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Long Pilgrimage Stroll to the Duomo

Long Pilgrimage Stroll to the Duomo

After sitting inside all day working, by 6:00 p.m. I had to get out and take a walk from here to my beloved Duomo. I had arrived late Tuesday evening, spent Wednesday getting settled and hadn’t yet been to my favorite landmark in town, 2 miles away from my apartment. I must always go to [...]

Bike SaFaRis: Safe Family Rides

Bike SaFaRis: Safe Family Rides

Ignite an early enthusiasm for being on two wheels. Teach “bike sense” and street smarts to little ones. Gather people from the community for fun, conversation, fresh air and healthful exercise. These are the goals of Burien’s Bike “SaFaRis” – Safe Family Rides, launched by the enthusiastic, former Burien City Councilmember, Sue Blazak. The first [...]

Stop?

Stop?

As a cyclist, I must be ALWAYS vigilant! This particular stop sign on the way to the bikes-only path, both amuses and frightens me. Stop? What stop? And this ain’t no “California Rolling Stop!” This is hardly a hesitation, a pause. A stop sign is a guideline. If there’s an accident and YOU had the [...]

Octopus Lesson

Octopus Lesson

Such dear, dear people. I feel so welcomed by Agnese, Ninni, their son Erik and Ninni’s sister Bea. They greeted me so warmly and then said goodbye with hints of visiting Seattle this year! It was three years ago that I had “Warm Octopus with Potatoes and Olives” for the first time at the Carlotta [...]

Heading South

Always an exercise in “packing light”, I keep removing things from my one-and-only carry-on bag for two weeks in the south of “The Boot”. After a week in Milano, I’m heading to south to wander around. First, I’ll explore Sicilia for a week. Then I’ll take a train along the “sole of the boot”, to Puglia, [...]

Two Wheels along the Canal

Given a beautiful, 70-degree, blue-sky, springtime day in Italy, it was a joy to get out on a bike again for a ride along the canal! It’s been 9 months, and I’ve missed it. That ride, and being on two wheels, invigorates me and makes me feel so alive. And I love the still and [...]

Ciao da Milano!

Ciao da Milano!

Friday, April 29. The Milanese are still wearing their winter jeans, puff jackets and scarves. I’m wearing black linen capris and sleeveless blouses. I arrived in Milano Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., to a morning warmer than Seattle… yet I’m glad to have brought a little summer jacket. Robin-like birds started singing early this morning. By [...]

November Canalside

November Canalside

One year ago, late November, I was riding my beloved bike route along the Naviglio Pavese, one of the several canals radiating from the center of Milano. In the near-14-months that I rode this paved path, I couldn’t guess how many times I covered part of these 33 kilometers between Milano and Pavia, to the [...]

Figs in Prosciutto Jackets

Figs in Prosciutto Jackets

The inspiration of living in Italy will likely continue on for a very long time. I recently split fresh figs and stuffed them with a wedge of goat cheese. I wound them with jackets of prosciutto slices and garnished them with young leaves of basil. The plate of appetizers disappeared in 30 seconds. Late-comers were [...]

One Week ’til Blastoff

One week from today, at this time, I will have schlepped my bags by taxi and train to Milano Malpensa airport; checked in, with machine gun carrying guards in the mezzanine above me; gone through security; waited; flown over the Alps to London two hours north; gone through security again; eaten an airport meal; wound [...]

Another History Lesson

Another History Lesson

My “History Buff on Wheels“, Angelo, went rolling past me along the canal this morning. In a cycling daze and not recognizing him, I nodded and said the usual “ciao” as one cyclist to another. Mere moments later, he pulled up on my left, took my pace, greeted me and commented that it had been [...]

Full But Not Scholarly

This is not a scholarly blog with a foundation in formal Art or European History. I’m the first to admit my ignorance in those realms. And on the web, one can find formal information and imagery on just about any topic. I have no desire to regurgitate what’s readily available out there, although I do [...]

Minnie & Michelangelo at the Castle

Minnie & Michelangelo at the Castle

The little girl was unrestrained and so pleased with herself. She and I both saw the humor of her Minnie Mouse joining Michelangelo’s unfinished Rondanini Pietá. As I think about it further, I wonder which creator, Michelangelo or Disney, has had greater cultural influence? (Many would be aghast at my putting those two in the [...]

Jackrabbits Like the Morning

Jackrabbits Like the Morning

Since it’s been so toasty here lately, I took my bike ride in the morning today, heading out from the house just after 8:00. When I got to the field that had been full of rapeseed and red poppies a while back, I saw FOUR jackrabbits out in the field! This time I stopped. I [...]

For Grace Received

For Grace Received

Two years ago, in exploring one church after another, I noticed cathedral walls laden with silver framed medallions bearing the letters “GR”. Some were tied with a pink or a blue ribbon. There may have been 50 in some churches, or hundreds in others. Here’s a wall in the Duomo of Sienna (from 2008). With [...]

Rice Green and Sky Blue

Rice Green and Sky Blue

Late afternoon. High 80s. Hot, humid and sunny. Perhaps not the best time to get out on my bike, but quarter-til-five on a hot day is better than quarter-til-one. In the late day sun, the rice growing along the east side of the bike path was brilliant green topped by a deep sky that hints [...]

My “Tricolore” Year

My “Tricolore” Year

One year ago today my plane landed at Milano Malpensa Aeroporto. I caught the train into the center of town, to the Cadorna Station. It was a hot day. I started sweating quickly. My Irish/German skin was bone white in contrast to all those on the street and I laughed. I was whisked through the city [...]

Jackrabbit or Kangaroo?

Riding my bike along the canal today, I saw two jackrabbits loping through the now-mowed rapeseed field. These weren’t sweet, little bunny rabbits. They were the size of kangaroos! They were huge! I should have chased them through the field with my camera. My mind’s eye is still disbelieving. – – – 27 Giugno – [...]

Certosa on a Sunny Day

Certosa on a Sunny Day

A sunny holiday in the middle of the week calls for a bike ride. Apparently every family in Milano had the same thought; the bike path along the canal was crowded with those rolling tra-la-la along. I, on the other hand, felt full of vim and vigor so I pushed myself hard for an hour [...]

Tall Corn and an Alpine Arc

The corn stalks are more than knee-high. The rapeseed has been harvested and the poppies cut along with it. Workers are driving tractors along the canal, using flail-choppers to cut the meter-high grass and weeds. There’s a firm breeze on this 80 degree day and the sky is bright blue. The air is clear enough [...]

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