History and Heritage

 There is much to be said for a cabin in the woods even if it is tiny. Last night was the Amsterdam Hotel in downtown Stamford. Instead of peace and solitude, we experienced sirens and car alarms. The Amsterdam is an “old school” hotel. Remember the bedspreads that were made like a box at the bottom so they fit the bed? Well that’s what we had. And the designer must have messed up on the measurements because the headboards were hung on the wall with not enough space between them for the nightstand so…

My bed was 1/3 off the headboard and I’m not sure what the reasoning was behind the hanging of the pictures. But, it was clean, which mostly makes up for the flat pillows and lack of electrical outlets. 

We have a cooking class scheduled for tonight in Providence RI so we decided to head on over to Plymouth, MA and visit the Mayflower since we’ve traced our family back to Richard Warren and Francis Cooke who both came over on the only voyage of the Mayflower. We are 12th generation. 

First glimpse of the Mayflower II. 

We really don’t have any idea of what hardship means. There were 102 passengers aboard and 30 crew members traveling for 66 days across the Atlantic. Only about 55 passengers and half the crew members survived the first winter. 

I was surprised at how small the ship was and don’t know how they could even fit that many people onboard. The length on deck was just 84’. 

This was the crew’s quarters and would have up to 16 men living/sleeping at the same time. 

You can see how low the ceiling is. 

This was the first class quarters. 

And tbe captains quarters. 

This is a painting waiting to happen. 

Plymouth Rock

The rock itself is a glacial erratic boulder of Dedham granite that was deposited by glacial activity.

Not Documented: The Pilgrims did not mention a rock in any of their original writings or accounts of the landing. The first documented claim of the rock as the specific landing spot was made in 1741 by 94-year-old Thomas Faunce, a town record keeper whose father had arrived in Plymouth a few years after the initial landing.

The rock was originally much larger, estimated to weigh between 40 and 200 tons. Over the centuries, it has been moved multiple times, broken in half (in 1774 during an attempt to move it to the town square), and chipped away at by souvenir hunters. The two main pieces were reunited in 1880, and the date “1620” was carved into it at that time. Today, the visible portion weighs about 10 tons, roughly one-third of its original size.

The first church in Plymouth 

Church of the Pilgrimage 

Entrance to Burial Hill. Francis Cooke and Richard Warren and family are buried here. 

Plymouth county courthouse built 1820

Church of St Peter

We decided on Woods seafood for lunch since that’s our name. 

We both had the lobster dinner. 

Yes I ate the whole thing. 

A very interesting sculpture that appeared to be made from very thin rebar. 

Our last stop in Plymouth was the National Monument of the Forefathers. 

The largest freestanding solid granite monument in the nation towering 81’ high. The monument was built to honor the pilgrims who sailed to America on the Mayflower and established self-government at Plymouth. If you look closely in the next photo, there is an eagle’s nest on top of her head. It looks like a crown. 

Faith

Faith looks out over Plymouth harbor toward  England, where the Pilgrims began their journey across the Atlantic to plant a new colony in America. 

Faith is 36 feet tall and stands on a pedestal 45 feet high and holds the Geneva Bible in her hand, which arrived in America with the Pilgrims. 

The Pilgrims were devout Christians who fled England to escape religious persecution. Faith is crowned with a star to symbolize Divine guidance as she points her audience to God in heaven. 

The Mayflower was sailing to Virginia when heavy storms blew the ship off course. The Pilgrims believed Divine Providence guided them to Plymouth, and Faith is shown stepping onto Plymouth Rock. 

The names of our ancestors (Frances Cooke and son John) are listed on the monument. 

Morality

The Pilgrims derived their morals and ethics from the Bible, and had a reputation for being honest and hardworking. 

The Biblical command to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (The Golden Rule) would be evident throughout the Pilgrim story, even to those who ridiculed their faith or treated them harshly. 

Morality is a vital ingredient for self-government. As American founding father, John Adams stated, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

Law

The Pilgrims established civil order with the Mayflower Compact, the first instance of self-government in America-revolutionary in its day.

In 1636, the General Court of Plymouth Colony published the Pilgrim Code of Law, featuring America's first constitution and Bill of Rights. This groundbreaking legal code defined the role of government and guaranteed each citizen's right to impartial justice, due process, and a trial by jury.

Education

There were no formal schools in the early years of Plymouth Colony, and children learned to read using the Bible. Both parents played a vital role in teaching morals, civic duty, and training children to be self-sufficient in the wilderness.  

