photography – Page 15 – Destination NOW

Orvieto’s Museums…and Dinner

Orvieto’s museums are small and are clustered around the Duomo. Friday afternoon was the perfect time to wander through all four. We quickly learned that weekdays are relatively quiet in Orvieto, but that changes on Saturday. Seems that even hilltop towns also have their weekend warriors.

The C. Faina museum is a three story palace facing the Duomo. In addition to the Etruscan vases and a stone coffin, it has a room chock full of ancient coins, with the modern convenience of trays that move when you press a button. If my cute boy had been by my side, I know he absolutely would have spent a fair amount of time in this room.

Ancient coin collection at Museo C. Faina

I have been more than slightly spoiled by NYC museums, so have already seen similar artifacts. What fascinated ME was the actual building itself. I wish I were more skilled at holding the camera correctly so that I could have better captured this ceiling. (I know Photoshop can work wonders but, as we say here in Italy “Io sono pigro”. Or that’s I would say if I knew how to speak Italian). But enough about my shortcomings, back to the museum tour.

One of many beautiful ceilings in C. Faina

Next stop, the Palazzi Papali which has been recycled into an archaeological museum. The nuns never mentioned that the popes owned quite a bit of real estate outside of the Vatican. Or if the dear sisters did, it was on one of the many days that I wasn’t listening, so finding Papal Palaces scattered throughout Europe has been a revelation to me.
This museum contained all the usual jewelry and vases, plus everything you needed to conduct your standard rape, pillage and plunder. But once again, I was completely entranced by the building. While I sat in a corner of the room, in the chair reserved for the guard who was out on the patio flirting with a sweet young thing, I was thinking deep thoughts. Let me share a couple of them:
“Man, I’m sure glad I was born in the 20th century”!
“Some of my friends have better houses than your standard 15th century Pope.”

THe Duomo Museum only had frescoes, either copies or originals, I guess they had to be one or the other since most museums don’t intentionally display fakes, but I really didn’t care one way or the other. 10 minutes later I was out the door.

The Emilio Greco Museum was my very favorite. His ability to make a few ink marks on paper into something beautiful kept me mesmerized for quite some time.

The museum was only one room. The beautiful sculptures we plopped amid a whole lot of stuff: a piano, chairs, a spiral staircase. Still, the drawings and sculptures made you forget the cluttered space around them.

Emilio also designed the Duomo’s huge green doors. Let me tell you, those doors have a whole lot of entwined bodies on them.

And since we are now back at the Duomo, here’s the story about how a little hilltop town got such a grand cathedral.
Back in the late 1400’s, one of the priests couldn’t quite wrap his head around the host literally being the body of Christ, until one day, while saying Mass, the host started to bleed. Fortunately, they didn’t have paper towels back then, so he quickly grabbed a linen cloth to tidy up. As mentioned earlier, popes were frequent visitors, and the Vicar of Rome just happened to be in town that weekend. He quickly decided that the cloth was “church worthy” and that a new cathedral would be ideal as a display case. And so the bloody cloth remains, up to this very day, in the little side chapel on the left of the main altar. No photos are allowed, but if the truth be told, I really wasn’t able to see the cloth anyway. I just had faith that it was there.

On to the next topic: Dinners in Orvieto are a magnificent thing, and the one we had at Restaurante Ancora was particularly grand. Diane and I discovered it while stumbling around town, looking for a bathroom. It looked interesting and Trip Advisor enlightened us further as to the merits of this particular establishment. We wisely allowed Carlo, the owner, to choose for us and it was fabulous. Delicious pizza bread, an amazing eggplant appetizer, a lasagna, a ravioli, veal with a delicious sauce, vegetables and dessert, plus wine–all for less than 35 Euros per person. Wow. What a way to end the evening.

Beautiful Orvieto

I had never heard of Orvieto prior to my VBT trip. What a charming little town! Founded by the Etruscans, it sits atop a pile of volcanic rock. It is a very walkable town, with enough to see and do to keep us all quite happy and occupied for several days.

