Book Nook Cafe discussion

I’m glad you saw some dolphins! They are so fun to see :)

Thank you for the welcoming greetings. Glad to be back & able to post again.

Welcome back Madrano. How wonderful to share such a lovely trip with your family.🙂

Hope your sister is doing okay.

Thank you, Barbara. The doctor appointments have ended in a bit of a surprise. For years my sister has withstood trembling hands and shaking legs, which her psychiatrist told her was an unfortunate side effect of one of her effective pills. Now we learn she's been living with a pinched nerve in both her arms/elbows, which can be corrected with surgery. Much has now been explained, so there is relief in sight for her. That is good news!

madrano wrote: "Much has now been explained, so there is relief in sight for her. That is good news! .."

Such good news ! I good reminder on getting second and third medical opinions.

Yes! All those years she learned to live with it. Sad.

That's good news, that surgery can help. Unfortunate she had to suffer so long.

Agreed, Barbara. She has other physical and mental issues which aren't fixable but this improvement will be a relief. I appreciate the interest folks are sharing.

We are having another pleasant trip, this time to western Texas and a bit of New Mexico. As we drove from Abilene to San Angelo we saw a couple of signs that had me wondering if other states have. Atop fencing there were signs informing drivers what kind of cattle they raise. Yesterday it was Charolais and Angus, previously we've also seen Hereford. It's neat.

I was also charmed to enter the town of Bronte, named for British author Charlotte Bronte. Imagine. Later i learned it is pronounced with one syllable, Brawnt, so to say. I guess they knew her but not the peculiarities of the language. One of the next towns was Tennyson, named for Alfred! Love it!

Are you having some Tex-Mex food Madrano? 😊🍺🥙

Barbara wrote: "Are you having some Tex-Mex food Madrano? 😊🍺🥙"

I hope the weather is better than in the midwest- so cold!! Have a good trip!

Barbara, we are! Indeed, we decided we don't have to Mix it up", so that Tex-Mex three days in a row is fine with us. I had a Chili Relleno two nights ago that was bigger than a large man's Hans...and i ate every bite of it. We also ran into a unique item last night. Basically it was the ingredients for fajitas (plus mushrooms), wrapped onto one large 12" across, tortilla. It probably equaled 1 1/2 fajitas, rather than the usual 3-4 per order. And tasty.


Julie, it turned chilly, under 50 all day, yesterday but nothing like what you are experiencing. Skies are mostly blue, too, I hasten to add.

The next two days we are in the town where my father and his mother were born. No kin here, just grave sites and memories.

Madrano wroteI was also charmed to enter the town of Bronte, named for British author Charlotte Bronte. Imagine. Later i learned it is pronounced with one syllable, Brawnt, so to say. I guess they knew her but not the peculiarities of the language. One of the next towns was Tennyson, named for Alfred! Love it!
. ..."

That's neat.

Madrano wrote: "Barbara, we are! Indeed, we decided we don't have to Mix it up", so that Tex-Mex three days in a row is fine with us. I had a Chili Relleno two nights ago that was bigger than a large man's Hans......"

This all sounds so good. 😊

Yikes! The cemetery keeper told me it's supposed to snow here tomorrow. We barely saw 37 today here in Snyder, Texas. We were seeking the gravesites of my paternal ancestors and found them. Then we scattered some of my dad's ashes.

Snyder is a hard hit town, despite their oil and wind production status. It feels as though residents have surrendered. On paper they look good, though--low crime, little college and many restaurants. Yet far too many homes that are lived in look have peeling paint, cluttered yards and dead appliances.

Yesterday we were at the WASP museum in Sweetwater, Texas. The Women Aviator Service Pilots were trained to free up soldier pilots for fighting. The women delivered planes to bases, as well as helped train soldiers for flight service. All women volunteered and were not in the military. Their stories, many of which were shared at the museum were moving, inspirational and full of adventure. Good stop.

Madrano wrote: "We were seeking the gravesites of my paternal ancestors and found them. Then we scattered some of my dad's ashes.

