Road trip part 4:Lake Como

We stayed at the lovely hotel Bellavista right on the lake and our view was spectacular.

It was a corner room so that there werewindows on 2 sides and the sun would come in all day through one of them and the other opened straight on to the lake.

These mountains are said to have inspired De Vinci and the colors and rock faces just might have.

The first day we went into the countryside, up the mountains to a hill top where we had a picnic after our lovely drive.

That night for dinner we had the most fantastic experience. The restaurant, Osteria Del Viaggiatore, was highly recommended but when we arrived no one spoke any English. We were fine with doing our best, so we asked to be seated. The wine came and the hostess asked us to please wait- she had clearly been practicing this phrase. After 10 minutes, we heard the big, wooden front door, footsteps on the stone stairs and there appeared a waitress, flipping her apron over her head, speaking perfect English, ready to explain the menu to us and take care of us for the evening. They had called her in on her night off! When Sterling tried to ask for a plate of spaghetti, she refused and promised him that she would bring him something good tonight and that he would like it. She did and he did. She was wonderful!

The next day, we saw the Orrido, “the horrible”, it is a gigantic waterfall

on our way to Varenna, a lovely little town with romantic walkways right on the lake.

But the 2 most memorable were George Clooney's Villa Oleandra in Laglio – he wasn’t home. It is a beautiful villa, barely visible from the road and we did not even get out of the car because everyone has a right to privacy, but just to drive by was fun.

The other was Villa Balbianello, where the wedding scene in Star Wars was shot. It was spectacularly beautiful and the landscaping was incredible. The sun and season brought out the colors. It was a nice hike to get there – no cars allowed.

One our way back to Switzerland, we saw a Ferrari were able to get behind it as the traffic was moving slowly. We were snapping pictures out the window. So when the Ferrari pulled into a petrol station, we did too. (We really did need to get fuel.) The driver was a very nice man who saw Sterling admiring his car and he let him sit in it! As you can see, Sterling enjoyed this very much.

Road trip part 3: Modena

Driving into Modena, home of Italian supercars, was fantastic because we saw a white, sleek and fast Murcielago on the road! It came and went too quickly for photos. But there was a black one which we were able to follow into a parking lot thanks to truck that had pulled out in front of it. It was a kichenwares truck – see how useful cuisine can be? We left just in front of it, and the driver was nice enough to put on a show for us. It only lasted a second as he passed us, but it was a full sensory array of sight and sound with a wind of emotion. Excellent.

Elliott and Sterling went to the Lamborghini factory tour the next morning. Cameras were confiscated for the tour, which was of the 12 station assembly plant in a huge, white, clean facility. But they did get their cameras back for the finished product. Below is a concept car.

I went to learn about Balsamic vinegar from Giorgio and Giovanna Barbieri in Modena. As is the tradition, real balsamic vinegar is made in private homes, is tightly controlled by regulations and specifications. When I entered the house, the aroma hit me in the face and permeated their whole house. The attic was spotless and contained rooms of barrels in sets of 5 or seven. Giovanna explained that each girl in the family has a set of precious barrels bought for her when she is born and this has traditionally been her dowry. Their daughter, Carlotta, is about to turn 21 and her first 25 year vinegar is about to mature soon.

The vinegar is started in the first barrel, and left to mature for a summer and winter with various degrees of change in temperature. It sits and then goes through several years of cycles of evaporation and maturation, topping off the barrels with the newer vinegar from the barrel before it until the finished product is left in the last one, after 25 years. I did get to taste, and buy!

Then I went in search of the Modena Synagogue which has a significant history. It was built between 1869 and 1873 and, like other synagogues of the period, was intended as a celebration of Jewish emancipation until the anti-Semitic laws imposed by the Fascist regime in 1938 brought a new round of persecution.

The Ghetto that occupied the square is now gone and I am sure that most of the people having a coffee in the Piazza Mazzini are unaware of where they sit.

We met back up for lunch at the Ferrari complex where we bummed around, following employees into the less obvious corners, listening for the pitch of an approaching super car, taking photos in the parking lots and getting as close to the main factory entrance, test track and other forbidden areas as possible.
Once, when we stopped to climb on the roof of our car to peak over a fence at the test track (below), a scary looking little old Italian lady with a rake in her hand started to leave her garden after us. It was time to go!

There were many illegally parked Ferraris in the neighborhood and museum parking lot. A good bet they won’t get a ticket.

Road Trip part 2: Trieste

Driving through Austria was fantastic and the scenery did not disappoint. We got off the highway as soon as possible and I drove through winding, hilly roads through groves of turning trees and cottages draped in the maximum growth of geraniums at season’s end.

