Remember This

Over the course of our travels, I have learned something about myself: I’m not as bad at or as disinterested in history as I once suspected. Rather, during History of Europe 1217 to 1539 (or similar) I had exactly zero context into which I could put all those strange names and dates, and history class was thus a series of memory exercises rather than real learning and understanding.  This is probably the reason the only history class I ever found interesting or enjoyable was Colonial America, having grown up in the heart of where the action took place. Travel has changed this for me, and I have found that once I’ve visited a place, its history becomes much more meaningful and – at its best, which is often its worst – fascinating… especially when the history is recent enough to not even really be considered history yet.

Having come to this revelation in Southeast Asia (the most I really knew about Vietnam prior was some combination of Robin Williams movies & Billy Joel songs), I was particularly looking forward to our 5 day visit to Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH), where we spent two nights in Mostar and three nights in Sarajevo.  This country and the Balkan region has been a battleground over the centuries as the Ottoman Turks pushed from the east and the Roman Catholics pushed from the west, getting all knotted up with Orthodox Christians and a few Jews along the way. This is an extreme oversimplification of an extremely complex and tumultuous history which Jason & I have been learning about through reading Dame Rebecca West’s 1930s travelogue tome about Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. However given I have taken a break from this to read Tina Fey’s hilarious Bossypants, this is all the detail I can really remember (still not good at reading history, apparently).

I was not disappointed.  In BiH, history lives on every corner.  We admired from every angle the graceful Stari Most (old bridge) in Mostar which had sustained centuries of war, only to be blown to bits in the 90s conflict. We stood on the spot where Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated next to the Latin Bridge in Sarajevo, triggering World War I. We spoke with a guy in his early 20s who served us lunch in his family’s restaurant, and he told us about how his mother took him at age 5 and his 2-week-old brother to safety in Germany in 1992 while his father stayed behind to fight; it would have been shameful for him not to. We stood on a hill above Sarajevo and were astonished at the gleaming white pillars of the Muslim cemeteries that dotted the city, all with dates 1993-1996.  We visited a museum where the exhibit on children’s lives during the 90s conflict made me wonder, “What was I worrying about in 1993?”  Certainly not about snipers as I crossed the street or having my house rearranged by bombings.

So much horror has happened here – in the country and region – over the years recent and past, that what was really surprising to me was how beautiful and lively the country is. In my mind it would be grey and desolate, with people wandering about the streets all down and out. But these half-ruined / half-rebuilt and very vibrant cities are nestled in lush green hills cut by winding rivers. The café scene is unparalleled: there is so much socializing it made us wonder if anyone does anything other than drink coffee, smoke, chat, and strut up and down the street all day (this question remains unanswered).  It is probably an unreasonable dream to expect this peacefulness to remain in this highly charged region forever, but in Mostar, at least, they want to remember the past so as to not let it be repeated. 

Stari Most, Mostar

More than a few pretty islands

Our tour through the Balkans (or the countries of the former Yugoslavia) began on May 10 with a brief stopover in Ljubljana on our way from Italy to Croatia. We enjoyed our previous visit six years ago to Slovenia’s capital but our visit this time was more of a logistical necessity for reaching Croatia than a desire to undertake any sightseeing. We were content to enjoy the nice sunny day at one of the many riverside bars.

Jess enjoys Slovenia's finest, Laško Pivo

It was my third visit to Croatia but I had yet to see much of the country having previously visited the capital, Zagreb, for less than 24 hours and spending two nights in the beautiful but completely over touristy Dubrovnik at the very southern tip of the country. Jess had spent nearly two weeks sailing the islands off the Dalmatian coast after business school and loved it, but the popularity of the coast and islands as an English / German holiday destination and the country even appearing on the radar of American travelers has given me apprehension in the past when thinking about visiting.

After a 2 ½ hour scenic train ride from Ljubljana we arrived in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. While the city lacks the sights or architectural charms of other European capitals, there was much more character and life than I had remembered from my brief visit six years ago. We spent some time wandering around the small old town and had a tasty lunch at a čevapi shop just outside the large open air vegetable market. Our day and a half definitely served to change the somewhat indifferent opinion of the city I had formed on my first visit. That said, there isn’t any change to my opinion that Zagreb has one of the least interesting main squares of any large city I’ve ever visited.

View from clock tower over Zagreb's old town and cathedral

Trg Jelačića - Zagreb's main square

I really don't get it.

From Zagreb we took the bus south 170km to Plitvice National Park for some outdoor time. The highlight of the park is sixteen different lakes of different sizes that cascade from one to the next creating a series of unique waterfalls, covering a distance of 8km and an elevation change of more than 400 feet.

