Day 13 - It's Hard to Say Goodbye

This morning was our last in beautiful Tuscany and we are heading for the craziness known as Rome. The ride in the car was about two hours and besides some rain and patches of heavy traffic, it was an easy trip from Cortona to the Rome airport. Why the airport? Because Guy was kind enough to let me return the car there vs. me having to drive in Rome. I've done it before and it isn't easy. Last night Guy hopped on his phone and booked us a car to pick us up. The cost is about the same as a cab, but you have the price from point A to point B in an email, and it's not as likely you will be taken advantage of. At the airport we returned the car to Sixt car rental on the 4th floor of a parking garage. That was interesting. It was a great little car and I enjoyed driving it. It was called an Opel. Guy thinks it is a German-made car. Anyway, it was returned without a scratch, but we sure did put some serious mileage on it! The car/limo company called us as the driver actually came up to the 4th floor to find us, but our email said to meet them outside, which we were. We hopped in the black Mercedes and headed for the old city.

The ride into Rome was about 30 minutes. That gave me time to catch up on Amanda's blog of the Herrin high school's European travelers. Her stories are always fun and it's like reading a well written novel. Her mom is with her as well as Tricia and Madeline Asbury from our church. I can't wait to hear their stories. - In Rome the cabbie got a bit lost but he wasn't too far off from our hotel, which he said is "Invisible" which is true. The tiny door of the Hotel Piazza Venezia is between a gelateria and a police station. Two nice things to have close! Entering the long tiny tunnel of a reception area, I was thinking how I couldn't work there as the entire space is claustrophobic to say the least! Our room is on the second floor and the stairs are nice and open. As we entered room #209, it is quite stunning inside with a beautifully decorated modernistic feel, air conditioning, marble floors, good size shower, shampoo and other fancy toiletries, free wifi, breakfast in the morning and best of all...slippers! And they are BLACK and quite fancy. This place officially gets high marks once I saw the slippers. Our only unpleasant surprise is scaffolding out our window. But even if it wasn't there, the view is of the building right next door. However, it does pass the fire test...I can hop out the window and shimmy down the scaffolding two floors to the ground. Ha Ha. 

After settling in and freshening up, we head out and grab a sandwich and coke from a local bar and took it to the Coliseum to have a picnic. Well, more like a people watching adventure while sitting on a stone wall. It is packed with people and there are two military hummers/tanks with two guys with machine guns blocking the road from traffic. We haven't figured out why they were there just yet, but they were letting public busses go through and that is about it. Sadly, the Forum is officially blocked off and you have to buy a ticket to go inside. We aren't sure if it was totally fenced in two years ago, but the years before we could just walk through. The fencing is sad to see, but if it protects it for future generations, then I suppose it's ok. The giant stone arch by the Coliseum, which we once freely walked underneath, is now also fenced in. :( 

We walked through the Victory Emmanuel which is just a block from our hotel and explored the military museum. We took some pictures with a friendly bird at the top and even managed a selfie with him. I think he is pretty well fed up there. Afterwards we came back to the room and decided to take a short nap. It is nearing 90 degrees today and if it wasn't for the overcast skies and fairly strong breeze, it would be on the verge of miserable. So we thought we'd cool off and head back out for an evening stroll or perhaps a tour of the city on the hop on hop off bus. We don't think we've done this in Rome before and since we aren't planning on any official tours this time, the bus will give plenty of insight to the area and we'll learn something new I'm sure. And if nothing else, the ticket is good for 24 hours and we can use it as our cab tomorrow when we plan on lengthier visits in our favorite areas.

After naps we suffered from a bit of "itis" (lazyitis) and we decided not to do the hop on, but instead eat at a recommended restaurant around the corner, then walk to the Trevi Fountain if it wasn't raining. So Dino, at the reception, told us about a great little restaurant around the corner called the La Cabana and he made us a reservation for 7:15. It literally was only 75 feet away. When we peeked inside it was totally adorable and they had our table waiting with our name on it. Our waiter spoke great English and was so nice to us. Everyone was. Most of the patrons were English speakers, but there were a few Italians there and one old fella that walked in that was clearly a regular. The waiters huddled around him when they weren't busy. So we both ordered starters. Guy had the fried cod and I had bruschetta. Both of us were a bit surprised because his plate was nearly big enough to be his meal and my bruschetta wasn't tomato, but mushrooms instead. They also brought us fresh-from-the-oven bread that they called focaccia, but I would call plain pizza bread with maybe some olive oil and salt. Very good. For our main entree Guy had veal with prosciutto and I had penne primavera. Guys was good but a bit salty and mine was good but I would have called it penne caprese. The pasta was hot, but it was topped with cold tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. I would have tossed it in a hot pan for a bit just to heat it all through, but I really enjoyed it as it was light and not too oily or buttery. Not much sauce at all. Very fresh. I enjoyed it.

We talked about walking to the Trevi Fountain for a gelato, but then we saw the dessert cart. There was no way you could say no. Seriously, even Guy got something, which is pretty unusual. I had the ricotta and chocolate tart and Guy had the apple pie. I also had a coffee, which was wonderful, and it was the end to a really fun meal. Guy spoke with the owner that sat at a little desk in the middle of the restaurant and told him what a nice time we had. The service was excellent and it was nice to be with such friendly people. While we were there, Dino (from our hotel) came in and got some food Togo. We laughed.

It wasn't raining, so to walk off our big fabulous meal we headed for the Trevi. Our hotel is a tiny thing, but is located in a pretty darn good spot! Only 7 minutes walk from the Trevi Fountain and maybe 10-15 to the coliseum. The Vatican is a bit further away, but I'm sure we'll get lots of walking in tomorrow. Guy wants to see the Pantheon tomorrow because you can't be this close and not go by. It, too, is just a short walk away. Now, back to the Trevi...we guessed there were 1000 people there, everyone with smiles. One young boy had just asked his girlfriend to marry him and she was crying and they were kissing. Good spot for "the big question". ;) Guy and I made our lame attempt at a selfie and I took several shots. My phone wasn't quite big enough to catch all of it, but we got several nice shots. It's about 8:45pm and the sky still has a bit of light. But the fountain is lit up beautifully. Two years ago, when the entire family came, it was all covered in scaffolding, so the kids didn't really get to see it. We've never seen it look so beautiful! Great job! Guy did a bit of research and there has been some kind of fountain with running water to this spot via viaduct for 2,000 years, but the fountain as we see it today has been there for 250 years. They gather up about 3,000 euros per day from the fountain and it goes to area charities/needy. Plus, lots of dreams are made here with a wish sent upwards with each coin that is tossed in. I hope they all come true.

We had a lovely stroll on the cobblestone streets as we headed back to the hotel. The ladies in their stilettos know to be on the sidewalks where the pavement is solid and flat. On this trip I've seen a lot of totally inappropriate footwear for strolling, but sometimes we must suffer for fashion. As we entered the hotel, Dino and the other fella at the desk wanted to know how our dinner was. We said great and we told them we even had dessert. The one guy asked Dino where his dessert was as he apparently was a recepient of the carry out Dino had picked up earlier. We all laughed. They are so nice here. They told us tomorrow afternoon they will be there and they will tell us of another great restaurant to go to. As we bid them a good night, we could hear them bantering back and forth about the best place to send us to tomorrow. It was hilarious.

Back in the room the hot shower will feel good after a long hot day of traveling and sight seeing. Guy has already had his and is sporting his fancy black slippers. I still have mine from the Excelsior, so I'm going to save mine for another trip. They are quite fabulous.

Not sure what tomorrow brings, but that is part of the fun! Good night from Rome.

Day 12 - Siena

We woke up to an absolutely gorgeous morning. After breakfast we jumped in the car and scooted toward Siena. Had I had all my camera equipment and the day off, it would have been perfect for photographing beautiful Tuscany. It rained last night and the weather is cool, with hardly any humidity. Unlike most days, the haze has disappeared and giving us one last day of picturesque views.

