Travel with Julie

My Favorite Sculpture At The Louvre Museum In Paris

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I'm not much of a museum rat.  An hour or two in any museum--even the great ones--is more than enough for me.  But, every once in a while, this museum flunky comes across a piece of art that makes me stop dead in my tracks.  Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova in Paris' Louvre Museum is one such piece.

I didn't know the story behind this sculpture the first time I saw it.  Now that I do, I understand why I am so drawn to it.  What girl isn't a sucker for a romantic fairy tale? Here's how this one goes:

Once upon a time there was a king with three daughters.  They were all beautiful, but the most beautiful was the youngest, Psyche.  So beautiful, in fact, that people began to worship her instead of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty.  This made Venus very jealous, so she asked her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with a horrible monster.  However, when Cupid saw how beautiful she was, he dropped the arrow meant for Psyche and pricked himself with it, falling in love with her.

Despite Psyche's beauty, her parents feared no one wanted to marry her.  They were told by an oracle that she was destined to marry a monster, and they were to take her to the top of a mountain and leave her there.  Instead, the wind kicked up and swept her away to a magnificent palace where she was taken care of by invisible servants.  Every night, a visitor (her new husband) came to her. He told her he would only visit her at night and she must never try to see him.

While her invisible husband was very good to her and the invisible servants saw to her every desire, Psyche was homesick.  She gained permission from her new husband to allow her sisters to visit.  When they did, they became very jealous of her lavish lifestyle. The sisters coaxed Psyche into peeking at her husband by saying he was a monster who was fattening her up to be eaten and that she must kill him if she wanted to survive.

That night, armed with a lamp and a knife, Psyche visited her husband while he slept.  She was so surprised to learn that he was Cupid that she dripped hot wax from the lamp onto his shoulder, waking him. When Cupid made sense of the situation, he immediately left Psyche, hurt by her quickness to think so badly of him.

Psyche roamed day and night looking for her husband.  After much despair, she went to his mother, Venus.  Still angry, Venus set about in getting revenge by forcing Psyche to complete some extremely difficult tasks.  Cupid, now recovered from his physical and emotional wounds, began to miss his beloved Psyche. He soon learned of his mother's shenanigans and convinced Jupiter to order Venus to stop her persecution of Psyche.  That day, Psyche was delivered to Jupiter where he gave her a cup of ambrosia to drink, making her immortal.  He then ordered the nuptials between the two lovers to be perpetual.

Ah, such sweet romance.  Learn more about this precious sculpture by visiting the Louvre's website.

Planning a trip to Paris?  Click here to find out how I can help make your experience a unique postcard in your travel scrapbook!

A European Christmas

 

One day, I want to spend Christmas in Europe.  Maybe Rome...maybe Paris...anywhere, really!  It won't be this year, though.  For now, I have to live vicariously through others like these great folks:

Christmas In Rome: Some Serious Lights by Revealed Rome

Photo courtesy of Revealed Rome

10 Addresses for Christmas Sweets In Rome by Food Lover's Odyssey

Photo courtesy of Food Lover's Odyssey

Finding The Best Santa In Switzerland by European Travelista

Photo courtesy of TVZ.tv

Traditional Venetian Christmas Dinner by guest blogger, Monica Cesarato, on Food Lover's Odyssey.

                           Photo courtesy of Food Lover's Odyssey.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things by La Belle in France.

Photo courtesy of La Belle In France

All Decked Out For Christmas by An American In Italy

Photo courtesy of An American In Italy

15 Gifts To Buy On The Spain Euro by The Spain Scoop

Photo courtesy of The Spain Scoop

Christmas Recipes With Style by Italy Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Italy Magazine.

My Favorite Thing In Umbria Is Wine

As I mentioned in My Favorite Things In Italy, there are just so many things to like about Italy.  My friend Monica in Venice has a favorite Osteria.  Letizia has a favorite seasonal harvest.  Steve loves the quirky things about Italy. (Deep down, I think we all do, Steve!) Well, for Alessandra Mallozzi in Todi, Umbria, her favorite thing is wine! Understandably.  Alessandra and her brother, Leonardo are co-owners of Discovering Umbria, a travel company specializing in food and wine tours.  She is a Certified Sommelier FISAR (Italian Federation of Sommeliers) and writes a beautiful blog where she shares her love of food and wine.  I think you will pick up on her passion in this post:

My Favorite Thing In Umbria Is Wine

Umbria is a land particularly suited to viniculture. It's moderate climate and gentle rolling hills all contribute in making excellent wines produced by wine growers of the region since ancient times.

Umbria is divided into 2 DOCG and 13 DOC areas -- denotations that guarantee the origin and the quality of a wine.  Among the 13 DOCs, there is DOC Todi that includes some of the wines produced in our town and in the villages of Massa Martana, Montecastello di Vibio and Collazzone.