Snyder is a hard hit town, despite their oil and wind production status. It feels as though residents have surrendered. On paper they look good, though--low crime, little college and many restaurants. Yet far too many homes that are lived in look have peeling paint, cluttered yards and dead appliances...."

I'm glad you got there before the snow and were able to honor your father.

:( Sounds like so many towns across the nation.

Yes, we've seen many towns similar but none that seem vibrant but don't seem interested in appearances. Which is fine but selling houses here must be trying, as most neighborhoods seem neglected.

We haven't stayed or visited any town over 20,000 this trip but none seemed as ignored. Maybe they already tried the efforts we've seen in other small towns and failed. It must take much effort.

To be fair, we haven't seen any town as widespread as Snyder, which may be part of the problem-- too much to overhaul. I'm not sure but it's unfortunate.

Tomorrow we head to Midland-Odessa, which is oil country, too. We'll see how that is.

Goodness, I see it’s been 11 months since i posted here. Here’s hoping i can be a tad more faithful this time.

We slept soundly last night, well, the first 4 hours. I was awake the next 3 but out until 9:30. In all, that’s a good night for me. Our B & B is just outside the Vatican walls, which is convenient, as we intend to spend two full days there, as well as a partial day. It’s really the reason we returned to Rome.

We were first here in or around ‘94 and only knew words. Now we are better versed in history and art, so feel better prepared to visit the Vatican Museum, which floored me the first visit, when all i knew about the city was St. Peter’s. We’ll see.

We have 4 keys to “hotel”. One for the gate from the street, one for the building itself, one for the series of 4 connected (but different—same manager) rooms, then one old-fashioned skeleton key for our room. Breakfast is juice, coffee and different breads, so we will purchase some protein today.

The Papal blessing is occurring right now but tickets are required. Now we are going for a long walk to scope out the city. Last night’s walk was to check out the neighborhood. I’ll be back.

This sounds great, Madrano, to be among all the famous artworks and culture. Enjoy! (Maybe get some gelato along the way; I hear it's delicious in Italy.) 😊

Twice today my husband wanted to stop for gelato, Barbara. Only the long Sunday lines stopped him. I’m not a fan of it & he swears that’s just because i have yet to get the “good stuff”. We’ll see.

We intended to just visit a couple of places where we stayed & visited on our first go ‘round but were distracted by a free day at a museum that didn’t exist when were here last. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan%...

We spotted it 25 years ago but were told it was just an old market. As it looked damaged, we thought it might have been a WWII bombed ruin. Nope, just one the archaeologists had barely touched. Now it’s a good instructive museum about architecture of the ancient Roman era. In the distance was the Forum and the more famous ruins. These were quite near Trajan’s Column, which we saw last time.

Tiring walking with many, many stairs, not to mention climbing city hills. The locals were out in force, partly due to the post Christmas sales. We stopped for a meal on the way back, knowing one of us (ok, me!) would be too tired to leave the room again, even for food. While our choice was so so, we were glad we stopped because the nearby restaurants were closed. They face the Vatican Museum, which is closed Sundays, so our options later would have been awful.

Thank you for letting us travel vicariously with you, deb.

Have a wonderful time !

Thank you. I decided to write about some of our experiences here for later use when we finish. Please ignore these if you are not interested. I’ll have the material in one place, rather than on napkins, brochures and other scrapes of paper. Today—

The Vatican

Today we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, surprised by the crowd. As it turns out today is Epiphany, which i knew. What i didn’t know is that in Italy it is a holiday, the day after Befana leaves gifts for good children. I knew about her character but was told it was no longer much celebrated. WRONG! This is 12th Night, considered the last day of the Christian winter holiday season in some countries, including Italy. So, the Basilica was closed because the Pope was inside saying Mass.

However, there was a human-sized crèche which included other visitors beside the Magi—farmer, seller, scrub woman and such. Then there was an Epiphany parade. We’ve attended several in New Orleans, where it is also the first day of the Mardi Gras season, as well at St. Joan d’Arc’s birthday. In N.O. it is a children’s parade, when children parade in costume and pass out favors, homemade & not. ( it is there that we caught a book of matches to celebrate Joan—what?? ‘Tis true.)

