Oslo, Norway!

I was raised in a heavily-dominated Norwegian community, many of whose residents were first and second generation Norwegians whose parents and grandparents came to North Dakota as homesteaders. The culture was known to me through many of my friends and the community at large. Syttende Mai was a big deal in Williston. The bank held an open house with free coffee and cookies to celebrate Norway’s Constitution. They had Norwegian folk dancers and everyone came to celebrate.

Yet in all of our travels, we had yet to set foot on what my friend, Craig Hagen, humorously refers to as the Holy Land. Now we have. Oslo, the 1,000-year-old capital, is an easy three-hour flight from Rome, and because our favorite economy airline with an affordable business class, Norwegian Air, has a direct flight here and then a direct flight to Florida, it was a natural three-day weekend on our way home from Italy.

Our hotel, the Best Western Karl Johan (a Norwegian king) was right in the thick of things and an easy walk to the wharf. The neighborhood has a plethora of restaurants (no lutefisk or lefse on the menu! Uffd!) and a lovely park and is home to Parliament and the HOHO stops here. A perfect spot for a weekend with little on the agenda accept taking it all in.

And we took it all in all day and all night because the sun barely goes down now at this latitude at the shortest time of the year. With three large windows in our hotel suite, even with curtains, the 3:30 a.m. light coaxed me out of bed. Tomorrow we head back to Florida after our three-week sojourn to Stockholm, Cefalù, Cagliari and Oslo. We are richer for the experience.

Please enjoy our images of Oslo!

The first thing I do when I step into my hotel room for the first time is open the drapes. This is what I saw. The yellow building on the left is Parliament.

Tom on Parliament grounds. Our hotel is in the background.

Our first morning in Oslo we awoke to a street fair down from our window. Normally, these outdoor restaurants consume the street.

The second morning we awoke to snare drums as a disability pride parade marched below our window.

The line of disabled marchers was several blocks long

Oslo’s architecture is geometric and photogenic

Apartment Houses

SCENES IN THE OSLO FJORD

A cruise through the Oslo Fjord

A walk in the park across the street from our hotel

 

Norwegian Bandstand (get it?)

Architecture of yore

The old fortress

 

The Nobel Peace Center where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each Dec. 10

Street art related to the Nobel Peace Center

 

 

 

The stunning Oslo Opera House opened in 2008. You are cordially invited to walk on the roof.

The sculpture in front of the Opera House is of glass and stainless steel and turns on its axis in line with the tide and the wind, offering changing experiences through reflections from the water. It represents a massive mound of ice and represents power.

Oslo City Hall anchors the waterfront with its twin towers and presence from the 1920s.

Our last night in Oslo and we are rewarded with this stunning light out our hotel window onto the Parliament square. The time of the photograph is 10:45 p.m. Good night, Oslo, and goodbye!

 

Cagliari, Sardinia!

April said, “Join us in Sardinia for a few days after our tour in Sicily ends.” We agreed it would be fun to go to Sardinia, so, sure. In full disclosure, the next step was to locate Sardinia on the map. Then look it up to learn more.

Turns out Sardinia is the second largest island in the Western Mediterranean (after Sicily and before  Cyprus) and is just south of the French island of Corsica. Sardinia is an autonomous region of Italy and its capital, Cagliari, sits on the southern coast. Cagliari was our destination. To get there, we flew from Palermo, Sicly, northeast to Rome, then caught a flight 45 minutes due west.

Cagliari immediately impressed us as newer than the cities and towns of Sicily, with later-vintage buildings. But the aesthetics belie its status as an ancient city with a long history, having seen the rule of several civilizations. Beneath the modern city is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some 5,000 years.

During the Second World War, Cagliari was heavily bombed by the Allies. In order to escape from the danger of bombardments and difficult living conditions, many people were evacuated from the city into the countryside. In total 2,000 people died and 80 percent of the buildings were damaged. After the war, many apartment blocks and recreational areas developed and Cagliari is as you see it today, with over 500,000 people living here.