The trip was about an hour and it was an easy one. Chatting with the person at the hotel desk before we left, they mentioned the same parking lot that Guy had found online, as Siena was supposed to have problematic parking. This lot supposedly has hundreds of spots and always has something open. Until today. The parking garage gave us a ticket and the gate opened. The claustrophobic underground parking garage's digitized sign said it had two parking spots on level -2. The gate was open and we went in and drove the entire length without finding a spot. I backed all the way up and we drove it again as some cars had passed me and we were hoping someone had left. They had not. So putting my ticket back in the machine to get out, the gate opened and led us back outside. Fortunately we spied out another parking area on the way up, that was about a 10 minute walk, and we went back and parked there.

We were in Sienna probably close to 15 years ago and as we were walking in I wasn't remembering too much until I saw the Duomo. It's quite spectacular and almost like a miniature version of the one in Milan. You had to purchase a ticket to go in, but I went as far as I could and peeked inside before I was asked to go buy a ticket from the lovely lady with the metal detector. I got several photos and the sky is blue with puffy white clouds that made for a beautiful backdrop to a truly amazing structure. Guy said "You sure did pick a good day to come here," but after waking closer to the square we commented on how many tourists there were. And then there were more. Then even more! Then...the sound of a cannon and yelling. What the heck?  So Guy goes to see what I going on while I pop into a shop. He comes to get me, excited that today they were racing the horses around the square. He was just commenting that he didn't really know a lot about Siena except for the beautiful church and the horse races. Today is his lucky day. Kinda.

Getting closer to the action we see that the police are everywhere and blocking people from getting inside the square. We guessed that because it has already started you couldn't go in. We walked near some bleachers filled with people (hence several butt shots in my photos today) as I thought that might be as close as I get. A gentleman in a shop told us in pretty good English that we would be able to enter the square in an hour or so. So we walked around the shops and watched a bit of the race on TV. All the bars had their TVs on. We walked past several shops that overlooked the races and one in particular, a perfume shop, had the windows open facing the square with no one looking out. Guy asked if we could look out and they said yes. We didn't overstay our welcome, but got lots a great photos and thanked them for the birds eye view. Next, we stopped for lunch. Guy was in the mood for just a sandwich, but when he didn't see a shop that fancied him, we went ahead and sat in a restaurant to rest our feet and enjoy a break. We ate at the Osteria il Vicolo and I had ravioli with cheese in butter and sage. He had the carbonara, commenting that it was his best so far as they've all seemed a bit salty on this trip. The pasta was cooked aldente and he was happy with it. Afterwards we visited a pastry shop and headed for the square.

The racing was over and the crowd cleared quickly. There are 17 districts in Siena and each district is represented by a flag. People walked around all day with their flags draped around them like a scarf, clearly proud of their respective areas. The mood was fun as this was a day of excitement for the locals. When I figured out the TEP wasn't on, I got the wifi going again and Guy googled Siena to get us some details. Apparently they officially race two days per year. The next race is July 2 and then one in August. Three days before the big race are preliminary races. We are here on one of those days. The district can win a race even with a horse that has no rider. We actually saw that on TV today. One of the riders fell off, but the horse kept going. Poor thing. It had to be scared but came in at a strong second. 

As we headed out to the piazza to sit and enjoy our pastries, we walked across the dirt where the horses had just been and commented on how much work it is to haul all the dirt in, then to remove it. I'll have to read up on this a bit more later. So we sat in the center and watched the families play and young people kiss as it was the ultimate people-watching location. Our pastries didn't taste as good as they looked, and not that I needed a break from gelato (NEVER!), but we like to try new things and we still enjoyed the experience. So after a nice break, we headed to a shop, that had been closed earlier, for me to pick up a few items and we came across this a.m.a.z.i.n.g. chocolate shop where they lured me in with free samples and I walked out with a delightfully stuffed bad full of treats to bring home. I guess I had chocolate sucker written on my forehead.

Back to the il Melone I took a quick nap and Guy headed to the pool with his kindle. I joined him later to start the blog as tonight after dinner we'll pack up getting ready to drive to Rome tomorrow. It won't be too hard to pack up the purchases, because there haven't really been too many. **Family notice** Not bringing home much, so expectations need to be low. It's been a wonderful trip, but shopping hasn't been too excessive. I guess because it's a repeat trip and the towns are selling all the same stuff as before, there is no real excitement in the shopping. So chocolates will have to do. :)

Dinner tonight was once again at the Cantanapoli, same place as last night. They specialized in seafood and we were eyeballing everyone's muscles last night. So we went back tonight for the spaghetti vongoli, which we both had, which was delicious. We started with the crostini, which was toasted bread with toppings. There were four: tomato and cheese, mushrooms, ham and cheese and then one mystery topping. We think it was some kind of sausage in a sauce, but it was hard to tell. Either way it was tasty. For dessert I had chocolate and coconut mousse. It was more cake than mouse, but it was lovely and I demolished it. Ahhhh vacation.

Back at the hotel we hoped to get one more sighting of the boar, but perhaps they have fixed the fence or the piggy is just a night owl. We looked, but no luck. We went ahead and checked out tonight just to save us time in the morning and went back to the room and packed our bags. We have everything we need for the next few days in Guy's smaller suitcase and we hope the big one is now packed until we get home. Rome will be fun. We like just walking around and seeing everything again. Guy is going to google things to do in Rome, just in case there is something cool we've missed in the past. We've pretty much done all the tours, but it's such a fascinating place I just like walking around. 

So goodnight from Cortona, it's been a blast. Tomorrow...Rome.

Day 11 - Cortona

A day off.  My alarm rang at 8:45 so we'd have time to get ready and still make breakfast. Guy suggested we sleep in and eat granola bars. I concur. Up and ready by 11, today is going to be our day off. It looks like it could rain any second, so we nixed Sienna, postponing it for tomorrow. First task of the day was to do laundry. We have plenty of clothes, but will probably need clean shorts for Rome and I needed to do my airplane pillowcase, so we just did up everything and except for what we had on, we have nothing dirty. At first I was a little put off by the property not having washers and dryers, but I actually think I prefer the Bluewater as it is fast, has multiple washers and the dryer can have it all dried in about 18 minutes. Today, at our laundry visit, we washed and dried in about 45 minutes. We now consider ourselves professionals. :) This time the owners were there and asked us if we needed any help (in Italian but we guessed what they were saying). Guy told them we were here the other day and we were good. It was nice they asked, tho! Also, while we had 30 minutes during the wash cycle, we left the Bluewater to go to the bank. Guy exchanged for a few more Euros and we should be set now for the rest of the trip.

After the laundry was folded and collected up, we drove up to Cortona for lunch. We decided to let TripAdvisor pick, so #1 was Gelateria Snoopy. It had food, too, but just had a problem with our restaurant being called Snoopy. So we went for #2. Closed for lunch. #3. Closed for lunch. #4 Open!. It looked beautiful and a bit on the fancy side, but the prices weren't more than a Euro or two higher than anywhere else. As we sat down he gave us menus and Guy saw him inside opening something. We heard a cork pop and Guy was like - shoot. I knew what he meant. We were the only ones there and that had to be for us. We didn't ask for it. So now we are flashing back to a really bad experience we had in Burrano. I wanted seafood risotto and the server said that it was the special of the day, did I want to try it? I said yes, but what I didn't realize was... I said yes to some kind of all inclusive 5 course deal. They kept bringing items out and we kept telling them no, but they kept bringing it anyway. Clearly taking advantage of the language barrier and the young tourists. So we are thinking that maybe this is what was happening here. Guy went to go wash his hands and before he got back out, the server came out with these gorgeous plates of cold potato soup with ricotta and a quail egg. Yeah, it's happening again. So Guy walks up and the server is still there. I said "It's happening" and he told the server we didn't order it. The server said, "Please, a welcome for you". Guy said "Free?" And again the server said, "It is a welcome to you from the chef". Ok. So being a bit more seasoned travelers we can usually see when a good scam is happening, but 1. it is top rated on Trip Advisor, 2. Guy asked if it was free and he kinda said yes, and 3. Guy will only pay for what we eat. It was so good but I couldn't enjoy it in fear that we were being scammed. Next our food came out. Guy had homemade pasta with rabbit ragu and I had pasta stuffed with Burrata cheese. I love Burrata. It was SO GOOD. Guy says possibly his best pasta so far. Again, with reserved pleasure as we didn't know what was next. I ordered a side of veggies and those didn't come out until the very end, but they were hot and yummy. We pretty much cleaned our plates. The server asked if we wanted dessert, but we said no and he brought us the bill. Scanning it closely, we were only charged for what we asked for. Too bad we didn't know he was legit as we would have enjoyed ourselves a lot more, because it was certainly delicious. Oh, and when we got the bill they also gave us a nice little map of the town. It had their restaurant on it, circled...what a great marketing tool!

