walking town – Lauren Warnecke

How I’m spending the end of the world

Assuming that the Mayans were right…. or rather, assuming that some interpretations of the end of the Mayan calendar were right…

This is it.

My last day on earth, and certainly my last post on One Crafty Lady.

Taking that into consideration, my day today in Sarasota, FL was probably a pretty good way to ring in the end of human civilization:

After spending the morning at Lido Beach, the three muskateers (that’s me, the gf, and her mom) had lunch at the delightfully tacky Daiquiri Deck in Siesta Village. Tacky in a good way… Sports on TV, good service, a table above the street, and country music in the background. I had a nice chicken fajita wrap and key lime pie. I mean, you can’t come to Florida and not eat key lie pie, right?

Anyway, after lunch we headed to the acclaimed Siesta Beach. I’ve been on plenty of beaches, but “they” say this one is #1 in the US. I can’t confirm or deny this, but I will say that Siesta Beach is big, uncrowded (at least today it was), and full of soft white sand like I’ve never seen*.

And as I type, I’m enjoying a nice salad, glass of wine, good company, streaming wifi, and freshly washed hair. A nice way to spend the end of the world.

So. Meet me next week at Starbucks??

Siesta Key

* After reading a historical marker, I came to find out that the unbelievably soft sand on Siesta Key is mostly quartz that came down rivers as sediment from the Appalachian Mountains. Given some of my previous travels, I found this to be especially apropos.

Cleveland does, in fact, rock.

It’s been awhile since I’ve travel blogged. You know, I mean, for REAL travel blogged.

Cleveland rocks!! At the Lava Lounge in Tremont

I guess that’s probably because it’s been awhile since I travelled. A menacing schedule and many, many recent life changes have added up to a rather dry spell in the world explorations. However a number of mini-trips have shaped up this summer and so I’m once again stretching my traveling legs starting off with a weekend in Cleveland. This simple little road trip kind of blew me away and Cleveland proved itself as a new and surprising place that actually does, as they say, rock**

Or, I should say, Lakewood rocks.

Here’s the thing…. while I did make it into the city limits of Cleveland, it wasn’t the focus of the trip. On this approximately 36-hour vacay, Julie (my lady friend) and I stayed with friends in the charming suburb of Lakewood. Typically, charming and suburb are not two words that would ever share a sentence together, however Lakewood is a delightful walking town that purports big trees, chirping birds, unique old homes, and surprisingly the largest gay population per capita in the tri-state area.

Cleveland was all about friends, and food, and wine, and good conversation. It was a chance to escape from the chaos of life and the NATO summit in Chicago to slow down a little bit. Expecting something akin to Indianapolis, I found Cleveland to be a more progressive, unique, and hip experience than I ever could have anticipated (in other words, not at all like Indianapolis). Add to that good, honest, and honestly hip people and there’s not much else to report. I will, however, say that if ever in Cleveland, I have two off-the-beaten-path recommendations:

Prosperity Club — Sangria at Properity Social Club

Be sure to make a stop in Tremont at either Prosperity Social Club or Lava Lounge. Better yet, visit both. Within a block from one another, these two establishments are locally owned and make for a great evening when packaged together. Steamed mussels and sangria at Prosperity were followed by a beautiful waldorf salad, mac and cheese, and a substantial wine list at Lava Lounge. Let it be known that Greg, our server, was hip, chillaxed, but simultaneously attentive and suave.

Good job, Greg. And good job, Cleveland.

** Apparently, Instagram, my new favorite iphone app, also rocks. I do believe that iphone photos come out infinitely hipper and better this way, as evidenced here.

Cleveland

A Day in Sicily

Sicily is an absolutely beautiful island off the coast of Italy, and Messina, our first port of call, on the Navigator of the Seas, is only 2.5 miles from the mainland. It originally broke off from the coast of Africa, not the coast of Italy, and the influence of certain aspects of Arab culture and architecture are still apparent. Rising above the island is Mt. Etna, an active volcano that erupted as recently as 2003. Workers have developed techniques over the years to divert the flow of lava away from populated areas, but you can see the toll that Mt. Etna has taken on the landscape. There are sensational cliffs and rugged mountains. The climate is extremely dry, but many fruit trees and beautiful flowers grow on the mountainsides.

Messina itself is not overly impressive, so we took an excursion to Taormina 35 miles away. Greeks originally founded Taormina in 358 B.C., although the layout of the town gives it a distinctly medieval feel. Our guide mentioned that Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans, French and Spanish have occupied Taormina at one time or another before uniting with Italy. Additionally, it has withstood earthquakes, fire, volcanic eruptions, and World War II. So, in other words, the whole place is volatile.

Cars are not allowed in Taormina, so the streets are narrow and cobbled. This time of year the area is packed with European
tourists on holiday, and it is scattered with knick-knack shops with unfortunate t-shirts and mugs featuring the Godfather. In spite of this we managed to find a couple of spots that were less crowded and more pleasant. We ate lunch at Ristorante Gambero Rosso. If you walk by this restaurant, they don’t give you any choice but to come in. You pass by and they say “hello! How are you! How many? Two? Great! This way!” before you can get a word in edgewise. Although we were lured in, it ended up being a great choice. Later on we found Arte Mediterranean Café for the most phenomenal cannoli and gelato on earth.

Honestly, all you have to do in Taormina to have an amazing time is take a long walk.

This evening we’ve been laying low and watching the Olympics which is interesting to watch from Italy…you end up seeing a lot of fencing, weight lifting and water polo…

Sicily