Waterfall in the upper lakes

Enjoying the peacefulness

Two connected lakes

We also were able to get off the well worn trail around the lakes and go for a nice 10km walk through the surrounding forest. While not as picturesque as the lakes, the serenity of walking through the forest and the fact we encountered a total of two people over the entire walk made for a nice afternoon.

Through the woods

Jess shows off her amazing balancing skills

We had planned on spending a few more days seeing some of Croatia’s national parks but not having a car made this logistically challenging so we headed on the bus to our final destination in Croatia, the coastal city of Split. We stayed for two nights, exploring the tiny, charming old town (formerly Diocletian’s Palace) after our arrival and ended up stumbling on two weddings clashing with rowdy Hajduk Split football fanatics as we were trying to visit the cathedral.

Bell tower of the Split Cathedral

We were thankful these didn't ring when we were up!

Spot the bride - and the crazy football fans with their flags

Our second day was spent exploring the small hill of the Marjan peninsula overlooking city where we happened upon a little street fair where we enjoyed some excellent čevapi for lunch, after enduring one of the most disorganized line processes I’ve ever experienced; it was worth it in the end though.  (Editor’s note: Patient wife queued while exasperated husband bought beer and moved as far away from chaos as possible.)

Mmmm čevapi

Monastery in the mountainside... nobody was home

While we only ended up spending five nights in Croatia it was much more enjoyable and less touristy than I had feared and I’m definitely excited to come back in the future.

South of Split on our way to Bosnia

Scenes from an Italian 10-day jaunt

Following Elisa & Francesco’s wedding, we spent 10 more days hopping around Italy on trains and buses.  Rather than give a run-down of every church and piazza we visited, I thought it would be better to let the pictures tell the story – why not, when there is so little in Italy that isn’t beautiful, or at the very least interesting to look at.

I would be remiss, though, if I didn’t mention all the typical Italian hospitality we received, especially in Florence & Rome. Our other friend Elisa not only collected us at the airport and hauled us across town to the apartment we rented, she also treated us to a tasty home-cooked meal from aperitivi and antipasti to dolci (although no gnocchi…). Her lovely husband Stefano chauffeured us around to the wedding and on a day trip in the Tuscan hills. When we decided to stay an extra night, my cousin Joanne and her husband Roberto took us in for a night, fed us WAY too much (which was just fine), helped us to make sure we didn’t have to lug around our wedding finery for 6 more weeks, and schlepped us around town as needed.

We were also treated to more LaFranca family warmth, as our friend Max (originally di Roma, but now di Bangkok) somehow convinced his sister Georgia – and her husband and toddler son - to host 2 strange Americans for 3 nights at their flat in Rome. They graciously invited us in, gave us little Lorenzo’s room for our stay, and truly made us feel that their casa was our casa.

No wonder this is my favorite country to visit!

A day trip to San Gimignano

A house in San Gimignano

Atop the Torre Grossa, San Gimignano

View of the town below from the tower

We couldn't resist the World Champion gelato

1 day in Siena

Within the Palazzo Pubblico at Il Campo, Siena

Streets of Siena

At the Duomo, Siena

A view to the Duomo from our hotel patio

3 days in Rome

The Pantheon

The Coliseum

Inside the Vatican Museums

Creation of Light, Michaelangelo - Sistine Chapel ceiling

Central dome at St. Peter's Basilica

A conversation in Piazza San Pietro

Streets of Rome

2 days in Bologna (with Modena)

Piazza Maggiore, Bologna

Atop the straighter of Bologna's due torre, Torre degli Asinelli

View of Bologna from the tower

Under the porticoes in Modena

Inside the Modena Duomo

1 day in Venice

View from our window in Venice

Us & the crowds at San Marco's Basilica

Old Venice

Canal traffic jam

Rialto Bridge

Auguri agli sposi!

My friend Elisa married her lovely beau (bello?) Francesco on April 30, so we kicked off Part II of our trip with our annual trip to Florence.  Elisa was a classical beauty in a dress that suited her perfectly, and Francesco was looking very dapper himself, full of a frenetic energy that we’ll assume was excitement. They had a long traditional Catholic wedding, with a bit of whimsy thrown in with musical choices like Abba’s I Have a Dream. They lucked out with the weather, and we spent the afternoon on the grounds of Museo Stibbert’s lemonaia, eating, drinking, and celebrating the happy couple!

In all our finery

The happy couple

Great location for a sweetheart table

Elisa's niece Benedetta was the perfect attendant

This was the tastiest wedding cake we've ever had (it was a millefoglie)

Pop!

Elisa directs the ladies for the bouquet toss

Le mie amiche italiane

One last adventure (well, sort of)

On April 18, following three days of gorging ourselves in Uruguay we took a brief ferry ride across the Rio de la Plata to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our initial plan of visiting Iguazu Falls was long ago thwarted by LAN’s route change which would have sent us to the Brazilian side of the falls instead of the Argentinian side.  We said no thanks to a $200 Brazilian visa just to spend 20 minutes transiting through the country, and settled instead on a few days in Buenos Aires on either side of a trip to the Mendoza wine country.

