Five Star Follies

It's been a long time since I've posted about my trip to Italy. As I recall, I left off just as we were getting to Florence.





We arrived at the edge of the old city amid a cloud of scooters. In our search for the hotel, we went in circles, down streets lined with more scooters, like this:

Why did we go in circles? Because the solid stone of the old buildings lining the narrow streets confused TomTom the faithful GPS that had gotten us all over Tuscany and Umbria. TomTom was released from his position shortly after the sidewalk driving incident, in which I was afraid I would need the number of the American Embassy. But I digress.

We finally found our hotel, the Hotel de la Ville. It's the only 5 star I believe I've stayed in, stateside or outside the states.

We checked in quickly because the time it took to locate Eurocar to turn in the car went a bit long. Did I mention driving across the sidewalk? Yes.

Well, we got back to the hotel and met our delightful guide (Pam found her recommended in a Rick Steve's book, and she was worth every euro and then some). That's a different story because of the incident in the cathedral - the one with the relic. Sacred relic.

We decided to refresh and then go have cocktails in the lounge. We went to the room - it was a 2 story like the one below - and by then it was getting dark outside. We tried to turn on the lights. We tried in every way imaginable. We tried the bedside lamps. We tried the bathroom light. We tried the upstairs lamps. We opened the door to the hall.




We admitted defeat and called the front desk.


But of course, you silly Americans - put the room key in the slot by the door.

Why didn't we think of that?



Finally we were ensconced in these very chairs with a glass of wine and some simple snacks.

It had been a good day.

The next day we started in the dining room having breakfast. With yummy Italian coffee. I don't know why, but I learned to love breakfast in Italy. Chocolate granola, maybe? The coffee? Oh, it must have been sunnier yolks in the boiled eggs. Or the shaved ham and salami. Anyway, for the first time ever, I heeded the "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" admonition.

Takin' it to the Streets

I have a dream.

It is to return soon to Italy.

Now, I am fully aware that there are parts of the US I haven't seen. And there is certainly a whole world out there to see.

But Italy has so much to offer: Art. History. Religion. Fashion. Food.

The 10 days I spent there barely scratched the surface. I would like to go back and have the time to wander streets like these, and to shop in local markets for fruits and vegetables, to have cafe at the counter with the locals and to have the opportunity to be a part, in some small way, of the rhythyms of life in whatever village I am fortunate enough to stay in.

Florence, Italy--Arriving in One Piece

We left Gubbio about 9 or 9:30 am after a wonderful breakfast at the Hotel Relais Ducale. My favorite breakfast was the one served at the Hotel Casafrassi in Castellina, though. The eggs. The shaved meats and cheeses. The coffee. The granola with chocolate. Served in a large room with windows in the back that looked over the pastures. Oh.

Sorry. Yes.

Leaving Gubbio.


Anyway, we had really enjoyed the hotel in Gubbio because one of the managers was American. Sean. From Boston or Philly. He had married the very attractive and personable hotel manager, Daniella.



Anyway, the hotel bus took us to our car, and off we went past the Roman ruins, the ampitheater I could see from my room. We drove past Lake Trasimeno, above, for many miles. It was a fairly long drive, 65km or so, and we had to stop for gas.



So we were to be at the hotel in Florence in time to meet our walking tour guide at noon. And things were going well. Cindy was driving. Traffic got more and more congested as we neared Florence. And then from everywhere came scooters.


In all colors. With all shapes and sizes driving them. As they wove in and out of the line of cars.


Cindy got tense. I got tense. Pam was drinking in the scenery from the back, serene in the knowledge she was safely in the back if the pilot and navigator blew it. TomTom was no help. There was no button for "avoid scooters" like there was "avoid tollways".

Cindy was still dodging scooters when I saw the Arno. She was on her own for a few minutes as I realized where I was. It was the ARNO, people. The Arno. THE Arno. Okay, we still had to make it to the hotel.

We crossed the Arno, and TomTom was doing his thing pretty well. But did I explain how narrow the old town center streets were? And how narrow streets confused TomTom? And how a confused TomTom sends you in circles? There must be programming in there under the subrouting of "when in doubt, circle". We did. Twice in our circling we went down a very narrow street lined with scooters. I wanted to knock them all over like dominoes, they were that much in line and lined up with each other.

