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Although we managed to trash one rental car (a precautionary tale of stupidity from the first part of our trip) and seriously impair dozens of brain cells along the way during our 22-day journey, we have successfully returned from another wonderful trip to Europe. No Italian animals, pedestrians, priests or nuns were injured during the making of this trip report (scared, yes; harmed, no), which will describe the hill towns of Umbria and Tuscany, the beautiful cities of Firenze, Venezia and Roma, and all the sundry details I can remember.
I devoured enough pasta and miscellaneous carbohydrates that poor, dead Dr. Atkins has already turned over in his scrambled eggs. My cholesterol count is undoubtedly so inflated from that over-indulgence that not even an intravenous drip of Lipitor could make a dent in it. Since I've been home, I wake up screaming in the middle of the night for ravioli stuffed with ricotta, Pecorino and spinach, drizzled with olive oil. Yes, I am now a full-fledged Pastaholic.
For those who might have been concerned by an overwrought poster a few months ago who incongruously perceived that Italians were taking turns laughing at her on the streets of Rome, let me first allay those misguided fears she felt. Although given ample opportunity to do so, Italian citizens neither laughed at nor mocked us throughout our three-week stay (at least to our faces).
Tracy and I traveled with another couple (Kim and Mary) that we have known for years, and, I am happy to report, the four of us remain on speaking terms today. We hooked up with another couple (Dan and Linda) for a night in Florence and the last three days in Rome. Between the six of us, we took 1,500 pictures (more if you count Dan's camera, now resting comfortably at the bottom of a Venice canal).
Following are the facts and nothing but the facts. The story you are about to read is true. No names have been changed, because no one is innocent. This is "Italy Uncensored."
DAY ONE AND TWO - ARE WE THERE YET?
For those who hate airline stories, this is your chance to skip to Day Three, although if you are reading this on October 13, it hasn't been written yet, so that could be difficult. Confusing? Yes. Much like our flight plan to get to Rome.
Tracy and I had converted most of our frequent flyer miles to go first class (once before I die, I thought). Because you are at the airlines mercy when it comes to FF awards, we were booked to go L.A. to N.Y, N.Y to London (six hour layover at Heathrow) and finally (mercifully) London to Rome. Basically, the only thing slower than our trip to Rome would be FEMA's response to a disaster.
Upon checking in about two hours before our Thursday, 1:15 pm flight to New York, Tracy and I decided to take advantage of the American Airlines Admiral's Club (I never met a free drink I didn't like). Upon entering the lounge we were greeted with, "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Your Flight Is In Peril But You Don't Know It Yet" (not our real last names).
At first we thought, "How nice. They know our names." Then came word that bad weather in the east had caused a four-hour delay in our flight to New York, meaning we would miss our connection to London. Not to worry, they said, and they re-booked us on a 6 pm L.A. - London non-stop. We'd already dropped off the cats and taken the limo (OK, it was a Lincoln Town Car) to the airport, so we were not going to spend a fortune to go back home and come back again. This was one time we wish we had some unemployed friends to come pick us up at the airport.
Let me say that the American Airlines' people were terrific. They notified us that our luggage had been rerouted to our new flight and to relax for the next six hours in the lounge. A few drinks and a few hundred peanuts later, we boarded our flight to London.
First Class Baby! It is the only way to travel. I inadvertently turned to the right when I got on board, but the flight attendant, realizing my error, quickly turned me to the left toward first class and there before us lay a world I did not know existed. Nobody reclines their seat into your knees and makes your legs lose all feeling twenty minutes into the flight. There is champagne when you board and free-flowing French wine while awaiting dinner. Our movies were brought to us on a silver tray. The seats recline all the way to form a sleeper bed. I looked to the rear of the plane at the sad faces of cramped, uncomfortable passengers and could only think, "Oh, the humanity!"
Dinner consisted of smoked salmon with crème fraiche, onions and capers, a salad with baby lobster tail followed by a delicious steak. Tracy and I stretched out for about five hours only to be awakened by the smell of breakfast. "I wonder how the other half lives?" I thought.
At Heathrow, reality was again with us as we waited five long hours for our final flight to Rome on British Airways. Heathrow is huge, and the trip from Terminal Three to Terminal One was made even more exciting by a herky-jerky bus driver who must have just received his learner's permit that morning. Plus, the guy was driving on the wrong side of the road (yeah, I know)! The BA lounge had finger sandwiches, cocktails (my first Campari of the trip), a lot of Internet points and showers.
We arrived in Rome at 9:30 p.m. Friday night after a 2 hour and 15 minute flight from London (nothing special) and walked to the Rome Airport Hilton, where we would spend the first night. If you like a good sauna, the walkway between the airport and the Hilton reminded me of one. All the weight I gained on the plane was shed during the five to ten minute walk to the hotel.
I remember reading a post by a guy who said that the Rome Airport Hilton was overpriced. Well, maybe it is, but the shower and late dinner of a ricotta and basil ravioli with julienne zucchini hit the spot just fine (the two martinis didn't hurt either). For a couple of weary travelers, the hotel epitomized the phrase "location, location, location", so we were just fine with it and we got to sleep in no time.
The next morning, I would pick up the soon-to-be infamous rental car before our friends arrived, and then it was off to Umbria.
COMING UP: THINGS GO BETTER WITH SPELLO
We Didn't Drink ALL the Vino! Maitaitom's Italy Uncensored
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You're back! Another fantastic trip report. The entire Fodor family will be rolling on the floor all day today. Can't wait for the next part.
I laughed out loud. Already. And you haven't even left the airport. Waiting for more . . .
Hi tom,
Welcome back.
Looking forward to more.
You had me at "trash one rental car."
Welcome back, Tom!
I too am hooked---more please!
So far, so funny. I'll try to match your ongoing trip report with one of our own - possibly hitting some of the same high points (and low points?) as yours. In our case, using FF miles to go first class by Air France to Paris for 3 days before flying on to Rome and then by rental car up to our shared villa in Umbria [Fortunately, when Delta and Air France said there were no FF first class seats available that matched our exact needs, my dear wife said she was willing to tolerate 3 nights in Paris before our Italian adventure began].
The wonders of first class and the first class lounges are incredible - it was only on our return to the US 18 days later that I discovered that one could start imbibing free booze (I'm partial to single-malt scotches, to be followed by good wine) at what amounted to 5:00 a.m. in our destination city and drink steadily (but certainly not greedily) for 18 hours straight.
That's enough for now - and perhaps I should start our own thread when the real tales start, so that I don't hijack Maitai Tom's uncensored tales of Italy.
KC
Oh HOW I have been waiting, and wouldn't you know it, over my morning Earl Grey it has appeared, what I have been longing for, Italy Uncensored.
Tiff
I haven't stopped laughing and I am only on Day 1. I had to stop, drop and scroll to show appreciation.
Now I am going to 'go back up' and continue.
Oh how I do love a good read.
Bless you MaiTai, bless you.
What a great treat on a gloomy day! Thank you!
Hello maitaitom, well you obviously have everyone hooked on this trip report of yours, including me!! More please..I can hardly wait to hear about your adventures in Italy. BTW, I hope the dear Italians have recovered from your visit, LOL!
Oh, goodie!
Count me as another "hooked" fan! Waiting for that next uncensored installment....
More please!!! And I do hope there will be a reference to Monty Python in there somewhere!
Your trip reports are always the best! Can't wait for the next installment. Don't make us wait too long.
Johanna
I should be studying for an exam, but this is so much more darn interesting.
Oh, I can't wait to hear how you managed to impair all those brain cells.
Please, sir, may I have some more?
Your brain cells seem to have recovered. I look forward to reading more.
Yep, the first time you enter a first class lounge can be rather awe inspiring.
I am positive that everyone was smirking at me as I circled the open bar in wonder, the bottles of booze highlighted very prettily with a spotlight from above. The massive refrigerators on each end, stocked completely full with various beers, waters, juices, sodas, drink mixers, etc. I won't even go into the array of foodstuffs available.
This was a serve yourself setup, and I kept glancing around as I poured myself a bourbon for the expected "STOP! What do you think you're doing?!"
It was a completely different universe from my usual haunt at airports - right at the gate with the rest of the coach passengers.
Thanks for all the nice comments.
Between work and jet lag, it has been a struggle to get started. I'll get these off as fast as possible, but that darn work thing has to come first (especially since I might be a part owner of EuropeCar soon...more on that in Day 6).
Just a few teasers for you.
We loved all our hotels...except one (which did have some positive virtues also, but was still a disappointment). One of our hotels we stayed at was the best hotel experience I have ever had in Europe in my 13 trips.
We also found an incredible hotel deal in Chianti.
We traveled to more than 20 hill towns, so this report will not be short (but you knew that anyway). Our feet are still recovering.
Scavi more than lived up to its billing and the Borghese sculptures were incredible.
We ran into one Fodorite at Cane y Gatto in Siena.
We had one lunch that proved to be our most memorable experience of the trip.
And so much more.
I'll get Day 3 to you later in the day.
Yes, first class lounges are the way to go. I would not buy any American Airlines stock anytime soon, as they are probably still counting up my bar bill.
Bravissimo! I will take advantage of some surprise sunshine to go out and pull some weeds, and hope that there will be another installment of your adventure soon!
ttt
Nice!! I just can’t handle teasers very well. I keep checking every five minutes and I put my life on hold. Well, I guess I’ll put my feet up and just wait.
Baby lobster. They served you baby lobster. As a representative of PETL (People for the Epicurean Treatment of Lobsters) I demand you hand it over immediately. I'm sitting in Cattle class, row 45.....
Good to have you back. More, please. Trip report, I mean, though if you should happen to have some melted butter.....
Tom, I do believe you are J.K. Rowing in disguise.
I'm certainly enjoying your adventure thus far and look forward to more!
Ok, I should be repenting for my sins (ie Fodors addiction...) and here I am reading MaiTai's first installment. What does that say about me???
Signed, the Happy Hypocrite
God---I hope they have overbooked my flight and we get bumped to first class! Who knew???!!!
Can't wait for the rental car details and how the camara ended up deep in a canal.
Thanks for sharing. We all wait tapping our fingers and hoping you will keep up the key tapping...
Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I can't wait for more. Work will just have to wait for another day - I'll be much too busy checking here for more of this thread.
Thanks, Maitai.
Judy
THINGS GO BETTER WITH SPELLO AND REVERSAL OF MISFORTUNE
A good night’s rest, and it was time to walk halfway through the Hilton/Airport sauna tunnel to pick up the car. I thought about just wearing my trunks and a towel to stay cool, but decided against it for fear of causing a national incident. The Hertz line was a mile long, but I quickly got through the Europcar line and went to pick up our car, which turned out to be a Fiat (may it rest in everlasting peace).
It didn’t take me long to find myself in my first rental car jam of the trip. I drove toward the machine where you put the card in the slot to exit the rental car area, but the guy in front of me was having difficulty. He wanted to back up, because his card wasn’t working.
No problema, I thought. Well, no problema until I tried to get my car in reverse. Try as I might, the damned thing would not go into reverse. Of course, the more I tried, the more cars started lining up behind me. And, of course, the more cars that lined up behind me, the more I began to sweat (think Albert Brooks as the hapless newsman in Broadcast News). Finally, the guy got out of his car, walked and got another ticket, and we were all going forward again.
When I got back to the hotel room, Tracy saw my sweat-stained shirt and said, “Man that walkway must have been really hot today.” I didn’t tell her about my driving faux pas until after I quickly took my second shower of the day.
We went downstairs and each had a mediocre 12 Euro Continental breakfast (OK, the Hilton is a tad overpriced), checked out and waited for Kim and Mary, who showed up at 11:30 am.
As Mary changed clothes in the Hilton lobby bathroom, she ran into our first Ugly American, which thankfully turned out to be our last Ugly American of the trip. A young woman put her hands under the automatic sink, and, as automatic sinks often do, it took a couple of seconds for the water to start flowing. Mary said the woman screamed, “I hate Italy. You have to wait for everything!” This became our humorous and endearing catchphrase for the remainder of the trip.
We jumped in the car to head for Spello, but I told Kim about the reverse problem, and he tried for a few minutes with no luck in getting the car to back up. “Well,” I thought, “I don’t have to use reverse on the Spello drive, so we’ll deal with this minor inconvenience later.”
There was terrible traffic on the Rome Ring, but once we got out in the country, it was clear sailing. On the two-lane road heading toward Spoleto, it was exciting to see how close the cars passing other cars going the other direction actually came to causing us to have a head-on collision. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Mary covering her eyes so she didn’t have to witness these many near-death experiences. She was also getting sleepy.
We got to Spello in a little more than two hours and headed for the city center and our hotel for the next three nights, the Palazzo Bocci. Even with eight eyes, we passed right by it and, like an airliner missing the runway, came back around to try again.
This time I took a different route (not on purpose), which put me in a parking area near the center of town (not the parking area I wanted, but it was close enough to walk to the hotel). I saw a spot in my rear view mirror and was planning to put the car in reverse when a terrible thought occurred to me…”I don’t know how to put the car in reverse.”
This was no time to panic. No sense making a bad impression on our Spello neighbors in the first five minutes. At one point, Tracy, Kim and Mary actually tried to push the car backwards into the parking space (which was the first time Italians could have reasonably laughed at us, yet they stayed restrained, though perplexed, at the actions of their new out-of-town residents).
We tried many different variations on a theme until Kim finally came upon the answer. Put your fingers under the ring and pull up on the stick, contrary to our years of driving sticks where we pushed down. “Spello, we have touch down!”
The Palazzo Bocci was everything it was cracked up to be on the board. We had a lovely room overlooking the Tuscan countryside from our little patio (courtesy of Kim and Mary who took the room without a view). There was also a big patio where the four of us shared wine, cheese and various meats for the next few nights and met some of the hotel guests.
After unpacking, we all strolled the streets of Spello (fortunately no one recognized us as the “pushing car” Americans. We quickly partook in our first gelato experience, found some spectacular views, traversed the quiet streets, stopped in to see the Pinturicchio frescoes at the Santa Maria Maggiore and found a nice wine store to grab a couple of bottles of vino to enjoy on the patio before dinner.
Our first class airline experience unfortunately was different from our friends. They had traveled to Rome via Atlanta from San Diego in the cattle car, and Mary was beginning to feel the effects as we sat outside. She was able to talk coherently to some Brits on an Umbrian walking tour, but it seemed the wine was quickly taking effect on her mental capabilities and ability to enunciate.
We met a nice German newlywed couple who told us about some great restaurants in the Jewish section of Rome (where we would end our trip). When Mary started talking Yiddish to them (the sad part is she really doesn’t know any Yiddish), we knew Mary would not be joining us for dinner. Kim led Mary to their room where, unbeknownst to her husband at the time, she decided to take an Ambien, which sealed the deal. The next thing Mary knew was the light of the next day.
Kim, Tracy and I dined at Il Molina (the hotel restaurant located across the street and down a few doors). It had an interesting curved, vaulted brick ceiling, a fun waiter and terrific food. Tracy had the dish of the night, a pasta concoction chock full of pistachio, pecorino and prosciutto. The honeydew in my prosciutto y meloné tasted like candy. The Montefalco 2003 Rosso Antonellio was a bargain at 13 Euros. We all toasted to our great fortune of being back in Italy and realized how incredibly lucky we were to be able to make these trips.
This would be the last day for quite some time where our feet and legs would feel good, as tomorrow would start our ten day mission of exploring hill towns throughout Umbria and Tuscany.
COMING UP: IT’S ALL UPHILL FROM HERE
Oh Tom! I had the same problem with reverse when we rented a car in Rome a few years ago. Fortunately for me, it was necessary to back out of the parking space, so I was forced to go inside and ask the guy behind the counter to show me how to get the car in reverse. You could practically read the thought balloon above his head as he followed me out to the car.
Looking forward to the next installment!
Wonderful
I've exeprienced that wine, jet lag, and ambien combo once too - never again!
Marilyn. It was pretty funny. Four relatively intelligent people being stumped by a stick shift question. As you will see as I get further into this report, our intelligence factor will be questioned again, and the answer won't be pretty. Pretty funny...but not pretty.
You brought back the great memories of 3 adults figuring out how to get into reverse to me too. Wouldn't you know we were the only car in a huge parking lot - and had pulled right up to the curb. I wish I had thought up the push-the-car-out-of-the-parking-spot maneuver. It certainly would have saved us a lot of time. Oh, if I had only known about Fodor's before that trip!!!
..."never again!"
I believe those are the exact words our friend Mary said about that combo.
I've just chanced upon this thread from an "old" Fodorite who has magic in his pen!
Love your reports, maitai!
Yes, those European cars - I drove once from Manchester to Oxford before finding out that reverse means pulling UP on the stick shift - LOL!
Unmatchable! Wonderfu! Looking forward to the next installment! Such a treat!
I'm glad I wasn't the only one with the "pull up the ring to get it into reverse" problem. I couldn't get out of the Shannon Airport parking lot.
I join the ranks of people who didn't know about pulling up the ring to get into reverse. I'm glad I am not alone!
Forgot to mention- I'm enjoying your stories!
I will go to sleep tonight dreaming of Italy, knowing that in the morning there will be another installment....
right?
Excellent writing. I look forward to spending the rest of the week hooked right here.
After four days of rain, some sunshine comes in the form of Tom the maitai nom.
I LOVE your report! I have never read a report this hilarious! I have been laughing out loud the entire time. Thanks for making this stressful day better!
What a treat to sit down and read this, have some laughs and know there is more to come.
Welcome back Tom and Thank you
Enjoying your adventures! Waiting for more.
MY
Laughing my way through your report!!
"the guy was driving on the wrong side of the road" - Don't you know it's not the wrong side of the road in London? It may be not the "right" side but this is the "correct" side
It was tongue in cheek Faina!!
This is my first maitaitom trip report. Loving it - keep up the good reporting.
Hi Cobbie, doesn't Tom's report make you want to go rushing back to Italy, even if one has to sit in coach, LOL.
I can hardly wait for the next segment of this report, including the trashed rental car (oh my) and the camera at the bottom of the canal in Venice. Take care.
Joining the crowd waiting for the next installment. Here's hoping Italy has calmed down since the return of Maitaitom for the sake of the rest of us travelers
Deborah
Drumming my fingers impatiently beside the keyboard waiting for the next installment to appear. This is a priceless trip report. Thanks, Tom!
More please
At one point, Tracy, Kim and Mary actually tried to push the car backwards into the parking space
Absolutely hilarious! I nearly spit out my coffee... Picturing it made me laugh out loud!!!
I can't wait for the next installment!
Tom, your raising my blood pressure. I don't think all this suspense is good for me! Welcome back and please hurry with the rest of the report! I was sitting here only yesterday thinking it was far too long since we'd been to Italy...
Great report, we have the "hill towns" on our list of places to go, so I'm looking forward to the rest of your report. The "reverse" thing happened to me when I rented a car in Germany many moons ago. Drove all the way to the hotel, then had to back up to park and couldn't, for the life of me figure out how, no one spoke English in the hotel, it was quite comical, especially being jet lagged and all. The lesson I learned, when we rent cars now in Europe I always ask them to show me how to put the car in reverse!
This is great, Tom. Looking forward to more!
Hey! We share the reverse difficulty too--
)
We spend half of our second day in Italy driving to Perugia to the closed rental car office (we were staying in Chiusi) to have someone look at the "problem" with our car...only to have the gal easily pop it in reverse. With egg on our faces we then asked how she did that....
Now we ALL know. (And the 1st day we had purposely parked where we would be able to pull out
DAY 4 - IT’S ALL UPHILL FROM HERE
After breakfast at the PB, we were off on the road to Spoleto (the forgotten Hope-Crosby movie). On the way, we stopped to take pictures of a cute hill town we thought (by the signage nearby) was Foligno. The girl at the desk had told us there would be a wine festival in Foligno that night, and we decided we would check it out later on the way back.
We drove to the old town of Spoleto (well, I guess they are ALL old towns) and parked. We hiked up to the top of town (our first inkling of how our feet were to feel for the next 19 days). If we had so chosen, we could have paid 20 Euros apiece to join in the Spoleto Wine Festival, which consisted of taking your glass to various venues and consuming mass quantities of wine. Since it was only 10:30 in the morning, we determined that could be a huge tactical mistake.
We just missed the tour at Rocca Albornoziana, the place where Lucrezia Borgia was sent to get away from her second husband (I guess she was tired of those wacky orgies she had with her own father and brother). Instead we walked to the Ponte delle Torri, a bridge built on an old Roman aqueduct. The views from here of the valley behind Spoleto were spectacular.
After spending some time taking in the natural wonders, we headed toward Spoleto’s Duomo. They were just ending Sunday Mass, so we waited nicely and quietly in the back. A woman showed up inside the Duomo with a wine glass tied around her neck (obviously part of the wine tour, at least I hoped so). Suddenly the phrase “drinking Mass quantities of wine” took on quite another connotation.
In the process of departing Spoleto, and for the first time since I had picked up the car, I drove the wrong way on a one-way street. Obviously the Spoletons had been warned of our arrival, and fortunately there was no carnage.
Speaking of wine (and, if you remember, I was), we headed toward Montefalco, the home of Sagrantino and Sagrantino Passito, its famous wines. We were told that the Sagrantino grape (from which these wines are made) is a grape found in the Montefalco region only, and that Syrian monks might have introduced it in the 7th century. Since we were hungry, I didn’t question whether that was true or not.
We dined at a local haunt (at least it seemed like a haunt) called Il Falisco. It had gotten chilly and foggy outside, so the respite was nice, and we lunched on a couple of risottos, a spaghetti dish, and some noodles with wild asparagus. There was a cool fireplace (hmm, is that an oxymoron) where they grilled meats. Even though I had just learned about Sagrantino, we decided on the House Red (a 2002 Roccadi Fabn’ Montefalco Rosso) for 12 Euros.
After lunch, we walked to Santa Chiara, the church where Montefalco’s patron saint, Clare, lies in a transparent casket. The church was dark and quiet, and we were the only people inside. We saw Clare’s body, and I told the group we could knock on the door, and, according to something I read, the nuns could show us the remains of her heart, three of her gallstones (which represent the Trinity) and the scissors that were used to cut out her heart. Since we had just finished lunch, they decided to let the remainder of Clare rest in peace.
The “Walking Brits” from the Palazzo Bocci had told us not to miss the little town of Bevagna, because it was “special.” So we went there next.
Bevagna was a definitely a cute town. On the town’s Piazza Silvestri are two gigantic churches. We went into the Basilica di San Silvestro, built in 1195. I had read that Prince Charles had been stumping to get money to help restore the church, but there was no sign of him.
Since it was late afternoon, we thought it might be fun to drive to the charming town we believed to be Foligno. Once we got inside the city limits of Foligno, we realized this was definitely not the charming town on the hill, but a bigger city that was getting us more lost by the moment. Well, I was actually getting us lost, but when I can blame an entire town, I do.
Just when we thought we were lost for sure, Tracy saw the sign for the road to our hometown of Spello. We hightailed it back to the Bocci wondering what the heck was the name of that mysterious hill town we had photographed earlier in the day, but decided that two more bottles of wine on the patio would make that a moot question.
We had come to the conclusion we would like to try La Cantina Ristorante in Spello for dinner, which had been recommended to us. The welcome was lukewarm at best, and we just did not feel a good vibe in the place. It was very, very quiet with lots of long, drawn-out faces (perhaps they were just a bunch of people who couldn’t figure out how to get their cars in reverse, I thought). Anyway, after a few minutes we made a quick group decision and headed back to Il Molino. Heck, it would be new to Mary (who had been Ambien-free for more than 24 hours), and we were very happy with our meal the previous evening.
(One correction from the first night report…that great honeydew melon was actually in a Zuppa de Frutta, a fantastic dessert of honeydew, grapes, kiwi and peaches in a mint-type sauce)
On this night, the spectacular dish was a Filet with caramelized balsamic that Kim and I ordered. It was spectacular. Tracy had another steak she deemed too rare, and Kim (Mr. Chivalry) changed dishes with her (I would have been chivalrous had I not already eaten my entire steak). It was complemented nicely by a 2003 Montefalco Rosso Scacciadiavoloi (which took us less time to drink than to spell) for 13 Euros.
After I received a lecture on chivalry, we got to bed early because the next day our feet were going to get their first real test on the hilly streets of Assisi.
TOMORROW: HEY, DON’T BE ASSISI, IT’S ONLY A HILL; AND THE 47-MINUTE PERUGIAN TOUR
Such an enjoyable read on a rainy Friday evening!
I am just sitting here like a crazy person laughing. It must be an American thing with stick shifts. Same thing happened to us in Ireland. And the First Class, no better way to go. All those business trips my hubby takes, sweet man, I just never want to sit in "chicken or beef" again. Looking foward to the rest of your report. Italy here I come in November for my third trip in 3 years. I realize I need to win the lottery.
Tom:
I am loving this – thank you!
I am so sorry I was not here to answer your question about finding the hotel in Spello. I have been so busy at work, and traveling also, that I have been off the board for some time.
OK: re finding reverse on a FIAT: THAT I could have helped you with. I had the same problem the very first time I rented a car in Europe (in France). After 15 minutes of blind panic, I consulted the manual in the glove compartment and was able to figure it out through the pictures and my high-school French. What I learned from this and other car misadventures (and there have been MANY): I NEVER leave the car rental place without first being able to reverse, adjust mirrors, use the headlights, open the gas-tank …
Looking forward to more.
Regards Ger
"I consulted the manual in the glove compartment and was able to figure it out."
GER, I figured you were really busy. Ah, if we'd only had a manual in the car.
Well, we're nearly to the death of the car. Tracy said that after Day 6, I should combine areas where we stayed, or this report would last longer than our vacation. More later.
I for one don't mind it if your report lasts for as long or longer than your vacation.
"Speaking of wine (and, if you remember, I was)"
We know that if you're not actually "speaking of wine" you're certainly thinking of wine!
My guess is that the "cute hill town we thought (by the signage nearby) was Foligno" was probably Trevi - well-worth a visit.
Tuck. You advance to the bonus round. I will tell you about my Trevi driving error in the next report.
Thanks,maitaitom, for brightening up this dismal, never-ending rainy day. Your report is making me laugh in spite of the weather.
That first class experience - ah, I remember it well! It's something with those reclining seats to beds and more room than you can imagine. I was delighted when they handed us a menu, complete with information about the chef, to select our meal choices. I do hope to fly to Italy like that again before I get too old to notice that I'm in first class.
Tell us more about your trip!
maitaitom, I am so loving your report....hilarious! I can't wait for the next chapter!
I had to laugh at the reversal problem, as we had the exact same problem in Germany this May. We got to Rothenburg and couldn't reverse our car. And yes, hubby and I tried the "push" technique as well...try as we might, it did not work. Oh well...nothing that an angry phone call to Avis couldn't fix. And here I thought we were the only ones!
Tracy
Ahhh....wonderful, and such fun! This is the first time all week that I am happy our computer crashed for four days because I got to read a bunch of the report without the agonizing wait the others have had to endure.
Of course, now I must join the masses waiting to be thrown a bone.
Thanks for the laughs and the great info.
Ahhhhhh, don't worry about the car Tom, they didn't come up with FIAT by chance "F"-ix "I"t "A"gain, "T"ony !
<2003 Montefalco Rosso Scacciadiavoloi, which took us less time to drink than to spell>
Wine is a beautiful thing, isn't it??
Still laughing more than the law allows, many thanks.
Cin, cin. ~Tiff
I'm topping b/c I'm ready for the next installment, Tom
Hi Tom, keep it up, it's still raining here. i don't drive but am the map reader but what bugs me is figuring out how some radios work.
Marianna, I missed you not being at todays lunch at the Boston GTG.
Keep the great report coming.
What a super fine report! You really know how to travel in style. Where to next?
Thanks everyone! I will pump out a few more today after my Sunday breakfast of pasta and espresso (with some grappa in it). I wonder where my mind is this morning?
DAY 5 - HEY, DON’T BE ASSISI, IT’S ONLY A HILL; AND THE 47-MINUTE PERUGIAN TOUR
After another nice Palazzo Bocci breakfast, the four intrepid travelers got in the car for the quick 15-minute drive to Assisi. We parked in the upper lot in a covered parking area, and started walking toward the Basilica di San Francesco. We obviously took the route less traveled.
We passed residences, and I soon had us on a path that the rest of the group thought might head in the wrong direction. Stubbornly I pressed on and fortunately we were on the right path to the Basilica. However, when I turned around again, it seemed I was alone (so much for Chivalry 101).
I got to the Basilica and waited for about 20 minutes until I saw the group heading toward me. They had made a little wrong turn and wondered why I had strayed so far ahead. As usual, I had no good answer.
The four of us had been here before nearly five years earlier, but wanted to return to give Assisi more time. We toured the Lower and Upper Church and walked down to the crypt that contains the venerated stone coffin of St. Francis. The entire experience is quite remarkable, even for a pseudo-Presbyterian like me.
Afterward, we walked through the town. Amazingly, every sight we wanted to see was uphill (or so it seemed to our tired legs).
