Thanks, Luisa, for summing up my very complicated feelings about the US so beautifully. And thanks for the travelogue on Trieste; I will save these recommendations for our trip there later this year!
I‘m originally from Germany and live in Switzerland since 1980. The United States are far away, but what happens over there makes me angry and sad. I’m really, really worried. Also because we can watch similar tendencies in Europe.
Other topic: Triest is such a beautiful city. Thanks for sharing! 🧡
My husband, daughter and I had such a wonderful visit to Montreal over the holidays last year. I’m looking forward to returning to do more exploring. We all agree that we had the best kouign amann ever at Au Kouign Amann in Mount Royal. We stopped in after traversing several neighborhoods, and it was the perfect antidote to the cold along with a hot chocolate that was barely sweet, and perfectly offset the pastry. Can you tell this was a Proustian moment for me?!
I absolutely love your newsletter, Luisa! I feel as if I am transported to Trieste, a place I've always wanted to visit. And I'm bookmarking so much in your Classic German Baking 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 You put into words what so many of us are feeling about the US: a complicated sadness.
Thank you for this Luisa, it brought me to tears - especially the part about loving a country with a broken heart. What are we to do?
We are in for a long season of awkward segues as this continuing nightmare unfolds. So far my intuition is telling me something counter intuitive: it is okay to feel good. That it's important, necessary even to do things that nourish our selves, our souls and our loved ones. So yay for this trip to Trieste.
A book that has answered my prayers is 'How to doNothing Resisting the Attention Economy'. by artist Jenny Odell. She wrote it after the 2016 election. The book has been a tonic to me and illustrates how reclaiming ones attention is an act of resistance. It's the first step that gives you the space and equilibrium to figure out what to do next. Anyway, perhaps you or others here will find it helpful.
Luisa, beautiful post and thank you for the Jan Morris recommendation; I've read her book on Venice and found its beauty absolutely...shocking, so I'm excited to read her book about Trieste (didn't know she wrote one). (Also, when I was in my 20s I had the unbelievable opportunity to take her to lunch, which was a thrilling experience, but I wish I'd been a little older so I could've appreciated the experience more fully.) xo
Amazing! When I was assistant to the publisher of S&S, she came to the office to see him so I have actually met her too - but was clueless about her greatness at that time. :)
Thank you for the book recommendation, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris. I have it on hold at my library, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
Love your travel notes from Trieste—always wanted to visit. Yes, loving with a 💔 broken heart. That’s the perfect sentiment. It’s excruciating what’s happening here, and how many are sleepwalking or actively marching towards a dictatorship. May the election on the 23rd turn out better than expected. Hannah, Portland, Oregon
I loved what you said about reading JM’s book instead of actually visiting Venice. Sometimes we don’t always have to make life one long bucket list of things to do and places to see, especially when the population grows and the environment degrades and beautiful places like Venice are loved literally to death. I blame social media (and Covid I guess) for making the national parks feel like amusement parks. Ha! I sound like a total crank…but I always think about what Thoreau said (essentially): there’s so much to discover in our own backyards that we don’t need to travel the world to be awed. Not that I wouldn’t jump at an opportunity to visit Trieste! It sounds quietly glorious. Anyway, that line about staying home and reading the book struck me as kind of profound and comforting. Thanks for sharing. (And I’m heartbroken too…but determined to help those who need it, to be kind, to pay attention.)
Thank you - I am also a total crank about this, so I appreciate you for getting it! I keep starting and stopping a newsletter about our trip to Venice because the mental gymnastics to get it right are so tricky.
Thanks, Luisa, for summing up my very complicated feelings about the US so beautifully. And thanks for the travelogue on Trieste; I will save these recommendations for our trip there later this year!
Well written, well said.
I‘m originally from Germany and live in Switzerland since 1980. The United States are far away, but what happens over there makes me angry and sad. I’m really, really worried. Also because we can watch similar tendencies in Europe.
Other topic: Triest is such a beautiful city. Thanks for sharing! 🧡
Luisa, I now want to tell you my story of being thrown out of a restaurant in Venice!
yes, please!