ANYway, there was an Epiphany Parade featuring people in Medieval costumes and with symbols of trades and life from that era, including one guy with a small functioning pipe stove which emitted smoke while it “dried clothes”—all upon his shoulders. Also marching were burros, horses and musicians. It was quite a lengthy parade with more adults than children marching. It concluded with a bicycle club waving La Befana paper flags, which they were giving away. Yes, we got one.

The final band had stopped in the Vatican Square, members still atop their horses. Occasionally they struck up a tune. People still milled around, presumably, like us, hoping the Basilica would be open for visits. Slowly we realized most people were facing off to the side, where we saw the Papal Blessing window open & with a small red Papal flag hanging from it. Within minutes Pope Francis was visible, speaking to the gathering, ending with a blessing. Despite not understanding the language, we were quite pleased to have happened upon this event.

Within an hour the Basilica was opened, so we also were able to see the brilliance that is that space, beginning with Michelangelo’s The Pieta. We have been to The Louvre 3 times & never got as close as we were today to this superior work. Feeling Lucky!

From there we saw the red porphyria floor disk on which Charlemagne knelt to be named “Holy Roman Emperor”. It was not originally there but taken from the old basilica where it was near the altar, not in back the way it is now. There are numerous tombs of Popes along the walls which are massive, well high off the floor and quite ornate.

Bernini’s Baldacchino, the Baroque bronze canopy supposedly built over St. Peter’s tomb, although today that seems doubtful. Behind it, on the far wall opposite the entrance is a stained glass dove, a gorgeous work, https://maitaly.files.wordpress.com/2...
We left opposite the Pieta, where another life sized crèche, with moving bits—animals & people—was set. Periodically the lights dimmed in the area & “stars” glowed from the ceiling. Delightful.

In all it was an enchanting day. We are exhausted. Tomorrow we have tickets for the Vatican Museum, which is full of treasures, history, gardens and the Sistine Chapel. We have scheduled two days for that, as last time we were overwhelmed with all there was to see. Yes, we are museum freaks.😊

madrano wrote: "Thank you. I decided to write about some of our experiences here for later use when we finish. Please ignore these if you are not interested. I’ll have the material in one place, rather than on nap..."

Love it ! ♥

Two days at the Vatican Museum sounds wonderful. So much to see. 🙂

Barbara, even with two days we will miss some. Yesterday we spent 6 hours there, left exhausted yet still only covered half. On the way to the Sistine Chapel visitors pass modern day religious art, which didn’t call to us, fortunately. As it stands we return tomorrow!

We’ve left Rome, Naples & Sorrento behind us and are now spending two nights in a trulli https://www.helloapulia.com/en/blog/t...

These conical dwellings are made without mortar and were actually designed for quick knockdowns so residents could avoid paying taxes (& apparently getting killed, as permission was required to live here). They are tough to heat (ask my ice cold body at 10 PM!) but apparently quick to cool in summer. While we’ve seen many in town, nowadays people prefer not to live in them. Many, many are converted to self-serve cottages such as ours.

It’s been different. Under each cone is a room, so our “room” has 3 cones or trullo. We are sitting on the patio this afternoon, soaking in the rays while we can!

I meant to mention that today they are still used in vineyards for growers and rest. Those are lower to the ground with a wider dome. Actually we’ve seen more in olive groves, as that is another major crop.

It’s lovely to sit in the sun and rest after the bustle of the last three weeks. Buona Sera.

They're very pretty and picturesque. But I wouldn't like being cold at night. 😊

madrano wrote: "We’ve left Rome, Naples & Sorrento behind us and are now spending two nights in a trulli https://www.helloapulia.com/en/blog/t...

These conical dwellings are made without mortar and..."


How interesting. I never heard of these dwellings before. Thanks for the link and sharing.

