Funny Shopping Bags from Europe

Crazy Europeans. You're going to need to know what to expect these days if you plan on shopping over there. Forewarned is forearmed!

As always, anything received in email is fair game for posting. These were received from my friend, Dimi.

Wieliczka Salt Mine An Astounding Subterranean Salt Cathedral

I received these photos in email from my friend Rob Rose. And as you know, my policy is that anything received in email is fair game for posting.

Image Credit Flickr user magro kr 

Deep underground in Poland lies something remarkable but little known outside Eastern Europe . For centuries, miners have extracted salt there, but left behind things quite startling and unique. Take a look at the most unusual salt mine in the world.

A Real Dog-Lover . . . Get it?

This story came to me in email (which means it's fair game for posting) from my friend Rob Rose of Carpenter-Warren Insurance Agency (for all your insurance needs . . .). It appears to have originated at Snopes.com.

I've posted it to my travel blog because the story takes place in England.

* * *

True  Story.

In  2003, police in Warwickshire , England, opened a garden shed  and found a whimpering, cowering dog.  The dog had  been locked in the shed and abandoned.  It was dirty and  malnourished, and had quite clearly been  abused.

In  an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a  female greyhound, to the Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife  Sanctuary, which is run by a man named Geoff Grewcock, and  known as a haven for animals abandoned, orphaned, or otherwise  in need.

Kiev, Ukraine

St. Sophia Cathedral

The National Museum of Capodimonte

Some pictures from the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, Italy.

Kid's playing soccer in front of the Capodimonte Museum.

The Isle of Capri

The view from the ferry.

Pompeii

This is the sign you're looking for at the Napoli Centrale train station. Follow the signs for "Circumvesuviana." The train you want is the one to Sorrento. Pompeii is on the way to Sorrento. Some trains make fewer stops than others. Look for the "Express" or "Espresso" train.

The Abbey at Monte Cassino

Sadly, this is what society chooses to produce these days. This is a church down the street from where I live in Naples.

With rare exception (and nothing really comes to mind that can rival the architecture from a few hundred years ago), today's world doesn't build anything of real beauty and I'm not talking just about churches or monuments to God. Nothing, as an article of philosophy is allowed to be truly beautiful anymore.

Beauty is not to be afforded because it's wasteful.  It's especially wasteful because according to the present mythos (Aristotelianism; see About This Blog on my other website Todd Wright Now for more details) beauty is not an accurate reflection of the world.  According to the present mythos, the world is neutral at best and more likely completely ugly.  And so we are building a world that is a reflection of that philosophy.

And it isn't that we can't build beautiful buildings anymore.  Quite the contrary, its a conscious choice, as evidenced by the Abbey at Monte Cassino, which was completely rebuilt from the ground up after its destruction during World War II.

High above the little town of Cassino . . .

. . . towers Monte Cassino.  On top of Monte Cassino is the famous Abbey of Monte Cassino.

The Best Pizza in the World

Piazza Garibaldi is the hub in Naples. Everything goes through Garibaldi. Just a couple of blocks west of this . . .
. . . is this, L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, from whence comes the best pizza in Naples, locals will tell you, and therefore in the world.

New Process Finds Masterworks in Florence Chapel

This article was first published by Technorati on 9 March 2010.

Exactly when the Renaissance started is still an open debate. But when it comes to the art of painting, most agree Giotto di Bondone started it around 1300 BCE.

Some of Giotto's work in its original form was lost to humanity until a restoration project underway inside Florence's Santa Croce Basilica made a startling discovery.

Using ultraviolet light, a team of researchers from the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (literally "Factory of Hard Stones"), a renowned Florentine art restoration firm, saw details of Giotto paintings in the Peruzzi Chapel, which had been severely damaged by whitewashing centuries ago.

Church of Saint Caterina a Formiello

Just off Piazza Garibaldi, behind Porto Capuana, is the unheralded 16th century Church of Caterina a Formiello. In the 19th century, it was turned over to the Italian Army and converted into a wool factory. It has since been re-consecrated.