Our wonderful guide, Guglielmo, took us around the city and the outlying area for two days, treating us to gorgeous coastline views and tasty Sardinian cuisine, along with historical notes. This is the southern Sardinia we saw:

The Sardinian Six: Tom, Liz, Chef Gaetano, April, Marilyn and John, funseekers all!

Our guide in Cagliari, native son Guglielmo. Bellisimo!

Yenna Piazza, where we stayed and gathered daily to begin the day

Inside Cagliari’s fortress

And we did!

Check out the size of these bell peppers in the supermarket off the piazza

 

 

A market is always on the agenda when you are with Chef Gaetano. We found the fishmongers in this Cagliari market to be hams for the camera.

These eels were alive and squirming around. Chef Gaetano picked up one and scared “the girls”

Just like days of yore, traffic stops for herded goats

Sardinia’s coastline is rugged and the water is clear and bellisima

Buonanotte, Cagliari!

 

 

Cooking With Chef Antonio!

A special treat for our small group on chef Gaetano’s tour was preparing our lunch under the tutelage of Sicilian Chef Antonio Sireci at his hillside headquarters in the country overlooking the sea. We observed the making of fresh ricotta and tuma cheese, and we made ricotta pesto with almonds and mint for bruschetta, the ricotta cream for cannolis, fresh pasta, fresh tomato sauce and panella (chickpea fritters). And then we ate it.

 

 

 

 

 

Mountain Towns Near Cefalù

Our last few days in Cefalù were spent doing day trips to medieval mountain villages in the region. It is clear to us that these places are not tourist destinations, and it gives us a chance to see Old Sicily, off the beaten path. That’s the reason for being here. Big buses could not negotiate the narrow switchback roads that lead you up the mountains.

Walking tours, a winery visit, a stop at a sweet shop, a slow food farm tour where cheese and ham are produced and a legendary church were all on our agenda. It was a real treat to get this glimpse into rural Sicilian culture that is missed by cruise ships and big tour companies. Our group of 11 plus a local guide fit just right.

CASTELBUONO  The name means good castle, and the town is built around a medieval castle dating to the 14^th century.  As we made our way up the mountain to a winery, we passed ash trees that are tapped for the biblical manna. This region is the only place in the world that produces manna, and we even went to a manna museum to learn how it is produced from tree sap to the final product, that apparently is good for most anything that ails you.

The Relais Santa Anastasia vineyard

Our group enters the winery

Our group enjoying the wine tasting

The gate to Castelbuono’s medieval Old Town

Castelbuono regulars

Our group gathered for a manna tasting in the Old Town

They look as if they are praying for manna for heaven, but in fact they are just waiting patiently to taste it

This is Waste Management, Castelbuono-style. The residents of the Old Town live above the streets and lower their refuse by rope in baskets. The donkey’s helper places the trash in their wooden boxes borne by the sweet animal as he walks through the narrow cobbled streets.

How to ruin a Margarita pizza: Smother it with French fries. As seen at a Castelbuono pizzeria

SINAGRA   Just outside Sinagra we visited the famous and rate Sicilian black pigs, prized for the salami and prosciutto that is produced from them. The slow-food farm we visited also makes cheese. The pigs are raised organically, and move about the hillsides. in generous pens

Mamma and her piglets

Mamma mia! That’s a lot of spigots! While it seems these are a lot of udders, when piglets are born, they each choose a teat and suckle only from that teat. So, let’s say five piglets are born and there are eight teats. Three teats go unused.

Tom in the hanging ham house at the slow-food farm

Chef Gaetano in the cheese house where cheese is aged at the slow-food farm. The sheep are raised at the farm to make the cheese. Goats, too.

The group outside the houses where the ham and cheese are aged

Tom and John down on the farm

TINDARI   The Sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Tindari captivates pilgrims who come to the church based on the local legend that the lagoon below the church was created after a pilgrim who came to see the Black Madonna refused to pray to the Madonna because she was black. The woman accidentally dropped her baby into the ocean and the Madonna made the land rise to save the baby. The sands of Marinello have taken shape of the profile of the Madonna.

The Sanctuary of the Black Madonna of Tindari sits on prime real estate on the sea

The lagoon where legend has it the ground rose up to save the baby and took the shape of the Madonna

The Black Madonna

Closer Up

Another version of the Black Madonna

Tom thinks he found his angel outside he Sanctuary of the Black Madonna. Liz isn’t so sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erice, Sicily!

