Home Safely

We're back in New Haven, safe and sound. So I guess our Italy trip is now over; officially. It's good to be back in the Ol' US of A. Also, just to prove the boys weren't inventing bugs in their dreams, the picture here is a scorpion found on Ellen and my wall the last day in the castle.

Buongiorno y'all.

Almost Home

We're on our way from Knoxville to New Haven on this bright sunny morning and hope to arrive by dinner time after an uneventful drive.  Thus far it's been an interesting trek which is pretty much what we've called every transportation adventure for the last month.  

It began innocently enough with the Rome Cab Company picking us up promptly at 9:30 a.m. two feet from the door to our apartment.  This is worth noting since our street does not allow vehicles so we were expecting to have to walk a bit to the nearest piazza. Apparently we still don't understand the driving rules or, more importantly, when to break them. Anyway, as we piled into the van I heard Joel mention something about a perfect start to the day, how loading up couldn't have been easier, or something along those lines. Oops...spoke too soon.  

I was in my own world enjoying a last glimpse of Rome only vaguely aware that every once in awhile the driver would lightly pound on the gear shift.  Whatever.  Perhaps it's a bit temperamental, I thought. Palatine Hill, Trastavere, the restaurant we loved...all slipping by with my good memories when I noticed a little more frequent pounding on the gear shift sprinkled with some unsuccessful cell phone calling.  Hmmm. 

As the winding through Roman cobblestone streets lessened and the autostrada approached, I noticed him loosening his tie as he turned up the air conditioning.  More unsuccessful phone calls, more pounding on the gear shift, more sweating and loosening.  I asked, "Tutti OK?"  and he answered with a string of Italian words and gestures of which I understood, "Macchina (car)...autostrada...no..." Enough said. 

I fully expected him to pull over emptying us and our luggage on the side of the road, but no, we proceeded to drive the 25 km on the autostrada (think interstate) in the SOS lane (shoulder) with him revving it like mad in third gear, then popping it into neutral to coast as far as he could until he had to throw it back into third gear, then rev it and pop it into neutral again. I oscillated between worrying that the macchina's gear system might rebel and shut down entirely with this ongoing abuse (again, visions of us on the side of the road) AND giggling uncontrollably at the insanity of it all to the point where I had to turn my head out the window so the driver wouldn't witness MY seemingly insane laughter in this situation. He was after all, still sweating profusely with an occasional groan whenever heavy traffic was merging in.  Poor guy. 

We finally made it to the terminal giving him a little applause and receiving barely a smile in return. I don't think he had recovered as quickly as we had.    

The 11-hour flight to Atlanta went off without a hitch. Alex's to New York was equally smooth although it's a little strange to have four of five family members board a plane leaving one behind in the Rome airport. I only fretted about that for the first hour or so though knowing that she is a very capable city girl. Mostly we just missed her, feeling a little less 'complete' without her there.    

In Atlanta the fun began again.  We had plenty of time to get through customs and baggage claim and recheck for the flight to Knoxville, but soon found out that Delta had canceled that flight and booked us on an earlier flight which we missed due to that re-entry process noted above. When we got to the desk we found that we were already booked on the 7:30 a.m. flight Monday morning with an offer for standby for the upcoming 11 p.m. flight. You have to admit that they are efficient in managing their inefficiencies, yes? 

Given that we were numbers 15-18 on the waiting list, and that we were exhausted (Italy time was now 3 a.m.) we opted for staying overnight on Delta's dime each receiving some meal vouchers and a cute little gift pouch with those travel toothbrushes that make the roof of your mouth feel like you just ate a bowl of Captain Crunch or a toasted Reuben sandwich.  You know what I'm talking about.  

We had already checked our bags again before realizing our flights had changed so had nothing but carry-on luggage which, frankly, was kind of a nice perk to not to have to lug it all over one more time. It beat us to Knoxville and was waiting for us upon our arrival this morning.  Nice.    

We had planned on being greeted Sunday evening in Knoxville by our lovely Dongarra nieces and nephews and sharing a toast of limoncello. So sad that didn't happen. Some friendly faces would have been very welcome.  Instead, we called ahead to the airport hotel to make sure they had a restaurant. They did.  "It's authentic Italian," the hotel clerk said very proudly.  I was stunned.  I mean, really. What are the odds?  We're in Atlanta, the home of grits and soul food, and in the U.S.A. where you can get a cheeseburger on every corner, but we find ourselves perusing a menu that looks exactly like those we've read for the last month and eating pizza from a 700 degree oven.  Too funny (and admittedly quite tasty).   

