A brief period of blue sky in Amsterdam during the last week of March 2023

Amsterdam in Early Spring

April 10, 2023 by Joanne Bartram in #amsterdam, Netherlands, Walking, Travel, travel amsterdam

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.

Fattoria di Fubbiano - A Winery with Tuscan Views

June 11, 2018 by Joanne Bartram in Tuscany, Lucca, Italy travel, Walking, Italy, Travel, Wine, Cooking

If you close your eyes and picture the perfect Tuscan landscape, what comes to mind will likely look a lot like the area surrounding the Fattoria di Fubbiano. If your picture includes rolling hills, tall cedars, ancient farmsteads, vineyards, olive groves, and a small hill town in the distance, then you have it just right.

The direct translation of the Italian word fattoria is farm - but direct translations don't always capture the essence of a word. A fattoria can be anyplace involved in agriculture - from the classic farm with rows of vegetables and barnyard animals to a terraced hillside where grapes and olives are grown. The Fattoria di Fubbiano is the latter - 130 some acres of vineyards and olive groves tucked into the hills 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Lucca just below the hilltop town of San Gennaro.

A fattoria has existed in this spot for a long time - the property dates to the late 1600s. Local tax records list an even earlier date for the first cultivation of vines and olive trees here. Ownership of the fattoria has changed hands many times, with the current owners purchasing the antique property in 2002. They have since restored the fattoria buildings and original villa, converted some buildings into guest quarters and tended the gardens and view terraces.

The biggest project was the construction of a new and very modern cantina. This is where the harvested grapes arrive and where the Fubbiano wines are produced and bottled. The original cantina, a beautiful building with arching brick ceilings, now serves as an events space.

Several wines are produced at Fattoria di Fubbiano, including three reds, two whites, and a Vin Santo. All are DOC-certified (which assures place of origin as being from the Lucchese hills, as well as variety of grape and quality). Also produced is a rosé (labeled Schiller, the name of the family that owns the fattoria) and a super Tuscan (labeled I Pampini and a personal favorite). Along with these excellent wines, the grapes are used to produce grappa and a wine vinegar. The wines are well respected locally and internationally. Thirty percent of the produced wines are exported to the United States.

My visit to the Fattoria di Fubbiano was to tour the grounds and winery and then to participate in a cooking class in the old cantina building. The winery tour was informative and interesting (even if it was hard not to be distracted by the amazing views of the surrounding vineyards and hillsides). The cooking class, offered as an afternoon cultural excursion by Lucca Italian School, was a delight. Together we prepared an appetizer of fried zucchini flowers with a filling of ricotta, basil, and pecorino cheese, a handmade-filled pasta (Tordelli Lucchese), a fragrant roasted pork, and a classic local dessert (Zuppa Lucchese).

After the meal prep was complete, our group of about 20 shared an aperitivo of Fubbiano wines and the crisp, melt-in-your-mouth zucchini flowers out on a wisteria-covered terrace overlooking a stunning Tuscan landscape. Sitting on that terrace in the soft light of a spring evening, sipping wine, and talking to the interesting people who come to Lucca to study Italian, was a special kind of wonderful.

Eventually we went back inside to eat the meal we had prepared. We dressed our salads with olive oil and vinegar from the fattoria, and had some of the white and red Fubbiano wines to accompany our dinner. Everyone agreed that all of the work to prepare the meal was well worth the effort, producing a delicious cena (dinner). Cooking classes are always a highlight of my time in Lucca and when combined with the setting of this characteristic Tuscan fattoria, they are especially wonderful. -post by JMB

A cooking class in the old cantina, Fattoria di Fubbiano

Contact information:

Fattoria di Fubbiano 55010 San Gennaro, Lucca, Italy. Website: Fattoria di Fubbiano.it

Lucca Italian School. Via dei Bacchettoni, 25 55100 Lucca, Italy Website: luccaitalianschool.com

The Seven Churches of Santo Stefano

August 14, 2017 by Joanne Bartram in Bologna, Cooking, Churches Italy, Travel, Walking

Church of the Crucifix, Basilica of Santo Stefano, Bologna.

