Archive | travel

greetings from Skopje!

January 5, 2012 at 7:17 pm

We’re finally in Macedonia, a country that a few of us (ahem…) didn’t know was a modern-day country until today. That’s embarrassing. But the Balkans are so hard to keep straight! So many shifts in boundaries over recent years are a result of so many wars, so much violence, such great heartache in this part of the world. Our guide explained that the Balkans are the land bridge between the West (Europe) and the East. Whenever the West felt powerful, it charged through the Balkans to conquer the East. Whenever the East felt powerful, it charged through the Balkans to conquer the West. The poor Balkans. Always stuck in the middle. It has been eye-opening to journey through these countries and learn our history all over again.

Yesterday we were in Kosovo, a land that now knows a fragile peace. We ate lunch at a restaurant just across the border yesterday afternoon, where the restaurant owner gave Lena some Christmas decorations to play with. (They made a pretty picture but required some close parental supervision… yikes!) We spent the night in a city nearby and then visited this magnificent monastery the next day, which is the oldest monastery (built in the 1300s) in the Serbian Orthodox church. So very lovely and very peaceful.

Next up, Skopje! The only two things I know about Macedonia are:

1) Mother Theresa was born here. Thank you, 8th Grade research paper.
2) Alexander the Great was from Macedonia. My mother read the guidebook and passed that info on to me today.
3) Skopje is pronounced SKOP-yeh. I’ve said skop-GEE since that 8th Grade paper, so this was fun to learn.

I shall learn more!

1 :: in Balkans, family, holidays, travel

greetings from Skopje!

January 5, 2012 at 6:17 pm

Next up, Skopje! The only two things I know about Macedonia are:

I shall learn more!

1 :: in Balkans, family, holidays, travel

updates from the Balkans

January 4, 2012 at 11:25 am

We spent the loveliest afternoon in Dubrovnik, perhaps one of the prettiest cities I’ve ever seen (and I don’t say that lightly!). We finished off our day in the port city of Kotor, Montenegro, and ate a delicious meal at this romantic spot on the water. Such a lovely part of the world! Lena is being a trooper with all this traveling… we all love her and are so grateful for her, and more each day.

2 :: in Balkans, family, holidays, Lena, travel

updates from the Balkans

January 4, 2012 at 10:25 am

2 :: in Balkans, family, holidays, Lena, travel

hometown of Sicilian ceramics

December 15, 2011 at 3:08 pm

One of the art forms that Sicily is known for is its lovely hand-painted ceramics. (ceramiche, cher-RAH-mi-kay) Sadly for Sicily, I already fell in love with the lovely deep-blue-on-white patterns of Polish pottery when my family lived there. Sicilian pieces tend to be painted in much lighter colors and more abstract designs, or painted with actual human figures, rather than sticking to nuances of a linear floral pattern as in Polish pottery.

Out of curiosity, which one do you prefer?

Sicilian Ceramics Polish Pottery

Well, anyway, we live in Sicily now, and Sicily do I love! Even her ceramics. When my friend Becca invited me to join her and her sister on a trip to Caltagirone this week to visit the home of Sicily ceramics, I eagerly said yes.

Caltagirone is about an hour’s drive from Motta, where we live. I admired the passing scenery, including herds of sheep (had to stop for them to get out of the road) and random castles on hilltops, like this one:

We arrived in the town of Caltagirone around 11am as crowds of school children converged on the center of town. Caltagirone is most famous for the 142 steps in the middle of town. The walls on either side of the staircase are lined with ceramic shops.

We ducked into a couple shops, examining plates and bowls as well as piggy banks, clocks, and spoon rests. A shopkeeper smilingly allowed me to take some lovely photos of the ceramics in his shop, and I was getting so excited about posting them here… and then he told me not to post them on the internet. Groan. Since this is a friendly blog, and since no one (even a ceramic spoon) gets featured here unless they want to, I won’t post the photos. However, here’s a stock photo of several Christmas ornaments. They are so lovely!

Lena was hungry so I sat out on the steps with her for awhile. These steps are amazing: each of them is lined with hand-painted tiles. Take a look at this:

After loading ourselves down with purchases, we stopped in a restaurant on the steps for lunch. Becca’s sister and I both ordered pasta di pistachi, a winter classic in Sicily. The pasta is cooked in a heavy cream and sprinkled with mild, crushed pistachio nuts. Becca has the recipe and is going to pass it on to me, meaning it will be on the menu when you come visit!