The Thursday Ramble: Farewells and Firsts of Travel

I said farewell to a loyal and faithful travel companion in Rome. As Shakespeare wrote "parting is such bittersweet sorrow." Big Grey my 24 inch Delsey roller bag had been with me for dozens of trips. We first went to Europe in 2007, so 19 years. It was a four wheel design, the first of that style that I had owned. It was not huge, but large and oversized for a 24 inch design. If I was careful I could pack for two weeks of travel in it. Over the years I have owned larger and smaller bags, but Big Grey was a constant for many-many trips. 

When we arrived in Italy, we took a local train from the port into Rome. The train parked at the far end of the tracks at Termini, a good 20 minutes of walking, and rolling bags to the front of the station and the taxi stand. Big Grey was heavily loaded, and had my smaller carry on on top, and one the wheels overheated and the rubber on one of the wheels failed. I have had this happen before, on less well made bags that were much newer. 

Big Grey had been a faithful travel companion on many-many trips. It was one bag I knew I could grab, pack for a week or two, and go.  When the wheels go, the bag goes from being rolled, to being dragged, at least in part. We made it to the hotel, and I thought about it overnight, probably losing sleep over the thought of dragging Big Grey through train stations and airports. On the way back from lunch the next day, I wandered into one of the dozens shops along the Borgo Pio, and they had luggage for sale. Cheap luggage is always a crapshoot, but I knew it was time to part with Big Grey, so Big Yellow entered my life. I repacked, took the old bag down to the front desk, they assured me they would find a dignified way to dispose of him. The memories live on, but Big Grey is no longer a part of my life. Eternity in Rome, there are worse places to end up for my old traveling companion. 

We flew Austrian Airlines from Milan to Vienna and Vienna to Paris. I checked us in on the App for both flights. In Milan we checked in at the counter and checked bags, and the nice lady printed out boarding passes. When we were leaving Vienna, we checked bags a the kiosk, and did the bad drop electronically. There was no option to print boarding passes. We used the electronic boarding passes to enter security and to board the flight. A first for me. I have always printed boarding passes at home, or at the airport, but never traveled completely paperless.  It worked. I am no luddite, but paper never fails, I have had phones fail. Still it was a first for me, and it worked.  The Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Paris was operated by Air Baltic, the service was wonderful, the flight comfortable and easy, and we landed at the Terminal 1 at Charles De Gaulle. It is the one with the moving sidewalks in the glass tubes in the middle. I had been through that terminal back in 1991 on my first arrival in Paris. It is a unique architectural experience. Sweet Bear had seen photos but never experienced it.   A couple of nice firsts. 

My World of Wonders: Wednesday June 3, 2026

What about the day? My mother's birthday was June 3rd, or was it the 4th, over 60 years of marriage my father never remembered it exactly. She would be 99 this week, if she were still alive. 

What about this year? My grandparents on my father's side, were married in August of 1926, I have five of the six chairs from a dining room set that they bought before they were married, those chairs are 100 years old this summer.  

What have I been up to in the kitchen? Oh my, I poached a chicken yielding chicken stock, and chicken for a pie (think shepherds pie but made with chopped chicken,) I baked bread, made pastry and a lemon tart with homemade lemon curd. A simple dinner of smoked sausage, baked beans, and coleslaw. Swiss steak and roast potatoes. Chicken stuffed with ham and cheese, rice and salad with homemade vinaigrette. 

Who have a talked with? Paul, Amy, Susan, Giuseppe, my Sweet Bear, Ana, Veronica, Jon, Joan, Warren, Marcel, Erica, Izzy, Scott. 

What have I been reading? Roman Ivory, a historical novel. Diddly Squat The Farmers Dog, 

What adventure am I planning? Travel for a conference at Syracuse in early October. We are going to do it as a road trip. 

Where have I been this week? The library, the grocery store, the gas station, the farmers market, the treadmill at the gym, the pool deck for the outside pool, the indoor pool, into DC to my old office, and a long walk across town. 

What to avoid when on the grand adventure? Anyplace being hyped by the "influencers." The business are easy to spot, people are standing in line, waiting to get in for "the best I have ever had anyplace" that someone decided to post about. Before we left friends emailed me the must go to restaurants and gelato shops. When they ask if I went there, the answer is simply we stopped at places that looked good, and had no wait to get in. Social Media influencers ruin great businesses by overwhelming them with crowds of people in search of the "best in a lifetime." Avoid those businesses like the plague. 

