Celebrating Albanian Independence Day in Seattle

I am thankful this week for the diversity of cultures we have here in Seattle. 

A special thanks for Ferhat Ymeraga, a native of Gjakova, Kosovo, and his wife, Anne Fontaine for inviting us to a celebration in Seattle in honor of the 101st anniversary of Albania's independence on November 28. (My grandfather was born in the Italian hill town of Greci, settled by Albanian soldiers in the 15th century).

It was heartwarming to see all the families - many dressed in the country's traditional colors of red and black - dancing their traditional dances (some in 6-inch heels!) to music by Merita Halili, a well-known Albanian singer from New Jersey, and her husband's, Raif Hyseni, orchestra.

Ferhat,  founding and current president of the Association Drita e Arberise (Albanian American Association of Washington State), is poet, an interpreter, translator of poetry, and now a friend. It was an honor to join in this celebration. 

Grazie a tutti Sant' Agata De' Goti

Sant' Agata De' Goti 

A few years ago, while searching for a place to stay in Sant' Agata dei Goti, an ancient town built on a rock cliff above a river in the interior of the Campania region of Southern Italy, I found Sentieri Luminosi, a bed and breakfast whose owners are likely anticipating, along with the rest of the town, the arrival of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

de Blasio's grandfather, Giovanni, was born here. The new mayor visits often, and city officials have named him an honorary citizen, with sponge cake, filled with hazelnut and white chocolate, named in his honor. About 100 people gathered in a former movie theater to watch a broadcast of de Blasio on election night, staying awake into the wee hours to hear his victory speech live. The room erupted in applause when he mentioned the town, thanking its residents with the words, “Grazie a tutti."

Old theater in Sant' Agata De' Goti         

de Blasio is scheduled to July 18 on a 10-day trip to Italy where he and his family will visit Sant' Agata along with making stops in Rome, Naples and Venice. Some have urged Hizzonor to postpone his trip in the even to of a New York rail strike, a decision that would certainly disappoint the people of Sant' Agata. 

It sounds like a cliché to call this the "real Italy," but it's true if that defines a part of the country so far untouched by mass tourism.  My own grandfather, Nicolas Pucci, was born in the town of Greci which is nearby. If you are in Naples and get a chance to take a side trip into the countryside, Sant' Agata and the towns surrounding it are definitely worth a visit.

Our hosts were Loredana Fusaro, a cook at a local restaurant and Shiatsu massage therapist, and her husband, Enrico Pofi, a photographer. They moved here from Naples with their daughter, Osmana,  a few years ago, and bought a 19th-century stone building on a bluff overlooking the town. They live on the top and rent out a spacious bottom-floor apartment to overnight guests.

Sentieri Luminosi

From their garden planted with fig, orange and olive trees, we looked down on the town and the steep green mountains that surround it. Enrico sported a bushy, silver ponytail. Loredana, was a ball of energy. She arrived home from her restaurant job some days at midnight, then got up the next morning to prepare a gourmet breakfast of homemade turnovers filled with apples and dates, scrambled eggs, olives, cheese and fresh fennel from the garden.

Both spoke a little English, and since we were their first non-Italian guests, they were anxious to get to know us. When they found out we were acquainted with a couple in Sant' Agata who run a small tour company, they suggested we invite them over for coffee.

They came around 9 p.m., after Loredana got home from work. We gathered around the dining-room table, sipped espresso, talked and listened to classical music. It was one of those moments that we all hope for when we travel, a time when we no longer feel like tourists, but friends.

We had many of what I call "Italian moments" driving around exploring the little towns around Sant' Agata. In San Lorenzello, a town known for its ceramics workshops, sheep surrounded our car on both sides as we turned into a parking lot. 

We drove into another little town, and smelled tomato sauce cooking. The village men were preparing for a community dinner later that evening, Of course, we were invited.

The whole area is called the Sannio. You won't find it mentioned in many guidebooks,  but if you're interested in exploring, there's a delightful American/Italian couple living in Sant' Agata who run a tour company called Savour the Sannio. 

Contact Barbara Goldfield, who moved to Rome with her family in 1961 at the age of 5. Her parents opened the Economy Book Center. She grew up in Italy, and worked for many years as a dancer, teacher and choreographer when she met her husband,  Federico who was working as a lighting technician. They offer cooking classes and visits to wine, oil and cheese producers as well as excursions to historical sites.

Some residents are planning trips to New York to see Bill de Blasio inaugurated on Jan. 1, the Times reports.

“He made the American dream come true,” Carmine Valentino, the town’s mayor, said. “But he didn’t forget his roots. It’s a message of hope for us all.”

Ready, set, go! Tips for holiday travel

Celebrating the holidays in Victoria, B.C. 

