Trieste and The Meaning of Nowhere was Welsh-born author Jan Morris’s last book. Morris, who did not like to be called a travel writer, provides an explanation of her memories, and maybe of all travel writing, as ‘a little book of self-description.’ It is a lively, personal, interpretation of a city over time, reminiscent ofContinue reading “Trst u prijevodu/Trieste in Translation”
Author Archives: marielscatena
FJAKA TIME
Fjaka may be one of the few cultural trends millenials, babyboomer and z generations can agree upon. Fjaka expresses a 21 c. zeitgeist prioritizing well-being and work-life balance that is achieved by taking the time to relax, just be, traveling to places of serene natural beauty and immersing yourself in a natural landscape and/or seascape.Continue reading “FJAKA TIME”
Dvi knjige, jedna priča na dva načina
We travel to find ourselves and to lose ourselves, to open our hearts and eyes, to learn more about the world, to experience hardship, and to see the world clearly while feeling it truly.~ Pico Iyer I recently read American writer and Peace Corps volunteer Chad Miller’s Time Being: Essays, Narratives and Vignettes alongside British expat,Continue reading “Dvi knjige, jedna priča na dva načina”
žive uspomene
Every act of perception, is to some degree an act of creation, and every act of memory is to some degree an act of imagination. Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: La musique, le cerveau et nous/Tales of Music and the Brain When I began this blog in 2019 I had ideas about the purposes and impacts ofContinue reading “žive uspomene”
Connecting to Cres
Soaring high above islands and sea, the protected Eurasian Griffon Vultures make their nests on rocky cliffs that are almost inaccessible humans. Griffon Vultures have inhabited Cres for centuries. Their nesting colonies are one way Cres is distinct from the more well known large Kvarner Bay ‘sibling’ islands—Krk, Lošinj, Pag and Rab—whose year round populationsContinue reading “Connecting to Cres”
stari i novi
The photograph seen above was taken almost 100 years ago. In 1945 JNA/Yugoslav People’s Army units disembarked on the waterfront of Mošćenikča Draga. Heavy military equipment may have run into this now phantom bridge which like Yugoslavia, doesn’t exist today. However an intriguing linguistic connection to Mošćenikča Draga and Moščeniče is possible. In his 2012Continue reading “stari i novi”
Noni se smiješi
Grandmothers are important for so many reasons. Their place in our memories is steeped in family dynamics and the stories we tell about our childhoods. They are anchors to the past. People lucky enough to have a Croatian or Croatian-American grandma often say their baka or Nonna was the best cook in the world, butContinue reading “Noni se smiješi”
Vital Signs: Lošinj, Lastovo, Lokrum
Lošinj, Lastovo, Lokrum. From their distinctive geographies and climates to their relaxed atmospheres islands are historically known as restorative places where nothing much changes except the seasons. Many years ago Lošinj was dubbed ‘Island of Vitality’ for the healing properties of its pine, sea and herbal scented air. Located 2 kilometers from the port townContinue reading “Vital Signs: Lošinj, Lastovo, Lokrum”
Green Belts Shelter
A mature oak tree has from 100,000 to 250,000 leaves in any given year. During their lives leaves diligently convert sunlight into sugars, filter carbon and oxygenate air while sending nutrients to branches and trunks down into the earth—which is then made cooler and stronger. At the end of their lifespan they enrich and createContinue reading “Green Belts Shelter”
Family
This photograph of twins Vera and Paolo Eledda was taken in 1956. They are my first cousins once removed–the children of my great aunt, Darinka Martinčić Eledda. Since shortly after World War II they lived in Sardinia. I never met them but we recently corresponded. Relatives who are from the same branch of the MartinčićContinue reading “Family”
From the same tree 