Day 9: Tuesday August 21
The beautiful day started out with a fabulous breakfast in a lovely sunny room. I got up a little early and had a peaceful walk around the city to explore a little on my own. A lovely little hill town with lots of flowery window boxes, I knew it wouldn’t take long to see with the girls, but I wanted to absorb a small piece of Italy undisturbed.
After breakfast, we all headed out to check out the spectacular panorama and see the favorite church in town. It was pretty spectacular as well, in its simplicity. The rococo chandelier was the center of its adornment. Very lovely, almost made me want to stay for mass…almost. It did, however, give me a moment of reflection to realize how lucky I am to be able to just take off and see these amazing places all over the world. It’s incredible how one small moment in a small town in the middle of a country far from home can bring you to your knees with gratitude for all the things you’ve been blessed with.
We headed out for Assisi. You have to love these Italian drivers. I have been driving for most of our time here. It never ceases to amaze me how these laid back people who take 3 hours to eat a meal and stroll around town like they have nothing but time, get behind the wheel of a car and go wild!! Zipping in and out, riding your butt on a rain slicked road, pass with 2 inches (or should I say centimeters) to spare as you are flying down a curving road. Yikes! Ya gotta love ‘em! But I digress…
We headed for Assisi. It came highly recommended by my sis Cinchia. As we entered town, clutching Rick Steves guide and looking for parking, we realized the lot he recommended was closed. CLOSED!! How DARE they! So we circled the town and looked for more… none to be found…unless you considered parking on the side of the road and effectively blocking a whole lane. Here is where I mention that we are driving a Range Rover. Somewhat larger than these little Smart cars we pass on the road. Let me mention here that sometimes they are passing us…. But, yet again, I digress… So we circled and came back through town to check again to see if the lot was REALLY closed. Meanwhile, the traffic has increased (it seems) expotentially. We are stopped as one of the cars ahead of us has decided that the lot can’t REALLY be closed. So he has blocked the road AND the entrance. Meanwhile, we have blocked the Bus station and a very angry bus driver is honking and waving his arms at US! EXCUSE ME! But I’m not giving up my spot…just in case they open up the parking lot. This is where Arleen says “I’ll go see what’s up” and jumps from the car. We have been seeing cars leaving the lot so we know that there are spots available.
The next thing we know, Arleen is with the parking attendant and he has put down the chain and is letting cars in…YAY!! He lets in exactly 4…we are number 4. WHEW! He then walks down with us, I’m still driving, and escorts us to a parking place and waits while we park and lock up the car. Go Arleen! Then he continues to hang out while we go back to the car to retrieve some forgotten items. Is he waiting for a tip?? We try to tip him and no he won’t accept it. HHHMMMM wassup? Next thing I know is that he corners me and asks for my phone number and how long I’ll be in town. Gee Sandy, ya still got it. I will mention here that he was about 5’2”. What is it with me and short guys?? After setting our little man straight, thank you very much but I’m very married.. we continued on to see the sights of Assisi. An amazing place and well worth the effort even though our earlier mentioned travel agent tried to steer us clear of the place.
The Basilica was fabulous. Layer upon layer of altars and side chapels. The crypt of St Francis and his four buddies was pretty powerful. There were a number of people praying and many visitors had brought pictures of loved ones and slipped them into the crypt area. One man was crying and kneeling up close. I felt I had to stop and say a prayer for him. He seemed so desperate. Once again, thank you Lord for all my blessings.
The rest of the town was wonderful as well. We stopped for a coffee when we met up with everyone. We have been splitting up to see more things and then everyone can see what they want without the whole crowd mentality. Good idea.
Our next stop was supposed to be Deruta, which is the town where there are like 300 ceramics shops or so I’m told. We decided to pass on Deruta and head to Cortona because it was getting too late to do both. Disappointing, but a good call. There is no way we could have done either of them justice by trying to do both.
