Palm Coast, Florida, and she specializes in cruises and tours. You can contact Barbara by phone at 386-447-7786 or email at shoreppl@att.net.
We are already thinking about our next trip—Costa Rica—and I will again ask Barbara to arrange everything for us.
3 Comments
Terry
A truly lovely story, Patricia! So many vacation moments for me that stand out, but one I’ll never forget [and definitely still need to write a story about. . .] happened on my first trip to Beijing back in 1978. I happened to have blonde hair, blue eyes, and believe it or not back then China had just started opening up to Westerners so few Chinese had seen Caucasians [remember, all TV was monitored prior to that]. Add that to the fact that my hair was long and curly PLUS I had red polish on my hands/feet so wherever we went I was the ‘talk of the tour’ as the Chinese people were simply fascinated with my looks, thinking that Americans were very strange growing red fingernails! So that’s the short version of my story. Now I just have to elaborate and fill in the rest of the funny things we encountered back then!
Gwen Bennett
Patricia, thanks for sharing your wonderful trip. One of our memorable trips was to China in 2015. It was one of those things on my bucket list. We went to the Great Wall of China, while there we were taking pictures of the scenery and each other. A Chinese lady with her husband and child were sitting next to us as we rested on the steps of the wall. She motioned to my husband to come take a picture with her. I think she thought my husband was a basketball star because he is a tall slender African American. Note, basketball is their number one sport now. He obliged her, while her husband seemed embarrassed, putting his head down and smiling. After the picture taking, we all stood up and laughed together and continued our journey up the Wall.
This has inspired me to write more about the trip along with putting all the pictures in a better sequence.
Sandy and Duayne
Patricia, so enjoyed your adventures in Italy. That’s a country we’ve yet to enjoy. We can assure you that you’ll find figs available fresh and in different preparations throughout Denmark. Also thanks for Barbara Powell’s info.