Iceland, though it lies so far to the north that it is partly within the Arctic Circle, is, like Norway, Scotland, and Ireland, affected by the Gulf Stream, so that considerable portions of it are quite habitable. — British explorer Harry Johnston
 

A rainbow on the lava fields

The young woman behind the reservation desk at our hotel was born in Nebraska. After graduating from college, she spent a year in Iceland, then went to Denmark for another year and returned to Iceland, where she has lived for the past 18 months with her Icelandic husband. She’s learning the language, little by little, and I’m impressed, because it looks impossible.

There's nothing like the Blue Lagoon in the morning!

Why Iceland, I asked? Because, she said, she admired the incredible spirit of independence in the people and she loved their tradition of storytelling. Icelanders are famous for their sagas, epic tales in both prose and poetry that recount stories of early Viking voyages and battles and the ensuing feuds between Icelandic families. One of the most famous sagas is over 100,000 words long. (For those who care about these things, that’s about the length of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.)

I went to Iceland with Tim and his mother because it was on her 80^th birthday “bucket list” and she didn’t want to go alone. We were joined by my sister-in-law and two of Mom’s good friends from Brandermill Woods. We went on a “Northern Lights and Lava Fields” tour, run by MWT Associates out of San Jose, CA and even though the lights didn’t cooperate the week we were there, it was still a fantastic trip and one that I heartily recommend.

For one thing, you can book a flight that takes you into Iceland’s Keflavik Airport, spend up to seven nights in the

Small Icelandic horses under a big, moody Icelandic sky

capital city of Reykjavik and then go on to one of several European destinations with no penalty charges. Check out the stopover booking engine on Icelandair’s website for more details. But beyond that, Iceland is a revelation.

I’ll have lots more to tell when I get back. I’m off to Boston this week for the funeral of a dear friend. It will be tough; hold me in your thoughts, please.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos to whet your appetite for the full story. These are remarkable people living in a remarkable environment. Plan to go.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

Countin’ the cars on the New Jersey turnpike

They’ve all come to look for America, all come to look for America

— Paul Simon

I blame this on the self-proclaimed “cultural concierge” Jesse Kornbluth. If you don’t follow his remarkable blog, Headbutler, stop reading this right now and sign up.

There. Much better.

Jesse’s been an active New York journalist for decades. Over the years you’ve probably seen his name in Vanity Fair, New York, Architectural Digest, Reader’s Digest, The Los AngelesTimes Magazine, Departures, The New Yorker or The New York Times. Man gets around. And I love his insights. I don’t always agree with everything he writes, but he always makes me think and that, my friends, is something of an achievement from the media these days.

Anyway, I was reading one of his pieces last week in which he crowned Paul Simon as our Poet Laureate, and I couldn’t agree more. For 40+ years, Paul Simon has been the voice of our (my) generation. Sure, there’s Bob Dylan and Lennon/McCartney. But, like the Energizer bunny, Paul’s still going. That counts for something.

So I went right out and picked up his new CD, Songwriter, which is a stunning 2-disc collection of the “best of” Paul Simon. Thirty-two songs, from “The Sounds of Silence” all the way up to his latest release, “So Beautiful, or So What?” I was listening to it in my car today and I had to pull off the road when “American Tune” came on. I’d forgotten about it and, as I listened, realized that it could have been written yesterday.

Here’s a clip from the old Dick Cavett show from September 1974, with a young (weren’t we all young in 1974?) Paul singing it: http://youtu.be/l_sl4r0eGVY

And here are the lyrics:
American Tune

— Paul Simon

Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken

And many times confused

Yes, and I’ve often felt forsaken

And certainly misused

But I’m all right, I’m all right

I’m just weary to my bones

Still, you don’t expect to be

Bright and bon vivant

So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered

I don’t have a friend who feels at ease

I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered

Or driven to its knees

Oh, but it’s all right, it’s all right

For we’ve lived so well so long

Still, when I think of the road

We’re traveling on

I wonder what’s gone wrong

I can’t help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying

And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly

And looking back down at me

Smiled reassuringly

And I dreamed I was flying

And high up above my eyes could clearly see

The Statue of Liberty

Sailing away to sea

And I dreamed I was flying

Well, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower

We come on the ship that sailed the moon

We come in the age’s most uncertain hours

And sing an American tune

And it’s all right, it’s all right

You can’t be forever blessed

Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day

And I’m trying to get some rest

That’s all I’m trying to get some rest

Phwew!

I’m going to Iceland (not Graceland) next week, so I’ll have lots to tell when I get back. Maybe even some decent photos of the Northern Lights. Keep your fingers crossed. I’m packing right now and have more layers in my suitcase than a puff pastry…

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

I met a lot of people in Europe.  I even encountered myself — James Baldwin

I turned 60 in August. For a long time, I thought about how I wanted to celebrate this big event. I knew it would not be with a “thing” — I have enough things as it is. And I hate surprise parties. I knew that it would have to be an experience.

Sixty was a milestone for me, and a little bit of a scary one at that, because my family doesn’t have a history of great longevity. My Italian grandmother died in her 50s; my English grandfather, at 64. My mother died at 64, also. It’s only my Italian grandfather (83) and father (78) who hold out any hope at all of a reasonable life span. So 60 was special. And I wanted the celebration to be special, too.

Then it came to me. I wanted to go to Italy with my best friends. I asked three friends and their significant others to come with me and Tim. I would pick a villa and we would stay there together for a week. They agreed.

I called it “The 2009 60th Birthday Northern Italy Eat-All-You-Want Song and Celebration Tour.” We went in September, to the amazing but oft-neglected (by American tourists) regions of Lombardia, the Veneto and Emilia-Romagna. We stayed in the welcoming and magnificent Villa Castellani along the Po. It was the second time there for me and Tim, the first time for our guests. Everyone was thrilled.

Thanks to the efforts of our gracious and generous host, Ing. Luciano Castellani di Sermeti, I was able to give two readings from my book while I was there: one in Verona to a largely bi-lingual audience, members of the Associazione Italia-USA, and one to an Italian-only audience in Sermide, at the villa (with a translator). I’ll never forget those evenings.

Why do I tell you this? Because all the journaling and all the photographs that we took (and there were nearly 1,000) couldn’t capture the experience in full. Not even close. But something has come close, and that’s what I want to share with you here. I have met myself here, and I have seen my friends for the wonderful gifts that they are.

I am proud to present an uber-talented creative artist (painter, photographer, media maven) in Marblehead, Massachusetts whom I have known for more than 20 years. A few months ago, I saw a video of a trip that he took to Prague and I knew immediately that I wanted him to do the same for my 60th birthday trip. I was thrilled when he said yes. He culled through all my pictures and asked me for a suggestion for the background music. I knew in an instant what I would pick: the theme from one of my favorite movies, Il Postino — “Mi mancherai,” which was written by Luis Enriquez Bacalov.

So turn up the sound on your computers and have a look and a listen. It’s only four minutes long. This is me, meeting myself in my bella Italia. These are my friends. This is the work of the wonderful Richard Buckley. Grazie per tutti, Dick.

[youtube id=”TgJXVadOiEA”]

KateMcMillan