Why History?

Why is history important? Things never happen exactly the same way twice. Historians cannot come up with laws of nature like physicists do (at least I assume that contrary views like Hegel’s are now discredited enough to be ignored). Even physicists cannot tell you what the world will look like in 10 years. That goes in spades for economists.

History can give you perspective. Just personal history, getting old, can give one perspective. Of course, you can become a cranky old ideologue.  When we gain knowledge about the crazy stuff that has happened in the past and the complexity of events, you can better realize all the possible futures that are out there. That said, those giants who understand a historical period, say J.H. Elliott about Spain or Tony Judt about postwar Europe, have a breadth of knowledge that one could never equal unless he were starting young and was very very smart. These guys know the events, the characters, the folk tales, the art...pretty much all the elements that let you understand a culture.

So what is one to do in light of our profound ignorance and lack of capability? As a good friend said last night, everyone can do something positive to make the world a better place. When I was younger, I was an idealist left-wing lawyer out to bend the government to do the right thing through class-action lawsuits. When it became clear that such attempts were futile, that the government didn’t really change much no matter how many lawsuits we won, what was left? Well, there are lots of individuals in whose lives I can make a profound difference. Obviously, there are people who make much larger contributions. But if most of us make some positive contribution, the world will more likely be a better place in the future, just as it is a better place for us in general now than it was for our ancestors.

Political "discussions"

The five favorite explanations for events involving political issues:
(1) Too much government
(2) It is Bush and Reagan's fault
(3) It is Obama's fault
(4) It is the liberals fault
(5) It is the fault of large corporations

Personal note:  For some reason, I got very involved in thinking about the political issues of the day in the last year.  No more.  Wait six months and reporting will give you an idea of what happened.  Wait 10-20 years and historians will have gotten access to the priviliged documents and memoirs and will have given a more accurate and detached view.  I've lost interest in the yelling and talking heads, other than the band, which is still great rock and roll.

Travel and Brain Chemistry

This is the worst jet lag I’ve ever had. It is ironic because the transition going to Europe was the easiest ever. It helped that we traveled first class (had free tickets from frequent flyer miles) and we had a relatively new plane that let you assume a flat position. I took an ambien and slept five hours on the way to London. Voila! The first few nights home I hardly slept and then I tried ambien again and felt hungover and it has alternated between these extremes since. One night I woke up completely wide awake after an hour and took an ambien. Last night I stupidly tried a muscle relaxer, forgetting that I took one in Florence and was zonked. I envy those people who can fall asleep easily on a plane. I would never make it in working on-the-road and salute the Willy Lomen who manage to do it.

Someday I will write about my experience with prednisone-induced mania. Of course, if steroids can do that you probably have a tendency that way. My body is beginning to feel like it did then, tired all the time. Yesterday I bonked on a relatively easy hike. My brain can do repetitious tasks but cannot really do something like read a book. This is really crimping my style at the moment. The best book I read on bipolar disorder was An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison (my copy long ago disappeared; borrowed and not returned). It helps give one a small sense of mental illness; it is not fun most of the time although manic euphoria can be wonderful even while making you incompetent. But it is very tiring and I hope I sleep tonight naturally. Tita hardly had a migraine headache while we were gone and now she is having them regularly again. Brain chemistry is weird. Maybe next time we will get a one-way ticket to Europe.

Here are lessons from this trip so I can look them up before next time. Traveling by auto on the back roads is wonderful. You really see things you would not otherwise like picturesque little villages where things have not changed in forever. I have never been a fan of the A-routes (super-freeways) but decided this time I am going to take them on longer jaunts in the future. I can drive the back roads when we get close to wherever we are going. I also want to experiment with the trains but no overnighters; thank you R and J for that advice. A room with a lot of natural light and at least one comfortable chair is a must and a view is a terrific luxury. If we stay in a nice hotel in the country again that has a restaurant we will get “full-board,” meaning that we will include dinner in the restaurant hotel. In Venice at La Calcina and in Radda at Relais Fattoria Vignale the restaurants had wonderful food and great views to boot. We had the best asparagus and risotto of the trip in Radda, which is something given the many nice restaurants we went to in Florence with Rick and Jackie.

I can see sharing a villa or an apartment again but it is hard to imagine taking the chance with many other people. Luckily, we both did our own thing during the day except for the wonderful vineyard wine-tasting trip Rick booked. Truly a memorable experience. I shipped half a case back to Rick’s house because our backward state does not allow you to directly ship wine home. The Chianti Classico was wonderful and we also have some even better Super Tuscan coming. I try to get Chianti here complete with the pick ribbon and the black rooster but so far not so good, while paying much more. It is hard to go back to drinking American coffee again after Cappucino, but we live in the new world. I did not miss following the news. We left with a huge oil spill and returned to a much bigger one. What else happened? I guess a watered-down financial bill passed...big surprise. But you may have ascertained my change in attitude after all these months of blogging. Been there, done that. Time to move on to something more interesting.

