Two Worlds

Once a landfill, Overpeck Park in Bergen County, New Jersey is now one of my happy places. And before we left fair New Jersey for Italy in April, we took Baby Boy for a stroll there. The charming wooden bridge for walking and autos is now a lovely symbol of the land. Englewood, Leonia, Palisades Park, Ridgefield Park, and Teaneck donated hundreds of acres of land surrounding Overpeck Creek about 50 years ago to create this park. It features walking paths, a dog park, tennis courts, baseball fields, and even an equestrian area with horses for riding. There are tracks, a canoe/kayak launch, and a fishing area, not to mention a playground for kids.

An oasis in the middle of a county that often seems more city than suburb, Overpeck has even recently attracted a pair of American eagles. (I, along with the rest of New Jersey, am hoping the eagles make it.) Bergen County announced May 10 that more improvements are coming to the park. The County is receiving a $500,000 grant to complete a missing link of pedestrian paths traversing the park and will connect all the venues within it, according to the announcement.

There’s so much you can do at Overpeck. But I have to admit my favorite pastime at the park is simple walking. I especially enjoy a visit in the spring, when it is still not too hot and all the flowers and plants are in bloom. I take photos by the pretty trees dressed in pink or white flowers, people watch, encounter the many dogs and babies, and take a deep breath. Bet those who knew the land as a landfill never imagined it could be a place of such peace and beauty.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Yesterday, the Giro d’Italia, which is Italy’s Tour de France, returned to Ischia after 54 years. The last time these competing cyclists came to Ischia, my father was present and still living in Ischia. In fact, it was his last hurrah before moving to the United States in 1960. This time around, I was present, having recently arrived from the States for a nine-month stay on my ancestor’s island. Because the irony was not lost on me, I wrote a story about it that was posted today on ItaliansRus.com. Check it out and see more photos from the Giro in the story and below.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and is the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

 

We are officially back in Italy, and we’ll be here for a long, long time. It feels like an eternity to me. It’s only been a few days, but I already missed New Jersey and nearby New York as the plane was taking off from JFK Airport. In fact, it’s not an understatement to say that my heart aches for the sights and sounds of the tri-state area.

So, I’m putting a much-needed smile on my face by remembering some of the ways I bid farewell to my home sweet home. Thanks to a friend from Ischia, who was in New York on business and was kind enough to take Antonio and I aboard the Bateaux dining cruise, I was able to take in the lights of NYC one last time before leaving for Italy. Aboard the cruise, I ate yummy lobster bisque, crab cake, seafood-stuffed crepes and cheesecake (New York style, of course). The crepes were delicious, but dripping in cream sauce and paired with the bisque and the cheesecake, it was a bit of a heavy dinner. While the price is steep – our friend gave the experience to us as a gift to thank us for letting him stay at our place – I would recommend the Bateaux to out of towners and locals alike because it is a new and fun way to take in the New York skyline. It also is quite romantic, and makes for an extra-special way to celebrate an anniversary or birthday.

The highlight of the trip is not the food, by the way. It is the ambiance. I was even able to wave arriverderci to Miss Liberty herself. Being the child of an immigrant and a sucker for the American dream and all it represents, I get choked up just at the sight of THE Statue. It felt fitting to see her up close, in all her glory one last time before I set out an adventure in reverse; whereas my ancestors greeted her at their arrival to the new world, I was heading back to their old world for what is sure to be a life-changing experience.

Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel, 2012) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

Get the truth about one of Italy’s most popular islands – and its people – by reading my new weekly blog installments (every Monday right here on this site)

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Ischia through New Eyes

Feeling compelled to show me a similarly good time to the one I showed him in the States, Tony served as my boyfriend and tour guide on my first trip to Italy since we became an official couple. Even though I had seen Ischia a million times before, Tony was showing me sides of the island I never knew. For starters, I was staying with his family in Ischia Porto, the island’s capital and gateway. My family, on the other hand, comes from the other side of the island, the towns of Barano and Buonopane. Ischia Porto is supposed to be the sophisticated “city,” whereas Barano and Buonopane are more the “country.” The people from Porto usually had less menial jobs than others, whereas those from Barano and Buonopane were peasants who worked the land.