I'm drawn to churches in Italy. There is something peaceful and spiritual about them. The coolness, the quiet, the dim light, the candles - all invoke a sense of calm and of one's place in the greater universe. I've probably lit 1,000 candles in churches big and small all across Italy - a nod to my Catholic upbringing - somehow those small flames seem to guide hopes and prayers on their way.

And then there is the art. I love the fading frescoes, the sculptures, the biblical stories told in paintings, the carved crucifixes, the Madonnas. And while I don't consider myself particularly religious, I find all of these tremendously meaningful.

Museum, Santo Stefano, Bologna

Fresco, Santo Stefano, Bologna

Chapel, Santo Stefano, Bologna

Intricate brickwork in the Pilate's Courtyard, between two of the churches in the Santo Stefano complex.

Perhaps the most amazing church I've visited in Italy isn't a single church at all but rather the Sette Chiese (Seven Churches) of the Basilica of Santo Stefano in Bologna. Parts of this series of interconnected chapels date to the 5th century and were likely built on the site of a fresh water spring and over a former temple to the Goddess Isis. Originally seven churches, changes throughout the centuries have resulted in the current four churches: Church of the Crucifix (the largest in the complex), Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Church of Saints Vitale & Agricola (local martyrs), and Church of the Trinity (or Martyrium).

Along with the four churches there are smaller chapels, the Pilate's courtyard with its intricate brickwork, a cloister with a central well and arcaded second story logia, and a small museum/gift shop.

Cloister Courtyard, Santo Stefano, Bologna

The whole series of churches is fascinating and each one is unique, but it was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the oldest part of the complex) that most intrigued me. It is a dark space, small and round yet quite tall with rising columns, arched windows high up in the cylindrical walls, and a domed brick ceiling. In the center is a carved stone structure that is part tomb (intended for the now absent Saint Petronio), part altar, part spiral staircase, all topped with a simple crucifix. There are beautiful stone carvings and a small opening into the tomb space itself (I actually watched a tourist climb into the tomb opening but I decided not to follow!). This space is mystical and somewhat eerie - the air just feels different in here, filled with a presence that is not quite visible. Perhaps it is the distant echos of those early worshipers.

The Basilica of Santo Stefano is about a 10-minute walk from Piazza Maggiore and sits on a lovely triangular piazza at the end of Via Santo Stefano. It offers a unique experience, different from some of the more famous churches in Italy which get considerably more visitors. Its a worthwhile stop on any visit to Bologna. -post by JB

Natural History - Mount Etna

February 02, 2017 by Judy Giannnettino in Sicily, Walking

The volcano giveth and the volcano taketh away. That is an extremely abbreviated version of the story of Mount Etna, the extremely large, extremely active and extremely important volcano in eastern Sicily.

I spent eight days in Sicily last September, traveling from Palermo in the northwest to Catania in the east, and being awed by Monreale and Agrigento in between. I'll write more about Monreale and Agrigento in future posts. Today I'll focus on Etna, which looms over the city of Catania.

Mount Etna is huge. It is an active volcano - one of the most active in the world, the experts say - and covers more than 450 square miles. It has been growing for about 500,000 years! In the photo above, you can see Etna blowing smoke from one of her mouths. In the foreground is lava rock from an eruption this century. A month before I was there, a new "active pit crater" was seen by one of the volcanologists who keep a very close eye on Etna every day.

During my recent visit (as part of a tour with the wonderful company Classic Journeys - I'll also blog in the future about whether to visit Italy independently or as part of a tour - I've done both), we hiked Mount Etna. Not to the top - the volcano has an elevation of almost 11,000 feet - but up one section. Along the way, we came across the remains of a hotel buried by lava during the eruption I mentioned earlier. You can see the hotel roof in the photo below. Fortunately, no one died in that eruption. Still, the volcano taketh.

We also came across a local man in September who had been gathering porcini from the fertile land for his lunch. About 25 percent of Sicily's population lives on the slopes of Mount Etna. The volcano provides not only the benefit of fertile land to Sicilians but also the benefit of tourism (all we hikers need to eat, use the restroom, buy souvenirs, etc.). The volcano giveth.

A Sicilian man shows off the porcini he gathered from Mount Etna for his lunch, protected on his walk home by a cover of ferns. September 2016.