You expressed so well how it feels to be an American now. Thank you. Your trip sounded amazing!
Oh, what cogent thoughts - and such beautiful writing.
Thank you.
Susan Schwartz
Montreal, Canada
My husband, daughter and I had such a wonderful visit to Montreal over the holidays last year. I’m looking forward to returning to do more exploring. We all agree that we had the best kouign amann ever at Au Kouign Amann in Mount Royal. We stopped in after traversing several neighborhoods, and it was the perfect antidote to the cold along with a hot chocolate that was barely sweet, and perfectly offset the pastry. Can you tell this was a Proustian moment for me?!
I absolutely love your newsletter, Luisa! I feel as if I am transported to Trieste, a place I've always wanted to visit. And I'm bookmarking so much in your Classic German Baking 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 You put into words what so many of us are feeling about the US: a complicated sadness.
I think you have articulated the sentiments of a lot of us Americans right now. I’m looking forward to hearing what you do with those cherry tomatoes!
Thank you for this Luisa, it brought me to tears - especially the part about loving a country with a broken heart. What are we to do?
We are in for a long season of awkward segues as this continuing nightmare unfolds. So far my intuition is telling me something counter intuitive: it is okay to feel good. That it's important, necessary even to do things that nourish our selves, our souls and our loved ones. So yay for this trip to Trieste.
A book that has answered my prayers is 'How to doNothing Resisting the Attention Economy'. by artist Jenny Odell. She wrote it after the 2016 election. The book has been a tonic to me and illustrates how reclaiming ones attention is an act of resistance. It's the first step that gives you the space and equilibrium to figure out what to do next. Anyway, perhaps you or others here will find it helpful.
Just read it recently!
Would rather not have to read through a political screed before getting to what I subscribed to read.
Luisa, beautiful post and thank you for the Jan Morris recommendation; I've read her book on Venice and found its beauty absolutely...shocking, so I'm excited to read her book about Trieste (didn't know she wrote one). (Also, when I was in my 20s I had the unbelievable opportunity to take her to lunch, which was a thrilling experience, but I wish I'd been a little older so I could've appreciated the experience more fully.) xo
Amazing! When I was assistant to the publisher of S&S, she came to the office to see him so I have actually met her too - but was clueless about her greatness at that time. :)
I get it; I wasn’t exactly clueless, but I was too young to appreciate her.
Thank you so, so much for your thoughts on what is happening here in the U.S. You captured my feelings so well.
And as for the segue, now I want to catch the next plane (or probably many planes) to Trieste!
Thank you for the book recommendation, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris. I have it on hold at my library, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
well that's pretty much it, being an American right now. thank you. also, now I want to go to Trieste
Love your travel notes from Trieste—always wanted to visit. Yes, loving with a 💔 broken heart. That’s the perfect sentiment. It’s excruciating what’s happening here, and how many are sleepwalking or actively marching towards a dictatorship. May the election on the 23rd turn out better than expected. Hannah, Portland, Oregon
Jan Morris on Trieste is one of my favorites. Of course, you already know it's only tangentially about Trieste...
I loved what you said about reading JM’s book instead of actually visiting Venice. Sometimes we don’t always have to make life one long bucket list of things to do and places to see, especially when the population grows and the environment degrades and beautiful places like Venice are loved literally to death. I blame social media (and Covid I guess) for making the national parks feel like amusement parks. Ha! I sound like a total crank…but I always think about what Thoreau said (essentially): there’s so much to discover in our own backyards that we don’t need to travel the world to be awed. Not that I wouldn’t jump at an opportunity to visit Trieste! It sounds quietly glorious. Anyway, that line about staying home and reading the book struck me as kind of profound and comforting. Thanks for sharing. (And I’m heartbroken too…but determined to help those who need it, to be kind, to pay attention.)
Thank you - I am also a total crank about this, so I appreciate you for getting it! I keep starting and stopping a newsletter about our trip to Venice because the mental gymnastics to get it right are so tricky.