So, we'll hopefully be grilling some burgers in a few hours, helping Rudy and Roxy recover from our return (we're sure they gave up on us long ago and will be frantic with our unexpected return), and sleeping in our own beds.  Drew plans to spend the night at a friend's house to get a little 'non-family' time and we may have to slide Calvin's plate under his bedroom door as he enjoys some of his own space.  The blog's picture today was taken at 5:30 a.m. this morning before taking the shuttle to the airport.  Notice the matching shirts lovingly provided by Delta in our overnight packs.  Nothing says 'team' more than matching t-shirts, don't you agree? 'Go Team Delta!'   

Rome, The Sequel

With Tuscany now well in our rear-view mirror, we've settled again in Rome, home of the ancients and where every sinkhole could turn into an archeological bonanza. Living up to its seedy hype, our taxi driver from the airport (after we returned the rental car) tried to change our agreed upon rate while en route! He didn't speak English so handed me his cell phone to talk with "his boss". Silly Romans!

Our apartment this time around is just steps from Campo di Fiori, an open plaza filled with farmer's markets during the day and youthful night life at night. As Calvin pointed out while guiding us on the map, "We're close to everything here"! Since we arrived late in the afternoon, for our first night we just had time to get to the hotel (apartment), unpack, shower, and then head out to dinner.

Dinner was just a short walk across the Tiber River into Trestevere to the same restaurant where we had our cooking class several weeks ago. Unfortunately our Chef, Andrea, was taking most of the week off, so Alex didn't get to meet him, which was a shame, but the food was still delicious. Andrea's mother took good care of us, just as he said she would. His older brother was our chef so we had dinner with Andrea's family; close enough! Did we mention ever how a sign on the door reading "air conditioning" must be taken in very loose terms?!? Mama mia!

Yesterday was what I'll call "power site seeing". Having been here before, we could take Alex directly to the city's highlights, allowing us to cram a lot more into a single day. So to start, we bee-lined to Vatican City and the Vatican Museum, which includes the Sistine Chapel.

You don't get to go directly into the Chapel, instead having to snake your way through the entire museum and millenniums of art. Being old pros, we spent much less time in the Map Room and Hall of Tapestries. Michaelangelo's ceiling didn't let us down -- again. The first picture is in the Hall of Maps before arriving at the Chapel (Drew cuts himself out, I didn't do that).

Once our necks sufficiently stiff from looking straight up, we headed out of the Chapel and over to St Peter's Basilica, just next door. What an amazing building and, like the Vatican Museum, loaded with priceless art including Michaelangelo's Pieta. We had intended to climb to the top of St Peter's dome, but after a quick poll had unanimous support for passing on the bazillion steps and heading on to the next site.

We departed Vatican City (see pic of my two beauties in St Peter's Square), expertly hopped onto a bus and within minutes were dropped two blocks from the Pantheon. If the Pantheon isn't

one of the Seven Wonders of the World, it should be. To think that it's nearly 2,000 years old and supports one of the largest domes in the world -- a technology lost for 1,500 years -- is just mind-blowing. Alex listened to a Rick Steve's audio tour while the rest of us just gawked. OK, the boys screwed around, but Ellen and I gawked!

The picture is taken directly below the

oculus looking straight up into it.

From the Pantheon we headed to Piazza Navona to meet up with one of Ellen's American friends, Regina. Piazza Navona is huge so we weren't sure how this whole rendezvous was going to work, but within about 30 seconds upon entering, heard Regina calling out "Ellen" from a shaded table. We had drinks and appetizers (antipasta) with Regina and her family, then spent the rest of the night enjoying the festivities of the Piazza, including street performers, art vendors (Alex bought an original) and beggars. The picture is of Regina and Ellen in front of one of the three fountains in Piazza Navona.

Today Ellen rose early to take in an Italian mass at Santa Agata in Trastevere. As part of a celebration, a statue of the Madonna is carried via processional from church to church. She is residing now at Santa Agata. While she was gone, I wrote this blog. In a few minutes we'll head out for Villa Borghese so Alex can see some of the incredible sculptures there and so Calvin can do his flips. Afterwards we'll ride segways in the park, which Drew has been dreaming about since our first round.

This is our last fully day in Italy. It's hard to believe a month has come and gone, but in such a beautiful place, I guess time will fly. So far, I think Rome is everyone's favorite, with so many different things to do. We may be able to get in one more entry tomorrow if the airport provides free wireless (probably only a remote chance). We'll be back in the States soon!

Ciao.

