Amsterdam in Early Spring

Put together two words - Amsterdam and spring – and most of us immediately conjure up images of colorful tulips in bloom.   But what happens when you arrive in early spring after a period of unusually cold, rainy, windy weather in the Netherlands?  Well, what happens is that the tulip fields are not yet in bloom and the only tulips to be seen are cut stems in the marketplace and shops, or tulips planted in a protected pots. 

One sure place to find tulips in bloom is at Amsterdam’s Tulip Museum. The shop full of flowers, bulbs, and tulip themed merchandise is a great place to browse or pick up beautiful souvenirs.

One of the many houseboats that can be found along Amsterdam’s canals.

 If seeing tulips is the main reason for a trip, then best not to plan a late March arrival.  Locals told me the blooms would appear in about three weeks, which meant not until mid-April.   But, the first rule of travel is flexibility and not letting any single thing determine the success of a trip.  Tulips in bloom or not, Amsterdam is a fabulous city.

 My early spring visit was still full of color.  The long stems of tulip buds in the market provided a hint of the color to come. 

New green leaves and delicate pink flowers were emerging on trees. Tiny purple flowers peaked up in planting beds and a spectrum of greens spilled out of the flower pots on the steps leading up to those tall, narrow Dutch houses.

The palest of pink flowers in bloom on this tree just outside of Vondelpark in Amsterdam.

 And then there were the spring time yellows.  Forsythia were in bloom throughout Amsterdam in late March, an especially welcome sight on a cold misty morning in Vondelpark.

And all those daffodils!  Bright sunny yellow ones popping up all over town- in planting beds and in beautiful Vondelpark.   

Does anything say spring better than daffodils?

An early morning walk through the park presented a perfect sense of early spring in Amsterdam.   

 One of these years I will return later in spring to see the fields of tulips in bloom, but this year I was quite content to see the colors of early spring in Amsterdam.

A Canal Trip Through Amsterdam

This is definitely not Italy!

There is no place quite like Amsterdam. Walking past rows of tall, narrow houses with unique roof lines, hoists for moving goods up to the top floors, and small stoops leading to pretty front doors, Amsterdam is a city that can not be mistaken for any other place.

Add in the canals and those lovely stone and iron bridges and it’s hard to go three steps without stopping to take a photo. But watch out - there are thousands (no exaggeration) of locals on bicycles and they fly around the streets with little thought for unwary pedestrians.

Walking around the city can be anxiety provoking with all those bicycles. A much more relaxing way to get a feel for Amsterdam is on a canal cruise. There are plenty of options, including large boats with indoor seating, open boats, and cruises that include bars or meals.

I was looking for something a little different, a bit smaller and more personalized. Captain Dave’s Early Morning Canal Cruise sounded just right. At 40€ for a 90 minute cruise it also sounded like quite a bargain.

Captain Dave at the wheel

The boat is a historic wooden boat from 1928. Originally named the Havenbeheer, it was a port boat owned by the Dutch government. Its history includes carrying dignitaries and royalty along Amsterdam’s canals. For many years it was a favorite of one of Amsterdam’s mayors. The boat fell into disrepair and sat unused, but in 2021 was purchased by Captain Dave, restored, and converted to electric power. Renamed the Jonckvrouw, today it carries 12 passengers in comfort - the cabin has upholstered benches and a heater (the warmth was much appreciated on a cold and windy day in March). The main cabin is covered, has big windows and a glass roof that opens in good weather. There is also a small outside seating area at the back of the boat.

Captain Dave even has good coffee, tea, and sweet bread - perfect for a morning cruise.

The comfortable main cabin

The Jonckvrouw Is small enough to enter both the large and small canals of Amsterdam. It glides past the tall houses that so characterize this unique city. It goes past ancient churches, landmarks of Amsterdam’s commercial history, under beautiful bridges, in front of the narrowest houses, and past those windows with the red curtains drawn (the Captain will explain the goings on behind those curtains for anyone who doesn’t know).

Throughout the 90 minute excursion the captain tells stories of Amsterdam’s history, architecture, and culture as well as about his own experience growing up along these canals. And - cover the children’s ears - he has a sailor’s salty language and a fabulous sense of humor.

