Relaxation in Italy

7 days isn't near enough time to spend in Italy (or Tuscany for that matter). It's difficult trying to balance relaxing time with tourist time...especially for first time visitors like Donna, Jason & Regina. Luckily, the temps were high (close to 100) on somedays so those were perfect days to lunch in Montespertoli then hang out by the pool...drink some limoncello...and just enjoy the pleasure of renting a villa in Tuscany.

Jason, Jennifer and Donna strolling through Montespertoli.

The girls striking a pose...

A toast to Tuscany!

Giuseppe, our favorite waiter at our favorite restaurant, joining us in an afternoon toast!

Jason & Donna checking out the limoncello supply.

Proof that limoncello brings out the goofiness in people....we were supposed to go to Pisa on this particular day but we were running late after a trip to the Ugolini vineyard and lunch so we decided to hang out in Montespertoli then hit the pool....here's the girls making our own "leaning tower".

Striking another pose for the boys :)


Limoncello will apparently also make you skip arm and arm through foreign streets....


Whew, it's hot so now we have to move to the pool....


Jason perfecting the art of keeping pool toys on your head with no hands!

Moving on from limoncello to red wine!

A friendly game of "volleyball"...

Fun in the sun!!!

Siena

I can't believe I'm actually getting several posts done in one day! We found ourselves in Sienna two days. We first visited on Sunday, after our day in San Gimignano. Unfortunately, it was late afternoon and we really didn't have enough time to explore the city. So, we ventured back on Wednesday to try our luck again. The most interesting part of our day was driving around the city trying to find someplace to park. Come to find out, Wednesday is market day in Siena so the city was packed. We finally got all settled in and started our journey through Siena.



Siena is another Tuscan town that was settled in the time of Etruscans. At one time, it was a major city of banking and the financial industry. In time, it fell to Florence and it's great reign came to end.



Our first view of the city through the trees....sigh.

Jason, Donna and Regina checking out the local fruit.


Fruit too beautiful not to take a picture of....

Jason and Dick obviously enjoying some Italian humor.

The Torre del Mangia. Built in 1325-1348, it is located in the Piazza del Campo, Siena's premier square, adiacent to the Palazzo Pubblico(Town Hall). When built it was one of the tallest secular towers in mediaeval Italy.

The marble loggia, known as Cappella di Piazza, was added in 1352 as a vow for the Holy Virgin by the Sienese survivors from the Black Death. The tower is visible from all parts of Siena and was built to be the exact same height as the Duomo di Siena as a sign that the church and the state had equal amounts of power.

The walls of the tower are approximatelty 11 ft. thick on each side. The stairwell up to the top of the tower is cramped and most visitors need to duck their heads at some point on the way up the tower. There is little room for two way traffic on the stairs, so only 25 visitors at a time are allowed to enter the tower...here's two of them now!

The girls hanging out at the top of the Torre del Mangia

Another day...another tower climbed by these two sisters.

I love Siena's rooftops...

Jason and Donna persuing the counryside...

A view from an ancient window...

The Piazza del Campo from the top of the Torre del Mangia. The Campo is the town square and is famous for hosting the Palio horse race.

I have no idea what was going on but it was quite a treat to see this group in their costumes...complete with drums and monks.

The Duomo del Siena

In the interior the pictorial effect of the black and white marble stripes on the walls and columns strikes the eye. Black and white are the colours of the civic coat of arms of Siena. The inlaid marble mosaic floor is one of the most ornate of its kind in Italy, covering the whole floor of the cathedral. This undertaking went on from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, and about forty artists made their contribution. It is truly a spectacular church to see in person. Unfortunately, it's hard to take pictures so I don't have anything that does it justice.

This is my favorite part of the Duomo...The Piccolomini Library, housing precious illuminated choir books and frescoes painted by the Umbrian Bernardino di betto, called Pinturicchio, probably based on designs by Raphael.

The visual impact of these very colourful frescoes is stunning. The frescoes tell the story of the life of Siena's favourite son, cardinal Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who eventually became Pope Pius II. He was the uncle of cardinal Francesco Piccolomini Todeschini (then archbishop of Siena and the future pope Pius III), who commissioned this library in 1492 as a repository of the books and the manuscript collection of his uncle. The ceiling is covered with painted panels of mythological subjects. They were executed between 1502 and 1503 by Pinturicchio and his assistants.

To see these frescoes in person is amazing...they are extremely bright and colorful and look like they were painted yesterday.



The amazing ceiling:

The Continuing Italy Saga

Here I am again! Let's pretend that it's Sunday, May 24 and I am returning from a wonderful day spent with friends in San Gimignano. San Gimi is one of my all time favorite Tuscan towns. The town originally had 72 towers, giving it the nickname "Manhattan of Tuscany". Only 15 remain today...one of which Jason, Regina, Donna and I climbed. San Gimi is also known for it's local products: ceramics, olive oil, saffron and Vernaccia wine (a high quality white wine made exclusively in this medieval town).

Jason & Dick exploring the wee alleys of San Gimi:


There are fun courtyards with doors to peer around...


and gas lamps and frescoes to admire....


many towers to climb....

beautiful views from those towers....the Tuscan countryside is amazingly beautiful...too beautiful to capture in photographs.

and views into piazzas...whew, that's a long way down!!!

Photo ops for showing off new shoes!!! According to Donna, her new Keens were great shoes for climbing towers.

Fun ledges for more photo ops....

breathless laughter as we ascend another tower....

So many places to explore (and eat gelato)

tourists everywhere...

local ceramics....

yummo...local treats...

curious doors at the end of streets....I wonder who's lucky enough to live here?