Florence, take two

We headed back to Florence today, again via a train from Bucine that brought us to the city center. Nice. This time we tackled a different part of the city where the Bargello, Uffizi, and Science Museum are clustered together, i.e. near the Ponte Vecchio. The Bargello houses sculptures so we had the chance to see some of Michelangelo's earlier works as well as some of Donatello's. The Uffizi Gallery, the former offices of the Medici family, is filled primarily with paintings and offers a really good glimpse of how art developed through that incredible period of time. And I was pretty delighted to find a temporary exhibit in place of Artemesia Gentilleschi's work...one of my favorites!!

Unfortunately lunch was somewhat mediocre...I guess they all can't be perfect, right?

The Science Museum perked us back up though. A good reminder that the Renaissance offered the world more than art. Calvin was in hog heaven!! And we got to see Galileo's finger mummified in a bell jar. Kind of an odd practice, but since we also saw St. Catherine of Siena's head and thumb in a church yesterday, we're getting used to it.

THEN Alex and I finally put our foot down and demanded some shopping time. We found a cute shop that had some clothes made by a Florence designer (similar to Hand Jive for you Fort Wayne people) and it had a GREAT sale going on, so we were on it! And of course we're in the land of leather, so a little purse shopping was imperative. The photo today shows Drew and Calvin being patient during this shopping excursion.

After Calvin's obligatory handstand photos and a few flips on the lawn of the Church of Santa Maria Novella, we headed back for a swim to try to get our body temperatures back to normal. Have we mentioned that it's hot here?

We head back to Rome tomorrow to show Alex around a bit, so this is the last blog from Tuscany. Everyone is staring at me now waiting to play hearts, so I'll sign off for now. More tomorrow!

xo

Castle Cookout

Red meat!! Tuscony is not on the coast so is known much more for its meats than seafood cuisine. To show this off, our castle hosts had an old fashioned BBQ for those guests who signed up. We did and enjoyed our first red meat (of any substance) since coming to Italy. Alessandro cooked up lamb chops, lamb on a stick, sausage and chicken thighs. In addition, there was bruschetta, pasta salad and all the wine we could drink. We got to know several of the guests very well over good food and spirits. The pic is of Alex and Drew "hamming" it up for the camera.

P.S. This is out of order by one day -- the cookout was the day before the 2nd day in Siena. This blogging is pretty tough to pull off!!

Time for Re-Runs; First Siena

Yesterday we spent a second day in Siena, mostly consumed by a 2-1/2 hour walking tour of the city. This was arranged by our castle hosts, so there were several guests from Montalto along for the tour. It was another scorcher day and Siena is like "the anti-Fort Wayne" in terms of hills, but it was a nice tour. Afterwards we sat on a balcony overlooking Il Campo, the main square of the city. It is very big and is shaped like a bowl, all funneling down to a focus point. The first pic is looking up from the Campo to the balcony and the second the Campo itself (or vice versa -- I can't control the uploads and formatting very well).

After some refreshment on the balcony, we walked back toward the soccer stadium where we parked and had dinner in a lovely little restaurant that was literally tucked behind an alley. We were actually looking for another listed in Rick Steve's Italy Travel Guide and stumbled upon this one. Turned out to be an excellent "mistake".

Once dinner was over it was pretty late and we were having to get up early for day 2 in Firenza (Florence), so we headed straight home and went to bed.

Sunday in Pisa & Lucca

Sunday we drove into Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower, about 2-1/2 hours from our castle. There is a myth that the Tower is leaning because it was built on sandy sediment and one side sunk nearly four feet part way through construction. In actuality, however, the list was created when an American tour bus group, having just scaled the 280 steps to the top, suddenly bolted to one side when someone yelled "McDonalds"!

In addition to the Tower, we toured the Duomo (cathedral) and Baptistry (as the name indicates, place for baptisms), which are all in a row and are part of an area called The Field of Miracles. The Baptistry is a high-domed round building with beautiful acoustics. Every half hour one of the guards stands in the middle and sings, creating his own harmonies using the echoes off the walls. Very cool. Other miracles on the Field include Rolex watches for 12 Euro and Gucci purses for 15. Simply amazing.

After Pisa, we headed to Lucca, a very well preserved walled city on our route between Pisa and home. There we rented bikes and rode the 2-1/2 mile trek around the city on top of the wall. Construction of the wall began under Roman rule in the 2nd century and then took on its present form in the 15th century, making it cannon-proof. This last "remodel" consumed one third of the city's income for 100 years, but was worth the investment as the city was never attacked. The wall is 100 feet thick at its base and about 30 feet high. I guess there must have been some sort of medieval truce during the 100 years of construction -- "all ye, all ye in come free, we're not finished yet!".