Erice may well be the sweetest town in Sicily. In the 1950s, young Maria Grammatica was placed in the care of nuns who schooled her in the art of baking. In 1963, at the age of 14, they released her into the world, and in a short time she began earning her living doing the only thing she knew—baking. At 76 years old, Maria is the most famous pastry chef in all of Sicily and beyond, having led pastry classes internationally, including the United States. She still bakes in her popular pasticceria in the medieval hill town of Erice, population 25,000, and we climbed the old city’s steep cobblestone lanes to meet Maria and observe her pastry skills. We found her to be entertaining and engaging, as well as talented, even through an interpreter.

We had a cooking class with Sicily’s most famous pastry chef, Maria Grammatica

Maria uses fresh sheep’s milk ricotta cheese to make her famous cannoli filling that she pushes with a spoon into her handmade cannoli shells. Yummy!

Putting the finishing touches on the cannoli. Fresh candied orange peel is a final touch, after the ground pistachios. Bits of chocolate chips are also an option.

A heavy dusting of powdered sugar and it’s good to go

Chef Gaetano and Maria smooch it up. Take a walking tour with us through the medieval hill town of Erice. It was a two and a half hour drive from our HQ in Cefalù, and made for the perfect day trip off the beaten path in historic Sicily.

Get your walking shoes on for these uneven and hilly cobbled streets. The square pattern is one we hadn’t seen before.

Wet veered into a side alleyway and were surprised by the 15th century Chiesa Matrice

A secret garden in Erice

Tom finds another secret vignette

Everyone dines alfresco in Sicily

 

Marzipan lemons and oranges look like the real thing

 

Even the onions are bellisimo! in Sicily

The 14th century San Pietro Church

Looking down from Erice. We rode a cable car 20 minutes to the valley below from the hill town.

 

Cefalù, Sicily!

It’s so easy to fall in love with Italy, especially after you’ve been on the beaten paths of the mainland and overdosed on the hustle and bustle of Roma, the canals of Venezia, the Duomo of Milano and the fabulous religious works of Firenze, to name a few Italian highlights.

But come to Sicily, slow down and literally eat and drink in the pleasures the region has to offer. We are so smitten with Sicily that we have returned for a third time in under three years, trips made extra palatable by the small group tour led annually by Chef Gaitano, owner of the Ortygia Restaurant in Bradenton, Florida. This year there are 11 of us on the foodie tour, including Chef.

We are headquartered here it Cefalù for a week on the northern coast of Sicily on the Tyrrhenian Sea about an hour east of Palermo. It was founded by the Greeks, way, way back, let’s say before 400 B.C.

After changing hands through the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire, it was conquered by the Arabs and later, in 1063, captured by the Normans. The town was moved from a relatively inaccessible position to the foot of a large rock (la rocca) by the sea and there began construction of the present Byzantine-style cathedral, known locally as Duomo. Still today, it’s twin towers dominate the little town of 14,000 inhabitants.

Cefalù’s beaches and charm attract a million visitors annually from across Europe. We don’t see many Americans, as they have yet to discover this little gem. And Sicily is filled with little gems, which is why we return. There are many day-trip destinations from here, and we go to several, but first we show you the picture-postcard town of Cefalu.

Cefalù, at the base of La Rocca (the rock) on the Tyrrhenian Sea

Il Duomo, the Norman-era cathedral from the 12th century that dominates Cefalù

The footprint of Cefalù follows the old city walls

The beach in Cefalù is considered one of Sicily’s best, and it is a main summer tourist attraction

A gate through the old city walls, upon which houses are built

Six lookout towers strategically placed at intervals along the coastline of Cefalù facilitated messaging in quick time in days of yore. Long before texting.

 

Another view of il Duomo and il Rocco

There is no escaping il Duomo

Piazza del Duomo, the center of the Old Town

Outside il Duomo

Not the easiest cobblestones to negotiate on our walk around the medieval section of town

Cars, scooters, little trucks and pedestrians use the narrow streets, at your peril!

