Overheard #165

"There are interesting things you can do when you integrate into the complex plane."

Via dell’ Amore

We traveled next to Cinque Terre, or Five Lands. They are small towns perched on the cliffs over the Mediterranean Sea. It was a gorgeous place, and I took a zillion pictures. In an effort to divide them into manageable blog posts, I’ll have one post on Via dell’Amore, one on the town of Manarola and one on the ocean.

The five towns were quite isolated until a railway line was built in the 1920s, and a trail was made between Riomaggiore, the first (southern most) town and its northern neighbor, Manarola. Landslides closed the path until after WWII when it was reopened and became a meeting place for boys and girls from the two towns. A journalist coined the name, and the path became Cinque Terre’s lover’s lane.

A hiking trail and a railroad now connect all five towns. Due to a landslide between Manarola (town #2) and Corniglia (town #3) and a railroad strike, we only saw Manarola. This was hardly a hardship, and we hope to return to see the rest.

Our first glimpse of Manarola as we walked along Via dell’ Amore from the train station in Riomaggiore.

These fences protect hikers from landslides.

A better view of the coast.

The rocks and retaining walls of Via dell’ Amore are covered with amorous graffiti. It is also traditional for couples to leave a small padlock attached to the fences as a token of undying love. This is the iconic statue for Via dell’ Amore, complete with padlocks. People also tie strings, bits of plastic bags or anything they can find to the fence.

We added a ribbon.

Sunset

Another sunset – because I can’t take this kind of shot in mid-Michigan.

Seagull

Lucca

The resort arranged a brief afternoon trip to Lucca. I’m sure there is more to this town than we had time to discover.

The town is still enclosed by its ancient wall and has expanded upward, not outward. From the streets, all you can see is tall, old buildings rising above you. In some places, even the wall isn’t visible.

Throughout history, Lucca has had three walls. The first was a rectangular structure built by the Romans. A larger stone wall was built in medieval times. When cannons were invented, the medieval wall was reinforced. The Lucchesi built a 100-foot wide mound of dirt faced with bricks and devoted a third of their income for a hundred years to its construction. As it turned out, none of the other city states ever attacked Lucca. Now the wall has been converted to a park with a bike path, lawns and trees. The rounded area you see in the picture was where they used to have cannons.

Lucca was known for its silk trade and wealthy merchants flaunted their affluence by building towers. At one time the Lucca had 160 towers. This is in a space enclosed by a wall with a circumference of only 2.5 miles. The most famous is Torre Guinigi. We had a hard time finding it because you can’t see it behind other the tall buildings. I had to take a picture into the sun, but it was the only glimpse I was likely to get. This tower has a rooftop garden, but we didn’t have time to take the tour.

A lovely old church.

The view from the train station while we waited to travel to Cinque Terre.

Overheard #164

"It’s outgrown its etymology."

Barga

The ancient town of Barga is a short drive from Il Ciocco, and the conference organizers arranged an afternoon trip to visit this ancient walled city. As we waited for the shuttle bus, my husband asked if I had my camera. I'd left it in the room! I ran up six flights of steps to retrieve it, forgetting about the altitude. (Gasp).

This cathedral is Barga's crowning glory.

Some of the windows are made of thin slices of marble, so the inside of the duomo was extremely dark. I learned later that you can pay a euro to turn on the lights and take pictures.

Having a wall around the town prevents urban sprawl. The cobblestone streets were delightfully shaded and cool on a hot September afternoon. We heard several music students practicing opera as we wandered around the town.

Click on the picture to see the detail in the carving.

Looking down a narrow street.

My next post will be about Lucca.

Il Ciocco

We went to Italy because my husband was asked to speak at a scientific conference held at the Il Ciocco resort in Tuscany.

I took a picture of the Maritime Alps through the airplane window although I didn't expect it to come out.

This is from our balcony. It was a bit hazy, but the views were breathtaking.

This is a nearby vinyard. If you click on the picture to enlarge, you'll be able to see solar panels behind the white building.

