inside the fireplace) and a huge marble table, and a kitchen with a big picnic table and benches and a small corner fireplace sitting up on a brick counter in the corner. , 2004

Photos by Eiji, Blair, Janet, Christine, Shawn and Becca

Journal by Shawn

Tuesday−Wednesday, 18−19 May 2004

Madison dropped us off at Logan Airport and we spent the night in flight, along with Jane and Eiji, our benefactors who gifted us with this trip. Airplane seats We picked a little at the snacks left for us by Untours were designed by the Marquis de Sade, I’m thinking. —very fresh fruits and vegetables and nice cookies We got our first official passport stamps (yay!) going and crackers. Plenty of other food in the fridge and through customs in . Italian security cabinets to get us through our settling-in period. in Florence (Firenze) was very lax—evidently intra- travel has become more akin to our state-to- Janet and I wandered around the building, marveling state flights. But we were disappointed because we at the trees and bushes growing right out of the walls couldn’t get an stamp in our passports.

Harriet of Untours was there to greet us. It was sunny and on the hot side—but that was fine with the natives as it had been raining for almost two and a half months. She put us on a bus and off we went to to pick up our rental cars, whereupon we wagon- trained off to and up the hill outside of town to Pieve di Piana, an eighth-century fortified monastery—our home for the next two weeks.

(a fig tree grows out of wall just below our kitchen window). Lots of pigeons, and a resident falcon. The surrounding countryside is a beautiful series of rolling hills of green fields and tree-lined ridges, dotted with villas and little towns here and there on the higher Our quarters were where the Church bigwigs stayed hills. in their days of civil unrest, with modern conve- niences. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room An old man drove up and asked (in French, not with wood-burning stove, dining room with sit-in Italian) why we were taking a picture of a tree stump fireplace (no kidding—it even had a bench to sit on in the wall. I replied to the effect that we found it —1— interesting and beautiful. Turns out he was the care- tombstones were interesting—many had photos, all taker, and he promptly invited us on a more thorough had plastic flowers and little electric lights. We were look over the place. He opened the chapel and ushered later to see how wonderful it looked at night, softly usin... glowing. We thanked him and went on back to finish unpacking and doing all those little exploratory things folks do when checking out a new place, then we headed off to town (Buonconvento) for dinner at Ristorante di Mario. It was Eiji’s birthday feast. We ordered a sort of smorgasbord of dishes and shared around the table. I fell in love with the bean and barley soup. There was also Siena spaghetti (fat noodles), guinea fowl, and several other dishes I forget the names of now.

This was our first introduction to the most stunning aspect of Italy—relatively non-descript buildings com- monly house artifacts a thousand or more years old. The great sense of age, of timelessness, and the knowledge that a hundred generations have lived in even the most common hovel—a hush settles on your soul and a newfound appreciation of life’s impor- tances settles softly with it... Anyway, back to the chapel. You enter from a side door accessed by first entering a courtyard. My French was horribly rusty, but the gentleman was gracious The coolest present was a side-lit kaleidoscope. Eiji and patiently explained that the frescos on the walls and his daughters Becca and Christine regaled us with dated from the thirteenth century and that the altar stories of presents they’d received as kids—a helicop- was the original from the eighth century. He pointed ter from Dallas, a koala bear from ″not-Australia.″ to a clearly modern crucifix and with a very apologetic air proclaimed it to be ″of present time.″ A group of travelers from Norway filled a nearby table and they sang a second round of happy birthday for Then he showed us through the walled cemetery, Eiji while we were dining, which was really nice. Somewhere between the restaurant and the cars, Tim lost a contact, but the kids didn’t have any luck finding it in the dark. So off for home(!) and bed at 11:00—all of us completely pooped. And we have bats! Our ″apartment″ has a courtyard and several bats silently flash by in the courtyard light in the evening, playing ring around the rosy with the big pine tree outside the gate that hangs over half the courtyard. They are incredibly acrobatic in flight and they can go past your head less than a foot away and you never hear them. How cool is that!?

Thursday, 20 May 2004 pointing out where his father and grandfather were I was the last out of bed at 9 a.m. (this was not to be an both buried. Beautiful rose bushes grew down both unusual occurrence during our stay) having slept like sides of the central lane, and along all four walls. The a brick. Another gorgeous day. Topic of conversation —2— around the breakfast table favored ″how dark the night″ and ″how cold the morning.″ Having slept so late, I had nothing to contribute there... A lazy morning. There are lots of chameleon lizards playing tag on the courtyard walls. We humans are feeling content—great sighs, spontaneous dance steps, singing and whistling back to the birds...

After lunch Blair and gang chased us all the way back through town and up to the Pieve, trying to give us the key because they wanted to stay in town and do some shopping. Key finally delivered, off they went. We entered to find the washing machine had left us a little surprise and there was no mop to be found, so set about cleanup with a towel and bucket. Kitchen floor very clean now.

Headed over to the Untours orientation meeting at Fattoria Pieva a Salti, a working farm/restaurant, evidently famed for its dishes of wild boar. We just had coffee and biscuits out in their ballroom building while Harriett explained about the dos-and-donts, local laws, etc.—helpful, but soon boring what with all the questions asked about stuff she’d already covered. We slipped out to wander the country and hang out at the beautiful pool.