Pic 1 is a tourist favorite, Drew pushing over the Tower and Alex trying to keep it upright. Pic 2 at the top of the Lucca wall with our bicciclete (bicycles).

Catching up - Friday

Hi all,

We've gotten a little behind on posting this weekend, so I'm writing things in arrears. Friday was a pretty lazy day. It was THE hottest year to date for this neck of the woods. Absolutely stifling. Good thing we hadn't planned on traipsing around any hot villages!! Instead, the kids alternated between pool dips and napping. Joel and I drove a very short distance to a winery to do some tasting in their lovely air conditioned digs. The winery was Felsina in the town of Castelnuovo Berardenga. Aside from the slight awkwardness of drinking wine with someone staring at you (we're not very good at that and actually prefer to drink and talk about it in our own kitchen - ha!) we enjoyed hearing about the various combinations of grapes to make the various tastes.

As is the case with most vineyards here, they also have olive groves. We're way too early in the growing season to actually see olives on the trees as flowering just finished. Harvest is in November so that will be the timing of our next trip to Italy. We did taste a few oils though and bought a collection to compare at home.

Other than that short venture out, we tackled the grocery store again and a farmacia for some cold/allergy medicine for Alex. I now know how to say nasale congestione and all sorts of other drippy and drainy sort of terms in Italian.

We went to our now favorite restaurant in the area - Il Bivocco. It has simply delicious Tuscan food and we're trying to get a taste of everything for our palates to remember when we leave. Everyone has decided that we need one more visit to get the job done!!

Calvin and Joel are now beating Drew and me at our euchre marathon seven games to four. Ugh! We haven't given up though. This may have to continue once we return to Indiana.

The photo today is of all of us at the entrance to our castle apartment. Alex had just enjoyed doing some rock climbing on the walls - fun to watch, but she's forbidden us to post any of those pictures as they are always aimed from below looking up. So Joel set up the tripod on the ground beneath and then Calvin pressed the timer and hustled it up to the top of the stairs in 10 seconds to get this family shot. Whew!!

Saturday in Pienza

After reading about several of the nearby cities for daytreking, we opted for Pienza, a little town southeast of us about 50 km. Pienza is known for its Peccorino cheese - a sheep milk product that ranges from very mild and smooth (fresco or young) to quite pungent and tasty (secco or aged.) The shops in the pretty little town are filled with all varieties and it's quite easy to see (and smell) the progression from looking at them stacked on the shelves. The mildest Peccorino has a bright orange wax coating, the interior fairly white and hardly an aroma at all. The most aged has a dark black almost moldly looking exterior and a darker yellowish brown interior that is harder and dryer. And whew! Quite aromatic. In fact, just walking by the shops offers a breath of aged Peccorino.

We stumbled upon a little diner for lunch that offered all sorts of bruschetta and crostoni with various toppings, most with Peccorino, of course. And we also felt obliged to get the Peccorino tasting plate and were instructed to eat from least to most mature so we could best appreciate the progression in flavor. It was served with a fig-type jam offering a really tasty complement. Wonderful!

Drew also had the good fortune to order Ribollita, a hearty Tuscan soup with bread in it that he said was outstanding. Of course, by the time he offered his review his bowl was empty and I couldn't try a bite. Smart boy. If you're interested, the diner's website is: http://www.latavernadireartu.com/offerte.html.

You may think by our food descriptions that all we do is eat! We actually did visit a palace in Pienza in addition to smelling and eating cheese. The Piccolomino family (peek-oh-LOH-mee-noh) were basically the head honchos there and when their son became Pope Pius II, they remodeled the entire town to suit such an honor. The remarkable thing is they did this huge rebuilding in only three years and renamed it Pienza (previously Corsignano). Voila! The family lived in this palace until 1962 and they had some ingenious ways of fooling the Nazis during WWII (so as not to loot the art) so the place is very much intact with outside frescoes visible and original wall silks, etc.

Of course we did the usual lounging by the pool and cooling off when we got back to the castle. Then we made our own dinner of pasta, salad and bruschetta. Turned out great!

Pictures today of us posing in front of a street in Pienza and a close-up of the Piccolomino family crest that adorns everything in the town.

xo

Day Trip to Florence

Yesterday we spent the entire day in Florence. Much to our own surprise, we left the house -- all five of us -- by 7:00 am to catch a train out of Bucine (boo-chee-nay), arriving in Florence an hour later. This was SOOO much better than trying to drive and park in Florence, which is akin to Rome in terms of crazy scooters, trucks, narrow streets, expensive lots, etc.

