In and Out of the Garden: A Blog

Last weekend we attended a most amazing gathering of people from Slow Travel. It was hosted by Palma and Brad in their beautiful home in Palm Desert. And I have to digress for just a moment and say how much I love the name Palma and the fact that this particular Palma lives in Palm Desert. Palma is also an exceptional cook, a master of entertaining and her love of Italy and all things Italian shows in everything that she does. So, this was a get together that was not to be missed.

We started at about 4:00 on a quite warm afternoon and I don't think we left until 1:30 am or so. What on earth did we do that whole time? Well, eating accounted for a lot of it. Talking was almost continuous and laughter was the glue that held it all together.

After lavish appetizers, we had a leisurely three course sit down dinner and later we had dessert. Every bit of food was delicious and I still cannot get over how amazing those chocolate dipped homemade caramels sprinkled with sea salt were.

And lest you think it was all about eating, let me reassure you that there was quite a bit more going on. Palma performed for us by singing her own words to classic songs, and she was backed up by a group of "slow chicks" adorned with feather boas. There was also a clever "show and tell" game where people brought something Italian in a bag. One of the favorites was Grappa in a Spray Bottle!

But by and large the main purpose of the event was for us to meet old and new friends, so the non-stop talking and laughter was ample evidence that the party was a roaring success. My thanks to Palma and Brad for giving so generously of their time, their hospitality and their friendship.

For more perspectives on the get together, check out Palma's blog, Jerry's blog, Sandi's blog and the Slow Travel Photo Album (that has over 180 photo from the event!). Video footage may be coming soon, I'll keep you posted.