An Italian Fairytale: Three Days with Lamborghini

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Wined and dined with the best regional foods of the land, equipped with more horsepower than ancient Roman cavalry, and privy to design and technology secrets of modern day driving machines, our Lamborghini experience during a trio of days in Italy will live on in memory as nothing short of an Italian Fairytale.

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, two Oregonians found themselves invited to the celebration of a mythical creature: the famed Italian Lamborghini driving machine… 

These young travelers from the west coast of the United States timidly prepared to meet the great figure of Automotive Royalty that grew up from the green hills of ancient Emilia-Romagna to become a world renown symbol of majesty, speed, and design.

Our story finds them rummaging through their luggage in hopes of finding something appropriate to wear to the ball. Scratch that. They didn’t rummage long: there was only one option – a black dress for her and a collared shirt and black jeans for him. The same outfits they’d worn for two weeks, crossing the ocean on a ship… But that’s another tale.

Our story actually finds them approaching the 2012 Lamborghini Driving Academy’s first night’s welcome dinner in the green hills just beyond the city bounds of Bologna, Italy. Continue reading →

I’ve Always Dreamed of Driving a Race Car

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Generally speaking, I’m afraid to dream.

Letdowns are a letdown for me, so refusing to dream means less disappointment in life. Right or wrong, I feel safer that way. Ironically, my wife is a good dreamer. At 10, she dreamed of marrying her future husband. At 15, she dreamed of being a Landscape Architect.  At 20, she dreamed of taking a year off to travel the world.

Needless to say, non-dreamers benefit immensely by sticking close to dreamers.

If you know me, you probably didn’t know I’ve dreamed of driving a race car. That’s because I didn’t know either. There weren’t any exotic car pics on my bedroom wall growing up. I don’t really know how engines work. I didn’t know a single exotic car model by name before this week.

Last week here in Italy, Lamborghini offered my friend Michael and me the chance to participate in their 2012 Driving Academy. I woke up from a nap in the peaceful city-center of Bologna to the news. Shutup! I thought my wife was pulling my leg.

A few days later, I found myself standing in the pit at a Formula One race track in Imola, Italy. Continue reading →

Farmgrown Lamborghini Legends

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It wasn’t a punchy sports car. I think my max speed on a downhill run was something like 16.8 mph. It wasn’t bright orange; it was Oregon Duck green and yellow, the height of a small house and the width of a single wide trailer.

My first experience driving a six-figure price tag vehicle came at the ripe age of eleven, behind the wheel of a combine on my family’s farm.

Fast forward seventeen years: sliding into a Lamborghini sports car, I clenched every muscle tight and whispered a prayer as the professional driver punched the accelerator to blow past 168 mph and on toward blurred vision. Ted chased behind us, solo at the wheel of a shiny Gallardo after a full day of precision control maneuvers and on-track training.

Pinch us, can this possibly be real?

Continue reading →

Artful Italy: Discovering Wildt in Forlì

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Today’s a quiet day of rest in Emilia-Romagna. I’m cozied up in our apartment in Bologna, sifting through photos and stories from northern Italy. It seems around every corner we’ve been greeted by a new surprise, a new enchantment, a new glass of wine or plate of colorful food, a new irresistible piece of beauty. This past week: no exception.

We paid a visit to Forlì, Italy, stopping in at Musei San Domenico, a restored 13th century Dominican convent turned creative arts space. Serendipitously, our visit coincided with a temporary exhibit running January 28 – June 17 featuring the work of Italian sculpture Adolfo Wildt (1868 – 1931). The collection offers a glimpse into a creative man’s inspiration and expression, featuring his own works and those of influential predecessors and contemporaries arcing from classical tradition to romanticism, art nouveau, and modernism. Continue reading →

Pink Flamingos in Italy?

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How do you deepen a friendship? Let your guard down. Share a comfortable meal. Reveal hidden sides of your personality. How do you deepen a friendship with Italy? Turns out, in the same way.

Think of that sheepish smile when a new acquaintance admits an unexpected tidbit of their story and you both discover the link of shared fascinations or pastime…that’s how we felt on our visit to Ferrara, “Little Venice,” and the Po Delta Wetlands. (“Pink Flamingos, Italy? No way! You have them, too? We just saw Flamingos in Bolivia…small, small world.”) Continue reading →

Do You Know the Land?

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I recently spent time cleaning out old computer files and found an image I’d saved early last year…

Italy asked the question, and I thought I knew the answer.

When I saved the vintage tourism poster to my hard drive, we’d already planned our route, and Italy was nowhere on the list. But the picture drew me in with its simple query:

“Do you know the land?”

I knew cities: Rome. Florence. Naples. Capri. Sorrento. Bari.

Ted and I have three visits to Italy under our belts, combining past solo trips.