While most of the Pilgrims came from humble backgrounds, their church leaders were educated at Cambridge University, and the congregation was known to spend hours together discussing sermons and debating theological issues.

At Plymouth Colony, Gov. William Bradford had a library of almost 400 books for personal study and teaching.

Richard Warren is listed on this side. 

Liberty

The Pilgrims left England to escape violent religious persecution, where so-called "traitors" were cruelly jailed and publicly hanged for disobeying the rules of its state-run church. 

The Pilgrims established several new forms of liberty at Plymouth Colony. Apart from religious freedom, the colonists achieved economic independence through private enterprise and free trade.

With self-government, the Pilgrims enacted constitutional rights that affirmed people as the true source of power-not the government or monarchy.

And now for some whimsy. As we walked around Plymouth we saw numerous painted seals. 

Seal’d with Art: Plymouth Harbor Seals—a creative celebration of local talent, coastal beauty, and community spirit.

This vibrant display features a captivating collection of hand-painted seal sculptures, each designed by local artists to reflect Plymouth’s rich maritime heritage and natural shoreline charm. These whimsical, life-sized seals are on display throughout Plymouth. I don’t have the names of all of them but have noted those I could find. 

Rhino Seal’d

Barry the Banking Seal

One Big Beautiful Seal

Senior Seal Surreal

Bob The Builder

LuSeal 

Taylor Surf (love the mosaic and her lipstick 😁)

Winnie

Pearl

A bit of flora 

Our cooking class tonight is at Chef Walter’s Cooking School

While we were waiting on class to start we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. 

We made a vegetable soup that was amazing. 

Chef Walter Potenza 

Chef Walter Potenza is more than a master chef; he is a dedicated ambassador, educator, and storyteller committed to elevating the understanding of authentic Italian culinary culture in the United States. A native of Abruzzo, Italy, he is recognized nationally as a leading authority on traditional and historical Italian cooking. His career is a testament to a profound mission: moving beyond stereotypes to present Italian cuisine in its purest, most educated form. His life's work is a guiding paradigm for culinary professionals dedicated to representing Italian gastronomy abroad.

Chef Walter's expertise has made him a sought-after voice across major media platforms. He has appeared as a host and presenter on the Food Network, ABC, CBS, NBC, RAI, FOX, and Dubai Live. His insights have been featured in prestigious publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Saveur, and Gourmet.

A prolific author, Chef Walter has extended his mission into the digital realm, having published over 100 e-books. He further shares his Knowledge as the host of the "Flavors + Knowledge" podcast, as well as "Sapere I Sapori," "Quick Bites," and "America is also an Italian Heritage."

He is the author of the cookbook "Federal Hill: The Flavors of the Italian Colony" (we received a signed copy) and the e-book "Federal Hill Sweets." He regularly publishes the "Flavors + Knowledge / Sapere I Sapori" newsletters and produces content for his "Flavors and Knowledge TV" on YouTube. He is preparing to release two highly anticipated works: "19 Ghettos: The Life and the Foods of the Jews in Italy after the Inquisition" and his memoir, "Standing on My Feet."

Our class was “Parma: The Food Valley of Europe”

Parma is one of Italy's most beautiful cities of art; cultural tourism and gastronomic destination; known for its monuments, castles, art, cuisine and opera. Today it is world famous for the cuisine and the high quality food products: Parma Prosciutto, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salame, pasta, etc. Known as "The Food Valley Of Europe" Parma's cuisine has influenced chefs and gourmands worldwide. 

Chicken with fresh fennel 

Pumpkin ricotta gnocchi 

This was an amazing class. The chef was a great teacher and very passionate about his food. We learned so much and the food was incredible. 

It was a very long day, driving 3 1/2 hours from the southernmost part of Connecticut to the coast of Massachusetts, exploring Plymouth for 3 hours, driving an hour back to Providence RI for our class and then an hour back to Connecticut. We were blessed with slow traffic only a time or two whereas the other side of the interstate was backed up for miles and miles and miles. 

We are staying at the Tabor Inn in Mystic for the next three nights. It is a warm, homey place and the hosts are gracious and ready with helpful info about the area. We are to call the office in the morning between 8 and 10 and they will bring coffee (in my case, hot water), fruit and pastries to our room. I will take some photos of the inn tomorrow when it’s light outside. 

Since our class and dinner was all about Italy…buona notte!

Good night.