After lunch, we walked around streets we'd never been on, just taking in the sights and visiting the church. We shopped a bit and I got a cute little leather embellishment for my new purse and I love it. Pic will be in the link for today. We walked leisurely back to the car because at that time it was only 77 degrees with a strong yet refreshing breeze. On the way back down to the lower part of the town, we got some gas. We do the full service just so we put the right kind of gas in the car. It took awhile for someone to come out, so I Googled the word "full" in Italian - "pieno" and when he walked up to the car I said "Pieno, grazie". Hee Hee. What a dork he was probably thinking. But he knew what I said and filled her up! :) Once again we ran into the Coop, have I mentioned I love the grocery store, we got a few more things and they have the cutest reusable bags that you purchase, so I bought several -my sweet friend Amanda Hickman describes purchases as "treasures"- and we headed back to the room, threw or swimmies and are soaking in the full sun of the afternoon. We aren't sure what is for dinner yet, but thinking about the hotel's restaurant. The menu is limited, but would be sufficient as we already had a lovely lunch.

Well, when we headed back to the room, we decided we'd go to the local pizzeria instead. The hotel made our reservations and we got ready for our big night on the town! Just kidding, it is really less than a block away. :) So off we went for dinner (we had lots of clothes options since EVERYTHING is clean). We fancied up a bit and headed for the Ristorante Pizzeria Cantanapoli. I remembered eating here because the road to get out was crazy steep and with our stick shift from before...it was, well, let's say...memorable. Once inside Guy totally remembered. We had our table waiting for us and as we looked around, all tables had reservation cards on them. So we felt lucky to get a seat. The menu had lots to choose from at reasonable prices. I had the gnocchi alla Sorrentina and Guy had the Bufala pizza (buffalo mozzarella and basil). Our food came quickly and we jumped in. We had a big lunch and did the best we could, but left a bit on our plates. It was SO GOOD! Being on vacation, and Amanda Hickman says European calories are zero, we ordered one pineapple Tiramisu. Oh my. Creamy and delicious. So note for anyone coming to Cortona. You must check out this fabulous restaurant. Very friendly to tourists, checked back on us regularly and was an overall fabulous night.

Once again I'll be in bed before 10pm!

Tomorrow...Sienna!

Day 10 - Orvieto & Lago Trasimeno

Gearing up for a day of exploration, we fueled up on breakfast and adorned our shorts for a very hot 90+ degree day. For breakfast I just pulled my hair up really quickly, but afterwards I figured I wouldn't want to attempt to wear it down today due to the heat, so I sported the "breakfast bun" all day. Not glamorous, but sensible. We headed out about 11:30 and followed the A1 to Orvieto. We were give the suggestion to visit this town by a couple from Wisconsin we met in at the laundry the other day. They have been coming here for the past 11 year and stay for 6 weeks at a time. They have friends here who helped them buy a car and the friend keeps it on their property while they are back in the states. They love it here and it shows. So we took their suggestion to visit this hilltop town about an hour away.

The drive again was easy, with beautiful scenery. We exited Tuscany and entered into Umbria. Arriving at the town we take the bus to the piazza to avoid the walk up. It is quiet here. Not too touristy, but they clearly get plenty of visitors because they have a fair amount of shops. By the time we get to the shopping it is nearly 2pm and most shops were closed (Guy says "yay") but I had fun window shopping and enjoying this new town. We started to get hungry so we began scouting out a place to eat. Meandering down a small side street, we come across a small place that appears to have a lot of locals (and a few drunken American teenagers). The kids were unpleasant as they were tipsy and noisy, but we watched in quiet observation as the owner and a local patron made fun of them. It was better after they left so we could finally enjoy a quiet lunch. The place was called da Carlo Trattoria and it appeared that Carlo and his 80+ year old grandmother were running the place. There were only seats outside (not sure what they do in the winter) and no more than 7 or 8 tables. Lots of local visitors came by while we ate and they chatted with them. The mama was adorable with red, professionally highlighted hair and big Harry Carey glasses. She took our order, not writing anything down, then came back with a pen and paper and repeated our order as she wrote. She remembered everything perfectly. We ordered a bruschetta and it was not the traditional kind we were expecting. It was actually puréed tomatoes, but you could tell they were fresh. I actually really enjoyed it more than the traditional kind as the little tomatoes were not falling off with every bite, making it easy to eat. I recommend it! Then I ordered a pasta dish with fennel, pork cheek and pecorino. Guy ordered a cod fish over garbanzo beans that were slightly puréed into almost a hummus texture. His dish was drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fennel. He says it was his best meal so far. 

After lunch we stopped for a gelato from a shop on the main strip and the gelato freezer was a circle that would spin around. The gal at the shop could speed it up, slow it down or stop it. Very funny. It was good, tho and I got chocolate and another flavor that Guy could pronounce but I couldn't. Basically it was some kind of nut and light brown in color. It was good mixed with the chocolate. We then headed back down to the parking area where we had caught the bus up and put a few of our trinkets in the car. We had exactly two minutes before our parking ticket expired. Great timing!  We explored the fort, walking around the edge and looking over into the hazy valley. Then the well. The well is really the main reason we came. Here is a Wikipedia bit:  Pozzo San Patrizio, well built on the orders of the pope. During the Sack of Rome in 1527 the Pope took refuge at Orvieto, and fearing that in the event of siege by Charles' troops the city's water might prove insufficient, he had this spectacular well constructed by the architect-engineer Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1527‑37) with double helical ramps for one-way traffic, so that mules laden with water-jars might pass down then up again unobstructed. Its inscription boasts QUOD NATURA MUNIMENTO INVIDERAT INDUSTRIA ADIECIT ("what nature stinted for provision, let application supply"). We bought tickets to go in, but once I got closer I could see that it was one way in and one way out. That meant walking down 12 stories circling down into a dark pit, then walking back up. Somewhere between the down and the up would have been tears, a panic attack and language unfitting to a Christian woman. Then I see a sign that warns against people with claustrophobia. Done. The sign sealed the deal. We did, however, use my ticket. Guy went in, took my phone (all well photos - photo credit: Guy W. Alongi) and after he had seen enough, walked back up the stairs on the same side and I used my ticket to open the glass doors so he could come back out. Truly, the engineering feat of this well is amazing. I mean they brought mules down, loaded them up with water and walked them up the other side. 12 STORIES! Holy smokes! I'm feeling a bit fortunate tonight that I can just twist a knob and water will come out!

After the adventures in the well, we head toward Lago Trasimeno. It is the fourth largest lake in Italy and just happens to be somewhat on our way back. We went to go check it out to see if it is worthy of an entire day to explore, but alas, it was not. It was beautiful and we drove around it in a few different spots to get a good view, and even entertained the idea of taking a boat ride to an island with a small castle on it, but after a walk along a small pier and being slightly tired, the idea of being in the pool after a hot day won the coin toss. However, we made a quick pit stop at the Coop to get a few items for dinner. Since we've been eating so much, we decided to keep it light, shower early and maybe watch a movie if the hotel's wifi is good enough to stream Netflix. A vacation from our vacation. 

