Day Trip to Slovenia: History, Nature and Wine

The region where my grandmother's family is from is right on the border of Italy and Slovenia, which makes for easy cross-cultural day tripping. Several of my childhood friends are Slovene and now work in the wine industry and/or as tour guides. My mom and I spent an afternoon in the able hands of Aleks and Marjana and enjoyed some spectacular nature, history, and local wines.

We started by climbing a spiral staircase belvedere tower in the tiny village of Gonjace. Not for those with fear of heights, but the reward is 360-degree views of the Collio hills, vineyards, terra-cotta roofs, and depending on which way you are looking either the Alps or the Adriatic.

At the top of the belvedere is this compass that shows the direction of the nearby towns and cities. I have a thing for compasses, if you didn't know. :)

Our next stop was Smartno, a historic fortified village that has been beautifully restored.

My friend Alex told us many stories about the culture of the place - like the wreath of dried wildflowers on the door that would have signified there is a single woman at the house who is eligible for marriage...or the importance of having greenery and a grapevine in front of the house.

I first met Aleks and his sister Marjana we were little kids. It's so cool to see where we all are now, and how many of our interests and occupations are aligned. Aleks is a history enthusiast, personal trainer, and regional tour guide who speaks multiple languages.

Aleks took us to a hidden gem in the Brda region of the Slovenian countryside. We drove along a dirt road through grape fields and into the winter forest, and eventually came upon this clear pool with a waterfall. The water spills over a wall that apparently was built by the French during Napoleon's occupation in the late 1700's or early 1800's.

Walking down a small path from the main waterfall, you reach the truly impressive sight: another small waterfall and a natural stone bridge with dark emerald water running underneath. The water color in this part of the world is unreal - either intense deep green or milky turquoise blue - thanks to the karst limestone that makes up most of the river beds. What a gem!

After our nature walk, we headed to the wine cellar (cantina) where Marjana works. It is a large facility but still feels very personal and authentic, especially when you have an inside connection. :)

We got to tour the special reserve cellar that houses something crazy like 80,000 bottles of vintage wine, some dating back to the 1960's. Imagine being able to pick one bottle at random and taste what is inside!

Here I am with Marjana amid oak barrels. She and I are brainstorming some wine tourism ideas: stay tuned, especially if you are interested in visiting this region of the world.

Geneva 2015

At the tail end of September, Rico and I went to Geneva for a mini-reunion of Mozambique friends. Kelly and Marcos, our fellow American-Brazilian couple, have been living there for about a year, as has Helen, our badass friend who heads up land mine removal operations. Europe's geography helped out the reunion effort, as Brighton-based Jenny was able to fly down for a few days with no problem.

It was a much-needed get together. Nothing like old friends to make you feel all is right in life, and to give you objective but well-founded perspective on your current concerns and opportunities. Us girls held a Council of Elders and basically advised each other on the Major stuff: relationships, career, family, health. The boys also had boy time, which I imagine was just as satisfying. 

Amid all the talking, we managed to squeeze in some leisure. Kelly and Marcos, who hosted us, actually live just over the border in France. I neglected to take any photos, but their house is right next to some lovely agricultural fields beyond which are the Alps in the distance. I went running along tractor paths that criss-cross the fields, through corn and kale and what looked to be radishes. There were self-serve farm stands with pears and quince and apples, and signs for a co-op vineyard with local wine.

Interestingly, the farm roads I was running on actually crossed the border into Switzerland but save for a sign saying you should have an ID on you, it was an almost imperceptible passage. Borders were on my mind a lot during the trip: who can cross them, who can't, and how unfair it often seems.

We only had a short few days in Geneva, but we managed to get in some tourism. One afternoon we cruised the lake in an old paddleboat and had lunch in their chic on-board dining room. All along the perimeter of the lake there were gargantuan old world mansions with manicured grounds, which Marcos told us cost a cool 50 million Euros.

Apparently Geneva is up there as far as real estate prices are concerned, and that was definitely the feel I got being in the city: that it is a place for the well-off. With the UN headquarters there, as well as many other international development organizations, there is a bubble that brought flashbacks of Maputo. The people working to help the world's least fortunate often have a cost structure and lifestyle that is among the world's most expensive. Irony at its finest, for sure.

Anyhow, the boat was lovely as was the wander around old town that we took after lunch...

On our last night, we went out to a fancy Michelin-starred restaurant called La Ferme de l'Hospital. Innovative food, well-curated atmosphere, but also one of the biggest shocks of this trip: only the men at our table were given menus with prices. Us ladies all had menus with descriptions of the food but no prices.

