Rome!

Tags: travel memoirs pictures
My Life


It was on a Thursday evening when my boyfriend asked if I wanted to take the Traghetti (ferry) to Roma. We both had a long week and wanted to get away. We decided to leave early Saturday morning and return on Sunday.

Well, we started from the southern tip of Sicily in Comiso. We drove through the vineyards, nearby villages, and Catania until we were in Messina, Sicily.

The water was a dark blue and the sky was a beautiful blue with very few clouds. The ferry was approaching. Once in Italy, we drove through Reggio, Naples, and Pompeii Italia (Italy for us American folks). While in Reggio, we had to turn around. Someone a few cars in front of us had been shot while driving in traffic.

We eventually made it to Rome!!! I was so excited. Have you ever had a dog that stuck it's head out the window as his ears flopped in the wind? Well, that was me. I believe the whole time we drove in Rome, my head was out the window amazed at the fact I was in Rome. Good thing my boyfriend spoke fluent Italian. We were able to get around really good throughout Italy and Sicily. As for me, I only spoke present tense. At least the locals could understand me. Oh well, I was the African American two year old when it came to speaking the language. (But I got much better with time..trust me). Thank goodness I had a really good boyfriend. He taught me Italian, took me everywhere, and showed me a great time in Sicily and Italy. Back to the trip.

We visited the Colosseum and the nearby attractions. We stayed overnight and enjoyed the scenery and culture (as my memory serves me). On the way back to Sicily, we stopped in Reggio, Italia.

I recall going to a museum that had an exhibit of two African pirates. Their ship had sank hundreds of years ago because of the weight of treasure they had aboard their ship. The locals were selling replicas of their statues everywhere you went in Reggio.

Let me explain these enormous statues I saw in the museum. The statues were pure bronze and their teeth were made of silver. The anatomy and color of the statues clearly depicted they were of African descent. Can you imagine having so much gold, silver, and other treasures that your ship sank??? Talking about having a bad day. The statues were on high stands and the statues had to be at least seven feet tall.

Parts of the ship were in the museum. I was amazed at the size of the ship and tried to imagine having so much gold that I ship that size sunk from the weight of it.

Below are a few prints of the gorgeous sites I saw and some I wish I had seen. (Whatever you do, have Tortellini and a dish called Fruitti de Mare if you're in Sicily or Italy. Fruitti de Mare is similiar to Paella in Espana (Spain). The only difference is rice versus pasta). Enjoy!







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Oh how I love Sicilia. Very down-to-earth, romantic culture. If there was one place that made me think twice about coming back to the United States, it was Sicily! Sicily has a huge part of my heart and always will. I miss you Sicilia! Grazie.

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*After being back in California, I mix Italian and Spanish together. At one time, I spoke Italian enough to only hang out with the Sicilians. They used to smile when I spoke. I had taken an Italian class and spoke very proper Italian. The dialects varied from township to township. All of the Sicilians I knew treated me like family. Pray all of you are well dear friends.

The Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge

Tags: travel memoirs pictures


Wow! While surfing the poster images, I ran across across The Cologne (Koln) Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge. This is mentioned in a previous post about how we used to go see this really tall cathedral and cross the Rhine River to go to a Spanish restaurant we loved.

Out of all of the places I've lived, Germany gave me a lesson on how to appreciate culture. The Germans have suffered many wars and have had to rebuild their country many, many times. The warmth that I felt there was a family type of warmth.

This is one place that I had the luxury of living on the economy. I lived on Bitburg Air Base for a year and lived in Kyllburg for nearly 2 years. I'll have to check the spelling of Kyllburg since it's been over 20 years since I've lived there. Kyllburg was a little town that looked like it came out of a fairy tale.

The houses were close together, very colorful, and were on a hill. Every Saturday it wasn't uncommon to see women beating their rugs across their balconies. You actually could eat off of the floor of most German homes. The locals were friendly and often I would walk down to the market for fresh fruit and vegetables. I was always greeted with smiles. Can you believe the Deutsch Mark was got up to 3.45 to the dollar when I was there?

Kyllburg Link (I miss this beautiful place...it was home. I lived on the right side about five buildings along the right. The large building is the church on the hill. I used to turn left at the church and start down the hill to my home. The market was at the bottom of the hill. Gosh, guess I'm homesick). You will see me refer to every place I ever lived as home. :o) Didn't think I could find a picture of where I used to live on the Internet. Wonder if my landlords still live there. Wow.

