Lost and Happy

By Supriya Savkoor

I’m not supposed to be blogging today because of asundry reasons happening in my non-virtual life, but I just couldn’t resist this topic! So I’ll keep it short…

With young children and so little vacation time on our hands these days, we tend not to go meandering around a new place, relying on chance to find a good restaurant or adventure. Of course, I haven’t traveled to any place new since Yelp and all such fancy apps have come out (not counting Disney), so we’ll see how that plays out the next time I’m wandering around a new country.

But I know I’m not the only one who’s discovered new interesting and sometimes favorite places after getting lost.

On a trip to Switzerland over a decade ago, bad weather in the Alps forced hubby and me to meander around Interlaken, the town where we were staying but which all of our travel guides said was forgettable, kitschy, touristy, and just not worth exploring. As a result, we hadn’t mapped out our every move. When we had no choice but to spend a day there, we started exploring anyway and discovered the guide books had got it all wrong. There was nothing forgettable about Interlaken. We loved it and found it adorable. It’s just a tiny little village nestled in the Alps – yes, one catering to tourists, with boutiques full of Swiss army knives and cuckoo clocks, but even back then, it seemed far less commercial to us than the local sprawling shopping mall near our suburban home outside Washington, D.C.

In Interlaken, we walked and walked, admiring the wildflowers in the green hills around, always hearing the sweet sound of cowbells tinkling in the distance. We finally stopped at a local pharmacy to ask for a restaurant recommendation, and the friendly woman there suggested her very favorite restaurant in town, one that I would now rate as my favorite restaurant anywhere. It was a small hike, a lovely one at that, but we were skeptical when we were seated in the rustic lodge next to an open window that had a gorgeous view but the smell of, you know, cow dung drifting in. (So much for steak!) 

But Café du Nord was an amazing experience. They brought out complimentary cocktails, a sweet concoction of something or other with wide, sugar-rimmed glasses, more like bowls than cups. I discovered the glorious dish of raclette, a type of Swiss cheese simply grilled as a starter. Absolute heaven. I can’t even remember the specifics of what other dishes we savored, only that the food, the service, and the presentation were all so wonderful, we canceled another event on our trip just so to make another visit. Our sweetest dining experience ever…

On another Europe adventure, we got lost at night in a part of Florence that locals had warned us was not a good part of town. It looked dodgy too, with no street lights at all and young gang-like teens wandering around in the shadows. So how surprised were we when we ran right into a small dive of an Indian restaurant, bright and noisy, in an otherwise empty back alley? Loud bhangra music blared from its open doors, the day’s specials written in Italian (pollo tandoori) on a chalkboard hanging in the scratched window, framed by a string of colorful lights. 

Made us laugh and reminded us to keep our minds open, keep walking, and find out what other unexpected discoveries we could make. As all of life's journey's should be, right?

Off The Beaten Track: The Italian Connection

Our guest blogger today is Cathi Stoler, an award-winning advertising copywriter turned crime novelist. Her first mystery/suspense novel, Telling Lies, is set in Italy. Other novels in this series will include Keeping Secrets, which delves into the subject of hidden identity, and, The Hard Way, a story about the international diamond trade. She has also written several short stories including Fatal Flaw, which was published online this April at Beat To A Pulp, and Out of Luck, which will be included in the upcoming New York Sisters in Crime anthology, Murder New York Style: Fresh Slices.

When I was a child, my paternal grandparents were already quite old. They had emigrated from southern Italy at the turn of the last century and had never learned to speak English very well. Visiting them for Sunday dinner was more of a chore than a joy as it was very difficult to communicate. They would speak in Italian, and I would nod yes or shake my head no. The wrong response brought scowls and frowns and quick retorts in Italian, which I understood all too well. As you might imagine, embracing my Italian heritage was not high on my list of things to do.

When I grew older, my curiosity took over and I decided that I wanted to see Italy and understand where my family had come from and the culture they’d brought with them. I visited a few times and thought it was a truly beautiful country, but I really fell in love with it one summer when my husband, daughter, and I decided to spend a month in Tuscany.

I prepared for the trip by studying Italian for a year before and was very happy I did. Even though my Italian was just cosi cosi, so so, everyone made an effort to understand and speak to me. We rented a small house not too far from Florence in the tiny village of Iesa, which served as our home base. In just a few days, we fit into the rhythm of the village, buying our food and wine at the local alimentari, sitting on the veranda at night sipping vino or Cappuccini  and becoming friends with our neighbors, who are still good friends to this day.

It was a glorious awakening to the Tuscan region, a truly amazing place filled cypress trees, field after field of sun flowers, magnificent villas, walled towns, wineries, and winding roads that led to one gorgeous vista after another. And then of course, there was the art. Being near Florence, we visited its many museums and galleries, including the magnificent Uffizi.

My new novel, Telling Lies, opens in Florence at the Uffizi Gallery, one of the world’s great museums. There, my protagonist, Laurel Imperiole, has an encounter with an acquaintance whom she believes to have died on 9/11. The story revolves around a priceless artwork stolen by the Nazis, which is being sought by a cutthroat billionaire art collector among others, and pits Laurel and private investigator, Helen McCorkendale, against the NYPD, the FBI, and the Israeli Mossad. 

Setting my story in Florence, one of the world’s most art-rich cities, gave me a unique opportunity. I was able to incorporate its interesting sites, as well as the facts I’d learned about its culture and people, into the tale. In a way, Italy is as much a character in the novel as any of the people.

We’ve been back to Italy many times since to visit our friends and to visit other places across the country, from Naples in the south where my family came from, to Courmaier in the Alps, as well as many cities in between. In fact, a trip to Venice prompted me to learn glass blowing, which I studied for ten years and hope to include in a future novel. I guess that means I’ll just have to take another trip to Italy for some additional research.

Cathi is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Visit her at http://www.cathistoler.com/.  Her novel, Telling Lies, is available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Telling-Lies-Cathi-Stoler/dp/160381843X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300989056&sr=8-1