The Saint Caterina of this church is Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The picture of her on the left is by Raffael; on the right, Caravaggio.

Formiello is a word that comes from Latin. It refers to the situation of the church and its formerly attached Celestine convent next to aqueducts, which have since been removed.

There is its cupola behind Porto Capuana.

Porto Capuana in Naples, Italy

Wedged into the Naples metropolis just off Piazza Garibaldi is Porto Capuana, a gate in the wall built by Ferdinand I of Argon in 1484.
Originally, it was a gate in the city walls, which were subsequently removed, leaving behind the gate which stands today as an informal triumphal arch, homage to bygone days when Naples was the second largest city in Europe, behind Paris, and the continent's intellectual capital.
The gray cupola behind the gate is Santa Caterina a Formiello.The two towers of the gate are Honor and Virtue.

Mediterranean Cruise Liner Hit by 26-Foot Wave

This article was originally published by Technorati on 4 March 2010.

A Mediterranean cruise ship was hit by a 26-foot wave Wednesday evening, killing one German and one Italian passenger. Fourteen others sustained injuries.

The Cypriot-owned, Maltese flagged Louis Majesty is 660 feet long, with a crew of 580. It was running a 12-day circular route starting and ending in Genoa, calling in Marseilles, Tangiers, Casablanca, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Cadiz, Cartagena and Barcelona. She was carrying 1,350 passengers, and was originally scheduled to return to Genoa today.

The incident occurred shortly after the ship left Barcelona. The ship returned to that port around 10:00 p.m. GMT, and the dead and injured where removed by waiting ambulances.

The injured included a 62-year-old woman whose legs were broken.

The wave struck the forward part of the ship, breaking windows on a public area as high as the fifth deck, causing the casualties. Passengers were not permitted to leave the ship upon its return to Barcelona.

The cruise line, Louis Cruises, intends to return the ship to Genoa on March 12, after repairs are completed in Barcelona. The Louis Majesty's next cruise has been cancelled due to the accident.

Photo credit: Greek Cruises

The Best Sfogliatelle Calde in the World

This is Piazza Garibaldi. In the background is the Central Train Station (Napoli Centrale) under Vesuvio's ever-watchful eye. Speaking of eye, the moon is hitting it in this photo like a big pizza pie, as it were.

Piazza Garibaldi is a big, ugly, dangerous parking lot. In the winter it can be quite daunting, seeming like one of Dante's circles of hell, with fires burning in drums putting off the odor of brimstone. Not so on this bell' giorno, however.

Right around the corner from this . . .
. . . is this, Sfogliatelle Calde dei Fratelli Attanasio. This is the best place for sfogliatelle calde in Napoli, locals will tell you, and therefore in the world.
And what are sfogliatella calda, you ask?
I'll tell you what sfogliatella calda are.
This is a sfogliatella calda, produced to perfection in the ovens of the Brothers Attanasio behind this beautiful you woman.
"Calda" means "hot" and "foglio" means "page" or "leaf." It's a type of pastry served piping hot with a dusting of confectioner's sugar.
It's filled with ricotta cheese, which can get quite hot, indeed. This one burned my tongue because I was too hasty in biting into it. That's my thumb in the picture. Thank goodness I finally quit biting my nails.

Here are directions from the train station and a link to the website of the Fratelli Attanasio, where you'll find lots more pictures, and videos demonstrating how the pastries are made.

The Most Famous Coffee Bar in the World

This is Piazza Plebescito in the historical center of Naples. Notice the three Italian cadets in their hats and capes, adding a bit of modern-day old-world charm. Between this . . .
and this . . . Here you see La Gallaria and Il Teatro San Carlos, the second most venerated opera house in the world (behind La Scala in Milan) . . .
is this, Gambrinus, the most famous coffee bar in the world.
Like most things in Naples, it has a charm that's both lazy and chaotic at the same time.
Waiters in tuxedos serve up the coffee, drinks and desserts, both inside the cafe and outside on the sidewalk.
I baristi are friendly and all of them speak English.
Patrons have a bit of water and a coffee and move off into the evening for a passigiata (stroll) before dinner.
The money moves, fast and furious, at the till.
A side room, with table service.
Another side room (you can see the photographer, if you look close enough).
A waiter talks to a girl in front of the pastry case.
Lots of pies and cakes.
A pie.
A cake.
An ice cream cake.
A young patron.

