Category Archives: Uncategorized

October 18, 2025 · 4:19 pm

Naples at last

We last visited Naples 12 years ago, for only a few hours as we were moving between the amalfi coast and Sicily. We were intrigued by this noisy, dirty, gorgeous, mesmerizing place and Elena Ferrente’s My Brilliant Friend quartet only intensified our interest. So what a joy to spend a day wandering through the old town, down narrow passageways lined with high buildings with laundry blowing on the lines and the occasional basket is lowered down several stories by a rope to retrieve whatever is bring put in it.

Recognize anyone? (Royal family, Pope Leo, Marilyn…)

We followed Rick Steve’s walking tour through the heart of the old town, past stalls filled with the days catch from the sea, strange crèche/nativity scenes with figures of famous figures from the pope to harry and Meghan, and the strange symbol of this city, a red chili pepper /phallic-looking symbol called a cornicelli. Described as a red horn Corni for good luck.

we are staying Hotel Piazza Bellini, an elegant early nineteenth century mansion with an airy open courtyard and contemporary furnishings and rooms. First stop, Pizza of course at Attanasio on via tribunali recommended by an excellent concierge, then a walk down some of the main old downtown streets, some glorified alleys. Many of The buildings are made monumental.

Fantastic seafood

The elegant theatre around the block has an upcoming show called “Donald” and Halloween is a thing here too. Dinner was at a fantastic easy going seafood place around the block, Sottocoperta taverna di mare. (Sea tavern) Never had such delicious (lightly) fried shrimp,anchovies, and calamari, or melt in your mouth tuna lightly marinated, served with corn kernels. We also had drinks inside the faded glory of the Galleria principe, a 19th century glass ceilinged art nouveau shopping arcade.

Can’t wait to see more tomorrow!

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October 17, 2025 · 7:50 pm

21,600 steps aka about 10 miles – exploring Rome (centro storico, Trevi fountain, Monti,Trastevere

After pledging not to over walk, we ended up walking 21,600 steps or roughly 10 miles because Rome is a hard place to stop walking. There is always something else, around the corner, up the street, to the left or right. We started by walking across the River to via giulia, one of Rome’s prettiest streets, admiring the well-kept tall residences. Then onto via dei giubbonari , a favorite Shopping street. We ate takeout pizza at old favorite, Roscioli, sitting on a makeshift bench on the side of the narrow street to eat, precariously balancing the food and drink. At Ibiz, my favorite family owned leather store, I mentioned that I’ve been visiting the store since 2014. When the cashier rang up some leather key rings I bought as gifts, she responded by giving me one as a gift. No charge.

Our Airbnb

On to trevi fountain, newly scrubbed, which was so mobbed with tourists that I most found myself almost physically sandwiched between people. not fun. The city does have its overtouristed moments and spots. (Trastevere is packed at night but it makes the place fun!)

Our Airbnb stairwell

The mob at Trevi is how we ended up in the pretty neighborhood of Monti. I wanted a place that was calmer, less touristed. Which is how we found Monti, with lots of nice little boutiques on quiet streets including via Urbana, we ended up st the same gelato place, fatamorgana, we went to when last in a Monti. (It’s also apparently in LA.) Three trends in a Monti: charm stores for bracelets (Taylor Swift effect?), bag locker stores (Airbnb effect?) and vintage stores (also many in Trastevere.)

Roscioli

Tonight we ate for the take out window spot a nearby restaurant Checco er Carrettiere in via Benedetta . Roast chicken and pasta amitriana.

Our Airbnb host, who could match any hotel concierge with her attentive helpfulness also recommended:
Taverna Trilussa (piazza Trilussa )

Corrado Trattoria (via Della Pelliccia )
Augusto Trattoria (piazza de Renzi )

Monte

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October 16, 2025 · 7:55 pm

Da Enzo (at Last), antica caciara (on S. Francisco), and Airbnb via Della Scala – trastevere – return to Roma

Da Enzo

We walked around like the jet lagged tourists we were after arriving in Rome at 8 am Italy time, 1 am Chicago time. I finally had to take a brief nap in our excellent Airbnb in an old building in the atmospheric trastevere neighborhood, with a winding marble staircase, sleek terrazzo floors and window looking out into a high brick courtyard with sheets and the occasional bra hanging from the clotheslines. We managed to eat at a very hard to get into restaurant that we’ve been put off from trying because of the long lines out front. (No reservations taken.)

When we arrived at da Enzo at 5:15 there were only two people in the line. So it was now or never with a wait until the 6:30 opening, short by da Enzo standards. We had fun talking with an American guy and a woman from Mexico City in line.

Also fun to be among the excited early diners and the food was excellent hearty fare and very fresh: stuffed zucchini blossoms, fried artichoke, milky Burrata and cherry tomatoes, meatballs, pasta a Amatriciana with thick crispy pieces of guanciale buried in the red sauce.

