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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

It's Time to Get Back to Things Italian

I know, I’ve been away for a bit. And, I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t in Italy. My wife recently presented me with a t-shirt which says, “I’m tired of waking up and not being in Italy!”…I think that this about sums it up. I wear the t-shirt as a night shirt, and when I look at myself in the mirror in the morning, I get that affirmation.

I’ve gone through all of my photos of Italy, and I’ve gone through my travel journals, and I’m ready to get back to routine postings of articles and photos of Italy, Our Italy. So, please stick with me.

Starting next week, Italy will be back in full focus. Over the next few weeks, I will be covering the food and wine of Italy. In the recent past, I’ve gone over wine classifications, meats of Italy, and pasta. You can expect me to delve a bit deeper into the foods of Italy…as it is the best in the world…probably the universe. I’ll be discussing wine pairings with this great food. And how about pre-dinner or after-dinner drinks? There are many, broken down into varying categories. You may want to plan your trip to specific regions of Italy to coincide with local food festivals. And, how should one dress and act and pay when dining in Italy? Stay tuned for a focus on eating…Italian style.

In addition to those promised hints on eating Italian style, I’ll interspersing one of my passions, which is photographing all things Italian, and then processing snapshots into fine art photographs.

So, that’s it for today’s less-than-an-article about Italy. However, if you want to see what I’ve been doing in the meantime that wasn’t Italy related, read on…otherwise, I’ll see you next week as we dive into 2022. .

Besides reviewing things Italian over the past few months, what else have I been doing? I’ve spent a good bit of time processing photos from a couple of recent trips to the desert southwest.

I’ve Been to the Desert

Right below Italy on my list of favorite places, you will find the desert southwest of the U.S. The Sonoran desert life of southwestern Arizona is of particular interest to me. I am attracted to the stark beauty, the rock formations, and the desert plant life struggling to survive.

Regarding the survival of the Sonoran desert plant life, many perished in a desert wildfire in June of 2020. This fire just northeast of Phoenix, known as the Bush Fire, destroyed 193,455 acres of desert plant life in Tonto National Forest (forest?!). You will see photos below of the destruction caused by this fire.

I’m told that If 30-50% of a saguaro cactus is scorched, it will not survive, though it will take a few years for it to be obvious. You will see obvious, and not so obvious, examples below of the damage to desert plant life.

Other than cacti, you will see desert boulder and rock formations, colorful sunsets, and even a burger! At the least, I would suggest looking at the first gallery, which shows the impact of that desert wildfire.

As always, click on an image to get a larger view.

In the foreground are the ravages of fire, and many of the saguaro are destined to die

A Desert Wildfire

Here you will see the ravages of fire. It amazes me that a fire can spread over almost 200,000 acres in a desert, where there appears to be such sparse vegetation to carry the flames. My understanding is that invasive grass species have out-competed the native species and they have flourished, creating a carpet of tender that is spread throughout the desert floor…tender that had not existed years ago. Seeds transported by vehicles are the main culprits in establishing these invasive species.

Some photos, like those at the beginning of this gallery, show the obvious damage of the fire. And in others, the slick, almost leather-like and desiccated appearance of the normally green covering is obvious. While in other photos, you will see thorns burned like the end of a spent match. Or, the pores where the thorns once grew are just completely burned away.

In the first four photos below, all of the plant life that is visible has been destroyed. The remaking photos speak destruction on their own.

Sticky Situations

Many cacti have a pointy, protective surface, like those below. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to find a couple of sticks and use them chopstick-fashion to pick a clump of cholla spines from my shoe or pants leg. Or to do the same to an elbow, having to wait until returning to my hotel to grab tweezers and get to work pulling these pokey protuberances from my skin.

A very thorny passage…don’t even try it!

