Our Trip to Tuscany and Umbria, Italy in September 2015
Click on the Title for each day to be shown the complete set of pictures for that day in a new window.
September 3 - Fly to Italy
We flew Phoenix to Detroit. Bad weather in Detroit made us late in
taking off. Then we took the hop across the Atlantic to
Amsterdam. Bad weather when we arrived
in Amsterdam delayed our landing even more. We barely had enough time to
run across this very large airport to make our connecting flight to Florence. We made the
flight (barely) but our luggage did not.
Upon our arrival in Florence
and learning what we had feared to be true, we filled out the lost luggage form
-- the Italians seem to like forms - and we were told that our luggage
would be delivered tomorrow. Fortunately we had each packed a change of
clothes in our backpacks.
We were on our own for this first week, so we rented an apartment. We
went to our apartment in Florence with only our backpacks expecting our luggage
the next day.
Since we had a kitchen, we went to the Florence version of a supermarket
a few blocks away and picked up some needed supplies. After a really good dinner at a small café
about a block from our place, we crashed early and started to try to adjust to
the new time zone-- 9 hours earlier than Tempe.
No luggage yet. We had purchased tickets on the Internet
before we left to go to the Academia where The David is kept. We had seen the
copy of The David outdoors close to the Uffizi before but this would be the
first time to see the original. We were not disappointed. It is an
amazing work of art.
We were lucky that we arrived a bit early (we are on foot and
walking everywhere around Florence)
as even the line for those who had tickets and reserved times for entrance was
long. There was a line to pick up reserve tickets and then a line
to go into the museum.
We spent a few hours at the museum and walked back exploring along
the way. We discovered where the Central Market was located and walked through. We would be
spending more time there in the future. Our apartment was located between the Pitti Palace and the
Ponte Vecchio Bridge. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio Bridge several times each day.
We had another really great dinner at a small off the beaten path
restaurant. We arrived around 6 p.m. Without reservations and were told
we could have a table but we would have to be done by 8:30 as it was reserved
for then. Two and a half hours for dinner seemed like enough time-- but
this was Italy.
We were done by 8. This place is on our repeat list. No luggage yet.
We woke up this morning without clean clothes but a promise that
the luggage would be delivered sometime later in the day. The luggage did
arrive later that morning.
We moved from the apartment we were in to a new unit in the
building were we were staying. Our landlord had put us into the
first apartment to accommodate us arriving earlier than originally
planned.
After unpacking and getting just a bit settled, we went exploring. We
took a quick self-guided tour of the Duomo – the major church in Florence. We found our way to the train station and
purchased our tickets for our trip to Bologna
on Saturday. We also went hunting for the place where our cooking
class would take place the next day.
Glad we did because it was a bit hard to find. We had lunch at a pizza place close to the
train station recommended by Bill Wright. Good recommendation, good
pizza.
Clean clothes!
Today we went to cooking school. It was in a restaurant about a 25 minute walk from our apartment. The
restaurant, La Cucina Del Garga, has been featured on one of Guy Fiero's cooking shows. Sharon was our instructor and we were joined by one
other couple. The five of us went to the Central Market where Sharon taught us about
different cheeses, the vegetables and different meats. The market was filled with many, many choices. We bought some mushrooms, some ricotta cheese and
some basil to use in our preparation of lunch.
We prepared bruschetta with fresh sautéed tomatoes. We made
pasta dough and prepared lemon scented ravioli with butter and sage.
Never had made ravioli before. Our main course was chicken breasts with
porcini mushrooms. The mushrooms were quite amazing. See the
pictures. For desert we fixed parfaits of mascarpone cream with almond
macaroons and raspberries.
We enjoyed fixing all of this but we enjoyed even more eating the
fruits of our labors. We enjoyed some Pinot Grigio wine with the first course
and a bottle of Le Cicale Chianti D.O.C.G. with the mushrooms and
chicken.
We finished it all off with the wonderfully light
dessert.
We had started school at 9 a.m. and left a little after 2
p.m. It was a wonderful experience.