Whether you’re flying, driving or traveling by train, bus (or horse-drawn carriage) this holiday season, there are many ways to head off potential hassles. And some recent changes will make getting through airport security lines less stressful.

Those eligible to use TSA’s PreCheck fast-screening system will find three special lanes open at Sea-Tac Airport (Checkpoints 2, 3 and 5) compared to just one last year.

Most qualifying passengers (either invited by their airlines or members of the Global Entry, Nexus or Sentri border-crossing programs) won’t have to take off shoes or jackets or remove laptops or liquids from carry-ons. TSA has said it also may randomly select some regular passengers for the fast-screening.

Another change: Less invasive and safer body scanners have replaced the controversial “backscatter’’ machines that caused delays when many passengers opted for physical pat-downs instead.

The busiest days at Sea-Tac Airport will likely be Friday, Nov. 22; Wednesday, Nov. 27; and Saturday, Nov. 30, when 80,000-plus passengers are expected to pass through daily. Volunteers in blue jackets and staffers called “pathfinders,” in red vests, will offer assistance.

More tips in my Travel Wise column for The Seattle Times:

Checking flights/checking in

Some ways to save time and avoid hassles during the busy Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays:

• Check in online or at an airport kiosk, and take advantage of self-bag-tagging where available.

• Arrive at the airport two hours ahead for domestic flights; three hours or more for international flights, depending on your airline’s advice. Alaska Airlines has raised its minimum check-in time for most domestic flights from 30 to 40 minutes. Passengers who miss the cutoff will be offered a $25 same-day confirmed seat on the next available flight.

• Sign up for your airline’s mobile travel alerts and Twitter feed (Delta’s Delta Assist Twitter team is staffed to help passengers in emergencies), and check Flightstats.com for arrival and departure times of other flights.

Baggage rules and tips

• Make sure checked bags comply with your airline’s weight limits, or risk paying $50-$100 extra per bag.

• Stick to the rules allowing one carry-on and one personal item such as a small backpack, purse or laptop. Never pack valuables such as cameras, iPods or cellphones in checked luggage.

• Learn what you can, and can’t, take in your carry-on by using the free “My TSA” mobile app.   Among its features is a "Can I bring?'' section searchable for key words such as "coffee'' (no problem) or "jam'' (OK in carry-ons it's 3.4 ounces or less and fits inside a quart-sized plastic bag).

In effect for holiday travel is Alaska Airlines’ new $25 checked-baggage fee and a $125 change/cancellation fee for tickets purchased as of Oct. 30 (no charge for changes made 60 or more days before departure).

Have a Plan B

Snow or ice could cause flight delays and cancellations. In some cases, airlines pre-emptively cancel flights ahead of bad weather.

Have a Plan B in mind, such as information on other carriers’ schedules or the possibility of flying to an alternate destination and renting a car.

Airlines provide refunds or the chance to rebook if flights are canceled, but federal laws don’t require compensation, hotel rooms or meals in the case of weather-related problems.

The law does require compensation for passengers bumped from overbooked flights if they are delayed more than an hour past original arrival times. Details at dot.gov/airconsumer.

Cheapest airfares

Still looking for an airline ticket? Find the best fares by flying on either end of the busiest days. A recent search on Kayak.com showed the lowest round-trip fare between Seattle and San Francisco dropping to $247 for a departure on Thanksgiving Day, returning on Monday, Dec. 2, compared to $449 for flights leaving Wednesday, Nov. 27, and returning on Sunday, Dec. 1. 

fThe lowest prices on a Seattle-Boston round-trip fare during the Christmas holidays dropped to $635 for departure on Monday, Dec. 23, and return on Monday, Dec. 30, compared to $866 for departure on Saturday, Dec. 21, and return Saturday, Dec. 28.

By road and rail

The Washington State Department of Transportation’s website,  is one-stop shopping for checking road conditions, mountain passes, ferries and traffic delays, including at the U.S./Canada border stations. Dial 511 for real-time traffic and weather information. (There’s also a WSDOT iPhone app.)

Amtrak Cascades will add an additional round-trip between Portland and Seattle on Wednesday, Nov 27, and Sunday, Dec. 1. It plans no extra runs over Christmas. Nor will it add to its two daily departures between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. Book early, as fares rise as seats fill.

BoltBus will add extra runs between Seattle/Portland and Seattle/Vancouver B.C. Nov. 26 and Wednesday, Nov. 27.


Alternatively, you could spend Thanksgiving somewhere where it's not a holiday. Clipper Vacations has packages to Victoria, B.C. starting at $290.50 for two including transportation on the Victoria Clipper, hotel and taxes.