Amsterdam from the boat’s window

Canal cruising with Captain Dave on the Jonckvrouw was a highlight of the few days I spent in Amsterdam before the start of a Viking Rhine River Cruise. More about that cruise coming up!

Blue Skies and a Perfect day in Sant’Andrea di Compito

The countryside around Lucca, Italy is dotted with beautiful villas and interesting small towns. One inviting place to visit is the medieval borgo (village) of Sant’Andrea di Compito which sits along a small stream and up a gentle hill, about 10 km (about 6 miles) outside of Lucca.

Sunny skies, the sound of water in the stream, and birds singing all contributed to a perfect March day in Sant’Andrea di Compito

Known as the Borgo delle Camelie, Sant’Andrea di Compito plays host each March to a festival showcasing an astounding collection of ancient camellia bushes, both the ornamental variety and the variety used for making tea. In fact, Italy’s only tea field (actually a walled garden, the Antico Chiusa Borrini) can be found here.

I visited Sant’Andrea during the annual Camellia Festival in 2018 and again in 2019 but had not returned since the lifting of pandemic restrictions. It was definitely past time for a return visit! So, along with a few friends, I set off for Sant’Andrea di Compito on a sunny spring-like morning. The village was just as charming as I remembered and the bright blue skies provided the perfect backdrop for wandering through the winding medieval streets.

Two previous blog posts tell the story of the Camellias (see links at bottom of page) so today I will use few words but lots of photos to describe this enchanting medieval village.

The streets of Sant’Andrea are lined with stone walls, rustic wood fences, lovely homes, historical towers, churches and, of course, flowers.

The walled garden of the Villa Borrini is an intimate, serene space. The Borrini family planted these Camellias nearly 200 years ago. Signage, in Italian and English, gives the name and description of each variety along with the date planted.

As if all of this floral beauty were not enough, near the entrance to town runs a small stream, crossed by a stone bridge, and tumbling down the hillside. Follow it along to the Camellietum Compitese - a virtual forest of Camellia trees. Somehow I had missed the Camellietum on my previous visits, so finding it on this visit was a delightful surprise.

The Camellietum is home to flowering Camellias in a spectrum of colors from the palest white to the deepest red and all shades in between. There are solid colors, variegated ones, even flowers that seem to have brushstrokes of color. The petal shapes vary as do the central colors and sizes. It was hard to choose a favorite, although I was most drawn to the endless shades of pink.

The large bushes meander along paths up the hillside and along the stream. There is even a market where the plants are sold (or, as their signage says, adopted).

The only problem - neither myself nor any of my friends have gardens here in Lucca, so our longing to buy some plants went unrealized. No matter, we enjoyed “shopping” for our favorite varieties and imagining that we might someday have a spot to plant them.

Gardeners and flower lovers flock to town during the Camellia Festival. For me the flowers are a bonus, a beautiful bonus, but the real star is the village itself.

For further information about the village of Sant’Andrea di Compito and the Camellia Festival:

https://www.twopartsitaly.com/blog/2018/3/25/santandrea-di-compito-borgo-delle-camelie and https://www.twopartsitaly.com/blog/2019/3/24/tea-and-camillias-in-tuscany

Almost Spring in Lucca 2023

Much as we may wish it, it is not quite spring here in Lucca.

 Europe has not yet “sprung forward” to daylight saving time (not until March 26th).  That means we don’t have the extended evening daylight hours that have already arrived in the United States, so evening still comes relatively early.  But the days are getting longer and sunset is now around 6:30 pm - perfect for evening walks along Lucca’s walls to watch the sky turn colors as the sun sets.  

6 pm in Lucca, March 2023

Mornings and evenings are still quite chilly, requiring jackets and scarves.  This is Italy after all, and we wouldn’t want to risk a colpo d’aria – that hit of cold air that would surely make us ill!  Best to keep that scarf on for now.