Our first stop was the Accademia Museum where the famous statue of David resides. It did not disappoint. I really thought all the hype would make the moment anti-climatic, but it is an astounding piece that changes in mood and temperament as you walk 360 degrees around it. At 26 years young, Michaelangelo Buonarroti immortalized himself.

In the hallway leading to the dome where David stands are six unfinished Michaelangelo sculptures that were supposed to be part of Pope Julius' tomb; Pope Julius is the one who commissioned (forced) Michaelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling and many other things. Modern scholars have collectively named these pieces "Prisoners", as they almost appear to be trying to escape their native marble blocks. With these pieces you get a much better feel -- and appreciation -- for how a slab of stone can be turned into a David and how much work that must take. In some respects, I actually more enjoyed these pieces than David himself.

No pics allowed in La Accademia, so postcards will have to suffice.

After lunch we then toured the Duomo, home of "Brunelleschi's Dome", the largest free-standing dome since the Parthenon. I've provided pictures from both the outside and inside, although the inside pics are hampered by protective plexiglass. The science to build such a dome was known by the Romans in 450 BC, but was then lost for nearly 2,000 years until Brunelleschi figured it out. He used no supportive scaffolding to raise this dome, which was incomprehensible at the time -- even the Romans used an internal scaffolding skeleton to raise the Parthenon dome. In fact, the Duomo was built with the intent of having the world's largest dome, but sat "topless" for several hundred years until someone could figure out how to cover it. The five of us climbed the 462 steps to the cupola at the top for an amazing view of Florence.

Later in the afternoon Ellen and I toured the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, while the kids sat in a bar for cool drinks. This museo is home to Michaelangelo's Pieta (see pic), another amazing piece. The Pieta was to be Michaelangelo's own tombstone and is actually a self portrait. He used his own face for the carving of Nicodemus, the tallest figure supporting both Jesus and Mary. Michaelangelo was an old man when he carved this and, insightful to his personality, decided the marble wasn't perfect so took a hammer to it knocking off limbs and fingers. A friend/protoge put it back together, but it never became part of his tomb.

We'll spend a second full day in Florence later in the week. For some it is the art capitol of the world, so there's plenty to see.

Bye for now.

Joel

Alex Safely in the Fold

The E&J Sauer brood is all together in Italy. Alex successfully navigated the Rome Airport bus and train systems and made it to Chiusi, where we were waiting for her in the train station. Her only glitch was that her flight was delayed by three hours out of New York; inexplicably the Delta web site stated "on time" at both ends so we arrived in Chiusi three hours before necessary. Oh well.

The extra time allowed us to take a tour of the Etruscan water and cistern systems, and as I've always said, you haven't lived until you've seen an Etruscan water system! Actually, it was pretty cool. A series of tunnels literally under the city, with a monster cavern (cistern) for major storage. The system dates back to 200 BC and supplied year-round clean water for the entire city. It was such a good idea, the Roman sacked the city and started copying it as part of its empire.

When we got back to our apartment, Alex was pretty bushed so we all went down to the pool for a refreshing dip, then some serious "laying out". Since we were unsure how the entire day would go and what time we would actually arrive back "home", we ordered dinner from the castle (they have a catering staff where you simply put in your order(s) two days in advance -- I guess some people get most of their meals this way). Anyway, at precisely 7:30 pm two woman knocked on our door carrying trays of food; lot's of food!! I am not exaggerating when I say we only at 25% of what the brought, so we actually bought four meals in this one shot. It was such beautiful food that's what today's picture shows.

Today it's off to Siena! Another day in the mid 90s with a cloudless sky. Great lake weather!

Counting the hours

We're down to counting hours rather than days when Alex joins us. She arrives at 8:30 a.m. Italy time tomorrow morning (Tues) and we sorted out that the best place to meet was in Chiusi. That little Tuscan town is one hour from us via car, two hours from Rome via train, and the main terminal where all trains converge heading north. Driving into Rome was a daunting venture so we sought out another option. Hopefully all will go well with her negotiating the Rome airport and finding the proper train. Cross your fingers, say your prayers, and hold a good thought that we are lunching in Chiusi tomorrow with all of our chicks in the nest on our 25th anniversary day!!

Today was another relatively lazy day here. Joel and I drove into Siena to check out the computer glitch situation. An interesting adventure in charades to describe electronics problems without speaking the prevailing language. Thankfully another customer came to our rescue. Nonetheless, not the greatest news for the computer...it will still need attention when we return home...Joel is slowly adjusting to that painful outcome. On the way back, we stopped at a grocery store in a tiny town 5 minutes before they closed for their afternoon siesta. Can you say, 'power shop'? And can you pantomime kitchen garbage bags in less then 30 seconds? I can. So fun.

