While we’re in Verona, here’s a picture from the courtyard of the Castel Vecchio, which is a handsome museum indeed. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect they slyly chose the planting to coordinate with the banner for the Maria Morganti show.

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Travel photo: Castel Vecchio Museum courtyard, Verona, Italy

This photo amuses me because the gondolier reminds me of the Eric Blore role in the Astaire/Rogers film Top Hat.

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Travel photo: Venetian gondolier

Please bear with me while I post a few photos from my recent trip to the Veneto and Upper Adige.

I travel with a little (maybe 12-inch) tripod, but for photos at dusk like this one I usually just set my camera on something steady, like a trash bin or fire hydrant, in order to get a longer exposure. Usually I’m able to hold the camera steady for quite a long time in such situations.

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Travel photo: a street in Verona

During our recent visit to the Veneto I developed a taste for spritzes, which were being drunk everywhere. When we checked into our vacation rental in Venice our host took us out for spritzes, which was the beginning of the end for me (Carol never got hooked). We spent about a week in Venice and Verona, and then several days in Trento, where I was press checking a book, and everywhere all sorts of people, from ladies in heels to laborers in boots, were knocking down the same bitter, fizzy, rosy concoction. The image above was taken in the central piazza near the Duomo in Trento — you can see about six spritzes on the tables.

The main ingredients in a spritz (pronounced “spriss” in Venice) are white wine, aperol, and bubbly water (“acqua frizzante”). In place of aperol campari can be used, but my impression is that aperol is the classic ingredient. (I think campari is more alcoholic.) According to BevMo, where I picked up a bottle, Aperol is a “liqueur aperitif” whose “unique flavor and color is acheived [sic] through a subtle blend of bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb and an array of herbs and roots, using a secret recipe that has been unchanged since 1919.”

The basic recipe is, I think, pretty simple:

3 ounces white wine (a cheap pinot grigio would be fine)
1-1/2 ounces aperol
1-1/2 ounces soda water

At least, that’s more or less what I read in the New York Times, which says the drink is catching on in the U.S. The Times advises to garnish the drink with a green olive (“Gently stir all liquid ingredients over ice in a tumbler and add olive”), but all the ones I saw were garnished with slices of orange. The Times also says to use prosecco instead of plain white wine, but if you used prosecco it doesn’t seem to me you would particularly need the soda water. The ones I saw made used white wine from the Trentino region.

Enjoy!

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It’s a small world aperol

I don’t know what you call this — it appears to be some form of motorized paragliding. There were a couple of guys taking off from Anna Maria Island when we were there in Florida during the biting cold spell this January.

Whatever it is, like jet skiiing, off-road biking, and similar activities it’s probably fun to do but seems a little noisy for the context.

The video was taken with a Kodak EIS camera that my sister gave me. It shoots high-res videos, is slim enough to fit in your shirt pocket, and includes a built-in usb connection.

BTW, if a youtube video does not appear to be high-definition you can force the issue by appending &fmt=6 &fmt=18 or &fmt=22 after the url. But I think that soon most or all high-res videos will have an option at the bottom to simply select high definition. (Or, you can go to your youtube account page and tell it to always show high definition.)

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Motorized paraglider

This brief video is for James Higham, who loves thunderstorms. It’s a glimpse of a monsoon thunderstorm seen from my guestroom at CS Graphics in Singapore, where I am press checking the Asian Art Museum’s new art of Shanghai book. There has been some pretty spectacular thunder along with the rain, but I didn’t succeed in capturing it. (I haven’t actually viewed this, except through my camera, because the computer I am using doesn’t have flash installed — hope it looks like rain!)

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Monsoon

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Hiatus

Recently we stayed in Agerola in the Lattari Mountains overlooking Amalfi. Our place was down a narrow, semi-dirt road that wound around the side of the mountain above the hamlet of San Lazzaro. Twice a day a goatherder would drive his goats down the road. We would hear them coming by the pleasant jingling of their bells, a sound punctuated by the sharp whistles of the herder as he kept the goats on path. This video was taken as we were leaving our house to head out for a walk.