Pruem was the adjacent town that was nearby. I loved my German landlords. The wife would often send the husband over with fresh baked goodies and I would always return the favor by taking them American Ice Cream. It was a great trade arrangement (her pastries were awesome).

I loved Kyllburg and it's curvy streets. I felt like a NASCAR race driver while commuting to work. The area was extremely green and I belive the approaching streets to Kyllburg were 100 Kilometers. The autobaun was the greatest. No speed limits.

If you ever have a chance to go to Germany, leave the tourist attractions from time to time. Germany has such a refreshing culture and it was very family oriented where I was located also the many places I traveled to througout Germany.

There was one historical moment that happened to me while in Germany. I had the honor of protecting the President of the United States. President Reagan, may your soul rest in peace.

One day I'll tell you about a festival I went to at Bernkastel. I asked for a glass of wine and they gave me a whole bottle. I took one bewildered look around the festival and realized no one was drinking out of a glass. Everyone were drinking out of their own individual bottle. Can you imagine this happening in the states? :o) Amazing and truly beautiful, warm, and loving country. I love you Germany and I will treasure you always!

Take a look at my favorite refuge while in Germany. The Twin Peaks is the Koln Cathedral on the Rhine River. Now you know my secret hideaway while in Germany.





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Retire In Mexico!

Tags: travel memoirs pictures


Did you know more and more people are leaving the United States and retiring in Mexico? I've recently ran across an ezine where a gentleman and his wife became expatriates and how their transition to living in Mexico was rewarding for them. They indicated how their expenses were cut down to a minimum.

Save on flights and retire in Mexico:

Check it out below!

Fly Really Cheap

Retire in Mexico

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Lovely Print of Mexico





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Greek Isles, Santorini

Tags: travel memoirs pictures

Before I go any further about my Travel Banter, I would like to share with you a place that has captivated my heart for at least two years.

Santorini in the Greek Isles has to me one of the most gorgeous places. For the past two years, I've had this thing for calendars showing the beautiful landscapes of Santorini. Every morning I look at my success collage (long story and many things have came true), walk in the bathroom, and see beautiful landscapes of Santorini. Let's see, a 58' Pilot Home on the Med, sounds like a winner.

The Mediterranean area has to be the most scenic and romantic place in the world. Sure, Alaska was beautiful and so was Delaware. Nothing compares to the Med. Well, Hawaii comes close. Below are some captivating prints I ran across. Along with the print in the right margin in the upper right hand corner. That same print is on my calendar. Wow...take a look. What a view!

From what I hear, all of the building on Santorini are made of rock. Lava rock to be exact. The rumor I heard is that the locals dug homes out of the rock and painted them white. I'll have to do some research to find out the validity of what I heard. Just another beautiful place I wanted to show you.



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Personal Quote: Living is feeling passionate about something!








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Buon Giorno!

Quick Note: There's a volcano on Santorini. The island used to be circular and the eruption made the island sink in the middle according to the net. Wow, had Mt. Edna in Catania and now have a smoking volcano in Santorini. Gosh, which is worse? Earthquakes or volcanoes? :o) Don't think I'll be taking any volcano tours. Like living on the edge, but going on a volcano tour is like jumping off a cliff.

Travel Inspirations

Tags: travel memoirs pictures

I was inspired at a very young age to travel. At the age of 3 years old, my mother and father split. My mother and I went from Kansas City, MO. to the Bay Area near San Francisco.

Let me tell you, San Francisco Bay Area and Kansas City, MO. are like two different animals. Kansas City is known for their music and barbecue. When I say barbecue, I mean mouth watering, finger and bone licking, barbecue sauce slinging, using all the napkins barbecue. I think I was sharing about how I was inspired to travel. Kansas City's barbecue is worthy of having a blog of it's own. Now for my travel banter blog entry.

The Drifter Was Born

My mother worked in elementary schools as far as I can remember. She retired one year after I did a couple of years ago. One day, when I was around 5 years old, she brought a book home with pictures of children from different countries. This book showed different cultures in their authentic settings. Many of the children wore their native clothing. This book fascinated the you know what out of me at the age of 5. I couldn't put it down.

(To see a copy of the book that inspired me to travel as a child, click on the below link and do a search for Hanns Reich. The name of the book is, "Children of Many Lands". The book was selling for $1.95 which is subject to change). The other book my mom had by Hanns Reich was "Children and their Fathers." The merchant changes the pages often. If you click on the below link and see something other than "Children of Many Lands", place Hanns Reich name in the search box on the page below. The book will be located if in stock.