Anyway, while we were gone, the boys played tennis and swam. We ate lunch and dinner at our apt and just took a night swim. The group of Germans that were here for a wedding left this morning and a few other couples have arrived...much quieter around here! Joel and I also had a nice Italian lesson with the hostess here, Diana, which was SO helpful. She is American born so 'gets' the struggles we have with the language.

Enough for today. I know Joel already blogged a bit, but the photo I'm adding is of Joel preparing to imbibe lunch in our tiny kitchen.

Off to play more euchre...Joel and Calvin are one game ahead of me and Drew and we just can't go to bed with that situation, now can we?

xoxo

Castle Pictures

Not a whole lot new to report. Yesterday we took a quick trip to a nearby "sculpture garden" (see pic of family inside one of the sculptures) and then back to the castle. I'm publishing a couple shots taken on the grounds here -- there are 750 total acres. Very cool place, despite the critters.

Computer Glitch

Sorry the last post did not contain any pictures. We've been using an electric adapter to convert Italian power to American and it destroyed my laptop charger. Hopefully we can find a new one in Siena in the next couple days. For now I'm posting from Calvin's computer which is still fully operational. However, I can't get to the pictures previously mentioned as they are on my dead computer. Oh well. More pictures tomorrow.

Frog Festival

Today was our real first day in Tuscany. We did sleep in, again, but didn't really "sleep" during the night. Bugs. Lots of them. But you've heard enough.

We hung around the castle, playing tennis, bocchi ball and then swimming. The first pic is of Calvin doing a back flip off a small wall very near the tennis courts and pool.

Then this evening we drove over to the nearest town, which was holding its annual Frog Festival. It's very much like GermanFest for Canal Days, but in a very small town. They have a tent where they serve frog legs, wine, beer and even french fries. We, of course, had the frog legs and a bottle of bianco (white) wine (only $3.50!!!). Our intent was to also go on this station-by-station Italian meal, but we apparently didn't read the Italian poster well enough and didn't realize the ticket sales stopped well before we attempted our purchase.

Shut out, we came back to our castle apartment where I whipped up some delicious pasta and meat sauce and everyone is now going to bed very content. Sleep tight, mia famiglia, and keep your mouths shut tight!!

Buonanotte.

Finally in Tuscany

After another long day of travel, we have arrived at Castillo di Montalto about 20 km east of Siena in Tuscany. We started the day learning of a county-wide transportation strike. Translation: all vaporettos, water taxis, gondolas, trains, and buses out of Venice were canceled and their drivers apparently headed for the beach. We received instructions from our B&B host on how to get back to our rental car (via walking several miles) only to stumble upon one vaporetto stop operating and heading to the bus station stop...apparently that one was considered 'essential services' and fell outside of the strike zone. Booyah! So with the help of that vaporetto and a happy taxi driver (who must get lots of extra fares with these strikes) we made it to our car with minimal pain and suffering.

We're getting used to this scenario...we calculate our transportation time and then add 3 hours for complicating factors like strikes, closed exits, Chicago-like traffic jams, and signs written in a foreign language which we can't read until we've long passed. Calvin noted today that the only thing that may need improvement in this country is the transportation system, otherwise they seem to do so many other things with brilliance - recycling, environmental preservation, food, entertainment, etc. Interesting, yes?

My sister, Sue, told me that some Italian language skills would come in handy in Tuscany and indeed she was right. I have said, "Io parlo piccolo Italiano" (I speak a little Italian) a dozen times today, each time greeted with a smile and patience. And when I asked, "Parla Inglese?" (Do you speak English) the answer was always "No." Mamma Mia, let the charades begin. It started when we stopped for directions three times to find the grocery store in Siena with each person so eager to help - hand gestures and map drawing galore - and then again at the store when asking another shopper for 'basilica' (a church) instead of 'basilico' (basil). She had a good laugh over that one. We were frustrated the past two weeks that nobody had the patience for us to practice Italian or deal with our inefficient language skills and now people seem actually amused with our attempts. How fun is that?

So, we piled up on groceries and finally made our way to the Montalto Castle. The view is grand here and it is quieter than anyplace we've ever been. We did, however, underestimate how rustic a 1000-year-old castle would be. Thus far we have found a scorpion in the boys' bedroom, a bee that we can't seem to catch to release outside, a giant spider under Calvin's pillow and another under Drew's bed, and several other ants, mosquitoes, moths and unidentified critters. Calvin may not sleep tonight and Drew wants to go home. Just pour me another glass of wine, please.