Cortona was our last stop. Recently made famous by the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun, starring Diane Lane, it was small and charming. There wasn’t anything of historical note but we walked and browsed and had a terrific ending to a lovely two days. What made it particularly memorable was the place we picked for dinner. While checking out all the stores in town, we asked about places to eat. One cute young lady gave us her two picks. While Dorth and I sat and mulled over our glasses of vino rosso,(Hey! Somebody’s gotta do it!) Arleen and Mary checked out the eating establishments and found us to report their findings. While drinking our wine, I kept looking around for Avalon and Russ Hill. This is the town where they bought a farmhouse with working farm property a few years back and I halfway expected to see them walk by. But since it is summer, I reasoned they probably have it rented out and gave up my search. Later I found out that they were indeed at the farmhouse…well, maybe next time.
We ended up choosing a little neighborhood haunt that seemed cute and popular and was reported to have good food.
One lesson I learned on this trip is that when you want to go someplace, no matter how small, be it a restaurant OR a picking a room, you want to make a reservation. Who would have thunk it?? So about 8:15 we moseyed in to the Ristorante, which by the way was jumping, and requested a table. WELL! Romano was the owner and VERY loquacious and animated and let us know in no uncertain terms that he was full and had reservations coming in for all the otherwise unoccupied tables. BUT! In about 15 seconds he said, after conferring with his watch, that if we could be finished by 9:30 (that’s 2130 to all you military types), that we could have this cute little table upfront. So being Americans, who tend not to use the table for 3 hours per meal, and having to drive all the way back to the Villa tonight, we said GREAT!! No Problema! (Spanish seemed to suffice here as far as we were concerned.) And we hustled in and made ourselves at home.
Terrific meal and watching Romano “work” the restaurant was entertainment enough. About every 15 minutes as he zoomed past to check on everyone in the place, he’d ask us how everything was and wave his arms and say, “good, good, la la la la la,” and check his watch. He was charming and funny and made the evening quite entertaining.
During the course of the meal, we met the diners around us and apparently he made the same offer to the other two tables near us about leaving at 9:30. So we were all getting fast service and great food. Not an altogether bad arrangement. At about 9:22, and I mean that literally there is no “about” about it. Romano comes to the table and says “You want dessert?” and as we nod our heads in unison, thinking we’d share one or two, he says, “Good, Good, I pick, you like” and disappears. About 45 seconds later, four fabulous desserts appear with Romano saying, “you like, eat, eat”. Between laughing and ordering coffee, we finish our desserts and grab our stuff and move to the bar where we have our coffee and pay our bill while sitting on the stairs to the back room and kitchen. Let me say here just how small the bar is. We had three tables doing the same thing and we were all enjoying ourselves immensely.
While wandering back to the car, we popped in to tell the young salesgirl how much we enjoyed her recommendation and of course did a little shopping since it was the only store open until 10:00pm. Altogether, it was a fun ending to an eventful day.
Day 10: Wednesday August 22
Sharon Sloan arrived this morning and after four straight days of marathon sightseeing, we decided to lay low and relax at the Villa. The girls all decided to go to San Casciano to do a little shopping for food and supplies. I decided to stay at the villa to catch up on what was happening under my eyelids. Fascinating pastime and well worth the effort.
Katarina, the housekeeper, made us a delicious meal and we sat around the table and talked and laughed until 1:30am.
Day 11: Thursday August 23
We awoke this morning to news that Sharon’s father had passed away during the night. Not altogether surprising, it was nonetheless sad news to start the day. Sharon had anticipated that this could happen and had made the necessary arrangements before she left. She handled everything amazing well.
So, the troops rallied and we headed out to the Chianti Road. With Betty (our infamous GPS guide), we drove to the Chianti region, which by the way was amazingly close. As luck would have it!!!
We started out in Greve which was a charming little town nestled around the typical open piazza. The rain, which had been threatening, finally started and we dashed hither and yon but still managed to have an eventful day. We did a wine tour at a little family owned winery called.. gee what was the name? It’s hard to remember when you start drinking at 10am. Cute place, good wine, what more can you ask?? Good thing I was the designated driver. Can you see my tongue in cheek?