Oh and tirimisu. Any wonder I felt dizzy when we walked along the square cobblestones back to our Airbnb on via Della scala (#12). We also found the Italian deli of my dreams, Antica Caciara, on s. Francisco, whichI remember from our last visit with a gorgeous meat and cheese counter where we. Bought pecorino, braesolA, and prosciutto to put in our fridge. Ahhh Roma!

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September 15, 2025 · 12:59 am

Barnacle Bud’s, the Rave/eagles club (Haim!), Leon’s Frozen Custard- – Milwaukee

Haim

Perfect night in Milwaukee. The main event was seeing the fabulous Haim sisters perfect during the latest stop of their I Quit tour. They did not disappoint. Nice Jewish girls (as they proved to be when I met two for the three in Rome in 2023) who can really rock! It was great to see them in the funky Rave/Eagle Club, an old ballroom with tons of character and 4,000 capacity, which seems intimate compared to the United Center where they played in Chicago the night before (23,000 capacity or some such.) Most of the place is standing only, although there are seats for pay (primarily) in the balcony.

The Rave/eagle Club ballroom

Dinner was at the atmospheric Barnacle Bud’s, along the docks in an industrial backwater. We ate nothing fancy crab cakes and fried fresh at an outdoor table, watching pontoon boats glide past dry dock boat storage and old industrial stuff.

This from AI: The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee was built in 1927 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles…it was the grandest Eagles building in America, serving as a multi-use athletic and social club with a large ballroom. . In 1986, the Eagles Club was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

The creepy part, which I’m glad I didn’t know until now:

  • 1940s: A young girl is said to have drowned in the venue’s pool. 
  • Present: The drained pool is a site of reported paranormal activity, including sounds of splashing and screams. 

The concert ended just in time for us to stop at the 80 year old Leon’s frozen custard (closing time, technically 11 pm although they were serving after the clock struck 11…).

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August 9, 2025 · 3:04 am

Smoked whitefish, flying pig, Ruthann’s bakery in Bellaire, Chippewa trails camp/rapid city – up north (Michigan)

Chippewa trail camp for girls (remains)

We found even more to like in the village of Bellaire, which we appreciated for its unassuming charm and mellowness especially after visiting too-bustling-and-touristy Charlevoix and Harbor springs. No Hamptons-like fancy lifestyle stores or sports cars, here. Instead just the right amount of stuff catering in a low-key way to tourists. At The Flying Pig, we found reasonably priced repurposed furniture and handmade clothing. At Clayton’s, local crafts and candles; excellent ice tea at the local tea and spice store; plausible bagels and delicious chocolate chip cookies at Ruthann’s Bakery.

Bellaire shopping

(We were less impressed with the prepared food we found at Royal Farms, on the highway north of Bellaire.) Behind a Victorian house in the residential main drag we found the unlikely location of a smokehouse with smoked and fresh fish and meats, including pricey waygu beef and wine. I got my smoked whitefish fix.

Grass river nature are (and classic stone construction)

At Grass River Nature Area, we took an easy walk along boardwalks in a wooded swamp area, over quiet fast running streams to an overlook along the grassy shores of the river, envious of the occasional pontoon boat gliding by on this untouristed stretch of water.

Outside Rapid City on Elk Lake near Torch Lake, I managed to find my old summer camp (thanks to two street names of the nap: Chippewa Trail Rd and Chippewa Camp Road. They led to a restored sign for the defunct camp which is now a private residential neighborhood/community with some remnants of the camp! Several of the old brown wood cabins remain. Some were moved and combined to make a holiday home. A very nice guy invited us into his home – made of two joined cabins. Above his couch in the living room is a wall hanging made of pieces of the old cabin wall autographed by campers long ago. He invited me to look for my name or any others I might know. Surreal.

He also took me to another cojoined cabins concoction where we also looked at the names of the wall, dating back to 1969 (when I might have been a camper for two months.) Another cabin had the original sign from one of the cabins I bunked in. (Duayma!). The dining hall/lodge is still there (now a residence or communal space I think) as is the old stone Dutch oven and surrounding wood benches where we had pancake breakfasts. I knocked on one of the handful of new vacation homes on the lakefront because the owner is apparently a former camper but she wasn’t home.

Harbor springs (we stayed at the cove long ago).

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July 29, 2025 · 1:50 pm

Shake shack (NYState thruway @ Angola, dog park & cheap gas (loves over the Ohio border on I90- heading home from NY

This time there really was a shake shack in an unlikely spot – the I-90 rest stop in Angola, NY. About 20 years ago I thought I’d found a shake shack outside Kansas City. But when we got to Overland Park we found a snack shack. Oh well. (My family has teased me about this ever since.)

I’m sure the KC plaza has the real deal now! And so does the rest stop literally over the NY state thruway in Angola. The burgers were great, as always, but the small outdoor eating area could have used some shade or umbrellas or a little fake grass. Millie took shelter under the picnic table, while we sweltered in the summer sun.