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Goatherding in Agerola

While driving the Via Amalfitano has its motoring excitements as well as its famously spectacular views,

it little compares to the road through Furore for adrenaline-inducing narrow turns (especially exciting when encountering an oncoming bus, which can sometimes require a line of traffic to back partway down the mountain).

You can reach the Costa Amalfitano by way of Sorrento in the north, from which you will arrive at Positano, or from Salerno in the south, which will lead to Amalfi. But there is a less-used (by foreigners) third way, which cuts over the Lattari mountain range, through a tunnel at the top connecting Gragnano and Agerola.

Agerola is a rustic complex of hamlets where one sometimes finds oneself delayed by herds of goats swarming the roadways.

We took a vacation rental in Agerola – it afforded a panoramic view of the valley clear down to the drop-off to the sea. At that point the road plummets to the sea by way of innumerable sharp turns. As a consequence of our location in Agerola we traveled it a number of times.

In the map below, the hairpins switchbacks of this road – a true engineering marvel, with very welcome stone walls on the seaward side – are represented by the intestine-shaped tangle in the middle. Unfortunately, the memory card in my camera got filled up before we reached the most thrilling section of the road; still, this video of the beginning of the uphill climb might give a taste of what it is like to drive this remarkable road.

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Driving from Furore on the Amalfi Coast to Agerola in the Lattari Mountains

1. At the airport, do not wait it the long queues for train tickets. Instead go to the tobacconist’s and get your ticket without waiting.

2. To avoid the Termini Station, take the train to Trastevere (the tobacconist can sell you the ticket and direct you to the correct track), then take the number 8 tram, which will go to the centrally located Piazza Argentina (or you can take the number 3, which ultimately goes all the way to the Villa Borgia, though on a rather roundabout route).

3. If you are in Rome for any length of time, get a three-day or one-week transit pass. This will allow you to hop on and off buses and trams without worrying about having change, deciding whether a short trip is worth a euro, and getting your ticket stamped. Stamp the pass only the first time you use it. It will be good until midnight on the third or seventh day. This pass is also good to go to the ruins outside of town at Ostia Antica, the former port.

4. Consider getting an unlocked cell phone and buying a sim card for it that’s good for Europe. Despite what you might read on Rick Steves’s site, it can be a little bit tedious to do this in Italy, and it might be worth the extra 5 or 10 dollars to buy the card over the internet in advance of traveling.)

5. A good bus connection through the city is the 115 line together with the 116 line. These are small hybrid vehicles that go down narrow cobbled streets in the restricted traffic areas. From the Trastevere the 115 will take you to the Gioncolo terminal. In the parking garage there you can take the elevator or stairs down one level and catch the 116, which will go through town past the Piazza Spagnia to the Villa Borgia. At the place in the garage where the 116 stops there is also an airport terminal–style walkway right down to St. Peter’s

6. Speaking of St. Peter’s, try to avoid approaching on the 64 bus, which is crowded and full of pickpockets. These are often distinguished-looking elderly gentleman in suits and ties who hold newspapers over there arms to conceal their activities.

7. You’re going to feel obligated to visit the Vatican Museums no matter what I say, but be aware that it’s a fairly hellish experience. It’s extremely crowded and not very visitor friendly. The objects labels are poorly designed and placed. There are tour guides barking all around you at every turn. The museums are designed to keep the thundering herd on course along the Long March to the Sistine Chapel, where they will be ferociously shushed by curt guards who will be taking every step to make sure no photos are taken, as this might cut into the gift shop sales. (On the other hand, every square inch is a masterpiece.)

8. But don’t be tempted to skip the Capitoline Museums. They are excellent, and also afford fine views of downtown Rome for the third-floor cafe and of the forum from the Temple of Veiovis, a relatively recent (and quite amazing) archaeological discovery located off the passage between the two buildings.

9. The best English-language guidebook appears to be the Rough Guide to Rome (we got ours from the public library); it’s quite helpful. But I wouldn’t put too much stock in its restaurant recommendations. Our best meals were all from restaurants that were chance discoveries.

10. Finally, and critically, especially if you are continuing to Napoli and the Amalfi Coast (as we were), try at all costs not to get that infernal song about the moon hitting your eye like a-big a-pizza pie in your head. You will never get rid of the damned thing. Tippy tippy tay, tippy tippy tay, tippy tippy tay, that’s amore.