P1030151 — Orvieto-one mile long and a half a mile wide

The VBT pre-trip package included a guided walking tour. Manuela explained that Orvieto’s three main squares corresponded to the three important functions: religion, commerce and government. We are standing in the “commerce” square. Deserted on a Friday morning, but bustling on Saturday, which is market day.

P1030013 — Manuela in the Piazza del Popolo

Sally and I had wandered the streets the day we arrived, but what a difference it made having our guide. (Or maybe being jet lagged had something to do with it.)

The market was a major disappointment, more like a low-end flea market. For example, they sold what my Grandma called “house” dresses. I thought that style died with her, decades ago.

Fortunately the little streets were lined with delightful shops loaded with crafts, ceramics, unique clothing, wine, cheese. You too can own one of these tee shirts if you have 125 Euros you don’t know what to do with!

The Government square wasn’t all that interesting, except for the tower that dates back to the 1000’s.

We said goodbye to Manuela after our visit to Orvieto’s main attraction, the Duomo.

P1030017 — The Duomo, as seen from one of the side streets

It was surprising to see such a grand church in a rather small town. There is quite a story behind it. Any guesses? I’ll tell all in the next post.

Star of David pattern on pavement in front of Duomo

P1030020 — Detail from Duomo facade. Are these the damned?

By now, you’ve probably seen quite enough of the church, so off we go to the next attraction, Orvieto’s underground tour, the perfect place to hang out during the hottest part of the day. The Uniticket brochure describes Orvieto as the city of a thousand caves. That is likely true, however most of the caves are below people’s houses, and are not open to the public. They make the ideal wine cellar, staying at a uniform temperature.

The tour consisted of a couple of caves that have been linked together by some rather narrow passages. I am more than slightly claustrophobic, so when I saw the tiny, winding staircases carved in the rock, I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that I had passed through a birth canal once, I could do it again.

The caves functioned as bomb shelters during World War II, and in ancient times they were used as pigeon houses (pigeons were considered food in this area), for olive oil pressing and for storage. Because the volcanic rock is relatively soft, the Etruscans were able to dig down to the water table, so the caves were the source of their water. And no, I have no idea who the cute little girl was; she just made the photo more interesting.

The “other” caves, Pozzo Della Cava were discovered in the 1500’s when Pope Clement VII
decided to hang out in Orvieto while Rome was being sacked. He determined the city needed a reliable source of water so it could withstand sieges, so he had the Etruscan well enlarged, and in the process, the workers uncovered burial chambers and artifacts.

More to see, but it will have to wait till the next post.

Living the Dream in Lucca

I’ll never be rich (at least not in monetary terms) or famous, but for the next two weeks, I’ll be living as if I were.

Our villa in Lucca is exquisite. Because of bed type and bathroom preferences among the other villa mates, I ended up with this fantastic room. I’m so glad Sandy is joining me here on July 4th, to share this amazing experience with me. Get ready, everyone–once little sister arrives, the blog will likely become much more exciting (or maybe not, so it can keep its PG rating.)

Check out that terrace, right outside our room.

I’m quite proud of myself. I actually figured out how to use the shower on my own. Usually Mike does all the hard stuff. This shower has knobs galore to control overhead, side and hand sprays. The door reminds me of Star Trek, except it has a seat, so you can be comfy while being beamed up?

Ours is the only shared bathroom, (with the “twin bed” room) but there is also a bathroom on the first floor. The three other bedrooms (two on the third floor) have their own, equally magnificent bathrooms. So, five bedrooms in total, and five baths.

There is also a large, shady terrace on the first floor.

Orvieto- Day 1

I don’t know whether it was yesterday’s back to back yoga sessions or the glasses of red wine, maybe both, but all of the normal air travel irritants fazed me not one bit. I would just “breathe into it, take another sip” and contemplate how mellow I was feeling as I floated across the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe I’m finally getting the hang of this traveling thing.

It took us a while to reach our hotel today and a bit longer to get into our rooms. I was definitely “runnin’ on empty” by the time I collapsed onto my bed for a one hour nap.