Finally, siesta time. Absolutely perfect snoozing tem- perature with breezes in the courtyard. Have fallen in love with sandals, but snoozing with bare feet on the cool bricks is bliss. Janet and I took a two-hour stroll completely around the monastery on the dirt roads, made a quick dash to town for paper supplies since dinner was not immi- nent—everybody was back and sound asleep, and Jane and Eiji were contentedly reading in the living room. Becca and Tim prepared a wonderful dinner of baby potatoes, mushrooms and asparagus. During preps, Then up to the restaurant for lunch. Harriet joined our we were all congregated about the kitchen tables, so troop and Blair picked her brains for local details. The we made plans for a trip to Siena bright and early the food was excellent—small ziti with alfredo sauce, their next morning. Tim and Becca are planning to spend a own organic veal and a delicious fruit cup with couple of days in Assisi in a few days, so we also hope strawberries, kiwi, apples, pears and blood oranges. to arrange a horseback ride when they return. —3— I found it impossible to grasp the sheer volume of sculptures, frescos, tile mosaics and paintings, both inside and out. Mostly white marble, it really stands out in the otherwise rose and terra cotta brick colors of the rest of the city. The library with its magnificent illustrated music manuscripts (they’re called ″minia- tures,″ which is ironic because they are quite large)

After a few hours of cards, we trundled off to bed. But first, Janet and I helped with Italy’s water conserva- tion efforts by showering together.

So ends another perfect day...

Friday, 21 May 2004

I’ve already lost track of time—didn’t know what day of the week today was and had to ask. We all got up bright and early—well, early anyway—and journeyed out to the ancient (medieval) city of Siena. Il Duomo was our first and most amazing stop. It is a huge cathedral and it is considered to be the finest example of Gothic architecture in all of Europe.

were particularly impressive to me, as were the seven sacred fields of study carousel sculpture. But every- where you look there is something beautiful to rest your eyes upon. It’s a bit overwhelming—I figure it would take many visits to fully absorb—and I exited a bit earlier than the rest of the gang and hung out with Eiji across the piazza, just soaking in the fac¸ade and watching the jaw-dropping reactions of other visitors.

—4— When the clan was finally all gathered back together Then we simply wandered around and window on the front steps of the Duomo, it was time to eat. shopped. Janet got two scarves—one for herself and Lunch was another wonderful smorgasbord—eight one for Jane, a belated Mother’s Day present. Then people can order and share a lot of dishes! Salmon more cappuccinos at an outdoor cafe´ that faced onto pizza, other-worldly spinach, pastas, salads, mush- the campo, the big brick-paved arena where they run room and rice dish (risotto?) and, of course, cappuc- the famous horse race every year. cinos. We intended to climb the tower, but the line was long and barely moving, so we opted to put it off until next week when we plan to return for their market day. And we hope to catch the falcon show then too.

After lunch, we headed over to St. Catherine’s chapel and its beautiful paintings. We lost Becca in there for a while—she stayed to explore her strong spiritual con- nectedness to St. Catherine. Janet loves the wonderful walled city—every alley Then—oh joy!—our first gelatos (uh, correct plural looks into a little secret world all its own. Narrow would be gelati, but we non-Italian speakers use the streets and high buildings, yet so much and so many terms interchangeably). Gelato is to Haagen-Dazs as variations of light and color provide a feast for the eye. Haagen-Dazs is to beans. Lima beans. Gloriously creamy, but light and fresh too. I have sworn not another day shall pass without a trip to the gelateria!

—5— tions—in French—for a place where we might buy bread. And she replied—in French. Poor Janet is wondering where I left my head, oscillating between confusion and laughter. But we found it! Unfortu- nately, at the late hour they only had the tough unsalted peasant bread—okay with olive oil and stuff, but we were hoping for some others. Anyway, this little adventure took about an hour and I’m sure we amused the locals to no end. Market day in Buonconvento tomorrow. Rain ex- pected. We’re hoping it’s one of those famous storms of Tuscany, but that it holds off till we’re all back home snug in our fortress! Odd notes, forgotten items: brick and stone are used in all buildings, no matter how small. At Fattoria Pieve a Salti, the doghouse was made of stone, and at our nearest neighboring villa, another Untours lodging place, the chicken coop looks like a miniature stone castle, complete with its own walled-in piazza, with chickens of every color of the rainbow wandering about. And on the subject of animals—there don’t

I drove home and have discovered I can drive like a true Italian—at breakneck speeds with absolutely no regard for those silly lines on the road or those little plaques on posts with chicken scratches on them. At our Pieve di Piana there’s a very sharp turn through a narrow opening (maybe four inches wider than the car) to get into our driveway to the back and I whipped through there without even slowing down. seem to be a lot of dogs in Italy, but there sure are a lot But I confess I attained this skill quickly only because of cats. Perched in windows, lounging on steps, roam- we were trying to keep up with Blair in his Alpha ing the streets and alleys—they are ubiquitous. Romeo! It’s much cooler this evening—had to break out the Jane and Janet are making dinner tonight. We stopped sweater. We stayed up too late last night playing cards. in Buonconvento on the way home and had a ″Lost in Blair was wide awake and needed company. Blair likes Translation″ adventure trying to find the town bakery his wine, but it is not his friend when playing cards (″la botega del pane,″ as opposed to a ″paneceria″). and he was far behind at the end. Of course, he wasn’t After getting directions to the two town grocery stores the slightest bit upset—in fact, he was feeling pretty (″Dove pane?″), Janet had the idea of asking a hotel fine! concierge, given the high possibility they might speak More later—the gals are calling me to supper. English. So we went into the only hotel in town and I asked the woman if she spoke English. She said yes, and French too. So like an idiot, I start asking direc- —6— Saturday, 22 May 2004 I have decided the Italian language is so melodic because they never stop using the exaggerated vowels I ate way too much last night. Couldn’t help myself— that children are so fond of—that sense of drama and Jane made a bread and cheese quiche-like dish with enthusiasm in speech diminishes little with age. onions and tomatoes that was so delicious I had four So, home with our booty—Jane and I are stunned by helpings. Left no room for pie. the incredible taste of the fresh strawberries. Fresh I paid for my gluttony—had nightmares and got very bread toasted with butter and honey, cantaloupe and little sleep. Janet had a hard time waking me up for I’m happy and finally reviving a bit. Janet got a Saturday morning market in Buonconvento. No signs beautiful green sweater (we didn’t pack warm enough or directions, but we finally chased it down, after first clothes for these chilly May mornings and evenings) stopping at the botega del pane for fresh bread. and maroon —also found a very nice skirt, but it was too expensive. Laura, our ″landlady,″ is here doing some gardening. She says the grapes in the vineyard you can see from the kitchen window are new red grapes that won’t produce for a couple more years.

