HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy 2007.

I've enjoyed switching from the website to the blog. It gives me a lot more freedom, and that's good! More people are using the link on the left to TATravel, my travel search engine, and I'm glad it's doing a good job for you. One of my wishes for the new year is that more of you would comment right on the post rather than through email because we would become more of a "community," and it does feel really good when you've said you've visited, or read, or eaten at a particular restaurant. The variety of opinions and suggestions enhances all our experiences.

Thanks again for joining me and Rob on our travels. This sure is a lot of fun!

CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO HEAVEN--A HELLAVA BOOK!

Remember Fannie Flagg, the red-haired stand-up comedienne from the 1960s? She had the familiar southern drawl, soft spoken but hysterically funny. I liked her pointed humor then. She co-hosted Candid Camera with Alan Funt, and she was a Match Game regular. She wrote Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café. The book then became the terrific 1991 movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Flagg was nominated for an Oscar for her screenplay. She’s written other novels since then, and for our ride down to Myrtle Beach, I picked up the audio book of Fannie Flagg’s Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven. It is absolutely the best audio tape we’ve heard thus far!

BTW, I thought it was amusing to learn that her real name is Patricia Neal, a name, of course, that she couldn’t use professionally. Wonder if her mom was a fan.

Anyway, not only is this a great story, sentimental, funny, and serious all at once, but also Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is a philosophical exploration into the way we live our lives. Why do some people ride the roller coaster so well? The novel is infused with a palpable southern charm and a small town feeling that is big enough to touch the entire world.

Brilliantly read by Cassandra Campbell who captured the essence of the sad and happy characters and bounces between emotions and events, Fannie Flagg’s tale is refreshingly sweet without being maudlin. It’s not a “chick book.” Rob enjoyed it as much as I. We kept looking at each other as characters disclosed their less attractive sides—and then we’d laugh! We recognized everyone, and some of them were us!

Our heroine, Elner Shimfissle, falls out of her fig tree, thereby launching herself into a wild adventure. She has touched so many diverse people in her long life that the reaction to her accident coming from every segment of the local population astounds the reader. A Bible-toting neighbor, a truck driver Elner knew since he was a boy, her nervous niece Norma and Norma’s gentle husband Mackie, many, many friends, and some very unexpected and unusual characters make their way into this story and are touched by Elner’s way of maneuvering through life’s surreal moments.

Very funny, often touching, I Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven is a mystery-comedy tackling many of the contemporary issues we face. And then some.

Fannie Flagg and her optimistic octogenarian character deals with one of the most difficult questions we ask ourselves: What’s it all about, anyway? And, by golly, they find an answer. Read it and smile. I wonder why it wasn’t made into a movie.

TUTTO BENE -- ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

Finding the neighborhood gem of a restaurant hidden away where only the locals know is exactly what happened to us in the Ballston section of Arlington, Virginia in a terrific Italian restaurant, Tutto Bene.

Tutto Bene has a unique history. This Italian restaurant has been owned since 1988 by a Bolivian family, and the staff is latino. Tutto Bene has become a home away from home for Bolivian expatriats and features a Bolivian menu alongside its Italian menu. Indeed, locals flock for those missed specialties that are particularly good at Tutto Bene, and on weekends there are lines outside the door.

Tutto Bene is Zagats rated and listed as one of the top 52 restaurants in the DC area.

Allison and Don brought us here as it is one of their favorite restaurants, and we notice a steady flow of customers who seem very familiar and comfortable here. Definitely a neighborhood favorite, Tutto Bene is primarily decorated in burgundy and black, giving it a formal and classic touch. Paintings and photographys of Italy adorn the walls, and there is a friendly, warm atmosphere. Rob and I feel right at home.

Dinner is excellent. We begin with a crisp Caesar salad, fresh and plentiful with just enough dressing to add a subtle flavor to the romaine. Then I choose a marvelous lasagna, spicy and with a sauce that adds to the flavor rather than drowns it. Rob, as is his nature, orders the combination platter allowing him to taste a light canneloni, gnocchi, those tiny, lovely cheese dumplings, and manicotti, filled with a delicate creamy cheese. Allison selects ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta and served in a rich white sauce. Don joins me with lasagna but with sausage. We are all pleased with our selections, and we eat leisurely, enjoying the ambiance and the excellent company. We've spent a wonderful afternoon at the newly re-opened National Portrait Gallery, and dinner conversation centers on our impressions.

We initially choose to pass on dessert, but our waiter tempts us mercilessly, and we order the Creme Brulee. (notice how often that is our dessert of choice!) It is different from others we've had though, with a thicker custard and a thicker crisp, sugary topping. But a lovely ending to a scrumptious dinner.

Visit Tutto Bene's website for more photos as well as for directions. I guarantee you'll be happy.

THE MOUNT -- LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS

After visiting Kykuit, I noted that wealthy, powerful men build homes with views of expansive lawns and water. Let me modify that. Wealthy women do too. Witness Edith Wharton’s home in the Berkshires where she wrote several of her most famous novels including Ethan Frome and Age of Innocence.

The Mount, Wharton’s home for about ten years beginning in 1902 until her divorce and expatriation to France in 1913, sat on 120 acres in beautiful Lenox, Mass. Today, 49 of those acres belong to the Edith Wharton Trust, an organization dedicated to restoring Wharton’s summer “cottage” to its original splendor.

What makes a visit here so worthwhile is Wharton herself. She broke the mold of dependent Victorian women by taking a full hand in designing both the elegant house where she shunned the Gilded Age’s excess to bring a European-inspired simplicity and symmetry to the design and the elaborate gardens which she envisioned as extensions of the home’s living space. While she worked with an architect and landscaper from Boston, Wharton is recognized as the guiding spirit behind the ambitious project. Her book, The Decoration of Houses, presented Wharton’s theories of design, and it is still in print and consulted more than a century later. She was a believer in symmetry, and if you look at my photos, you will notice how strictly she held that standard—even at the entryway to her home.