We walked back home through the Central Market, past San Lorenzo
church, past Duomo Square and the Duomo Cathedral, past Piazza del Signoria,
the outdoor replica of the David and the Uffizi museum, across the Ponte
Vecchio to our apartment. Our sense of direction was somewhat improved.
It was nap time!
We spent this day visiting museums. Art history overload! In the morning,
we took the short walk to the Pitti Palace.
This very large place (more than two football
fields long) served as the home and headquarters for the Medici family from the
mid-1500s. For nearly two centuries (1549-1737), this palace was arguably Europe's cultural center, setting trends in the arts,
sciences, and social mores.
We visited the Palatine Gallery and the Royal Apartments. We
did not visit the Bobolink
Gardens, though we were
able to get a peek at them from some of the windows of the palace.
After more than two hours of happily wandering through the palace
and its exhibits, we had an unremarkable but filling lunch at a sidewalk café. We then headed across the Ponte
Vecchio to visit the Uffizi museum.
The Italians have a more complicated than necessary way a
controlling entrance to their museums. After having made reservations
online, you then have to stand in line with your online printed reservation to
get your tickets. Then after you have your tickets, you get to stand in another
line to gain entrance to the exhibit. It took us a bit to
understand the "system."
Uffizi means "office" in Italian and the Uffizi served as
the offices for the Medici. They even had a private walkway constructed over the Ponte Vecchio
Bridge from the Pitti Palace
to the Uffizi. There were once butcher shops along
the bridge but because the Medici objected to the smells, the bridge now has
gold merchants and jewelry shops.
We spent more than two more hours walking up and down huge
staircases and wandering from one gallery to the next seeing works of art
familiar from textbooks and pictures. The paintings and the statues were
truly wonderful to experience.
By now we had walked more than 6 miles (according to our Fitbits)
and we needed to sit and relax. We went to Palazzo Vecchio where we sat at an outside café and had a late afternoon beer (Gary) and lemon iced tea
(Vina). This was the only unsweetened iced tea Vina found in
Florence during our entire stay.
We then walked over to Piazza Della Republica where we purchased
tickets for a trip on Thursday to Cinque Terre. Then back home to go to find a place for
dinner.
We walked a few blocks away to go to a restaurant recommended to us
by our landlady. It was a good recommendation. But we arrived around 6:30
pm and were told that they didn't open until 7. So we walked about 1/2
block to another wine bar and sat at a sidewalk table and enjoyed a glass of wine
while we waited for our restaurant to open.
We enjoyed a really good dinner with some amazing asparagus and a
great steak with pepper sauce. We walked
back home. Great day.
We spent the morning sleeping in and washing clothes. I think
we finally adjusted to the time zone change.
We went to visit the Galileo
Science Museum
next door to the Uffizi. It featured a fascinating collection of Renaissance (in the
1400 and 1500’s) and later clocks, telescopes, maps and other scientific and
technological kinds of things. It was interesting to see what the thinking was
back then and just how far we have come in the last 500+ years.
After a quick (less than two hours) lunch, we continued on shopping
and figuring out our walking route to meet our tour bus for tomorrow's trip to
Cinque Terre.
We then returned home to drop off our
purchases and prepare for dinner. We decided that we wanted to try the Florentine steak recommend by many. We found a Rick Steve's recommended restaurant
close to the Ponte Vespucci on the oltrarno (the other side of the Arno) side. We walked over around sunset - much earlier
than most Italian's eat dinner (around 7 pm) and we were the first people at
the restaurant that evening. We took a table outside and enjoyed the smallest portion steak dinner
that they served – which was still quite large. I really liked the way they
prepared the steak. Highly recommended but you should be hungry because the
portions are quite large.
We took a day trip to the Italian coast to visit five small
picturesque towns known as the Cinque Terre - the
five lands. It was a long day
- we left at 7 am and didn't return to Florence
until nearly 8 pm - but worth it.
We took the more than two hour bus ride from Florence
through the port city of La Spezia to the village of Manarola. After walking through the
village, we took the short (3-4 minute) train ride to the village of Riomaggiore.