While folks certainly stock up on food and stuff (the market trucks are really well designed for their func- tions, whether it be shoe store, clothing, butcher, cheese shop, etc.), market day is a social event too. First, everyone in town, and I mean everyone, is out and about—never knew so many people lived in town. Vendors and customers greet each other like old friends. Men and women are chatting in groups all over town. Bicycles are everywhere—and all of them have mud guards on both front and back tires.

Janet, Jane and I went for a walk after putting away the groceries. Janet and I lost a roll of film in Siena, so it was a chance for Janet to get shots of the wildflowers again. We also picked enough to have vases of fresh flowers in the kitchen and living room. When we got back, the kids were all back from Buonconvento, sacked out or reading in the living room. We do a lot of that, I’ve noticed. The apartment is just so comfortable and relaxing. —7— Speaking of which, let’s do a little tour of the place. The kitchen has a small fireplace on a counter of brick in the corner—very nice in taking off the morning and evening chill. Big picnic table with benches sits in the center, with antique cabinets on either side with dishes and cook ware. A beautiful wrought-iron staircase

rises in the front corner (closed off at the top), just to the side of the very tall doors that open onto the courtyard. The toaster is cool, too—you lift the grates out of the toaster, squeeze the handles to open them up, put in your bread, release the handles, drop them back in the toaster and turn it on. You never burn your fingers trying to get undersized toast out, and it holds thicker slices than our toasters. And when you open the cabinet above the sink you discover it is a drying rack! That was the most ingenious feature to strike our collective fancies. Very clever and convenient, and the dishes are out of sight and don’t take up counter space. The bottom rack is for plates and such in vertical slots, the top rack flat for glasses and cups, etc.

I like the way they handle heating and hot water here. There’s a unit in the bathroom mounted on the wall. It has controls for hot water and steam pipes for heating, and it is an on-demand system—the hot water is heated right there in the unit when needed, no gigan- tic holding tank. And you never run out of hot water —8— for showers! The temperature may vary a bit, even There are two especially fragrant trees outside the during one , but you never run out. Pretty patio. One is limoncella, the other we promptly forgot economical and efficient, I’ll wager. the name of when Laura told us. It has cascades of white flowers resembling those of a wisteria. The dining room has a huge sit-in fireplace, a massive marble-top table, a sofa, a small wood table with chairs and yet another cabinet on the side. We use it as our strategy room, with maps and brochures spread all over the place.

Tookanap... Off to tonight for dinner at Taverna Grap- palo Blu. In the spirit of experiencing new things, I tried Coniglio del Brunelo—rabbit with a sauce using The living room has a wood burning stove, a divan, the local Brunelo wine. Oh, my lord, the most deli- sofa, chairs, wood , cabinet and a TV in the corner cious thing I’ve ever tasted! Most everyone was that we ignore completely. And the most beautiful equally pleased with their meal and we plan to return arched wood doors to the balcony overlooking the to tour the city and revisit this gem. fields and vineyards. You can open the top halves to have a window view, or the entire doors. Got home late—everyone tired, hangover from Siena trip, no doubt. Can certainly feel a tightness in my lower legs. And so to sleep. Assisi tomorrow...

Sunday, 23 May 2004

Whew! An eventful day, punctuated by chasing Mario Andretti (Blair) to Umbria and back. The journey was to Assisi, where Tim and Becca will be staying for a couple of days. Becca has made some strong religious

Each of these three main rooms has a very tall double door opening onto the courtyard, each half-shuttered like the balcony door. Yet another beautiful day—the heavy clouds blew off by noon and it has been sunny and breezy ever since. We haven’t seen any deer yet, though deer crossing signs are everywhere. We startled a large hare in the vineyard on the north side on our walk today. We’ve come across several burrow openings but didn’t knock connections here and Assisi should provide quite a bit to find out who lived there. more for her spirit. —9— After seeing their room and its spectacular view, off It’s impossible to describe how beautiful these cities we went to the cathedral. It was a drizzly day, but as are. Tremendously old—we walk on stones that the Blair said, it made the town feel that much more Romans and Medicis have trod. Immaculate, with medieval. We came across a wood artisan’s shop that loving touches everywhere, be it flowers, elegant specialized in olive wood, where we got a salad set for lamps or ceramic tile mosaics inlaid into walls. Every ourselves, a yo-yo for Jayden, and spaghetti set for village is not just a visual showcase, it is a living Madison. tribute to the love and care the people feel for their home, region and country.