This old house picked up the glow from the setting sun.

The sun setting behind the mountains. The conference ran from Sunday evening through Friday morning. They held sessions in the mornings and evenings and let the scientists out in the afternoons to enjoy the resort, hike, or visit nearby towns. While the meettings were in session, I looked out over these views and worked on my newest novel.

The ancient town of Barga as seen from the terrace of Il Ciocco. My next post will show pictures from our excursion to Barga.

Overheard #163

"Napping is my superpower."

On My Way Home

The Paris airport allows 15 minutes of free Wi Fi, so here I am. It was a wonderful trip, and as soon as I dig my way out from under the laundry and get my photos organized, I'll be back to write about the details.

An Award!

Sue Bradford Edwards was kind enough to give my blog this award. I'm supposed to write about myself and nominate other bloggers. I'll do my homework when I return from Italy. In the meantime, I wanted to say how delighted I am.

(As a fun note, I logged on through Google Italia. When I spell-checked, it marked almost all of the words - because they're not Italian.  J)

Sunday

The palate is changing to green and gold. Fall is coming.

Overheard #162

"Morning walks are good for realizing what you might already know."

Intermittent Blogging

On Friday, I’m going to Italy. I’ve never been to Europe, and I can’t wait.

I won’t be blogging much for the next couple weeks. I have some photos scheduled for Sunday and an Overheard coming up on Friday, but I suspect my posts will be haphazard for a while. I hope to have lots of pictures and stories when I get back.

Random Acts of Publicity and the Royal Family of Montmaray

 A Brief History of Montmaray and The FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper (Alfred A. Knopf) describe the fictional royal family of the imaginary island kingdom of Montmaray. The first two books in the series take place in the turbulent period between the World Wars. If you’re a Dorothy L. Sayers fan, this series will bring back fond memories of the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. The British upper classes happily ignored the political upheaval and the suffering of the poor in favor of tea parties and debutant balls.

Cooper has created a fascinating cast of characters. The setting is rich and the history fascinating. I’m looking forward to the third book in the series.

The first two books in the Montmaray Journal series were recommended to me by Amy Huntley. Check out her webpage and blog, and definitely read her book, The Everafter.

Sunday

I love the color blue.

Overheard #161

"It takes no courage to do something you’re an expert at."

Music v. The Environment

Tonight on NPR, they described a Justice Department raid on the Gibson guitar factory for illegal use of endangered woods, specifically ebony and rosewood from Madagascar. Protecting the world’s rainforests is of critical importance. On the other hand, these guitars must look beautiful and sound wonderful. I wish I knew more about the type of wood used to make guitars. Apparently, some of these same laws apply to vintage instruments that were made before environmental laws were passed. In the early 1970s, I played an ebony clarinet and have no idea where the wood came from. It’s an interesting controversy.

I was positive the lead-out music would be Norwegian Wood by the Beatles. Nope. It was My Guitar Gently Weeps. If you’ve never heard that song on ukulele, click here.

Sunday

Update

It’s been a month since the crit group retreat, and I’ve done almost no writing. Yeah, I did some research for a new project until I got stumped with a logical conundrum in the plot. I also submitted a manuscript (SSA) to The Whole NovelWorkshop put on by the Highlights Foundation. To my surprise, it was accepted. I’m excited to be spending a week in Honesdale and looking forward to expert mentorship on my project.

The last month has been a busy time. We traveled to Washington DC then Vancouver for family weddings. I’ve been helping Jeremy with his college applications, and outfitting Sam’s new college apartment. My volunteer responsibilities for the band and choir have been huge. However, this is my last year as a high school mom.

Today I started revising SSA one more time before I have to send it to Carolyn Coman or Stephen Roxburgh for the Whole Novel Workshop. Next week, I must clear several more hours and finish this draft.

Overheard #160

"You could always eat the inner bark of trees."

Sunday

I went to the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art and photographed spider webs. It had rained earlier.