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Image: Sign on a restaurant in the Trastevere.

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Ten tips for visiting Rome

According to Langenscheidt, “This phrasebook contains all of the most important expressions and words you’ll need for your trip.” In that case, what a trip it will be! Imagine yourself with no knowledge at all of Italian and armed only with phrases such as the following (which I have assembled into a brief narrative, occasionally adding my own punctuation –the ellipses, however, are Langenscheidt’s — but retaining the phrases otherwise unaltered).

Good afternoon. Please help me. The engine sounds funny — I need a pair of pliers. It’s not my fault. It’s your fault. I had the right of way. You cut the corner. You were following too closely. You were going too fast.

I don’t feel well: I feel nauseous, I’m dizzy, I’m from the United States. What is your name? Are you married? Could you repeat that, please? How old are you? Do you have children? What sort of work do you do?

It was a misunderstanding. I need someone to accompany me. I’d like to come with you. May I sit here? I like it very much. This is my address. Shall we meet this evening? I’ll take you home. I’d like to invite you to . . . What does . . . mean? I like that.

What is this called in Italian? It’s very good, thank you — satisfied! Did you like it there? Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for a lovely evening. Will I see you again? Do you mind if I smoke? I have not been vaccinated against . . .

Is there a nice bar around here?

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A universal story

Okay, I guess I’m still a little jetlagged — or maybe just worn out from coming back to an office in crisis mode. Anyway, too tired to do more than post another couple photos (click through for larger versions) from the Sentiero degli Dei — the path of the gods — in the Lattari Mountains overlooking the Amalfi coast.

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The Path of the Gods

This photo was taken from the spectacular trail in the Lattari Mountains overlooking the Amalfi Coast called the Sentiero degli Dei — the path of the gods. A few hours after the photo was taken a fierce storm hit the coast. (Click through for a larger version.)

I’ve just returned from a trip to Rome and the Costa Amalfitano and will return to blogging. I’m processing my photos from the trip and sorting them into smaller and more manageable sets and hope to post them to Flickr over the weekend.

In this blog I try to mostly focus on issues of print and electronic publication, from concept through distribution. But I am likely to be off topic for a bit as I share some Italiana over the next week or so.

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Gathering storm clouds over Amalfi

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Solitude

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Tranquilo

I guess this week I’ve got a sort of travel blog — a bit bare-bones since for some reason I’m feeling a little lazy. (Although I did write a guest blog for Foreword Magazine today–more on that when the post goes live.)

There is a unique quality of light in Florida.

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Florida

Cities on the southern U.S. seaboard feature a lot of what I call “overwrought iron” work. The image above is from Charleston, South Carolina, and the one below from Savannah, Georgia.

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Overwrought iron

There is an abundance of seafood here, with something for everyone.

The area is characterized as subtropical, but temperatures last night dipped below freezing, and the wind off the Atlantic on nearby Hunting Island was a tad chill, as Carol can attest.

Nonetheless, some 500 people gathered there today for the annual January 1 “pelican plunge,” when (fool)hardy souls test the frigid waters. But this failed to faze the resident fowl.

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Barrier Islands in January

Whenever I come across a new blog I read the latest postings and, if I like those, I add the site to my news reader. I always intend to go back and browse the archived postings but I rarely do so. Figuring that a lot of visitors to my site also never make it too far into the archives, I decided to pull together a selection of postings from my archives and create a free e-book.

It’s a handsome book in a narrow vertical format (a format often used in travel publishing). The Bodoni face seems a good choice for the subject. My only regret is that there are not more images, which would surely bring value and add appeal, considering the subject.

The immediacy of blogging may cause us to forget that the process is also a way of preserving content and building on it. I think this project is an excellent example of utilizing and repurposing the results of sustained, focused blogging.

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An e-book from blog archives

These ladies were having a great time at the Getty Center. They thought it was a hoot that I wanted to take their picture.

More L.A. photos: At Buried Mirror I’ve posted a couple of pictures of the wonderfully kitsch facade of the Mayan Theater.

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Red Hat Ladies