When we stepped into the cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, an orchestra and choir greeted us with the Hallelujah Chorus—aren’t we special? We sat and

Assisi, being a hill town (what town around here isn’t?), we were exhausted by the time we hit Buon- convento and sought out our friend Christopher at Ristorante de Mario. I had rabbit again—this time in a white wine sauce. Superb again. listened for a while. It was a rehearsal for the big show I really like rabbit. It’s good no matter how it’s cooked. tonight—the 750th anniversary of the consecration of Bunnies are a wonderful thing. the cathedral. We visited his tomb—coolest I’ve ever Blair and Christine have wonderful desserts at home seen, and he’s surrounded by all his companions. for all, so to home for coffee, treats, cards, jazz playing Getting to Assisi was tough—bicycle races and motor- softly, a crackling fire...life is good! cycle rallies were all over the place. We paused in for cappuccinos and definitely plan to revisit for a day—beautiful city. —10— Monday, 24 May 2004

Very slow morning, and I wasn’t the last one up—Blair beat me today. We decided to mosey back to Montal- cino for afternoon sightseeing and shopping since we only saw it at night when we dined at Taverna Grappola Blu. First we walked the palisade, awed by the vistas of the valleys below. Then we climbed straight up the stairs

the proud owners of beautiful olive wood cheese & bread cutting boards, and Janet got me a cute seahorse keyring—feels good to fiddle with in your hand.

to the highest point of town, swung through the

fortezza (fortress), then hit the stores that were open. Most don’t open Monday’s until 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. That’s one way to get rid of the Monday morning blahs—cancel Monday mornings! Janet found some presents for her co-workers and we got postcards—which we need to send soon or we’ll beat them home. Jane and Eiji and Janet and I are now —11— Next stop, the abbey at Sant’ Antimo, which has a Then we decided to ″accidentally″ get lost. Instead of tomb containing religious relics given them by Char- retracing our route home, we went south into the lemagne for saving his troops when they were stricken highlands approaching Mount Amiata. And oh! What with illness. A lovely place, only recently (1992) re- a glorious drive we enjoyed—stirring vistas of valleys opened and used by French monks. We saw a monk in awash in late afternoon sunlight at every turn. Had we been hungry, we’d have stopped in Porggia Rosa, a very tiny hilltop town whose sole ristorante overlooks what seems like all the glory of Toscana.

Oh—a funny event in Montalcino. When we were having cappuccinos in a restaurant, I went to the loo, the door of which is a huge painting. I thought I’d closed the bathroom door and was about my business when an old guy walked in, washed his hands and left—leaving the door open... And in comes a woman—who promptly did an about-face...Andthe rest of our troop were watching all these people going in and out and laughing their butts off. white sackcloth but didn’t take his picture—he was on Animals of the day: a fat (pregnant?) kitty in Montal- ″ ″ trash duty. Weird—a scene that could have been from cino, a big fox on our lost drive, and our aeronautic 1542, except for the shiny black plastic trash bag. acrobat show by several bats when we got home. One in particular kept going back and forth, flying just inches from my head each time. It was just sundown so I could see him clearly—but I never heard a sound as he passed. Christine and Blair made us a fine dinner of asparagus wrapped in proscuitto, baked with cheese and a risotto with cheese. They had bought a wonderful local dessert wine (Moscadello), so I chopped up a pear and soaked it for a while, then Jane cooked it up and we feasted on each morsel. The plan is now to bring a couple of bottles home... Tomorrow an Untours lunch, followed by a visit to on the way home.

—12— Tuesday, 25 May 2004 rabbit for the following week’s meals. His wife came along, saw the skinning and plucking and—Mirko Crazy morning—I was up at 8:30. Italy is full of swung his arm down—thunk, she passed out. miracles. Mirko coaches local boys in soccer and his store is full We got all mixed up about going to town for cash and of trophies his lads have won. He gave us samplings gas and it took us quite a while to get on the road for of the different kinds of olive oils. A man of great the Untours-sponsored luncheon in Monticiano (not enthusiasm for framing and family, he makes sure his Montalcino) at Ristorante da Vesto. Nothing much to children learn how food is created, where it comes from (not the store) by having them work on his friend’s farm—the education he says is the responsi- bility of the family, not school. Great fellow—we have his card and he’ll mail us anything we want to order when we get home. As we were sitting with our cappuccinos outside

crow about in terms of food, but we split up to sit with others and swap adventure stories. At the end, we invited a dozen or so for a cocktail party at the monastery. Our best treats of the day were, again, random and serendipitous. Harriet mentioned a fellow in a wine Mirko’s enoteca, Janet wondered aloud whether the bar (enoteca) a block away from the restaurant, and as doors on the church across the piazza were made of we were early, we wandered over for a chat with him olive wood. I decided to go see (looked like oak to (and cappuccinos!). Mirko was his name, and he was me—grain was too coarse to be olive wood). I peeked a delight. He is a professional wine taster and grew up