 But, despite some windy and chilly mornings, the last few days have brought us tantalizingly close to spring.   Not quite winter, not quite spring, the days are now spring-ish.  Is there is an Italian equivalent to the ending “ish”?  If so, I have not yet found it.  Quasi = almost, cerca = near, both are close but not quite the same as “ish”.    The word primaverile perhaps comes closest but is still not quite descriptive of this spring-ish season.

Early blooms in the Orto Botanico, Lucca’s Botanic Garden

 The early afternoon warm sun brings people out to sit on Lucca’s wall, turning faces to the sun.

It means it is time to shrug off the jacket and enjoy lunch outside on a piazza. 

 It means the beginning of “spritz season” when an afternoon drink changes from a wintery red wine to a sunny orange-colored aperol spritz.

It means trees and wildflowers starting to bloom in gardens and along the walls of Lucca.

It means fat asparagus and slender agretti showing up in the markets.  Inspiration for lighter dishes!

 It also means that the Magnolia tree planted by my neighbors has just erupted into flower, giving me a wonderful view from the window above my desk.  Grazie mille new neighbors!

I am looking forward to warmer weather, spring flowers, sun on my face, outdoor fun, longer days, April visitors, Easter, and hopefully tulips in bloom when I visit Amsterdam later this month.  

But right now, I am just happy to enjoy a spring-ish day in Lucca.

The view from my window. Thanks to my new neighbors for this lovely Magnolia tree!

The Booksellers of Pontremoli

The image of an itinerant bookseller stands outside a bookshop in Pontremoli

Imagine a time, in the centuries before printing was established, when books where hard to come by.   This was certainly the situation long ago in the remote and mountainous areas of Northern Italy. Printing of books did not arrive to the area until the late 15th century. What a miracle those early books must have seemed!

In the 16th century, itinerant booksellers began to travel from town to town, carrying baskets full of books. They reached the small hamlets throughout northern Italy, even venturing all the way to Germany, setting up temporary stalls to sell books.

These traveling booksellers came from the Lunigiana region of northern Tuscany, particularly from the towns of Pontremoli and Montereggio.  The selling of books became a family business, a tradition passed down from generation to generation.  Over time the work of the booksellers became more established. Today, many bookstores in northern and central Italy can trace their roots back to Pontremoli’s traveling booksellers.

I first noticed the books of Pontremoli in this stairwell leading up to the apartment I was renting.

I didn’t know much about this history before I visited Pontremoli last fall.  I was immediately struck by the fact that books were everywhere.  Books filled nooks along the staircase in the Airbnb apartment where I stayed.  Books sat outside shops in small baskets, payment on the honor system.  Books lined shelves in cafes and restaurants.  There was also a large shop selling new and used books in Piazza della Repubblica, right in the heart of the historic center.  Pontremoli seemed to be a city of books.

Just off Piazza della Repubblica was a courtyard filled with benches sculpted in the form of open books.  Each had a date, a title, an author’s name, and a snippet of text.  A similar book bench was found in the courtyard of the Piagnaro Castle high above town.  Curious!

New and used books displayed below an sign for the 2005 Premio Bancarella

A bit of investigation revealed that the book benches were related to an annual literary prize, The Premio Bancarella, awarded each summer in the city of Pontremoli. 

The prize has its roots in the city’s history of booksellers.  In fact, the Premio Bancarella is the only literary prize awarded by a committee made up exclusively of booksellers.  Unlike publishers and literary scholars, the booksellers know which books are popular with their customers, which ones are most in demand.  The prize is a connection from author to bookseller to reader.  And the term Bancarella, meaning stall, reflects those early booksellers who set up stalls in the smallest of towns.

Each year since 1952 a panel of booksellers has met to award the prize.  The first year the prize was awarded in nearby Montereggio. That year the winner was Hemingway for The Old Man and the Sea.  Since then the prize has been awarded each year in Pontremoli. The list of winners include Italian literary figures and authors from around the globe. 

In 2006 a category for books related to food was added, The Premio Bancarella della Cucina.  That may explain the large number of cookbooks found in the bookshop near where the prizes are awarded.

There are many things to love about Pontremoli, but the fact that the town is full of books is an added bonus.

A glimpse inside a Pontremoli book shop selling new and used books in a variety of genres