We saw the church where St. Francis was baptized, the Roman Temple of Minerva, and after a quick bite to eat, we walked into the Santa Chiara, home of the bones of St. Clare (the more famous of the two St. Clares) and the crucifix that supposedly talked to St. Francis. My favorite fact about Clare is that she is the patron saint of television, although rumor has it that she disavows any knowledge of the Fox News Channel or UPN.
We had spent about four hours meandering the streets of Assisi, and when we got to the car, I saw a picture I had brought with me of a set of steps I wanted to see in Perugia. For some bizarre reason, I wanted to go to these steps. So we set off for Perugia, and wound our way up, up, up and parked in a nice little square with a statue in the middle.
Besides the steps, Perugia was on my radar only because of its unique and rather sordid history. In the bad old days, the ancient Perugians would dress up in deer hides and beaked helmets before summarily stoning each other to death. Now, that’s entertainment! Three popes were also poisoned to death here, so I figured we should at least make a quick stop.
And a quick stop it would have to be. We only had enough change for 47 minutes of parking, so armed only with a picture of some steps and not knowing if we were anywhere near those steps, we started on our quest (well, it was actually my quest, but since I was driving it also became a group quest. I started asking completely strangers, “Dove” and pointed to the picture. My first few inquires were met with puzzlement. Time was winding down.
Finally at the Fontana Maggiore in the Piazza IV Novembre, I saw a tour group. I asked the very pretty leader about the steps, and she told me it was a five-minute walk to see them. Amazingly, we found the steps, took some pretty cool pictures, and I relaxed having completed the quest.
Tracy then said, “I guess our next quest should be to get back to the car because we don’t have much time left.” I had completely forgotten that we only had a few minutes left, and no one really remembered what time we had parked.
Sure enough, when we got back to the car, there was one minute left before we would receive a ticket, and there was a carbineri waiting very near our car to do just that.
As we drove toward Spello, we started thinking about the town we thought was Foligno the day before. We had figured out it was Trevi, so we decided just to drive and take a quick look before we got back to the Palazzo Bocci. Trevi looked like a cute town, and I thought I saw a wide-open parking lot with empty spaces galore.
As I drove into the “lot”, Tracy exclaimed, “Tom, you idiot (an endearing expression I have heard quite often during the past 15 years), you are driving on the town square.” Sure enough, a few local Trevians looked on in awe as I drove in a bizarre circuitous route on their traffic-free square, a spot only seconds before where they were spending a pleasant Monday afternoon. I immediately surmised it was time for us to head back to Spello for the requisite wine break before dinner.
We had dinner at Il Pinturicchio in Spello. It was another nice meal. We all went to bed knowing that tomorrow we would head to our new hometown, St. Quirico d’Orcia via a stop in Gubbio and a ride up the “Bucket of Bolts.” Unknown to us at the time, we would also have to bid farewell to our means of transportation for the past few days.
TOMORROW: DEATH OF A RENTAL CAR
Enjoying my evening trip through Italy. Can't wait for tomorrow!
Terrific, tom.
>... there was a carbineri ...<
Shouldn't that be "carabinierO"?
Was he combing his hair and checking how he looked in your car mirror?
LOL! Tom did you read about the death of our rental car last year? 2004
What great timing Tom, I just poured a glass of Shiraz
ttt
Hi Tom,
We almost killed ourselves and our rental car last February in Germany. Fortunately all survived in our case although I am quite sure we were thoroughly cursed by several Germans who were likely scared to death my DH's driving...
Looking forward to more!!
>>there was one minute left before we would receive a ticket, and there was a carbineri waiting very near our car to do just that.<<
We've parked our car in metered zones dozens of times and many of these times we were very tardy in our return. Having never suffered any consequences nor, for that matter, seen an agent enforcing the law, we gradually slipped into the honor system. If I happened to have some coinage I'd send it in to the meter; if not, so be it...
Thanks Tom, l'm lovin' the serialized travelogue! (You evidently learned a thing or two from Mr Charles Dickens.)
) had enough travel savvy to remember that when he parked the car in a strange city in Italy, he should write down the street name so he could find his way back there. He carefully wrote "Senso Unico"... 
We too had that great Reverse Conundrum when renting a car in England (a Renault, I think). Pulled into a shopping area parking lot where we knew we could get out without reversing, and frantically called the rental office to find out the trick. (Why don't they put a card with the info in the glove compartment? Does anyone keep gloves in the glove compartment??) Now experience has taught us to check for reverse, gas tank locks, wipers and headlight controls before we drive merrily on our way.
A guy I know well (
More episodes please, Tom. This is way more fun than working (must be time to plan another Italy trip).
Oh how wonderful your travels are. I am passionate about Italy, and this report and is truly the best.
DAY 6 – DEATH OF A RENTAL CAR
Looking back, the day did have an ominous beginning. I woke about 3 am to a thundering rain. That wouldn’t have been bad if I hadn’t left my shoes out on the patio to air out after finding I had stepped in some dog pooh the day before. I dumped out the water and brought the shoes in to dry.
Then, at breakfast, Tracy and I saw Kim and Mary, neither one of them feeling well. Mary had been under the weather since we arrived (Thank God for that Airborne Cold Remedy I had been taking religiously for the past week), but Kim was now looking a little ill. He hadn’t gotten much sleep due an upset stomach.
Fortunately, I thought, he can get some sleep in the car, because we were headed for Gubbio, and then a 2 ½ - 3 hour drive to St. Quirico d’Orcia (or so we thought), where we would spend the next four nights.
We bade farewell to the Palazzo Bocci. As mentioned, it was a great hotel and Spello made a terrific Umbrian base. The phrase, “All roads lead to Spello” became our mantra because of its central locale in the region.
The drive to Gubbio, which some have called the most beautiful medieval town in Umbria (although it sounds like a long, lost Marx Brother to me), took about an hour and was very scenic. It was a hilly road with many twists and turns, but luckily it didn’t affect Kim’s stomach in a negative way. We knew we needed gas, but decided to get it on the way out of town.
We parked outside of town. Besides seeing what this town looked like, the main attraction we were looking for was a rickety funicular that would take us to the top of Monte Ingino. We had dubbed it the Bucket of Bolts from a report that said, "It holds two people, and gives ample time to admire the view and to study your cage's welding and bolts, which are all that lie between you and oblivion."
Kim, bad stomach and all, and Tracy were very much looking forward to this death-defying contraption, not only because they enjoyed these kind of things, but also that they know I am a tad frightened by them. Having a fear of heights (and greater fear of death), at least I was comforted by the fact that Tracy and Kim were having great fun at my expense. Mary, who has a much greater fear of heights (she passed on an Eiffel Tower visit on her first Paris trip), was a doubtful starter from the onset.
We strolled (we did a lot of strolling, so it seems) through town, took an elevator up to the Piazza Grande, which afforded beautiful countryside views, and then continued on another ten minutes to our appointed destination; the dreaded Bucket of Bolts. For the vertiginous amongst us, The Bucket of Bolts looked worse than the description. Two people stand in tandem in a ski-lift-type cage after making a running leap into the mechanism, which is closed at the last minute by a guy who seemed to get a kick at my look of imminent doom.
To her credit, Mary sucked it up, and she and Kim were the first to go, followed in the next death car by Tom and Tracy. As it always is, once we were off and rolling I loved it and the fantastic views, although mortality was never far from my mind. Once on top, I could only think of one thing…Campari, which I had at the little snack shop.
We hiked another 5 minutes up to the Rocca and the Basilica di Sant’Ubaldo . If you need some useless trivia for your next cocktail party, Ubaldo is the saint against demonic possession and migraine headaches. The Basilica holds the remains of Ubaldo. I wanted to see his body, because one hand is missing three fingers due to an overzealous manservant who chopped them off as souvenirs (and perhaps to put on Medieval E-Bay). However, there was a funeral going on (fortunately not ours), so we just took a quick glance at the church, walked back to the Bucket of Bolts and rode that bad boy to the bottom.
Back in town, there was one more important task to perform. Although my three traveling companions already knew this, I wanted to become a lunatic: an official Eugubian lunatic. To do this, so the legend states, one must run around the Fontana dei Matti (Fountain of the Mad) three times, all the while splashing yourself with water. Before I started, I backed up to take a picture of the fountain, tripped over a tiny barrier and fell on my ass. It was at this time I believe the locals started boarding up their houses.
I ran around the fountain three times, was deemed a lunatic (and perhaps an idiot) and we headed back to the car for the ride to St. Quirico. It was to be a leisurely 2 ½ drive to the Palazzo del Capitano, and I had us arriving at the appointed wine-drinking time of 5- 6 pm.
We stopped at an unmanned ESSO station for gas. After initially pausing at the Diesel pump, I went over to the Super. We looked for the manual on how to get the gas tank open, but sadly there was no manual. After a few minutes the “brain trust” figured that part out.
Our next job was to figure out how to pay. After five minutes, we got that part figured out, paid 70 euros to fill up, and it was on to St. Quirico. But you know better than that, don’t you?
After about one minute, the car sounded like my bicycle as a kid when it had baseball cards in the spokes, and it was missing more often than Angel hitters vs. the White Sox. I don’t know if they could see the panic in my eyes, but my passengers were beginning to feel uneasy. The car was beginning to feel undriveable.
We all agreed we should stop at the closed IP station up ahead to see what was wrong. Then came the words that have us all waking up in sweat to this very day. Kim exclaimed, “Oh my God, we put Super in a Diesel car.” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, here we were, four stranded, feeling rather stupid, Americans in the middle of virtually nowhere, all alone at a closed IP station in a car filled with the wrong gas. There haven’t been four longer faces since the Kerry family on election night 2004.
The only place on the car it said diesel was above the gas cap, under the lip, where it was nearly impossible to see, but, no matter, the damage had been done. We did have a Europcar help number. The good news was Kim had brought an international cell phone for some business he had to do during the trip. The bad news, there was only a busy signal at Europcar for half an hour.
We found a skinny hose and Kim, whose stomach wasn’t bad enough to begin with, tried to siphon the gas out. Although thinking I should offer him a Gas-X to lighten the mood, I decided against it. Siphoning did not work, but as despair set in, the guy who works at the station stopped by. Our first stroke of luck.
He told us about a tow tuck driver in Gubbio who might help us. The downside to that plan was it would cost a few thousand euro. Instead, he called Europcar and did finally got through to someone. He said they would call back. I paced while Tracy, Kim and Mary read.
An hour later, still no return call from Europcar. The guy at the station tried again and this time got through to Europcar in Perugia, where we had spent 47 of the nicest minutes of the trip the day before.
At 5:30 pm (about 3 ½ hours into the ordeal) a tow truck came and lifted our car onto the back of the truck. Mary and Tracy were offered the nice front seat in the tow truck, but what about Kim and Tom? Well, we climbed onto the truck and strapped ourselves in backward for the trip down the hill. It was Bucket of Bolts II, the Tourists Held Hostage.
Had we known what was going on up front during our journey, Kim and I probably would not have been so happy waving at Italian woman who were about to pass us on the winding road. According to Tracy, when the driver hit the first turn he looked back nervously to see if the car was still on the truck. She also said he drove much of the way with one hand (cell phone) and no hands and one knee when adjusting the visor to keep the glaring sun from coming in.
But drive he did, and the girls said he was very nice, and they knew much of his life story by the time he reached our final destination, which was, thankfully, Perugia. There was tons of traffic, and Kim and I were oblivious to where we were headed. We saw a Europcar office and thought, “Man, if only we could stop here,” but it looked closed.
Suddenly we saw the driver and Tracy head toward us, and Mary made a mad dash to the office. As it turned out, the driver was on the cell phone to the guy at Europcar, who stayed ½ hour late to wait for those gas-impaired Americans.
The Europcar guy was nice and even a bit funny. After telling us we were not the first Americans to ever do this, he said in his best English, “I probably don’t have to tell you this, but this car is diesel.”
We thanked him and tipped both he and the driver (we also tipped the guy at the IP station). As I walked away he added, “Oh, by the way, to put the car in reverse you pull up on the ring.” I wondered if he had seen a video from Spello.
We all felt very lucky that our day had turned out like this, because just two hours before, things looked bleak, although Kim had said at the time, “In 24 hours, this won’t be a big deal.”
We had called the Palazzo del Capitano and told them we would be late. We pulled in at 8:30 pm, saw our beautiful rooms and went in search of food. After sipping gasoline for lunch, a dinner of real food sounded good to Kim.
We stopped at Il Tinaio on St. Quirico's main walking street, where we had a terrific dinner. The highlight dish was a ribollito (bread soup) that Mary and Tracy ordered. Kim and Mary headed off to a well-deserved sleep, while Tracy and I stayed to have a nightcap, go over our incredible day and toast our very good fortune.
Outside of “don’t put the wrong gas in your rental car,” I think the moral of the day was that if you treat people nicely and with respect, they usually will treat you nicely, no matter where you are. Had it not been for three very caring people (the guy at the IP, the tow-truck driver who stayed on the phone for a good part of an hour with Europcar and the Europcar guy himself), the outcome could have been much different.
“Wow, that was one wild day,” I said, sipping my Campari nightcap.
Without missing a beat, Tracy replied, “Well, at least you have a good story for the board now.”
NEXT – PECORINO IS MY LIFE
One more thing regarding the rental car death. We had originally stopped it at the IP station near one of the pumps. We put the car into neutral to push it out of the way (even though the station was closed), and yours truly was in such a state of shock about the gas incident that I started pressing the clutch instead of the brake to stop its ever-increasing forward momentum.
I rolled out of the lot onto a grassy area where I had to make a sharp turn to avert hitting a tree (damn, it sounds even worse than it was, and it was pretty bad at the time). I felt like one of those old Audi drivers on 60 Minutes who hit the accelator instead of the brake and drive through a restaurant window.
Anyway, we decided to try and make us look less stupid (like that was possible) by pushing the car back onto the parking area of the service station. Never has one rental car been pushed backward so often.
Quite a day, indeed!
Tom, I look forward to the "Pecorino is my life" story. I returned 2 weeks ago from 18 days in Italy, including 3 nights in Pienza, and absolutely loved the Pecorino. Made my suitcase heavy on the way home!
Oh Tom hurry up with the your next installment. I can't wait to hear about your experience in Tuscany.
We stayed at Palazzo del Capitano too and loved it. After Bob the Nav and you mentioned you would be staying there, I reserved a room there for our April 2005 trip. We stayed in the Capricorn room which was huge! The garden was not available because the weather was too cool.
The staff was very accomodating. They "loaned" us 90E the first night when we went to pay for dinner and no credit cards were accepted. I was the appointed "banker" to find the cash to pay so I ran back to the hotel and pleaded for money otherwise we would be offering our first born or washing dishes. Luckily they the came through and the "loan" charge was on our bill when we left.
Hurry up with your trip report.
Gail
ROTFL, maitaitom, I didn't have free time to get back to your thread until tonight. I am laughing myself silly!!! I have said before a few times and I will say again..travel magazine writers are so boring compared to some of our Fodorites! I absolutely love your trip report and especially your attitude and sense of humor during the difficult parts of the trip.
Being a bit uncomfortable with heights myself I can only imagine how you felt in the "Bucket of Bolts"! You are truly a good sport and a great traveller. And Kim sounds like he is also. Well all of you actually.
I am so looking forward to the next segment of your trip. Thank you again for all the good chuckles. Take care.
OMG …
Tom, I did the SAME thing about three years ago in SW France, except I put leaded gas into an unleaded engine (not diesel).
Lesson learned: Real women should not pump gas – Ger must always use a full service station!
I have an entire trip report that centres around those few awful hours when I was alone, carless and helpless in SW France! Like you, I was amazed at how decent, helpful and kind people were and that within 24 hours I had procession of a new car.
I look forward to more.
Yours in empathy Ger
Whew, quite a read - quite the adventure - and an excellent telling of it. Thank you maitaitom
Continued utter brilliance.
The bad news is that my stomach hurts from laughing.
The good news? I won't have to do my tummy crunches come morning.
Ah, the joy.
Many thanks!
>>we managed to trash one rental car (a precautionary tale of stupidity from the first part of our trip)<<
Tom - will there be a hefty charge appearing on your next credit card statement?
This is priceless! And if it makes you feel any better, we've actually done this TWICE! - once in St-Cirq, where we had to be towed down the hillside in a huge flatbed truck with every "Deliverance" understudy gaping at us by the side of the road, and once outside Anzio the night before we had to catch a plane home from Rome. Hard to believe we could be that stupid, but there you have it!
Superb!
I'll never forget the time our rental car wouldn't start. Something happened to our "clicker" - we could open the door but the engine wouldn't turn over. No extra keys, no cell phone, nothing opened in town, except the bar at a tiny hotel with a guy who spoke no English. Ahhh, the memories.
Superb writing! I'm enjoying every second of your trip.
Thanks!
Hi there. Great report - thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.
Last year when we were in Montalcino my husband and I had quite the experience with our rental car too. As you know it is a very hilly town and full of one way streets. On the first day we were trying to find the street behind our hotel to park and had such trouble remembering where it was. After driving around the town for what seemed like hours we finally found what we thought was the street and started down it only to realize it was an alleyway leading to a dead end. Sort of a back entry to people's garages!
Long story short we ended up trying to turn around and were unable to do so due to the narrow width and steep drop off to the valley below on the other side. Finally, a little old man came out of his house looking at us like we were aliens and started to open his garage door which was at the very end of the alley. He gestured to us to turn around and back into his garage so we could drive out. After much gesturing we figured it out and made several attempts before we were successful. Of course, we were driving a standard and my poor husband who is normally a great driver and drives shift all the time took many tries before he was able to stop the car from stalling and backed into the garage and finally pointed in the right direction.
The look on this little old man's face was priceless. He obviously thought we were the dumbest people alive and I guess we were at that moment.
Driving in these little hill towns obviously is something to get used to but it does provide you with some pretty funny stories.
Keep writing "maitaitom".
Tom,I think you are now qualified to be on "The Amazing Race"!
Love your self-deprecating humor, Tom.
I too am a proud member of the "reverse conundrum" club having driven from Nice to Manosque for 2 hours, 6 years ago, before finding out how to reverse from the bewildered doorman who greeted me at my Manosque residence. "Madame came all the way from Nice?..."
Also, just got back from Italy having driven a diesel car. Got a stern warning from the Hertz guy at the counter, and as I was whimpering something about never having driven a diesel car before, he reassured me that there is no difference other than superior fuel efficiency, etc....
Look forward to more of your inspired writing
-e
"We stayed at Palazzo del Capitano too and loved it."
I'll get to Palazzo del Capitano part later today. I will say it was our best hotel experience in Europe...ever! What a great place.
GER and St. Cirq: I feel your gasoline pain. It is a pretty bad feeling when you do that, but it made any other minor inconvenience just that...minor.
Oh well, thanks for the comments, back to work and more later.
I learned to look carefully at the fuel pumps a few years ago in Texas.
We were headed to AZ for my daughter's wedding and pulled in for gas.
There were two hoses at the same pumping station labeled "Premium". I grabbed one and filled the tank with diesel.
Fortunately, the car died in the parking lot and we were able to call a very good dealership that got us back on the road within about 5 hrs.
On our visit to France, in a diesel, my Lady Wife got out at every stop to make sure that I wasn't putting gasoline into the car.
maitaitom, I think I am in love with you! (yes, yes, I know you have the lovely wife, but humor is the best aphrodisiac and reading this is soooo much better than actually working.)
re: Foligno...It wasn't you! We stayed in the Umbrian hills in late May and on three unfortunate occasions got completely lost in the twilight zone that is Foligno...I feel better now; maybe we weren't the idiots we thought we were.
We didn't trash the car, but are down two cameras (one in London, one in Venice) and a cell phone that took a swim in an Umbrian swimming pool.
St Clare vs Fox network -- love it!
Keep it coming, it's only Tuesday and I have midterms to grade...save me.
LOL annabelle, does it help or hurt to tell you that I've met Tom in person, and he's just as handsome and charming in person as you probably imagine?
Send her my regards.
Tom, keep it coming, I'm hanging on to your every word. Kudos to Tracy for being such a good sport.
"I've met Tom in person, and he's just as handsome and charming in person..."
Jocelyn, you know that wacky Amarone can play tricks on your memory, but thanks for the kind words. Tracy says "hello."
I was hoping annabelle2's words might make Tracy jealous, but Tracy said she would be happy to auction me off because she needs the extra money to pay off the Europcar bill. I told her the $2.35 I would fetch wouldn't quite pay the bill.
Ira, I understand. I believe Tracy will ask me every time we're at a gas station if I'm putting in the right mixture (well, unless she can auction me off).
Pecorino Land is coming up shortly. Stay tuned and thanks for the comments.
Really enjoying your report and your humor and good nature. Looking forward to the rest.
Looking forward to the next installment Tom. Your report makes work go by just a little bit faster
Jocelyn:
Wow, funny, smart, attractive AND a great traveler...
Maitaitom, are you clonable? And Tracy sounds like a hoot; can I tag along on the next trip? I can't drive a stick but I can combine alcohol with ambien to no ill effects.
More installments soon, please.
AH! When you first mentioned you would be fueling up the car before continuing on, I guessed what you did....(fortunately that's one mistake we didn't make).
All we ever saw of Perugia was the EuroCar office -- as that's where the lady showed us how to put our car into reverse. That office should get a special award for customer service.
Thank you, maitai! for a great read every day!
Another wonderful segment from a Beautiful American!
DAY SEVEN – PECORINO IS MY LIFE
Tracy and I awoke undaunted from yesterday’s traumatic adventure and looked forward to new travels, which we hoped would not include anything to do with a gas tank. Kim and Mary had also recovered nicely, and the four of us had a good breakfast at the Palazzo del Capitano.
We all really liked our rooms. We were in the Leone (I’m a Leo), while Kim and Mary were in the Gemelli, since Mary was a twin and Kim and Mary were parents of twins. The breakfast room was nice, and we met couples from Oakland and Germany. After breakfast, we went into the back garden of the hotel, a huge space with lounge chairs, tables and an abundance of beautiful flowers. What a great area!
I don’t know if it was that beauty of the garden or the knowledge that I was going to get behind the wheel again, but Kim and Mary said they were going to spend the morning reading and relaxing in the garden, and we told them we’d pick them up in the early afternoon for sightseeing.
Tracy and I got in the car and drove to our first stop, Bagno Vignoni (less than 10 minutes from St. Quirico), the place where people like St. Catherine of Siena and Lorenzo the Magnificent came to sooth their aching bodies in the thermal baths, which had been renowned for their healing powers. Lorenzo had a great quote: “Whoever wants to be happy, let him be so; about tomorrow there's no knowing." Obviously, he realized the perils of filling up a rental car with the wrong gas.
Having already showered, Tracy and I did not need a bath, not that we could have gone in the huge pool in the town’s piazza, anyway. The town was charming, and we spotted a restaurant, Osteria dei Leone, that looked very good, and thought it might be fun to come back for dinner here.
From Bagno, you can see a fortress high on the hill called Rocca d’Orcia. We drove up to the town, and took in the beautiful views and dreamed we owned one of the properties that overlooked the gorgeous Val d’Orcia.
With great views to behold at every vista and a beautiful woman by my side, there was only one thing on my mind. You got it…Pecorino. It was on to Pecorino Central, the lovely town of Pienza.
In 2001, Tracy, Mary, Kim and I (yes, they went with us on this trip knowing the dangers at hand from a previous journey) had visited Pienza and spent some time in a cheese store eating Pecorino, as the lovely proprietor plied us with wine. About a ½ hour and bottle of wine later, we left the store and had a Pecorino picnic in Montepulciano. From that day on, the four of us have been Pecorino devotees (tonight after I post this report, Tracy and I…OK, mostly Tracy… are making ravioli, stuffed with Pecorino, Pears and Mascarpone).
It was a gorgeous day, and as we walked around Pienza and smelled the Pecorino from the various shops selling the cheese from heaven, we decided we could either stay here for lunch or go to a little place I had read about in the town of Monticchiello. We both decided we should head to Monticchiello.
For a tiny town, Monticchiello has an interesting history including one event from World War II. On April 6, 1944, the Prefect of Siena, during the Fascist Republic, dispatched 450 available men to Monticchiello, to confront a small group of partisans camped around the town. The Fascists were forced to retreat, but revenge was on their mind. The next morning at dawn, a German division reached Monticchiello with orders to find and shoot all the inhabitants. Soldiers broke into the houses, rounded up the people and lined them all up against the wall outside the town gate for execution. Thanks to the intervention from the German wife of one of Monticchiello's landowners, and the help of a priest, Don Marino Torriti, the execution was averted. A monument now commemorates the event, which is on the wall intended for their executions.
Tracy and I, however, came in peace. Of course, not before terrorizing citizens with some more erratic driving. Reaching the gate and realizing I could go no further, I proceeded to back down the hill from whence I came (using the reverse ring to accurate perfection). We walked up the hill to the Osteria La Porta near the gate into town.
We got a table on the patio with incredible views and even more incredible food. Now here is a shock, I ordered Ravioli alla Pecorino. The tomatoes on the Pomodoro Bruschetta tasted like candy. The ravioli was incredible. We could have dined here for every meal, but a German film crew was setting up to shoot a movie for the next few days, and the restaurant would be closed. An interesting dichotomy don’t you think? Sixty years ago Germans came to Monticchiello to shoot its citizens, now they were coming to shoot a movie. Quite an improvement, I must say.
Afterward, it was back to St. Quirico d’Orcia to pick up Kim and Mary. They looked relaxed and ready to get back on the road. Kim reminded me it had been 24 hours since our ordeal, and sure enough it was a distant memory (at least until the bill comes).
We took them by the Bagno restaurant, took some photos and it was on to the town that you can see from all vantage points in the area, Radicofani. It, not surprisingly, has a rocca fortress, and we decided that all these medieval people had way too much time on their hands, which is why they kept invading and killing each other.
This was also the place where Ghino do Tacco kept the Abbot of Cluny hostage for a while. It’s an interesting story you should look up online. A hint: Ghino had a nice side to him after all, which is why I now call him the Soft Tacco.
We drove back to St. Quirico, via Pienza, so Kim and Mary could get a whiff of the Pienza Pecorino at it’s finest.
That night we dined at Osteria dei Leone in Bagno Vignoni, and although the meal was good, it didn’t quite live up to our expectations, except for an excellent risotto. The Nobile di Montalcino was good enough that we ordered a second.
Since he did not drink too much wine, unlike some other guy we know, Kim drove us back to the hotel. We got to bed pretty early because tomorrow we were going to five different hill towns and we needed rest.
NEXT - THE FIVE BEST HILL TOWNS MOST PEOPLE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF OR VISITED
Ah, sweet memories! Tasting three different Pecorinos in Pienza, each a bit more aged. Lunch on the piazza in Bagno Vinoni. We were there in summer so we paid a day fee and swam in the pool at the hotel. I remember sitting there looking at the fortress on the hill, like something out of a movie.
We visited Montecchiello, too, but we had dinner there, at the Taverna di Moranda inside town. It was fabulous food, and our first bottle of Nobile which we loved.
Looking forward to more. The ravioli sound amazing. I don't suppose you could get Tracy to email the recipe?
Maitaitom, have you read War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944 by Iris Origo?
It sure makes touring the area interesting and you can visit her gardens which are so beautiful.
Thanks SeaUrchin for the heads up. I just went on Amazon and bought it. It sounds very interesting.
Marilyn, as soon as we get it perfected, we will e-mail you the ravioli recipe.
Glad to see Iris Origo's war diary mentioned here. It was fascinating and harrowing at times, as much for what is left to the imagination as for what is explicitly chronicled. And, she apparently made the decision to have her war diary published as it was, not with an edit from the present day (when published) point of view.
Could you post the ravioli recipe at the end of the thread perhaps? It sounds divine and I'm sure many of us would love to try it. Thanks for yet another awesome installment.
I don't want to hijack the thread, but here is the book on La Foce, Iris Origo's villa and gardens. The estate also rents the farm homes now to the public:
LA Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture) (Hardcover-Amazon)
Thanks, Tom! When are you going to make it up here for a GTG?
VERY Entertaining, thank you.
Your trip report is so much fun - can't wait to read the rest!!
Tom - what day did you have lunch at La Porta in Montichiello? I think we might have been there also enjoying a lunch to die for - the zucchini omelette was heavenly - while observing all the commotion of the film crew setting up. We stayed in an apartment in this lovely village and thought it to be a wonderful base for exploring Southern Tuscany.
"Tom - what day did you have lunch at La Porta in Montichiello?"
It was on Wednesday, September 21 at about 1 pm.
We couldn't go on Thursday, and they were going to start filming on Friday.
Wow - what a coincidence. That is the day we were there, and at that time. We sat in a little table for two right next to the steps from the patio to the restaurant. What a small world!
I'm loving your trip report, by the way - I'd post my own if I could even come close to conveying it all as wonderfully as you do.
Bravissimo! What a fun read!! Can't wait for the next installment. I hurried past the reponse posts just to read about your trip.