As much as we love auto travel in Europe, I cannot see traveling by car with anyone but Tita. I love the planning and trying to get around without too many mishaps and do a lot of research. Sorry, I don’t need more opinions on what to do. Tita and I always have a marvelous time on the road. We have just the right amount of planning and flow. Next European vacation we will do more of this. But I have to recover from this trip first. Maybe we will finally drive around New England next year and visit my sister and the haunts of our ancestors, particularly Harpersfield, New York. The French and Indian wars are fascinating history. But enough blathering for now. Even racing minds wear down.

Goodbye Italy

The Italy trip has ended and we are readjusting to “normal” life. We both have three days to decompress, so it is not a painful process–one thing we have learned from international travel is to take some time off after we get home.

It feels good to be home. The forest is alive and flowers are blooming on the mountain. The cats are snuggling and strutting and Fred is squawking. It seems like being away for awhile helps me realize how much I love this house. We were initially sold on the location, the wrap-around deck and the kitchen and its great room extension, which now has a large bookcase, couch and chair for reading. The previous owners had done a marvelous job of remodeling the kitchen and a decent job of remodeling the master bathroom. Our friends Mike and Andy remodeled the living room and put hardwood floors there and in the dining area. We also added some new light fixtures and then had a wall-length wood armoire built in the master bedroom (which previously had no closet).

The trip was a great adventure and came off as flawlessly as can be expected. We love northern Italy, as well as France and Spain. My favorite day on this trip was the day we spent driving around Chianti while we were staying in a very nice hotel/restaurant in the hilltop town of Radda (where we had the best asparagus and risotto of the trip). I always love Florence but we decided that on our next trip we will spend much more time in the country. London was very interesting, mostly because of British history, although I have no great desire to go back. We also enjoyed Venice and Ferrara for their preserved medieval nature. Next time we go to Italy I am thinking we will limit Florence to 2-3 days and not stay right in the heart of town, stay and hike in Cinque Terre, spend more time in Chianti–perhaps staying in Cortona and visiting the mountaintop village wine meccas of Montepulciano and Montalcino, home to Nobile and Brunello. Chianti Classico was wonderful and our tour of the vineyards, especially Montecchio, is something we will never forget. Thanks to Rick for organizing that expedition, and we enjoyed our many conversations and dinners with he and Jackie. Other places I would like to see include Lake Cuomo and the Alba/Asti region of Piedmont, home to other great wines.

I finished my book on the Borgias a couple days before we left Venice. It took me over at some point and was enhanced by our visit to Ferrara. Now I am reading The Pursuit of Glory; The Five Revolutions That Made Modern Europe 1648-1815. It is an immense tome laden with interesting facts and theories, so I am skipping around a bit. At about 700 pages, the book is a bit daunting. But the more history I read, the more I realize how much I don’t know, which is both humbling and exciting. There are many great adventures ahead.

Venice

I am surprised by all the negative comments about Venice. The city is wonderful, especially if you love to walk. No cars and trucks and none of their noise! Yesterday we walked from our hotel near the Zattere water bus stop in Dorsoduro to the Piazalle Roma, visiting a great Franciscan church on the way. Then we took a water bus down the length of the Grand Canale to San Marcos, where we had lunch. Then we walked back over the Rialto bridge through the Mercato to Piazza Santa Marguerita, where we had a glass of wine and stocked up at the grocery store (supermercato).

The auto worked out nicely. We dropped it off at the airport and took a water bus to a half block of our room, a lovely little apartment connected with the Hotel La Calcina. Highly recommended hotel. Our major misadventure with the auto was entering Ferrara on the day of a large celebration. Our hotel was in the historic district overlooking the Estense castle, and the entire area was blocked off to traffic due to the celebration, which went on for hours, complete with locals parading in medieval dress. I thought the hotel would be easy to find, but their historical district is huge. We parked the car several kilometers from our destination, got some vague directions and walked. The city was quite beautiful and we returned later to get our vehicle. Then getting through the maze of narrow one-way and pedestrian-only streets presented another challenge.

Our drive to Ferrara was unnecessarily long as I wanted to travel on roads other than the autostradda. My comment on the Po Valley is flat and food as far as the eye can see. We did not stop at Ravenna, which on the outskirts was very industrial. Tita wanted to stop at a beach on the Adriatic and she was very disappointed. I no longer expect anything from European beaches. They are overrun with people and tacky buildings, reminding too much of my own country. Europeans are silly for going to the beach at every opportunity. Boring. If you want to see the sea, go to a cliff for a much better view.

Tomorrow we return to our own villa on Mt. Olympus. It has been a wonderful trip, but we are ready to return home. Tita's friend Daria has been taking very good care of our cats. She sent a picture of Fred today that made me want to give him some hugs.

We will hopefully come back to this beautiful country. There are still many places I want to go. Already planning the next trip. Arrivederci.