The highlight of the tour for us was the boat ride along the Ligurian sea coast from Riomaggiore to Monterorossa al Mare. The ocean water is really blue and
clear and the coastline is dramatic.
We got off the boat at Monterorossa where we had a nice lunch and walked around.
We took our shoes off and waded in the water. The shore was VERY rocky and uncomfortable to walk
on but the cool water felt good on tired feet.
After
taking the train back to La Spezia, we boarded
our bus for the trip back to Florence. Along the way, we got a good view of the
Marble Quarries – which we would visit in a couple of weeks.
We spent this day preparing to leave Florence the next day by
packing. It was the day before our 45th anniversary, so we planned for a nice
dinner on a terrace overlooking the river Arno and the Ponte Vecchio
Bridge. Wonderful
anniversary and a great dinner!
We take the train to Bologna this
morning after checking out of our Florence
apartment. We take a taxi to the train station even though we had walked
there several times during the week because we didn't want to have to pull our
luggage through the cobblestone streets.
Figuring out what platform to catch our train was a small challenge
but we managed after asking a lot of Italians questions in our fractured
English/Spanish/Italian.
The train ride was pleasant. The train was crowded but we had seats. The ride only took about 35 minutes. Bologna is north of Florence and much of the trip was through
tunnels, so there wasn't much to see.
Upon our arrival in Bologna,
we got a taxi to take us to the hotel. They were expecting us but our room wasn't quite ready. We toured the garden of the hotel, met Flo, our
tour leader, and then went to our room where we unpacked some before heading
out for lunch.
Flo took us on a walk to the restaurant. It was a small family place that wasn't open for
another 20 minutes, so we walked around and came back at 12:30. The restaurant was fully booked for lunch but Flo
had arranged a table for us. There was a large group, a family of about 20, celebrating something. It was great to see them eat a traditional
Italian meal - the antipasti, the pasta, the secunda (main) course and the desert. We just had one course - a pasta- the lasagna bolognese. Plenty for us.
We walked back to the hotel without getting
too lost just as our group was arriving from the airport. After people
got settled in their rooms, Flo lead the group on a short walk
Flo had given us a bottle of prosecco as an anniversary gift. We opened the bottle
and called Dave and Karen to join us on the patio to share the wine.
Soon the entire group joined us for a welcome drink and orientation
session.
We all walked a short distance to a small restaurant where we
enjoyed a typical (and very good) Italian meal.
This was the first full day of the pre-trip. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed out for a
walking tour of Bologna
with a local guide. Bologna
is noted for its columned porticos and medieval towers. We explored the city center and toured the City Hall. We visited the very large church on the main
square, San Petronio Basilica. It was almost as large as St. Peter's in Rome. It would have been larger than St. Peter’s
if Rome had not
stopped them from building their original plan. Unfortunately they didn't allow pictures in the
church.
The University
of Bologna was the
birthplace of the first higher learning institute in the Western world.
It started in 1088. We visited the Archiginnasio
Palace, the first permanent seat of
the ancient Studium or University
of Bologna, which was
built in 1563. Its aim was to
concentrate in a single location all the schools of the Legisti (civil and
canon law) and the Artisti (philosophy, mathematics, physics, medicine and
natural sciences), which until that time had been dispersed in various places
in the city.
Two large staircases lead to the upper floor, where the architect
placed ten classrooms. On the same floor
there are also two large halls: one for the school of Artiisti,
and another for the Legisti.
The Anatomy Theatre, where anatomy was taught empirically through
dissection of corpses, was built in 1637.
The hall has largely been reconstructed after very serious damage during
WWII. The Lecturer’s chair consists of a
canopy supported by two famous “skinless” statues, dated 1734.