The assumption about gender roles left me drop-jawed. If we had been a table of all heterosexual couples, maybe I'd have been mildly offended but let it go. What really perplexed me was that we were four ladies and two men. So were Rico and Marcos supposed to also pay for Helen and Jenny (who have boyfriends of their own back home?) What if there were a lesbian couple at the table, would the more masculine-seeming lady have received a menu with prices? Or would the men still be "expected" to pay? What if a table of all ladies came to eat?? I was incredibly shocked at this old-fashioned gender BS, but my dining companions had all seen it before and thus it was less of a thing for them...Gender issues aside, the meal was delicious and ridiculous in the way that 7-course formal dining usually is. 

The next morning we said our farewells and headed to the airport to continue our vacation. Actually in the airport I had my #2 shocking experience of the trip. We checked in to our flight and were only asked for boarding passes, no ID. We went through security, and still no ID. Boarding the plane we went through an automated gate that scanned a bar code on our boarding pass.

As an American used to US security routines, this was shocking to me. How on earth could it be possible in 2015 to board a plane all willy-nilly with just a cell phone boarding pass and no positive ID that you are actually the person traveling? I understand that within the Schengen countries there is free movement of people and goods, but it was shocking to experience it in an airport. I guess land borders seem more anti-climactic as far as unhindered passage. Also, it brought up thoughts again about who can freely move between countries and who can't. So much seems linked to money, privilege, and xenophobia. Lots to question, and lots to be grateful for.

Next stop: Croatia!

Angel in the Bay

We had a visit last week from my college best friend Angel and her man João. They live in Houston, he is Portuguese, she is ridícula. :) Angel and I have been friends for 16 years and through thick and thin. I love when she visits because I feel so totally like myself! It was her birthday, and she got engaged, and we all had a great time hanging out.

What's been going on lately

A lot, really. The gallery (the showroom is now a gallery, btw. linguistic obsessions...) Anyhow, the gallery has been on several people's radar lately, including the Chamber of Commerce. I had a visit from Jamie the other day, which was really nice. She is a big fan of Kina, so was super excited to see Emi's work in the gallery.

 I've been heavily involved in organizing a community event called Point to Point. We are reinventing and reimagining our community, connecting the (red) dots, and having a lot of fun with pop-ups, performances, collaborations, and impromptu everything. Oh, look! I have red dots in my gallery already! Find out more here. Join us if you're in town!

I've been making new work. Here's a piece called "You make me happy when skies are gray." It is composed of repurposed brooches and treasure components found in my grandmother's drawers in Italy and collected as a child, a woven golden grass disc (capim dourado, Brasil), and a copper and sterling silver backplate and prongs. It is a brooch and also a wall piece.

I've also been working on a custom project. It has to do with polo and voyages and championships. It's been a lot, and I just finished it, and I feel relieved and excited and tired.

We went to Takoma Park (Washington, DC) to visit our very best group of Moz friends (minus a few good ladies and gentlemen, of course, but geography and babies make it hard.) Still, a reunion happened.

Here we are, being silly on the street before dinner. My friend Kyle joined us later, an old friend who I met in college (the first time around) in Albuquerque. It's good to be with old friends. Not "old"friends...Old. old. OLD. OLDOLDOLD. WHATEVER. You know.

London-São Paulo-Scotland-Geneva-Maputo-DC-Sweden-Solomons-Cariocas-New Mexico-California selfie 

People drank a lot of tea. And gin. And ate lots of cake and oysters. 

We had some silly times.

Some fancy times.

Some happy times.

It really was. And it was the best.

New York After Nearly 20 Years

Back in October we went to New York to celebrate my birthday with friends and family. It had been nearly two decades since I had been to the city, and about the same for Rico. New York at 30-something is totally different than New York as a pre-teen. Much more fun, much more expensive, much more exhausting.

We stayed with a friend from Belgium who I met back in 1998 on my AFS year to Brazil. We've kept in touch all these years, and now he is a diplomat working with the UN. Coincidentally my cousin was in town, a crazy friend from the Bay Area was around too, and two of my favorite jewelry girls now live in New York and are doing courses at the Gemology Institute of America (GIA). It was cool to just hang out with people and share a little of their routines and favorites in the city.

We walked an unholy amount every day, the heel on one of my boots fell off, the weather was good, the architecture was killer, and we ate the most delicious food. My most memorable meal was definitely birthday extravagance at Ma Peche. Maialino was also fantastic.

Hopefully it won't be another 20 years until we make it back.