 

 

 

Frutta vendors are ubiquitous in Sicily, moving through the narrow streets selling their produce to the inhabitants who come down from their homes above the streets to buy the freshest fruits and vegetables

The fresh fruits and vegetables in Sicily are abundant and delicious, and naturally ripened

Sicilians like their marzipan, too!

Nothing like a nice pair of Italian shoes

As we discovered in other years, The Godfather movie is still a hit in Sicily

A good way to view Cefalù is from the sea, and we enjoyed a picnic on our “three-hour tour” along the seacoast. Chef Gaetano with Tom.

Christian, our fellow traveler, took a dip in the Tyrrhenian Sea when we were at anchor

Disembarking our three-hour tour, having never lost our way, as did another three-hour tour starring Gilligan

 

Stockholm!

HOW DO YOU GET TO SICILY from Sarasota? Through Stockholm, of course! Our four-night stopover here gave us a glimpse of Scandinavia and its lovely capital whose 14 islands on a Baltic Sea archipelago account for it being called the “Venice of the North.” And we are far up north. In comparison to Stockholm’s latitude of 59°20′N, Sarasota’s is 27°34′N and my hometown of Williston, North Dakota’s is 48°14′N. Sundown is close to 10 p.m. and sunrise before 5 a.m. At 2 a.m. there is light in the sky.

Armed with a good list of must-sees from my Facebook friend Ingrid, we started at the Stockholm City Hall, where the City Council meets, and where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held each Dec. 10 in the Blue Hall. A special feature of this space is an organ with 10,270 pipes, the largest in Scandinavia. For a small fee, we joined a guided tour to see the beautiful building. No self tours allowed.

The Blue Hall at City Hall where the Nobel Prize dinner is held each Dec. 10. Below, preparing the Blue Hall for a banquet. It seats around 1,000 people.

Stockholm City Council Chambers

City Hall Gold Room, said to be an embarrassment to the people of Stockholm because of its flamboyant 23.5 carat gold mosaic tiles and odd artistic style unrelated to Sweden or Stockholm.

Stockholm’s Old Town, or Gamla stan, dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways, cobblestone streets and archaic architecture with a Northern German influence. The Royal Palace is here. With 600 rooms, it’s His Majesty the King Carl XVI Gustaf’s official residence. The changing of the guard happens here daily, and the palace guards parade past our hotel enroute to the changing.

A Swedish blonde in Old Town

Here come the Palace Guards past our hotel on their way to the changing of the guard at the King’s Palace in Old Town

The 600-room King’s Palace in Old Town

Old Town architecture with a Northern German influence

AT OR NEAR THE TOP of the list of attractions in Stockholm is the Vasa Museum, home of the Vasa, a 17^th century Swedish warship so huge and top heavy that she sank in a stiff breeze less than a mile from the Stockholm Harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628. She was salvaged, largely intact, in 1961.

The Vasa is 158 feet long with a 38-foot beam and carried 64 guns.

A scale model of the Vasa

THE HIGHLIGHT of our visit to Stockholm was meeting my Facebook friend, Ingrid, a Stockholm native. We are members of the same Facebook photography group and have been commenting back and forth for about a year. What fun to meet her over dinner!

Facebook friends Ingrid and Liz meet face-to-face in Ingrid’s Stockholm

WE ENCOUNTERED cooler weather than we had hoped for in early June. The low 50s and windy days were handed to us, and we bundled up as best we could for Floridians. Meanwhile, the Swedes were basking in the sun.

OUR LAST DAY IN STOCKHOLM and we looked out our balcony to 15,000 people running to say goodbye to us! On second glance, they ran right past our hotel without so much as a wave. Turns out they were running the Asics Stockholm Marathon 2017, which basically shut down the city for the day. Lucky us. We were in the catbird seat.

SO IT’S ON TO SICILY with memories of Stockholm, its friendly people and beautiful waterfronts.

Stockholm is a major cruise and shipping port. Here we encountered the Disney Magic, up close and nearly personal!

The Grand Hotel, where President Obama and Clint Eastwood stayed, hopefully not together!

Tivoli Amusement Park