Monarchs of the Desert

The Saguaro is by far my favorite of the cacti family. Whether straight as a telephone pole, or with arms outstretched and reaching toward the heavens, they are majestic. There are hillsides west of Tucson that are covered with these beautiful (well, to me, at least) cacti. In fact, Saguaro National Park can be found there.

Yes, this welcoming guy is just as I found him…no kidding!!

It was kind of spooky coming across him.

Just Boulders

Tough you will see boulders above, the primary focus are the saguaro cacti. The granite boulders of the Sonoran desert are characterized by erosion, primarily through freeze-thaw conditions that ‘flake off’ small marble-sized-and-smaller pieces. These small, rough stones can be found throughout urban areas as residential ‘ground cover’. The surface of most of the boulders below have the texture of a very, very rough sandpaper.

Though you will see a cactus or two below, the primary foci are the boulder piles.

The Boulder Burgers

I promised above that I would give you a boulder burger…or maybe a burger boulder…you decide. And no, these are definitely not natural formations…though they are made up of all-natural ingredients! There are no preservatives, except rock, I guess.

And, Since You Made it this Far

So, maybe you like looking at desert photos…at least you haven’t given up, yet. So, here are a few more, from recent southwestern desert journeys.

Monument Valley Utah/Arizona

The majority of these Monument Valley photos were taken in areas that require a Navajo guide. I would suggest doing that, as you would not normally get access to the areas shown below.

Valley of Fire

The Valley of Fire State Park of Nevada is an hour-or-so north of Las Vegas. The sandstone rocks are worn through by erosion with surprising results. Worth a visit if you’re driving that way.

OK, that’s it. You probably need to go to bed now, or otherwise get a life, right? You’ve spent way too much time looking at non-Italy photos. Until next week when we return to things Italy, once again I say…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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NOTE: As it doesn’t relate to Italy, today’s article will not be added to the Index of Articles normally accessed through the link at the top of each article.

Transforming a Lubriano Door

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This transformation is dedicated to my dear friend Diana Armstrong. She and her husband David were adventurous souls who followed a dream that many of us have…they bought a place in Italy! And not just any place.

They have a beautifully charming home in Lubriano, Italy, where she spends time looking out at this view of the hilltop town of Civita di Bagnoregio. Here, she writes her beautiful books about Italian life, her father’s war, and cooking. If you are a late comer to my articles of Italy, please take a moment to see more about her life and accomplishments in my 2016 article titled, “Covering for Friends”.

Much of the charm of the Armstrong’s compound comes from the fact that their residence is part of a converted, 400-year-old monastery. In her first book, "Somewhere South of Tuscany: 5 Years in a Four-Cat Town" (2010), Diana tells the story of how they came upon, purchased, and renovated their home. In her second book, “A Winding Path to Umbria: The Silent Bridge of Time” (2016), we learn that her father was within that very same view, as he was part of the allied forces who fought to take that town.

The Door in Lubriano

Diana, you most likely know this door well…but as you will see, it is in better shape in my version, than in reality.

You pass by this door as you turn right out of your house toward Piazza Col di Lana…it’s just down a bit on the left. Specifically, it is number 2 Via Roma.

Here we see number 2 in all of it’s faded glory. Time, the weather, and neglect have left this once-proud door in very poor shape. In just moments, I plan to rectify that situation.

What do I need to do? Well, as is usual, I want to get rid of the more modern elements in this snapshot. For instance, the address plaque needs to go, as does the chain and padlock. How about that stopgap measure in the form of cardboard? That most definitely has to go bye-bye.

Stage One: Misplaced Artifacts Removed

Now…no cardboard, no chain and lock, and no address plaque.

Step 2: A Bit of Contrast and Saturation

Step 3: A Bit of Red Paint

The door is definitely old, so it will remain in a weathered condition, but I just don’t like that yellow-orange. Let’s go with a bit of red.

Step 4: Mood and Patina

Now were getting somewhere.

The Final Step

I like to put my transformed door and window photos into an 8x10 aspect ratio. The previous photos were too tall and skinny. To fit the photo into my desired 8x10, I had to add a bit to each side of the door to make the photo wider. So, I did just that.