We’ve eaten gelato (oh, yes we have!) and seen the Roman Holiday hotspots,
tossed Euros in the Trevi Fountain (hey, it must’ve worked?), listened to echoes of Blue Grotto paddle boat singers, admired “Venus on the Half-Shell” (gotta love Botticelli), and marveled at Michelangelo’s writhing stone Slaves while walking the hall to the David…

Ted carries a brown leather wallet from Florence; I bought my wedding necklace at a little boutique on Capri and think of the country with fondness in my heart.

I thought we knew Italy well enough…

Turns out we didn’t know the land any more than a visitor to New York City knows the Pacific Northwest. Continue reading →

Surprise: We’re Moving to Italy!

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Time to jump ship. Since January, we’ve blogged our way through South America and most recently left the last tale quite near the docks in Rio.

More than a few stories wait to be told from our final days in the southern hemisphere: a mid-March visit to Roberto Burle Marx’s estate, time spent with an 81 year old fellow working at a 106 year old organization serving the disenfranchised in Rio de Janeiro, Ted’s fishing escapades on Brazil’s Northeast Coast, crossing the Atlantic Ocean for sixteen nights and watching that red equator line slip past the boat’s bow, early-April Easter arrival in Spain, and a 1,500 mile road trip from Barcelona to Cadiz with Mike and Tracy.

For now, tidbits live in the Daily Travel Journal, and the fully-fleshed-out-and-photoed posts will make their appearance at some date in the future.

Today…we’ve found ourselves in the middle of a plan that was never part of the plan:

We’ve moved to northern Italy. Continue reading →

Would You Suspect a Waterfall?

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To the north of Buenos Aires, an overnight bus ride away, Argentina meets Brazil. Or rather, waters divide land, marking separations which humankind is privileged to oblige on their maps of ink

Iguazu Falls; we follow the flow. At the precipice of earth and stone, poetry of water comes to life. Continue reading →

Art and Dance in Buenos Aires

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Visiting La Bomba del Tiempo, Hombres Vertientes, Ojos Cerrados, Museo Nacional de Bella Artes, & Malba: Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires.
Making memories, seeking beauty.

During our month in Buenos Aires, we enjoyed a range of art and dance offerings from the city that prides itself on unique shows springing from a talented pool of artists and performers.

As in any city, there are the over-hyped events and true gems. Continue reading →

Writing Honestly from the Road

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It’s difficult to wear so many hats on the road (or on the open seas, as the case may be). This outpost of stories on the internet, this collection from two best friends off to see the world, feels wildly schizophrenic at times.

We’re foodies. We’re fans of great design. I love taking pictures. Ted loves drinking coffee. We play the tourist part, signing up for guided treks, sailing the seas on a cruise ship, and snapping cliched shots at guidebook hotspots.

Beyond that, though, we’re thoughtful, introspective people with a heart for people living below the radar. Our experience of deeper truth leaves us hungry for reality. Continue reading →

Just Dance: Finding Authentic Tango in Buenos Aires

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Long before we booked our tickets to South America, I had bookmarked this beautiful video, Milongas…The Seduction of Tango, by photographer Tewfic El-Sawy:

If you have the time, push play and experience a taste of the finer side of Tango in Buenos Aires.

I longed for this kind of visual experience once we landed in Argentina. On the other hand, Ted and I found ourselves wary at the thought of joining up with most Tango Tour operations in town for a variety of reasons:

A) We suck at dancing together. Maybe it was a case of sour grapes? Continue reading →

Mercado: On the Hunt for Local Fashion in Buenos Aires

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Welcome to Martínez, an upscale district about fifteen kilometers north of the popular tourist and shopping areas of downtown Buenos Aires. We took the commuter train up from Retiro Station, wandered the streets, found storefronts galore boasting eye catching shoes, wardrobe fun, and cute cafes and learned the story of a young designer bringing a fresh take on style to the city.

Hunting through typical shops or standing on the street corner and taking notes, it was easy to see that Argentinian fashion is forward and colorful: patterns, prints and textures galore in shop after shop after shop. Great for the first few browsing sessions, but this girl needed something to jazz up her travel gear and somehow that wasn’t quite it…

Fortunately for me, Marìa del bar Barrera of Mercado Buenos Aires is working to simplify styles and design, manufacture, and sell classic wardrobe staples to natives and international visitors alike. Even more fortunate? She was our landlady!

Once again, real life proves better than fiction. Continue reading →

Cosas Ricas: The Best Little Bakery in San Telmo

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This post is mostly about an unexpected friendship in a new neighborhood and a love affair with my husband, with my life, and with the best cake I’ve ever had (and eaten, too).

Ted and I packed up our bags and headed out the door in the wee morning hours back in early January, prepared to fly off into the unknown and spend the year creating a life together in the midst of continually new circumstances.

When we paused six weeks in to settle into an apartment for one month’s time, little did we know the joy the awaited us down the street and around the corner… Continue reading →