The most impressive feature of the Archiginnasio and the most
striking testimony of its historical glory is the very rich decoration on the
walls of the halls, arches, loggiati and staircases. There is a unique collection of the
inscription and memorial monuments of prominent professors of the university, surrounded by thousands of
coats-of-arms and names of students. The
students were subdivided into two major groups: the Citramontani (Cisalpines or
Italians) and Ultramontani (Transalpines or foreigners). They attended classes in this building from
the sixteenth until the eighteenth century. For a higher education nerd
like me, this was amazing and something I had looked forward to experiencing.
We then went to lunch and had local pizza. It started to rain
as we walked back to the hotel. We didn't get too wet.
We rested while it rained and then headed back out around 4:30 pm
to tour some more of the town.
We visited the Basilica Convento San Domenico where St. Domenic, the founder of the Dominicans, is entombed. One of the statues on his tomb was done by a young
18 year old Michelangelo.
We had dinner as a group sharing appetizers and wine. On the
walk back we stopped and had a gelato.
Today we took a day trip to Ravenna, a town about an hour drive from Bologna. It is noted for its mosaic art. The places
we visited were built in the fifth century.
We visited a church built originally for the pre-Christians and the
mosaics were modified when the Catholics took over.
We visited the 1,400 year old Basilica di San
Vitale with a series of mosaics on the walls representing scenes from the Old Testament. This served as a model for the Hagia Sophia built a
few years later in Constantinople (Istanbul). We then went and had lunch at a local restaurant as a group.
We had vegetables, olive oil with salt, cheese and bread as an appetizer. Then
we were served a pasta dish. And for desert, we had orange custard of some
sort. We had a choice of red or white wine and still or sparkling
water. We left quite full.
After lunch we walked back to the bus in the light rain. Then we
headed out to visit the small town of Dozza
where they were redecorating the walls of this medieval fortress town with new frescoes. After a short walk around the entire town, we returned
to Bologna.
We rested before going to dinner at a local restaurant a short walk
from the hotel.
This
was a day of two very different but good food adventures. We got up early so that we could get to the
Parmigiano cheese factory early to learn about the process of making cheese. It was more labor intensive than I had
imagined.
Then we went to Modena to visit Antica
Acetaia Villa Bianca where they make balsamic vinegar. Again, a small labor intensive process. The grapes are grown in the villa’s vineyard
and after harvesting, crushing, and cooking the juice is placed in large
pots. The juice is then pumped by a hose
up into the attic of the villa where it is put into barrels for aging. The attic temperatures (both summer and
winter) aid in the aging process. Every
year about 20% of each barrel is transferred into a barrel a year older. This process is continued for at least 12
years – and can go on for 25 years. We
were able to taste the vinegar at various ages to be able to taste the
difference aging makes.
We enjoyed a
balsamic laced lunch up in the attic of the villa. Although some of our group were not fans of
balsamic vinegar (“tastes like motor oil” one said), we really like it. For desert, they put 25 year old balsamic on
vanilla ice cream. Yum.
After a
hearty breakfast, we took a walking tour of the central part of the
city. We visit the Cathedral di Parma in the central square and
then the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta dating from the 9th
century.
We
visited a very large wooden amphitheatre used for a variety of activities. We visited local gardens. The composer Arturo Toscanini called Parma home.
We had
dinner as a group at an outdoor café featuring Parma hams.
Another great dining experience in Italy.
We spent most of this day visiting a
"salumificio" that produces traditional culatello Parma ham. It was
also a small hotel. Not your typical tourist destination. The making of the ham is a rather
complicated process but the results are very good. Aging hams were hanging in the aging cellar
for the likes of Prince
Albert and the royal families of Europe.
After visiting the salumificio, we went to a riverside town called
Polesine Parmense, to board a small boat for a twenty or thirty minute ride on
the Po River, Italy’s longest river. We landed the boat at a place called Giarola Island where we had a picnic lunch in a
small hut.
They called it a “light lunch” but we were quite full.
After lunch we got back on the boat and went over to a sand bar on
the other side of the river where we explored for ancient Roman pottery.
We didn't find any but we had a good time hunting.
We bid ciao to Parma and head to Lucca through the Lunigiana
Valley and the Apennine Mountains.