This is indeed a wonderful trip report. Now I can't wait to go back to Italy.
Thanks, Tom.
Judy
I really love this trip report.
Please...
More..
Ah, that wacky Lorenzo the Magnificent!
Your report is terrific--I'm eager for more!
Okay -- I leave for a week in Paris [in the other wine country] on Monday and I NEED this to be finished by then
Otherwise I will be reduced to finding an internet cafe when I should be drinking my own wine! So please ... pretty plleeeeeeasssssee???
DAY EIGHT – THE BEST FIVE HILL TOWNS MOST PEOPLE NEVER HEARD OF OR VISITED
Although many Fodorites know the towns we were going to visit this day, I feel it is safe to say that most people who visit Italy have never been to any of these five.
We filled up on the Palazzo del Capitano breakfast (did I tell you much we loved this hotel) because we had a big day of driving ahead of us. In planning our Italy trip, I compiled reams of information on various towns we could visit in Tuscany and Umbria. Today would be the day we would travel to five hill towns that don’t receive much coverage in the guidebooks.
Even with the car incident, Kim had decided that I should start Tom’s Tuscan Tours, because of the details I had in my pre-planning, which included information on restaurants, history, shopping and sites to see in all the towns we had been to and were about to go. He thought I should take groups on these adventures. It might be fun, but a group with a negative attitude could make that kind of job pretty miserable.
Tom’s Tuscan Tours on this day started from St. Quirico and wound past Rocca d’Orcia until we were on the Strada dei Vin. Heading for our first hill town of the day, Arcidosso.
This quaint hill town (and really, aren't they all) in the Monte Amiata area (a region known for its mystics and seers throughout history) was home of the mystical 19th century prophet, Davide Lazzaretti, who, in a Jim Jones moment, proclaimed “he would be King and would reign over a kingdom of justice in the final age of the world.” Unfortunately for him, the carabineiri (Federal troops) shot him to death before he could reach that lofty goal.
We parked and walked through the ancient part of town until we reached the Castello Aldobrandesco, which dates back to the 12th century. For one euro apiece we could climb the multitude of steps to the top. Since we had never met a set of stairs we couldn’t climb, up we went. The view was great, and, afterward, we walked over to the Madonna Incoronata, supposedly a neat church to visit. Since it was closed, we never got to find that out. Arcidosso is also host to a large Buddhist community, but this was no time for meditation. We had more hill towns to explore on Tom’s Tuscan Tours.
Our next village was about an hour’s drive away. There was more incredible scenery along the route, and finally, there in the distance, lay our next stop, Roccalbegna. I don’t know how many of you are Harry Chapin fans, but he had a song called “The Rock,” which told the story of a rock (hence the name) which hung precariously over a town.
Well, Roccalbegna has just such a huge rock that dominates the town. Roccalbegnans have a saying, "Se il sasso scrocca, addio la Rocca." Translated it means, "If the rock crumbles, goodbye to the village (and I assumed, any California tourists in the general vicinity)."
Tracy was giving me the “evil eye” when I said we were going to climb to the top of the rocca on the rock. I told her that Tom’s Tuscan Tours does not back down when it comes to climbing, so off we went.
For anyone who wants to do this, it’s simple. Starting at Piazza IV Novembre, go to Salito Sassa (to the front of you and on the right). Turn left at Salito Sassa (look for the yellow sign); go past the Bar-Tabacchi (unless you need a drink or a smoke) on your left, meander along a winding lane and, in about ten minutes, you are at the town fortress.
The climb up to the top of the Rocca once you get there is steep, and we almost had our first casualty of the trip (well, first human casualty. As Tracy neared the top, there was a snap. Unfortunately, it was not a tree branch, but Tracy’s ankle. Thankfully, the injury did not turn out to be serious, but I started getting “the look” a little more from this time on.
The views of the countryside were fantastic, but the view down on the grid-like streets and red roofs are what struck us most (at some time in the near future, I will put this report on my blog site with pictures and you can see what I mean). We made it down with no further incident.
If you come to Roccalbegna in November, you could become a part of the famed Focarazza Festival, which commemorates the martyrdom of the saint for which the town is named. The Focarazza is a fire festival held in Santa Caterina di Roccalbegna. The ceremony goes something like this: An oak trunk, called a Stollo, with garlands of ivy, is raised. The next day the Stollo is the object of a contest among all the districts of Roccalbegna. The team that catches the Stollo burns it and spreads its ashes to ensure good harvest. I don’t know exactly how this contest is staged, but needless to say, the fire departments of Tuscany are on high alert that day.
Since Roccalbegna is off the beaten path, we saw no tourists. I went to the nearby TI to get directions to our next stop, and it was obvious he had seen no tourists for a while, either. This guy was really nice, and I think he would have chatted with me all day. He gave me maps of the winemaking areas nearby, a book about the area, and everyone in the office thought it was cool we were from California. “We don’t get many people from California, “ he said. “How did you find us?” As usual, I had no good answer, but it was fun to talk to him and the others in the office.
The rest of my group had sat patiently wondering (hoping) I’d been abducted. I said I had directions, and we promptly drove three kilometers in the wrong direction (Tracy is right…I am not a good listener). My miscue turned out great for us (as driving miscues often do), because driving back toward Roccalbegna provided a sensational photographic opportunity.
Our next stop on this day was Sovana, located on the Pitigliano, Sorano, Sovana "Sunken Etruscan Road", which, of course, gives away the names of our final two hill towns. Some people believed these roads were sunken as a defensive measure so people could move unseen from town to town (sort of like when Alan Keyes moved from Gaithersburg, Maryland, to Chicago to try and win an election). Unlike Keyes, this worked for these citizens. Others think that the roads were constructed to help mooooove livestock, which Tracy thought was udderly ridiculous.
In any event, since I had deprived my tour group from food, we all stopped for a healthy, late lunch of gelato and gelato crepes (part of our Five A Day helpings of gelato). By now, our cholesterols counts were all nearing 1,000, so an extra helping couldn’t hurt. Sovana was a nice town, but the next two towns blew us away.
The drive into Sorano, with the road cur into the tufa, is something to behold. We parked a little outside the town and took photos of the town carved into the rock, and of the road below. It kind of reminded of us of the Cinque Terre sans the Ligurian Sea. What could top this, we thought?
Well, about nine kilometers or so away is Pitigliano, a town that even has more spectacular views of it from many vantage points. Thank God for digital because Kim and I spent 20 minutes just shooting it from any angle we could.
It was after 4 pm, and all our bodies got the same craving at the same time. Vino, baby! Fortunately Pitigliano has wine caves at every turn selling local vino, olive oil and packages of ribollito.
We bought some local wine at ridiculously cheap prices and soup mix, and soon we were headed back to Spello. Although we made a wrong turn somewhere, navigator Tracy took things in her own hand, and soon we saw Radicofani on the right, so we knew we were headed home.
It had been a long satisfying day exploring these five “undiscovered” gems, so we were all pretty hungry, and the hotel’s restaurant, Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno beckoned us. It has two rooms on two floors and is absolutely charming, not to mention serves good food. Kim’s pesto pasta was deemed best dish of the night while Tracy renewed her three week love affair with everything arugula, this time in a salad with pecorino and walnuts.
There is another post going on right now that had someone saying it was basically crazy to drive in Europe. Today’s journey proved just how inaccurate and plain ignorant that comment happens to be. Had we not had a car, we would not have been able to visit any of these places. This day was our most scenic driving day of the entire trip, and exceeded even my most detailed pre-planning preparation expectations. The signage was great. The directions the gentleman in Roccalbegna gave us were perfect, even though I started out in the wrong direction. And the memories of the day will last a lifetime.
I can’t repeat my mantra enough. Enjoy the Journey! Attitude is Everything!
NEXT: IT’S BRUNELLO TIME, ABBEY LANE AND FINAL COMMENTS ON OUR FAVORITE HOTEL…EVER!
I bought an anniversary card which sends best wishes and may you never do anything that causes "the look". My DH accuses me of the look-does Tracy raise her eyebrow when she does it?
Great report!
Oh, it all sounds so beautiful!
Tom, you do realize, don't you, that by describing these undiscovered hilltowns so eloquently here on Fodors they could become the next "hot spots?" I think you're only a trip report or two away from all of us following in lockstep behind you, a la Rick Steves!
Tom, we've been to the last three towns you visited, but not the first two, so they are going on the list for future trips! When we were in Sovana about 5 years ago, it seemed to be trying to remake itself from a ghost town into an artist colony, although they hadn't attracted much in the way of talent that impressed us. Did you see any evidence of that?
Don't you agree that the views of Pitigliano are much better outside the town than inside? We were kind of disappointed once we actually got inside but it does have wonderful photo-ops as you approach.
Another town in that area that we enjoyed exploring was Montemerano.
Thanks for a great report.
Joselyn, I was just thinking the same thing!
Tom, you have me drooling on the keyboard! Breathtaking... I have yet to cross the pond, but Italy is first on my list... unbelievable reporting.
Keep on!
This is so entertaining! However, my recently stated affections for you, maitaitom, are (just barely) taking second place to my affections for your wife! All things arugula! Me, too. Especially loved it on pizza in Rome. Oh how I love that bitter green taste...brought home seeds to plant in the spring.
More, please!
Hi Tom!
Your trip sounds just great and your sense of humor a hoot! Too bad we didn't get to meet for a glass of vino!
For me, Palazzo Bocci in Spello was the best hotel of the trip and I agree completely with you on the mouthwatering filet w/ balsamic sauce in Il Molino. Good for you choosing to leave La Cantina for Il Molino. the dinner I had there wasn't nearly as good as Il Molino.
I got a kick out of the "Bucket of Bolts" too. The running start loading method especially!
Please continue! I can't wait to hear more.....
No problem Jocelyn, I'll be happy to lead the tour, but I don't have to get that goofy Rick Steves' haircut do I?
donco, Tracy has that Spock raised eyebrow thing going when she gives me "the look." I try to mimic it, but I just look like a fool.
nonnafelice, Sovana was still very uncrowded and agree that Pitigliano is better as a view town, although I enjoyed the wine cave.
makai1, you'll make it over the pond and have a wonderful time.
annabelle2, I should have know the arugula would bring you two together.
Thanks for all the fun comments.
"Your trip sounds just great and your sense of humor a hoot! Too bad we didn't get to meet for a glass of vino!:
Dayle, it would have been fun. Loved both the Palazzos; Bocci and del Capitano. Glad you had a great time. Next time I'll buy the first round.
"I can’t repeat my mantra enough. Enjoy the Journey! Attitude is Everything"!
Well said, Tom! I am loving this trip report and am taking lots of notes.
By the way, if you go for the Rick Steves haircut, remember the look would not be complete without the blue short sleeved shirt and tan pants!
Thanks for taking the time to write about your travels. Can't wait for the pictures.
Johanna
Wow, what a way to start the morning, by reading your report. I'm glued to every word.
I feel like an ignoramus - don't think I've tasted Pecorino cheese. Will have to pick some up today at the market.
And what are gelato crepes?
Tom,
This is perhaps my favorite report of the year - and that is saying something because there have been some great ones this year!
I am so enjoying your writing style - I keep hoping there's more. Thank goodness it was a 22 day journey!
Thanks so much and please keep going!
Sally
This will give us something to talk about at our GTG this Saturday. Hurry up and post about the Brunello to put us in the spirit.
Sally, what type of toga are you wearing on Saturday -- Oh, Oops, sorry, that's for another GTG.
I am so loving this report! I've never heard of four of the towns you visited, but I have heard of Pitigliano and its definitely on my list of "must visit" places! I'm printing off this thread because, as you may recall (since you were so gracious enough to respond) I posted a few days ago about Umbria and if I needed to spend the week in one place or not. I'm on a hunt for great hill towns to visit, and I'm sure the ones you visited won't dissapoint.
Thanks again for such a pleasurable report!
Tracy
DAY NINE - IT’S BRUNELLO TIME, ABBEY LANE AND FINAL COMMENTS ON OUR FAVORITE HOTEL…EVER!
Today’s installment will be a short one. After yesterday’s big drive, I promised an easy day. After breakfast, we made the short drive to Montalcino, the home of Brunello; Italy’s “Big Red” vino.
It had been hours since I had made a driving error, so I thought I’d regale the passengers with another one. Trying to find the correct street to the Fortezza, I somehow found a dirt road with a very steep downgrade. Fortunately, I was able to find a spot to turnaround before the car plummeted off the cliff.
After parking, we walked through town, which was having a market day. We all had varying opinions of market days. Kim and Mary thought they were kind of neat, while Tracy and I thought it was more like a bad flea market. But we had vino on our mind.
We got to the Fortezza. Tracy and I climbed to the top and walked around the ramparts, taking a bunch of pictures. Afterward, it was time to spend our life savings on Brunello. Actually, Kim and I each did a 9-euro tasting of Brunellos, and I bought one for about 60 bucks.
After buying some provisions at the local market, we headed to Abbey Sant ‘Antimo, located a few kilometers away. We drove down the Abbey lane to the parking lot. We had hoped to have a picnic while listening to Gregorian chants, but unfortunately our Brunello tasting put us at the abbey only minutes after the monks had finished their chanting. It would be two hours until they would chant again, so we paid a visit to the abbey, which, after seeing so many opulent churches, was quite beautiful in a simpler sort of way.
In the early afternoon, we went back to St. Quirico and stopped in the Collegiata St. Quirico. If I have my saints correct, St Quirico was a third century martyr killed at the age of five by the Romans because he declared himself a Christian.
We also took a look at the Horti Leonini, which is a 16th century garden comprised mostly of box hedges. As usual, I was having trouble finding beautiful gardens for Tracy, a recurrent theme in our European adventures.
Both Kim and I went to an Internet café to look and see if we had any important work messages. Tracy just wanted to know if anyone had visited our cats at The Cat Hotel in Burbank. The cats were doing fine, only our Tabby, Cupid, was pouting because I didn’t spend the extra dollars to put him in a cage with the television that showed 24 hours of Animal Planet.
After wading through more than 500 e-mails, mostly telling me where I could buy cheap Viagra and Xanax, and seeing that the San Diego Padres were still amazingly in first place, we went back to the hotel and, well I’ll leave that to your imagination.
About the Palazzo del Capitano. This hotel was superb. The people who worked the front desk were extremely friendly and helpful in giving us directions or anything else we needed. Both rooms were spectacular (ours was 150 euros a night; Kim and Mary’s 130 euros a night). I would book now, because I guarantee within the next couple of years, those rates will go up. The owners were also very nice.
That evening, the four of us sat with another couple from the Bay Area in the garden drinking Prosecco and wine, and munching on some of our provisions. The garden is another aspect of the hotel that stands out. It’s huge and beautiful. When my pictures are on my blog, you will just have to take a look.
As stated earlier, I can’t recommend this hotel enough. This was my 13th visit to Europe, and for value, cleanliness, beauty and service, it was our best hotel experience we have had.
St. Quirico d"Orcia is also a very central base to see much of the area and is much less touristy and crowded than a Pienza, Montalcino or Montepulciano (which we visited in 2001). The corner restaurant/bar on the "main" drag was filled one night with locals watching a soccer match and playing cards.
Back to food and drinking. Even after wine and cheese, we were hungry (there is something weird about Italy in that no matter how much you eat, you just have to eat more…there must be something in the Prosecco).
We dined again at the hotel restaurant, the aforementioned Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno. I had the big appetite on this night, devouring a meal of prosciutto y meloné, ravioli with pecorino sauce, baked pecorino with arugula and, for good measure, topping it off with some Biscotti dipped in Vin Santo.
Back at the hotel, we had after-dinner drinks in the breakfast room area of the hotel, which also has a cozy bar. We toasted the hotel with various libations including Limoncello, Campari (wonder who ordered that) and some Amaretto.
We would be saying arrivederci to St. Quirico tomorrow morning and driving through the Crete area to Siena, where we were scheduled to stay four nights. As you will find out, that four-night stay became a two-night stay for various reasons. Stay tuned.
NEXT: THAT’S THE TICKET, AN AWESOME ABBEY AND A SIENA SURPRISE
Oh puhleeeease don't make us wait until Monday for another installment!
Tom, I can't thank Bob the Nav enough for suggesting this location and hotel. This location makes it so easy to tour So Tuscany. Like you said close enough to visit the often mentioned hill towns of Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano but away from the crowds.
We stayed in the Capricorn room which was huge. It is on the first floor right outside the door to the garden.
We paid 195E. I think you should have not been so enthusiatic about this place because it will soon be overrun, reservations will be hard to come by along with an increase in price!
We ate at all the restaurants in town except for one. My best meal was at the Bar Central. They serve what I consider Italian comfort food and for very little money. We did eat at the bar where the locals were watching soccer. It appears to be a popular family place, always crowded. Good pizza.
Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno was good but what I most remember about it was all the bottles of wine...stacks and stacks of crates around the restaurant filled with bottles. All unopened waiting to be tasted.
Where is next year's trip? We are going to Sicily.
Gail
"Trattoria Al Vecchio Forno was good but what I most remember about it was all the bottles of wine...stacks and stacks of crates around the restaurant filled with bottles. All unopened waiting to be tasted."
We also noticed that, although there were far fewer full bottles after we got through.
Yes, I hope my effusive praise doesn't cause a price increase. It already is very popular, as I overheard on many occasions the people at the desk telling people, "We are sold out at that time."
I think next year might be a week in Paris for Tracy's birthday, but we are looking at Eastern Europe as our next "long" adventure, perhaps in 2007.
Sigh... wonderful. I want to go to Italy right now!
I'm voting this thread to the very top of the Best of Travel Talk list!
But you and Marilyn (on another thread), who dare to dangle bits and pieces of your ventures in front of us hungry readers, are driving me crazy!
Tom, I totally agree with you on the eating thing...I always seem to eat myself silly. I would swear that "tomorrow, I won't eat a thing!" Yep. Think again.
Anyway, the real reason for my post is to beg you to please be sure to post the address for your blog, so we can all check out your pictures!
Tom and Tracy, you kids sure know how to travel. Enjoying your report immensely. YOUR Padres have disappointed me again but I'm so used to it.
topping in case the weekenders haven't found this...
Hi Treesa!
tom, you are doing a great job reporting the hi-lights of our trip. Don't forget our mantra, stolen from Gundlach Bundschu " 4 bottles a day is all we ask!" and the fabulous Italian coffee with steamed milk each morning with little cookies, cream filled butter horns and frittatas to die for. The shampoo at Palazzo del Capitano alone was worth the admission! Write on, oh masterful one!
Wonderful report, makes me hungry for anything Italy
It has been six looooong years. Can I book with Tom Tuscan Tours?
Okay -- you have until noon tomorrow Central Time to get this finished up before I leave for Paris
Sally, people who are leaving tomorrow for Paris do not get to complain about anything -- comprenez-vous? Have a fabulous trip!
[I couldn't find the cat licking the cream off her chops icon!]
I am enjoying this report soooooo much!
Ooooh, Sally, you are so bad!
maitaitom,
OK so I guess my family did not drink ALL the wine in Tuscany in September. We, a group of 17, were consuming upwards of ten bottles at each dinner. And slightly less at lunch.
We stayed at the Palazzo del Capitano last year at BobTN's recommendation, and we had the Capricorn room. Six wonderful nights. Did all the same trips from there, but we did put our footsies into the soothing warm streams at Bagno Vignoni.
Ahhh Italy.... We are returning in April for Holy Week and Easter and some days after. In the mind, in the heart, in the daydreams always.
Are you guys joking? Oh Sally you're so bad. Get with it, idiots. 'Oh, i destroyed a toilet, i splashed water all over the floor, im sooo naughty'. cop on and GROW UP! fools.....
Shall i get some needles and thread out for you all? you can all knit and sing 'praise to the lord' while downing the 'vino'. soooo boring here.....fret not, i am here to save the day! twerps
Maitaitom:
I am loving this report as well. We are planning a trip to Italy in the Spring and want to base in that region. I better call today.
Loved the reference to the sulking cat because he can't watch Animal Planet all day! Too funny.
Louise
"Loved the reference to the sulking cat"
He's finally talking to me again, but only after letting him watch the "Top Cat Marathon" on The Cartoon Network.
I promise to get back cracking on the report later today, but that darned work thing keeps getting in the way. Thanks for all the nice comments.
"I promise to get back cracking on the report later today, but that darned work thing keeps getting in the way."
kidding, kidding...
Like, hello, priorities??!!!
Looking forward to the next installment whenever you are able to get to it.
DAY TEN – THAT’S THE TICKET, AN AWESOME ABBEY, A SIENA SURPRISE AND “MAN, AM I GLAD I’M NOT THAT DRIVER!”
As the others packed, I walked to where I had parked the rental car, so I could drive back to the hotel and help load the car. As I approached, I wondered, “What’s that on the window?” Yep, it was a parking ticket for parking in a “residential only” parking area. In their one minor lapse, the people at the hotel said it was fine for us to park in that area, but obviously the ticket stated otherwise.
The ticket was 35 euros, but by the time I got back to the hotel I decided it wasn’t enough to make a stink about, especially since we loved our time here. It turned out the German guests (who also had a parking ticket) were making stink enough for two. He was getting flustered and talking in rather high decibels, and the girl at the desk called a couple of places to see what she could do to help. I just put my ticket next to theirs on the desk and waited for the eventual outcome.
I had made up my mind while listening to her on the phone that if we had to pay, then we’ll pay. Remember, “Attitude is everything!” Obviously our German friends had a different mindset, because when she got off the phone and softly said, “You both have to pay the ticket,” he picked up the ticket and threw it back on the desk. As his face reddened, he replied (well, kind of yelled) in no uncertain terms he wasn’t paying. He then stormed off (he had another night to stay, so I don’t know how it was resolved, but needless to say his day was pretty much spoiled …not by the ticket, but how it had affected him).
The girl at the desk said she would take it over to the police station and get it paid, and then she apologized again. No problem, we said, and packed the car, which was now even more cluttered thanks to the stuff that Tracy had bought in the lobby (soaps and other beauty stuff) for people who were helping to take care of the house while we were gone. I guess I could have been like the other guest, but why ruin a day over 35 Euros, which would eventually just be tacked on to the dreaded Europcar bill. Kim and Mary were also nice enough to split it with us, so no big deal.
We drove to Siena via the Crete Road. On this road was the Monte Oliveta Maggiore. Nestled in a forest of cypress trees, this abbey turned out to be one of our favorite detours of the trip. The church itself was beautiful, but the frescoes in the loggia that run around the Chiostro Grande were spectacular. We (well, except for Kim who had donned a pair of shorts on this morning), visited all the rooms and received a nice explanation of the place from a docent-type person. Afterward, we visited the on-site pharmacy where herbal medicines made by the monks are sold. I was more interested in the non-herbal Vin Santo they sold, so Tracy grabbed me quickly, and we were on our way.
We made a quick stop in Asciano and the Basilica di Saint’Agata. After walking around town, it was on to Siena.
The Crete Road was interesting to a degree, but it didn’t quite grab me like some of our other previous drives, but I’m sure it was a more interesting drive than the main highway. As we approached Siena, we saw the signs for the Porta Romano, and a couple of blocks before it lay our next hotel, Piccolo Hotel Oliveta. Even though this hotel has received some nice reviews, I am afraid I cannot give it much of a recommendation, if at all.
I’ll give you the plusses first. It is located just outside the walls, has parking and in the evening has spectacular views over the Tuscan countryside. Alexandra is a very nice host who is most accommodating, and they have some interesting tours if you don’t have a car.
On the negative side, the rooms are pretty worn, and the beds were the worst of the trip (not terrible, but not good either). I didn’t so much care that the shower was on one side of the room and the bathroom the other, but some might. Much of the time, the first bursts of water emitted from the faucets had an uncomfortable brown color coming out. It was told to us that this hotel will have a management change in the next 12 -18 months, so no upgrades could be expected during this time. I must admit it was a letdown, but at 125 Euros, you make the call.
Kim, Mary, Tracy and I had based in Siena in 2001, and to be honest were not impressed so much with the town. On that trip, we took trips to San Gimignano and Volterra (which we loved) and spent much of our Siena time at the Palazzo Ravizza hotel, which we also loved. The town just seemed dark and Gothic to us. We had vowed to come back and give it a little more time. I’m glad we did.
We all walked to the Campo, and we ate at two different locales. After lunch on the Campo at the aptly named Ristorante Il Campo (a very good penne pasta with vodka for 9E), Tracy and I hooked up with Kim and Mary to tour the Duomo. This was a special time of year, and the mosaics on the floor of the Duomo (plus you could go in the crypt underneath – which we would do the next day) were there in all their glory for everyone to see. The audioguide was invaluable, and the whole experience turned out to be a terrific surprise. We spent almost two hours in the Duomo.
The most amazing part of the entire place to me was the Librera Piccolomini, which features ten huge frescoes by Pinturicchio and his assistants that cover the ceiling and walls. The audioguide describes each fresco, and it is quite entertaining and enlightening.
Then we went across the street to the Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana (had a combo ticket), which not only had some cool art and statues, but stairs to the top of the “new” Duomo. As always, it was onward and UPWARD. There were some spectacular views, so I knew I had to walk up to the top of the Torre Mangia of the Palazzo Pubblico (and its 503 stairs) before we left Siena. The rest of the group already was coming up with “sore feet” excuses for tomorrow.
Then came a driving experience I was glad I was no part of, except as a bystander. Walking back to the hotel, we got to see a man behind the wheel (looked like a rental car) receive the wrath of many of Siena’s drivers. A befuddled driver (trust me, I know that look also), had strayed into a right hand turn lane, changed his mind, and like Robert Blake, was now attempting to go straight.
He finally was able to maneuver his car so that the many honking cars behind him could get moving and make a right turn on the arrow. For those of you who saw the movie Airplane, you might recall where people on the aircraft line up to attack a whining passenger. The next few moments in Siena reminded us all of that scene.
As cars pulled to the offending driver’s right to ostensibly turn, they would all stop, give him a stare, a hand signal of unknown origin, a flurry of honks of the horn and, finally, an impressive array and barrage of Italian expletives were yelled at the guy. The light for the wrong-lane guy seemed to stay red for an hour as car after car, and driver after driving stopped alongside the hapless man to give him a strong piece of their collective minds.
One “outraged” driver was particularly demonstrative in his actions. He yelled for ten seconds, but to his ultimate chagrin, as he tried to peel away around the corner, he stalled his car. The wrong-lane guy loved that, and when the light turned green, he had a smile from ear to ear knowing he had received the last laugh.
There had been a wedding at our hotel that afternoon, and a large New York contingent from that ceremony was also staying at the hotel. More on them tomorrow. The four of us shared some Prosecco before dinner and then walked back to town later for dinner at Ristorante Nello, which had been recommended by the hotel.
After a while, the owner (Nello) sat at our table, chatted with us and took our order. The menu was an eclectic mix of Asian-Italian, and the food turned out to be quite good. I really enjoyed my cubed beef in a Chianti reduction sauce, served with basmati rice.
After dinner, we walked to Il Campo and bought some delicious cookies on the square. The guy in the shop was handing out free glasses of Grappa. For those who have not tried it, Grappa is alcohol to the third power. If you decide to try it, I do recommend that you not smoke at the same time, or you might become an instant combustible agent.
I had booked four nights at the Piccolo Oliveta, but as the director of Tom’s Tuscan Tours, I sensed the group might be happier if we could make this a shorter stay than our original plan, but what could I do? Fortunately, everything, as it usually does with the right attitude, would turn out great.
TOMORROW – AN AMAZING FIND IN THE HILLS OF CHIANTI, THE STAIRS THAT BROKE OUR FEET AND A FODORITE SIGHTING AT CANE Y GATTO
Lovin' it, Maitaitom!
Tom,
I'm usually a denizen of the Australian side of Fodor's so have obviously missed some of your travellers tales. What was the prize you received for the most hilltowns seen by a 4 some from SoCal in one day?
Your fab report on Umbria so far has obviated our need to go ( Do you realize how many Americans have visited the Venezia in Las Vegas and now don't need to see the italian versio!?)
We've just returned from 3 weeks or so in Napoli and Sicilia ( TORNO D"ITALIA) so are glad to learn that the north still rocks.
grazie, AndrewDavid
"What was the prize you received for the most hilltowns seen by a 4 some from SoCal in one day?"
The usual...vino!
Dear Tom:
I am loving you report. Very entertaining and clever. I had a question about the Pecorino from Pienza. Pecorino Romano is one of my favorite cheeses, my mom is Italian-American, so we kind of grew up with it. Is Pecorino Pienza similar to Pecorino Romano? I would like to track some down to compare.
Thanks,
MY
"Is Pecorino Pienza similar to Pecorino Romano?"
When it come to serious formaggio questions, I am not the big cheese. I was told that Pecorino Toscano was a little less salty than Pecorino Romano, but that was after a bottle of vino, so my memory could be hazy.
On picnics or on the patio, when we were drinking wine and having salami and Pecorino, I bought the morbido (soft) Pecorino, or at least softer than the hard type shaved on salads.
