I'm sharing this lovely note from Helia, Roger's daughter, who is taking a year off from her job and traveling. She started in India and then spent some time in Iran but this is the first time we heard about her travel details. Helia is a Chemical Engineer who has decided to find the true meaning of life by enjoying personal experiences and learning about other cultures.
I am writing to you from Verona, Italy. I hope you are doing well. I miss you very much. I have been traveling in Europe for a month now. Have been to Switzerland, Austria, and Italy so far. I am currently staying with a childhood friend from Iran who lives in Verona.
I spent the first two weeks if my Europe adventure in Switzerland. I met a Swiss girl named Jeanne while traveling in Nepal back in April and she invited me to spend my two weeks in Switzerland at her house in Zurich. She was an awesome host and we shared the love for the outdoors. We went camping a couple of times in the Swiss Alps. We also visited Gruyere cheese factory and tasted amazing cheese. The lakes and water canals in Switzerland were all crystal clear and clean and the Swiss always carry their bathing suits with them at all times during the summer and use every opportunity to take a dip. Also the quality of drinking water was the best! Drinking fountains all over the city. It was one of my favorite things about Switzerland. I would go running without worrying about where to get water. The country is the closest I have seen to perfection. As far as natural beauty, quality of air and food and standard of living was the highest I have seen among western countries. They also only pay 8% in taxes and take 4-6 weeks of vacation in the summer! One of the best health care and education systems in all of Europe.
After Switzerland, I took a train to Vienna and met up with another friend and we spent two weeks in Austria together. We visited Salzburg, where Mozart was born and also Sound of Music was filmed. Also went wine tasting in Spit and had the best white wine I had ever tasted there! The wine country in Austria is in the region between two cities of Krems and Spit and is famous for Riesling. The German and Austrian Riesling is not sweet at all but very dry and refreshing. Vienna was also a very nice city but super touristy. I visited two museums in Vienna. One was about the history of Vienna between 1900-1945 called the Leopold museum and another one was the Jewish museum. I learned that the Austrians refused to take any responsibility for the way Austrian Jews were treated during WWII and in 1993, they were eventually forced by the Americans to pay restitution to Jewish families whose properties had been seized during the war and post war era in Austria.
After my time in Austria, I took a train to Verona, Italy and that’s where I am now. Verona is a lovely small town in north eastern part of the country and is famous for two things: Romeo and Juliette was set in Verona, and Dante, the poet who is considered the father of the Italian language lived in Verona during his exile from Florence in the 1300s and composed his most important works here. My friend Maryam has a lovely apartment in Piazza dei Signori where there is a statue of Dante and we get to wave at tourists taking photos everyday from the window of her apartment. The entire city of Verona is considered a UNESCO world heritage. Maryam is another friend who loves the outdoors. We went hiking in the Dolomite mountains last weekend and spent a night at a hut there. It was very beautiful and awe inspiring. I have posted some photos of our trip on Instagram.
I have been very lucky so far because I have not paid for accommodation while in Europe and just stay with old or new friends so it gives me more freedom to experience more and spend money on visiting smaller cities or eating amazing food!
The food in Italy is absolutely incredible and cheap! You can get a really nice meal for $11 and a really nice glass of wine for $4. And that’s considered a fancy night out! A nice glass of wine during a day at a nice bar is about $3 and it comes with small snacks! Verona is a very small city so I am sure things are more expensive in bigger cities.
In 4 days, I will be flying to Palermo, Sicily and will stay there for 5 days. Then I will join two of my friends who are flying from CA to Tunisia and will travel with them to Tunisia and Morocco.
The staff is efficient and personable and the wine and appetizers last night and breakfast this morning were exceptional.
dragonfiregallery.com
I spent the first two weeks if my Europe adventure in Switzerland. I met a Swiss girl named Jeanne while traveling in Nepal back in April and she invited me to spend my two weeks in Switzerland at her house in Zurich. She was an awesome host and we shared the love for the outdoors. We went camping a couple of times in the Swiss Alps. We also visited Gruyere cheese factory and tasted amazing cheese. The lakes and water canals in Switzerland were all crystal clear and clean and the Swiss always carry their bathing suits with them at all times during the summer and use every opportunity to take a dip. Also the quality of drinking water was the best! Drinking fountains all over the city. It was one of my favorite things about Switzerland. I would go running without worrying about where to get water. The country is the closest I have seen to perfection. As far as natural beauty, quality of air and food and standard of living was the highest I have seen among western countries. They also only pay 8% in taxes and take 4-6 weeks of vacation in the summer! One of the best health care and education systems in all of Europe. 
Bon Appetit Magazine recently published a recipe for "sheet-pan potato hash with fixins". I was mostly interested in the potatoes which have the appearance of potato chips so last night was an experiment. They are so delicious and easy and fun to make that I want to share this with you.
Several years ago I had the good fortune to meet Judee at an art show and we have been friends ever since. Her artistry is amazing. Judee uses fabric scraps, fabric samples, tapestry, velvets, silk, denim and unique trim and lace to make handbags and clothing. She also incorporates original screen prints to her designs.
The extremists on both sides expressed their opinions at the rally today in Portland with no injuries or harmful actions. Over a thousand police officers were on hand and they remained in control of the situation.
WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE opened Friday at the downtown Portland Living Room Theater so I bought my ticket online and hopped on the Portland Streetcar which stops one block from the theater.