As we hiked up the volcano, it was hard to believe anything could grow on the black expanse we covered. It was even harder to believe that Etna is active nearly every day - not spewing-lava active but churning active (I think of it as a stomach growling).

About two months after walking on Etna, I read this on a website dedicated to volcanoes: "Etna volcano update: Signs of unrest increase." Etna, the site said, "is showing signs of becoming more active again: Over the past few weeks, emissions of gas, steam and sometimes perhaps some dilute ash from the main vent ... have increased. In addition, intermittent weak glow can be detected from the same vent at night."

Volcanologists say the first documented Eta explosion was in 1500 B.C. Its most powerful was in 1669. Its longest in the late 1970s (it lasted for more than a decade), and its latest began in 2007. I hope Etna does not erupt soon but I know it will again, changing forever the landscape that I and my fellow travelers were lucky enough to see and experience in September. -post by JG

Italy is not just home to active volcanoes. As a documentary shared by an Italian acquaintance in Albuquerque notes, Italy "is a turbulent land, geologically." In the past year, a series of earthquakes has shaken the country. The Apennines region experienced half a dozen tremors from August to October. Hundreds of people died, thousands of others were left homeless and historic buildings were destroyed. Earlier this month, a luxury hotel in the region of Abruzzo was hit by a 120,000-ton avalanche. Twenty-nine people were killed. If you love Italy like I do, and want to help with relief efforts, you can donate to: the Italy Earthquake Relief Fund started by GlobalGiving, the Italian Red Cross, or a rebuilding fund started by the National Italian American Foundation.

Outside the Great Walls of Lucca

January 12, 2017 by Judy Giannnettino in Walking, Lucca

When I've been in Lucca before, I've only ventured outside the walls of the city to walk to the train station. So on my recent trip, I wanted to see what was beyond the imposing walls constructed in the 15th and 16th centuries - especially after I tasted a dessert from a pasticceria in the Borgo Giannotti neighborhood. (Pastry is a powerful motivator!)

Outside the walls of Lucca, January 2017.

The historic center of Lucca is within the walls, which were built to defend the city and remain intact today. The walls are essentially a 4-kilometer-long (almost 2.5-mile) park for residents and visitors alike. Biking, walking, jogging, sitting and watching other people bike, walk and jog - it all takes place on the walls.

Heading out the northern Porta Santa Maria exit from the historic center, there is an underground passageway to Borgo Giannotti, a typical Italian neighborhood with tiny restaurants, bakeries, a flower shop, butcher and other small businesses lining the main street.

Flowers brighten a winter day in Borgo Giannotti just outside the walls of Lucca, January 2017.

It's an easy and interesting walk along a road that is heavily trafficked by cars - something that does not happen inside the walls of Lucca because cars are only allowed in certain areas and often only for certain reasons such as loading and unloading.

The destination on the walk Joanne and I took near the end of our December 2016/January 2017 trip to Lucca was Pasticceria Sandra, L'Angolo Dolce. Friends had brought us a cream-and-raspberry torta from there earlier in the week (read all about it in Joanne's earlier post, Pranzo con Amici).

Pasticceria Sandra, L'Angolo Dolce - culinary craftsmanship at its best. — Pasticceria Sandra, L'Angolo Dolce - culinary craftsmanship at its best.

The pasticceria is small. What it lacks in size, it makes up for in creativity and culinary craftsmanship. A glass display case in the center of the shop holds dozens of delectable delights, including cakes, cupcakes, miniature pastries, panini (sandwiches) and more. Each one has been created as a unique piece of edible art. At the back of the shop is a coffee bar. Joanne and I each ordered a mid-morning cornetto con crema and cappuccino. The cornetti (that's the plural of cornetto, which is like a croissant) were perfectly flaky and buttery and filled in the center with a soft cream that was not too rich but sufficiently sweet.

Fortified by coffee and sugar, we hit the road again, following it through Borgo Giannotti to the River Serchio, which flows toward the Ligurian Sea. Walking/biking paths run alongside the river and on a clear day like we had, there is a nice view of the Tuscan hills in the distance. I love to explore, and this easy walk through Borgo Giannotti was a nice way to spend part of a day. I spied a church on a hill to the north of the river, and now I'm looking forward to exploring it on my next visit!

-post by JG