Back at the hotel, Guy headed for the pool to scout out a spot and I went into the hotel to get pool towels. At the counter was the sweet gentleman who had so kindly made our dinner reservations for us yesterday and I decided to ask him about the parking lot pig. When I told him we had seen it two nights in a row his eyes got really big. He said "On the property?" I told him yes! In the grassy parking lot. He said they are definitely in the area of course, but never on the property! So I clarified, "So it's not a pet." He said "NO! Nota peta". He told me he'd have the owner check the fences around the property because this little wild feller should not be hanging with the guests. :) I can't imagine we were the only ones to see it, but this was all news to him.

We took a dip in the pool while I uploaded images from the day and then headed for our favorite little table outside and around the corner from our room. Guy ran up for our snacks and brought them down in a shoebox. Yes, I bought shoes...I'm in Italy. Don't judge. We ate and enjoyed our little feast, then enjoyed the cool night air and the sunset over the trees. Another glorious day and the photo link from today will help fill in any gaps. 

Ciao until Wednesday.

Day 9 - Pool, Pecorino and Pigs

Not being sure we can top yesterday, we woke with a plan to hang out by the pool and do some grocery shopping before meeting the clan for dinner. Breakfast was good and filling, all we needed to start our day. As the cleaning sweetie was in our room we sat in the shade and enjoyed the breeze. Guy told me stories from the book he just finished about how the war for the Germans could have gone so differently with just a few different plans. It made me think of God's plan for this world. All of us. Wars. Peace...Someday I'll know the whys. 

After our extended chat in the shade, we headed to the car for a trip to the Coop. (Grocery store). I could have stayed in there for another hour at least. But let me tell you what we bought!! **So excited** Today we are going to be by the pool, so we bought some goodies for lunch. Focciacia bread fresh from their bakery, a cheese spread that is several kinds of cheese mixed together, sliced like the size of a piece of banana bread, and coated with walnuts. I'm sure it is spreadable and will be the topping to my bread today. I have a hankering it will be sweet, but I'm going to love it either way. Guy picked up some speck and prosciutto, cold cokes, aqua panna and other necessary items for the picnic. As I strolled around I also bought some disposable ice cube packets (I'm sorry Geory - I promise to recycle the plastic) that we saw yesterday at the Morefield's villa. In an effort to still have time for the pool, I tore myself away from the isles and got in line to pay. Ahhh...I do love the grocery store.

Back to the il Melone we changed into our swimmies and headed for the pool. Its a warm one today and the pool water is perfecto. I'm keeping the blog up to speed so there is less to do tonight, and Guy noticed I forgot to blog about Volterra, so I added that back into the blog from two days ago. Internet speed at the pool is fast - the hotel's juice, not the TEP. Very nice. I'm also going to have to delete some old photos off my phone because yesterday I got a warning I was almost out of space. Yikes! It's cleaning day for the iphone. I did delete a bunch of pics at the airport in STL, but when you have 7,000 photos and videos on your phone, that is slow going ... deleting one by one. I did back everything up before I left, but I just couldn't get myself to dump everything. I enjoy looking back on "my life in photos". 

Lunch was great! And two things about the cheese...it wasn't sweet and didn't really spread, however it was soft and yes, we managed to eat almost ALL of it. Our bread and speck made for a delightful lunch. We didn't sit at the pool and eat because they serve food poolside. We didn't know that until we got out there, but not to worry, there are tables and chairs all around the grounds and the weather in the shade is warm but lovely. Afterwards I came in to get ready for our evening out and dinner. This week has consisted of ponytails and tank tops. So tonight I actually curled my hair and put on a dress for dinner. It felt good to be dressed up a bit.

The drive to Montepulciano was wonderful. The homes are quaint and well manicured with gorgeous trees. Very much what you'd expect to see when you think of Tuscany. It was mostly country roads and small towns. Never did we get on the autostrada and that was fine with us. It's a beautiful day and we are having such a good time. We've never been rushed and it's been a relaxing, leisure time. - When we arrived at Montepulciano, we got a good parking spot and Guy paid the meter until 9:15. That will be cutting it close, but we'll see how dinner goes as we have reservations at 7. Walking up through the town, it seems pretty empty compared to the weekend visitors in Volterra and Cortona. The shops were open and we saw several familiar things, including the guy who makes the fabulous mosaics out of tiles. I took his photo last time, so he is in a past blog, but I did snap of photo of an old guy making shoes. Very sweet. I did buy a purse as mine was falling apart (literally...it was leaving black on the bed when I laid it down). This was a vacation purse I got for 5 euros years ago in Stressa. So I supposed it has done it's job well, but retirement came today as the replacement held all it's contents before I even left the store and my old friend met the trash can in town. 

Walking up through the main piazza, I still get the warm and fuzzies from the doors Edward came out of in Twilight. The part were he thought Bella was dead and he was going to expose his sparkly self to the world so he would be killed by the Volturi. I stood in the doorway for just a minute. I need to watch that movie again. There is much less Twilight memorabilia around these two towns now. How quickly it all fades. In that same piazza we see the Morefield kids playing cards and eventually met up with everyone. We visited for about an hour then headed to dinner at the Osteria del Borgo. It's a favorite of ours because of the beautiful terrace and the wonderful cheese, honey and walnut appetizer. Everyone seemed pleased with the location, view and the food. I do have to say that the cheese wasn't as good as in past visits. It was baked just a bit too long and the cheese was browned around the edges making that part hard to eat. Plus it got a bit separated and was a bit oily, making the honey disappear. Still, it was good, but it has definitely been better. I also ordered the spinach, pear and pecorino risotto. Delish! And Guy had the wild boar pici. Like a really thick spaghetti. We both gobbled it all up. After dinner we were too stuffed for dessert so we walked down to where the Morefields had to head to their car, and we all hugged and said our goodbyes with a promise of a trip to California sooner than later to see them again. We had such a great time and we feel so blessed to have been invited to spend a part of their vacation with them. 

The drive home was easy and for some reason seemed really dark. Not as many fun lit castles/towns to see, but it was certainly beautiful during the day. Back at the hotel we laughed about last nights wild boar sighting and wondered if we'd see it in the parking lot again. AND WE DID! I'm not kidding. There it was again in the parking lot. It's a black one and really ugly. I tried to get my phone out, but it scampered up into the trees as there is a little olive grove there. This time there were more cars and we had had to park further way, which meant a longer run to the hotel, but at least we didn't forget the room key in the car and didn't have to go back. We'll have to mention it to the staff tomorrow and see what they say. We couldn't believe we saw it again. It must be a regular to the parking lot. It's still gross and creepy.

Tomorrow we are contemplating a drive to the lake but will make the final decision at breakfast. That's a pretty good plan, isn't it. "What do you want to do today, honey?" "Oh, I don't know? Shop, swim, got to the lake, check out another cool town?" Ha Ha. So many options and so little time. Speaking of time. I wish I could freeze it right now. 

Ciao from Cortona.

Day 8 - The Cooking Class

I didn't want to get up this morning. Enjoyed a cold room, but the bed is not really on the cushiony side - at all - and the pillows feel like a sack filled with rice. Secretly I found a good spot between Guy's pillow and my pillow and rested there most of the night. I woke up later with a stiff neck and pondered our next 5 nights here. Certainly not complaining, but just making a note the property has really expanded. We feel maybe not for the better because it has put a lot more people here, the pool, at breakfast, etc. Still nice but no longer quaint. The rooms are plain but clean with a minimal Italian feel, but it's cool at night, has a warm shower, and that makes it exceptionally lovely as the days are running close to 90 degrees. 

Breakfast seemed better than last time with a pretty extensive spread of eggs, pastries, yogurts with all kinds of toppings, breads, fruits and a really nice espresso machine that made cappuccinos and other things. Probably with more people now staying at the il Melone, it has prompted a bigger spread. We opted to eat inside as it was a bit cooler even tho the morning was lovely. After breakfast we went to the room to sort laundry and get it ready to send off for cleaning. Guy brought back the cost sheet and after counting up our small sack of necessary laundry, we were looking at 85 Euros. Gah. Not what we expected. So Guy googled the closest laundry and it was less that two miles away. I went to get the car. Instead of being selective with the laundry, we did it All. For 18 Euros. :) Later I realized i had forgotten to wash may airplane pillow cover, but will probably go back once before we leave. It was 30 minutes to wash and 30 minutes to dry. So an easy process. The Bluewater laundry. 24-7. Very nice.