The DOC Todi includes some red wines like Sangiovese, one of the most common grapes cultivated in central Italy (e.g., the famous Chianti wine is made with Sangiovese grapes) and the international Merlot, even though our town is renowned for its white wine called Grechetto.  Grechetto is not only the name of the wine, but is also the name of the special kind of grape--it's DNA has recently been analyzed showing a deep difference among the other Grechetto cultivated in the region.

This grape, in fact, has been cultivated in Todi for centuries. The Roman historian, Pliny the Elder, who visited our town in the 1st century B.C.--two thousand years ago--wrote in his work, "Historia Naturalis," this sentence: peculiaris est tudernis (typical of Todi), referencing the particular vine that produces this dry white wine with its slightly bitter aftertaste.

For these reasons, in 2009, our wine received the important DOC Todi recognition underlining the special characteristics of Todi's wine over other Umbrian Grechetto.

While visiting Umbria and our town, Todi, try a chilly glass of this great wine, especially on a warm summer day.  Together with a nice plate of pasta, fish or even white meat, it is delizioso!  Cheers!

 

Thank you Alessandra for reminding us just how special Italian wines are!  Do you have a favorite Italian wine?  I'd love to hear about!

5 Quirky Things I Love About Italy

If you enjoyed reading about Letizia's Favorite Event In Umbria or Monica's Favorite Osteria In Venice, you are going love reading the next post in my series My Favorite Things In Italy.  This one comes from Steve Brenner.  Steve and his wife, Linda, are the owners of The Beehive Hotel in Rome and Cross-Pollinate, a website featuring B&Bs and apartments for rent in Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris, Barcelona and London. They moved to Rome in 1999 and currently live in Orvieto, a medieval Umbrian hill town one hour north of Rome, with their three daughters, Giulia, Paloma and Viola.

5 Quirky Things I Love About Italy

I lived in Italy almost 13 years (with the exception of 2 years in South East Asia) when the things I loved about Italy became very clear.  Many were specific--a pizzeria, a certain bottle of wine--while others were more conceptual--things that captured the specialness of Italy and defined what is unique about it.  Here, in no particular order, are 5 quirky things I love about my beloved Italy:

1.  L'ora di pranzo e sacra (the lunch hour is sacred)! Here's a typical scene:

I'm sitting in a meeting in my lawyer's office discussing a contract that was to be signed.  My phone rings and when I answer, the person on the other end politely asks if I'm busy.  "Yes," I answer. "I'm in the middle of an important meeting with my lawyer.  Can you call me back?"

"Oh, OK," they respond and then continue on with, "It's just that I needed to ask you about a reservation you made the other day.  I don't think I got the email, and I can't remember the arrival time..."

However, when I answer the phone and simply say, "I'm eating," the caller will always say, "OK, scusa, I'll call you later."

2.  You can never be overdressed in Italy (apparantly, even if you are riding a scooter).

3.  It is common knowledge in the U.S. that pregnant women should not drink wine. In Italy, a pregnant woman finds it OK to have a glass, or two.

4.  When you cook, you don't have to say that you made something from 'scratch.'  There's only one way to cook!

5.  The eye candy.  Where else can you have a good-looking trash man or ditch digger?

I think if we were all honest, we'd agree with Steve's list, especially with #1 and #5, right?  Is there a quirk about Italy that makes you love it even more?  I'd love to hear about it!

My Favorite Event In Umbria Is The Olive Harvest

We've already learned about Monica's favorite Osteria in Venice.  Next in my series, "My Favorite Things In Italy," comes another friend, Letizia Mattiacci, who, with her husband, owns and runs the agriturismo, Alla Madonna del Piatto in Umbria near Assisi, and writes the deliciously beautiful food blog, Madonna del Piatto.  When I asked Letizia to fill in the blanks to "My favorite ____ in Italy is ____," she quickly reponded with:

My Favorite Event In Umbria Is The Olive Harvest

Olive harvest in Umbria is an unforgettable experience.  Much of the region's beautiful hills are blanketed in silvery olive groves.

Harvest starts during the mid to end of October and continues well into December.  The best and most aromatic oil is obtained from early harvest olives, picked by hand at the very time when the fruits change from green to purple.

Olive oil is the liquid gold of Umbria.  Spicy, fruity, aromatic, beautifully green when just harvested.  It's not only a healthy condiment, but it actually enhances everything it is drizzled upon.

If you can get ahold of some freshly pressed extra-virgin oil from a small estate and compare it to the average supermarket variety, you will realize you have never tasted the real thing until now.

Don't use it for cooking as the heat will destroy its fragrance.  Don't limit yourself to dipping bread in it or dressing salad.  Learn a new habit:  prepare your food with only a minimal amount of fat and serve.  Have a bottle of good olive oil on the table.  Drizzle one teaspoon of the emerald elixir over each portion.  Enjoy immediately.  Then, close your eyes and you will see the rolling hills of Umbria!

Thank you Letizia for making our mouths water!  Do you have a favorite Umbrian olive oil to share with the rest of us?  I'd love to hear about it!