Geneva, Sicily Rome 2014

Geneva, Sicily, Rome

Geneva

Geneva sits in a stunningly beautiful landscape, but is showing some wear. I finally understand why Rick Steves recommends other tastes of Switzerland.

I join him in preferring Zurich and Basel. They retain the Swiss vibe now diluted by tourism and immigration in Geneva. Take the bright red Glacier Express train to Schatzalp and you are in the Heidi land of my childhood dreams!

What fun to be a ‘groupie’ when Mike and his Dutch colleague, Cess performed a guitar duet and crooned in honor of Luc Noel’s retirement from the World Health Organization. The scientific meeting participants expressed surprise and delight. Luc’s successor at WHO dubbed them The MPHO Band in reference to the group project identifying Medical Products of Human Origin (see the link in the comment at the end). A huge benefit of a research career is becoming friends with people from all over the world.

Two of these, our Swiss friends Guy and Rosemarie, met us for an outdoor lunch. Afterwards we walked to the Rath Museum where we studied many works of Gustave Courbet. It is amazing how these 19c. artists managed to travel from country to country. My favorite piece was a mountain vividly, starkly white.

While Mike was in meetings, I took a city bus to France! It was a thrill to just walk right past the customs booth to Saleve where I took the funicular up to the mountain paths. Pretty steep hike rewarded by a beautiful valley view. My limited French ability helped me communicate with people in this rural area. Thank-you, French teachers!

Back in Geneva I escaped the hustle bustle of the streets by ducking behind the imposing Brunswick Memorial into The Cottage Café. I enjoyed the view of the Jet d’eau fountain on Lake Geneva while eating a beautifully presented and delicious lunch. The fountain resulted from a surprise leak and has become iconic.

I highly recommend taking a day boat trip to the lovely village of D’Ivoire on Lake Geneva.

Sicily

We responded grumpily to our 3:30 am wakeup call, caught the plane to Catania, and then looked for Del and Eva, our American travel buddies who were to meet our plane. Oops! Where were they? We paced and peered. We endured the unhelpful “help” desk attendant who offered no sympathy and little advice. I don’t think she loved her job in the stuffy kiosk. We called the hotel where they were staying the night before. They had checked out. Where were they now? Texting and cell calls were not an option. We decided Mike would continue looking in the airport and I would look for them at the nearby car rental. It was hot.

I was sleepy. I was also in the wrong building. An hour later, we four found each other. Our friends thought we were arriving at nine rather than at eight. I noticed my usually too skinny feet were plump blimps from the heatL.

DonnaCarmela  <www.donnacarmela.com> sounded like a nice play to lunch. We drove to Riposto. We drove in Riposto. We zigzagged and repeated ourselves. Finally asked a local for directions. He left his shop to walk us to our first turn out of town, and then drew a detailed map of every turn en route. Molto gentile! In a lovely rural setting, there was a sign and an expansive, forbidding eight-foot stucco wall with a clearly locked gate. I pushed the buzzer, and the Signora accepted our plea for lunch. The place is magical! Located in Europe’s largest nursery, it looked like an oasis to us. Manicured lawns, old trees, yellow and purple flower-lined driveways and paths. White ball lights and the perquisite length of white chiffon draping from above. We asked if there were any rooms left for the night? Only one, lucky us. A mini villa surrounded by rows of plants, an herb garden, wishing well, and decorative pond, charming stone covered porch, and a Jacuzzi. Eva wanted to go for a swim after dinner, but we hadn’t packed swimming suits. We improvised, using the laundress’ privilege of borrowing our husbands’ briefs! Lots of giggling that night.

After sipping blood orange juice, almond milk, and delicious pastries, we were on the road again.

En route to Syracuse, we had a clear view of Mt. Etna. Our waiter at DonnaCarmela grew up in Etna’s shadow. He said, “She is ours. We understand the rhythms of her eruptions and destruction. “ Black volcanic boulders line the roads.

Villa Carlotta www.hotelvillacarlottataormina.com in Messina Taormina extended our “life in villas” indulgence. The food was wonderful! I smiled when I saw 4 pairs of reading glasses next to the silverware on the buffet table. They really do think of everything.

The impressive stone buildings and statues of the Piazza del Duomo in Syracuse provide an elegant backdrop to a notable’s wedding reception. There were lots of black limos releasing well-dressed guests into the hot sun as they waited for the bride and groom. We joined the many gawkers and were rewarded by the clippety-clop of a horse and carriage crossing the piazza to the city hall reception. We lunched on the piazza at an outdoor people-watching table. I loved the 6 cheese, 6 sauce (wine, honey, marmalade, pear, tomato, almonds) appetizer.

We strolled along the water that evening, approached a crowd of 20-somethings singing. One young man strummed the guitar and gazed up to his beloved on the balcony. We guessed this was a wedding proposal?

As we approached Agrigento, we saw beautiful preserved temples of Juno and Dionysius perched upon the hill above. Wow! Later, we saw them lit up at night. The archeological museum is well designed. They left lots of viewing space and good lighting to see artifacts from 200 BC -600 AD. Archeologists found dishes, jars and amphoras in cemeteries and cisterns where they had been dumped. That night we danced a bit under the stars to the music of Jobin.

