PLACES I'VE BEEN......THAT ARE CALLING ME BACK

THUNERSEE, SWITZERLAND

   When my daughter and Classy Career Girl founder, Anna, asked if I would write a guest post for her website I was honored, and a bit perplexed as to how this vintage traveler could be of interest to young and ambitious Classy Career Girl readers. I started thinking about the many places I've traveled to, and the ones that are still calling me back for a more leisurely vintage visit. Here are the Top Six:

       I visited Trondheim (pop. 170,000), Norway, in 1967, when I was traveling through Europe with friends on $5 a day. Here, I met my grandmother's sister—her only living sibling at that time. She gave me a bracelet that I still cherish. My grandmother, Anna, left Norway for the U.S. in the late 1800s. She never returned and never saw her sister again. This wasn't unusual back in those days. They kept in touch by writing letters. Since my ancestors came from here, I would like to return for a week in the warmth of the summer, exploring the old harbor city with its wooden houses on the River Nidelva, and meeting distant cousins.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER

NEW YORK CITY

      A city that I've been to many times and would return to again in a heartbeat is New York. I can walk for miles along the crowded streets to view a fascinating mix of modern and historic architecture, and 19^th century brownstones, along tree-lined streets. With a population of 8.5 million—37% foreign-born, and dozens of parks, rivers, museums, theaters, skyscrapers, restaurants, there is never a shortage of things to explore. It's hectic and I'm always ready to leave, but there's something special about New York that keeps calling me back.

      

        We visited Greece, about ten years ago in April, a delightful time of year to be there. It was off season, and we could ride the ferries to enjoy the uncrowded islands of Santorini and Mykanos at our leisure. With over 1,200 islands, mountains, and the 11^th longest coastline in the world, this is truly an enchanted region for a long and casual vintage revisit.

CASTELROTTO, ITALY

      Another spot that I have fond memories of is a small town in the Dolomites of northern Italy called Castelrotto—located near the wonderful Alpe Di Siuse which is the largest high altitude alpine meadow in Europe. It offers easy hikes, historic nearby villages, wonderful scenery, wineries, and reasonably priced bus and train passes to explore South Tyrol. Yes, that's an area I would go back to frequently, given a chance.

 Where else?

    

AMALFI, ITALY

WATERCOLORED POSTCARD

  Once we spent a couple of nights in Amalfi on the western coast of Italy, just below Naples. I said at the time, I would like to return to the place we stayed at, with a balcony overlooking the turquoise sea, and then jump a coastal train to the southern tip of Italy. That was about twenty years ago, and it still hasn't happened. However, the watercolored postcards of Amalfi, that I have hanging in my bedroom, will ensure I won't forget about this destination.

VIEW ABOVE GUNTEN, SWITZERLAND 

THUNERSEE

      Finally, I will return to the chalet ($64 per night) perched on a mountain above Gunten, Switzerland, overlooking the Thunersee—a place we recently visited. This I could do every June for the rest of my life and not tire of it. Hopefully, I'll be hiking on the nearby trails, just as the locals do, well into their nineties. Switzerland is known for its high cost, however, we found reasonable grocery, beer and wine prices at the Coop City in Thun. Our lodging included a free bus pass with unlimited travel in the area.

       These are my brief words of travel wisdom for followers of the “Classy Career Girl”—those special women who are working everyday to make their lives better. We can all grow, and frankly life keeps getting better. Most importantly, if you wish to travel, as my father use to say, “Go while you can.

      "Don't pass up any opportunities that come your way—some of them only come once in a lifetime."        -The Vintage Mom

ALPE DI SIUSI

SOUTH TYROL ITALY

VINTAGE REUNION--NEW YORK NEW YORK

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospection.”

                                  Anais Nin, French writer

     This quote is the inspiration for my writing about a September visit to New York City for a reunion with three dear friends that I spent a year of my life many years ago. Our first get-together was in 2008. At that time we agreed to meet again in five years, so here we are.