Il Vero Bar del Professore in Naples

Il Professore, the locals will tell you, is the best coffee in Naples (and thus in the world), though its next door neighbor, Gambrinus, is more famous.

A typical Saturday evening at Il Professore in the historical center of Naples.
I barististi serve it up at a furious pace, with patrons lined up three deep for the duration.
Add a pastry if you like . . .
But Il Professore's specialty is the Nocciolato (which means litterally "nutted"). Suffused with hazelnut creme, it is ultra sweet and rich. The pastry best be plain.
I ragazzi di Napoli enjoy the first evening without rain in a while in the waning days of February at Il Professore's sidewalk cafe.

The Food of Lucca - Eat This, Foodies!

See also Lucca, Italy

Torta di ciaccolata, a typical Lucchese dessert. Unbelievably rich and not as sweet as you might imagine.

Angolo Dolce

This is the cafe, Angolo Dolce (Sweet Corner), from whence came the foregoing pie and the next 5 photos. If you go to Lucca, find this cafe! It's outside the walls. Such a commitment to excellence in every detail!Directions.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you thecornetto as God intended it. And by that I do not mean presented on a to-go bag on the seat of a bicycle.

From this satellite view, you can just make out the contours of the chocolate in this amazingcornetto. The same chocolate that ended up all over my hands a moment later. This thing was a monster, full of chocolate.

Another pie, this one made with apples, raisins and pine nuts.

Feel free to ogle all the other delights, but the star of this picture is the center row of chocolate and pear cakes--so beautiful it almost doesn't matter what they taste like. They taste like they look, rich and deadly.

One last look at the pies ofAngolo Dolce. On the top shelf, lemon.

Rocchi P's Pizzicheria La Grotta

What's a pizzicheria? It's a regional word for a salumeria. What's a salumeria? It's similar to a delicatessen but in addition to meats they sell several other items like cheese, bread, olives and olive oil, along with some prepared items; basically a one-stop-shop for all the simple foods for which Italy is famous. They are special places.

Italians care passionately about these foods. So the best pizzicherieand salumerie are run by people with a calling to provide them properly. This one lives up to its ideals.

Forno Alimentari G. Giurlani

This shop is a little more extensive. It bills itself as a panificio (bakery),pasticceria (pastry shop) and alimentari (grocery). It has some overlap with the pizzicheria, though, with dolci (sweets, from the dolciario, sweets shop), formaggi (cheeses), salumi (cured meats), rosticcerie (prepared foods), and pasta fresca (I'll let you guess this one) all on offer, along with vini e liquori (you should be able to guess this one too).

A closer look at their wares.

Benci

Benci, Lucca's answer to funnel cakes (included for my friend, Rhonda, who is addicted to the latter; see e.g. Things That are in My Stomach).

The Best Bakery in Lucca

This is where it gets complicated. Bakeries can sell pizza, but it's the square kind of pizza that comes on a huge baking sheet, called rustica, pictured here. The round kind that's thrown in the air by a pizzaiolo is made in a pizzeria. Bakeries also make the little round pizzini, also pictured here.

The rustica I had here came with a flaky crust, much different from Napoli pizza. I consumed to too quickly for picture taking, that's how good it was!

More Pies

The green ones are called verdura (vegetable), but they aren't savory, they're sweet. The tan one in the middle on the bottom row is made with nuts. The others are a combination of vanilla or panna cotta with chocolate. I have not been lucky enough to try them all.

See also Lucca, Italy