My time in Ischia before dating Tony was usually spent gathered around the kitchen tables of my relatives eating or hiking to Buceto, woods where my family had land that they used for planting grapes for winemaking and other vegetables for selling. Our cousins who lived in Ischia would take us on a giro d’isola, which meant we’d all pile into one of their compact cars that seats four to five max. We’d be sitting on each other’s laps and passing icons of Ischia – from the rock shaped like a mushroom in Lacco Ameno to the church of Soccorso in Forio – while sitting on each other’s laps stuffed like sardines in the car.

Rarely did we ever get out of the car during one of these trips. We always visited the island in the winter because my father was a landscaper and that was the only time of year he could take time off. You might think that Ischia, an island, would be a delight in the winter. You’d be wrong. It’s bone-chilling cold there once November hits. There’s lots of humidity due to the vicinity of the ocean. Although the temperature doesn’t drop nearly as low as it does in my native New Jersey, it feels like you’re in a freezer. You feel cold to your bones. None of the homes are heated. Homeowners use fireplaces and electric heaters, and they might use a heating system for a couple of hours in the morning or evening but not all day, nor will it be as high as ours. My brother, sister, and I would all sleep huddled in the same bed, and we’d wear sweat pants, sweatshirts, winter coats, and wool hats to sleep sometimes. We were quite the vision.

With Tony, I was having a different experience entirely. I was only spending significant time with the family members he knew, namely Roberto and his girlfriend Lisa. Before I was like a native whenever I was in Ischia, but now I was a true tourist. Tony took me to see Villa Arbusto, a museum about the island’s history. And we went out to dinner to restaurants that were both romantic and authentic, showing off the island’s cuisine (beyond what my relatives make in their home kitchens). I also met a whole new set of people, some of whom I’d grow to admire and many of whom would not turn out to be who I thought they were.

Some names and identifying characteristics of the real people involved have been changed.

Tune into this Web site, Two Worlds, every Monday for the latest installment in my blog about my experiences in Ischia, and every other Monday to ItaliansRus.com for the latest Our Paesani column about all things Italian. Di Meglio is also the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I want to give a shout out to New York. I’m a proud New Jerseyan, but living so close to Manhattan (just 15 minutes over the GWB, which is literally in my backyard), I have developed a fondness for the Empire State, too. Two weeks ago, I brought our friend Francesco Serpentone (Big Snake), our friend Ludovica, and my husband Antonio to the Empire State Building. Looking up at the top of the building from the ground has one feeling as tiny as a bug. It inspires and motivates you to keep growing. Looking down at all the buildings and beauty below, you feel like pushing hard to find success, to be a part of that business underneath you. To get through today, in fact, I might have to hum Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind“. I love New York for its wonder and its ability to push people to change themselves for the better or the worst. I’m choosing the better. I hope all of you will do the same. Perhaps, my picture of a sparkling Chrysler Building amid Manhattan’s bright skyline will get you started. (To see more pictures of our day in New York, please visit the “Big Snake Comes to America” photo album.)

My husband Antonio just left to return to Italy, so he can spend the holidays with his mother and sisters. As I sit alone in our bed, I am reflecting on the beautiful moments we shared in the last month. One of the best was our day at the Statue of Liberty (See “Statue of Liberty” photo album). Just seeing her chiseled face has me feeling proud to be an American. My visits to the Statue and nearby Ellis Island always have me in awe of my ancestors, who came to the United States to give me a better life. My paternal grandparents were in their fifties when they brough my father, who was 13 at the time, and some of the others to the United States. Can you imagine uprooting your life and moving to a whole other country at 50? I can’t. I’m forever grateful for the sacrifices they made — and the Statue says it all for me.