The restaurant menus did not say (or I don't remember) what type Pecorino was used (I assume being near Pienza, they used Toscano, but not sure) in the ravioli dishes. I only know they were stupendous.
Hopefully, you will find a cheese expert who can help here, or maybe even post a new thread with your question.
As for me, to paraphrase Will Rogers, "I never met a Pecorino I didn't like."
I'm not a cheese expert either and don't know the difference between Pecorino Romano and Pecorino Toscano, but I can tell you a little about the different types of Toscano.
The stuff that is aged longer, 3-4 years or more, is the kind you cut off a chunk of or shave on top of a salad or beef carpaccio. The kind they grill, either by itself or with bacon, is not aged as long. The waiter at one restaurant actually told me they use the fresh Pecorino for grilling, but when I went to buy some, the guy at the store said that was too soft and I should use the stuff aged around 1 year. I got 1 kilogram each of the 4-year and the 1-year cheeses. That 1-year stuff grilled is to die for...Yum!
Thank you maitaotom!!!!!!!
Today I booked a trip to Umbria , for next June. Since we were just in Italy this August-September, we really had no intention of returning so soon, but after this report I couldn't help myself!
All I have planned thus far is five nights in Montefalco at Villa Zuccari, a wonderful deal I got through Luxury Link. Your itinerary will prove very helpful in our daily jaunts to surrounding towns. The rest of the trip is still very much in the planning stage. Thank you for the inspirtion!
Love Pecorino, too. Thinking about its salty taste reminds me of eating it when we arrived at our agriturismo in Umbria and spread out a nice little picnic dinner. Someone had brought Pecorino from Rome. As we were eating (and drinking the yummy local wine), we were commenting on how tasteless the salt-free Umbrian bread was and one of our group was getting irritated:
"It's the saltiest bread I've ever eaten!"
Needless to say, it was the addition of the Pecorino that she was tasting!
Thanks everyone so far. I will have to find out about Pecorino Toscano. I have tried Pecorino Locatelli: less salty, used more as an eating cheese. But I love Romano so much, I eat it by the chunk. BYW: When buying Pecorino in the US always look for IMPORTED FROM ITALY. Domestic will stick to your fork. Not the same.
MY
MaitaiTom, thanks for all the entertainment and information. It is great.
Pecorino Toscano is different from al others, as it is peculiar to the air, grass, etc. in its location. That is why Pecorino from Pienza is so famous.
The pecorino gets saltier as it ages. Pecorino Fresca can be almost buttery in flavor, and a well-aged one will be sharper, harder and saltier.
I think no aged hard cheese for grating can beat Locatelli Romano. I had a cheese monger push another romano on me once, saying they were all the same. It only happened once.
ttt
DAY ELEVEN - AN AMAZING FIND IN THE HILLS OF CHIANTI, THE STAIRS THAT BROKE OUR FEET AND A FODORITE SIGHTING AT CANE & GATTO
Sleeping with the windows offers one the opportunity to savor the smells of the Tuscan countryside, unless one is greeted in the morning with wafts of cigarette smoke. The New Yorkers were up early, and to their credit they were quiet. On the downside, they were smoking like a chimney under our window. Yes, lung cancer was in the air.
The breakfast at the Piccolo Oliveta was fine (good sweet roll and cappuccino), and we decided to explore the land of Chianti on this very sunny Sunday. Everyone had slept ok, but as I mentioned, the beds weren’t the greatest. We headed out of town and got on the S222 (or Karen Valentine Highway as we called it in honor of the 1960s’ television program Room 222. Yes, our minds are full of useless trivia).
As mentioned, we were a little underwhelmed with our hotel, but it was not terrible, so we had planned on staying…until we saw a fateful sight. There, about ten miles from Siena, just to the right of the Karen Valentine Highway nestled in amongst vineyards, stood an oasis of swimming pools (yes, plural). I believe it was Mary who said, “What is this place?”
I made one of my many illegal and dangerous U-turns to accommodate that curiosity. We pulled on to a driveway that took us to the Agritourist il Molino. We got out of the car and walked to the adjacent swimming pools to the left of this lodging and were astounded by what we saw. A swimming complex that would have been a Mark Spitz dream and cost somebody tons of euros.
There was a giant lap pool, wading areas, a regular swimming pool, a place you could just walk out into the water and stand, and bridges that connected certain areas, all set out in the midst of this beautiful vineyard setting. Pretty spectacular. There was a place to get snacks and cocktails and a sitting area where you could have late afternoon drinks or cappuccinos in the morning. Oh yeah, it had a restaurant on the premises, too.
Four minds, one thought. What did this place cost a night? A fortune, we were sure. We went up the stairs and chatted with a woman who knew very limited English and asked her how much a night was it to stay here. She wrote down the nightly cost on a piece of paper and flipped it around for us to see.
I hadn’t looked this surprised since Tracy said she would marry me. “Are you sure?” I exclaimed. Kim then game me a look that usually was reserved for Tracy when she thought I was an idiot. He laughed and said, “Would you feel better if she told you it was more? Why don’t you talk up the price?” I knew he was having a good time ridiculing me, so I let him continue.
The cost per night, per room, was incredibly 60 Euros, and since it was September, guests could use the pool (which was actually a new, local swimming complex) for free. Well, let me backtrack, our room (with balcony) was to be 60 Euros; Kim and Mary’s room - sans balcony - was 55 Euros). Knowing that everyone was disappointed with the Piccolo Oliveta, we booked two rooms for Monday and Tuesday nights, got back in the car and headed back for Siena to tell the hotel we were going to cut our visit short.
Kim was always better at breaking up with girlfriends when we were in college, so he was chosen to tell the woman at the front desk we would be departing early. Kim told the truth (unlike our college days) that we wanted to spend a couple of nights in the country instead of the city, and they were very nice about it. We certainly expected to pay a penalty for backing out two days early, and were charged for a third night, which was fair. With the new charge at our agritourism, it would be a wash for us. So instead of Chianti on this Sunday, we decided to see the rest of Siena.
As we walked toward Siena, I had a terrible thought. “Oh no, I have reservations on Monday night at Il Cane & Gatto for Tracy and me that I booked last month.” Kim and Mary had declined because it is a set prix fixe menu, and since he is allergic to tomatoes, he couldn’t take the chance on there being five courses of tomato dishes. Fortunately I called later in the afternoon, and they could change the reservation to Sunday night, so Tracy and I could still go that night.
We were all hungry (what else is new), grabbed a bite, and then set off to The Crypt under the Duomo. It was all part of the ticket we had bought the day before, and once again a good audio guide tour provided a wealth of information.
A good crypt experience always puts Tracy in a shopping mood, and this proved no difference. Actually, the plate we bought near the Duomo just arrived at my office a couple of days ago, and it was a nice purchase.
I started thinking about the song “I Ain’t Got NoBody” and so we all walked over to the San Domenico monastery so we could see the place where they keep St. Catherine’s head. After our visit, while I was still thinking it’s a little creepy to keep someone’s long dead, yet venerated, head for people to look at, my traveling companions were thinking about feet…their own feet, not St. Catherine’s.
A few times while walking on the Piazza del Campo I had stopped by the Palazzo Pubblico to see how long the wait was to walk up the 503 steps to the top. Fortunately, for the others, the line was always long. I decided I wanted one more opportunity, and Kim and Mary felt their feet would take a vacation from this journey.
Always the trouper, Tracy said she would walk over there with me, although I knew she was hoping for just one more long line. By a stroke of luck (mine), there was incredibly no one in line, so up we went. This is definitely a good trudge up to the top, not for those with vertigo, weak hearts or smart brains. But the views of the piazza, rooftops and countryside made it quite worthwhile. Fortunately for me, there were plenty of people at the top, so Tracy could not fulfill her dream of pushing me over the edge. When we got back to the bottom, there once again was a long line, and Tracy said, “Where were those damn people an hour ago?” I love it when she talks dirty.
Back at the hotel, we relaxed with Kim and Mary and a bottle of vino before our feast yet to come that evening at Cane & Gatto, where we had 8 pm reservations.
We arrived at the restaurant a little before 8 pm, and since no one else was hanging outside, we walked around a bit, so not to be the first ones there. We were the first ones anyway, except for a couple of women who were told this was a good restaurant by their hotel. They were not told, however, that this would be an eating orgy, and not being that hungry they left after talking with the owner.
The restaurant is intimate (we counted 11 tables), and the owner greets you with a free glass of Prosecco. The server for the restaurant is the owner’s daughter, and she was delightful (and cute…not that I noticed). Tracy was given a green and burgundy orchid (to wear, not to eat), and the feast was about to begin.
First course was an antipasti misto. The blue cheese quiche with mascarpone was incredible, and the pecorino with honey, mozzarella with diced tomato and basil, meloné y salami and crostini with paté of chicken liver was no chopped liver either (well, I guess the paté was).
Next up was a cream of chick pea soup drizzled with olio, croutons and rosemary. Why is soup on vacation always so good? We jotted down a note to make more soup at home.
By now, there were six couples in the restaurant, and that is the way it would stay for the remainder of the evening. Our waitress told us the wines, and we chose one. Another couple asked if they could see a wine list. In one of my favorite lines from the trip, our server answered (very politely), “I am the wine list.” The timing was impeccable.
We then went on to our next course, wide stripes of pasta with a wild boar sauce. I think it was at this point in the meal I had to loosen a belt loop. Fortunately, they gave you a reasonable amount of time in between courses so you don’t explode at your table.
No stopping the gravy train now, and it was a course of grilled beef with truffles and porcini mushrooms, along with the only dish I could have done without, quail with green peppercorns in an orange sauce (tiny little bones kind of got in the way of any enjoyment of that dish). Tracy loved the grilled eggplant/zucchini/artichoke dish with her favorite (arugula), while I decided to save myself for dessert. I’m glad I did.
The strawberries in a semi-frozen meringue were out of this world and, although I am not a tiramisu guy, this was the best ever, served with little chocolate shavings. The sliced fruit (pineapple, kiwi, orange and gooseberries) was incredibly fresh. We washed it all down with a Moscadello de Montalcino.
The whole bill, including two bottles of wine came to about 190 Euros. At the end of the meal, as people were getting up, we struck up a conversation with a couple (he was from Boston, and I was in need of another baseball fix). As we chatted, I casually asked how they knew about this restaurant. She said, “Oh, I am on a travel board.”
This had all the making of a Fodor’s moment, so I asked, “Oh really, what board?”
She replied, “Fodors.”
“Me, too,” I said.
Then, in an Italian-thread minute, she blurted out, “Bob The Navigator rocks!”
Her moniker was Easygoer, and she had never heard of maitaitom, which I told her could be a blessing. Tracy and I waddled back to the hotel at about 11:30 pm and said we were going to stop eating so much after having such a wonderful meal.
Little did we know, that within 14 hours, we would have meal that would even surpass this one for food AND experience. God bless Italy!
NEXT: A LUNCH FOR THE AGES, THE GREAT DANES MEET TUSCAN TOM’S TOURS AND CATCHING A FEW RAYS
Wow, now I'm hungry after those awesome food descriptions
Can't wait to find out if the rooms at the Agriturismo live up to the swimming pools - sounds like a place we would love.
And in the furture remind Tracy she may only push you off the side AFTER you have completed your trip report! kidding...
Hello maitaitom, I just sit here and read your trip report and dream of being back in Italy, sob! Your report is a joy to read, one feels like they are travelling right along with you four and your humor is so delightful!
Now about the next hotel...when you have time of course!! No rush, but please don't let work get in the way, LOL.
LoveItaly, oh, I SO agree with you! I hate this guy too
When I read this report, any part of it, I'm ready to drop everything and go... sigh...
Do you know if the Agriturismo has a website?
"Do you know if the Agriturismo has a website?"
Amazingly it does not. I will have some pictures up on a blog if I ever finish this trip report. I have pictures of the pool (pools), the hotel, a sunset from our balcony and the surrounding vineyards. Plus Kim and Mary took some, too, that I'll get on CD in a few days.
I'll give more details in next report, but the rooms were small, but clean. Bathrooms were fine with tiny showers. For 60 euros it was an incredible bargain.
Not many Americans (actually we might have been only ones), but a lot of Brits, plus some Germans and people from Holland.
The restaurant was good, although it missed on a couple of dishes. There was an incredible pork dish.
I'm adding another visit back to Tuscany on my next trip to Italy!
Tom, You make me even more sorry that I missed my dinner at Cane e Gatto last month! I don't know if the hotel or the restaurant screwed up, but they didn't have my reservation. I was very disappointed. Have to go back!
"You make me even more sorry that I missed my dinner at Cane e Gatto last month!"
Any excuse to go back to Italy is a good excuse...and that wasn't even our favorite restaurant on the trip, although we liked it a lot. More later. Thanks.
Tom: I did a search on Yahoo under
"agriturismo il molino tuscany"
and came up with
"agriturismo il MULINO" which showed one picture of a round pool. The place has 8 rooms. Their rates, however, are double what you got as a walk-in.
Is this the right place?
"Is this the right place?"
I couldn't get that on Yahoo, but I googled what you put. The agriturismo that came up was in Southern Tuscany south of Radicofani and had one roundish pool. That is definitely not the place. What was exact website you found?
Hi, maitai!
On re-yahooing, three entries came up on the first page alone. Don't know if any of these fit your place.
www.agriturismo.net/il-mulino/accomodation_eng.html
www.agriturismo.net/montepulcino-311/il-mulino_eng.html
http://www.initaly.com/~initaly/agri/mulinom/mulinom.htm
Maybe one fits! Maybe none of these fit!
"il mulino" "il molino" seems to mean "mill" and there sure were lots of mills in Italy!
Intrepid leader of Tom's Tuscan Tours, I am truly enjoying your wonderful trip. I am planning a trip in December and am trying to narrow choices so that I can ensure we get to taste lots of vino and see as much as possible in too short a time. BTW, Wine Spectator recently had an article on Tuscan wines. I look forward to your report on Chianti. Because eating is a most important component, I particularly would like to trip Cane e Gatto. Did you make your reservation from here and if so, by phone or by fax? How much advance warning did you give your hosts?
Any suggestions would be most welcome. Keep up the postings!
"Did you make your reservation from here and if so, by phone or by fax? How much advance warning did you give your hosts?"
I called a few weeks in advance, but then called on that Sunday to change to that night since we had a change in travel plans. Fortunately, they had space for us. Have fun. You'll see later today about another great eating experience we had on the trip.
"You'll see later today about another great eating experience we had on the trip."
you tease...
A LUNCH FOR THE AGES, THE GREAT DANES MEET TOM’S TUSCAN TOURS, THE “UNDISCOVERED” HILL TOWN AND CATCHING A FEW RAYS
We said goodbye to Alexandra at Piccolo Oliveta. Tracy had started calling her “my new wife” since she believed I was trying to flirt with her (a shocking assumption). After receiving some parting gifts (olive oil) and flirting with her more (oops), we hit the road. From this point on, if (I guess that should be “when”)Tracy became annoyed with me, she’d say, “Well, maybe your new wife will like that.”
As we rounded a corner getting out of a Siena, a large tuck traveling at an excess speed went about halfway into our lane. We narrowly averted death by the nimble maneuvers of Tuscan Tom, and we were safely on our way. Alexandra never knew how close she came to being a pseudo-widow.
We drove along the Karen Valentine Highway past our new accommodation (where we would check in that afternoon) and drove toward Greve in Chianti. Before you reach Greve, there is a sign for Lamole, a town I had read about and its restaurant with a spectacular view.
We passed the Villa Vignamaggio vineyard (the winery where the girl who posed for the Last Supper lived back in Da Vinci’s day). Speaking of the last supper, Tracy and I were still full from the Cane & Gatto experience of the previous evening, but by the time the short, uphill journey to Lamole had been successfully navigated, amazingly we were ready to eat again. Truthfully, I don’t know how the four of us fit in the car together with all the food we ate.
In Lamole, Mary jumped out of the car (after it had stopped) and ran into the local church. “Had you read about it?” I asked as she left the church.
“No,” she answered. “I was just giving thanks that the truck didn’t kill us.” Now I know why Mary stopped in so many churches during the trip. Her hand was getting wrinkled from all the holy water she dipped it in.
It was a little before noon, and the Ristoro di Lamole (with incredible views out onto the Tuscan countryside) was only open for drinks until 12:30, so while Kim played “Mark Focus, Professional Photographer”, we sat on the patio and talked to some Brits who were on a tour. When Kim came back, he told them that he and Mary were on Tom’s Tuscan Tour, and they should think about signing up. I think I had them, but their tour director showed up, and it was back on the road for them.
Our tour voted to stay for lunch (it’s a democratic tour, for the most part), which turned out to be one of our best decisions of the trip. In the U.S., if a place has a view, the food is usually mediocre, at best. Not here. The food was spectacular, and the waitress was very funny, although like Mary and my new wife, Alexandra, she had a nasty cold. “I’m doomed,” I thought. Even my current wife, Tracy, was starting to cough. So many wives, so little cough drops,
Every dish was fantastic: Ribollita toscano, gnocchi with roasted tomatoes and olives, a pecorino ravioli with the freshest pears ever and drizzled with Lamole Olio, a pasta with pork, zucchini and carrots and the lunch was topped off with a dessert of chocolate cake (more like a dense brownie) with whipped cream and wild berry sauce. This meal experience even topped Cane & Gatto, and my wallet felt better because it was about 1/3 the price including Prosecco and vino.
Tracy thought it was the best olive oil we had tasted, so we bought some, and we all thought the wine divine, so we bought some of that, too. As a matter of fact, I am going to e-mail Lamole soon to send me a case of olive oil, and Kim has seen the Lamole di Lamole wine at a Beverages & More (see, I told we still talk to each other), so we’re going to pick some of that up, as well.
Near the end of the meal, we started chatting with a couple from Denmark, who come to Chianti for a month each year. They have a place in Panzano in Chianti. They were very friendly and talkative.
Just a little digression for a moment. One of the reasons Kim called it Tom’s Tuscan Tours is that I prepare for a trip longer and more detailed than most people. I had sent them descriptions of virtually every hill town in Tuscany and Umbria, complete with attractions, history and digressions. It’s even color coded (what, me anal?). I had also done the same for Florence, Venice and Rome. All in all, I had prepared about 250 total pages for our trip full of useful, and I hoped, and humorous information, not to mention pictures.
Anyway, the Danes started telling us about an enoteca in Greve where you pay money at the counter and are then given a plastic card, which you stick in the vino machines to wine taste. Before they could give the name, I whipped my papers from my back pocket and said, “Oh, do you mean Le Cantine?”
“Why yes,” they said. “How did you hear of that? By the way, there is a famous butcher shop in Greve.”
“Is that Macelleria Falorni?” I said. “Doesn’t it have a bunch of hanging prosciutto inside?”
Now the Danes were semi-impressed. Kim just said, “This is why we book Tom’s Tuscan Tours.”
A little later they said, “We have a favorite restaurant in town,” and shot me a glance.
“I’ll bet it is Bottego del Moro,” I said. They nodded and laughed and said on their next visit to California they’d call me for Tom’s Tuscan Tours of Southern California (I stole that name from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).
The great Danes were drinking a bottle of wine from Volpaia. This was not in Tom’s Tuscan Tour guidebook, so we listened attentively as they talked about this little place. “Just up the road,” they said, “was the charming town of Volpaia. Not too many people know about it.” That was enough for us, we had to go take a look. I gave the Danes my business card, and told them to call me for a tour when they come to Southern California. I promised lots of wine.
We started toward Volpaia. A narrow road became narrower and the cement turned to dirt, and we are all thinking that we’re going to “discover” this town. Unfortunately, when we hit the center of town, it seemed a couple of tour busses had “discovered” it, too, and the place was crawling with Americans (the most we had seen on the trip). Outside of the tour busses, the town was very cute. We did buy a couple of bottles of wine from the store in Volpaia and left, feeling much like Columbus would have felt had someone told him Leif Erickson discovered America centuries before he did.
We made a quick stop in Panzano to see our friends’ adopted Chianti town and to look for Dario, the famed butcher, but his shop was closed, so we rushed back to Il Mulino for a late afternoon around the pool. For a couple of hours, we sat out in this great setting, the only four people using this huge area. We had cocktails, but even better, one of the pools was a “beach low-level water” pool”, meaning we could walk out and the water only came up a little over the knee. All our aching feet would become rejuvenated in the next two days, with the soothing water and surface providing much needed therapeutic relief. Well, that and the Campari.
Since we had the balcony, Kim and Mary joined us for some Volpaia wine in the early evening and a view of a gorgeous sunset in Chiantiland. Our room was located right over the hotel restaurant, so as people walked in the front, we wondered if they would ask how they get the wonderful outdoor tables.
We all went down to our restaurant for dinner, and sure enough, some Canadians sitting next to us overheard our conversation about our balcony and said, “We saw you guys when we came in and wondered if they had outdoor dining, eh?” OK, they didn’t really say eh.
The restaurant was mostly good, with a couple of slight misses. It is relatively new, and we chatted with one of the owners who had previously owned a restaurant in Napoli and in a nearby town before starting this one. The pork in a balsamic sauce was the night’s big winner and so was the ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta in my beloved Pecorino sauce. The two house wines cost 6 Euro and 12 Euro respectively…and they were pretty tasty.
The bed was fine, and we slept well. Tomorrow would be our relaxing day in Chianti as we would refresh our bodies before hitting the big three of Florence, Venice and Rome before heading home.
NEXT – WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES, LUNCH IN YET ANOTHER HILL TOWN AND HOW MUCH IS THIS PLACE GOING TO COST IF WE COME BACK IN TWO YEARS?
Hi Tom
Am really enjoying this report on Tuscany! Trouble is we leave in 2 weeks and only have about three days there.... Luckily (or unluckily) my husband is a big driver and wants to show the kids lots of Tuscany. So...if you had 3 days...where would you try most to stay for a home base and what would you try most to show your family? (3 teens and 2 parents) We love architecture, food, views and wine!!!???
I know it is impossible to choose so if you can't I understand...btw we are going for the first time since our honeymoon 20 yrs ago and the kids are newbies.
Thanks if you can!
"where would you try most to stay for a home base"
Not knowing what your kids like makes it tougher to say. If you base near Siena, you can see Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra (that's a great drive from SG) and go down to Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano.
I personally love St.Quirico d'Orcia (we all did), but don't know if your kids would. It's a pretty quiet town, but has lots of Italian flavor (not just the gelato). From there, you could do a daytrip to Siena & SG (Volterra would be too long a day, I think), and then on the other two days visit the nearby towns of Montalcino, Montepulciano and Pienza, and perhaps hit a couple of the lesser visited towns which we also loved to visit. You might want to base in Pienza, Montepulciano or Montalcino.
No matter what you do, you'll see a lot of neat places, eat a lot of good food and drink lots of great wine. Have fun.
While I have been quietly reading (with great delight and amusement) the saga of Tom's Tuscan Tours, I need to tell you all that he really does prepare an amazing packet of information. We were the grateful recipients of said packet when making our plans for our recent summer trip ( this is because, lucky me, I'm related to the kind person who drove on Saturday mornings to check on Tom's and Tracy's cats in their cat hotel).
Tom, we went to Volpaia, had a tour of the winery, no tour buses in sight that day, only the 4 of us on the tour. There's a bottle of their olive oil on my counter, but while we were there someone whispered to us about the restaurant in Lamole; alas we had other plans but perhaps when we return in the spring. . .
Thanks for the report, looking forward to the rest,
Marcia
Hi Marcia,
You are designated as the leader of the Volpaia Wine Tour as part of Tom's Tuscan Tours.
Thanks for the nice words, and yes, Marcia's sister, Susan, was kind enough to go visit our cats each weekend to tell them we were really going to come home some day.
The need for all things Tuscan is flowing strong here... I know I have to go back there soon, but since we just finished a big trip to Hawaii it will have to wait till the budget recovers: the sad realities of life, <sigh>.
CT is definitely not CA! Maybe it's just distance and enchantment that clouds the taste memory?
But I found a local fix! We have a new Sur la Table store in our area, and they offer a big array of cooking classes. I've signed up for the Tuscan Dinner class next month because I really, really want to be able to make good Ribollita. I've tried a few times with different recipe variations, but nothing stellar so far. Haven't so far found what I understand is the key ingredient, cavolo nero (use Savoy cabbage as a substitute) -- but we have a new Whole Foods opening nearby, so I'm hopeful for more exotic veggies.
Tom, thanks so much for the inspiration. I'm planning to print and save all the info, but that will likely be easier from your blog...
SB, try your local farmer's market for cavolo nero. I live in the Bay area and planted cavalo nero last fall. It has naturalized, so I have lots in the garden. If you can't find it anywhere, try substituting kale instead of savoy cabbage. I think you'd like the result better.
This has been so much fun, keep it up
easytraveler, none of the places you mention are the Il Molino where we stayed. I have scoured the internet, and it is nowhere to be found. I asked Tracy, Kim and Mary whether staying there was a dream I had, and they all assured me we did stay there two nights. I guess when I post my blog with photos, it will be the Il Molino's internet coming out party.
Hey Tom
A Friday tidbit to hold us through the weekend?
I'm hoping to actually finish this baby over the weekend. It's too long already, and I really want to get my pictures online. Also, after reading the other long trip report, I am very happy that the four people on Tom's Tuscan Tours (and the two people who we meet later in Florence and Rome) can read this trip report with no fear of slings and arrows (a few jokes, maybe). We all enjoyed the journey and if you do that, any problems that arise are minimal at worst (even puting in the wrong gas).
As a wise man once said, "attitude is everything!" Now, if only he'd explain why men have nipples...
It's not too long! I love your writing style...please continue with vivid descriptions & details!
Hey Tom !
I've only just joined reading your thread (after 200 posts; some of us have to work !) and I'm really enjoying it. Its funny, interesting and easy to read, and your story telling humour is perfectly balanced between caustic and self deprecation.
Keep up the great work; I'm looking forward to reading more. This thread is easily one of the best Italian trip reports than any other current ones on the board.
Betsy, thanks for the Ribollita tip. I'll try it -- kale is easy to find. Sadly, we have a shortage of farmers markets round here because of a limited growing season ...the farm stands run from strawberries, corn and tomatoes through pumpkins and Christmas trees, and that's pretty much it. (I get pangs of envy when I see all that is so readily available in cities like NY and LA!) Good thing is that it focuses me on cooking what is seasonally appropriate, which is a Good Thing.
Oops, wandering OT here -- sorry, Tom! Now back to the subject at hand...
tom you sound like a pistol - how does your wife keep up with you? If you ever get divorced and don't marry the Italian wife - could I propose to you?
Still lovin' this...thanks, Tom!
And, please sign us up for the next departure of Tom's Tours. I like your style and admire your tirelessly upbeat and game group.
Happy travels!
Great reading! As one who travels Italy often, I can say you are almost always on the mark.
Thanks.
Finally! I found a website that shows the Molino or Mulino di Quercegrossa. They spell it differently on their brochure and on this website. In any event copy and paste:
http://www.agriturismo.regione.toscana.it/cgi-bin/agriturismo/dbsearch2?code=730
It shows the hotel (our room was the balcony on the left in the photo - reception area is on right also on second floor). I knew this had to be somewhere on the web. I wish they showed the swimming pool complex. It also shows the room ( I told you it was small).
Mathieu, glad you could join the tour (that damned work will kill you), and Peeky, thanks for the marriage proposal, but as I found out on this trip, I better just stick to one wife. It makes life easier.
I will try and pump out the rest of this over the weekend for those who remain on the tour. And remember two more important rules of Tom's Tuscan Tours: No Separate Checks! Drink Lots of Vino!
Tom,thouroughly enjoying your trip. I am still on board Tom's Tuscan Tour, always split dinner checks down the middle and drink my fair share of vino or vin, depending upon where I am.
Judy
Loving this report, Tom. I too loved the restaurant at Lamole. So much we went back a second night. Fabulous meatloaf.
Regarding Karen Valentine - whatever happened to her? Wonder how she's aged & if she's still so darn perky!
cobbie, Karen Valentine did a recent TV movie with John Laroquette about a couple whose three daughters all get married at the same time. I never liked her (way too perky for me!), but have to admit that she has aged pretty well and isn't quite as perky as she used to be.
LUCKY DAY THIRTEEN - WHY DO MEN HAVE NIPPLES, WEARING COSTUMES, LUNCH IN YET ANOTHER HILL TOWN AND HOW MUCH IS THIS PLACE GOING TO COST IF WE COME BACK IN TWO YEARS?
, Kim was throwing a tantrum over his croissant being too hard 
and I was threatening to leave these whiners behind at the Il Mulino. 
Oh sorry, that’s Barb’s post. 
Mary and Tracy were at the breakfast table sobbing uncontrollably, complaining that I made them walk too much
I was so sick of these people that I downed an entire bottle of Campari before breakfast.
After a nice sleep, we enjoyed cappuccinos outdoors overlooking the beautiful vineyards surrounding the Il Mulino. Not as exciting as my lead, but boringly true.