We FINALLY spotted the hotel, and actuall got too far past it. We put Pam and the luggage out, and she went to get a porter to get the bags. Mostly we wanted her to check in with the tour guide so we didn't miss each other.

I got back in the car with Cindy, and we set off for the purportedly short ride to Eurocar. 3 (!) circles later, Cindy pulled up in front of the hotel and I went to get directions from the hotel staff. Who hopefully were not named Tom.

Off we went. We made two turns and realized that the road was ending at a sidewalk. Just over the sidewalk was another road. Where we needed to be.

Cindy drove over the sidewalk! In another country! Past and through pedestrians! Turning this car in could not happen soon enough.

So I kept one eye on the map and one eye on the street. Signs in major Italian cities were not like those in the US. They are much smaller for one thing. They only protrude a bare minimum from the front of the building for another. But I still spotted it. Oh joy! Oh relief! We would be rid of the car in minutes. This is the same car that I so loved driving around the countryside in Tuscany and Umbria, but circumstances change things, don't they?

At the counter we asked how to get back to the hotel and if they would call a cab. It had taken about 15 minutes to get to Eurocar from the hotel. The Eurocar attendant said he would call a cab, but it was only a couple of blocks. 5 minutes. Well, no matter. Nothing could burst the bubble of being relieved of a rental car in a historic Italian city with narrow streets and swarming hordes of scooters and a demented gps system.

Note: most of the images in this post I borrowed from the internet because - once more with feeling! - I took the wrong lens on my excellent adventure!

Next time, the Hotel de la Ville and Florence on foot.

Deruta, Italy

After visiting Assissi, we drove down to Deruta. Does that sound familiar? That's where all the pottery comes from in Italy. In fact shortly after I got back, a Christmas catalog came and they had ceramics from Deruta for sale.

This was the first store we visited, and ultimately the one we loaded up in. When we first arrived, he was showing how he painted a piece. He was so good at the intricate pattern on the wheel that it looked easy.

This was the only place I felt an overwhelming need to buy...I didn't feel that way so much in the other cities.

The showroom...full of temptation

See no evil...but I bought that bowl in the lower right corner, the salt and pepper shakers in the center and the napkin holder (and more) anyway

Shopping hangover (see all the stuff on the wooden table and on the floor? it got it's own trip back to the US of A)

Aldo, the attorney turned artist, shows us his workroom downstairs...

and a plate painted and coated in the stuff in the pot from the previous picture.

But most importantly, this is Millou, Aldo's very vocal and friendly teen aged cat.

Oh boy, did seeing Millou make me miss Gus and Cotton! The drive to Deruta was beautiful - if I remember correctly, we traveled by a lake for some time.

The ceramics all arrived about 4 weeks after we got back. One night at Cindy's house we had so much fun opening everything up. It was just like Christmas.

I did love visiting Deruta. And next time I'll actually go into the old town.

Sanctuary

When I was shooting film, I took a series of country churches. They were what I had in mind this morning, but since I can't find those, and they would need to be scanned even if I did, I decided I would put up images from the cathedrals, churches and basilicas we visited in Italy. Enjoy your Sunday.

Siena

Pienza

Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Gubbio

Assissi

The Verrazzano Winery Tour, Greve

Our first major outing was a winery tour. I had no idea what to expect. We piled into the car at the Hotel Cassafrassi, and off we went. TomTom helped us get there right on time. This is the first view of the winery as we drove in. I was captivated. See the tower in the back next to the cypress trees? I took a close up of it.








As promised, here's the tower.

This is the view from the patio before walking around to the proper entrance to the house (palazzo?) The front walk was flanked by cypress trees and to the left was a beautiful reflecting pool...excuse me, large beautiful reflecting pool. No I do not have a picture. I could not operate my camera with the lens I took, so I didn't get some of the shots I would have liked. Back to the view from the patio...the light grey foliage is on the olive trees, the dark green cylindrical trees are the cypress and who knows what the rest is except breathtaking. And those rock walls.

This is the only picture I took in front of the residence that I like. It's the sculpture in the center of a fountain. This is where Gino explained that the only kind of chianti to buy was the kind with the pink band and the black cock on it. Later driving around Tuscany, we would see large road signs with the cock indicating this region grew official Chianti wine. As opposed to grapes grown elsewhere in Italy and called chianti. Before I went to Italy I wasn't much of a red wine fan. Boy is that different now. But only chianti. With the pink band and the black cock.