Now, here is the final photo. It seems to be in the twilight hours, as it looks to be getting dark on Via Roma. Things seem to be much better now…maybe the owners would like me to come over to sand away that old paint and then paint the door anew. All they have to do is ask.

There you have it readers. And Diana, as you pass by, I’m sure that you won’t see that door in the same light, again.

Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve

Italy in 3-1/2 Minutes

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I was reviewing older posts recently and came across one on which I spent a great deal of time. It dealt with a video embedded in a 2015 article about Traveling With Friends.

I realized that, at the time of publication, over half of you were not subscribed to my Italy, Our Italy articles. So I thought, “OK, I’ll put it out for all of you to enjoy”. So, thought was translated to action, and here you have it.

Be sure you watch with sound available, as it is integral to the video. I hope you enjoy it.

[And Pam, in addition to several smiling faces of Italy, you’ll see a snippet in the video with your own smiling face!]

It was a lot of fun putting this video together…and it let me relive all of those fun moments with our dear friends, Debbie and Scott.

Is it time to create your own fabulous moments in Italy? Let’s do it!

Ciao for now,

Steve

If not subscribed to Italy, Our Italy, do it now!!!

Eat Here: Da Gemma

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Note the ubiquitous sfusati (bulky lemons) on the Da Gemma lamp fixtures

Today we are going to pay a lunch-time visit to a restaurant that was recommend by our concierge at Hotel Convento in Amalfi. And now, we recommend it to you, too…that is, if you happen to be on the Amalfi coast of Italy.

Since you’re staying at the fabulous Grand Hotel Convento, and it’s not too far into Amalfi town, let’s walk.

Along the way we’ll check out the small town campo, the church, and a few of the local shops.

So, join me now as, off we go to a now-favorite trattoria, Da Gemma.

Getting Into Town from Our Hotel

But, before we begin our journey into town, we need to rise-and-shine. We woke up a bit early this morning to catch sunrise from the Hotel Convento. It was spectacular, wasn’t it? You can learn a good bit more about the Hotel Convento by reading my article titled, Staying in a Convent Retreat.

A Post-Breakfast Swim

I’m sure you remember the nice swim we had after breakfast in the hotel’s cliff-side infinity pool. You looked fabulous in that new swimsuit, by the way!

Cliff-side pool of the Grand Hotel Convento

Talk about a pool with a view to infinity! Nice, huh?

To infinity and beyond…actually to Sicily

Making Our Way Into Town

OK, we’ve toweled off and changed clothes, so into town we go. Good move not wearing shorts…that’s a sure sign of a tourist in Italy.

Rather than taking the elevator down to the roadway, we’ll walk the many steps that wind their way down to town. Don’t worry, it’s all downhill from here.

There’s our destination…the red arrow points the way to the one-and-only road that pierces the heart of the ravine town of Amalfi.

[BTW: you can see the pool house about a quarter of the way into the photo from the left, and a third of the way down…and those horizontal rows of foliage below Amalfi’s mausoleum and the hillside above town, we’ll talk about those as we’re strolling in Amalfi]

As we near the bottom of the winding stairway, we look up to see our hotel poised on the edge of a cliff.

We’ve come a long way in the down-vertical direction

Wandering Our Way To Trattoria Da Gemma

Now, to work our way to our destination for lunch, Da Gemma.

In this aerial view of ravine-dwelling Amalfi, you can see Da Gemma in the blue box. But, as we are a bit early for lunch, we decide to first explore Amalfi’s charms. We’ll start with the Duomo di Amalfi (in the orange box), which is dedicated to San Andreas (aka Saint Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter). You can read a bunch about San Andreas, his relationship to Scotland, and this church, in my article titled, Transforming the Cathedral of San Andreas.

