mountain escape

This year my Italian planned an unimaginable birthday getaway. Nothing like the surprise trip of two years ago in Tuscany. From Paris we flew to Verona, and drove North, the air more fresh and the scenery more spectacular as the elevation rose. Still, I hadn’t a clue as to our final destination.

The drive was long and winding, until finally the mountains settled upon us.

We drove on until we reached what was to become our home… and our view.

Alpe di Suisi. High up in the Dolomites, elevation of over 2,000 meters. Breathtaking!

Time now to relax and enjoy the views? Not exactly. My Italian had other plans. Ready, set… hike!

And hike we did. My birthday was spent at a height of over 2,500 meters, feeling very accomplished!

The day concluded with a lengthy sauna and gourmet dinner. On all accounts, the perfect birthday.

The next day, feeling rather ambitious, we decided to hike an even greater mountain, Monte Pez.

After nearly 3 hours, we reached Rifugio Bolzano, 2457 meters high, and a well deserved lunch.

I will fondly recall these days spent in the mountains, for many years to come. Forever grateful.

summer celebrations

These days I have much to celebrate. Even simply the path that led me to the city of lights. It’s now nearing 3 years since my move to Paris and the start of my blog, which came to life shortly before that. And inevitably I’m soon to be another year older, on July 29th to be exact. Since Leos love to celebrate, and my Italian knows this well, he has planned a surprise birthday adventure. Four days exploring an unknown landscape. Where, I haven’t a clue, and I am happy not to know. Soon the adventure begins…

For the rest of our time away, I will be sitting beneath the shade of these umbrellas, on the beaches of Monterosso, staring at the sea. Celebrating all that I am grateful for.

lardo di Colonnata

A trip to the marble mountains wouldn’t be complete without a stop to Colonnata, the ancient village which lies in the midst of marble at the feet of the Apuan Alps.

It is not simply this white stone that the village is know for, but another white delicacy called Lardo di Colonnata, pork fat. Having no intention of tasting this particularity, I went in search of gelato.

Needless to say, in this part of Italy, I was limited to savory, not sweet.

As we explored the village beneath the summer sun, we sought shelter at an enoteca. Very innocently the owner asked us if we’d like a little tasting. Of lardo, of course. Well, just once…

Not only was this buttery delicacy mouth-watering, but we were given a lesson in it’s making. Lardo is created by curing strips of fatback with rosemary and other herbs and spices, where it lies beneath marble for many months. Did we order more, with 2 glasses of wine to compliment? But of course!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this local specialty. Not something to eat often, but if you’re a meat eater, certainly something to try at least once. It’s worth a trip up to the mountains!

marble mountains

Do mountains made of marble really exist? But of course. Naturally, in Italy, where most surreal beauty seems to originate. I have observed these white tipped mountain peaks many a time enroute to Monterosso. But it was just recently that I had a chance to explore them up close. The same marble that so many years earlier Michelangelo hand selected for his sculptures.

It was a spontaneous trip. We drove and drove… into the white of Cararra.

Alone on the road. The majesty of the mountains became ours to savour.

Even a few chipped pieces of marble became ours to save. Next stop, Colonnata….

lost in Normandy

Several weeks ago my Italian and I decided to explore the coast of Normandy, beginning (with umbrellas) in Cherbourg. At the exact spot where the Titanic left port exactly 100 years prior.

Guided by a rainbow beneath a gray sky, our adventure began.

Our last trip to Normandy was to the D Day beaches and Honfleur. This was quite a different experience, as we were soon to discover.

Alone on the open road, with only the cows to provide direction.

Until we reached a view that left us speechless.

Still without food and shelter we drove along many an empty street until we reached our gastronomic haven. Along with which came a place to call home, just for the night.

The charm of Auderville was undeniable as we drove all along the coast to Barneville.

We even stopped to visit the home of poet and screenwriter Jacques Prévert in Omonville-la-Petite.

What impressed me most of all were the landscapes.

One of the highest cliffs in Europe with views to eternity.

A terrain wild and uniquely beautiful. Reason enough to become lost in Normandy.

time away

Sometimes it’s important to disconnect and to live in the actual world. Versus the virtual. Those who are social media savvy know exactly what I mean! Feeling the need to connect myself with the living, in the form of my friends and family, I took off a few weeks and flew to New York.

First stop, my favorite place of carousing and chaos… Soho! Freedom tower in the distance.

Many of our days in New York City, with my Italian in tow, were spent in central park, beneath the sun, picnicing with friends or lost within a heavenly gray mist.

I could not wait to explore my old neighborhood, the Lower East Side, bustling with creative energy on every corner. Once a downtown girl… always.

These last few weeks were filled with memories. Precious time spent with my mom, both in the countryside where I was raised and in the city. Copious amounts of culture in the form of ballet, theatre, art, food… THIS is the New York I miss. But in the end, when I ran from one rendezvous to the next, catching up on lives from across the sea, wondering how I had managed to live for so long is this frenetic city, it dawned on me. A city is indeed a composition of it’s offerings but, most importantly, it’s people. And many of these people remain very dear to me.

Already, I look forward to the next visit. While happy to call Paris home.

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