These are white grapes on the vine in the drying room. Warm days, cool nights - great grapes and ultimately good vin santo, the dessert wine. I am not a fan.

This was the family we sat with - the young woman on the right in the white top and the young man in the front left are married and live in Atlanta. I was supposed to send them a copy of this picture. Think it's too late?

Ooooh the food. Salami and wild boar salami and prosciutto. Tuscan bread with garlic and olive oil. My personal favorite, the white beans. YUMYUMYUM. The pasta with spices you could sprinkle over the top. And if I'm not mistaken, 4 kinds of chianti, vin santo and still and fizzy water. And oh my I feel stuffed just remembering. Oh my goodness me.

We didn't leave until 3 pm. Then we drove to Volterra. But that's another story.

Gubbio, Italy bits and pieces

While we were in Umbria, we stayed in Gubbio. Gubbio was a home of the Duke of Urbino, Federico di Montefeltro. Yes, you know him. You'll recognize his picture when we get to it. Moving along...Gubbio is built onto a mountainside, St. Ingino. It is truly steep when walking. Above the Relais Ducale where we stayed which is one of the Duke's Palazzos, there is the Duke's Palace in Gubbio. I'm sure it's not as grand as his Palazzo in Urbino.

Below is a piece of furniture from that period, if not from the Montefeltro Palace itself. I think the picture is actually contraband. There may have been a sign saying no photographs. But it is beautiful, isn't it?



Sidetrack: I could see this from my room. In fact all over Tuscany and Umbria, clothes were hung from lines strung from balconies and rooftops. I guess the small medieval rooms don't allow much room for a clothes dryer. I wonder if washers fit and were used. Anyway, just like at home, I think clothes on a line are charming.

This "sign" was located on the side of the street we walked down as we returned from the Duke's Palace.

Here's a snippet of the Duke's Palace...I liked the color of the stone in the courtyard. The fireplaces were enormous...

And last but not least, the fellow himself...the Duke of Montefeltro. Painted by Piero della Francesca and remarkably honestly, too, as the missing chunk of nose was not painted back in. He was a gun for hire, and made good money at it. I saw this portrait along with his wife's at the Ufizzi Gallery. Walking through the Uffizzi made my little u-feet-sies tired...ha ha ho ho ho har hee....ahem. Now back to the regularly scheduled blog.

He was unusually loyal to his men, taking care of men who might be wounded or killed, providing dowries for their daughters. He was a patron of the arts. He was nicknamed the "light of Italy".

Pretty good for a mercenary, huh?

Palazzo Pubblico, Siena

This may not be the most iconic picture of Siena, but I like it. It's in the courtyard of the Palazzo Pubblico, which is on il Campo, the town square. At the time, Siena was overwhelming to me. I think it must have been the crowds...I'm not a fan of crowds...but looking back I really enjoyed my time there. It will be on the list of places to go when I go back.

small world

I used to buy Budget Travel magazine and dream about places I could go. It seemed more attainable at that point I guess in Budget Travel vs. the other travel magazines. The other night at the bookstore there was a Budget Travel display and the feature was Italy and a new kind of place to stay. Flipping through the magazine I noticed a contest and looked to see what the prize was. That's when I noticed a very, very familiar view. See below.



Now look at one of my pictures from my hotel room in the Hotel Relais Ducale in Gubbio.

It's always fun to see a place you know featured some way - you feel a connection, and you're involved as opposed to being just an observer. In fact, there's a murder story about the American student in Perugia that I keep tabs on because it happened just as I was coming home from vacation in Italy last year. But I digress.

This little coincidence brings new meaning to the phrase "it's a small world".

Gubbio, Italy

Vacation is on my mind, as I have a mini-vacation coming in a week or so. But it made me remember being half a world away last October. And how I loved everything I saw. This is the square in Gubbio in front of the entrance to the Hotel Relais, where we stayed.

The entrace is through the second arch behind the umbrellas which haven't been unfurled on this particular day because of the strong breeze. We parked the car outside the old city and walked to the hotel (their instructions) and it was incredible. The stone streets were a maze, and most shops were closed, but we looked in all the windows. I tried to imagine what would be in an antique store which was an antiquity itself.