My room is lovely, on the first floor, which, by the way, us Yankees would consider the 2nd floor. It’s in an old building with all of the conveniences: air conditioning, little refrigerator, or as I like to think of it “wine cooler”, a bidet, located within spitting distance of the cathedral (the hotel, not the bidet–although technically, i suppose it is both). Not that I would ever spit. But if I did, I could probably score a bull’s eye.

Okay. It is official. My connection with the Internet is a lot like my high school dating experiences–on, again, off again. So, I will quickly get some photos up before the Internet breaks up with me.

No, that was not the interior of the Duomo. You can’t take pictures inside. Well, you aren’t supposed to, but i noticed some tourists boldly ignoring the rules. Didn’t they see that fresco of Jesus passing judgement? Didn’t they see what happens to the rule breakers? I did. And let me tell you, I wasn’t taking any chances.

The second photo is actually the staircase in one of Orvieto’s little shops. If I had 120 euros that I didn’t know what do do with, I would definitely have bought one of their Miss Piggy tee shirts. I may return, just to take a photo of one of those suckers–they are quite unique! Something to anticipate in future posts.

I wandered around town by myself, then later with Sally, while we waited for our fellow companions to awaken and for the restaurants to start serving dinner. 7:30 is the earliest, and is an accommodation to those of us from across the pond. Italians dine later.

This is such a lovely little town, full of interesting alleys, with shops, restaurants, wine stores, museums. Sally and I ducked into a wine store and had our own private tasting. We determined that white was the way to go, after tasting three reds, en chose our favorite from among four whites. Time to weave our way back to join the others for a fantastic dinner and a good night’s sleep.

Versatile Blogger Award

Being still in the learning phase of blogging, I was surprised and grateful to get an email from my newly acquired blogging buddy Marion, informing me that she had nominated me for the Versatile Blogger award. At the time, I was getting ready for my cross-country road trip, so was way behind on my electronic media: the blogs I follow, Facebook etc. I was honored, delighted, pleased, flattered–but clueless, in that I thought there was another step after nomination. What, was I confusing this with the academy awards, thinking there was an election process? Hey, I already admitted to being clueless.

I have since had the time to recover from the last trip, catch up, and read Marion’s nominating post. Thank you, sweet Marion, for the kind words. Although a little late, I now know what I am supposed to do.

1. Add the picture of the award to this post .

2. Thank the award-giver and link back to them in your post. (See above–click on the blue “Marion”)
3. Share 7 things about yourself.

I love, love, love traveling–going to new places, learning about the culture, the geography, the history, the people, the food, the wine (oh yes, the wine…)
I have no sense of direction, which makes traveling with me even more of an adventure, especially when I am driving–or navigating–either is sometimes harrowing. Probability would suggest that, when presented with a left and a right, 50% of the time, I’d choose the right option. Probability theory, in my case, would be dead wrong.
the best thing I have ever done in my life is give birth to my son. He continues to delight us on a regular basis. (Considering he didn’t sleep through the night till he was 18 months old, he damn well should! Kid, you still owe us. )
Even after 36 years, I still think my husband is the most interesting man I know. (Cute too, and very patient, at least most of the time. Work on that, will ya, cute boy? )
If my sisters (including mi hermana preferida) and my cousins weren’t related to me, I’d choose them as friends. They are all very different, and all very wonderful, in unique and special ways. Marion is correct. Initially my blog was created so that my family could be a part of my travels. I didn’t think any one else would be interested, so I’m delighted that others are following and commenting.
I’m passionate about reading–and am convinced the greatest gift you can give any child is instilling in them a love for books. I’ll admit, however, that now that I’ve become a member of the blog-o-sphere, I’m spending more time reading blogs, which has somewhat reduced my book time.
I have a very casual relationship with calendars. Now that I’m retired and no longer have Microsoft office reminding me of the date and time, I’ve gotten even less in tune with the days of the week. (These days, it always feels like Saturday!)

4. Pass the award along to your 15 favorite bloggers.

One of the nice things about this step is I was able to discover several bloggers from Marion’s list that I am now enjoying (Senile Denial, sharansblog.) I won’t repeat her list, but will share other bloggers that I find interesting, inspiring, fun.

Photography

I love looking at beautiful photos. I have accepted the fact that I will never be as good as any of the following photographers, but even if I can pick up one tenth of their techniques and skill, I will greatly improve my picture-taking abilities.