On the way back to the hotel we decided to pop into the Coop grocery and get some lunch, waters, snacks and other things that look fun. We pulled in and walked to the door. It was 1:01pm. They closed at 1pm. It's a Sunday. No food. Headed back to the room and asked if the restaurant was serving lunch. No. The local restaurant? Booked. No worries, we have a car! Headed up to Cortona on the hilltop, found a parking spot, walked in a bit scouting a few spots. Grabbed a slice of cheese bread, a sandwich, and two warm cokes and headed for the cooking class with Kevin and Bart's families. 10 of us making dinner. I'm blogging now while the chef is setting up. We are sitting out of the way until we are called to do a job. They brought everything. The food. The tools. Hopefully the instructions. The kitchen here is really small, but it appears to be sufficient. The chef has stepped into the restroom to change his clothes. I suppose to look the part. This is fun.

Let the cooking begin! Everyone went outside where tables were set up with individual cutting boards, knives, etc. We pealed potatoes, peaches and chopped fresh herbs to prep for the meat and potatoes. Next we went back inside and learned how to make the panna cotta because it needs several hours in the fridge. So he used double cream (assuming heavy whipping cream), sugar and 3 fresh vanilla beans. Kevin took it to he stove and continually stirred until it got hot but never to the boiling point. Bart stirred the peaches with sugar on the stove as well. While this happened, there were sheets of gelatin soaking in cold water. When the cream and gelatin were ready, they were stirred together with a whisk. Then with a small strainer, to catch the vanilla bean skin, the mixture was poured into individual cups and put in the freezer for about 40 minutes to get an initial chill. Once set we will top with the peach purée (the peach purée also had a sheet of gelatin stirred into it after cooking) and chocolate chips. Sounds terrible...wink wink. 

Next we watched Fabrizio make the pork. He had it setting in a little tub of garlic, rosemary and other herbs. He took it out and poked a hole in the center with a knife, then with the stick of a wooden spoon he made a bigger hole, then stuffed with oregano, rosemary, marjoram. With layers of bacon on top he used string to wrap it all up. The oven in the kitchen is more like a big toaster oven and the chef has never seen anything so small in a working kitchen. So he was searing it in a pan on the stove with olive oil, butter and wine first, then into the oven with the potatoes. 180 degrees C for about 40 minutes to an hour in a normal oven. Here, a bit longer. ;) As he was frying up the pancetta for the carbonara and cooking the pork on the stovetop, we heard a clap of thunder and it came up a downpour. Fabrizio said "We musta protecta the flour!" Which happened to still be outside on the table along with all the cutting boards and other things. Everyone ran out to grab stuff and came back in soaked and laughing. It was a hot day, so the rain cooled everyone off and it actually felt pretty good. The rain lasted all of about 5 minutes, but was enough to put a damper on the setup they had for us.

Back outside we learn how to weigh out the flower for the pasta, make a volcano, add the egg, a small amount of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and then work in the flour ever so slowly. Not to fast or the dough was tough (that was mine) but instead gently and slowly, then once most was incorporated you could use your hands. Fabrizio said mine wasn't ruined (probably wasn't usable for ravioli, but ok for fettuccini) and he showed me how to work it with my palms to get it softer and then to wrap it in plastic wrap and wait about 30 minutes. That worked a bit of magic to make it soft enough to go through the machine. 

Back inside we got the panna cotta out of the freezer and Riley topped it with our peach purée and mini chocolate chips, then back into the fridge to finish setting up. Fabrizio said it is a good dish to make the day before and could even go 5 days in the fridge. Good to know. He also was very patient with us, interesting, answered questions, and had the day certainly planned well. He even gave us all a copy of the recipes to keep. Yay!

Next we all go back outside and take our turn making the pasta. Each ball was cut in half, pressed gently into some flower and the put through the machine. If it was dry and cracking on the edges, it goes through once, the folded in half and then run through again. About four more times through the pasta maker, each time turning it to be smaller and smaller so the pasta gets thinner and thinner. We chose to do fettuccini instead of spaghetti. Everyone takes a turn and then Alan and Riley finish up the rest, like pros. All a little bit hungry we watch the process of the carbonara with great anticipation. He said to use one full egg but then all yokes after that. In the egg bowl he used pecorino cheese, pepper and a little water from the cooked pasta. On the stove was some pancetta cubed small that he had fried up and added truffles to it. He added the pasta to the pancetta, then the pasta to the bowl of egg mixture. After this he told us to head out to the tables and they would serve us. Pasta first, pork second, and the panna cotta last. It was delicious, but I think the dessert was my favorite part! I could have eaten 3 or 4 of them. Oh so good.

So what a really cool day! We were so happy to have participated in this adventure. For a day filled with road blocks and unexpected rain, a mini oven, and 10 people in a very small kitchen, we sure did have a great time. 

On the way home, we came a different way and really enjoyed the drive. It was dark, but we passed a few small hilltop towns that had their towers and city walls lit up perfectly. It was beautiful. Then nearing Cortona, it reminded us of a ski mountain but we laughed because we were in shorts and have been pretty sweaty all week. So we came the back way into the hotel and since they are remodeling and we are staying in the back section of the hotel, our parking lot is actually in a field/grassy area. So as we pulled in, there stood a wild boar staring at us. We drove up close enough to try to get a picture of it, but it ran up the hill and disappeared. Well, the parking lot/field of grass was really really dark and we had a bit of a walk to the room. Neither one of us too excited to get out, took our iPhones out and put our flashlights on, grabbed our stuff and starting running. Almost to the hotel room we realized the room key was STILL IN THE CAR! Gah! So as quick as we ran away from the parking lot, we barreled back in to get the key and ran back to the hotel again. I think we got our exercise. The good thing was it must have been a female because we didn't see any tusks, but still we've heard stories about how mean they can be and they kill a lot of people's dogs. Boo.

So back in the room, safe from the crazy pig, I'll be asleep by midnight with a smile on my face due to a successfully adventurous day.

Day 7 Volterra - Cortona

We didn't set an alarm today and did our best to sleep in and still have time to make breakfast before 10. Up at 8 and then again at 9 I finally told Guy to head to breakfast without me and just bring me some coffee and I'd have the left over muffin from the AutoGrille. That allowed me a more leisure morning and a chance to enjoy our fabulous view of the square from Room #12 at the Leon. I started getting ready and he came back with not only coffee, but a plate of pastries, which I gobbled up immediately! While I finished getting ready, Guy headed out to see if any banks are open. We aren't really ATM users, but we may have to try it since banks are closed on Saturday and Sunday. Our past two hotels wouldn't change for us...

So, it is about 10:30am and we are getting ready to leave the best gelato in Italy. So what do I do? Buy espresso flavored gelato! That makes sense, right? So I went down  and did mix it with a bit of chocolate, tho. I couldn't finish it all because I had just had breakfast, but did my best and sat it in my coffee cup to make it a legitimate breakfast food. Breakfast of champions I'm thinking. It was a great way to start the day in such a cool town. As we were leaving and heading for Cortona, views of San Gimignano in the distance are just spectacular with all the towers. It's really pretty magical. 