The blue box marks Da Gemma…the orange, the cathedral of San Andreas

The Piazza Duomo

As we start toward the church, there is a small piazza (more of a campo) with an age-old statue of San Andreas.

“Why the x-shaped cross?”, you ask…it’s because Saint Andrew's martyrdom by crucifixion was on a cross called a ‘saltire’ cross, which is an ‘x-shaped’ cross, like the one he is holding onto in his last moments.

You can see just a bit of the statue to the left in this very old photo of this same campo.

Here is my own rendition of the old photo, which I created using Google ‘street view’. As they say, “Close, but no banana”.

The Duomo (Cathedral)

Just across the street we see the steps of the cathedral I’ve removed all of the people from the photo except the bride, standing at the top of the steps. And, I replaced a blah sky with one of more drama. The Duomo has a rather magnificent mosaic façade.

Here you can see the exquisite detail of the mosaic, with a still-different sky.

Here are just a few interior photos, as Ellen leads us inside.

Beautiful! But, it’s time to begin our walk toward Da Gemma.

Street Life in Amalfi

This hungry, but well mannered, pup outside the butcher’s shop reminds us of just how hungry we too, are.

But, to get to Da Gemma, we have to negotiate the one-and-only street through town. Yes, this it it! Via Lorenzo D’Amalfi.

The street is so narrow that there are traffic lights that alternate traffic from north to south.

Another Google street-view photo below shows us that street light. The sign above the red light asks motorists to turn off their engines whilst waiting for a green light, rather than idling out emissions in this pedestrian laden area.

One must wait for vehicles preceding you (before you caught that red light) to travel over 1,000 feet on a green light, and then wait for oncoming vehicles to traverse that same distance before your own green light is activated…then add a good bit of pedestrian slowed time to the formula. I have no idea if this is all done automatically, or whether someone monitors the situation to change the lights at the appropriate time. But hey, it’s Italy!

See the folks in shorts? Tourists.

To avoid the occasional step-into-a-doorway routine, you can use one of the pedestrian tunnels that parallels the roadway, like this one.

A Few Street-Side Shops

Along our way, we pass shops selling this and that. This one sells mostly wine, as it is an ‘enoteca’.

And, this one features bottle after bottle of Limoncello. This sweet-tart-sweet (I’m emphasizing the sweetness, here) liqueur is made from lemons that abound along the Amalfi coast.

Limoncello is not made from your momma’s lemons, though. A single lemon is called a ‘sfusato’, and they are just a bit on the bulky side. The photo below showing sfusati hanging from the arbor was taken at our Hotel Convento. And, in the photo taken on our full-day boat trip to Capri, you can the ubiquitous terraces of sfusati layered up the hillside. Virtually all of the sfusati are destined for limoncello.

[Want to know more about having a fabulous day traveling along the Amalfi coast on your way to the Isle of Capri? See my article titled, “One Fine Day”]

And, did you notice the prosciutto hanging in that limoncello laden shop? What is that smeared on the cut-end of the leg? You can learn more about prosciutto in my previous article on Italian meats titled, “Eat This: Italian Meats - Part 1”.

Trattoria Da Gemma

Ahhh, we’ve reached Da Gemma, which means that it’s time for lunch!

Da Gemma is not a flash-in-the-pan restaurant. This trattoria has been around since 1872…and we’re glad of it.

It’s not located on the street, but thankfully, above it. Your al fresco dining is on a lovely terrace, above the hustle-and-bustle of Via Lorenzo D’Amalfi.

We’ll take those steps up to the right to get to our lunch.

As we typically do, we start our meal by enjoying a bit of the bubbly…prosecco. Cold and refreshing!

The waitstaff are super helpful and friendly…as is everyone we encountered in Amalfi. Here is Alfonso, who took great care of us.

And here are the two handsome young men behind the glass who man the pasticceria.

We’ve now ordered, and Ellen has been given a rather dangerous looking tool. We’ll have to see what that’s for.