Edith Wharton bought the property with money earned by writing, and she thrived as a writer in this magnificent retreat producing short stories, three works of nonfiction, and six novels including The House of Mirth. She once wrote after receiving a check for her writing, “Many thanks for the cheque for $2,191.84 which, even to the 81 cents, is welcome to an author in the last throes of house-building.” I guess even the rich....

Don’t balk at the $16.00 entrance fee. It’s $16.00 well spent. We received a magnificent catalogue (which would easily cost $10.00 or more at other sites) filled with information about Wharton, the house and gardens, and the restoration work done, in progress, and contemplated by The Edith Wharton Trust. Newly completed is Edith Wharton’s library, the permanent home of her 2,700 book collection begun in her childhood and continuing until just before her death.

To begin our journey, Rob and I walked past the entrance into the huge stables. There we viewed an intelligent, informative video on Edith Wharton’s life, works, and home at The Mount. We learned about her background, childhood, and marriage, which, when it dissolved, caused her leave the house and relocate to France for the rest of her life.

We walked the quarter mile from the stables to the Mansion. It looked like a mansion to me although we were assured by the docents that in her day, Edith Wharton’s “cottage” was small and reserved. If you’ve ever been to Newport where the other socialites of her day built their “cottages,” you’ll know that’s true!

Rob and I took two tours of the Mansion, both included in the admission. The first, an hour long tour of Wharton’s beautiful gardens, was spectacular because we were the only two people on the tour, a reward, in part, of retirees’ ability to travel on weekdays. The volunteer guide was well versed in the types and habits of the garden rooms and paths as well as how the restorative work was done on the walks and walls. She indicated the differences in the land since Wharton’s time and how her views out to the water were different.

If you notice the stairs in this photos, you’ll see they are cut into the earth and are made of grass.

Interestingly, in trying to recreate the size of one huge arbor (pictured below), they relied on photographs taken at the time of one particular visitor. By looking at his photos in different areas of the house, researchers were able to establish his height. Then, going back to the proposed arbor, they were able to establish its dimensions. As we listened to stories such as this one, we came to understand the puzzles that had to be solved before restoration could even begin.

On the second tour, the tour of the mansion, we were joined by a visiting group of Red Hatters. The house is exquisite, a stunning stylistic mixture of 18th century French and English sources. Yet, it is 100% American in its conveniences and plumbing! The combinations are seamless; the result is worth seeing with the guide who explained, once again, the painstaking research to recreate in as many ways possible, the home as well as the spirit of the home. Modern day designers put their own touches and approaches to work in each room’s decoration, relying on photographs as well as the information in Wharton’s The Decoration of Houses. For instance, Wharton shunned color descriptions such as jonquil yellow or willow green. She wrote of her attraction to black for staircase railings. At the Mount, the railings are black and the walls are a neutral tint, thus adding a dramatic effect Wharton sought. The designers paid close attention to detail. In the dining room, for instance, there is a cushion near Wharton’s chair for her favorite dog.

My favorite room was the library with its beautifully carved bookcases, shelves filled with exquisitely bound volumes that, in themselves, create an intellectual autobiography. Although Wharton wrote her own books in bed in the mornings, there is a wonderful desk in the library, parquet floors, and floor to ceiling windows to allow for adequate lighting. It’s a glorious room—a room to envy.

I add that there is a European bistro, the Terrace Café, but it was closed when we were there. There are lectures throughout the season (June to Aug.), and a variety of other special events. Famous writers appear—In Aug., 2006 former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (who I've seen at the Dodge Poetry Festival) appeared as part of an annual poetry series. Visit the Mount’s website for information and some stunning photographs.

The Mount, as well as the entire Lenox area, is an exciting place for a book lover.

IMPORTANT TRAVEL NEWS

Just wanted to keep you as up-to-date as I can on security measures at the airports. Most countries now prohibit or strictly limit the size of containers with gels, liquids, aerosols, and pastes that you may take in your carry-on luggage. Empty containers that could contain liquids are prohibited as well. Here are some examples:

Beverages
Creams
Hair gel
Hair spray
Shampoo
Suntan lotion
Toothpaste
Other items of similar consistency

So, don’t pack or carry empty containers.
Limit all liquids, gels, aerosols, and pastes to a maximum container size of 2.4 oz/100ml.
Place all such items in a quart-size, clear plastic, zip-top bag.
Remove your quart-size bag from your carry-on and place in the provided bin as you approach the checkpoint.

To get through the checkpoint more quickly
Leave lighters at home
Leave pocket-knives, files, scissors, and any sharp objects at home or put them in your checked baggage.
Be ready to take off your shoes and put belts, cell phones, and metal objects in your carry on.
Have acceptable ID and your boarding pass ready to show.

Also, check with the individual airline to check on carry-on and checked baggage requirements.

For instance, Rob and I are flying on Delta in Jan. Our carry-on must weigh less than 40 lbs, not exceed 45 inches when we total length plus width plus height, fits easily into their unit (approx. 22x14x9), fits into an overhead bin or underneath the seat in front. Our checked luggage allowance is two bags each with each bag weighing 50 pounds or less and not exceeding 62 inches when length, width, and height are totaled.

Airlines are not all the same, and when you have connecting flights, you should check both airlines.

A very important place to check is TSA’s website for real particulars about prescription meds (even saline solution). You can print a list of permitted and prohibited items. For instance, you cannot wear gel inserts in your shoes, but you can send them in your checked luggage.

We live in a world where these annoying restrictions are, unfortunately, necessary. The best way to maneuver through is to be aware and to be prepared.