Tom’s Tuscan Tours was in relax mode before hitting the “Big Three”, so after breakfast we headed out by the pool for some relaxing reading time. While the others concentrated on convoluted novels, I delved into my new book, “Why Do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You’d Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini.” The title alone was longer than most books I read, and the book now shares a prominent spot in the Tom and Tracy guest bathroom.
The day was beautiful, and we were the ONLY people who were enjoying this little slice of Chianti heaven. Although we had brought trunks and swimsuits, we quickly adhered to the new Italian terminology of these clothing items. They were now known as our “swimming costumes”, which it was stated would be apropos for pool activities.
As Kim and I tried to figure out how much the swimming complex had cost, we also realized that if we came back in two years, the price of this place would probably be double. “Still, a good bargain,” we said.
Boy, that reading can make you hungry, and damned if it wasn’t time for lunch. We hopped in the car and made the ½ hour drive to Monteriggioni (hill towns, nothing but hill towns). This town, dubbed “The Crown of Italy”, has some ramparts, a nice piazza, restaurants and a church, the Santa Maria Assunta, where Mary could dip her hand in holy water again. It has a population of 60, who must all work at restaurants.
We had lunch on the patio of Il Pozzo, which has a very nice and secluded position a little off the main piazza. Since I really didn’t down a bottle of Campari before breakfast, Tracy and I shared a bottle of Prosecco, while Kim and Mary went the beer route (although not rally a big beer drinker, the beer in Europe is so much better than it is here). Lunch was good, and I had to try the strawberries with shortcake dessert. No, I really did.
We walked around the ramparts after lunch (like that was going to help take off any weight), got back in the car and became slugs out by the pool for the remainder of the day (still, nobody else taking advantage of this…amazing!).
I came out in a sleeveless tank top and stupid hat I had bought for the trip. Kim was taken aback by the fashion statement I was making, while the women just laughed. “Dear God, what is that?” Kim said, shielding his eyes like a vampire at dawn. When the blog goes up, and people see me in this outfit, I fear the marriage proposals made to me in some of the replies will be quickly withdrawn.
We again had more wine on the patio (the Lamole di Lamole was delectable) and it was back down to our restaurant for dinner, where we once again sat next to the friendly Canadians. Dinner was good, the wine delicious and cheap, and, best of all, nobody cried or complained. Another Tom’s Tuscan Tour rule: There’s No Crying On Vacation!”
We congratulated ourselves for the find of the trip. If anyone is contemplating staying here, they do have a couple of apartments for families (I think the cost is only 110 euros for an apartment). The menu is in Italian, English and German, and we were told that they do get a good clientele from both Great Britain and Germany.
We needed a good night’s sleep because tomorrow we were going to drive into Firenze, a place where in previous trips I have nearly killed nuns, bicyclists, street vendors, locals and tourists alike with erratic and dangerous driving, including backing up down a one-way street. Florence, here we come!
Oh yeah, here’s the answer from the book: “Although females have the mammary glands, we all start out in a similar way in the embryo. During development, the embryo follows a female template until about six weeks, when the male sex chromosome kicks in for a male embryo. The embryo then begins to develop all its male characteristics. Men are thus left with nipples and also with some breast tissue.”
Tom’s Tuscan Tours: Fun AND Informative (By the way, so is the book).
NEXT: AN EARLY WINE BREAK IN GREVE, THE DANGEROUS DRIVE INTO FLORENCE, OUR FIRST IRISH PUB AND THE HOSTESS FROM HELL
DAY FOURTEEN - AN EARLY WINE BREAK IN GREVE, THE DANGEROUS DRIVE INTO FLORENCE, OUR FIRST IRISH PUB AND THE HOSTESS FROM HELL
Break’s over! It’s back on the road to Firenze, with a slight detour in Greve. Greve is a cute little place located right on The Karen Valentine Highway, after parking, we made a little excursion around the Piazza Matteotti, Greve’s main piazza.
There is a statue in the piazza of Greve’s favorite son, Giovanni da Verrazzano, who in 1524 was the first European to sight New York Bay (even though Henry Hudson gets most of the credit). The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn is named for him.
He also discovered Cape Fear in North Carolina, however, showing his dark side, he kidnapped a small child on that trip.
Karma can be a bitch, however. Da Verrazzano met a rather ignominious end. While exploring Florida, the Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles, he was met by some unfriendly and hungry natives, who, not being on the Atkins diet, devoured the intrepid explorer. Whether they enjoyed a nice Chianti with there meal is not known.
Anyway, I was in search of an Internet café because in my lethargy at the Il Mulino, I had inexplicably forgotten to email for directions to our next hotel, the Tourist House Ghiberti. This is tour director error number one, especially when driving into a city as complex to drive in as Florence. Unfortunately, the server was down at the only place where they had a computer.
What to do in this situation was easy; sample some wine. After taking pictures at the butcher shop (Macelleria Falorni, which was founded in 1729 and is now run by the 8th generation of its descendants), we walked a couple of blocks to Le Cantine. They advertise that they are “the biggest wine store in the Chianti Classico region,” and who were we to argue the point?
We paid our money at the counter, were given a card, and it was off to the vino races, sampling Chianti, Brunello and even olive oil. We helped the local economy by purchasing some wine and headed for the deathtrap known as Florence city streets.
We used Kim and Mary’s International cell phone to call Claudio for directions. Mary jotted down the directions. As we headed over the bridge, we were all ready for our appointed jobs. I felt like Captain Picard (or Kirk, depending on your Star Trek affiliation).
Number One (Tracy) had here eyes peeled (ouch) looking for any street signs (never easy in Florence). Data (Mary) was relaying detailed information given by Claudio. Worf (Kim…well he doesn’t kill people like Worf, but Star Trek didn’t have a map reader that I remember) was telling us the streets we should be passing and when our appointed street should be near. Myself? Well, I had the easy job. I just had to drive. However, had we been killed or killed any pedestrians, I knew the fault would lie with me.
We actually were on the street of the THG, and we made a quick stop to ask a local whether we were near the hotel. She said “Avanti, about 100 yards ahead on your left,” and in about 100 yards, there it was. We rang the bell, Claudio helped us with our bags, and we were safely at our hotel. One part of the Florence driving journey was complete without incident.
We looked at our rooms, which were spacious and had computers (by the way, to show how nice Kim and Mary were about the rooms, they let us pick at every hotel which room we wanted since I had made the reservations). Now it was time for Claudio to give us directions to drive and drop off the rental car.
Tracy gave me the rental car papers and Worf (oops, Kim) went with me to drop off the car. I had driven about 75 yards when I remembered I had put the papers down on the bed and not retrieved them (tour director error #2). Kim ran back and Tracy was waiting with the papers. When Kim got back to the car, he said, “Tracy just wants you to know that you’re an idiot.” I don’t remember Riker ever telling Picard HE was an idiot. Oh well.
Kim had this baby mapped out perfectly, and we made no wrong turns. Outside of nearly getting creamed by a huge bus, there were no major incidents. The people at EuropCar fortunately did not have our final bill (see Gubbio and Gas), so we could ride out the rest of the vacation in ignorant bliss of what that charge would eventually be.
The Tourist House Ghiberti is a terrific find in Florence, and thanks to the people on the board who had written about its virtues. It’s only a couple of blocks from the Duomo, and across from the Santa Maria Novella Hospital. The double paned windows meant there was little or no street noise. The bathrooms were spacious and there was a nice breakfast that you could enjoy on the small outdoor patio in the morning. And the price is inexpensive for this quality in Florence. Four big thumbs up for THG! Oh hell, let’s make it eight thumbs up!
This was Tracy and my fourth trip to Florence and Kim and Mary’s second, so it was easy finding our way around. We go to the Uffizi (which, I think is vastly overrated…sorry) and we did not have tickets to the David, which we had all seen before. We did want to go because of the restoration, but the line was too long each time we stopped by, and nobody really wanted to wait.
After doing some window-shopping and buying some scarves, it was once-again the cocktail hour. Inexplicably, we picked an Irish pub (you haven’t visited Florence unless you haven’t visited an Irish pub). Hey, drinks are drinks, and we all thought it was pretty funny to be in Italy and drinking at an Irish pub.
Back at the hotel, I had my usual 300 – 400 e-mail messages regarding Viagra, but one message stood out. My San Diego Padres were one game closer to clinching the National League West, even though they would be in last place in the National League East.
Before I had left, I had been given the recommendation of the Trattoria Zá Zá in the Piazza Mercato Centrale. After convincing everyone that this was not run by a Gabor sister, we walked over to the piazza. The place was crowded, and a hostess who was grumpier than Scooter Libby after he was indicted greeted us (well, greet might be a stretch). If looks could kill, we’d be dead now. She said there were no tables outside and sat us down at an inside table, flung what must have been menus in our general direction and walked away to snarl at some new guests.
It only took us a few moments to realize that we need not patronize the Zá Zá, and we departed. I am sure our hostess missed us as much as we missed her.
We walked back toward our hotel and had dinner at Café Danté, or something close to that. Fortunately, there was no inferno. We were not all that hungry anyway, and the dinner was relatively unspectacular. However, even this place had a dish that would be enshrined in our Italian Food Hall of Fame (which will be posted at the end of the trip report). Kim had chicken in a yellow pepper, butter sauce that was incredibly tasty. I also enjoyed by gnocchi with blue cheese.
As we were ready to go to bed, Tracy started coughing like Mary and my other wife back at the Piccolo Oliveta, and we had reservations for a big-ticket item tomorrow. She didn’t have chicken for dinner, so I went to bed safe in my knowledge that at least she didn’t have The Bird Flu.
NEXT – LEAN TO THE LEFT, LEAN TO THE RIGHT, NO CHICKEN SANDWICHES, SOME DEAD MEDICIS AND, “OH NO, NOT ANOTHER IRISH PUB!”
Maitaitom, I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying your trip report, but of course everyone is! The waitress in Florence with the attitude. I have always found more "attitudes" in Florence than anywhere in Italy. No doubt regarding the number of tourist, you think?
I remember one time my husband was buying beautiful and expensive silk ties for male family members in Florence. The sales clerk helping him was quite cheerful etc. A very elegant and beautiful lady. As my husband was signing the credit card slip for the purchases he said to her "your English is beautiful". She pulled herself up (all five feet of her) glared at him and snarled "only the English I need to sell things to the stupid tourist!". Well so much for that pleasant memory, LOL.
I must say that most Florentines are beautiful people and I do understand their getting weary of the tourist especially in the historical center. But I also know how they moaned and groaned after 911 when tourism was down.
Now, more about your trip please!! Hopefully Tracy did not become ill?
Tom, you truly have me laughing so hard my stomach hurts! I love reading stories like this ... I can't wait to get back to Italy in May! Can't wait for the rest ...
LoveItaly, she was really the only unpleasant Italian person we encountered on the trip. I think she was an equal opportunity grump to tourists and locals alike.
By the way, I was just looking at the flier I got at Il Mulino, and there are SEVEN total pools there.
Thanks for posting the website for Il Mulino. When you get to posting your photos I sure hope the pools are included.
maitaitom, you should write a tv script.
This is better than what's on these days.
"When you get to posting your photos I sure hope the pools are included."
Kim, Tracy and I all got some great shots of the pool at Il Mulino. They will definitely be included.
I am so loving reading this report. You tell a good story, while giving us incredibly useful information.
Thanks so much for taking the time. It's good to read a post about friends traveling well together. It really is attitude, flexibility, and humor that gets all of us over the bad spots.
I'm sure your friends appreciate not only your planning abilities but your talents as trip chronicler. What fun to have all of this to look back on!
Thanks again.
cw
Just wanted to let you know that DH and I are still loving every minute of this report
I especially appreciated TWO installments on my birthday - so thoughtful 
Well, I was going to tell that funny Peeky to take a number (and an Ambien per Barb); if she had been reading carefully she would have known that I already professed my interest in you (and I learned about sharing when I was "wife number two" on the last trip to Europe, where one very tolerant husband put up with 4 women, so Tracy has nothing to worry about of course!).
However, you had to go spoil everything with that comment about the tank top and stupid hat. Hmmmm.
Still loving the trip details! Next time you are in Greve, go 10 minutes outside of town to the teeny little town of Montefioralle and eat a fabulous and fun meal at La Castellana. I still drool over memories of "typical pork cooked in the typical way."
Many thanks for posting the website for Il Molino!
Having had our plans for Asia deflected - for the moment- by the bird flu, we are eagerly looking for alternative destinations for next summer. You are certainly influencing us in the direction of Italy!
Love your sophisticated yet gentle approach to travel! What fun! I vote this the best report for 2005!
Just caught up with the last few chapters, Grazie muchly!
Pronto pronto with the next one please!
I forgot to ask: where does one sign up for Tuscan Tom's Eastern European Adventure? I might be done paying college tuition by then. The one left in college had her own excellent adventure in the Czech Republic and Croatia a few years ago and we think it's our turn.
DAY 15 - LEAN TO THE LEFT, LEAN TO THE RIGHT, "ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?", NO CHICKEN SANDWICHES, SOME DEAD MEDICIS AND, “OH NO, NOT ANOTHER IRISH PUB!”
This was the morning that I had pre-reserved an 11:40 am climbing of The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The plan was for the four of us to take the 8:27 train from Florence that got in to Pisa at 9:30. At 7 am, I realized that there were only going to be three of us, since Tracy had the Mary/Alexandra cough (though not nearly as bad).
Tracy decided to relax for part of the day in an attempt to nip her illness in the bud, so she decided to stay behind. “I’ve been to Pisa and can live without it.” Since there was still a week to go on the trip, she thought it would be a good idea, and, as it turned out, it was.
One of my idiosyncrasies (one of many) is that I am a freak about not being late. I tend to get to places too early, but I figure it’s better being too early than too late. Fortunately Kim and Mary know that about me, so they noticed that, as we were having a cappuccino at The THG, I was getting a little antsy about departing for the train station to get our tickets and make the train (although I think Kim likes me to sweat just a little bit for amusement).
We walked (briskly) to the station, and, of course, we got there early (sorry K&M, you were right). We got the tickets, but I had forgotten that the train station sometimes plays pranks with overly time-conscious travelers such as myself. 8:10 (no track number). 8:15 (no track number). 8:20 (no track number). I know that the trains run on time, so where do we go? As usual, my worries are stupid since we have plenty of time once they announce the track number.
Two years ago, Tracy and I had driven to Pisa, which is why I decided on the train. On that journey, Tracy and I drove through the maze of streets in Pisa following phantom signs to the Campo dei Miracoli. It was a miracoli we ever found it. I didn’t have a good impression of Pisa on that trip.
On this trip, the train arrived at 9:30 and it was an easy 20-minute walk to the Campo dei Miracoli. When not trying to negotiate one-way streets and nearly maiming pedestrians, one gets a different perspective of a place, and my thoughts about Pisa are a little different now. Pisa wasn’t so bad after all.
The last time we walked in, all the booths selling Leaning Tower crap kind of cheapened the experience, so I warned Kim and Mary to just look at the Campo and imagine how beautiful this whole area was before tourism. We walked by a restaurant where a bird had crapped on a guy’s shirt on our trip in 2003 (ah, some memories just never leave you), and we were in the Campo.
I brought the printed proof of receipt to the ticket offices of Opera della Primaziale Pisa and they gave us our tickets, and we all bought the combo ticket for the Duomo and the Baptistery. The interior has a neat Pisano pulpit and a large baptismal font. We were told that, if you count the statue on top of the Baptistery, the building is actually taller than the Leaning Tower. Useless trivia, but good cocktail party fodder.
Then we visited the Duomo. For some reason, we got obsessed with finding “Henry’s Tomb”, the tomb of Emperor Henry VII (whoever he was), which was one of the pieces that survived a 16th century fire that destroyed a lot of the Duomo’s art works.
Near a 14th century pulpit (which obviously survived the fire, too) is a bronze lamp that, according to legend, favorite Pisa son, Galileo, started staring upon one day at Mass (obviously bored by the length of the service). Just like me after a few bottles of Chianti, the lamp started to sway back and forth. This is supposed to have given him the idea for the Pendulum. Since then, some know-it-all Pisans have argued that the lamp was cast in 1586, a few years after his discovery, but we went with the original Galileo story.
We still had some time before the big climb, so we decided that we needed more caffeine and downed a cappuccino. It was then time for the climb to the top of the Torre Pendante, and I had forgotten about Mary’s fear of heights.
Mary, like myself, is more a Type A personality, meaning we tend to yap a lot. Fortunately, our respective spouses are more the B variety and usually just shake their heads as we banter on. Today, Mary, feeling a little uncomfortable as we started the climb upward, began bantering…with herself.
I must admit, it was an odd feeling listing to one side or another as we walked around and around. I was right behind Kim, and we could Mary talking a blue streak, singing songs and just staying busy talking about nothing in particular. I said, “Kim, who is she talking to?”
He was laughing when he said something like, “Oh, no one in particular.” Our spouses did a lot of laughing, although they were usually really laughing with us…weren’t they?” Well, we made it to the first landing with no problem.
You could see, where if it was slippery, there are a couple of places with any kind of misstep, you could pull a Kim Novak in Vertigo and become a minced Pisa Pie. Fortunately, we safely made the top of the tower, Mary was calm (sort of) and we took some fantastic pictures. It was cool to look across at the difference in height, but unfortunately that differential didn’t show up that great in the otherwise terrific photos we took.
Just before noon, a voice came over the speakers saying in various languages that the bells are going to ring, it’s going to be real loud and don’t be so scared you fly off the tower. They were loud, and we are still here to tell about it. The tour is limited to 1/2 an hour, and the groupings are limited to how many people who can go each trip.
ALERT: Read the signs before you go that say “no backpacks and purses.” They mean it. Mary had deposited her purse, but a couple of people with daypacks obviously did not think the signs were intended for them and did not heed the signs.. They did not make our tour, and were not in the next group (probably full). I don’t know if they ever made it up to the top, but they are strict about that detail.
We made it to the station for the 1 pm train (after a gelato stop) and were back in Florence a little after two. Kim and Mary went off on their own, but I went in search of the greatest chicken sandwiches on the face of the earth at Caffe Giacosa, off the Via Tornabuoni.
This was Tracy and my fourth visit to Florence, and these morsels from heaven are the tastiest, freshest little sandwiches ever made. We have them every time we are here, and this seemed like a nice opportunity for me to do something nice for my wife. I thought, “Tracy will say I am the greatest, most considerate husband on earth (well, she could lie) when I bring these back for her.”
To my horror, they were sold out. Panic set in, because we only had one day left in Florence and had dreamed about these sandwiches from the time we got to Italy (sure that’s weird, but damnit these are GOOD sandwiches!). “We usually put them out at 11,” the woman said. I made a mental note that we should not forget to be here tomorrow morning at 11 am. Remember, however, I am the guy who put Super Gas in a Diesel.
Back at the hotel, Tracy was feeling better (even without sandwiches) and had even washed some of our clothes so we didn’t have to look like transients by the time we reached Venice. That afternoon, the four of us went over to the Cappelle Medicee to see the tombs of the dead Medicis. When I visited this museum in 1996 with Tracy, there was some bizarre fashion show going on and the entire inside was full of Christian Dior crap (sorry fashion people, I’m more into dead bodies and stuff). I was looking forward to seeing the place uncluttered.
So, of course, when we get inside we see that the whole place is under scaffolding, and some of the statues have been removed for renovation. It was still interesting, but not great.
We walked across the Arno to the district of Oltrarno where we have purchased historical pieces of art before. Luckily, we didn’t see anything we wanted, so after the four of us window-shopped, we looked at our watches and said (all together) “Cocktail Hour!”
I heard Kim laughing, and knowing that neither Mary nor I had not bantered for minutes (ok seconds), it could only be one other thing…he had found another Irish pub.
Yes, soon we found ourselves drinking Campari, Guiness, Jack Daniels and Scotch (not all in one drink fortunately), at Irish pub Numero Due. We met some guy who, after hearing we had gone to Pisa, said he was an engineer, and proceeded to tell us that a number of tourists fall to their deaths from the tower each year. We weren’t drunk, so we really did not believe his accounts, because I think hordes of tourists falling to death from a famed landmark would make the news. Our second cocktail made the story no more plausible.
We walked by the Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco and made reservations for dinner later on that evening. We then crossed the dangerous Ponte Vecchio. No, not dangerous for pickpockets but by the plethora of bling-bling shimmering its blinding glare toward Tracy’s eyes (and fingers and ears). At this point, I was feeling the bridge experience would be cheaper for me if I was pick pocketed before she could find earrings, a necklace or ring that called her name. Fortunately, neither happened, which meant we could afford to spring the cats when he arrived home.
Later that evening, we walked back over to Osteria del Cinghiale Bianco for dinner. The place was busy. I was the lucky recipient of the night’s best meal, a fantastico veal chop. We had been fortunate enough to enjoy numerous delicious meals on this trip, and tomorrow would arguably be the best we would encounter (at least, in hindsight, it was my favorite). It was also one of the most fun.
TOMORROW – GALILEO GIVES KIM AND MARY THE FINGER, A MUSEUM OFF THE BEATEN PATH, THE ELUSIVE CHICKEN SANDWICH, RACING FOR THE SUNSET, MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT OF THE TRIP
AND
INTRODUCING DAN AND LINDA SHARING TRAGIC (AND FUNNY) STORIES OF A SUNKEN CAMERA AND THE MOST EXPENSIVE FISH IN THE WORLD
Ooooo, love the title for tomorrow!
What? I have to wait till tomorrow for your fav restaurant. My guess is it is the one in Lamole.
Now the plot has really thickened!!
I've put 11 am at the Caffe Giacosa on my hit list for next summer.
I've just started researching Pisa. Is it easy to get tickets for the climb?
Kopp,
Yes, it is very easy to reserve your Leaning Tower tickets online.
Here is website:
http://www.opapisa.it/boxoffice/index.jsp
They will ask for your passport number. Pick a date and time you want to go, and they will send you a confirmation.
It costs 17 Euros per ticket online. You have to be at the Opera della Primaziale office near the tower about an hour before your scheduled time. Bring your confirmation, and they will give you tickets. About 10-15 minutes before you go up, go over to the TI if you need to check your purse, backpack, etc.
Have fun, and save a chicken sandwich or two for us in Florence.
Really enjoying your trip-are you a professional writer??
My DH is also an early person. His elementary school principal called to ask his mother to keep him home until the staff actually arrived. We tried telling him the wrong time for one party but I gave it away by not nagging him that we were too early!
"What? I have to wait till tomorrow for your fav restaurant. My guess is it is the one in Lamole."
Ah, that was the CONSENSUS #1, but not mine, although it was a very close second. My favorite restaurant was in Firenze and it is.......
Naughty boy. This is like reading the Da Vinci Code, but with a lot more food and wine.
Donco, your story got a laugh out of me. I have the opposite problem. My fiancee, his son and a few other members of my family are always late so I just tell them an earlier time.
Sometimes it works and they arrive on time!
Gail
I'm still waiting for your next installment. I hope all the gushing and fawning over Barb's story hasn't deterred you from continuing the account of your Odyssey. I'm finding it most entertaining and informative. Please continue!
maitaitom,
Thanks for the link. I've had to bookmark and calendar it as you can only make reservations 16-45 days ahead of the scheduled visit. Last time I was there you couldn't go inside, so this will be great fun!
Yeah, thanks for the link. I was also wondering how to make reservations for the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Looking forward to another chapter of Tom’s Tuscan Tours. Just what does that chicken sandwich have that makes it so delicious?
Unfortunately it has been a very bust couple of days, but will post next installment in a few hours when I get home from work.
Simone, the chicken sandwich is really very simple. Lettuce, mayo and chicken on the freshest little round pieces of bread. It sounds like any other chicken sandwich, but for some reason, it is just incredibly delicious (and it's not because we love Florence, although it doesn't hurt).
Maitai: My fav restaurant for dinner was also in Firenze and it was...."GARGA". On Oct 11, 2005. Second Fav was in Siena, "San Desiderio", a super lunch,10/5/05 and Third was also lunch 10/12/05 in Chiusi, "La Solita Zuppa", run by the "Soup Nazi". We didn't get to many places recommended by Fodorites because of many reasons, mainly that we couldn't find them and my husband said: "Let's find our own great places". He won, and we found good and bad cafes.
Okay, Tom, we are counting on the continuation of the trip. As much as I enjoyed Barb's epic mis-adventure, it is nice to read about a journey where everyone got along so well. (I think your group's wine consumption could have something to do with that??)
"Okay, Tom, we are counting on the continuation of the trip."
I am just waiting for Dan to call me back and tell me the exact name of the restaurant where he had the most "expensive fish in the world," which he said he would do shortly.
Everyone on our trip remains close friends, and they are actually "reading" along without fear I am saying anything behind their backs. Kim is very busy, so he sometimes falls a little behind in the report. I talked to him a couple of nights ago, and he asked, "Where are we today in the report?" When I said Florence, he replied dryly, "Great, did we have a good time?"
We all got along so well together because laughter truly is the best medicine (well, at least better than a wine and Ambien combo). And yes, any trip, any where, any time, is better with wine.
Cin cin!
Possibly the chicken sandwiches are so good because of the bread in Italy. It is not possible to get the same kind of bread here in the US even if it is baked by Italians with the good Italian receipes. Our flour, water etc. is different.
I eat sandwiches but not overly enthused about them but in Italy I love the sandwiches! Again I truly believe it is the various breads. Just my thought.
Now Tom, more of your trip report please..it is so enjoyable.
DAY 16 - GALILEO GIVES KIM AND MARY THE FINGER, A MUSEUM OFF THE BEATEN PATH, THE ELUSIVE CHICKEN SANDWICH, RACING FOR THE SUNSET, MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT OF THE TRIP
AND
INTRODUCING DAN AND LINDA SHARING TRAGIC TALES OF A SUNKEN CAMERA AND THE MOST EXPENSIVE FISH IN THE WORLD
We all woke up late, and, the couples went our separate ways to a couple of lesser-known Florence attractions. Kim and Mary went to the Museo di Storia del Scienza. The one reason I almost went there was to see one of the museum’s more offbeat attractions, Galileo’s finger (Let’s see if you drop a finger and a hand from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, will they….).
Tracy and I decided to visit the Chapel and Museum San Marco. While in the chapel, I believe I was scammed by the old Fake-Priest trick. He was sitting inside in priest-like garb (hey, I’m a Presbyterian, what do I know?) After I gave him a two euro donation, he opened up his priest outfit and showed me an “I Love the USA” pin. Oh well, I hope he spent it wisely.
The museum was fantastic with interesting frescoes by Fra Angelico, and we saw the tiny rooms where monks lived in the old days. This is a museum in desperate need of an audio tour, but I highly recommend it, and buy the eight euro book first. The tour is only four euros.
Then came another Tom Moment of Terror. I looked at my watch and it was 11:30 am. The chicken sandwiches had been waiting for us for ½ an hour. We hustled over to Café Giacosa, and there was only one left. We bought it, and took it to the nearby bridge. Trading bites, it was if we were about to lose a long lost member of the family, so before the ultimate demise, I got the camera out and shot a picture of the half eaten sandwich with its Cage Giacosa wrapping.
We strolled along the Arno on another beautiful Florence day, went over to the church of Santa Croce where Galileo (sans one finger) is interred. When we got back to the THG, the clothes were still a little wet, so we took them to the Laundromat down the street and dried them.
We got back to the room and soon we heard a knock. Mary told us that they had run into our friends Dan and Linda (“hey aren’t you..” ) in front of the hotel, and they were now in the lobby. Dan and Linda had gone to Oktoberfest in Munich and then trained to Salzburg and Venice before meeting us here. Besides wanting to say hello, we were interested in La Calcina in Venice, our hotel the next three nights after we were to leave Florence. They had stayed for three nights, and they loved it.
They were in good spirits, except that Linda also had the cough from Hell on the trip. Dan and Linda eased into the wine and cheese thing in a hurry, and the four of us along with Mary downed some vino. Kim was on his international cell doing some work. Little did I know that in about 15 minutes, I’d be huffing and puffing like I was going to have a heart attack.
Kim came out from his work mode and said, “Hey, it’s getting dark, aren’t we going to go down to the Arno and take some sunset pictures?” We had talked about this earlier, but I had completely forgotten (sort of like the chicken sandwich).
It was time for speed walking. I’ve known Kim since we were freshmen in college in 1970, and we weren’t all that fast in those days. On the vacation, he and Tracy usually walk at a slower pace while Mary and I blaze the trail. Not today.
Kim started walking faster than Karl Rove trying to dodge a subpoena. Then it was more of a sprint (well, an old man’s sprint) toward the Arno. We passed Santa Croce on the left, and after a quick wave to Galileo, it was down to the river. We took some shots of the Ponte Vechio, but Kim (aka Jessie Owens), had just begun. We walked at a brisk pace to the Ponte Vecchio and took some really neat sunset shots from there. At this point, Dan and Linda were probably wondering what they were getting into by hooking up with this bunch.