My peeps: Jennifer, Donna, Dick & Jason posing for their San Gimi pic.

narrow streets all over town....

Hope you enjoyed the little tour of San Gimignano. It is a MUST see if you visit Tuscany!

Arrival in Italy

Well, finally I have some time to post some trip stuff before I head off to the beach! Our first travel day is always long. Dick and I had the 6:00 a.m. flight out of Denver to D.C. That got us in way early since we weren't leaving for Rome until 6:15 that evening but since there is only one flight to Rome from D.C. every day, I never want to take the chance of missing that flight. Case in point. Jennifer, Jason and Regina were flying from D.C. to JFK to catch their Rome flight.

Here's Dick sharing a pre-Italy glass of wine before they head off:


Well, we all leave our wine and go down to their gate to see them off...oh oh....flight to JFK delayed. Dick and I have to go back to our terminal to get ready for our flight but we are communicating by Blackberry. Last we know before we head for Rome is that they are on their way to JFK. Well, we arrive in Rome...along with my sister, Donna, who has made the trip from Houston, through Philly, to Rome. I couldn't believe that she and I were in Italy together....a dream come true for both of us.

But more oh ohs....the rest of our group missed their flight to Rome from JFK. After much wrangling, they have gotten on a flight to Pisa and are expected to land mid morning. So Donna, Dick and I load up our fancy Alfa Romeo station wagon and head up to Tuscany!

Of course, we have to head straight to Montespertoli to Il Mondo Degli Gnomi, our favorite restaurant in all of Italy!!! This is a small pizzeria in the Piazza Popolo in the center of Montespertoli. Rosa and Giuseppe (brother and sister) run the restaurant and welcome us as if it had been just days since they had seen us instead of a whole year. Plenty of pasta and wine later...the rest of our group arrives. Exhausted from their adventure...it took them almost 2 hours just to get a rental car in Pisa...more pasta was had, along with more wine. It was a great way to start our trip. Finally, it's time to head off to our villa. This year we stayed at a place called Villa Castiglione near a town called Fiano and about 8 km from Montespertoli. A little more remote than our villa last year but still great!!! We had a brand new pool which came in handy with temps in the mid 90s this year, and we had great views of San Gimignano.

Here's the front of our villa... you can't really see them in this pic but there were gorgeous roses everywhere!!!

ere's the view from our "backyard". Plenty of olive trees and vineyards on those hills!

Our awesome pool. It was down the hill a ways so was very private and a fun place to hang out.

After a long, exhausting day you'd have thought that we would all be in bed early but no, not this group. Dinner was waiting for us at the villa so we had dinner then we started on our wine and our limoncello. We ate, drank, put on music and danced into the wee hours of Italy!

Here's our dinner all prepared and waiting for us: lasagna, salad, bread, wine.

Hanging out on our loggia after dinner.

The girls looking relaxed and happy.

And last, but not least: Donna teaching Dick to dance to her music.

Stay tuned for more adventures!!

Food, food and more food!

We're back!! 17 days away from home feels like forever but we had a great time. I'm trying to catch up on household stuff, bills, etc. before I head off to South Carolina for Sally's big birthday bash, but I hope to get the blog updated before I go so please be patient. I just thought I'd share one thought with you tonight. Normally I'm a pretty healthy eater. I try to watch what I eat...stay away from too many carbs, sugar, etc. but on this trip I really outdid myself. I usually profess to "not like Italian food" in general but it seems like I couldn't get enough pasta and pizza and gelato while in Italy this year. Add alot of yummy Ugolini white fizzy wine....need I say more. Then just when I think I'm out of the woods, we head over to France....the home of frites, frites and more frites. Just as long as it wasn't pasta...I was good. I definitely had my fair share of excellent food and wine so for tonight...here's our before and after shots.

Me and Dick before we went to Italy:


and now...upon our return!

Hope you enjoyed the update. I promise to post more soon. By the way, both of these statues were in Monte Carlo. The before was at the Jardin Exotique near the Palace. The after is a sculpture near the harbor and the casino.

Tell someone you love them!

This is my dad and me. He died on April 23, 2002. I don't remember when this picture was taken other than it was in my parents' dining room in Louisiana and I was there during a flood. It's not the best picture ever taken of the two of us but I think it truly reflects how we felt about each other...we loved each other!

Why am I posting this now? I've never posted anything about losing my dad before but I watched the stupid Grey's Anatomy finale last night...and yes, I broke down at the end, even though I had an inkling of what was coming. If you didn't see it, I won't spoil it but the whole point of the episode is "don't wait...tell the people you love TODAY...tell them how much you love them...tell them what a difference they've made in your life."


I know, I know...we all say that don't we? When something happens...we all say that it won't happen again....

I don't need to talk about the pain of losing my dad...everyone has lost someone...everyone has felt grief in some form or another. What I want to say is that I did tell him...from the time he was diagnosed with cancer until the night he died....I told him how much I loved him...how special he was to me...what a difference he made in my life. I told him over and over again as we hugged and cried and laughed and cried.....there was lots of crying. Angry crying when he was diagnosed, happy crying when his treatment was going well and horrible wrenching crying when he died unexpectedly from surgery complications. I can say now that I have no regrets...

I know that he died knowing how much he was loved...there was no doubt he knew how much we loved him...because we couldn't stop saying it. Over and over and over again...because we were scared...and we wanted him to know ....

...don't wait...don't wait for a diagnosis or a death...say it today. Tell someone right now how much you love them....a spouse, a child, a niece or nephew, a friend...don't let another day go by because you never know ....