Children of Many Lands

I remember running home plopping down on the living room floor and looking at every page of this book, over and over again. My poor elbows were raw. With my head in my hands and elbows to the floor, I would stare at every pages' details. One page sent me running to my mother asking her if I could have some wine. There was a picture of an Italian family at their dinner table drinking wine. Get this, the kids were drinking wine too! Well, we both know mom declined my request for wine.

My mother had no idea that for years I would look at every child's face in this book wishing I could meet each and every one of them. They were so different from I and all I wanted to do was find out if we had anything in common. Were they nice? Would we be able to speak to each other? What were they like? I must have given my mother the 100 question drill asking about these kids in this book. Poor lady, I'll never know how she dealt with such a curious child.

I found many of the answers to those questions once I turned 19 years old. I had to wait 14 years, because that's when I traveled and lived in Germany for 3 years. While in Germany, I traveled to Spain, Austria, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Holland, France, gosh, I may have missed one or two but you get the idea. Many years later I moved to Sicily and stayed for a year. When it comes to Sicily, I may need a whole blog to share the great experiences I had.
(Provo parlare l'Italiano). The below picture is my most favorite place in the whole world. Taormina, Sicilia.

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Europe was such an eye opener for me. The people were open- minded, in most cases my color wasn't an issue, and differences were tolerated more than what I see here in the states.

Over there, I was an American. In the United States, I'm an African American or sometimes called Black female, depending on the context of the situation.

While I was in Europe, I understood why Tina Turners and Josephine Bakers stayed in Europe. The most refreshing moments in my life was when someone said, "You're a pretty American". Wow, was I glad to be addressed as an American. The sense of pride I had is indescribable.

Thanks mom for bringing home that little book. It inspired me to leave home as an only child and wander into the unknown abyss of self discovery. Parents have no idea how they inspire their children. That little book changed the course of my life and had a direct impact on the decisions I made while serving in the military. I became a drifter.

Every weekend, while living in Germany, I traveled to a different country or scouted the hills, cities, and prairies of Germany. I lived life to it's fullest and appreciated the surroundings and cultures I was exposed to daily. Since 1981, I've never lived in one place for more than 3 years. The goodbyes I've had to say are endless and form a distinct blur in my memory, yet the memories of the places I've seen have enriched my life immensely.


Personal Quote: We find out our true character, when we are in direct eye contact with someone whose different from ourselves.

By the way, that little book is still by the front door, on my mother's book shelf, on the second shelf. :o)

*Note: Due to the cost of royalty free pictures, Drifter will use posters of places visited.

Welcome to Drifter's Travel Banter Blog.

Germany - Auslese, Eisvien, Spatlese

Tag: Food and Drink

By the time I was 19 years old, I found myself in Bitburg, Germany. This was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. My favorite place was Koln, Germany. I'm going to have to research for the name of the beautiful cathedral I used to go see. The hotel was right across the street from the tallest cathedral I've ever seen.

The Rhine River was nearby. We used to go across the bridge and go to this Spanish Restaurant. This may have been a Spanish Restaurant and it had the most awesome Crab Louie (with 1000 island dressing) salad with large fresh shrimp. The most soliciated drink in the restaurant was Sangria with fresh fruit.

My Personal Wine Lessons From Germany

The prominent wines in Germany were from the following rivers: Nahe, Mosel-Saar, and the Rhine.

The most popular wines were Auslese, Spatlese, Eisvien, and Kabinett.

The next several posts will be my accounts of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Italy, Mexico, France, Spain, Sicily, Hawaii, Alaska, and the United Kingdom. Wow, do I have a lot to share with you.

Travel Banter Blog

First Entry

Tags: travel memoirs pictures

This blog is to give an account of the many places I've visited. A great deal of time has passed since I've seen these places and my entries will be out of sequence. My main goal is to share with you the great things I remembered about Europe, the United States, and abroad.

This could be looked upon as a travel blog. There are so many places I still want to see. Sit back and enjoy. Posts will be added soon. Pictures and prints will be shown within the posts. It's going to take a while for me to scan my personal photos for the blog. Until then, enjoy the prints and posters of the mentioned places.

Now, I have to decide to talk about Paris or Spain. Wow, this is going to be exciting!


The Travel Banter Blog