My first night my teeth were chattering at one point, Barbara. Apparently this is a major reason local people don’t stay in them if they can afford to move. Pity.

There is one small window in the bedroom and from 2-5pm the light is strong enough to read by without turning on the electricity. But then, pure dark!

Alias, we first heard of these structures in National Geographic several years ago. Never thought we’d stay in one.

I have cruddy internet today. For some reason my iPad can’t easily connect to the net in the town of Sarteano, near Florence. My husband’s Surface is having no problem, though. I’ve pulled a chair into the bathroom where the connection seems to work! Just wanted to keep you posted on what’s up.

Now for an easy chair!

madrano wrote: "I have cruddy internet today. For some reason my iPad can’t easily connect to the net in the town of Sarteano, near Florence. My husband’s Surface is having no problem, though. I’ve pulled a chair ..."

LOL I once had to sit by a pool bathroom in Florida to get internet.
😊

Too funny, Barbara. The things we do, eh? We are now in Florence with good ‘Net connections but not enough time.

Our feet scream, “Enough art!” We reply, “Is there such a thing?” Even the palace ceilings are wonderfully painted & sculpted.

I had heard of staying in a trullo in this book a few years ago: Incontinent on the Continent: My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy. Sorry to hear of your temperature issues. Still, it sounds like an outstanding trip overall!

John wrote: "I had heard of staying in a trullo in this book a few years ago: Incontinent on the Continent: My Mother, Her Walker, and Our Grand Tour of Italy. Sorry to hear of your temperature i..."

That is some book title, John ! :)

I’m laughing at that title. We aren’t at that stage yet but i like the spirit of it. On this trip we’ve met two other couples who are traveling as we do—for months at a time. We are the only ones who do not own a home to miss, however.

We have lingered in Florence because i caught a cough-y cold. The day we were scheduled to fly, to Brussels via Paris, was my worst coughing day. Rather than risk being put in a 2-week quarantine, our fear, we decided to stay here. The hotel has been most accommodating. We now have a direct flight to Belgium this Wednesday. What timing!

As we visited museums here we’ve seen quite a number of people donning medical-type face masks. However, the number of those hasn’t grown, for what that’s worth.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Deb. This virus is spreading very quickly and is quite scary.

Stores are already seeing a run on non perishables here. I'm stocking up a bit myself. Better safe then sorry if we are told to stay home for a few weeks.

Because we’ve not had any English tv news for over 2 weeks, we only know what’s going on in the States from people we hear from. Yours is the first we’ve heard about stocking up, but it makes sense, just in case.

An American couple who have been working in Kenya the last 3 years are in Florence now. They are headed back to Duke where they will instruct other doctors about what they’ve learned in Africa. However, Duke has asked them to stay quarantined over here for 2 weeks before arriving back. We also learned from them that an Israeli scientist has been working on a vaccine for this virus over 3 years & will be finished within the month. Then testing.

Our hotelier tells us shops are hurting, asking staff to stay home, as there is no work. Dan has noticed significantly smaller crowds since Friday. And cancellations are running rampant. All these are small businesses, so one wonders how long they can hold out.

Meanwhile we fly to Belgium tomorrow. Let’s hope there are no problems.

We made it to Brussels without incident. Staying in the old city was a pleasure. Next we went to Waterloo, learning much about the War of 1812, Wellington and Bonaparte. The homes in which each man stayed prior to the battle have been preserved and hold items from them and their stay.

For the next four nights we are in the nation of Luxembourg. What a lovely, peaceful place. We’ve driven through many smallish towns and have been impressed by the number of fairly recently built homes. Population boom?

Today was a highlight of this leg of our journey, seeing a plaque commemorating one of my dad’s cousins, who died during the Battle of the Bulge. I had previously read his Distinguished Service Cross papers and learned he helped set up observation posts ahead of the infantry. When they were destroyed, he would set up another about 100 yards behind the observer. He made repeated trips “through intense fire to transmit accurate fire data.”