The day is hazy and it isn't really the best photo op day, but with the curvy swirvy roads it also made it hard to pull over to get good shots. So trust me when I say it was a spectacular ride through the Tuscan hills and the scenery is just as you would imagine. Tall skinny trees lining long curving drives that lead up to the most gorgeous pale yellow stone villas surrounded by olive gardens and vineyards. Like a movie. Like heaven. All kept neatly in my mind to recall anytime I want. Pictures would have been nice, too. :)

Note: this section is added on 6/26. I totally forgot to talk about Volterra! After San G we first went to Volterra. One of our happy accidents we came across several years ago. I wanted to go there because Twilight was filmed there, but actually it was not, it was filmed in Montepulciano. But people in the area said it was still a nice town for a visit. Indeed it was, and that is why we've been back twice since! It has a medieval feel with the narrow streets dotted with alabaster shops. Jewelry galore and the prices aren't so bad that you can't buy several items. So as we headed up, the parking lots were full.  We took a chance and went straight for the best parking lot at the very top. Success! One tiny spot under a shade tree awaited us. As we shopped we heard quite a noise coming from the piazza so we went to have a look. There were middle school teens dressed up in costume and they were having a flag competition (hence the flag photos from that day). The boys worked the flags and mostly girls were on the drums, keeping the beat to their routines. We sat in the bleachers and watched. The kids were so serious. One group was elated when they finished. No flags were dropped. They hugged each other and their parents hugged them. Then the next group had several obvious mistakes. Their faces were SO SAD and they still hugged each other, but in a differently way of support and solidarity. This was a great surprise to see even tho we didn't know exactly the history behind the performance, we are pretty sure there must have been! So after our break from watching the kids, we shopped (sadly the main reason we went there was to visit my favorite alabaster jewelry store ... and it had closed only 5 minutes before we walked up and would not reopen for two more hours!) So I shopped many other stores and picked up a few trinkets. We wondered around for a place to have lunch but ended up getting a pizza togo and two cokes. We sat in our parking spot in the car and had a picnic. The pizza wasn't cut, which is not unusual, but we forgot to ask them to cut it. So we tore off pieces with a napkin and it worked out fine! 

After about an hour through the curves and hills, we hit the autostrada and made better time towards Cortona. For some reason the GPS on our phones would not work, even with our TEP portable wifi, but lucky for us, our British GPS gal that came with the car talked us in. We had to apologize to her as she was driving us crazy a few days ago, but she must have forgiven us because she did a lovey job getting us to our next home away from home. The Borgo il Melone. We stayed here in 2013 and it has really changed! They went from about 15 rooms to over 40 and guess what...they took out their laundry! We had planned our clothes for the trip around a mid vacation wash session. Gah! What now? Yep, they'll send it out for us, but at what cost!?! Oh well. Better than spending hours at a laundry mat in town I suppose. However, our room is nice and big with lots of cold air conditioning. We'll sleep like babies tonight.

We freshened up and chatted with the California crew and agreed to meet in the Piazza Republica in about 30 minutes. We headed for the old hilltop town of Cortona (we are just below it in the lower part of the town). Parking took a bit, but our spot wasn't really bad at all. We met up with the family and got lots of great hugs. We hadn't seen Bart and his family for a couple of years and the kids are so grown, but Bart and Joy look terrific. We sat in the shade and tried some local wine while we visited for well over an hour. After the kids came back we ventured up to a restaurant that Guy and I had eaten at before and the tables outside were for reservations only, so we went inside and enjoyed the cool air. We all had appetizers and entrees that were tasty with an extra lovely presentation. Dessert was a must and my tiramisu was creamy and light. Which is good because Guy doesn't like coffee and I was stuffed, but I managed to gobble up every bite. 

After dinner we walked around the town just a bit and went to the side of Cortona that overlooked the valley. It was totally dark, but the lights from the surrounding towns twinkled and there was even a brief showing of fireworks in the distance. We said it was for Bart and Joy's anniversary, as it was today. My dad married them over 20 years ago in beautiful Yosemite park. An event that Guy and I still to this day regret missing. One of our biggest life regrets actually. So we hugged good night and headed back for home. They are about 25 minutes from us, so we are looking forward to tomorrow as we venture to their villa they are renting and will be taking a cooking class. Apparently their kitchen is a bit smaller than they had anticipated, and they don't have air conditioning, so we'll dress for warm temps and take our swim suits along as they say the pool is quite nice.

Forgive the typos as it is 1:30am and pretty much all of me is exhausted. 

Ciao from Cortona. 

Day 6 Drama Queen/San Gimignano

Yes, I suppose I'll name myself the Drama Queen. You'll find out in a minute. So last night we went to bed and again it was pretty toasty in our room. We had the window cracked open like last night with a fan blowing on us. It's manageable, but you definitely don't want the covers on. So I'm laying there thinking about the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. This place was probably as equally as challenging and rewarding as the movie's process of refurbishing. So I'm laying there thinking about the movie and how cute it was, but then there was that one scene where a big black snake comes up through the window. Yeah, so I'm thinking about that and about 15 minutes later still thinking about that, so I got up and closed the window to just about a quarter inch crack. Drama Queen #1.

I heard some clinking outside and was sure our friends were having breakfast, but I closed my eyes until my alarm went off at 8:30. Not really wanting to get up, but excited about our road trip to San Gimignano, I hopped up and started to get ready. Another day near 90, so hair is up and cool clothes are on. We went down for breakfast of homemade bread, jams, fruit, yogurt and cereal if we wished. Lindsay brought me some hot tea and we enjoyed our breakfast. We packed up and said our goodbyes to Lindsay, and we promised to keep in touch. Steven, however, drove us down this hill. Once he got past the main hairpin turns and was on a bit more of a straightaway, he asked if that was good enough. Jokingly I said "I'm about 80% sure I can make it the rest of the way" and he rolled his eyes and took us all the way down. He does this quite often I'm sure. The British couple that was also staying there had relatives in nearby Lucca. They had a car and they were trying to make it up the hill. There were three of them in the car, with bags and other things. The car wouldn't go any further so they started throwing bags out, then one by one they started to get out. Finally they pushed the car up the rest of the way. Yeah, they didn't try to drive up it anymore.

Steven and Guy took the main road (the tiny, often one way road) yesterday, so he was quite familiar with it by now. We stopped briefly in the little town of Fabbriche di Vallico, Lindsay says there is a population of 350, and I took a few pictures as Guy pointed out things Steven had told him about yesterday that were walls, roads and entrances made by the Germans. This town dates back to the 16th century and only had donkey trails leading to the town until the Germans came and built the tiny road. Speaking of, as luck would have it, we were behind two other cars on the way out, so we just snuggled in right behind them and like a little train we all went through the one way tunnels together. Success. The roads were not nearly as bad as they seemed on the first day. Now trust me, they are NOT wide and once someone had to back up for us to get around them, so I'm not exaggerating when I say they were tiny, but I think that being in a strange place with itty bitty winding roads, not a soul in sight, you didn't even know if you were for sure headed in the right direction and if you weren't you were sure the heck about to find yourself in the middle of no-where Italy, it can be a bit unnerving. Drama Queen #2.

We stopped a few towns over to check out a bridge we had seen on the way to the I Romiti. It was built in medieval times and was called the Devil's bridge. The legend was that the builder couldn't finish it on time and as he sat in his misery the devil approached him and made a deal. The devil said he'd finish it for him overnight, but in return he would take the first soul that came across it. He agreed. The next day, the bridge was completed but the builder, ashamed for the deal he had made with the evil one, went to the priest and confessed his transgressions. The priest said they would send a pig across first and solve the problem. They did just that and the devil became so infuriated he jumped off the bridge and was never seen again. You'll see pictures of this bridge in the photo link. It was a pretty cool bridge...seemingly quite the engineering feat for the 15th century.

Back on the autostrada we came across an AutoGrille and whipped the car over two lanes to get to it. We filled up (they still offer full service here were they gas you up an clean your windshields, just like when I was a kid) and went inside to use the restroom and grab some snacks. Guy had a lovely focaccia bread with cheese and prosciutto, and I had a caprese sandwich on crusty bread. We grabbed some crackers, cookies, and some waters, then went out to the car for a picnic. We have to eat gas station food at least once on our Italian road trips. It's our thing. And this ain't your grandma's gas station food. It's actually something we look forward to!

