On a beautiful crisp sunny, winter day, it’s marvelous to walk about Gig Harbor. A clear, sunny day in February is delightful as it’s so rare. After walking about, I stopped for a lunch at my favorite Italian Restaurant, Il Lucano
I discovered that you can order from their extensive dinner menu at lunchtime, which meant a fabulous lunch of Caesar Salad, Veal Saltimbocca, White wine (Sicilian) and Cappuccino … Fantastico! Maybe we will have an early Spring?? And yes, that is Mount Rainier in the distance .. on a clear day, it is visible and very beautiful.
Savor your journeys … past, present and future … real and imagined, near and far.
On a rainy day, what’s better than browsing a beautiful photo book of a place you have visited or want to visit? I have visited Rome many times and always loved it. Below are photos, thoughts about “Rome, Then and Now” by Federica D’Orazio.
The book was published in 2004. Many of the vintage photos have dates (ranging from 1860’s to 1944) and the contrast is amazing: Rome has retained its ancient feel while being a vibrant modern city. The Eternal City is a marvelous blend of ancient and new, which you feel as you walk about this gorgeous city. Each photo has historical information so that the reader can fully appreciate the beauty of Rome.
Let’s begin at the Baths of Caracalla, where you can attend operas or concerts during the summer. I did attend an opera and highly recommend it. We ate after the performance at a local neighborhood ristorante where we saw many of the performers. Great fun.
Rome is a marvelous city to walk about and get lost, even with a map (which happened to me several times). Think serendipity … you will eventually reach your destination, but if time is not a factor, enjoy the side streets …. you never know where they will lead. Wander about the Piazza Barberini (at the foot of the Via Veneto), walk to the Trevi Fountain (on a side street) … check out the Spanish Steps.
Tour ancient Rome visiting the Colosseum and Roman Forum, take the time to walk about;; imagine what it must have been like during Caesar’s time …
Other marvelous photos show the changes to the Piazza St. Peter, Piazza del Popolo, and Piazza Navona, where I have marvelous memories of Tre Scalini Ristorante.
As you wander about Rome, either for real or as an armchair traveler, here are some additional sights …
Browse thru your photo books or visit your library for ideas. Pick a special destination. The photos will have you reminiscing about previous journeys and/or planning a new adventure. After browsing this splendid book, what better way to continue my Italian armchair travel than preparing an Italian dinner (a favorite: spaghetti carbonara with Orvieto wine). Viva Roma!
Savor your journeys, near or far, real or imagined.
“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.” ~ Unknown
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” ~ Emily Brontë
“Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.” ~ Victoria Erickson
“A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye.” ~ Unknown
“Anyone who thinks fallen leaves are dead has never watched them dancing on a windy day.” ~ Shira Tamir
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale”—Lauren DeStefano
“November is the pearl-grey month, the changeling between warm crimson October and cold white December, the month when the leaves fall in slow drifting whirls, and the shapes of the trees are revealed, when the earth imperceptibly wakes, and stretches her bare limbs and displays her stubborn unconquerable strength before she settles uneasily into winter. November is secret and silent”—Alison Uttley
Below are some favorite travel quotes and photos. I love photography as it is an excellent format to recall your journeys and the special people, places, cuisine, sights, etc, that you encountered.
Savor your journeys …
A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. Lao Tzu
Wherever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius
Never go on trips with anyone you do not love. Ernest Hemingway
“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” Anita Desai
“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Ursula K. Le Guin
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust
“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” anaïs nin
“Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.” Judith Thurman
“We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.” Pascal Mercier
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Visiting Bainbridge Island is a terrific way to experience “island time” any time of the year. Walk along Winslow Way, browse the shops, and enjoy coffee and pastry (check out Pegasus) or lunch.
Favorite places for lunch include Restaurant Marche (marvelous French cuisine, with the best French Onion Soup) and Doc’s Marina Grill (great fish ‘n’ chips).
Let me add a new find: J’aime Les Crepes. It’s a small place, close to Restaurant Marche with fabulous crepes, savory or sweet. I had the exquisite Norwegian Crepe: wild sockeye salmon, creme fraiche, green onions, lemon juice and capers. Also, very good coffee. Keep it in mind as you walk about and explore.
Fall is a beautiful time to stroll about the back streets and enjoy the magnificence of the foliage.
Savor your journeys, near or far, real or imagined, fleeting or lengthy.
Photography is the art of capturing something fleeting; holding something which cannot be held; time made still.
Savor your journeys … treasure the moments … enjoy the memories.
Journeys with Eileen Diane 