We stopped along the way to visit the small village of Pontremolese. It was along the river and in ancient times
served as the gateway to the cities to the south.
We then went for lunch at a small house where they made testaroli,
which are large pancake like things made from egg-free dough. They prepared them like pasta with pesto and other
sauces and served them to us. They were very tasty and filling. We celebrated two birthdays at lunch – David
Chase and also our guide Flo.
With very full stomachs, we boarded our bus and headed on to Lucca
where we said goodbye to Flo and met the rest of group and our leader for the
rest of our adventure, Tommaso – a handsome young man in the eyes of the women.
After checking into our rooms in the hotel, we went on a short
orientation tour of the walled city of Lucca.
We came back to the hotel to have a welcoming drink and then went
as a group for a dinner at the Restorante Giglio where we sat outside on the street and enjoyed a great meal
and wine.
A marching band appeared toward the end of our meal to play Happy
Birthday but not for Dave Chase. Dave
however was happy to share his birthday with an Italian. It was a lot of fun.
After breakfast, we went on a walking tour of Lucca - the city of a
hundred churches. About 60 churches survive today. Lucca is also the birthplace of
Puccini.
Ancient Lucca
was a city of many towers. Many still exist today. I would climb to the top of one later.
After visiting the Roman amphitheater, we all got bikes and rode
the four kilometers around the top of the city wall. It was very
enjoyable. I had not ridden a bicycle for years.
We then had free time for the rest of the afternoon. We
enjoyed an Italian lunch with Dave and Karen. We then went back to the
hotel and gathered our dirty clothes. Vina had found a laundromat and we
joined Elizabeth and Jerry and David and Barbara in doing our
laundry. Oh, joy.
We gathered as a group around 7pm to have our "welcome”
dinner.
We boarded our bus and went to Carrara for a tour of the marble quarries. This is the place where Michelangelo got the
marble for The David. Upon arriving at
the town below the quarries, we got into small 4-wheel drive jeeps for the wild
ride UP the hills to the quarries. It
was something like the Mad
Hatter’s ride at Disneyland! We had great views on the mountain looking
out towards La Spezia and the sea and learned about how marble is mined. It was
not for the faint of heart if you are afraid of heights.
After coming down off of the mountain we
enjoyed lunch in Carrara before returning to Lucca. Most of the town of Carrara is built with marble – including the
curbs on the roads.
Back in Lucca,
a group of us decided that we wanted to climb a tower. We found our way to Torre Guinigi. We climbed up the tower where the trees were
growing on top and were rewarded with wonderful views of Lucca.
We went for an early dinner before heading to a Puccini concert held in an old church. The acoustics were great and the singers’
voices were quite amazing with no amplification.
We stopped and enjoyed a gelato on the walk back to our hotel.
We say goodbye to Lucca
and head to Florence
and then on to the Chianti countryside.
We had already spent a week exploring Florence
before joining the tour. This guided tour provided a very different perspective since
we started across the Orno River at the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte and
walked down the hill and across the Orno River to the Palazzo Vecchio. During the free time in the afternoon, Vina
was feeling tired and we went to the Central Market and rested until it was
time to meet back with the rest of our group.
We boarded our bus and headed out to arrive at a beautiful small
hotel (Villa Sabolini) in the Chianti countryside. We were greeted with a glass
of prosecco as you can see in the picture. We enjoyed a great dinner out on the
patio that evening where we toasted the late Len Gordon, who was supposed to
have joined us on this trip.
We woke up this morning to a cool and slightly overcast day. It was a refreshing change. After breakfast, we headed out to visit the Chapel
of Montesiepi in the small village
of San Galgano. The scenery of rolling Tuscan hills is quite
beautiful. The chapel is home to a sword plunged into a stone by Saint Galgano.
It is also known for the preserved finger of San Galgano.
We then walk down the hill from the church to visit the abandoned Abbey
of San Galgano that is truly extraordinary. It is an example of early Gothic architecture. It
was built in the 1200's. The roof had long ago been lost and the church was
open to the sky. The Gothic buttresses support the walls and large
windows. There was a certain beauty to
a church open to nature.