inside and was so impressed I went back and got the girls to come see. Then a fellow walked by us and farming olives and knows practically everything there rolled off a bunch of Italian and seemed to want to is to know about both olives and grapes, from when show us something, so we followed... and how to prune, warm vs. cold pressing, etc., and also shared anecdotes about his English wife’s intro- Apparently we just attract church caretakers (sacris- duction to farm life at his father’s farm. Papa and tans). He showed us the original, ancient doors, which Mirko got up early Sunday and went off to catch up on were mounted on a side wall. After our appreciative each others’ lives while they prepped a chicken and a nods and such, he decided we needed to see more and —13— took us to a small chapel with miniatures (those handwritten and illustrated music manuscripts) from the 1300s, stained glass from the 1400s, and an ornate glass coffin of some sort. Then he beckoned us again and we were treated to the vestry, with large oil paintings stacked around, a cabinet of jewelry that had been offered to the church throughout the centuries, and a glass and wood cabi- net full of what appeared to be ancient clerical robes. Finally he had us sign a guest book and we made a donation and thanked him as best we could. Respect for life—they had a hornets nest and instead of destroying it, they placed cardboard underneath it to catch droppings, preventing harm to the walkways. Our lunch partners, Fran and Nancy (PA) and Joe and Denise (TX) accepted our invitation for cocktails and a tour of our Pieve di Piana and we passed a couple of pleasant hours with them before they set off to dine at we trekked up the hill to the actual monastery. Its Ristorante de Mario. chapel is circular and has a sword buried in a stone, where some fellow planted it when he renounced all worldly goods. I think his name was Monte Siepi, or

But that was later. After lunch, we took in a nearby monastery, San Galgano. The main cathedral is de- else that’s the hill—or something. Anyway, the sword cayed and sans roof, but still beautiful—the only in the stone looked hokey to me, but the idea of the church of pure Gothic architecture in Tuscany. Then whole story is nice. —14— Jane and Eiji look very tired—tomorrow likely to be a rest day for them. Dunno what the rest of us will do—perhaps the horse ride and spa, tho’ we hoped to save that for Sunday when things are slow. Janet and I drove to town for cappuccinos and she got ogled by all the men. Looks like good country girls in Italy don’t go out after sundown—just young and old men, hanging out and shooting the breeze in the local ″pub,″ or the Italian version thereof.

Wednesday, 26 May 2004

Another glorious Tuscan day. Last night I wandered out front intending to stargaze. When I came around the corner I scared the bejesus out of a group of teenagers partying at the pieve.

That was a tough climb up to that abbey. Then we rushed back home to prep for the cocktail party. Meanwhile, a workers’ strike messed up Becca & Tim’s return, so Blair and Christine headed out to Chuisi, which is as close as they could get by train. It’s now 9 p.m. and we haven’t seen their return. Today’s driving (due west) was through wooded This morning I wandered out to find a German couple countryside and hills, and we saw a few rice paddies, painting watercolors of the view from the front of the which was odd to see in this landscape of Tuscany... pieve. Blair came out too and made coffee for them. —15— We sat around the patio for quite a while and learned far below...I’ve reached the point where I no longer how to play eucre from Tim and Becca. Then we ooh and aah about the beauty of Tuscany—I simply headed out for Pienza while the kids went off to travel look and smell and taste and absorb it with all my our ″accidentally″ lost route of two days ago. senses.

Janet was super-happy today because she finally got to wear a dress. The weather was just perfect. Jane and Eiji were not a bit tired today, by the way. They were raring to go today. Their energy level puts us kids to shame! Pienza had been highly recommended by Fran and Nancy, and they were sure right! Shot off almost two rolls of film. Lots of pecorino cheese shops—the local specialty.

Jane is making ratatouille for dinner tonight. The kids drove up—didn’t do the pretty drive; they revisited Montalcino again.

It’s difficult to keep finding superlatives for the beauty of thousand-year-old stone buildings with hundred- year-old doors graced with fresh flowers and plants. And the little gardens you stumble across as you round a corner or look over a wall. A glance down a pretty alleyway that opens onto a view of the valley —16— Pienza was probably the smallest of the hill towns we’ve visited, but with its number and variety of plants and flowers, it was by far the loveliest. It also had the best proscuitto and pecorino sandwich—and the best gelato, Siena’s claim to the contrary. Chocolate/banana/coffee combination was superb.

Took an evening stroll with Janet and Eiji to the nearby villas before dinner. It was getting onto sunset and the hazy light rendered the country in softer, darker greens. Falling asleep as I write this—bed time.

Odd note just remembered—when buying fruits and vegetables at the grocery store, the customer is respon- sible to weigh and punch in the code number of the produce, then slap the sticker that comes out on the bag, before going to the checkout line.

—17— Thursday, 27 May 2004 After lunch, Eiji and I climbed the Grand Tower while Jane and Janet scoped out more shops and alleyways. today after our usual morning indeci- siveness. The weather gods were on our side again— perfect weather that cooled down only after we got home. The parking gods were also on our side. Folks going round and round—I just turned into the lower city and voila, free parking with plenty of open spaces. Five minutes to the fortress city of many towers. It took us three hours to get up the first three hundred meters of the main road—lots of artisan shops with very reasonable prices. And all that time was spent just scoping things out—the plan was to make pur- chases on the return.