But first, it’s time for a refreshing white wine. Alfonso recommended this Greco di Tufo. It is much like a Gavi…rich, refreshing and light…we like it! And of course, it’s a DOCG wine.

This is some sort of amuse-bouche, and at this seven-years-past-the-event stage, I have no idea what it was. But it was well plated, presented, and it tasted yummy.

As is customary for a meal in Italy, the pasta course is a ‘primi’, or first course, which is typically followed by a meat course. Notice the beautiful plating. And that tomato-heaven sauce on the pasta…bellissimo.

One most always gets a presentation of the prepared fish course

For us, the secondi meat course is a nice branzino (sea bass), cooked perfectly. It was presented table-side (above), and then Alfonso and helper began the deconstruction needed to plate the dish for us.

And, here is our fish course, complete with potatoes and a superb buttery-lemony sauce.

This dish is typical of seafood-dish presentations you will find in Italy. As proof, here is another sample of a superb fish course, this one enjoyed the next day on the Isle of Capri.

Do they do dolce in Italy? Yes, they do. The one of the left is the one we ordered. The one on the right…with limoncello…is house-provided…just in case one needs more sweets in one’s life.

All so very satisfying. Will we have room for this evening’s dinner? Always!

Along with the presentation of il conto (the bill), Ellen is presented with a couple of souvenirs of Da Gemma.

As we depart, we say a fond, “Grazie e arrivederci” to the friendly, competent kitchen staff.

La Fine

I hope that you enjoyed tagging along with us on our Amalfi adventure today.

Now, two questions:

What was that tool for that Ellen was holding? I have no remembrance of that. And I have no photos of a food item needing such a treacherous tool.
Who is going to help us get back up to our cliff-side hotel? We need a lift…literally.

If you find yourself in Amalfi town, please pay a visit to Da Gemma…you will not be disappointed. If it’s OK with you, we’ll walk with you from the hotel, high on the hillside.

And, until our next adventure…

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Transforming for Light Within

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Kind of a mysterious title, isn’t it?

“Even with my iPhone, I crop the ‘keepers’ by clicking on that ‘Edit’ text”

It’s not some sort of Zen thingie, but one of my photo transformations…this one taking a daylight scene, converting it to night, but adding a bit of light spilling out into the night.

Enough said…let’s get started.

The Original Snapshot

As always, we start with the raw snapshot that I captured “in the field’…this ‘field’ being the charming Piemonte town of Barolo.

As I often do, I captured my subject as a panorama…this one being composed of these 3 shots.

And alas, the three photos combined into a panorama…but a very small panorama, I must admit.

Oh my, why did I bother?! But, I had something in mind at the time. So, trust me…and stick with me for just a couple of minutes to see where this is going.

Mailbox Removal, Please

Let’s remove that large, ugly mailbox from the door.

Done…no mailbox.

Crop It

Now I’ve cropped in to my satisfaction. I recommend cropping almost any photo one takes. It is not often that when we snap we get a desirable composition. Even with my iPhone, I crop the ‘keepers’ by clicking on that ‘Edit’ text to work on the crop of the photo. There is most always a significant improvement.

Saturate It

Now it’s time to work on the color, contrast, and such. So, just below, you see a more colorful scene.

Day to Night and Cast the Light

For the finished image, I wanted to darken the photo into an early evening timeframe. That means that I added a bit of blue to any part of the photo that would not be lit from within. And there is that mysterious light within that I mentioned earlier. And that light had to spill out in a warm way onto the brick pavers just outside the doors.

So, here you have the finished photo…going from that ugly panorama to today’s completed transformation.

So that’s it for today. I took a blah scene and transformed it into the way that I would have wanted to find it in the quaint town of Barolo…and yes, that’s from whence ‘The King of Wines’ (Barolo) hails.

We’ll add this to the list of completed transformations that you saw just last week collected into one place.

Until next time…

Ciao for now,

Steve