After visiting the Abbey, we go to Chiesa di San Sebastiano village
(also called Chiusdino) for a leisurely lunch in a small
restaurant.
We then drive to a drop off point and some of us get out and hike
about two and one half miles along the Via Francigena pilgrimage trail back to
our hotel. It was a great way to work off lunch and to enjoy beautiful
scenery along the way.
We started the day with a scenic drive through
the Chianti countryside. After winding our way along many narrow roads
through rolling hills, we stop at a modern olive oil mill. We have a
tasting of three different oils and learn about the process of making of the
oils.
We then head
down some more winding and narrow roads to an "agriturismo" farmhouse
where we have a cooking lesson while preparing our lunch. It was great fun.
We had been having spectacular weather on this trip but it began to
rain as we arrived at the farmhouse. Fortunately our activities were
inside.
We then came back to our hotel for the afternoon to rest, get
packed for our next move to Siena and Pienza tomorrow and of course, enjoy
another delicious Italian dinner.
We awoke to a foggy morning and pack up and board our bus for the
short ride into Siena. It is a fascinating place. Narrow, medieval passageways open suddenly to
sweeping views of the city and surrounding countryside. Siena’s
streets are paved with cobblestones, and the city is built over five hills,
making for some challenging walking. Siena is divided into
seventeen districts or contrade. Each contrade has its own name and colors and
each is named after an animal or symbol.
The people seem to take great pride in their contrade. We were able to visit one of the contrade
centers and its own chapel. Each year
there is a horse racing competition between the contradas in the 13th
century plaza. The Piazza del Campo is considered one of the most beautiful in
Europe. Winning the race brings great
honor to the contrade.
We are able to visit the Synagogue in
Siena. It has a rich history but the
Jewish population in Siena is declining and the future of the Synagogue is in
question. After visiting the synagogue,
we go to visit the Church
of San Domenicio. It is an extraordinary church with beautiful
stonework, statues, stained glass windows and an amazing library.
We board our bus and head to Pienza, our home for the next three
days. Pienza was the birthplace of Pope
Pius II. Once elevated to his position,
he declared that Pienza (formerly called Corsignano) should be rebuilt using
the Renaissance urban planning model of a central piazza anchored with
important buildings and the rest of the city radiating from this heart. We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful sunset
overlooking the Chianti countryside.
We went for a short hike this morning after breakfast through the
rolling hills. The weather was pleasantly cool and the scenery special.
After returning to the hotel and cleaning up, we boarded the bus
again for the short drive to the Montepulciano area and the winery. We enjoyed a tour and sat down for a light lunch
and the tasting of four wines. We ended up ordering some bottles shipped
home.
Feeling quite relaxed, we proceeded to the hilltop town of
Montepulciano and a walking tour. It was quite steep and very picturesque. We went to a copper shop where the copper smith hammered out a "fertility” copper disk
for us in honor of our 45th anniversary which we celebrated on this
trip. Vina said no but… don’t ask…
We returned to the hotel and went to dinner in
Pienza.
Next we visited the hillside town of Pitigliano. Jews began settling in Pitigliano in the 15th
century, and the population increased when they sought refuge there after being
expelled from the Papal State in Rome during the counter-reformation
persecutions. During World War II, all
the town’s Jews escaped the Nazis with the aid of their mostly Catholic
neighbors, a rare feat in that era. We
saw the cathedral and walked about the steep streets.
After lunch we visited ancient Etruscan necropolis of Sovana and
saw how ancients treated their dead.
We
returned to Pienza where we were treated to a spectacular sunset while enjoying
a prosecco on the terrace before another great dinner at really nice
restaurant.
We leave Tuscany and move on to Umbria. Umbria is considered the “green heart”
of Italy. It is rich with agriculture,
olive oil making, and verdant forests. We arrive at the fishing village of San Feliciano
and Lake Trasimento, one of the biggest lakes in Italy
at 50 square miles, and take a small boat to Isola Maggiore. We explore the island and climb to the top and
visit the church and cemetery before hiking back down.