The road to Trieste was as lovely as always. We had been there about 10 years ago for ago physics conference and always wanted to return.

It is a beautiful city on the Adriatic with splendid sculpture, great piazzas and fantastic statues celebrating the human body with abandon.

When I saw a poster promoting breastfeeding I just had to include that too.

Other typical Trieste sites: the proliferation of motor scooters with all sorts and ages of riders, including gorgeous women in high heals, mini skirts, groceries between her legs.

Trieste also has several Roman ruins. This one is near the city center.

Trieste still has a vital Jewish community. We saw the Jewish museum of Trieste, and the children’s school right beside it.

The Synagogue in Trieste was built between 1908 and 1912, to replace four smaller ones, and today it is recognized as one of the largest and most important for Jews in Europe.

Leaving Trieste we came upon an unxpected treat. We had stopped to take a picture of the scenery from the top of a hill and heard voices just below us. Looking over the ledge, we saw olives being harvested in the traditional way - a net is spread out so the olives can gently fall from the tree when ready.

Road trip: Munich

We left for Munich anticipating the autobahn driving. We all thought it would be very straight, level and with long stretches of speed limitless driving. Not so at all. There were a few minutes here and there with no speed limit, and it was hilly and curvy. But E did have the chance to go fast and hit 187 kph at least twice.

First stop, the BMW Museum. Fantastic cars and unbelievable architecture.

Olympic Park was built on the rubble of the city from the war. It is now a beautiful park with all of the venues still used today. Somehow this expressed many of my emotions.

But it is also the cite of the tragedy of the 1972 Summer Olympics when the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Fatah Palestinian terrorist group Black September. By the end of the ordeal, the terrorists had murdered eleven Israeli athletes and one German police officer. We saw the granite block inscribed with the names of the dead. I thought it was well done. The large beam shows that it has been incorporated into the structure of the Olympic Stadium.

The day in the park was sunny with a bright blue sky. We saw all of the venues and even went into the swimming and diving arena which was stunningly beautiful and full of children jumping off the boards.

Most notably, the Munich Marathon was happening and we sat in the stadium watching the runners come in for a long time. It was very festive and there were many families cheering on their runner. The marathoners were served bananas, oranges and beer at the finish.

We took their suggestion and had a beer too and incredibly, as with all the beer we drank in Munich, it did not make us tipsy in the least. We attribute this to its purity.

Next stop was the Munich synagogue which was right on the map…but hidden in plain view on the street. It was a non-descript building in the middle of the block with no adornments at all. And, in fact, it wasn’t even really there – it had moved.

When we did find it, it was stunning. An artful fortress in the middle of a square, full of life, with children and people waiting to go in for services. The first 10 meters is all stone and the top is all glass to let the natural light in, making you feel safe and wonderful inside. The glass has many triangular panes forming many stars of David contained in the design. Beautiful and reaffirming.

We had dinner at the Hofbrau House, a loud, boisterous, fun place with ok food and big, huge mugs of beer and loud Bavarian music.

The French Chef

I had my first cooking class in Divonne, France and it was fantastic. I had had a meeting with the chef privately and he asked what I wanted to learn during my year here. He has incorporated my needs into his course offerings! We will work on technique using seasonal or traditional ingredients and events.

The chef was a good instructor; he demonstrated well, with good explanations in both words and technique. We made quenelles, a mousse of any kind of meat or fish, seasoned and poached in broth and served over rice or in the soup. They are light and delicate, like eating a protein dumpling.

The tradition here is to eat what you have prepared, but not standing over the sink. There is a dining room which had been set for us with beautiful linens, several wine glasses, several types of spoons, fork and knives, baskets of bread and gorgeous china. We plated our dishes and as we sat, a variety of wine was poured. Unbeknownst to us, the chef had prepared a dessert, which was served with more wine and coffee. It was so wonderful - a treat in every sense.

Pressing grapes the old fashioned way

We went to Vufflens-le-Château, for a fall grape harvest festival to see a traditional pressing. This village is named for its magnificent castle.

The grapes were placed in a square wooden tub for the press, mixed around to bruise them. Then they were weighted down with 3 layers of wooden beams, and the press was cranked into place and then winched even tighter.

The juice came streaming out a pipe at the base into a barrel, which was sweet, cold, fresh and very good.

The workers, who were also thirsty, took a break when their boss came by with chilled bottles of wine for them. After all, they were hot because they were working hard, and what better way to rehydrate on a vineyard. Luckily, we too had glasses and tasted the first really good wine we have had here.

Here is a video we made of this event.