Then two hours back down the main street to make all our purchases, with a rest period for gelati (Eiji was in heaven with his) and cappuccinos and we were off for home. Blair said to make sure I noted he shot a whole roll of But first, food for Eiji. About two-thirds of the way up film in one spot in San Gimignano. It really is quite the main street was a beautiful restaurant with a picturesque—with a more medieval feel than that of cathedral-like ceiling of joined arches, all done in the other hill towns we’ve visited so far. brick. It also had a terrace with a plant canopied roof, complete with nesting mama bird. Becca and Tim are leaving early tomorrow—our first harbinger that this incredible vacation is winding to a close. It has been such a magnificent trip. The people have been wonderful to us, especially Harriet, Laura, Christian and Mirko. The food—oh, the food! I even had some wine today... We’re bringing Chianti Classico home for Madi, and that wonderful local dessert wine—Moscadello— home for us. Recipe: Slice pears thinly and saute´ them with a small amount of butter, douse with Moscadello, add a bit of sugar to thicken, and lightly stir so the pears get completely coated. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the works then cover and simmer for about ten minutes and you have a most joyous dessert to grace the palette. —18— The glorious greens and rosy oranges of fields and farmhouses glowing in a special light the gods shine only on this lovely land. I love Toscana.

Friday, 28 May 2004

Quiet lazy day today. Blair and Christine took Becca and Tim to this morning at the crack of dawn and napped when they got home. Quick trip into town for cream and few other essentials, then Blair, Chris- tine and Eiji took the scenic route we’d driven a few days ago, while Jane, Janet and I skipped over to Murlo to check out Estruscan history. Last night Jane made best ratatouille—such incredibly fresh vegetables here. You cannot shop for a week ahead—everything sold is perfect for today or tomor- row, no later. Odd notes and forgotten items that pop into my head:

Murlo is a very, very tiny town (population 25) with a beautiful and extremely professional museum dedi- cated to Etruscan history and artifacts. 3.20 euros admittance and well worth it. Etruscan art dating to

Siena, Pienza, Assisi, Montalcino, Monticiano, San Gimignano, our little Buonconvento, and most of all the beautiful countryside of Tuscany with its delicate wildflowers and bold red poppies.

Pheasants flying in groups of three and four mere feet away. Doves—the biggest I’ve ever seen—cooing in the trees 700 B.C. rivals any—especially the detail work on outside our bedroom. small pieces and jewelry. —19— We finally got our big Italian storm—while we were in Then, just as we were hitting the road, three little old the museum. Lots and lots and lots of lightning and English ladies also wandered up. They wouldn’t come thunder, with tremendously heavy rain. Only lasted in, but were happy to hear the church would be an hour or so and our ride home was dry, but fields holding services this Sunday. I’m sure we’ll catch them everywhere were spotted with pools. The lights went again. out a dozen times in the museum but came back on Cribbage time! quickly each time. Every time lightning cracked and thunder rolled, the girl working the front desk could be heard crying out ″Madre Dios!″ Saturday, 29 May 2004

We all got up early(ier) for market day in Buoncon- vento, then Blair and Christine headed off to Siena while the rest of us made tracks for Cortona. For some

No power when we got home, so set about making fires to warm us up. Finally found the fuse box—voila, circuit breakers. Flipped the switches and we were back in business. strange reason, we all thought today would be warm Blair, Christine and Eiji stopped for dinner on the way and dressed in our lightest clothes. Cortona was home but we couldn’t join them because we had all windy and a bit chilly—first purchase for me was the fires that couldn’t be left untended. We contented socks, as I was wearing only sandals. ourselves with grazing on fruit, cheese, and lovely Italian biscuits—not quite a cookie, not quite a cracker, but the best qualities of both.

Next stop was food for Eiji—he was in some mood driving today. As we neared Cortona he ″got his bearings″ and we went every wrong way possible, so the last kilometer took us half an hour! But we did We got to play tour guides again. A party of six folks arrive and our parking gods were with us. from Texas strolled up to the pieve, saw me and started to leave. I followed them out front and told Reading ″Under the Tuscan Sun″ had left me with them I didn’t mean to scare them off and would they high expectations for Cortona, but alas, it was not very like to see the place? Told them what we could about pretty. Heavy, rough stones jutting out frame every the cathedral and all and showed them around and we doorway, and the streets seem much less inviting than all had a pleasant time. our favorite Tuscan towns to the west. —20— Also disappointing was the ″Museo Etrusca″—it was We took all back roads home through beautiful coun- mostly other stuff, ranging from Egyptian artifacts to tryside and small villages. Came around one particu- the gaudy leavings of seventeenth-century rich nobles. lar turn and a very young fawn was in the road. I The tiny museum in Murlo was more professional in swerved and slowed as I went around and he started design and presentation of its artifacts. Having arrived following us on his very spindly and uncertain legs. I in a sour mood, I was now thoroughly irritated. tapped the brakes constantly and a car coming up behind us saw him, stopped, and we both watched him get safely to the other side of the road.

A little later, I hit the brakes again for a view of a gorgeous pheasant, then again later for a pair of them. A short way from home we stopped at the monastery Olivetti Maggiore. It was after official visiting hours

but lots of folks were still going in and out. We stepped into their beautiful church and listened to the monks singing liturgies for a while, then slipped out and away, feeling rather refreshed. Mom got chicken in town, leftover pizza and rata- touille—and dinner is a wonderful thing. Nice warm fire. Blair is happy with his wine from the monastery (we ran into them there—they’d gotten there earlier than us)... So, I dropped any preconceptions and expectations Frog invasion! Okay, well, just one. But he was in the and decided to just let it flow—that, and cappuccino kitchen, hopping across the floor. After the rain yes- and sweets on the way out left me in a much better terday, Janet and I had walked out front to get a shot mood. Which was important because I was driving of the sunset and we’d noticed the gullies on either home. If Eiji drove, we all swore we’d walk home! side of the road were crawling with dozens and —21— dozens of frogs no larger than Eisenhower’s head on a dime. Today was dry, but the ground was still very wet from the heavy rain and there are still zillions of the little fellows about. The bats are putting on a show over the courtyard again. Janet found where they come out of the wall of the cathedral a couple of nights ago—pop, pop, pop, one after the other. Literally, bats in the belfry! Jeez, it’s ten minutes after ten and you can still see some of the fading sunset.