Gubbio, and the buildings above, were taken over by the Nazis. Thanks to all the WWII movies I watch, I can easily envision the banners with the swastika hanging on the face of the buildings. When the Allies got to Gubbio, they had no desire to destroy the town--they understood it's historical value. So, they fired one "unarmed" shell into the town. If you look closely you can see the place it hit above (from the top left window, count three over and look just below the third window). The Nazis took the hint and scarpered out of there and Gubbio survived.

We heard this story from the locals who frequented the small bar just inside the second arch, which is also one entrance to the hotel. I mean to look that up in the history books.

Have I mentioned I want to go back to Italy?

Santa Maria sopra Minerva (Assisi, Italy)

This is me, standing in front of a column of the Temple of Minerva (see below) that was built 25 years before Christ. According to one of the umpteen guidebooks that I read before, during and after my trip. I was so awestruck by the age of the structure below. It was built by the Romans, for pete's sake.

A priest came out and we thought we had done something wrong. But we hadn't. He invited us in to see the church that the Roman temple had become. The interior was a complete shock. See for yourself. I had to find a photo on the web (thanks whoever) because we could not take pictures inside. It was just amazing. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip.

And here we are with the priest. Clever, he was. We all made contributions to the box inside.

Passing Gas

This is a photo taken in Italy, at the Verrazano winery. I think Cindy took it.

The "spouts" on the top of each barrel are how the wine breathes during fermentation. Water is poured in the top once it's tapped the barrel and a glass put upside down on top of that. If the barrel is pushed, as it was on our tour, the wine passes gas via the spout on the top. And the wine never is touched by air, which would ruin everything.

This arrangement was created by someone famous, probably Leonardo, the original multi-tasker and overachiever, not long after the dawn of time. I wasn't really listening to the tour guide. I was looking at the doorway I was standing in, at the barrel behind me, fidgeting and wondering how I could buy a house in Italy and move the dogs there.



Ciao!

Vote!

Gotcha! This is not about the highest job in the land, it's which photo do you like better?

Vote 1 if you like the first one better, Vote 2 if you like the second one better.

For heaven's sake, help a girl out. For all that's decent and good, vote! Because I've not subjected you to campaign advertising, vote! Because your vote can change history. Your vote counts!

Oh, and the two chicks in the lower left corner are Pam and Cindy, respectively. In Tuscany. Pienza to be exact. I fell in love with Pienza. This view of a lane overlooking a valley is all that's right with Tuscany. In the distance you can see the hills. in Pienza I paid for a candle so I could light it in the chapel next to the Pope's house. That was a first.

This is also the excursion that resulted in driving on a road that Tom-Tom showed was in the middle of a field.

And kept saying "turn around at the nearest exit".

Loudly.

Tom-Tom felt so strongly about that, he repeated it going and coming. Apparently, Tom-Tom had not downloaded an update on new road construction. I must say it is unnerving to rely on a device that says you are traveling on a non-existent road in both directions, on a road with "round abouts", in a country in which you do not speak the language, at dusk. Everyone knows dusk is the hardest time to drive. I think Tom-Tom was having a little fun at our expense.

All's well that ends well, though, because we got back to Castellina in time, 9:15 pm, to eat at the restaurant up the road from the hotel Cassafrassi where we stayed, and had THE BEST PASTA of the trip. And YUMMY STEAK. And sat on the patio next to a group with a German Shepherd laying under the table.

It was a good day.

Amen.

P. S. You can call 1-800-mollyfly if you'd like to contribute to the fund that will let me return to Italy.

Before and After

Okay, I took a lot of weird shots in Italy because I took the wrong lens to my once in a lifetime vacation to Tuscany and Umbria. But through the miracle of Photoshop Elements, I can make the most of what I got.


For example, here's a nice shot of a window box

And it's crooked, and there are power lines marring what is otherwise an old world feel. So, ix-nay on the owerline-pay. And a little squaring up. And a little cropage (no, Rob, it's not a word in a dictionary sense, but I think everyone gets it). And a little lighten/brighten action and a dash of sharpen. Presto, change-o and here you go:

This is fun!

Room with a view

After Chianti, we drove to Arezzo and then to Umbria. We stayed in Gubbio--this was the view from my hotel room. In the lower right side of the green field you can see from my room are the Roman ampitheatre ruins. And of course, you can see the roof tiles I seemed to be infatuated with-they are in many pictures I took while in Italy!

Leading you on

These are shots I took of lanes or doorways in Pienza, Siena or Gubbio that seemed inviting you to follow them to see what was just around the corner, through the arch or up the stairs.