Mazzarella Photo Chris takes awe-inspiring photos of wildlife. His narrative about the various shots is always interesting.

Jeffrey’s most recent photos of eagles on his Photo Nature Blog are truly incredible. How did he manage to get those shots?

David, a fellow retiree, can make the ordinary look special.

I don’t know anything about this young blogger, other than I really like her compositions.

Travel

I hope to get to Asia some day. in the meantime, I can visit and dream by clicking on Ken Pham’s blog.

Retirement

As Marion indicated,there are loads of blogs on retirement that are actually financial advisor sites, but finding blogs about retiree life is a bit harder. Here are two (in addition to Marion’s list) that I discovered.

Bob is a prolific blogger, plus his site is a great source for other retirement bloggers. It was through his site that I found Barb‘s blog. I love her positive attitude, insights and creativity.

Inspiration

I “met” Michelle through Global Volunteers. She had served on St. Lucia’s “Team One” and was kind enough to spend time on the phone with me prior to my joining “Team Two”. She will be returning to St. Lucia in November (would that be Team Five?), so I can look forward to joining her vicariously via her blog “A Well Lived Day”.

In 2008, I discovered the wonderful book “Your Money or Your Life by Joe Domingues and Vicki Robin. It changed the way I thought about money, financial security and retirement. Definitely a book worth reading, especially during these challenging economic times. Vicki is now blogging about sustainability, farming, food, Brazil, community issues.

Although Eva could fit under the photography heading, I’m putting her under “inspiring” for her work with Alzheimer’s patients. I particularly love the photos of her son.

Young Women in a Category All Their Own

Elena’s photos are gorgeous (both the ones she takes and the photos taken of her), her adventures are exciting and her writing is beautiful. I love her spirit of adventure!

Crazy train to Tinky Town is another one that is hard to categorize. It is funny, has great photos, is a travel blog–yet another young woman with a wonderful spirit of adventure!
5. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

I assume the way that is done is to comment on their blog, so off I go to finish the job.

“There’s no place like home” Dorothy Gale

Okay, so you may have figured out that I am moving faster than my blog. In fact, I arrived home on Wednesday, June 6th, at midnight. While on the road, I was having internet issue, it is true. What is also true is that I was having so bloody much fun, I didn’t have a lot of time or energy to mess with my iPad. Blogging on the road just isn’t easy–so I must say that I’m totally impressed by my fellow bloggers that do it so well. (Marion, you know who I’m talking about.)

Guess who got a window seat for the ride home? Of course, I had a window seat on the way there too. The view was spectacular for most of the Albuquerque to Denver flight. I won’t bore you with the many other photos that I took of the terrain. I found it fascinating, but realize that not everyone else would be as easily entertained as I am.

It kept getting better and better. I scored an upgrade for the Denver to Newark segment. Oh, I’m so going to miss my “elite” status when it goes away next year. Without all those business trips to get me points, I’ll be back in steerage with the rest of the regular folks. (On balance, I’d say it’s the better deal–free time vs elite status–no contest.)

First class also was a window seat, but I was quite busy during this segment. Ruby slippers didn’t get me home, but some ruby colored liquid sure made that yellow brick road roll along more smoothly. (Can you tell The Wizard of Oz is an all time favorite of mine?) It was just as well, because we were heading into darkness. Sure did look pretty with all the lights, though. By the time I took this shot of Newark at night, the photo wasn’t the only thing that was fuzzy and out of focus!

For anyone wondering what happened between the road trip and the plane trip, the rest of the blog is for you.

Once we hit Albuquerque, our road trip was finished. The one hour drive to Santa Fe was nothing after the 2,000+ miles we had logged during the prior 8 days.

