At the High Trestle Bridge near Madrid, Iowa with friends from London and Connecticut
I wanted to show off rural Iowa to my recent flurry of visitors to Des Moines. Here are some highlights:
– The Henry Wallace Homestead and The Wallace Center in Orient, Iowa. I took my friend Francine from London for lunch to this lovely place – good fresh food, beautiful setting, easy 40 minute drive from DSM.
– From the Wallace compound we went to Greenfield where I made my second visit to Ed & Eva’s – a craft shop in the beautifully restored Opera House that continues to impress and a second visit and tour of the beautifully restored Hotel Greenfield which had recently hosted some Europeans lured to the area by the third wind of the Bridges of Madison County (first the novel, then the movie, then most recently the Broadway show.)
– The aforementioned Bridges of Madison County – took my friend Myra from Connecticut to Roseman Bridge on a lovely summer day and all was quiet and peaceful. But who would have guessed we’d bump into a couple from Pisa, Italy? They didn’t speak much English (nor we much Italian) but we had a lovely chat and photo session.
– The North Side Cafe in Winterset for lunch – mufalletta, chicken-and-avocado sandwich, seafood bisque, sweet potato fries, cherry pie. Yes we waddled out of there but with leftovers in hand. Still love the mix of locals – an older couple, the man in bib overalls, sitting side by side in a booth, silent, looking out the window – and city slickers (like us, I guess.)
– The High Trestle Trail Bridge – this time we found a much closer access point to walk from – a dirt road just west of Madrid – and had the bridge almost to ourselves on a Monday. Spectacular view!
Two yanks and a lady from Pisa (guess which one) at Roseman Bridge in Madison County Iowa
TakeBetsywithyou 