Sunday, 30 May 2004 I met a viper while walking along a vegetable garden’s edge—he kindly moved off before I stepped on him. I was the first one up this morning! Tuscany—land of (Note to self—boonie-stomping in sandals, not a good miracles! idea.) We went back to the abbey at Sant’ Antimo today to I finally reached the road but climbed through the hear the Gregorian chants. Lots of cars and a half wire fence back onto the abbey grounds and got what dozen buses were parked along I hope is a spectacular shot of the abbey, fronted by a the entry road—tourist season beautiful gnarled old olive tree stump. starting soon. Janet got some pictures of the dignitaries going in and went in to listen. I sat outside with Jane under the ol- ive trees. After a while Janet came out and I got some excel- lent pictures of her under an olive tree with the abbey behind her.

Headed back to Montalcino—one of our favorites which we felt we hadn’t devoted enough time in visiting. Janet found a beautiful chemise in a shop and I got her a beautiful amber and silver necklace that went very nicely with it. Christine got a beautiful red dress there, too.

Then we saw some pretty white cows close by so I went to get a picture. They kept walking away and I ended up half a mile away before they stopped and posed for a shot. Having gone that far, I did a full circuit about the entire abbey, getting photos of it and the nearby hill town. —22— The rest of the gang was ready to leave after the not-inconsiderable amount of time spent in a couple of shops (and lunch in the restaurant of the rotating

bathroom door fame). I wasn’t ready to leave Montal- cino—I wanted to see the real town, not the shops.

On the way, Janet was perusing a guide book and stumbled across mention of San Quirco d’Orcia, and the fact that they were having a medieval festival

And Janet was interested in visiting some sulfur baths later in the day, so we said bye to the rest of the gang, covered practically every square inch of the entire city, finished with gelati after our heroic efforts (remember, in these hill towns it’s all up-and-down hiking), then off to the baths. —23— today. It was scheduled to run till 4:00, and we got So, for the four of us—Jane, Eiji, Janet and I—a last there about ten minutes after, but decided to take a lingering day, a last long walk through the country- look anyway. Good thing—we were treated to a sort of side, and a final trip to town later in the afternoon for drum & bugle and flag-throwing contest between the a special shop Jane and Janet have wanted to visit townsfolk, including a fully-costumed emcee and a since we arrived here. Then we pack up and turn in jester for intermission entertainment, as well as a early and get up early for the ride to Firenze. dance troupe. We’d brought desserts home from Montalcino, but The flag-tossing was quite a sight, especially one everyone was too full to eat any more—nice leftovers particular fellow who was them around with for tomorrow. his feet and between his legs and all over the place. Goodnight, journal. Quite a show. Had to leave before the last act to meet the clan for dinner at Murlo, but were thrilled with our wonderful day so far. Monday, 31 May 2004 The restaurant in Murlo is very tiny and was booked, so we decided to try Pieve a Salti, where we’d had our Blair and Christine set off this a.m. with a ″See you in Florence!″ goodbye. We did a load of laundry, hung it up to dry, then set out for our last long walk around the monastery. Janet got what we hope are ″the pictures″ of the poppies.

Untours luncheon. Damned good choice—at least tied for best meal of the entire two weeks. Asparagus ravioli, artichoke flan with truffle sauce, rippolito (a bread soup), and Janet proclaimed her veggie platter to be the best in her life. When we got back I made omelets for breakfast. We Blair and Christine leave for Firenze (Florence) early still had 4 hours to kill, so Janet and I set off for the tomorrow, so to home and early bed for us all. The rest sulfur baths we missed yesterday. Another five-star of us follow the next day and we’ll meet and have pick for Janet. Bagni di Filippo was a beautiful sylvan lunch before they all fly home and Janet and I head to wooded ravine with stunning cascades of sulfur de- Germany to finally see my first grandson, Tyler. posits. They call it fosso bianco—white stream. I was —24— We got back a little after four and I drove Jane and Janet to town for that final shopping trip—mostly getting gifts for the kinfolk back home. Then home for the last time. Jane’s making our final dinner, an Italian goulash using a bunch of leftovers and the rest of the veggies we have hanging about. I’m all done packing. Janet is finishing up and I write surprised to find it had zillions of frogs and tadpoles, today’s entry. and happily rolled up my pantlegs and stomped It was another perfect day. Looking forward to my bat around checking them all out. aeronautics show in an hour or so. I’m going to miss those cute little guys. Plan for tomorrow: 7 a.m. start for Florence and a day of sightseeing. Jane and Eiji stay overnight and head back to the states the next day. Janet and I fly to and thence down to Ansbach with Andy as our U.S. Army escort.

Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Up at 6 a.m. and on the road to Firenze by 7. Traffic not bad to the city, but absolutely wacko once inside. I almost got busted by the carabiniere for driving down a bike path. Christine was on the phone with Eiji talking us in—evidently they took the bike path the We stopped for several photo on the way there and day before and didn’t get caught. No such luck for me. back, including a little orchard of cypress trees, a They were nice though—just made me turn around. ruined building, and a villa with a long, long cypress- Finally arrived in a big piazza and the hotel was just 3 lined driveway. doors away. —25— Blair and Christine’s room is ″The Little Princess″ room—up a spiral wooden staircase to the attic. The have a view over the rooftops of the duomo dome and tower, over to which we proceeded in short order.