Our last “on the road” breakfast at the Nativo Hotel was truly memorable because brought me back to my post college days. Back then, I was working for Harper & Row, covering parts of the Midwest as a “college traveler”, which meant I spent my days talking to professors about textbooks. In the late 70’s there weren’t many women in sales, especially in jobs requiring overnight travel, so I was frequently the only woman eating breakfast in a crowded hotel restaurant. How weird that it was happening again, almost 35 years later, but with a few major differences. Back then, the men were in the 30-50 age range, wearing business suits, and felt it was their right (and duty) to stare at any unaccompanied female, which, I can assure you, felt quite uncomfortable. One of the greatest advantages to getting older is that no one ogles me any more, so that wasn’t the difference. It was the men’s ages and attire . They looked like escapees from the nearest nursing home. Except few nursing homes have a 30 to 1 male to female ratio. More the other way around. This place was a little old lady’s dream…sort of.

Here’s the reality. The night before I happened to catch a couple of the guys out of their civvies, in their full regalia, waist ropes, cowls and all.

Yup, we had managed to stumble into a hotel hosting a conference for Friars (or were they brothers? I forget the correct terminology.) It sure made for a quiet, peaceful stay!

But I digressed. Back to the trip. We couldn’t get into Greg’s apartment until 4PM, so we decided to make the most of our time in Albuquerque, by visiting the Botanical Garden and Aquarium.

I just couldn’t get enough of those blooming cacti. (I just knew two years of Latin would be put to use one of these days ).

I wish the bee had been more cooperative, but she refused to pose for me. Just when I thought she was perfectly framed, she moved faster than my shutter finger. Oh well. I was surprised to find so many water lilies in a desert botanical garden.

If I could only choose one, which shot would be preferable-the close up or wider angle? I’m trying to be more discriminating in my shots, so would appreciate opinions — and I know there are lots of great photographers among my fellow bloggers. I’ve seen the magic you create. Plus I never tried out poll daddy before and am curious to see how it works.

The garden was not without wildlife. These fish were almost domesticated, gathering at the pond’s edge when they sensed a human was nearby. They came close to leaping out of the water to get food, and their size attested to their success.

More wildlife. Mom was close by, but I cropped her out.

As the late, great Harry Truman once said “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the garden and visit the aquarium”, or something to that effect. So we did.

I wasn’t sure my Panasonic Lumix would be able to capture the jellyfish, given the low light, but hey, with digital, it doesn’t cost anything to give it a try. So I did.

I loved the colors of this creature.

It ain’t snorkeling, but it almost as thrilling, wandering among the tanks of tropical fish.

For the next couple of days, Greg and I hung out together, enjoying Santa Fe and his really cool apartment until I met up with my dear friend, Shirley. How lucky that Greg got an internship in New Mexico, close to one of my favorite people to visit. Not only did I experience 10 memorable days with my son, but I also got a mini vacation with a great pal. Her husband was out-of-town, so staying at her gorgeous home was like having a girl’s weekend at a five-star resort, with a very talented and creative activity director. Two of the visit’s highlights were the Petroglyph National Monument and Ojo Caliente Spa.

The park ranger suggested that we experience the more difficult trail. She said “you girls will have no problem making that climb.” I don’t know what tickled us more–her confidence in our athletic abilities (that assessment proved to be accurate), or calling us “girls” (which clearly was not).

There are hundreds of these in the hills surrounding Albuquerque. Here are a couple that I particularly liked.

The view alone was worth the climb.

Can you stand another poll? What do you think–which shot is better?

“Us girl’s”, successfully recruited a fellow hiker to take our photo. I think he was more skilled with a camera than my Oklahoma friend, Charles, don’t you?

Next day was the Ojo Caliente Spa. Who knew that sitting in a pool of arsenic was supposed to be good for your digestion? If that particular pool doesn’t grab you, not to worry. You can also go to the iron pool, the mud bath pool, the soda pool or a few others that we didn’t sample.

The surroundings were lovely, the treatments were heavenly. I could quite easily become addicted to the spa life. Only my lack of funds (plus other priorities) keeps me from a life of facials, mud baths and massages. But it sure was a great finale for an amazing trip.

A couple more photos of New Mexico, taken from a moving car. Why don’t all highways look like this? Let’s hear it for the artists that make all our lives more beautiful!

Only 11 days till the next adventure–bike trip in Italy. Thanks for visiting, and please come along for the ride through Tuscany!