The bright spot of our move-in was a darling kitty who seems to consider us her family. We've named her Sete which means 'thirsty' in Italian because she drank a whole bowl of water when we let her into our apartment (which we're pretty sure is forbidden, but how can we say no to the only bright spot of the evening?)

Hopefully the light of day will bring brighter thoughts and higher hopes for our next two weeks. I think once Drew plays some tennis and Calvin does a few handstands with some awesome backdrops, life will be good again. And, in fact, life is grand. To experience the bustle of Rome, compared with the resorts of Sorrento, the lively, but sauntering pace of Venice and now the rustic hillsides...what a gift!!

The pictures today...one is of the view from our apartment (the first of many from Joel, I'm sure) and the other is of the fish market in Venice this morning shortly before we left. Beautiful seafood some of which I've never seen before!

xo

Ah, Venezia!

Venice!! What a magical place. OK, this has been our favorite place so far. Crowded by day (at least 10,000 cruise ship tourists who disappear by 6 pm), but completely wonderful by night. We followed the "Rick Steves'" travel guide and stayed away from the hot spots early in the morning (easy for us) and mid-afternoon, instead going out late morning and late evening. F0r the major sights we used Rick's "back door" advice and avoided very long lines for the St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge Palace, both spectacular in their own ways.

For dinner, we did as the Venetians do and went pub crawling; having a drink and small tooth-pick hors devours at several bars in a row. It was the most non-tourist night we've had since in Italy, as every one around us at each pub was Italian (thanks again, Rick Steves). Delightful and delicious.

Pic 1 is looking out of the clock tower at St Mark's Square (we were able to go up inside) looking out at the sea, and pic 2 in St Mark's Square right around midnight. Calvin is doing the Nacho Libre face in case you were wondering.

Tomorrow -- Tuscany.

A Day of Driving

Yesterday (Wednesday) was spent in the car, driving from Sorrento right up through the heart of Italy to Venice. It pretty much took the entire day by the time we got lost (brand new highway of which the GPS was unaware), parked, took a bus to the Grand Canal Ferry, and then got dropped at our dock. It was well after 8 pm when we finally got into the hotel, so we pretty much dropped off the luggage and headed out for dinner. Not a single picture!!

For dinner, we had some delicious pasta with seafood given that it's all so freshly caught. We sat at the only table inside the front dining room so we could have a view of the World Cup game that was on the little TV/computer rigged up. Before long, there was a group of Italian men crowded in there with us acting very similarly to Joel on Packer Sundays - hollering, ranting, cheering, shaking their fists at the screen. It was quite the spectacle and lots of fun. Spain won which made them all very happy and Calvin kept his disappointment about Germany's loss to himself. We can only imagine the fervor if Italy was still in the Cup.

We're staying in the Pensione Guerrato, a 550 year old hotel down the tiniest of "streets". We're not on a canal, but our view out the window is just as Sue described; we could reach out and shake hands with our neighbors across the alley. The room is spacious and modern, but you can see in the floor, built to last 1,000 years, the former grandeur. In addition, they left squares in the walls non-refurbished so you can see what they used to look like, with stenciled "wallpaper". For someone into old buildings, Venice -- and Italy in general -- is a paradise. I promise some pictures with the next blog.

More tomorrow...

Sorrento

We had a much needed lazy day today. We slept in a bit, had a breakfast on site, did some laundry and hung it out on our balcony to dry. Then we took the shuttle into the town's center for a few hours for some pizza and gelato. Sorrento is a huge lemon producer, so there are lemon groves everywhere as well as shops selling all of the possible things you can make with lemons. Now we're back at the hotel waiting until we're hungry again so we can enjoy another lovely meal in the hotel restaurant. Here's a link to where we are: http://www.ilnido.it/

Pictures today are: Drew being lazy and the Mount Vesuvius view we have off our balcony.

Tomorrow is our long drive day to Venice. We're not sure if have internet access there so we may not be blogging again until we reach Tuscany.

AND, as Drew noted today, only 6 more days until Alex arrives!! Hooray!!!

Vesuvius & Pompeii

Today we had to rise up early to leave Rome for the airport, where we rented a car and headed to Mount Vesuvius. After hiking to the top of Vesuvius (pic 1) we then headed to Pompeii (pic 2). Both very cool to see, although Pompeii has to take the prize since it's an entire ancient city uncovered from the volcanic ash. You really get a great sense of ancient Italian (or Roman) life.