Back on the road we were only one hour from San Gimignano and arriving at our destination we easily found parking and lugged our bags further than we had hoped in near 90 degree weather, but we made it and checked into our very own room #12 that overlooks the square. We asked for this room as we had stayed in it before and sure enough we got it. It is tiny and nothing too fancy, but the spot is primo and there is air conditioning! AND the BEST gelato in all of Tuscany, or Italy as far as I'm concerned, is 10 steps away from me. This is my first gelato of the trip and I went for the trifecta of chocolate, coconut and tiramisu. Winner! Now tonight if I can get some gnocchi for dinner I'll have accomplished pretty much everything I came here to do. :)

Guy made reservations for dinner as I shopped around the town. I did buy a few goodies from local artists as gifts and came back to the room for some cool air, chat with my mom and start the blog. Dinner is in about an hour and a half, so I think I even have time for a nap! Will report in on our evening activities shortly.

Showered and ready to go, we headed to our favorite restaurant in San G, the Ristorante le Vecchie Mura. Our hotel called for a reservation because we walked there earlier and they were closed. We arrived and had a table on the terrace. It was a gorgeous evening with the sun setting over the beautiful Tuscan hills. The air felt cool even though my phone said the temp was still 82. We had a bruschetta to start, then Guy ordered the filet with a balsamic sauce and fries, while I ordered the gnocchi pomodoro with grilled veggies and for dessert I thought it was going to be some kind of parfait, but instead it was a small icecream with nuts and chocolate pieces with a chocolate sauce. It was fantastic. Looking around and enjoying the evening, we were in no hurry to go and just enjoyed the moment. A slow stroll back to the square and taking some time to snap a few photos, we headed to the room to try to catch up on some sleep. I feel bad that it is only 9:30 and still some daylight outside, being our only evening here, but were both afraid if we sat down at a small cafe to people watch, we'd fall asleep. Drama Queen #3. ;)

Back to the room, it is cool and calling us to end our pretty awesome day. Looking forward to tomorrow where we don't have our plans set 100%, but we are hoping to catch up with my cousin from California that is also vacationing in a nearby town and make some great memories with them. 

Ciao from San Gimignano.

Day 5 - Glass Class

Breakfast was served around 8:30 and it was outside on one of the terraces under an umbrella. It is a stellar day weather-wise and we visited with the Australian couple who were working and studying in England. They spoke of their day and they were heading to Cinque Terre and then on to other adventures from there. So we said our goodbyes as Steven was taking them to the train station and their time at the iRomiti had come to a close.  Lucky me. I felt something in my trousers stinging me and I went up to the room to have a look. I pulled out a pretty good sized stinger, but saw no evidence of the evil-doer, but I had a pretty good sized red spot. Whatever it was abandoned ship in fear of the repercussions. Understandable.

Knowing I would live to see another day, I got ready for my glass class with Lindsay. First she explained the torches and showed me the tanks mixing oxygen with propane. Her giant tank of oxygen would only last her one week if she worked everyday. So that was interesting to know that my own personal set up would be affordable, but challenging. Will need to do some research.  She introduced me to the tools we would be working with and what each of them did. After that she did a demo and shortly after that I was on my way to making my first marble. I know that sounds silly, but that is the start of many beautiful things. Learning the behaviors of the glass, letting gravity work for you and not against you, and just letting the process unfold. After my second marble we then practiced putting glass dots and lines on the outside. It was just practice, but the ideas of what could come from these short lessons would be endless. After this she did a demo on how to take a straight piece of glass into a circle and at that we stopped for lunch. 

While I was in class this morning, Steven had taken Guy out for a drive. (He threatened to not bring him back) But alas he did and they went out and about for over an hour. Steven pointed out interesting facts about the area and the road going down and coming up wasn't nearly as bad today with someone confident behind the wheel. With that said, a tiny gas truck with a little tank on the back made it all the way up here. Shocking actually, but they assured me after going up and down a few times my anxiety would be gone. I'll just trust them on this. I'm still having Steven drive us down tomorrow.

Speaking of Steven, he prepared a lunch of prosciutto, pasta with a lemon cream sauce, bread and salad. My photos of our food here have been limited only because I didn't want it to seem like I was being judgmental in any way. Knowing Guy is in the restaurant business always makes people feel like we are going to do some kind of comparison or critique, which isn't the case at all - ever. We love food and the way they prepared everything, especially the lemon sauce today, was wonderful and fun to watch (and eat). Hence no photos, but trust me, it was all totally photo-worthy. - After lunch we helped to clean the table and Lindsay cleaned up as I took a short break, transferring funds from Guy's bank account to mine so I could pay them via PayPal tomorrow. I built in a little cushion to make sure I had enough money when I got the bill. ;) *insert evil laugh here. 

Back to the shop Lindsay again demonstrated the making of a glass link and then after two failed attempts I finally had a link of my own. I kept practicing and she showed me how to link them all together. It looks impressive and was fun. I went on to make three more circles and then hooked them all together with a circle at one end and a marble on the other. A final exercise in putting all of the processes I learned today in one artistic piece, but it was great fun and I can't wait to show it off. Lindsay was working on a few things of her own and I would occasional see that she was watching me. When she would say "Are you winning over there?" I took it that I was doing something wrong and she'd correct me. :) She is sweet. She let me make mistakes but when it was obvious she'd remind me of the correct way. Of course my circles aren't round and my marbles are crooked, but I felt totally accomplished today with a satisfaction of conquering another glass technique that I hope to continue at home. We put them in the kiln and the annealing process will take overnight and may not be done tomorrow. Even tho the heat can ramp up quickly to a mere 600 degrees, the process coming back down will be slow and intentional. She'll mail them to me if they aren't ready in the morning. 

After the class I sat with Guy at the pool. He swam, sunned and read a book today after lunch. He is so patient with me and my crafty shenanigans, but he knows how much I love learning. He again was patient as I told him everything I had learned today and showed him photos of my projects. AND I went all day without burning myself but put a big ole blister on my finger as it accidentally bumped into a hot end of my last project. That blister sits right next to the one I got from my curling iron two days ago. They make a nice couple. 

Dinner tonight was at a local restaurant, the il Molina Vecchio, and Steven and Lindsay went with us. The sweet British couple walked to the town earlier and had already started eating before we arrived. They were at a table for two, but Lindsay said they had gotten engaged while they were here, only two days ago, so if they want a romantic evening alone, then so be it. They were excellent company last night and we appreciated our time with them.  So for the food. Delish!  It was very traditional to the area and we were excited to give it a go. I did get photos tonight. ;). For starters they brought out about 8 different dishes. Just enough for the four of us to have a taste. My first course was ravioli type stuffed pasta filled with cheese and walnuts in a butter and possibly sage sauce. Minimal sauce like the way I like my butter sauces. Just enough so that the pasta isn't sticking together. Guy had meat filled ravioli with a meat sauce. It was hearty. We did go for an entree as well and Guy had grilled trout which he said was amazing and I had somewhat of a zucchini quiche, only it had more of a cornmeal texture vs. an egg texture. It was thin and square and I was so full I could hardly finish it. Dinner took over two hours and we visited and enjoyed our evening with conversation ranging from politics to bats. Steven drove us up the hill (he could probably do it with his eyes closed) and we were back in our room thinking about how lucky we were to have had this destination on our itinerary. What a unique experience filling us with life-long memories.

I'm not sure I could live here full time. It is gorgeous, the property has been refurbished exactly as I would have done it myself and it would be a simpler life with lungs filled with fresh air and an unhurried schedule, but it feels quite remote for me and I suppose I'd opt more for a more populated area. But maybe because it is new and the surroundings are not familiar, it seems more isolated than it really is. On the flip side, Guy and I heard a noise last night and I told him it sounded like wind chimes. Actually he found out today that it was the local heard of goats that have bells on. When I heard it again tonight and knew what it was, even though I couldn't see them, it was a surreal feeling of peace and tranquility. That is something that I don't experience very often.  So I guess I agree with someone who posted about this place online saying it is a bit unexplainable. That is true. 