But that’s not how he died there, nor why the plaque is affixed to the church wall in the town of Oberwampach. It acknowledges that Hassel tried to save a boy, Marcell Schilling, who was running across the street as German snipers shot anything that moved. They both were shot and killed on January 17, 1945. I cannot imagine.
https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/m...

Anyway, i wanted to share that here because i know so many of us have read books about that war.

Thank you to your dad's cousin for his brave service.

Nice to hear you're enjoying the trip Madrano. Sounds like a wonderful experience. 🙂

Thank you, Barbara.

We are wondering how our trip will end now. We presume that the virus will have cooled by the time we are scheduled to leave the UK in May. Let’s hope!

Alas & Alack, our luck has run out. Today we learned that Belgium is closing all restaurants. Other nations are doing the same. With closures everywhere, we’ve decided to fly back to the states Sunday. Then i suppose we should self quarantine—can you do that in a hotel?

Ohio banned gatherings of over 100 people yesterday (restaurants, stores and workplaces are some of the exemptions) and closed schools for the next 3 weeks.
Good question about self quarantine in a hotel. I am supposed to go on vacation after easter and and afraid I will get sick or have to quarantine away from home or they will restrict travel and I will be stuck. Let us know what you find out about quarantine if you don't have a house to hide in.

madrano wrote: "Alas & Alack, our luck has run out. Today we learned that Belgium is closing all restaurants. Other nations are doing the same. With closures everywhere, we’ve decided to fly back to the states Sun..."

This must be a big disappointment, but maybe you'll feel more comfortable at home in the circumstances. Though things in the states are in an uproar as well.

madrano wrote: "Alas & Alack, our luck has run out. Today we learned that Belgium is closing all restaurants. Other nations are doing the same. With closures everywhere, we’ve decided to fly back to the states Sun..."

NYC is closing a lot of things. News on this changes by the minute.

Seems like a good time to socially distance oneself. Personally, I don't want to eat in restaurants or get take out. You simply can not know the health of the person who prepared the food. I've stocked up a bit over the last few weeks. Nothing crazy, I live in a small apartment. But I have enough that I don't need to go to stores.

I can still exercise daily:
cardio- go out for exercise walks
weights- I have light weights at home
Stretch- I have a yoga mat
I have exercise DVD's and exercise videos online.

The key for me is to make a daily plan where I can check off each item. Without that, I can see things sliding quickly.

madrano wrote: "Alas & Alack, our luck has run out. Today we learned that Belgium is closing all restaurants. Other nations are doing the same. With closures everywhere, we’ve decided to fly back to the states Sunday. Then i suppose we should self quarantine—can you do that in a hotel?.."

I would think it would be hard to do with others preparing your food and cleaning your room. Unless you are in a long stay hotel with a utility kitchen etc. It's hard to stock up now as a lot of store shelves are quickly emptying.

Maybe rent a place for a while.

I'm sure they could request no one at the hotel clean their room and just have them deliver towels and sheets as necessary. They aren't going to clean with you in the room anyway.

Our library is still open but have cancelled all programs due to the coronovirus. I worked the desk yesterday and the people who came in were not very concerned though it was a very slow day. We did have a few staff call in sick. If our village offices close we will also close.

Julie wrote: "Our library is still open but have cancelled all programs due to the coronovirus...."

Same here.

Thanks for the thoughts. We have not noticed the concern of everyday citizens here. In Italy we saw face masks in many places, not on a large number, however. In Belgium & Luxembourg we saw 3 people at the airport with masks & that’s been it. Every place we’ve wanted to visit has been open & no one seems concerned, even when we ask about it. Obviously governments are concerned, though.

It’s good to know that people in the US are being cautious but not panicked. We usually do stay in a suite with kitchenette, so the only real problem will be getting food to prepare. If you all are seeing sane buying and no in-store masks, it seems we’ll be fine. Of course our family can purchase for us, too.

Great idea about asking the hotel to just deliver linens to us & forego cleaning for awhile. Thanks for that.

We will keep you posted.

Welp. I take that back about libraries here staying open....