While Tracy sat out Pisa the day before, she had discovered a little restaurant near the Duomo called Ristorante Il Caminetto, and I made nine o’clock reservations with the owner previously on this day. I was excited because I had only spoken Italian to him (ok, with a little help from a waiter), and reserved a table on the patio for six. I had hoped I had said all the right things and had not booked a table for Christmas.
Sure enough, our table was ready at 9 pm, and this turned out to be my favorite restaurant on the trip. The inside of the restaurant is very charming, but the evening was nice (a little chilly, but they have heat lamps) and we had really wanted to dine outside.
My meal was as good as it got on the trip, and that includes Ristoro di Lamole along with Cane & Gatto in Siena. I started off with the pumpkin risotto, which was absolutely unbelievable (Tracy has a recipe she is going to share with the board in the next few days).
The waiter was very excited when I ordered the evening’s special the beef del Imprunetta (that might be a little off, but the 9 euro, one litre wines were going fast and furious this night). The dish is a peppery beef stew in a Chianti sauce that they don’t serve very often, but he felt it was the best dish of the night, and it was.
Not that anyone had a bad meal, but my two dishes were spectacular, so it became my Numero Uno restaurant of the trip. It was so good that Dan and Linda ate there two nights later, and said it was just as terrific. Total cost for the six of is was 168 euro.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot the incredible side dish. The roasted rosemary potatoes here are incredible. The table ordered extra helpings. Sort of like the chicken sandwich, it doesn’t sound that spectacular, but take my word for it, if you go here, order them.
During the evening Dan and Linda regaled us with stories from their trip to Oktoberfest, Salzburg and Venice. They had quite a fun time at Oktoberfest and fell in love with Salzburg.
It seemed that Dan was having a little trouble with cameras, however. His digital had bit the dust before he got to Venice, so wanting to take some pictures while there, he bought a little disposable camera to take up the slack. He was nearing the end of the role at the Bridge of Sighs. As he positioned himself for his final picture, one of the women on their first part of the journey accidentally hit his elbow. Needless to say, Dan has no pictures of Venice and the canal has another tourist souvenir camera. As it turned out, Sighs mattered!
But that was not his costliest moment. After departing the train in Venice, Dan and his group were a hungry bunch, and they saw a restaurant as they departed the train station. He ordered the turbot, and, he said it was a nice piece of fish.
Unfortunately for Danno, he had not noticed that the fish was sold by the gram, and this fish must have had a hell of a lot of grams, because it cost our fine diner a total of $200 Euro for his fish dish. He said it was fruitless to argue, and he actually had a good laugh over it. Well, probably not right at that moment.
“You know, I don’t think I can ever eat a piece of turbot for the rest of my life, “ Dan told us at dinner.
I replied, “Look at the bright side. You fish was less expensive than our tank of gas in Gubbio.” Vino, at a good price, can make anything seem humorous.
NOTE: Dan called this evening and could not find the receipt (I feel his pain), but did say they will look it up tomorrow and get me the info.
Back at the hotel, Dan said he would get up early to say good-bye before we headed to the train for Venice the next morning. Linda made no such promise knowing they would hook up with us for the last three days of the trip in Rome.
TOMORROW – SUNNY VENEZIA, UP ON THE ROOF, THE FOUR SEASONS WITHOUT FRANKIE VALLI AND REALLY, REALLY THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE FISH
thanks, tom, for such an entertaining, informative trip report! Like everyone else, I am really enjoying it! (and taking notes!!!)
Thanks. Supposedly the restaurant with the most expensive fish ever bought was found in a Rick Steves' guide, of all places. Stay tuned. I don't think my total fish conumption in my life has totaled $200.
I am so enjoying this report as I finalize the details for my trip in December. I have made the itinerary and booked hotels and some restaurants and am now thinking about other details. After all the wonderful vino you bought and consumed, did you buy any to bring back? I know you live in CA, as do I, and think there may be a 2 litre limit per person, but I'm not sure. I had posted a different thread about buying ceramics and heard a story about an additional $65 duty being tacked onto a dish that was sent from Italy. I'd like a good understanding of the duty situation before I start using my Visa card all over Italy. Also, you mentioned Kim using an international cell phone. I have T-Mobile and have already had them "unlock" the chip. I was planning on getting a phone card in Italy and using an Italian number. Is this going to work and is it cost-effective? Did Kim do something different? The whole phone thing is a challenge for me. Thanks for your advice.
What a wonderful trip report, Tom. The antipasti description at the Cane and Gatto made my mouth water and I was reading at 6 a.m. What can I say, the antipasti is/are my passion. Looking forward to more and to some photographs, please. I've been thinking that this thread and the Diva thread couldn't be more different. Attitude is indeed everything, and you've renewed my faith in the good traveler. Blessings on you and yours. J.
Reading this makes me laugh and I have only gotten to the car. When I was in Holland afew years back my friend who was living there sent me to pick up my rental car alone. The rental agent asked if I could drive a manual and I said yes.
When I drove away I felt proud of myself until I discovered I needed to turn around and couldn't put the car in reverse. I had to drive over a nice Dutch family's lawn. I then went to the supermarket and parked as far away as I could so no one would park next to me. I got back to the house and felt incredibly stupid until all the americans that were working with my friend had the same problem. He apologized for forgetting to tell me.
Great report. I can't wait to read the rest.
maitaitom... where are you?!?!?
Hey Mate, it's raining and thundering here and was hoping more of your report to keep my mind off this bad weather..
Hi everyone. I have been in Atlanta on business and just got back to So. Cal. this morning. I'll finish up this week.
sharkmom, regarding the phone. I talked with Kim's assistant who set up the whole thing. She said the cost was $3.99 a day plus $1.49 per minute and was received through World Roam Verizon UK. They have a toll free U.S. number 888-309-8560. They mail the phone to you and send a box to ship back after you get back.
I would never have brought a phone, but it turned out handy when we put in the wrong gas and needed EuropCar assistance and getting directions to Tourist House Ghiberti. Kim called the U.S. often on business. The reception on the calls were good.
More later. I promise this report will end before Thanksgiving.
Tom, glad you're back! Can't wait for more. It's such a bummer when life/work gets in the way of a good story
Yes, I was worried about you. I feared you had gotten the bill for the car, passed out, and hit your head.
Work! No excuse! Look at the rest of us (so many fodorites post from work it's scary...).
Please don't make us wait until practically Thanksgiving for the next installment. I need some entertainment before the holiday weirdness begins.
"I feared you had gotten the bill for the car, passed out, and hit your head."
No, but we did down a bottle of Chianti to ease the pain. Fortunately, it looks like Tracy and I will not go into debt over the rental car fiasco. The bill was fair.
I will start up again tomorrow. I still have Venice and Rome to go. I will also get out that pumpkin risotto recipe Tracy has come up with. Quite delicious. We're having trouble perfecting the pecorino ravioli, though. Help! I'm going through ravioli withdrawal.
My goal is to finish the report this weekend. Thanks for the nice (and funny) inquiries.
Loved the waiter who reported, "I am the wine list" - as indeed the maitai, c'est toi.
You can't finish the report, though, without fessing up to the crush you had on Karen Valentine...
Enjoying the whole thing immensely, I only hope you aren't getting writer's cramp (or should that be, typist's tendonitis....)
"You can't finish the report, though, without fessing up to the crush you had on Karen Valentine..."
Yes, I admit it! I feel better now. All I could think when watching Room 222 was, "Why don't I have teachers that look like that?"
Tom, was it you who slipped into the canal another year?
Your wonderful trip report makes mention of a soup restaurant in Chiusi - I'd love to hear more about it as I'm going to be there with friends to pick up our rental car & we could arrange it for around lunchtime if recommended...thanks for the entertaining trip report!
"Your wonderful trip report makes mention of a soup restaurant in Chiusi"
darkforcemom, thanks for the nice comments, but we did not visit Chiusi, so if I mentioned it in this trip report, I must have drank more Brunello than I recall (well, I'm sure I did that anyway). There have been a lot of Italy trip reports lately, so you must be thinking of someone elses report or, perhaps, another town. We did have some good soups along the way.
And cigale, I have never slipped into a canal. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
I guess I was the one drinking the Brunello! It was Katerbug who mentioned the soup restaurant in Chiusi while responding to your trip - perhaps she'll read this and help answer my question. Thanks for the clarification...now I'm off to wash my wine glass.
Unfortunately for me, I must travel with the darn phone (so I can remain tethered to the office even when I think I am not) The daily rental seems reasonable but the $1.49/minute will be a killer. I have a T-Mobile phone and am going to see what others know about this, posting a different thread since it's off point from your wonderful travel account. I just wanted to thank you for the info, so if need be I can use the Verizon UK alternative
SUNNY VENEZIA, UP ON THE ROOF, THE FOUR SEASONS AND BELLINILESS IN VENEZIA
Dan greeted us at breakfast, and we said goodbye to the Tourist House Ghiberti. Linda, true to her word, was sleeping like a log. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the hotel and highly recommend for price, location and hospitality.
Our train arrived in Venice a little before noon, and we were very cognizant of any restaurant near the train station touting turbot, since $200 for a piece of fish is a tad above my budget.
NOTE: Dan and Linda are awaiting the credit card bill for the fish to find out the exact name of the restaurant. It is located near the train station, and Dano told me to tell future visitors, “Beware of a limping waiter pushing the turbot on the menu.”
A little digression about Venice: Our first visit to Venice was in 1996 and we hated it. I called it, “Disneyland on speed.” We had taken the Vaporetto to San Marco, and I remember thinking, “What do people see in this place?” Souvenir vendors, the plethora of pigeons and the enormous amounts of people were overwhelming. The day was rainy, and we were happy to get out and go back to Padua where we were staying.
Over the years, Tracy and I thought that there had to be something we missed about Venice because so many people love it. So, in 2001, we returned (with Kim and Mary) and found out what we missed on the first trip…nighttime in Venice. We stayed on Dorsoduro at the Pension Accademia. We loved Venice on that trip.
Venice at night was magical, and we stayed away from Piazza San Marco during the day except to go to the Basilica di San Marco and the Doges Palace (which we loved). We meandered the streets and alleys, and after that trip, decided that Venice would be a place we could come back to in the future. Often.
This year, after reading so many great recommendations about it, we had booked La Calcina, also on Dorsoduro. We got off the Vaporetto, walked over a little bridge, and there was the hotel a short distance away. It turned out to be just as nice as the reviews we had read before departing.
Our rooms both had balconies, which offered a snippet of a canal view. But the hotel also has a balcony on top that you can reserve. It was an incredibly beautiful day, so we reserved an hour at 6 pm (Vino time).
After settling in, Kim and Mary went to have lunch toward San Marco, but since we were told this was going to be the only blue sky day while we were here, Tracy and I decided to eat a couple of doors down the canal on the water. Lunch was OK, but just sitting and soaking in the sun and the view was spectacular.
I had not remembered so many cruise ships the last time we were here, but on this day there seemed to be no shortage of them. Fortunately, we did not see any pirates.
On the way to converge with Kim and Mary, Tracy and I stopped at a nice little church (Chiesa San Vidal) a short distance after walking over the Ponte dell Accademia. On the train that morning I had asked Tracy if she would be up for a little classical musical if we could find a concert. I had mentioned that I would really like to hear The Four Seasons. When Tracy asked whether Frankie Valli was still with them, I knew that my warped sense of humor had now affected her brain permanently.
Well, luck was with us. There was a concert on this evening and it was The Four Seasons, Vivaldi-style. It only cost 23 euros apiece, so we got tickets for the 9 pm performance.
We met Kim and Mary at San Marco later in the afternoon, and the four of us took turns leading the others down streets leading to who knows where? That, to me, is part of the great allure of Venice. I was a little disappointed because the signage seems better than before, meaning it is a little more difficult to get lost (at least while sober).
We got back to the hotel, and while the rest of the team took a little nap, I decided to walk to the little wine store nearby. It’s funny, at home, if Tracy wants to walk around the block at night, it takes an act of Congress to get me off my butt. In Italy, I’m like the Energizer Bunny who just keeps going and going and going.
The Cantine del Vino Schiavi was hopping on this Saturday afternoon. The place was packed, with the overflow crowd sitting on the little bridge that sits over a narrow canal. I was buying some Prosecco for the rooftop gathering, but since I was here, I decided it would be a big mistake to not partake in the atmospheric moment. OK, all I really wanted was a good glass of wine, but it was atmospheric.
I went back and rousted the sleepy ones out of their respective beds, because it was nearly 6 pm, and I think you know what that means. The view from the rooftop of La Calcina was terrific, but we could feel a change in the weather. Since we had all had late lunches, dinner on this evening was a little cheese and salami on the top of the hotel.
The concert at the Chiesa San Vidal was great, with each violinist taking the lead for the respective seasons. Sadly, they did not play “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”
Afterward, we decided to walk down to San Marco, and on the way, there was an exhibit on Vivaldi, featuring some ancient instruments and a detailed account of his life. We were asked if we wanted to go to another venue the following night for a rendition of…The Four Seasons. Venice: All Vivaldi, All the time!
When we arrived at San Marco, we walked toward Harry’s Bar, ostensibly to have a really overpriced Bellini. I had envisioned Harry’s as being some truly Venetian-type of experience, but after gazing in, it just looked like another overpriced, busy bar to me. Yes, I know, some people say you have to do it, but the atmosphere did not appeal to us for some reason, and I can pay too much for drinks anywhere.
Since it was beautiful outside, we hightailed it back to La Calcina, where they were open a little later than usual for dinner on the outside patio. Tracy and I soaked in the beautiful evening with a little more vino and toasted our return to Venice. We thought, “This beats an overpriced Bellini any day.” It would also be the last time the patio would be open while we were there.
TOMORROW - PALAZZO PERFECTO, SPECTACULAR SCUOLA, WHAT’S THAT IN MY ESPRESSO AND A SINGING GONDOLIER THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE A GONDOLA OR A GUY SINGING
So glad you had a good third trip to Venice. I love Venice; one of the pleasures of my last Italy trip in the spring was that the non-Venice-lover with us (and boy, did I try beforehand to talk her out of joining us there so she wouldn't complain and ruin it for the rest of us)really liked it this time. Why? some of the very things you mention; wandering at night, avoiding places that were too crowded, spending lots of time eating and drinking. I could go for a glass of wine from the Veneto and some cichetti right about now.
Things seem to be going too smoothly, however (oh wait, I actually think I channeled Barb's trip for a minute, yikes!)
More food details, please. Hearing about your yummy meals is inspiring me to cook. (Not that I am close to the fabulous Tracy, I am sure.)
Great journal, tom!
Tom,
This is such a fun read. Looking forward to the next installment.
Tom
Thanks Tom. I enjoyed your report, too. I'm glad you had a good time. I am still in vacation mode after being back a month (of course, that might be because it has taken me a month to get this far in the report).
DAY 18 - PALAZZO PERFECTO, SPECTACULAR SCUOLA, THE CANAL JESTERS, WHAT’S THAT IN MY ESPRESSO AND A SINGING GONDOLIER THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE A GONDOLA OR A GUY SINGING
We woke up to a cloudy Thursday morning, and after breakfast at La Calcina (I usually eat breakfast five times a year at home. This was my 16th straight breakfast on the trip), Tracy and I hopped on the Vaporetto for the Ca Rezzonico, an old palazzo.
We had purchased a Vaporetto pass when we first arrived in Venice, which turned out to be a good deal, so we hopped on for the short trip.
The cost was 6 ½ euro plus 4 euro for the headphones, and it was a very insightful look at what Venice was like a couple of hundred years ago. If you go, the audio guide is a must, because it gives you a more detailed account, although Tracy thought it could have more on the building itself, instead of just the art pieces inside. All in all, we both thought it was a great stop.
We toured around for 90 minutes, and then rushed to San Polo to meet up with Kim and Mary to take a look around the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Tracy had told me that this museum was full of the works of the famed Tintoretto, who up until the day before, I had thought was the mouse that had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.
It was six euros to enter and the audio guides are free. The highlight to me, besides some incredible Tintoretto paintings, was the wood inlaid library.
The upstairs also had a lot of mirrors lying around, and I was thinking that they were for tourists to look at themselves and make sure pigeons hadn’t pooped on them. Tracy informed me, that if you looked down at the mirror lying on a chair, it gave one a perfect look at the painted ceilings. Sure enough the ceiling was spectacular from this angle, although I gave a quick glance to see that there was no poop on my shirt, since I had worn it yesterday at San Marco.
Our sightseeing continued at the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the largest church in Venice after the Basilica di San Marco. It cost the others 2.50 euro, but I had bought a cumulative ticket for 8 euro on the first day and got in on that.
That much sightseeing could only mean one thing…lunch. Since it had started raining. We popped into a happening restaurant on a little alley, the Ristorante alla Madonna. The place was huge with four or five large rooms. We got seated in one of the smaller ones. The bread was crusty, and come to think of it, so were the waiters.
Lunch was good, with dishes ranging from spaghetti and clams, ravioli pomodero, scampi and a fish soup alla Venezia with Crostini. I was forced to try the cream cake, which was delicious.
On the way to the Rialto Bridge, there are a number of little stands selling; well I’ll be blunt, crap. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t buy something. Kim and I both attended San Diego State (or as Kim jokingly calls it, the Harvard of the West). The school colors are red and black, and at one of the stands were the ugliest, red and black jester hats (bells and all) you could imagine.
To Mary and Tracy’s ultimate dismay, Kim and I each bought one (five euros each) and took photographs of each other near the bridge in all our sartorial splendor. Now those were two ugly Americans.
The rain was starting to come down, so Kim and Mary took the Vaporetto to points unknown, while Tracy and I walked the streets back toward our destination. It also started Tracy’s 24-hours of shopping. First it was some Murano glass necklaces.
When we were walking I spotted the Pasticceria Bar Rizzardini, and there in the window was a Mascarpone Cookie that said “Tom.” Shopping makes me hungry. Once inside, I decided to have an espresso. “Grappa?” the gentleman behind the counter asked.
“In my espresso?” I replied.
Yep. It was a new drink that I do not know the name of, but the guy assured me that people actually drink it. As stated previously somewhere in this report (where, I know not), Grappa is an acquired taste that I don’t know I will ever fully acquire. However, it was quite tasty, and now I didn’t care if Tracy spent more money shopping. Oh yeah, the cookie was good to, what I remember of it.
That evening, we all started to walk from the hotel to find somewhere to eat. It started raining pretty heavily, and the dinner at La Calcina was looking better to us. Tracy and I headed back to the hotel, but Kim and Mary were not that hungry so they trudged on through the night.
We dined inside, and it turned out to be a good choice, although not great…EXCEPT, for yet another drink invention.
But I digress. We sat next to two schoolteachers from Germany, who we met when they were given Tracy’s soup by mistake. They were a joy to talk with, and they kept apologizing for their poor English (which, by the way, was better than many San Diego State students I have met).
The timing was shortly after the German elections, and we asked whether they liked Angela Merkel who looked like she would become the next Chancellor. They said, “No, but Schroder is just as bad. We actually can’t stand either of them.” Tracy and I told them we felt their election pain.
As we were chatting with our German comrades, I saw some Brits at the other table downing an after dinner drink with much gusto and in good spirits. Knowing that their politicians were as bad as the Americans and the Germans, I surmised it must be the cocktail that was putting them in such good spirits.
I said, “My good man (yeah, I’ve seen too many English movies), what might you be imbibing?”
“It’s a Sgroppino,” he replied, without a stiff upper lip.
A Sgroppino?! My god, it sounded like a disease I could have contracted at San Diego State, but I asked the waiter what it was? He told us it was a concoction (not his own words) of lemon sorbet, Prosecco, a touch of Vodka and a little cream. He added that this drink was a great after-dinner drink to settle your stomach. That clinched it. We decided to try one of the frothy delights.
They were delicious. The German ladies asked if we liked it, and since Tracy had not broken the bank shopping, I ordered two for the Germans (ok, and two more for Tracy and myself).
We liked everything about the Sgroppino except one thing, the name. What could we call this Venetian drink when we serve these at home? After a few seconds of contemplation, Tracy took the first two letters of the drink and said, “Let’s call them ‘Singing Gondoliers’!”
I thought, “Damn, I married well.”
TOMORROW – MEN OF ACCADEMIA, THE TINY SHIP WAS TOSSED, SINGING IN THE RAIN AND WHOSE PEN LEAKED ON MY SPAGHETTI?
Fabulous Tom....one of the best installments yet. I do not want this trip to end!
Espresso with grappa is a "caffe corretto" -- "corrected coffee." Warning: it can be addictive! We stayed at a B&B in the Veneto where it was part of the set meal every night (the whole dinner only cost 13 euro!), and we got hooked.
But in the US it can be a very expensive habit. We had bought a bottle of grappa to bring home with us (cost in Italy about 10 euro for a normal liquor-sized bottle, whatever that is in litres), and it's getting kind of low. So yesterday my DH asked in the liquor store whether they sold grappa. Well, they said, we're out of the cheap one that costs $40, and the only one left costs $70!
Hi Tom,
Really enjoying the continuation of your report. The string quartet didn't play "Big Girls Don't Cry" -- great visual!
I can't help the gut feeling that I actually did cross paths with you guys in Assisi. When exactly were you there?
Dayle, we were in Assisi on Monday, September 19 BG (Before Grappa)
Hello Tom, so very glad to read more of your trip report, and am so happy you discovered the joys of Venice during your second visit there.
Grappa, an acquired taste, I love it!!
But never buy it here in CA due to the cost as nonnafelice said. But another reason to always return to Italy.
Now, more about your trip please!! Thank you.
Tom,
OK, I was in Rome then. I asked because I stopped for a morning hot chocolate near the Basilica and spoke briefly with 2 couples from San Diego.
Looking forward to the rest!
In the states, never buy Calvados or grappa unless you can afford the higher price, because the less expensive tastes like fire water. Once we were in Europe, what a difference in taste, smooth but strong and wonderful.
MT Tom,
How great are the scropinos or "singing gondoliers"? I discovered them at a restaurant on the piazza in Capri last September and my friend and I were hooked - we are just waiting for an occasion to whip up a batch at home. I am really enjoying your trip report!
JenV
Hi mimi, I always have grappa in Italy but don't buy it here. There use to be a family owned restaurant in NorthBeach (SF)that was sort of like a home away from home for us and the owner would come over with 3 small glasses of grappa and sit with us after dinner while we visited with him. He kept the bottle in the kitchen, not at the bar. We felt very priveledged that he shared his grappa with us. Beautiful memories!
Tom, you're bringing back great memories of drinking in Italy! When we stayed near San Gimignano, we had dinner one night at La Cisterna, on the town square. (Where we found ourselves seated next to an architect from CT who my husband had worked with!)
It was a fun festive evening, made more so by the very delicious "house cocktails" they served before dinner. We liked them so much that we asked for the recipe -- and since they had the information pre-printed on postcards, evidently we were not the first to ask.
So of course when we had a dinner party back home, we had to make the Cisterna specials for everyone. As I recall it involved all the major liquor groups, and was very tasty. But for some reason, it seemed a lot more, um, intoxicating than when we had it in Italy... I don't remember a whole lot about the dinner (I was doing the cooking) but everyone sure seemed to enjoy themselves. We named the cocktail "Cisterna Rocket Fuel".
Tom,
As a fellow Tom, and a former San Diego resident,(Graduated from Montgomery High School in 1980), I feel you are leaving us hanging!!
Plllleeeeaaase, another installment of this great report!!
Tom
PS Whats the latest on the 'Trevor' front?
"Plllleeeeaaase, another installment of this great report!! Tom
PS Whats the latest on the 'Trevor' front?"
The last day in Venice will be up later this morning. First day of Rome (hopefully) this afternoon. The Trevor front (for you few Padre fans outside SD) does not look good so far. But Towers said he is going to try hard to make it work, since Hoffmann is "the face of the Padres." I hope so.
Tom, thanks for getting us another terrific installment.
My husband was just complaining that he didn't have anything to read on the plane on Friday and I told him that I have one of the BEST reads of the year all printed out for him: your great report.
I can't wait to hear about Rome...(no pressure, really!)
I'm not a big Trevor fan, Tom, so I don't really care what they do. I think he's long past his best and they need a closer who actually closes. barbks@san.rr.com for more detailed discussion!
This report is really taking longer than the trip. I thought you were just joking! Keep going, and when you're finished, it'll be time for your next trip!
More please!!
SOON.....
Yes please -- we're asking nicely
DAY 19 - MEN OF ACCADEMIA, THE TINY SHIP WAS TOSSED, SINGING IN THE RAIN AND WHOSE PEN LEAKED ON THE SPAGHETTI?
Over the years, Kim and I have had many a “Boys night out;” sporting events, bars, gambling and clubs that provide, ahem, adult entertainment. However, we had never had a “Boys morning out.” Today was going to be that day. But instead of clubbing, we were going to a museum. Yes, we are now officially old.
The afternoon before we had spotted a long line at Galleria dell’ Accademia, which we had wanted to see. “I wonder if there is a long line at the opening?” I pondered. Kim said he would give it a try if I wanted to get up early.
It seemed like a much better idea the previous day when I awoke a little after seven. The combination of Campari, vino and Singing Gondoliers were still dancing in my head when I rang Kim’s room. “Let’s go for it,” he said.
I forget if it opened at 8 or 8:15, but Kim and I were a few minutes early, nonetheless. There was one guy in line, so we ducked in a nearby cafe for a cappuccino, and were back in line for the opening. To avoid lines here, come early.
The Accademia was well worth the visit, and the audio guide covers the big-ticket paintings. It took us a little less than 90 minutes to go through the museum. Kim had taken a liking to the paintings of Bellini, but all I could think of when I saw his name was a peach drink, and that didn’t sound too good at 9 am.
We were done by 9:30, meaning that if we hustled we could still catch breakfast at La Calcina, and you know we couldn’t miss breakfast. Tracy and Mary were already seated when we rushed in for cappuccino and a sweet roll.
We had decided we were going to take the little-more-than-an-hour trip to Burano, the lace island. As we stepped outside, the skies opened and it began pouring.
Unfortunately, the previous evening after dinner, Tracy decided to give away one of our umbrellas to one of the Brits after dinner (obviously, those Singing Gondoliers caused a feeling of generosity). Luckily, the hotel has spares for their guests who over-imbibe and give away their worldly possessions.
We sloshed down to the Vaporetto stop, as water came up on the walkway. Yes, the weather started getting rough.
A few years ago, on a trip to Catalina, Mary and Kim found out that strong seas and their stomachs’ don’t mesh very well. As we stood on the platform waiting for the Vaporetto, I looked at Mary’s face. It looked whiter than one of those Venetian masks, and I had a feeling Burano was not in the cards for our friends. I think if we had gone on the Vaporetto, more than the tiny ship would have been tossed.
So much for the fearless crew of the Minnow and our three-hour tour of Burano.
For me, the rougher, the better (boat rides, of course). However, it did seem kind of dumb to take a one hour-plus boat ride when all you could see was a driving rain, so Burano will have to wait for another visit. The Professor and Ginger then headed for Piazza San Marco, while yours truly, Gilligan, and Mary Ann decided to go back to San Polo.
It is a fact; Venice is a blast in the rain. As we headed on the Vaporetto toward the Rialto Bridge, we noticed that the Ca Rezzonico, that we had visited the day before, was impossible to get to due to high water. We window-shopped for a while, but hunger once again set in (hey, I only had one sweet roll for breakfast).
I had read about a place called Cantina do Mori, which has been a bacari since the mid 1400s, so Tracy and I decided we’d eat there. It is said that Casanova hung out here, but I do not know if he said, "This vino rosso is better than sex."
We were the only Americans who occupied the place along with a bunch of Italians and a few Germans. This is one of those places where you eat cicchetti, which is basically a bunch of finger food that you have to eat a lot of to get full. But it was really good finger food.
We devoured some bruschetta pomodero, a wedge (or two) of pecorino, deep-fried, breaded eggplant, smoked salmon crostini, a crab claw (not a pretty sight), a potato/dried tomato skewer, crostini with zucchini and shrimp, along with salt cod mashed with olio and pepper on a crostini. We each had a glass of prosecco and a glass of vino rosso. There were no seats, so we occupied a position at the back bar.
Interestingly, all the Italians paid when they bought each item, while they just kept serving us different things as we ordered, which was often. I told you we were hungry! I guess I had an honest face.
Finally, we were ready to pay the bill, and I had no idea how much this going to be, but I thought it would be a lot because, as you can see, we didn’t skimp on drinks or food. Amazingly, the entire bill was only 26 Euros, which I felt was a bargain.
The atmosphere of this tiny place was also terrific. One of the guys behind the counter was going to be married soon, and the locals who came in kept buying him glasses of wine and giving him grief (as a once-future husband, you can tell what they’re talking about, no matter what the language).
We then started the soggy walk back toward Dorsoduro. Tracy bought some jewelry for friends, and then we stopped to look at a window of a cool, little shop that had a beautiful (I can’t believe what I am about to write) cat puppet. I can’t even blame it on the vino, because it looked so similar to our little orange tabby, that we immediately decided we had to buy it. Ok, maybe it was the vino. Thankfully, we still liked it when we unpacked it upon returning home.