On the road again, we stopped at a grocery store to seek directions. The town was so tiny, how could we have missed the Michelin-praised  restaurant, Monteallegro? The grocer jumped into his car and led us there. What hospitality! We were served scrumptious wild rice balls with melted cheese inside. (Arancini di riso)

In summary, with the Michelin guide as our bible, we ate fine lunches and dinners during our two weeks in Italy. We topped them off with frequent stops at local gelaterias. Common to most menus: pistachios, seafood, almonds, marsala, olives, and fresh ricotta. Something new to me- gelato in a large soft bun!

Selanunte

Home to a Satyr museum dedicated to the finding of one of the oldest Greek statues found in Sicilian waters. It was retrieved in 1997. The bronze statue depicts a long, curly-haired youth with a faraway expression.

We stayed at Il Vigneto Villa among the vineyards. So peaceful there. Just outside our room we could hear the distinctive rustling of the palms bordering our private terrace.

Erice

This Medieval hill town is worth a stroll. So is Monreale, although we reached the town just as the famous cathedral shut its doors! The winding mountain road is gorgeous with views of the irregular coastline and its impressive rock formations. We spotted the Trapani salt harvesting from our bird’s eye view.

Isola Femmine greeted us with gently rolling turquoise waves and a seaside restaurant. Sipping the wine that had been given to us by a previous hotel employee (right after he urged us to praise them on Trip Advisor), we experienced calm before the proverbial storm. The raw fish I had for dinner were- well- squiggly! When we drove along the beach on our way out of town, the water reached 2/3 of the passenger windows. We saw parked cars submerged. An amazing amount of rainfall in a short period of time.

Onto Palermo where we pass the Mafia gathering place in the Palm Hotel. The first night it was hard to relax into the old world ambiance of our Grand Palace Hotel. You see, our phone played a cuckoo-like melody all night long. It was bizarre! They fixed it the next day, but without explanation of cause. At breakfast, I sawed away in an attempt to obtain a slice of smoked salmon. A fellow guest took pity on me, explaining how to use the fish knife to shave off delicate pieces of salmon. Another reminder that I am certainly a work in progress! The rooftop restaurant has a view of the Moorish/Baroque Cathedral. Inside we learned of Blessed Don Giuseppe Puglisi, a priest martyred for his criticism of the Mafia influence in his childhood neighborhood.

I spotted a lovely eggshell white handmade blouse in the window of a shop closed for the siesta. I returned to try it on in the upstairs gallery of the shop. The white embroidery, delicate lacework and silk lining made me feel like a princess. The fact it was too small around the waist made me feel like Cinderella’s stepsister, Dricella.

Rome

What fun to have our son, Mike and his wife, DeeDee meet us here. We shared dinners at our apartment in Trastevere. (felt like expats). One night we needed a lemon, but the nearby stores were closed. I stopped at our local bar and asked to buy the lemon I saw there. The Signor pointed out that it was to make drinks for customers, not for sale. The Signora, gestured for me to come over to the cash register where she whispered, “One Euro” and handed me the lemon.

”Each day we ate breakfast at the apartment then set out to do one worthy thing before lunch. We all knew that after our after-lunch gelato we would want a nap. There are some spots we must see every visit to the Eternal City: The Roman Forum, The Trevi Fountain, The Coliseum, the Tiber, and The Victor Emmanuel Monument. Also these eateries: Orso 80 for brunch, The Romolo Ristorante with the lovely garden,  where Raphael’s mistress lived, and Il Giardino or Nonna Betta’s in the Jewish Quarter. My favorite worthy trek was to The Escher exhibition. It was fabulous. His works exude so much whimsy and imagination.

Eva, who is a Master Gardener, led me once more through the Rome Botanical Gardens. I love the soft green of the bamboo forest there.

While we were waiting to meet our Roman friends Franco and Daniela, I ducked into The Church of the Sacred Heart in Piazza Navona. Lucky me! A boy’s choir was sending heavenly clear notes to heaven during the Mass. The acoustics were impressive.

Spending 2 weeks in Italy allowed me to remember vocabulary words. Being 71 helped me relax and speak Italian like I meant it! I was understood though full of grammatical errors. It was a joy.

Our quest for Rome’s best gelato? Giolitti’s was our Roman friends’ favorite and ours, too. Close runners-up were GROM and Gelateria Fatamorgana. New flavors like sage and whiskey join the traditional nocciola and limone. I loved my milk chocolate and prune gelato.

Trastevere is my favorite section of Rome. I bought a soft, fabric necklace from my favorite shop, Claudio Angeloni. It’s small and enticing. The owner told me she loved the friendliness of the Seattle suppliers. I tried on a bright hand-woven coat from one of these.

Since I lived in Florence in 1963-64 it will always be my “Fiore nel Giardino d’Italia. However, Rome is uniquely romantic. Mike and I danced in Maria di Trastevere Piazza to a live band. We will certainly return, for I tossed a coin into the under-renovation Trevi Fountain.