 

Travel Tuesday: Ponta Delgada, Azores

This was our first visit to the Azores, a group of islands about 600 miles west of Portugal, politically a part of Portugal. The ship arrived in the morning and left around dinner time. It was delightful, we walked for a couple of hours, had coffee and pastries in a funky coffee shop in what looked like a former pharmacy, and did a little shopping. 

May of the sidewalks are paved with volcanic rock, inset with limestone in geometric patterns. 

The smell of the ripe pineapples was amazing. 

Sailing out of the harbor at the end of the day. 

 

Monday Mood: Settling Back Into Routine

First: A Very Happy Birthday to John over at Going Gently. 

Many experts agree that it takes a day, to adjust for every hour of change in time zone, add to that arriving home with a serious head cold, it has taken me a couple of weeks to settle back into a routine. And that is fine. It is so nice to return and not have to go back to the office. I can take my time and settle in. 

We have done a lot of grocery shopping since we returned home, we largely emptied the refrigerator before we left (I even took all of the drawers and shelves out of the refrigerator and washed them before we left.) We have been restocking, and I have been playing in the kitchen. Having fun. Some of it is inspired by things we enjoyed while away, some of it is just playing.  We had a dear neighbor over for dinner one evening last week. His husband died shortly before we left.  I cooked and baked much of the day. He said it was his first home cooked meal since his hubby died. He enjoyed the dinner, and I had the double fun of having enjoyed the day of making it. I wish I knew how to inspire others to enjoy playing in the kitchen. 

Way back in the mid 1980's I started wearing colorful patterned socks. Someone at the office made a remark about them. I said the first thing that came to mind, "the routine things in life, need not be boring." So as a settle into a normal routine, it will not be boring.  

The Sunday Five: Boulangerie

1: What pastry are you most likely to order? 

2: Coffee, tea, or other? 

3: How close is the nearest French bakery to where you live? 

4: Have you ever taken a box of pastries back to a hotel room? 

5: When was the last time you baked bread? 

My answers: 

1: What pastry are you most likely to order? Cherry. 

2: Coffee, tea, or other? Coffee, cold if available. 

3: How close is the nearest French bakery to where you live? King Street and US-1, about a mile and half away. 

4: Have you ever taken a box of pastries back to a hotel room? Yes, one of the great pleasures of travel. I keep forks in my travel kit. 

5: When was the last time you baked bread? Thursday, we had a friend over for dinner and I felt like baking. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

Saturday Morning Post: Always Ready to Create

Our minds are always ready to create. To play a familiar tune, maybe in a new way, to tell a tale, to paint from the heart, to sculpt, to shape clay, to draw.  To do this we need time and to give ourselves permission to create. To free our minds from the shoulda, coulda, oughta, thought that stifles our creativity. To let go, and let it flow. 

It is interesting the first violin is on stage playing long before the orchestra is called.  She has been judged by her peers to be the best of the best, and yet she takes advantage of a few extra minutes to create music. Not because she needs to, or has to, her very being yearns to create music, and she gives herself permission to play whenever and wherever she has a few minutes to do so.

Make time this week. Ignore Facebook for an afternoon, create while the laundry dries, skip vacuuming the floor for a week, and take back those few minutes to create. Give yourself permission to enjoy your time, it is your time, we only have so much time, if we don't choose to do what we love, others will fill our time for us.  Don't let others steal your creative moments.  

Foodie Friday: A Month of Good Eating

Tony Bourdain urged us to travel, to go to Paris, to take a table at a sidewalk cafe, order a coffee, or a glass of wine, or two glasses of wine and watch the world go by.  To relax, observe, and learn. 

Across the corner from the hotel in Paris was an amazing bakery, I went over for breakfast a couple of times, and brought treats back to the room a couple of times. Coffee and a croissant at a sidewalk table in Paris was a bucket list item for me. Ahh!  

It was chilly while were in France, we rented a golf cart to tour the gardens at Versailles, back by the Petit Trianon was this coffee cart in the back of an Ape,  heaven sent, a double espresso warmed me to the core. 

The Viennese Pastries at the Royal Palace. 

After one of the museums in Vienna, we wanted lunch and to get away from the tourist crowd, Google maps showed a local restaurant a couple of blocks off of the beaten path, and Aperol Spritz and Apple Strudel. 

Lunch at Dom Schnitzel in Vienna 

There is this tiny shop that sells cured meats and cheese on the square in front of the Pantheon in Rome. The line to get into the Pantheon was massive, we skipped that, toured the shop and inhaled deeply. We really should rent an apartment for a couple of weeks in Rome.