Still not fully recovered from our Inca Trail hike and middle of the night flight to Montevideo (I’m glad the US and Europe have not embraced the 2:00am departure), we were more than happy to enjoy a couple of leisurely mornings. We rented an excellent apartment in the residential neighborhood of Palermo from Wayne, the guidebook writer we met in Chile. We took advantage of having our own home in Buenos Aires, and spent our mornings at the kitchen table sipping coffee and enjoying  a variety of treats from the neighborhood pastry shop down the road. We also managed to fit in a tiny bit of sightseeing.

The center of the center: Av 9 de Julio

Suffering a bit of a Chivito hangover we managed to avoid steak for dinner during our first few days in Buenos Aires, no easy task. We instead took advantage of the Italian influence for some decent pizza and managed to stumble upon a characterful local eatery for some small plates that would have fit nicely somewhere in Spain.

Because there were stacks of cans of peas, we took this picture.

The evening of our second full day brought our overnight bus ride to Mendoza. It was also supposed to bring our friend Larry from New Jersey but the forces of United Airlines and air travel in the Northeast US were conspiring against him. His flight from Newark for his connection in D.C was hopelessly delayed and we were left to face another overnight bus ride on our own.

Larry's spot

We began the journey to Mendoza with a bit of optimism given the glowing things we had heard about bus travel in Argentina from a number of people. While the experience itself was certainly a step above our previous overnight bus rides in Laos - not the highest bar to cross – we could have done without: a) the 2.5 hour departure delay; b) the unsurpassed (in our travels) chaos of the bus station as half the population of Buenos Aires was taking a bus out of town for the Easter weekend; and c) the fact that it is still a 12 hour overnight bus trip. It all left me feeling the way I normally do after spending the night on the bus.

Because night buses are no fun, we took this picture.

We did eventually arrive in Mendoza and thankfully Larry persevered and the airline gods were more forgiving, allowing him to arrive in Mendoza a few hours after us.

Jess made me hold this sign.

We all managed to fight through the travel fatigue to partake in some good drinking and eating over our two days and three nights in Mendoza. The highlight was our trip to Salentein winery in Valle de Uco, about an hour south of Mendoza for a private tour and tasting, lunch at their restaurant and a tour of the onsite modern art gallery. We enjoyed the ultra-modern operations and architecture of the facility, and the wine and food were not bad either. Thanks again to our wine-connected friend Hal for the hook-up!

Salentein's "Temple of Wine"

When do we get to stop talking and start drinking? 

Killka Dutch-Argentine modern art gallery

Wine for the road

In honor of the Easter week/weekend and everyone eventually arriving in Mendoza we went for an excellent meat feast on Thursday evening and made our own parrilla on our guesthouse grill on Friday night (good Friday = eat red meat, right?). While I think we took the concept of ‘slow cooking’ the meat to a new level, the end result was well worth the wait and the cooking experience definitely a unique one.

Larry tends the wood coals

Look at how nice the meat turned out! (And those charcoaled discs are butternut squash)

Saturday was spent doing some more wine tasting at three completely different vineyards: the tiny El Cerno with a passionate Italian guide; Vina y Cavas de Weinert with its century-old cellar; and Bottega Sottano, a vineyard started 5 years ago by three brothers whose inheritance came from Frito Lay buying out their grandfather’s 90% share of potato crops in Argentina (or similar).  In between all this we stopped for a local roadside lunch of empanadas and jamon sandwiches thrown in for good measure.

The amazing (so we're told) "Filosofus" on display at El Cerno

Jamon stand

Photo op!

While we did a bit more sightseeing upon our return to Buenos Aires - including visiting the particularly intriguing Cementerio de Recoleta (resting place of the rich & famous) - the real highlights were again the food. We went of the obligatory traditional steak/parrilla dinner on Sunday night, and for our last meal of the trip we took advantage of Larry’s culinary influence to splurge on a seven course seafood meal at an unassuming spot just outside the tourist zone. Regrettably nobody brought a camera for this as some of the dishes really deserved to be preserved for future reflection, but nevertheless it was the most indulgent and memorable meal of the trip.

Recoleta cemetery: Tombs the size of small houses arranged like a small town

We really enjoyed Buenos Aires, a huge cosmopolitan city with a purposeful pace to life, great food, distinct neighborhoods and architecture that combined to remind us more of New York than any other city we’ve visited.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and after four months on the road the bags were packed and strapped on for the final time before completing our circle back to London where a much needed day and half of rest awaited before we embarked on Part II.

Off we go... again!

Somewhere out there