Ten Things to Like About Europe

Europe was fantastic! It is difficult to summarize one of the most sensational times of my life, and I don't use the word sensational lightly. In Europe, all of my sensory faculties were exercised in new ways: Textures, colors, sights, sounds and scents-- there is really just no way to report the dynamism of this adventure in one blog post. I've grappled with how to share this great experience, and I've landed on this: Just to share a few of my most immediate and casual perceptions of Venice, Koper, Dubrovnik,  Korfu, Olympia and Myconos.

While we wined and dined delightfully throughout our trip, food and wine wasn't the focus. Since this is technically a food blog, though, I'll lead this list with that topic:

 

 1.  The fish along the Mediterranean is impeccable. Fishing is, of course, serious business there, and every bite is served at it's peak of freshness.  We had wonderful fish and seafood every day, and sometimes two or three times a day. In Oregon, we live about an hour's drive from the Pacific Ocean, but we rarely get fish as beautiful and tasting-of-the-sea as this. What a lovely treat.

2.  Graffiti happens. EVERYWHERE. Even on the 400-year-old  Ponte de Rialto, the oldest bridge spanning the Grand Canal in Venice. What you must remember is that 400 years is pretty young by European standards.

Graffiti happens in Koper, Slovenia, above and below:

And in Dubrovnic, Croatia.

I wonder if we globally embraced graffiti as the public art form it is most often intended to be, if it might not just go away. Maybe. Or not. Maybe we just have to get used to it as a part of every landscape.

3. The US Postal Service might not have to raise its rates if we took a tip form the Italians. The three people from right to left in the above photo...

...Il Postino. Yes, postal workers. No uniforms. They wear whatever they please, at no cost to the Italian government. Shrewd. And, they just hop onto the water-bus (vaporetto) to make their appointed rounds.

4. Men in Italy don't have haircuts, they have hair-dos,

and apparently, the more hair the better.

This young fellow is getting an early start at the man-do. This is something I really enjoyed about Italy!

5. Italians take good and beautiful footwear very seriously. Starting, again, at a very young age. These silver sneakers were on the feet of a little girl about a year old,

and these sliver sneakers were on a man about 60 years old!

I didn't want to appear too voyeuristic, so I didn't get all the photos I wanted of great footwear,

but these were my very most favorite of all the great shoes I saw. Metallic is "in" the whole world over, it seems. (As is a nice pedicure!)

6. If the grandeur and heft of buildings are a reflection of a people,

we in the US we should start to worry. It's not just the fortifications and cathedrals that are built to last, but houses, too.

I guess rooftop air conditioning units aren't necessary when your walls are stone two or three feet thick.

The ruins in Olympia make me wonder how much of any building in my town will be standing after nearly 4000 years.

7. I'm so glad I read the book City of the Falling Angels by John Berendt before going to Venice. It gave things like the Gran Teatro La Fenice,

and this Murano glass figurine blown before our eyes depth and interest, and linked Venice's rich and colorful history with the people of today.

8. Like interesting shoes...

... eye wear is pretty important to Italians.

I think these clear lucite frames in a shop window are wonderful,

and if you look closely to this shop window, bizarre and wildly creative frames will emerge.

I wish I had the presence to wear something like this (not to mention the bank account to support an eyeglass habit!)

All the eye wear I saw, both on faces and in windows, was anything but subtle.

9. Sunrises all around the globe are worth waking up early for.

10. People and their dogs...

...look alike...

...the world over!

A huge thank you, Nancy, for making this extraordinarily memorable time possible, 

and to Ebba Jo, Marti and Luc 

for providing such wonderful companionship.

And a big hug to you, My Baby, for providing me entree to these wonderful people and this delicious experience!