We have a very large and lengthy (2+ hours) lunch with plenty of
the local white wine.
After lunch we make our way to Trevi, a lovely town high on an
Umbrian hill and check into our hotel.
After breakfast we boarded our bus and headed
toward Spoleto. We entered Spoleto
walking across a
Roman aqueduct. We visited the cathedral which has some
colorful frescos. We enjoy lunch in a local restaurant. By now we are getting this Italian eating
thing down. We view an ancient forum.
Then we boarded our bus and headed to
Scheggino, a medieval hill town set along the Nera River. We get dressed up in protective suits (in
case we might fall into the water) and board large rubber rafts. We all look pretty funny in our protective
gear. We enjoyed rafting down the Nera
River (no camera, sorry).
After rafting, we head back to our hotel in Trevi. Before dinner, Vina enjoys a good bubble bath
in the oversized tub. Later we have a
nice dinner at the hotel.
We visited the town of Assisi, best known for the legacy of Saint
Francis and his followers, who practiced humility and compassion in the face of
poverty. This was more of a tourist town than many of the other places we have
been.
We tour the cathedral of Assisi with a wonderful British lady,
Priscilla, as our very knowledgeable guide. She showed us both the lower
church (very gaudy, in my opinion) and the upper church built on top of the
lower one. We visited the tomb of St. Francis.
Not
being Catholic, I had not realized how much the Catholic Church honored human
relics (remains). The remains of holy
people are quite prized and honored in many churches in Italy and St Francis is
much honored.
After our tour of the cathedral, we wander around the central
square of Assisi and find a nice little place for a small lunch. After lunch we treat ourselves to a gelato on
square.
We board our bus and drive up the side of the
mountains on a very narrow road. We visited the wonderful extended family
of Mac and Francesca - two kids and more than 30 dogs. After a short
visit in their home, we drive up the mountain some more in 4 wheel drive
vehicles and join the truffle hunting dogs and begin our walk in search of
truffles. The dogs quickly find some.
After a nice walk we find a spot on the side of the mountain, they
bring several bottles of prosecco and we toast our success. They scramble eggs and shred some of the truffles
on them and serve them to us. Sitting on an Italian hillside eating scrambled eggs with
shredded truffles and drinking prosecco - life doesn’t get any better than this!
After
enjoying the truffle hunt, we return to the farmhouse and prepare for a
wonderful dinner. The grandmother rolls
out the pasta and some of us get to help.
We enjoy some more prosecco before going into a dining area where they
have prepared a great meal for us. One
of the highlights of the trip, in my opinion.
After breakfast, we bid farewell to Umbria and begin our overland
journey to the Roman countryside. Along
the way we stop in the village of Bomarzo, home to a Renaissance-era garden
known as “Parco dei Mostri” or Park of Monsters. Begun in 1552, the garden features a series
of bizarre and fascinating stone sculptures meant to shock.
We continued on to a traditional agriturismo lodging outside of
Rome where we have our Farewell Dinner and toast our memories of Italy.
 |
Back row: Elizabeth, Jerry, Karen, David, Gary, Larry,
Barbara, and David
Middle row: Gretchen,
Susan, and Renee
Front row: Tommaso, Pat, Sarah, Vina, and Dave
|
This trip has allowed me to reflect on our human commonalities and our
differences across cultures. There is so much history- not just art
history but the history of the basic foundations of modern western cultures
today – that are on display in Italy. While great effort is devoted to
celebrating the past, so much of what we saw reinforces our commonalities in
the present.
We awoke early (about 4:30 a.m.) to head to the Rome airport around 5:30
a.m. But, as fate would have it, the hot water had broken over night and was
not working! We were not looking forward
to a long flight back home without a shower!
Fortunately, they were able to fix it and we were able to take short
showers before heading to the airport and then heading home.
One of the things I found interesting were the “Smoking Cabins” in the
Rome airport. As it should be we had an
uneventful flight home.