We waited until we crossed the Ohio line to get gas and were rewarded with $2.96 per gallon gas and a shady (!) fenced in dog park. Thank you Love’s!

Cottage “before” pic

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July 27, 2025 · 1:49 am

Antique boats, rollercoaster roads, Doug’s fish fry – to Skaneateles and back

What a tricky name to spell and province but Skaneateles is as pretty as I remember from our last visit here, some 25 years ago. I forgot it’s only a 50 minute drive from “the cottage” (our friends’ place in Lansing/king Ferry).

We had fried fish but also a shrimp po boy and lobster roll at Doug’s fish fry, a local haunt with a much-appreciated picnic area perfect for our dog (and us) with picnic tables and umbrellas for shade in a enclosed picnic area with a green lawn bordered by pretty flowers.

The village feels much more well-heeled and touristy than Ithaca, with well preserved old buildings all my Main street and upscale gift shops and a pretty old inn overlooking Skaneateles Lake. The lakefront park is charming, as I remembered, with a dock where an old fashioned cruise boat takes visitors out onto the narrow finger lake. There happened to be a vintage boat show, with shiny wood boats as old as the early 1900s.

We did a loop drive, coming up the west side of owasca lake and returning by driving along the east side, both pretty routes through emerald green farm fields, narrow rollercoaster roads up and down the hills, past worn farmhouses, dairy farms, and small old towns.

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July 26, 2025 · 2:36 am

Mills State Park, Slow fox farm, omega institute – salt point/rhinebeck,NY

(Oops. Forgot to post this a few days ago.) Lovely visit to our friends little slice of heaven in Duchess County. We mostly stayed put (why leave Heaven?) but did walk the dogs (our Millie; hosts’ Ollie and Leto) along the Hudson at mills State park, past the columned white concrete mills mansion atop a sloping green lawn with beautiful old trees and majestic river views. (Sampled red raspberries along the way.)

In the afternoon we tried out our friends electric bikes on hilly and curving back roads, past old white farmhouses, landing at Slow fox farms beer tent (technically in Rhinebeck).

Returned just in time for a brief downpour and then biked past omega institute, a retreat, and returned on dirt shady dirt roads to heaven!

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July 24, 2025 · 12:02 am

Hike from upper Treman, Tuesdays at taughanock – Return to Ithaca

Our near-annual trip to Ithaca (thank you Myra and Mike) has produced a few discoveries to share:

The parking is free at state parks here for people age 62 and over. Alas I did not discover this until age 66 (now) and have dutifully shelled out $10 at parks including our favorite, Treman which has a gorgeous trail hugging a gorge.

The money shot at Upper Treman

A ranger also told us that when we use the pay machine (in lieu of a ranger) we can scan our license with our birthdate to get free parking.

Tuesdays at Taughanock is a summer music series on the patio of the charming inn at Taughanock falls, which I first went to for dinner with my parents as a kid. (When it was as the Taughanock farms inn.) It sits high above Cayuga waters (not as high as Cornell to the east). $20 gets you a large burger, chips and a beer or glass of wine, plus the music, in this case a low-key performance by singer Annie Burns, of Burns sisters fame (a popular local group we last saw maybe 20 years ago.)

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July 19, 2025 · 2:36 pm

Back to Bloomsburg, PA – same good west end ale house, better motel (quality inn), Fog and flame coffee

Baseball practice outside motel

It’s still a long haul to get here in one day from Chicago, some 600 miles, about 10 hours factoring in a few irritating construction tie-ups on I-80. We had smooth sailing through most of Indiana and Ohio but then a 25 minute delay as the traffic piled up with a lane closure due to construction.

Pennsylvania’s wooded hills and wide river valleys are beautiful but driving up and down the Appalachian mountains, on the highway, sharing the road with big trucks, is a little hairy. Fortunately it wasn’t raining as as in the past and we only drove about a half hour in the dark.

The west end ale house kitchen in downtown Bloomsburg closes at 10 and we pulled in at 9:35. They couldn’t have been nicer, as was the case last year, and the cheeseburger was good. We met four nice young townies sitting outside next to us, thx to Millie dog talk, and they told us a bit about Bloomsburg University, which has 18,000 students and a party school rep, that has gone down a bit in recent years. (They seemed sad about that.) They were alumni in their later 20s. One was a stone mason, another a teacher with job corps. we drove around the campus which is high on a hill at the end of Main Street and has some pretty old buildings. (Fun fact: the gruff coach for the bad boy 1990s Detroit pistons is an alum. We passed Chuck Daley way on campus… the tip-off!)

Fog and Flame

We stayed at the Quality Inn which was hard to find – at the edge of a nondescript mall. A big bowl of dog biscuits awaited at the front desk and the place already seemed a step up from the Red Roof that we stayed at last year. The place was full of young baseball players (Williamsport, the little league World Series location is nearby). But our room was quiet. Coffee at fog and flame, the local coffeehouse was ok. Cute decor. Pastries lacking.

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