Gettin’ our kicks on Route 66

Route 66, one of the first highways in the USA, extended from Chicago to Los Angeles. Knicknamed the “mother road”, Route 66 dates back to 1926; it has since fallen into disrepair, after being replaced by interstate highways. Parts of Route 66 run parallel to route 40, providing the opportunity for a sentimental journey back to the early days of automobile travel. Oklahoma visitor’s center had a very helpful publication that described points of interest along the road, coded to a pull out map. We had everything that we needed for this next leg of our journey so we set off to experience more Americana.

First stop was Red Rock Canyon State Park, where we met Charles, who offered to take our picture.

He was a very sweet soul, but I’m thinking photography is not his forte.

Well, at least those photos give you a glimpse of the red rocks for which the Canyon was named.

Next stop was Weatherford, Oklahoma, where we were able to get up close and personal with a 122 foot wind turbine blade. Wind power is understandably very big in this area. We could FEEL the wind pushing the car as we drove this stretch of the highway.

As usual, I asked Greg to get into the photo to provide a point of reference for size.

One photo just couldn’t capture that enormous monster, so here’s another.

We would soon be eating the very best bison burger ever. Okay, so in the Northeast, you go to a tank to choose the lobster you want. I wonder if this place works the same way? Could that be why this big guy is refusing to make eye contact?

If he’s not here when we leave, I’ll have my answer.

Unlike Robert’s, The Cherokee Trading Post was wonderful, very clean with delicious, reeasonably priced food.

Talk about luck…the Oklahoma Rout 66 Museum reopened just days before we got there.

It’s a small museum, but very well done, with rooms arranged by decade. Pressing a button on each room’s wall started recordings of music popular for that time period. Admission was a mere $4 per adult, for about an hour’s worth of entertainment.

Some numbers to put things into perspective.

The last room was devoted to the late 60’s. I have friends that owned a vehicle like this one. (you know who you are…no need to mention names.)

The museum is located across the street from this motel, whose claim to fame is that Elvis stayed there multiple times. Being a superstar in the 50’s and 60’s sure isn’t what it is like today, that’s for certain!

Could the state of Oklahoma have more than ONE Route 66 Museum? It could, and did. To avoid showing favoritism, we felt compelled to stop. This one had a great little village, with yet another perspective of days before microwaves, cell phones, Internet and cable TV.

My mother used to tell my sisters and me that it hurts to be beautiful. I’m eternally grateful that this home permanent contraption was way before my time.

But this refrigerator wasn’t. I actually remember having a refrigerator like this! How did my mother feed all of us kids? No wonder Campbell Soup was um, um good!

“Something tells me it’s all happening at the zoo”. Simon and Garfunkel

Memphis was having a heat wave while we were there,but that didn’t stop us from visiting their fantastic zoo. We decided to get there when it opened and stay until the heat did us in.

Our favorite spot was the big cat exhibit.

We started and ended our visit there. Can you see why?

The African penguins were cute, but we were spoiled by the Antarctic trip, seeing the chinstraps, gentoo and adelie penguins in their natural habitat.

Memphis is rightfully famous for its giant pandas.

I always regretted not riding a camel when we were in Egypt, so when this opportunity came a knockin’, I jumped aboard.

Okay, so maybe this ride was intended for kids, but hey, I’m down with having a second childhood!

I’ve had mornings when I felt like this elephant looks. In fact, I’ve had mornings when I’ve LOOKED like this elephant looks, especially around the eyes…

Whenever you start feeling that your job is a little too stressful, just think, at least you don’t have THIS guy’s job.

Although I have lots more animal shots, I’m going to end this post before wordpress crashes on me. Remote blogging on the iPad is a bit of a challenge, as I’m sure my fellow bloggers will attest. (any tips or hints would be most appreciated!)

One parting image from the zoo parking lot. Remember those Nashville brides? I think one of them may have followed us here.

