Good for you Aggie

The Politian is one of my favs. Great value!

We also stayed at the Politian. Our trip to Tuscany was the first trip I planned on my own after reading Bob's great advice. Thank you and I wish you all the best Bob.

Dear Bob,
I am in the process of planning a trip to Italy and of course my first task was to search for advice from "Bob the Navigator". At first I could not find you, but I came across this posting. I am sorry to hear you have experienced some health issues, but as I scrolled down I see that you are back on the forum. Thank goodness! Travel to Italy for me is not complete without my tips from "Bob the Navigator". My husband and I were talking about something the other night for our trip and he said "remember on one of our trips to Italy Bob the Navigator suggested we do this". Thank you for all of your help through the years with travel. I look forward to seeing you on travel sites in the future.

You are very welcome !

Where's bobthenavigator?

He's still navigating -just posted the other day on other threads.

I am still around---can't get rid of me just yet.

I do not post often as it is difficult for me to type. I am lurking daily but posting only when a reply can be short.

Not doing my BOBTHENAVIGATOR business any longer. I miss that.

nice to hear from you again, Bob.

Shame that you have had to give up the day job - we have had to stop letting our holiday house to visitors and i miss that too.

good to see you are here!

Great to see you on the board, BtheN. Hope you haven't had to completely stop dispensing your invaluable travel advice, from which I have profited since 1998.

Bob, I am glad you are here, too, but am sorry you had to give up your business. Please continue to offer your excellent advice. I hope you are well.

Hi Bob,

I'm so glad to see your posts now and then! I have enjoyed so many of the same places you have enjoyed. I can't ever begin to thank you enough for all your excellent advice and detailed trip reports. I have happily and successfully followed in your and Susan's footsteps many times!

Isn't it great that you have traveled to so many wonderful places?

Keep on lurking and posting!

Dayle

Good to see you here!

Any updates for Bob?

Great timing! We just returned last night from visiting Bob and Susan for the first time in almost 18 months (they are mr_go's parents, for those who don't know). Bob is doing well. I'm not sure how often he visits this forum, but he did mention that he recently received his first planning inquiry in several years. We were pleased to see several of his travel photos on display at their community center.

Thanks ms_go for this update on Bob the Navigator. Glad he is doing well!
Tell him he is missed here! His advice has been so helpful to me when planning trips.

Glad to hear he is doing well, he is a great person.

Still my favorite Bob story (from our 2005 trip and dinner at Cane E Gatto, which Bob had recommended)

"We arrived at the restaurant a little before 8 p.m., and since no one else was hanging outside, we walked around a bit, so not to be the first ones to enter. 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.

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.

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 replied.

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.

Quite an evening. We're thinking of you Bob.

What a great story, maitaitom! Thanks for sharing!

It's with great sadness that I announce the death of legendary Fodorite, Bob the Navigator, my dad. He passed away yesterday following an extremely dramatic and rapid decline in his health.

ms_go and I, along with my brother and his family, were there to visit with him in hospice care just before he left.

Anyone who remembers Bob the Nav, if you don't mind, please share some words or post a brief anecdote. My mom has requested that we (the family) celebrate his life with stories, and ms_go and I would love to include any of your thoughts as well.

Thank you all.