Tracy and I had a great day walking in the rain, and experiencing Venice in that way is pretty enthralling. I think Venice is one of the few spots in the world where a rainy day can be just as fun, or even more fun, than a nice day.
Kim and Mary also had fun walking the streets and alleys of Venice. They had lunch at the Cantine del Vino Schiavi near our hotel, which they said was good. They also had a surprise for us.
They invited us to their room at the appointed 6 pm cocktail hour. There on their table was a Party-In-A-Box. Cheese, Campari, vino and pre-made Bellinis were all within our grasp. Afterward, there was only one more thing to do…go out to dinner.
We had made early reservations for Taverna San Trovaso. There are actually two of these restaurants. The more familiar one on the little canal was closed on Monday, but its sister restaurant was open.
It was communal seating, and this place was packed at just a little past 7 pm. The table next to us had ordered a little before us, and we were not sure where they were from, so when they got their multi-colored pasta dish with lobster, they didn’t look happy. She called the waiter over, and we could tell she wanted to send the plate back because it looked bad.
Fortunately, Tracy’s multi-colored pasta dish arrived about the same time, so once the woman realized that it was supposed to look that way, everything was fine.
Mary decided to be bold and went for the spaghetti in squid ink. It was not the most appetizing looking dish, I must say. Actually, it did look like a ballpoint pen had squirted black ink everywhere on the plate. It was at this moment, I was glad I ordered the veal limone.
Tracy and I ordered a round of Singing Gondoliers after dinner. The waiter, not knowing the name of this local drink had been changed, said, “How about a Sgroppino?” They’ll get used to our new name for it some day, I’m sure. The Singing Gondoliers here were frothier than La Calcina’s…and better (we are making a batch and bringing them down to Kim and Mary’s house on Thanksgiving…see I told you we still like each other).
When we got our bill, there was a little card saying you could pay in your local currency. After reading the boards, I know this was not what we wanted to do. The waiter never pushed it (and they had been very helpful and nice all evening long), so I didn’t say anything and we paid in Euros.
When we got back to the hotel, there was a little bottle of Campari and soda that had still not been opened. Knowing we did not want to pack it, I took one for the team and forced it down. Yeah, I didn’t think you’d buy that.
TOMORROW – STRANGERS ON A TRAIN AND THE SHERPA, MAY I BUTT IN, “SORRY, BUT THE TAXI IS BROKEN,” THE GLORIOUS GALLERIA, THE FAKE TERRORIST ATTACK, AND NOT THE NINA OR THE PINTA BUT THE….
Tom, squid ink pasta is an absolute taste sensation - really! It's delicious! I first had it in a tiny little tratt. at the end of Zattere pier - squid in it's ink with rigattoni. Discovered it only because I asked the waiter to surprise me & give me whatever they were having for their own lunch. Do try it next time you're in Italy
Thank you for continuing. I love the report, and will use it when we visit Tuscany.
Now, will you share your measures for the "singing gondoliers?" Sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving drink!
cw
maitaitom,
I'm loving your report and howled at the cat puppet purchase. I think we need to see a photo!
I'm glad you people know what appeals to me. No one has said, "Oh Tom, it's so wonderful you loved Venice in the rain." Nope, you guys want drink recipes and pictures of Cat puppets! Purrfect.
I will take a picture of the cat puppet and put it on my blog once I finish the three Rome installments. As for the Singing Gondolier, I will post below what I found online, and I have done some tweaking to it.
Singing Gondolier (aka Sgroppino)
2 cups (16 oz) lemon sorbet, softened
2 Tbsp vodka
1/3 cupProsecco
4 Tbsp cream or half-and-half
Here is what I have done. I can't just put two Tbsp of vodka in anything. You don't want the vodka to overpower either. I used four Tbsps. and one more tblspoon of cream (if not a vodka person, it is not mandatory to put it in). You really shouldn't taste vodka anyway (I just like knowing it is there)
Melt the lemon sorbet until soft, and put ingredientsl in a blender. Blend until it becomes somewhat liquidy (I don't think that's a word, but who cares). Then comes the maitaitom method to make it frothy.
As it blends, open the little top of the blender and add the white of one egg as it continues to blend. Blend a little longer.
Pour immediately after blending or the mixture will separate. Drink perfection is an ongoing process, so should anyone have a better recipe, I am open to ideas. It is a perfect after dinner, stomach soothing drink.
OK, enough of this, I have to go back and look at my Rome notes.
I want to write to you about Pitigliano. I own three small books by Edda Servi Machlin. "Servi" is the Italian word for "slaves". Her ancestors were among the Jewish slaves forced from Jerusalem in 70 AD when the Hebrew temple was destroyed by the Romans. Servi-Machlin has written 3 books, one is a memoir, "Child of the Ghetto, and two are cookbooks: "The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews I and II." She was born in the ancient Jewish quarter of Pitigliano where her father was the chief Rabbi. Pitigliano was known in Italy as "Little Jerusalem." She spent 1943-1944, during the Nazi period in hiding as a partisan and emigrated to the USA where she now lives in NYC. I highly recommend the books because they are filled with the little known history of Pitigliano during this wartime period. She writes about these Italian Jews who had 2000 years of Italian history before they faced the Nazis. This is a fascinating period of history and I know of no other American writer who has experienced it first hand from her unique Tuscan background.
Maitaitom: you are the best travel writer ever. - it kills me cuz I try to do the same for our local rag. However, Kudoes to you - I and my DH are just back from Italy, mostly Montecatini and 9 days in Rome, so can't wait for the rest of your tour.
I have spent LOTS of time in the val d'Orcia, and love it. Iris Origo's daughter, Benedetta still runs La Foce, just across the valley from San Quirico, and the gardens there are spectacular. Too bad you didn't know to take Tracy there. SeaUrchin is right , they rent villas and apts. at La Foce, a great way to spend time in the val d'Orcia. We've done it three times, try it sometime. Next May, Venice, so I'm printing out your wonderful report. Many thanks. Keep it up. We also spend some time every winter in Coronado, so do you have any great restaurants in San Diego to talk about? maybe on a different thread? also how do we get to your Blog with your photos???
I'm entraced with this report. My hubby would not bother to write one.
Great report!! Just discovered it via the Fodor's newsletter and read it all this morning (couldn't stop!) We visit Italy often, including many of the places you went. I smiled in recognition and also laughed out loud more than once. I love your attitude. Can't wait to hear about Rome.
ttt
That's funny that it would be under the heading
Travel Horror Stories since the trip was not a horror at all (well except for that pesky gas thing). Maybe they want to highlight that when little (or big) things do go array on vacation, a little bit of humor goes a long way in making them no big deal.
betsys, the blog will be at
http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/
(takes about 30 seconds for all pictures to load)
Right now, my 2003 trip (with photos, including the lovely Tracy) to France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy is up. Once I finish Rome and end this report (hopefully soon), I will clean up the spelling and post this report and pictures at the above site. Thanks for all the comments.
Wow - why haven't I read this before today? Your trip report is great!
DAY 20 – STRANGERS ON A TRAIN AND THE SHERPA, MAY I BUTT IN, “SORRY, BUT THE TAXI IS BROKEN,” THE GLORIOUS GALLERIA, THE FAKE TERRORIST ATTACK, AND NOT THE NINA OR THE PINTA BUT THE….
When the phone rang a little after 4:30 am, I turned on the light and gazed at my wife, who even though she had her eyes closed, was giving me the look. “Why did you book such an early train?” she asked. There are no good answers at 4:30 am.
The four of us showered (not all together, this is a family post), and were ready for the water taxi at 5:45 am (I need a long shower at 4:30 in the morning).
The water taxi from La Calcina to the train station takes about 15 minutes, and, with tip, was about 70 euros. The skies were clearing, and we saw a few people taking early morning strolls. We guessed they had just arrived and their body clocks were off, but maybe they were just enjoying the incredible Venetian serenity of early morning.
Once again, I had purchased first class e-tickets for our train ride to Rome (via Florence). We left at 6:30 and were scheduled to arrive in Rome a little after 11. Tracy and I sat across from each other, and seated next to us were a couple of very good looking young women with bare midriffs (not that I noticed). Once again, Tracy gave me the look, which set a new European record of two “looks” before 7 am. Across the aisle, Kim and Mary just laughed.
Although I love driving in Europe, I do enjoy train travel. It was a good place to catch up on my notes, get in some reading and occasionally ogle the women next to me. The best part was that my three traveling companions were not in the mood for coffee, so they all ordered espressos for me. By the time we hit the Rome Termini station (4 1/2 hours and seven espressos later), I don’t believe I was able to blink.
Next, I made a husbandly faux pas of planetary proportion. As I was getting our luggage down from the rack, I saw my new girlfriends were in need of help. I started loading Tracy up with our luggage, and then gallantly took the girls’ luggage off the rack and handed each of them their suitcase.
I then turned to Tracy who had two suitcases hanging around her neck and shoulders, and one in each hand, and she did not look too pleased with me. She said, “What am I, your Sherpa?” I thought about doing a little Tenzing Norgay humor, bit immediately thought better of it.
We headed to the taxi stand and waited for a cab to drive us to the hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere. We were first in line when the taxi pulled up, and a couple proceeded to butt in front of us giving us a tale of woe in Italian (he looked like a student saying the dog ate his homework). I was about to get in a “discussion” with the gentleman when the taxi driver got out of his car and started yelling at the guy, who departed immediately.
The journey wound through the streets of Rome, and when we hit Trastevere, we were a little concerned. As I was to find out, Trastevere is similar to Campari, as it is also an acquired taste. There was tons of graffiti and it is not the cleanest place in the world. “What have I booked?” I thought.
We wound through alleys that didn’t seem able to accommodate two bicycles, much less one taxicab. Yet, in a few moments, we were at the gate of our new oasis, the Hotel Santa Maria.
We loved this hotel, too, and there is no doubt that it caters to an American clientele. The afternoon spread, put out about 5:30 pm is fantastic, the breakfast includes eggs and the people at the desk are more than helpful. The rooms are set up around a courtyard, and there was a bar for those who partake in wine, Campari and Prosecco drinking.
The hotel recommended a little place in the tiny square around the corner, and we had a nice lunch (it had been our first day without breakfast, except for my seven espressos). When we got back to the hotel, they called a taxi for us, because I had booked online 3 pm reservations for the Galleria Borghese.
This is one of those places they tell you to get to early to show your reservation so you can pick up your tickets. As usual, I gave us extra time, since I hate being late. As we drove down a Rome street, the taxi abruptly stopped. “Sorry, the taxi is broken,” our cabby said. “”You must get out and find another cab.” This is why you leave early.
Luckily for us, a taxi deposited someone only ten feet behind us, so we started to climb in. He wasn’t going to let us in, because he thought we were bypassing the taxi in front of us. When I told him the taxi was broken, he smiled and let us in.
We still arrived there in plenty of time, received our tickets and went to the entrance. We were first in line, and although many reports say to go upstairs to the paintings first, we did not. Tracy said she could have spent the entire time in the first room, with its incredible ceilings and walls.
There are some incredible sculptures on the first floor, my favorite being Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne, but I was completely blown away by many of them. As usual, the audio guide, to me, is a must. Although you have two hours to go through the museum, it took us a little less than 90 minutes to see both floors.
We then walked through the park, down a street to the Spanish Steps to the Trevi Fountain and finally to the Pantheon (nothing but net). That tired us out, so we stopped at the Campo de’ Fiore for cocktails (sometimes this seemed like a trip perfect for The Thin Man).
We walked back to the Hotel Santa Maria, and Dan and Linda greeted us at the hotel bar (I know you’re shocked). It was Happy Hour, Roman-style. Per Tracy’s notes: “It is a lovely presentation. The spread includes, bruschetta with pomodoro, mushroom pastries, a bowl of olives, pecorino with chili peppers, pizza bread with dried tomatoes and anchovies, caprese salad and much more.”
During Happy Hour Dan and Linda told us about their journey to the hotel the previous day. When they told the taxi driver at Termini Station they needed to get to the Hotel Santa Maria, the guy said he could not take them there. “Terrorist drill,” he said. It seemed the day Dan and Linda arrived, Rome was preparing for a terrorist attack at various venues in the city, so it was difficult for taxis to navigate the streets of Rom (like other days are a piece of cake).
They were told to take a bus that dropped them off in Trastevere, which they did. Unfortunately they did not have a map to the hotel, so it was sort of hit and miss on where to go. Then, it started pouring, and they ducked into an enoteca (any port or sherry in a storm), and started cursing Tuscan Tom’s Tours. “Where has he put us?” they asked. “What kind of area is this?”
A little digression. Kim, Mary, Tracy and I had been to Rome before, so we thought about Dan and Linda arriving in Trastevere the day before (although we did not know the entire story, of course). We even said, “Boy, this might be a little different for someone who had never seen the city before. They are probably wondering why we booked a hotel in this area.” Turned out, we were right.
Fortunately for Dan and Linda, someone knew where the hotel was, lead them to it, and they loved the hotel. Dan and Linda walked all over Rome later that day and said they had a great time. They also liked the Trastevere area. They also raved about the enoteca where they sat out the storm and said we had to go there later. It turned out that this little enoteca had the best dessert I tasted on the trip (more later).
Kim and I went to the desk at the hotel to get a restaurant recommendation, and the girl behind the desk was stunningly beautiful. I had already accumulated enough wives (and trouble) on the trip, so Kim said she could be his new wife. When I told Tracy (still not quite over the Sherpa episode), she said, “Great maybe Kim can have a double wedding with you and the Piccolo Oliveta girl, but remember, Mary and I get all the property.” Nothing like a wife to spoil a perfectly good middle-aged man’s fantasy.
We had a good, but not spectacular dinner. Tracy and Mary then called it a night. The rest of us went to Dan and Linda’s wine place, the Enoteca Trastevere, and sat outside enjoying vino and the most spectacular dessert on earth. The enoteca had a chocolate, cinnamon dessert that is hard to describe except to say I nearly licked the plate clean to get every last morsel. I knew it was bad when Dan said, “Tom, you have chocolate on your nose.”
We headed back to the hotel, bid farewell to Linda, and the three boys went off on our own. We had one cocktail (I made the mistake of ordering a brave bull that nearly killed me), and we started back toward the hotel. It was after midnight when we hit the happening Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. There were fire dancers and other street people doing their thing around the fountain. After nearly a day here (more for Dan and Linda), we decided we really liked Trastevere, warts and all.
Kim and I had rooms next to each, and Tracy answered my knock immediately. Mary, on the other hand, did not answer Kim’s knock on the door. The window was open, and we tried to get her up, but not wanting to be loud for those nested in their beds, we could not roust Mary from her deep sleep. Could it be another Ambien and wine episode? Fortunately, it was not. She just happened to be out colder than Robert Downey Jr. on a drug binge.
Finally, Tracy called Mary’s room, and after numerous rings, a very tired voice answered, and Kim had a place to sleep for the night. No matter what happens during the day, we also end up with the correct wives.
TOMORROW – TOM’S TOURS HITS A SNAG, IS NERO NEAR, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY THROUGH THE FORUM, A COLOSSEO SHORT CUT, THE DEAD POPE, NEARLY A DEAD HUSBAND, AND A MIME IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE (ALTHOUGH I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO)
Nice to read your notes on the Hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere. We have reservations there for our "Visit the Daughter in Siena in April" tour. I think we got the last room for that weekend, booking last month.
Tom, I am still loving your report, I hate to see it nearing the end, can't you make up a few more weeks?
Thank you for taking the time to add your own special humor too.
I still say he fell in the canal
lol
"We guessed they had just arrived and their body clocks were off, but maybe they were just enjoying the incredible Venetian serenity of early morning."
I was one of these crazies. I have only spent one day in Venice in all my life, and half of it I spent under the effects of "ALL the vino!" But I'm so glad I had that one day, because when I return to Venice on a longer trip, I know I will purposely get up early early early in the morning to experience Venice during that time. In my opinion, it's the best time of day in this city.
Anyway, the main reason for this posting, Tom, was to yell at you for giving us your blog site, because now I have your other trip to sidetrack me at work!!!
Love the report!
Report still great and I'm still interested in you, maitaitom, even with that nasty midriff-ogling episode (Tracy rules!)
Was the mime in the Piazza Navona?
Reading this is soooo much better than actually getting any work done! Yay!
annabelle, It was actually a sort of pseudomime, and no, it was in Trastevere's Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere.
ceb, The only bad thing about the early morning in Venice is that it's...early. It was beautiful, however.
Only two days to go in the report. After writing this, I want to go back even more.
Thanks for the drink recipe. Sounds like a new Thanksgiving tradition in the making.
I too will go with the 4 T of vodka--any less seems dull or frugal.
I don't want this report to end. Thanks.
cw
topping for Doug.
Tom:
I just signed up for Fodor's so I could write a note to let you know I've spent the last 2 hours reading your posts and am enthralled!
Planning my 1st in-depth trip to Italy May '06 and you hit on all the places I want to go, so a huge THANK YOU for sharing your adventures with all of us!
Question: do you do husband training? Mine never seems to understand "the look" nor find it humourous when I [inevitably] trip or lose the hotel key or forget the directions.... I think you would do him a world of good before we hit the road for a month. May I drop him off sometime?
topping to finish reading later -- hysterical!
"Mine never seems to understand "the look" nor find it humourous when I [inevitably] trip or lose the hotel key or forget the directions...."
Unfortunately, it is usually me that loses something or takes a tumble. As for "the look", I think most husbands don't understand it, but we certainly expect it. The reason I find Tracy's " the look" so humorous is because she really has that Spock eyebrow movement down pat.
Hi mtt, Really enjoying your report and hate to see it end. You inspired me to ask my DH if he is afraid of me-seems he is-or pretends to be anyway! Does Tracy know the true extents of her powers??!
"Does Tracy know the true extent of her powers?"
Yes, but thankfully she uses them for good, not evil.
DAY 21 - TOM’S TOURS HITS A SNAG, IS NERO NEAR, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY THROUGH THE FORUM, A COLOSSEO SHORT CUT, THE DEAD POPE (AND NEARLY A DEAD HUSBAND), THE MYSTERY INSTRUMENT AND A MIME IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE
As stated earlier in this report (when, I don’t know, because it has taken me too damn long to write it), I don’t like being late, so it was with trepidation that I asked the hotel for a taxi pick up about 50 minutes before our scheduled Domus Aurea (Nero’s Golden House) tour. I had pre-reserved the tickets and had my print-out to take to the ticket office. Right before we left the room, Tracy said, “Do you have the print out?”
“Of course,” I answered confidently. We were supposed to arrive a half hour early, and the hotel said it wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to get there, so I thought the only thing that could go wrong would be the taxi breaking (as it had the day before).
Kim and Mary were feeling chipper, so they decided to walk (about 45 minutes from the hotel, they were told). Dan, Linda, Tracy and I were waiting for the taxi when the guy at the Hotel Santa Maria desk came outside to tell us that the taxis were very busy that day, and we had better walk down to the taxi stand to get one. OK, now panic was beginning to creep into my brain.
For most of the trip, the leader of Tom’s Tuscan Tours had been in control, with no problems. Now, I felt that control going away as we walked the five to ten minutes to the taxi. We were going to be late, and I was not happy. I walked ahead of the other three, talking to myself like an idiot, and I think it was here that Dan and Linda began thinking that I had lost my mind. As Al Jolson would have said (if he were still alive), “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
We got to the taxi stand, and were fourth in line, but there were no taxis. OK, now I’m officially worried. Not only were there no taxis, when I reached in my pocket, I discovered there were no printed reservations, either. Yes, yours truly had left the paper on the bed after telling Tracy, “Of course.” I didn’t even turn around, because I could feel “the look” coming from Tracy, not to mention Dan and Linda.
“Damn,” I said (although I might have used a more descriptive expletive at that point). “Have the taxi meet me at the hotel,” I said. I then started running back to the Santa Maria. For those of you who have seen the movie “Damn Yankees,” I must have looked like Shoeless Joe Hardy running for the fly ball after the Devil had turned him back into an old man. The citizens of Trastevere could only look in awe at me running slower than the slow motion scenes in Chariots of Fire. When I eventually reached the room, I was sweating more than I was when I couldn’t get the car in reverse at the rental car exit.
I got the reservation form, the taxi met us, and we were off. Linda said, “Tom, I’ve never seen you like that!”
Tracy, quicker than a Muhammad Ali jab, answered, “Oh, I have…often.” She doesn’t get a lot of punch lines, but she nails them when she does.
We were 20 minutes from our tour time, when the taxi driver gave me another bit of bad news. “What is the Domus Aurea?”
I repeated the mantra, “Attitude is Everything! Attitude is Everything!”
As he drove the busy streets of Rome, I was showing him where it was on the map, and he kept alternately kept switching his look from the road to the map as he was winding through the streets, pedestrians hurtling their bodies out of harm’s way. I told the rest of the crew, “I guess we’ll get there or die trying.”
He drove past the Colosseum, let us out and said something like, “I think you’re close,” which did not give me a lot of reassurance. We were just about five minutes from tour time.
Nearby was a horde of police giving one guy a traffic ticket. One bored policewoman (who was standing and looking at the officer writing out the ticket) must have noticed my sad countenance and said, “May I help you?” She obviously knew the look of a confused American. She pointed me in the right direction, and I went into full gallop, old man style. Tracy, Dan and Linda followed, but I got so far ahead of them again, that they also had to ask for directions.
As I got to within 50 feet of the ticket office, I saw two familiar faces walking toward me in the sunlight. It was Kim and Mary. Kim said, “How come you’re sweating? We’re the ones that walked.” Oh, the trials and tribulations of a tour leader.
I got to the ticket window, and the very nice woman at the counter, noticing the beads of sweat on my face, smiled and said, “Don’t worry, you still have a few minutes until the tour.” We enjoyed the tour of Nero’s House (audio guide a must) and since there is not a lot intact to see, you need to use your imagination to know what it must have been like back in the day of the crazed emperor.
Afterward, we all walked through the Foro Romano, which Dan and Linda visited the first day, and where Kim, Mary, Tracy and I had visited in 2001. We wanted to show Dan and Linda the Carcero Mamertino underneath the Church of St. Joseph of the Carpenters near the Foro Romano, where Peter and Paul had been imprisoned 2,000 years ago. We walked down the winding stairs from the first floor and saw the small room where Peter and Paul were kept before being executed.
We were going to go to the Colosseum, but since Dan and Linda had already been there, they went off on their own, and the four of us walked back through the Forum. Before they left, Dan gave us this piece of sage advice. “Get your ticket to the Colosseum on the combo Palatine Hill ticket. Go to the second ticket office.” This information garnered Dan the Tip of The Trip Award.
As we walked through the Forum, Tracy and Mary stopped at the House of the Vestal Virgins (well, what’s left of it), where they immediately went into a chorus of A Whiter Shade of Pale. “One of sixteen vestal virgins who were leaving for the coast” resonated through the Forum, and since neither was really a virgin, Kim and I thought about burying them alive like they did to virgins who strayed in the old days, but we decided against it.
We got our combo ticket and went up to Palatine Hill. Words do not do justice to the view of the Forum that day from Palatine Hill. The blue skies and amazing cloud patterns made for some remarkable photo opportunities. I think it was at this point that Tracy first said she was hungry.
Then, it was on to the Colosseum. Dan had told us not to wait in the long line, which stretched forever. Instead, he told us to go into the guided tour line, which we did. At first, the guard said we could not go in this line, but when we showed him the ticket, he waved us through. That little tip saved us more than hour of wait time.
We took the elevator up. On top, as I was reading about the Colosseum from the guide I had put prepared before the trip, a young couple stood nearby. We thought we might be blocking their view, but when we asked if they wanted us to move, the guy said, “No, I was just enjoying the comments from the tour guide.” It had taken a few hours, but Tom’s Tuscan Tours was back in business (although it was now called Tom’s Roman Tours).
Afterward, Kim and Mary took the subway to Circus Maximus, while I continued to deprive Tracy of sustenance as we headed on the subway toward the Vatican. I told Tracy there was a method to my madness for wanting to go to the Vatican. We had 9:15 am Scavi Tickets for the following day, and I wanted to know exactly where we should go. Plus, both Tracy and I wanted to see St. Peter’s again.
We asked the Swiss Guard where the Excavations office was, and soon we found ourselves in a surreal takeoff of the famed Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First” routine.
“Where is the Excavations Office?” I asked.
“Do you have reservations?”
“Yes, for tomorrow, but I just wanted to make sure where to go.”
“Come back tomorrow.”
“Yes, I know, but is this where I go?”
“Do you have reservations?”
“Yes, for tomorrow.”
“Then come back tomorrow. Ok?”
“I don’t know…Third Base.”
Anyway, I did ascertain (finally) that this was the place to go the following morning. We saw a long line stretching through the Vatican, and I was going to ask the Swiss Guard what the line was for, but realized we had to be back at the hotel in a couple of hours for cocktails. Instead. I asked someone else. “Oh, that’s the line to see the tomb of John Paul II.”
We went inside St. Peters and spent a good deal of time wandering. We then saw another line that was going past another dead Pope. “Who’s that?” I asked.
“Pope John XXIII,” was the answer. He was lying in state because he was on the fast track to sainthood. The line was short, so we got in. People were taking pictures of the pope as they moved through, and although it seemed a little sacrilegious, I took one, too.
Tracy’s hunger pangs were evident, but we were now in the dreaded Bermuda Triangle time of in-between lunch and dinner, so she said she’d just wait until the Santa Maria Happy Hour. Since we had been on our feet for more than six hours, we could have taken a taxi back to the hotel, but we had not had a lot of luck with taxis, so we walked the 20 minutes back to the hotel along the Tiber. When we arrived at our room, Tracy said, “OK. My feet are now officially broken.” She was too tired to even give me the look at this point.
We met up with our friends at the Santa Maria Happy Hour, and it seemed like “Broken Feet Syndrome” was running (well, walking) rampant in our group. However, there is nothing like Campari, Prosecco, Vino and a nice spread to rejuvenate the spirit, if not the feet. We chatted with other guests until it was time for dinner. Eating hors d’oeuvres can certainly make one hungry.
At eight that evening, we walked the (thankfully) short distance to the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. Dan and I walked over to a restaurant called Sabatini, and he turned toward me and the others, his face white as a ghost. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong until we glanced at the menu that said their fish was priced by the gram. Dan was having a Venice flashback, so we hurried over to the Ristorante Galeassi on the piazza and got an outside table.
As we dined, I kept looking out on the square at a guy dressed as King Tut, or at least that’s what I thought he looked like. He kept staring at our table and suddenly I couldn’t get that Steve Martin tune out of my head. Thankfully, he finally had to go back to his condo made of stona or somewhere, and we ate without his constant stare.
Then came the piazza’s musical entertainment. Two youngsters “playing” accordion regaled the crowd, but something seemed amiss. Linda said, “They’re not really playing. I think the music is recorded.” We all agreed, except for Kim, who steadfastly said the boys were live, not Memorex.
Well, we went back and forth until we all chipped for a handsome tip and had Linda go pose with the boys. She swears that when she got close up to the boys, the kid on the left was just faking playing the instrument. She maintains, that there was some sort of tape recorder inside the accordion. Looking back, she could have requested a song to see if they were really playing, but it was more fun to just argue the point.
We decided to go back to the Enoteca Trastevere for dessert.
NOTE: Tracy found our notes and the dessert’s name is Il Saraceno and besides chocolate, it has cinnamon and some sort of hot, candied peppers or Red Hots.
Once again, this chocolate masterpiece was terrific. We chatted with one of the owners who said it (the enoteca, not the dessert) has been in the family for 60 years, and she lived upstairs. We had a great glass of a 1998 Brume Rosse Reserva and also a glass of Rosso Moio. We liked the atmosphere so much, that we made reservations for dinner for the following evening.
For us, we were sad because that was going to be the final night for all of us in Italy. For you, it’s good news, because this report is almost finally over.
TOMORROW – UNDER AND ABOVE ST. PETERS, SHORTCUT TO A DEAD POPE, THE INCREDIBLE GARLIC BREAD AND THE LAST SUPPER (ROMAN STYLE)
Well, I may be a sicko but I for one don't want your report to end. Besides being fun and funny, it is full of good tips and makes me anxious to plan my next trip.
Add me to the list of goofy baby boomers who just HAD to sing a chorus of "Whiter Shade of Pale" at the remnants of the vestal virgins' abode...(that song still makes little sense to me, though.)
Thanks again (I sadly have yet to actually finish a trip report, but then my writing is not as witty as yours!)
"that song still makes little sense to me.."
Yes, but it seems our vacation could be summed by these lyrics to the song:
"When we called out for another drink, the waiter brought a tray."
Last chapter (Finally) this afternoon.