“Goin’ to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee”–Paul Simon

Greg was about five years old when Paul Simon released his Graceland album. I have wonderful memories of the two of us singing along all the way to daycare, Greg’s little blonde head bobbing in time to the music. I never thought that decades later, we’d be visiting Graceland together! Elvis purchased Graceland when he was 22, and for the time, it was quite a mansion, but not so much by today’s standards. According to the audio guide, this is the way the living room looked when he lived there. Growing up, I wasn’t a big Elvis fan, but over time, I’ve come to appreciate how much he contributed to popular music. His achievements are impressive, and the Graceland tour does an effective job highlighting them.

Elvis’ racquetball court is now a display room for his hit records. Pretty impressive, when you see them all amassed in one place.

How sad that his life ended the way it did. Are there many music superstars that have been able to manage their celebrity? I’m thinking of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the list goes on and on.
The Graceland complex is a marketing machine. We bought the “platinum” tour, (but found a half price ticket on the Internet) which got us into the car museum, the planes, and a couple of rooms with videos of Elvis on tour. Here’s Greg, doing his Elvis imitation, as he climbs into the Lisa Marie, an early jet, that was customized with a bedroom, living room and conference table. Ah, those most definitely were friendly skies!
Other than the mansion itself, every site is accessed through a gift shop containing every item imaginable with Elvis’ name or picture slapped onto it: pajama tops and bottoms, trivets, key chains, sunglasses. It is a money machine…and I’m sure, very good for the city of Memphis, providing jobs for lots of its citizens.
One of the things that I loved most about my former job was my wonderful customers. I traveled to Memphis at least twice a year for the past 10 years, visiting International Paper. We would conduct our meeting then enjoy a fantastic dinner together. Let me tell you, Memphis has some of the best restaurants in the United States!
This time, I had no business responsibilities, but was fortunate enough to spend time with Jim, who graciously took us to lunch and gave us a tour of places I hadn’t discovered on prior visits. The highlight was his partner’s studio. Brantley has done some amazing pieces, one of which is hanging in the Memphis Civil Rights Museum. Enough for this post…but more on Memphis to follow.

Go west, young man (and mother)

Day Two’s destination was Knoxville. We weren’t in a particular hurry to get there. I’m sure it is a perfectly lovely city, but it just didn’t SPEAK to us.

Natural Bridge on the other hand, almost shouted “stop! Ya gotta see me!” , so we did, and we did. Once inside the Natural Bridge complex, and it IS a complex, we decided to forego the wax museum, the toy museum, the Native American village, and yes, even the Natural Bridge, in favor of the caverns. Hey, they had large pictures of the bridge. I can’t imagine that the real deal
would look a whole lot different. Besides, it was getting a tad hot, and we figured the caverns would be a nice, cool break from the heat.

We weren’t disappointed. The caverns were quite beautiful, and the sweet young guide did a stellar job telling the story of their creation, as we descended 34 stories into the earth. At least they SAY it is 34 stories. I find that highly doubtful, given that we not only walked down, but back up. Regardless of the depth, it was a fun experience.

The moss on one wall almost had a Jurassic Park vibe to it.

It was fairly dark down there, so it was a bit of a challenge to get a photo that does the stalactites justice, but I gave it a shot, so to speak.

Although day two covered almost 400 miles, the drive wasn’t tedious. Great company, glorious scenery and enough stations on Sirius to keep us entertained and in a Tennessee state of mind–who could ask for anything more?

We managed to get hungry just in the right spot…near Daleville, the home of the Three Little Pigs Restaurant. Now, I’m not an expert on barbecue, but I have to say, they had the finest pig I’ve ever tasted. Plus, we loved the decor.

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I'm thoroughly enjoying letting this trip unfold, with little to no preplanning. It is quite a novel experience for me, the Organization Queen. Greg pointed out we are practicing "just in time" delivery, something that Toyota does…and look how successful THEY are.

Our last minute hotel choice proved to be an excellent one, just west of Knoxville, one exit past the Adult SuperStore. No, we didn't stop. Something told us there would be several similar establishments along the way. We sure were right about that, but we were moving too fast for me to snap a photo of the billboards.

Wanting to relive the Cinco de Mayo experience, we chose a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and managed to catch a birthday celebration. The waiters sang, dressed the birthday boy in hat and serape and did SOMETHING to get that white gunk on his face. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough with my camera to capture exactly what.

Heading to Nashville for Day 3.

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