It was a very long day and we're beat, so a short post tonight. We're now in Sorrento at a beautiful hotel with a great view of the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples from high up the side of a mountain. We made it here just in time for dinner, which ended up being wonderful! Life is bene (good).

Now time for sleep. Buonanotte.

xo

Mamma Mia It's Hot!!

They weren't kidding when they said Rome is hot in July! It's been topping out better than 90 degrees and when you're walking a gazillion miles a day, you can really work up a good froth. We did finally master the bus, subway and Metro systems so that's made the travel a lot easier. Did I mention that the founders of Rome had no master plan -- they just let anyone build anywhere so there aren't any straight streets which makes really small maps very hard to follow. But I digress.

Today we visited the Spanish Steps (see picture) since the boys hadn't been there yet. (Joel and I went there one evening by ourselves.) Yes, they're really steps...lots of them. So we climbed up them and then went back to Villa Borghese for a little grass time. We tried out the segways in the park which was quite the adventure and was deemed 'Alex worthy'. We rate everything we do on whether it's worthy of doing it again at the end of our trip when we return with Alex and segways have officially made the list.

So now we're sitting for our last time at Mad Jack's (the American bar with Irish beer and the waiter from Ecuador) while Drew and Calvin are back at the apartment hopefully whipping up our dinner of salad and pasta. Off to Pompeii and Sorrento tomorrow. We've loved Rome, but are looking forward to the next leg of our trek with seaside views and smaller venues to navigate.

xo

Farmer's Market

OK, I think we're really bad at this whole blogging thing. I swear we posted another day, but it's just not on the site, so I'll try again. Yesterday was spent at the Villa Borghese, which is both a park and a mansion with amazing art. The park is something like Central Park in New York, but not nearly as well kept. The mansion was a former Cardinal of the Catholic Church who clearly used some of the money to build both a house and collect art -- and a lot of art!! There were several spectacular pieces, but the ones that really struck us were the sculptures by Bernini, including Apollo & Daphni, and Pluto & Prosperini. Both spectacular works that make you wonder why Michelangelo is more famous than Bernini -- I know!!! We couldn't take pictures at the Borghese so the sculpture you see is from a cathedral, still by Bernini though. This one called the Ecstasy of Theresa.

Then this morning Ellen and I awoke very early (before 7 am which is damn early in Italy!!) and walked to the market in Campo de Fiori. We actually arrived before the marketeers (Ellen), but not by much. Anyway, we were able to buy very nice fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses and meats for our lunch that same day.

Later we had a cooking class at the La Fate in Testevere. We had a wonderful time with our chef, Andrea, learning to cook the non-Roman Testevere way (first pic). For sake of history, Testevere was the very poor part of Rome, from where all the nobles inside Rome got their food. Therefore, the cuisine is very different than inside the city, even 2000 year later! Many Romans still snub their nose at Testevere (including our apartment landlord), but we found it much like home. Then again, we are from New Haven.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Rome, then on to Pompeii! Supposedly our next few stops have internet connections, so we hope to be fully connected.

Ciao.

Venerdi (Friday) in Roma

After four days of some pretty heavy sight-seeing, we took it a bit easier on ourselves today, not leaving the apartment until about noon. We took the bus (successfully) to Villa Borghese, Rome's version of Central Park. There we rented a four-wheel bike (assisted by electric motors, which came in very handy) and toured the Borghese mansion, which is so full of art it's amazing; many Caravaggio's, Bernini's and others. Bernini's sculptures are every bit as a good as Michelangelo's, perhaps even better (blasphemy!). They look alive. No pictures allowed so I can't share.

The first pic is in the park, the second shows a Bernini (The Ecstasy of St. Theresa) in the church Santa Maria della Vittoria.

Ciao.

The Vatican

Today was spent at the Vatican City. We had guided tour both of the Scave, which is the excavations that take you right under St Peter's Bascillica and a direct view of St Peter's grave. The entire Bascillica and Catholic Church is literally built on St Peter's foundation (grave), just as Jesus stated in the Bible. Fascinating.

Then in the afternoon we met up with our Roman guide, Federica d'Orazio, who gave us a personal tour of the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. There is so much art in the Vatican it's beyond comprehension. It's actually overwhelming, but Federica's knowledge made it manageable. Michelangelo's ceiling was breathtaking.

Getting to and from Vatican City was also an adventure, as we navigated the Roman bus system for the first time. They have no schedule, but simply come and go as they please. Just my style. Obviously, Joel is writing now.

Enjoy the pic.