Tom,Tom, Tom...You lied to us. It is now nearly 10pm on the Left Coast and still no final chapter!!! LOL(Just kidding...just hoping to read the last part of this GREAT report before I turn in)
Tom
DAY 22 - UNDER AND ABOVE ST. PETERS, SHORTCUT TO A DEAD POPE, LINDA BUYS A RESTAURANT, THE INCREDIBLE GARLIC BREAD AND THE LAST SUPPER (ROMAN STYLE)
In an effort to not recreate the trials and tribulations of the day before, the crew was ready to roll by 8 am, and we all walked to St. Peters (no taxis today, thank you). Before we left, Tracy said, “Do you have the printout for our tour under St. Peters?”
“Of course,” I replied.
As we left the room, Tracy asked again.
I reached in my pocket and, unbelievably, it was not there.
Then, in a Siegfried and Roy moment (without the carnivorous tiger), she whipped out the paper from behind her back. Tracy held the reservations over her head. “You left it on the bed again,” she said incredulously, all the while giving me the look at the same time. I was beginning to worry that she had given me so many looks recently her eyebrows might freeze in that Spock-like position. Fascinating.
At 9 am, we walked into the Excavations office, and in 15 minutes a group of 13 were on the Necropolis Tour underneath the Vatican. We were a little surprised that we were allowed to keep our daypacks on and that they were not searched.
For anyone who has any doubts about this tour…take it! We were very lucky to have a terrific English-speaking guide who also had a sly sense of humor. As we entered the chapel near the end of the tour, the sounds of chants and hymns filtered down from above. We found out later they were inducting priests on this day, and the sound of music we heard in the bowels of St. Peter’s made the experience quite surreal and spectacular.
We saw the tomb of St. Peter and what they think are his bones. Winding through the streets of the necropolis were also memorable. The tour more than lived up to its advanced billing.
Earlier. Tracy and I had told Dan and Linda about being able to stand in line for Pope John Paul II’s tomb. Their flight the next day was in the afternoon, so they thought they would wake up early and get over to St. Peters at 7 am, when it opened to beat the lines.
As the tour ended, the guide said, “You can exit to the right, but just to let you know, if you walk about 25 feet to your left you can see the tomb of Pope John-Paul II. I’m not supposed to let you go that way, but I might look the other way if you decide to go left,” which, of course, we all did. Dan and Linda could now sleep in tomorrow and, truthfully, I would have been disappointed had I waited in line for it.
After the tour, it was time to walk and soak in the majesty of St. Peter’s, and then I told the group that Tom’s Tours had one more climb left in it. After a slight bit of cajoling the group, we all decided to go to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica.
I gave the crew a slight break, and we took the elevator first, which saves nearly 200 steps. The view down of the inside of St. Peter’s Basilica is amazing and not for those who have a distinct fear of heights. I then gave the group the sad tale, “There are more than 300 steps to go to the top.”
The stairs that wind to the top have a weird tilt. I felt like it was Leaning Tower II. It was all worth it for the views over the roofs of Rome. But by now, the group only had one thing on its mind…food!
I had picked out a restaurant near the Piazza Navona, so we made the walk from Vatican City. We finally found the restaurant on a narrow street and looked at the menu.
As a tour director, you have to be cognizant of what the group wants, and they definitely did not want this restaurant. How do I know that?
I turned around and Mary and Linda were already looking at a little pizzeria across the street, where we eventually wound up eating. As they say on the Miller Lite commercials, “Good call.” The name of the ristorante is Pasquino, which not coincidentally is located on the Piazza Pasquino.
First of all, we had a wise-guy waiter who was really funny. Linda tried her best Italian to order a pizza, and the guy shoots back with, “What? You want to buy our pizzeria. Do you have the money?” The rest of us quickly ordered in English.
The food was really good including the Caesar salad, a Greek salad, spaghetti with bacon, tomato and hot pepper sauce, the four cheese gnocchi and a vegetable lasagna with eggplant, zucchini and capers. But the best item on the menu was the garlic bread.
We all agreed it was tremendous, but obviously Mary had taken a look at how much they had spent on the trip, because when Kim was about ready to order another piece, she said, “I don’t think it was worth money, honey.”
In a surprise turnaround, which shocked wives and husbands in the general vicinity, Kim gave Mary “the look.” He then said, “Whatever,” and ordered another one. Husbands throughout the land rejoiced.
After lunch, we all went our separate ways for the final afternoon in Rome, but a heavy downpour had all of us back at the hotel for our final Happy Hour.
That evening, we had a good dinner at the Enoteca Trastevere, and I had TWO of the great chocolate dessert.
TRACY INTERVENTION: She looked at my description of the dessert that I wrote in Day 21 and said, it was NOT hot peppers or Red Hots that gave it the distinctive taste. It was a red cayenne pepper or a facsimile thereof. No matter what it was, by the time the evening ended, I was once again wiping chocolate off my nose after cleaning the plate. I have to get that recipe!
To no one’s surprise, we had consumed a good amount of vino at dinner, so there were hugs galore because Tracy and I would be up before the crack of dawn to catch to our flight, and Kim and Mary would not be far behind. Linda smiled, knowing she could sleep in AND have the good breakfast.
We were recounting all our adventures when Kim reminded us of going to the Monte Oliveto Maggiore while wearing his short pants. “I guess I made a mockery of the monkery,” he stated. Believe me, after a few bottles of wine, that sounded pretty funny.
Tom’s Tuscan Venetian Roman Tour was done, and I, as usual, was very sad to leave.
DAY 23 – HOMEWARD BOUND AND IS THE PILOT BAKING COOKIES?
We had an early flight, so the hotel rang us before 5 am. I quietly got the luggage to the Happy Hour Room. The Santa Maria was another fantastico hotel, which I would definitely recommend. I liked Trastevere more than Tracy (although she loved the hotel). It’s hard to describe, but I just liked the vibe. For some reason, it felt real, and the walking distances to most major venues are not bad, at all. I can see that Trastevere is not for everybody, but I would stay here again.
The guy called a taxi, and we chatted while I waited. He made Tracy and me one final, delectable cappuccino. “I hate leaving Italy,” I said.
We first flew to London where I checked my e-mail one last time:
NOTE: I used mail2web.com to check my e-mail throughout the trip. This way I was able to keep up with the thousands of offers of Viagra and how to find dates with desperate housewives (coincidence, I think not!). Mail2web is an easy way to check your e-mail, however, and I was already married to a desperate housewife…desperate to get home and see our cats.
It was first class again, baby, and we took full advantage of the perks. Non-stop vino, steak, pizza and caramel Sundays were all digested with gusto.
A few hours from landing, the smell of fresh, baked cookies wafted through the first class cabin of American Airlines. I was afraid that if the passengers in steerage also smelled these cookies, we could have a riot on our hands.
Then out came fresh, baked, sensational, warm chocolate cookies. They were more than delicious.
I told Tracy I wanted to stand up and yell to the folks in the back, “Let them eat peanuts!”
She gently reminded me that we would be those peons again for the next ten years until we accumulated enough frequent flyer miles, so I stood down. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Tracy’s friend met us at the airport, and in the car were about eight tacos. I somehow found the appetite to eat my fair share. We picked up the cats, paid the bill (I’m glad we love them) and got home.
In the near future, I will go to my blog site and put this monster report (sans typos and grammatical errors) up with our photos. I’ll also include a “Best Of” from the trip.
It was another incredible trip to Italia. Everyone got along, the sights were amazing, the food was delicious, the wine divine (and cheap), the memories are indelibly etched in our memories and the people of Italy could not have been nicer. From Pecorino Ravioli to Pumpkin Risotto to Singing Gondoliers to Mystery Chocolate dessert on my nose, we could not have asked for any more (well, maybe a few napkins).
Yes, there were a couple of stumbling blocks (and gas tanks) along the way, but they were only minor inconveniences in the scheme of things that we can easily laugh about now (although it was only recently that I could utter the word Diesel without pain). Where we go to next is still up in the air, but I guarantee that whether it is Tom’s Eastern European Exodus or Tom’s France Foray or Tom’s Spain Swing, we will maintain the two most important facets of any vacation:
Enjoy the Journey!
Attitude is Everything!
Tom:
What an amazing report! Thanks for recommendations, laughs, and delicious food details! Italy is next on my list of places to go and you gave me some awesome ideas.
Even though it was a sweat filled adventure, I thank you for sharing the "where is the reverse gear" episode. I'm heading back to France in March/April and will now ask how to put the car in reverse, pop the trunk, and other things!
I'm sorry to see this end. However, I'm looking forward to seeing photos on your blog.
Happy Thanksgiving!
TR
THank you Tom for such an addictive, enthusiastic, wonderful report! I have really enjoyed reading the installments and like a favourite soap opera, awaiting the next episode. Now I too shall have to partake in some vino...to drown my sorrows..no more report!
Thank you again!
Tom: Bravo - this was just a delightful trip report. I really like your traveling style. It was great to hear your take on Trastevere too. From my apt. window I could see that wonderful enoteca.
MaiTaiTom: I'm torn between feeling bereft and feeling thankful that your trip report is finito. I found myself desperately waiting for the next chapter each time, and usually stayed up late at night in hope. Well at least now I can get to bed early. I lost a lot of sleep laughing all by myself at the computer, with my husband determining that I had gone daft. Many thanks for a FABULOUSLY funny, and FABULOUSLY educational report. Even tho' I think I'm a val d'Orcia maven, you really topped me on several things. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Bravissimo! What an amazing trip report! You should seriously consider writing proffessionally.
Ditto to everything nice thing said! Really enjoyed reading about your Italy trip. I'll look for your previous trip posts now. Thanks and ahhhhh Italy!
"she had given me so many looks recently her eyebrows might freeze in that Spock-like position. Fascinating."
I was laughing so hard, I am glad no one else was inside at that moment. Thanks for sharing your trip (and your fine sense of humor.)
Giving thanks (on this day before Thanksgiving) for the witty, fun and useful report! Great job.
Now what do we read?
For my 4 months of lurking here planning our wedding in Italy next April, I can say with confidence...
BEST POST EVER!
Cheers Tom! It's been a fun ride! And yes, attitude is everything. My fiance concurs. Do consider doing more of this type of writing so others can enjoy.
Here's another vote for best post ever from a reader who's been lurking throughout the report! Thanks, Tom.
Tom, two of my sisters and I are going to Rome and Florence for the first time in Feb '06. Your story (novel?) was a wonderful way to add to the already rampant anticipation - and with some good food/wine recommendations to boot! Thanks so much for a good read and very helpful info!
Hi Tom,
Bravo ! Mille Grazie.
Bravo! You have written the perfect report! Thank you!
Thanks for all the nice comments. The trip was a blast and writing about it makes those memories fresh. Hope you have all the ingredients for a Singing Gondolier after a day of overeating.
tom - believe it or not, I just started reading this report about an hour ago. I had been "saving" it for when I had a bunch of free time to dedicate to it, but of course that never happens.
Now, as I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner, I've had an hour to indulge myself. In your honor, I'm enjoying a pre-dinner glass of wine and sitting in front of this computer. I don't know how I will tear myself away when dinner is ready......
thanks!
mom
Thank you, Tom, for an amazing report!
Is there really a french foray trip report?? I'd love to read it!
Dina
Tom, sorry to see this end. I toast you with a grappa.
Very entertaining, it's has kept me amused on numerous trains trips. This morning however I discovered my print out was missing the last day ... talk about suspense. Thanks
Genuinely wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to post it.... let us know when you sell the movie rights.
Thanks for a terrific read!
Bravo! The best report ever.
I have thoroughly enjoyed it - thanks for sharing!
"Enjoy the Journey" and "attitude is everything" are wise words for successful traveling. Thank you for sharing your experiences in such a witty, wise, and informative report.
This post should be put in the Trip Report Hall of Fame (if there was one).
cw
PS what ever happened with the rental car issues? or should we not ask?
Did I miss the consequences to the rental car fiasco? Love, love, loved your trip report!
Thank you for your wonderful trip report. I leave for Italia in 1 week and can hardly wait. I have tried to balance reservations with enough free time for spontaneous activity. As of now, I have reservations in Florence for the Uffizi and Academy and in Rome for the Scavi tours. I want to make a reservation for the Galleria Borghese before I leave. What is the best way to do this. Also, is there any other "must see" museum I should make a reservation for?
sharkmom, I got my Borghese tickets at below website:
http://www.ticketeria.it/ticketeria/borghese-eng.asp
I received e-mail confirmation within 48 - 72 hours. It might have been sooner, but I really do not remember. Have fun.
As far as the rentalmobile, we were dinged for a few hundred euro, which seemed fair.
What is the address of your blog? I'm looking forward to the photos that go with the trip!
we play it safer. When I hear of young people who travel with totally planned itineraries and first class hotels I feel sorry for them.
Loved the report... reminded me of the way my husband and I used to travel. Used to go off without any reservations. Now that we are more mature -
Blessings on your head, Tom-man. What an incredible account. Even if I never get to half the places you all enjoyed, it sure was fun to read about them and all your exploits and adventures (mis- and otherwise), and all the foods and potent potables you consumed. I can only think that all the hoofing you did accounts for the fact that you were able to wrap that seatbelt around your midsection once your gastronomic adventures were over. I'm so glad to have discovered you for myself. Keep on telling it like it is.....and molto grazie!
Tom, bravissimo e tanto grazie! Looking forward to the URL for your blog, and don't forget the promised recipes so we can travel vicariously...
Attitude is, indeed, everything.
For those interested, the site is:
http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/
My report and pictures are not up yet, although if you want to relive a 2003 trip, that is there (with pics). I hope to have this trip up within a couple of weeks. it is taking a long time to figure out which pictures to use. Plus, I am still waiting on some of Kim's photos. I guess Dan's will remain at the bottom of the canal. Thanks.
Great trip report, MTTom--as entertaining as edifying.
Two notes: every year in the UK, 400 people mistakenly put petrol (gas) into diesel cars. You Are Not Alone.
While watching The Talented Mr. Ripley, in one scene, just before Matt Damon murders somebody, the character says, you're acting funny, have you had too much Sgroppino. Thanks to you, I now know what he was talking about!
Mille Grazie Tom!!! This was a fabulous report and I loved every minute. If per chance you need to haul along an assitant tour leader on your next journey...
And I thought my husband was organized! We are the ones everyone wants to travel with, due to his pre-planning, print-outs, etc. Glad to know there is a Tom's Tours to match (or exceed) Tim's Tours! Italy is our favorite (my sister lives in Rome) and you've given us ideas for our next trip. Other than driving in the piazza, I'd love to hear what else you did in Trevi--if anything. This is the town in Umbria where my sister's in-laws live. We've been there many times...a lovely, lively cultural outpost, halfway between Spoleto and Assisi. Highly recommended!
Joyce
I think we should take up a collection to send him back for another trip and another report
maitai:
I also had to become a registered Fodorite to compliment you on your travel dissertation. I've been enthralled all evening and have copied the entire thread to use as a guide on our trip scheduled for April-May. This is our 8th trip to Italy, each being 21-30 days in length and spanning 25 years.
This time we're doing it a little differently than most:
Flying into Nice and renting (lease/buy-back) a spanking new Renault 607 there, avoiding the high insurance costs in Italy. We'll ultimately drop the car in Rome at FCO. Caveat: To do this, you must rent for at least 17 days.
It's only about a 5 hour drive from Nice to Lucca, but we'll linger on the French and Italian rivieras for 5 days before reaching our first villa outside Vinci from which we'll day trip northern Tuscany for a week. Then we'll follow your beautifully illuminated pathway throughout southern Tuscany from our second villa in Montepulciano for another week. When we leave Tuscany, we'll end with 3 days in Rome.
Can't tell you how much I appreciated your vivid descriptions which animated the characters and scenes as though I were there. I could actually taste and feel it. Loved your selections of restaurants, hotels, travel sights and wines....particularly the wines...and promise to try to make you proud of another American quartet truly getting in to the joie de vivre that Italia inspires.
I'm sure he can give us a few more details he forgot??
Not to hijack this outstanding thread, but -- Tenderfoot, that car rental arrangement sounds excellent. Who are you renting from? (And maybe you'll do a trip report when you return? I like the sound of your plans
.)
Ahh, Tom, I am so sorry that the trip report is finished. I copied and pasted all of your installments and then printed it out (49 pages). It was the best reading I have done in a long time!
I am also a SoCal person who loves wine, so maybe one of these days Bill and I will run into you and Tracy at some wine-related event. It would be a blast!
Thank you for taking the time to write your report - you remembered a lot of details in spite of all that wine!
Dear Tom
Just got back 2 days ago and had to tell you how very much we loved the areas in Tuscany you recommended.
We based right outside San Gimignano in San Donato at a lovely Fattoria. The kids went wild over the countryside beauty (we even went horseback riding) and even though it was November it was still green and mostly lush after a warm and wet autumn.
We especially loved Pienza and my son who is an amateur photographer took some amazing shots there during our picnic.
I also loved the Brunello although we only splurged a couple times!
All in all Grazie for the wonderful ideas and lovely places which we would probably have not found on our own.
My family has a special fondness for MaiTai Tom. (The kids think your name is cool)
Yolanda
Ianz: Where did you stay? I've had 3 fabulous trips to La Chiara di Prumiana, just near SanDonata & just love that area.
We stayed at Fattoria Voltrona.It was quite lovely and remote at the end of a back road. I only wish it had been earlier in the season as we were the only guests! But with 5 of us we only paid 112 euros per night. (no breakfast) That was actually our best per night rate of the trip. We had lovely rooms and great views.
It is a great place with wonderful homemade olive oil and vino.
I'd love to go in the early spring when prices are still good but there might be a bit more going on. Besides day trips and horseback riding it was pretty quiet at night which was fine by me but my three teens were a bit bored after three days.I personally needed it after flying in to Milan, getting the car and heading south to Tuscany all in one packed day.
I hadn't looked here for some time, so thanks for all the nice comments.
nancyhol, there is a new wine bar in Pasadena called The Crepe Vine Bistro and Wine Bar that is calling our name. Hope it is good.
BTilke - Thanks for the info on people putting the wrong gas in the car. A day that will live in infamy for me, but as Tracy said, at least it made for a good story.
Thanks to everyone else who enjoyed ur journey. It was a great trip, and we're already thinking about where we will go next. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
Tom, I just went to the Crepe Vine wine bistro and it was excellent! We had crepes and three different wines. Have you been there yet?
Wonderfully catchy title for a great trip report. I loved your witty details and humor - truly hysterical!
I have been to nearly all the places you listed in this report, however, I will never view them the same again after reading of your humorous accounts and escapades.
I, too, stayed at the same Rome Hilton this last May and couldn't agree with your more - location is everything. I loved the fact that one can walk from the hotel to the airport and one's flight. The hotel restaurant was not bad either, albeit it a little overpriced.
We are back from our trip and enjoyed ourselves as much as you did, thanks in part to many of your suggestions. I need to report that in Florence we ate one of your much-loved chicken sandwiches from Caffe Giacosa. I think it's the bread that makes it so good. However, it was very cold that day and I barely restrained myself from also ordering a cup of the most wonderful looking hot chocolate I had ever seen.It was so thick that people were drinking/eating it with a spoon (like hot fudge)and it looked delicious. However, since we were on our way out of town and scheduled to eat lunch at Lamole, I decided to exercise a little self-control. However, next time....
Our meal at Lamole was fantastic and am so glad that we ate there. The view was as described and the wines they suggested with each course were fantastic. It was one of the best meals, although it's hard to say which was the best since several were competing for the honor. I Sette Consuli in Orvieto was unbelievable as well and certainly shares top billing rights. The best pizza was in Rome at Pizzaria da Baffetto and we had a wonderful meal at Il Ritrovo in Florence.
Finally, you will be glad to hear that it was a slow day at the Fortezza when we showed up for some brunello tastings. I had brought with me info from Wine Spectator and they poured us a couple of 90+ rated wines. We then made our way to Poggio Antico for a tour and tasting and were able to bring home so bottles for a fraction of what the list price is here. This winery is fantastic and I would highly recommend a visit on some future trip.
SeaUrchin, Thanks for the rec on Crepe Vine. Since I also live in the area, I'll give it a try after all the people from Texas get out of Pasadena
Wow, the CrepeVine sounds like a place for a mini GTG.
SeaUrchin - yes, we went there for lunch last week. It was good, but the service is still a little slow when they get crowded, but I think they just need a little time. I also just tried Bistro Provence in Burbank. Another neighborhood place that is good.
Huitres - Yep, the location of Airport Hilton is worth the price, and the sauna tunnel is fun, too.
sharkmom - I am blowing out of work right now to go to the Food Bowl in Old Town Pasadena and hang out with the throngs of people. A buddy of mine got me a FREE itcket to the Rose Bowl tomorrow. Yes, I am lucky.
If a CrepeVine Bistro GTG gets in the works, count Tracy and me in.
Oh, sorry to hear about the service. We went last night and there were only about 8 other people in the restaurant. Where were the Texans? I think the rain scared people away, all of Old Town was vacant.
Yes, Food Bowl tonight for me too!
We should have a miniGTG, maybe later in January?
Actually the service was not bad, just a tad on the slow side because they were full up that particular day. I went there with my friend today (good combo of tacos, pizza at he Food Bowl and then to the Bistro for escargots and wine). I really like the owners and hope they succeed.
Sharkmom,
"I'll give it a try as soon as all the people from Texas get out of Pasadena." -- hey, I resemble that! Hook 'em!
Just got back from the foodbowl and there were Texans all over the place, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
We had some interesting dishes from India, the US South and South America.
I won't hijack this thread any more, Tom
Congratulations to the Horns. It wasn't met as a slur, just a comment that I wanted to avoid a large crowd.
I think a GTG sounds like fun.
Tom,
Your trip report was absolutely the best! You had me laughing out loud so many times.
You also brought back memories as my late husband and I visited many of the Tuscan hill towns with a friend from Firenze in 1990.
We particularly loved Pitigliano. I remember talking to an old Italian man in a bank and when we mentioned we were from Michigan--near Michigan State, he said, "Ah, bouncy ball." We assumed he was referring to our Spartan basketball team.
Another town we loved was Sorano--we picked up some wonderful ceramic pieces there.
Thanks again for an enjoyable hour of reading.
Hey Tom - I loved your trip report in black and white, but I am really hoping your website will be done soon so I can see the illustrated version!
Crepe Vine Bistro sounds like a great place for a SoCal GTG. Let's do it!
"The pecorino gets saltier as it ages."
I can relate.
HappyCheesehead, below is the blogsite with pics.
http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/
Excellent, Tom!
Barring that, we will travel vicariously through your great writing!
So glad to see your trip is up on your website.
As your trip report still retains the title of "My Favorite Report Ever," it is great to see the photos and have easy access to all the info for future reference.
You all look as fun and happy as you sounded! Well done. Please keep us up-to-date as your next adventure unfolds! And , remember many of would be happy to sign up for the tour.
Thanks again for sharing!
If we were younger we'd still be traveling in your fashion! It's great fun to read your report. Have bookmarked it for a rainy day.-
Yippee! Thanks, Maitaitom!
I can't wait to share with my mom, too. She never goes anywhere for pleasure besides Vegas, but she just loved your last trip report.
She is going to love this one too!
tagging as a reminder..
I love this trip report. Not only entertaining but a lot of great information too.
Hi Tom,
Just curious. Did Dan find the name of the restaurant where he dined on the turbot? Thanks
"Did Dan find the name of the restaurant where he dined on the turbot?"
I don't remember if I ever answered this (not that there is a definitive answer). He never did find the receipt (maybe it's at the bottom the canal with his camera). He did say the restaurant was very near the train station.
Maybe I'll bring this up on Friday when I golf with him. Reliving this experience could cost him ten strokes.
Hi,
Loved your report so far (have not read it all yet). Very informative and I enjoyed your coloful writing and descriptions.
Paul
Thanks paul, For an easier read of it (with pictures), here is the site for the blog.
http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/
topping
Wow, almost 5 years later and still a vaulable and funny trip report. We are headed to the same area in Sept for a week. Thanks so much for the postings.
bookmarking
Wow! Old trip reports never die, they just fade away. Have a great trip norrisken, and if you get the chance, we loved the "Five Hill Town" day: Arcidosso, Roccalbegna, Sovana, Sorano and Pitigliano (buy some wine there at one of the caves). That day still stands out.
maitaitom---you rock!
I showed the Il Mulino di Quercegrossa website to my husband, along with your trip report. When he saw that you and he share a mutual thirst for Campari, he was ready to sign up for anything with your stamp of approval. Plus he loves the idea of all those pools. I'm sure our daughters will love it too.
We're booked there in the family apartment. Thanks!
Maitai, your blog is awesome. Your stories are so colorful and fun, but also full of great details. I'm working on plans for my next trip to Italy, and half of the notes begin "MT Tom suggests..."
Love reading it, and can't wait for your next trip so I can read more!
I'm glad someone found this trip report. It looks like it is worth reading and making notes. Thanks!!
"half of the notes begin "MT Tom suggests..."
I hope you find the suggestions worthwhile, but a word of warning (in the immortal words of my lovely wife Tracy), "Tom, you idiot." Actually, for the most part we get it right, and if we don't, well pratfalls and mistakes always make for more interesting trip reports and more often than not, funny memories.
And as I always now add..."Pull up on the ring for reverse and make sure you use the correct petrol."
"Maitai, your blog is awesome."
Thanks so much!! Here is the updated blog one with all my trip reports, along with other things, I have created recently. Hope you enjoy!
http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%26_Tracy_Home/Welcome.html
maitaitom, thanks again for the report and the "Five Hill Town" day is definitely on the planning board. And I emailed Agritourist il Molino and got a prompt reply that they would love to have us visit and the rates are still reasonable. I'm glad I "discovered" your post!
norrisken, that's good to hear about the rates. I hope you and enzian (above) have relaxing times by the pool (s). Have a Campari and put it on my bill!!
Thanks, Tom---we'll be sure and do that.
After making the reservation, we tried to locate it on Google Maps and Google Earth. Google Maps doesn't put it in the right place, and we couldn't locate the pools (which we thought would be easy to spot) using the satellite view. Then we switched to Google Earth, looked around, and realized the photos were taken in winter--the pools are empty! We finally spotted it, a bit north of the town of Quercegrossa. The outline of the pools is unmistakable.
My husband can taste that Campari right now. . .
maitaitom, We booked for this Sept for 4 nights. I can't wait!!
Well, that puts the pressure on me. Please tell me how it goes.
Anyway I can hire you to come along?
3 days, 4 hours and 21 minutes = amount of time it took one Kaydoll to go over your wonderful story and many !replies! with a fine tooth comb. With that said, only one question remains unanswered. Where is that ravioli with pecorino, pears, and mascarpone recipe????!!!!!! =P (no, seriously)
I'm 22 and will be taking my first trip to Europe next year and I'll be doing a whirlwind 45 day backpacking trip to 5 countries and too many cities to count but, when I grow up I want to be a wine-addict, food-loving, adventure-seeker such as yourself and your group of God-given friends. you're truly blessed. =D
Il Mulino di Quercegrossa was great! We spent several hours at the pools (until the thundershowers started) and then dressed and headed unto Siena for dinner. The accommodations were lovely and the pools . . . what a treat.
So back to the Campari. Did you ever discover a Negroni or try one? ONe part each Campari, sweet Vermouth, and (gin). Deadly, but delicious.
dI should ad it was poured over lots of ice.
enzian, I'm glad it still was a good place to stay. Now I can rest easier knowing norrisken is going there (yes, I wish I could come along). Indeed, I have tried the Negroni. Now we can have the phrases, "You'll never be sorry with another Campari" and "Don't be a phony, try a Negroni." I have made them at home, but not too often, because there are times I need to operate with at least half my faculties intact.
KayDoll. Have a great trip. Glad you enjoyed the trip report. Hopefully in your travels, you can avoid some of our pitfalls. Don't avoid them all, however, because the story is what counts! Happy Traveling!
enzian - thanks for the report back. Any recommendations? Only three more weeks and the excitement at our house is building! We've decided to stop for a few nights on the way from Munich in Kals am Grossglockner and Ortisei.
maitaitom - don't worry. Even if it would not be all that great, it can be adjusted with more Vino
"Even if it would not be all that great, it can be adjusted with more Vino."
That's a good attitude to have. Have a great trip!!!
Short note: The trip was great, the hotel was very nice. 85 Euro a night with breakfast.
Pictures here: http://s1227.photobucket.com/home/norrisken/allalbums
Pick "Mulino di Quercegrossa"
I'm working on a trip report. Still doing picture management too.
Maitaitom, it is always an pleasure to read your trip reports even if I am a "little late" in doing so.
Wishing you a full recovery as many people are also pulling for you. Think of all the traveling you have yet to do...so get well.
I really have to stop searching these forums while at work! This report is so engaging, but I'm not getting any work done
Bookmarking for later
TYFFT
Getting ready for another trip to Italy and just came across this post. What an enjoyable read! My son is hovering, "needing" to get on the computer, so I decided to print off just the trip report. After cutting and pasting each entry, I ended u with 56 typed pages! (I was able to minimize it to 51 pages when I extended the margins...) Thank you, Maitaitom, for taking all the time to write this amazing and most entertaining review!!
A classic for sure. Bookmarking so I can find it later.