Day 4 iRomiti

This morning started with an 8am alarm for another beautiful run around the marina. I wanted to make sure I was back in time to shower and get ready for breakfast as I knew it was going to be yummy and ends at 10:30. We sat outside in the shade and chatted with a lady from Virginia. She asked what my plans were for the day and we told her we hoped to go on an adventure to an art class, and told her a bit of my story. She encouraged me to at least drive there and we said we would. After breakfast we went to the reception and the guy there was a bit busy, explaining his reason for not hearing out exactly why I needed to call the iRomiti, but he did call and yes, someone answered. They told him they were busy and to call back after 4pm. So confirmed, someone was there, but no confirmation they were still expecting us. (Note: Lindsay thought he was a telemarketer...LOL...I wish he had told her why he was calling)

We decided to go ahead and pack up and say farewell to Rapallo, just in case we didn't have a place to stay tonight, that would give us time to get back on the road to head toward San Gimingnano. Our GPS estimated just over a two hour drive time.  As we headed out, we again went through tunnel after tunnel, guessing maybe around 50 or more for our trip in and out of Rapallo. The speed limit is 110 KPH and I stuck to it as that was a comfortable speed for me. The GPS in the car was still talking and FINALLY Guy got out the manual to see how to shut it down. That was gonna get on my last nerve and it had to stop. It did.

The drive was easy and we saw some beautiful scenery. Guy, for an instant, thought he saw snow on the mountains, but instead it was white marble being mined. I couldn't take a picture, and I couldn't possibly describe it, but I found it to be sad as the long zig zagging roads lined the huge mountainside, peeling away nature to get to the treasure. Guy said he was sure they'd been mining it since Roman times. I told him he was crazy and so he wiki'd it. Yep, it had been mined since Roman times. Darn him...factoid boy strikes again. We were seeing the famous Carrara marble in it's purest form. Wiki says there are over 500 mines dotting the Apuan Alps and over half of them mined out and closed. Probably an interesting view from a satellite. 

As we made our way now off the beaten path, we were definitely seeing parts of Italy that most tourists probably don't see. The Apuan Alps are gorgeous and we were headed straight for them. The roads started getting tinier and tinier and eventually more like a one way street. We did this, well, for a very long time. My palms began to sweat and my chest started to feel tight. A panic attack was knocking on my door. Not because we'd drop off a huge cliff and die, but the road was next to the mountainside and the rail was close and it was very claustrophobic. Remember the scene is "The Holiday" where Cameron Diaz is in England in the tiny car on a tiny street and the car approaches her and she squeals "Please don't hit meeeeeeeee". Yeah something like that. At one point there were two tunnels just big enough for one car to go through. Dark and narrow. I just can't really explain it unless you had been with us. We didn't meet anyone, but if we had, someone would have had to have backed up...out of the tiny long dark tunnel. Next we saw a beautiful green lake that had a very large dam and for a moment took us back to some of our sights in New Zealand. As the GPS was still hanging in there, we only made one wrong turn and of course on the tiny road it was several back and forths until we could point in the other direction. Thank you God above for an automatic transmission. He knew this road and I would meet today and he definitely took care of me. Once turned around we went where the GPS told us to go and we ended at a dead end with just a foot bridge. We backed up and Guy pulled the map up with Google maps. We could see the road we were on and we could see the iRomiti, but didn't know for sure how to get there. Just then a truck drove by and an Italian man, who spoke no English, told us (we think) no, can't go up there. So we went back into the town and found a restaurant bustling with people. There were at least 15 people in there, including the local police, and horray, someone spoke enough English to tell us that yes, we were headed in the right direction and no, that wasn't a foot bridge. We were to drive over it.  Silence. Guy, at this point, looks at me and says, if this were a submarine museum we were going to, you'd be so mad at me right now. He was right. It was my idea to come here, so he was off the hook from any kind of repercussions.

Buckling in we headed for the foot bridge that supposedly our car would go over. Our modern car has sensors when you get too close to something. Yeah, it sounded like an air raid. Up and over the tiny bridge we are now on a dirt road, with what else but a couple of hairpin switchbacks. When we turned one corner we saw men working and a little black Jeep. There was a blonde woman in it. It HAD TO BE LINDSAY. And it was!! She came over and apologized she had to run to the post office for a mold we were going to use tomorrow, so she said only two more really bad turns and we'd be there.The road was just two poured concrete strips I was driving on. Lord have mercy on me at that moment. THIS is the part that I will not drive down again. Lindsay said Steven will drive us down it on Friday. 

When we arrived, we didn't think anyone was there. Guy decided to walk around and I just sat on the steps in the shade trying to recuperate from what had just happened to me. Alas, there was another young British couple here by the pool and Guy chatted with them. Apparently some people just walk up the hill or have Steven come pick them up. Gah, who knew? I think life here is pretty relaxed, and the hill and roads are nothing to them. If only to feel this comfortable on these roads....

Now, the iRomiti. Steven is from the US originally and LIndsay is from the UK. Steve left the US in his twenties to study his art and never went back. Still yet to know his last name, but per our conversation tonight he has his artwork in galleries around the world. He is a glass blower. I'm intrigued. He did have a home near Lucca, hince his connection to the area and finding this place - in absolute ruin. They restored it from the ground up. I asked if they had to abide by Italian rules for the remodel and she said absolutely. It has been open and functioning for three years, but it took 11 years from the time the land was purchased to the time they completed the project. I can only imagine the time and tears it took to build this place. It is an old monastery and I'm currently in the chapel area. The ceilings are all wooden beams and the walls are stucco and exposed brick. It has a minimalistic feel with the furniture and fixtures, and has no tv nor air conditioning. It has a cool slightly damp feel like you'd experience in a tour of an old castle. The kitchen is big and gorgeous with an Italian villa flair like you'd expect. I feel like the adventure to remodel this would have been like the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun".  I can't imagine their patience. But the end result is exactly what I would have hoped for had I been the one to restore it. Simply amazing craftsmanship.

We unpacked most of our bags and I'm leaving my big one out in the car. I'll just open it up and grab what I need. This will be a place of relaxed clothes and hair. Of course with just one day of class, I will only be able to learn some basics of torch work, but when Lindsay gave me a tour of the art studio, a few of the items she had out - that we would try to learn - are super cool. SO EXCITED for tomorrow and our adventure tonight. Lindsay said there are two other couples here and a friend of theirs from town was going to venture up tonight for pizza in their outdoor wood burning oven. Around 8pm. 

Guy and I read by the pool, but when the sun went down behind the mountain it got a bit cool, so we headed for the terrace that was still in the sun. Guy was telling me about the history of the area that Steven had shared with him. During WWII, the Germans built the tiny little one-way road we drove in on and actually had ammunition stored in one of his buildings here on the property. The Italian resistance was heavy in this area causing problems for the Germans, so in retaliation, just one mountain over, in the town of Santa Anna, the Germans pretty much gathered up all the children, women and elderly and killed hundreds of them in horrific ways. So Guy is totally intrigued about the WWII history in this area. I'm glad, because I'm going to owe him for this little side adventure. ;)

Now for dinner. It was so much fun. We went down about 8pm and Lindsay was making pizzas. While at the pool Guy pointed out the dough raising in a bowl outside in the sun, so we were excited to try it. The pizza was thin and crunchy and we had several toppings to choose from. We all would take a piece or two and then wait for the next pizza to be ready. Even tho stuffed, dessert was a lemon custard with peaches and cherries. The night went by in a flash as we all sat on a table outside chatting about politics, the US, the UK and Italy. Before we knew it, it was nearly 11pm and we all carried in the dishes and offered to help, but they told us to head to bed and they'd see us in the morning around 8:30 or 9. 

So what started out as a very difficult day, ended with a day spent with very interesting people, very interesting conversation and delicious food. Memories we wouldn't have gotten any other way. So far, it has totally been worth the drive. I can't wait for tomorrow. Glass class for me and Steven hinted he might take Guy out for a drive around the area. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Ciao from Tuscany.