We spent an hour and fifteen minutes in line. A nice couple in front of us befriended a young girl between us who was traveling alone through Europe. They made arrangements to meet her later and take her out for lunch, then took off, having made arrangements to see David later under a reservation system... Janet was wowed by the restoration work that had gone into so many of the paintings, and we were both floored by the statues. David was quite magnificent, though I think Mikey picked a funny model—his hands and feet are huge, and he has fat calves; definitely a little weird in proportions. Equally impressive was the ″Hall of Slaves″—″partial″ sculptures of men clawing their way out of the marble.

The duomo exterior is all marble—white, green and orange, quite dazzlingly combined. The inside, in contrast, is rather stark. You might even say simple, except the gothic arches are stunning in their symme- try and massiveness. When in Firenze, one must see Michelangelo’s ″David,″ so Janet and I were off to the Museum of Arts, his new home after the very recently completed two- year cleaning project. —26— Next we wandered over to jewelry row, which is a bridge of shops spanning the river, called Ponte Vec- chio. Blair was photographing everyone like crazy, and I kept trying to get shots of him shooting every- body else.

Then an outdoor lunch—our last meal together on the trip—with a harried but funny waiter. We wandered

around the piazza for a bit and Janet and I got a picture of us with one of the ″living statues.″

Finally, the best gelati in all of Italy, beautifully pre- sented in a winding bar with the fruit or nuts or what have you festooning each serving tray. Alas, back to the hotel where we said our final farewells and expressed our heartfelt thanks to Jane and Eiji for this glorious wedding gift, then off to the airport in the taxi. —27— A last desperately needed cappuccino in the airport, and we were on our way to Frankfurt. I’m writing this entry on the plane. We’re ten minutes away and beginning our descent, crossing our fingers that Andy is there to meet us and take us to the base. Funny thing—just after writing the above, I turned to Janet and said, ″Wouldn’t it be cool if Crystal got out of the Normandy Invasion reenactment gig and was there at the airport?″ And guess what—there she was! With Tyler in her arms and huge smiles on both their faces. And off we flew to the base. (I hereby resign my Mario Andretti status—Crystal’s a maniac speed demon!)

Wednesday, 2 June 2004

I being in a stupor all morning, the gals managed to get done what needed to get done, then Crystal took us down to the local town of Ansbach to the altstadt —the old city. It was charming and quite beautiful,

We headed over to the PX and we got Tyler a Jeep Cherokee stroller which is, as Crystal so eloquently puts it, ″the nuts.″

Thursday, 3 June 2004

Hung around till 2:30 when Crystal was officially off-duty for the day. Watched a couple of movies, finished her puzzle and played with Tyler. Such a happy boy.

especially the church with its stunning organ in the balcony.

We had lunch of Crystal’s staple diet item (Gyros) and brought a couple of them back to the base for her NCO, James. Nice guy—four years to go and getting out before the poop hits the fan. He shooed us off, giving Crystal the rest of the day off to spend time with us. —28— Then a trip to Rothenburg, where Ty was born. Beau- tiful town, untouched by WW II. We did the shops,

had cappuccinos and treats, then we continued on to Frankfurt. Found what I thought was our hotel from all the website printouts I had, but then discovered the confirmation printout was for a different hotel. So off —29— on a nightmare of crazy one-way streets where it took bought his latest CD which is currently being consid- three attempts to get two blocks. I kept pleading with ered for the German version of the Grammy award. Crystal to slow way, way down while I tried to figure Walked off a ways, the decided to go back and get his out our route—to which she responded by just tromp- picture—he gave us quite a pose. ing on the gas and hauling butt. So now I know how Eiji felt when I was driving! Nice enough hotel, but we were amused that the red-light district was only two blocks away. Had a final dinner with Crystal in the restaurant (ironic— their specialty was Tuscany cuisine, and it was quite good, actually). We were the only folks eating and the staff fawned all over Tyler the whole time.

The zoo was very impressive and quite well done, especially their underwater displays (and the bats!).

Finally had to say goodbye—Crystal had a long drive home ahead of her and had to report to work at some ungodly hour of the morning.

Friday, 4 June 2004

Janet and I breakfasted in the hotel, then took a long walk to the zoo/botanical gardens via the shopping

Long walk back. Our feet we sore, vacation exhaustion setting in fast. Decided on a taxi to the airport rather than dealing with luggage and trying to get to the airport by train. Flight home was long and in our irritation and tiredness, Janet and I had a spat and weren’t talking to each other when we got back on American soil. Resolved it later, of course, but travel to and travel from phases of a vacation are definitely the low points of any trip. No question though—this was about as perfect a vacation as we could have ever hoped for. Beautiful countries, nice people, great weather and food, and a whole lot of soaking in of peace and harmony and relaxation. If we ever win the lottery, we’re moving to Tuscany, district. Street vendors and stores all along the route. where we will remain for the rest of our lives! Heard a really cool artist—Alex Jacobowitz—who plays classical and a variety of other genres on a wood xylophone from Africa. Extremely talented fellow. We — Shawn Linderman —30— Jane and Eiji

—31— Christine and Blair

—32— Becca and Tim

—33— Janet and Shawn

—34—