     The four of us met in 1969 when we all lived at the Phoebe Warren Boarding House. We each had a room on the fourth floor with a shared toilet and bathtub down the hall. No longer a boarding house, it is now a beautifully restored brownstone home on the Eastside, next to Central Park – costing millions.
     We also shared the experiences of weekly Sunday champagne brunches at Fridays with sawdust on the floor and Schrafft's Restaurants with the old dark-wood walls and delicious chocolate sundaes. Then there were the counter lunches at Chock full o'Nuts where they served cream cheese sandwiches on dark raisin bread with coffee, all for under $1. We also frequented the Pan Am Building with a rooftop bar for a spectacular view of the city. None of these special places exist any longer.
     We lived on what we earned and if there was anything extra it was spent on clothes at discount department stores like Alexander's or Ohrbachs.
     Within a couple of years we had all returned to our hometowns and more comfortable lifestyles. Only Michele, the quintessential New Yorker, returned to live in Manhattan again. After leaving the second time, she returned to New York for work on company expense accounts—a dream come true.
     I arrived in Manhattan early on a Friday, anxiously anticipating the arrival of my friends that evening. I took advantage of the beautiful day to walk from 57^th Street to the Lower East Side to tour the Tenement Museum. Afterward, I hurried back to the hotel.

      Finally, my vintage friends showed up and here we were all together again in New York.  A much different city than it was 45 years ago, but our shared memories will last forever.
     I can't tell you exactly what we did during those couple of days we were together, but sightseeing wasn't high on the list. We laughed and talked about everything we could think of. We learn as we get older to enjoy the moment and that we did. Through the years we have all had our life experiences and have gone in many different directions, but we have a common bond that brings us together.

FLEA MARKET SHOPPING

     Not surprisingly, Carole talked us into doing a little shopping while there—she was always the one that knew just how to dress “New York” even on a shoestring. She is still classy. Donna is now in charge of recruiting volunteers for various nonprofits in upstate New York, also not surprising because she always had a heart of gold.
     We parted with hugs and tears and promises to return again in another five years. It seems like forever, but time moves on fast—too fast sometimes.

Ralph Lauren Store
Madison Ave.

Related Post: Dated April 11, 2011, The Vintage Career Girl vs the Classy Career Girl ofToday

THE VINTAGE CAREER GIRL VS THE CLASSY CAREER GIRL OF TODAY

My daughter Anna diligently writes a great blog called  the Classy Career Girl  which leads me to make a comparison between the classy career girl of today and the vintage career girl of the 60s and 70s. 

• In the 60s and early 70s women almost always majored in education, nursing or sociology -  today they have majors all over the spectrum and there are NO LIMITS to what they can accomplish. 
• Employment ads in all the national newspapers were then divided between female and male job openings.   Today the job search takes full advantage of current technology with no indication of gender.
• Managers had secretaries and, of course, my first job (even though I was a college graduate) was secretary to a Personnel Manager (now known as Human Resources).  Fortunately, I worked for a rather progressive female who I respected and learned a lot from.  
• I'm not exactly sure what the college graduates are getting for starting salaries these days, but I know it exceeds my $118.00 per week. I managed to live in Manhattan, New York on that salary in 1969.     
• While living in New York in 1969, I shopped at Alexander's and Orhbach's for discounted clothing - today I think it would be Marshalls and Ross.  I loved to walk through Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales and look at all of the fancy apparel, accessories and cosmetics.  Saks and Bloomingdales were then unique to just a few cities, so shopping in NYC was a very big deal. 
• In those days you needed to be at least age 26 with a good income in order to qualify for a credit card.  Needless to say we frequented banks and deposited our checks and we were forced to live within our means.  I think we all did.  You could only spend what you had - it was all pretty simple.  Frankly, it still is that simple-- (if we forget about keeping up with the Jones's).
• No Starbucks - just the best New York  coffee anywhere - we would stand in the "to go" line at the delicatessen to purchase it on our way to work.  Even the coffee carts had good coffee.   Maybe I should also mention the warm buttered corn muffins.  
• I  walked everywhere with comfortable shoes - I still do.   How can these career girls wear the high heels day in and day out?  

            Illustration from Octavine Illustration.