Our second town was Castellini and by this time the rain had settled in for a good while so we dashed up the hill to a terrific little restaurant that Rick Steves had recommended and found that we concurred with his evaluation. Yummy!
Since we never got to Deruta, I always had my eye out for ceramics. Castellini had a cute store that I felt I must give a chance. Well, bargain hunter that I am, I found two pieces that were slightly marred. They never spotted my little hammer ☺. Just kidding. So I got two pieces that were “reduced” and am now a happy gal.
The last town of the day was Radda. A darling,(aren’t they all?)medieval town where we walked, shopped and had gelato. Gee, something new. But, the rain had stopped and once again, a great time was had by all.
Katarina cooked for us again and we talked until all hours. Luckily, Dorth and I had packed earlier and we fell into bed exhausted.
Day 12: Friday August 24
This was a travel day for Dorticus and Sandy. Great story how Dorothy got this nickname…but that’s another story. Anyway, Arleen dropped Dorth and me at the bus station in San Casciano. While looking for the place to buy tickets, we were directed to a gelateria. Boy, what a great country, gelato, bus tickets, all in one convenient spot. Gotta love it.
Took the bus to Firenze, then the train to Sacile via Venezia. Boy, don’t I sound good? Ryan, aka Patrick picked us up and drove us to his home sweet home in Budoia. We changed clothes and had a bottle of wine and snacks and then walked (he didn’t want to drive because there would be much drinking and celebration) to a neighborhood restaurant for a Hail and Farewell party with his squadron buddies. (Some guys are leaving and new guys are coming in. Ryan leaves for Korea in December) Let me inject here that I’m not sure what neighborhood we are talking about. It seemed about 2 miles away and after all that drinking and celebration more like 6 or 7 miles. But we made it home in one piece.
Day 13: Saturday August 25
By morning that one piece seemed a little shattered as the result of cheap wine (and by this I mean CHEAP not quite on the same caliber as Chianti Classico) and shots of Jagermeister. So after recovering with steak and eggs and about 2 liters of water and a couple of espressos. We headed out on yet another road trip.
This time our destination was the Island of Krk in Croatia. Those Croatians are apparently not big on vowels. So we headed out and went through Trieste (that always sounds exotic to me) and then a quick drive through Slovenia and into Croatia. It took about 5 1/2 hours to get there and the scenery was beautiful. Hills and trees and the Dolomites in the distance made for a spectacular vista. There were no vineyards, however, and I kinda missed those little fellas. I guess Croatia isn’t known for its wine.
Well, we found Krk and drove to the southern tip, to the town of Krk. Hmmm...Krk, Krk, Croatia. It is the only Island in this little group of islands that has a bridge to it from the mainland. Sure made it easy for us.
Once in Krk, we found the Hostel Krk and boy, was it a departure from the style to which we had become accustomed. But, it was a great equalizer and brought us back to the real world and really was a throw back to my travel days as a kid. Ryan, Dorothy and I shared a room with 3 beds, a queen and bunk beds. We were asked if it would be a problem, if they filled up, to put someone in with us. We, of course, said no and schlepped our stuff up the stairs. Then off we went to explore the town. Our first matter of business was to find food. The steak and eggs wore off hours ago and I was waiting for Ryan to start gnawing on my arm. Unfortunately, Croatia is not part of the EU and the restaurant we chose would not take euros….well, at least the waitress was crabby. So then our first matter of business was to find a Bancomat, or whatever it is called here, to get some Kunas. Success was only about 10 minutes away and soon we were sitting watching the Adriatic and having a yummy lunch/dinner. The restaurant was a great place to people watch as well and we settled in for a while to relax and enjoy.
After dinner, Dorth was hot to shop for a few last minute gifts and so we split up and Ryan and I went for a walk to watch the sunset and of course, take pictures. Luckily, we found some beach towels for sale. Unluckily, they cost almost as much as the room, which sadly, didn’t have towels. So much for cheap rooms.
We headed back to the Hostel fairly early (for us night owls), and attempted to get a good nights sleep. Let me say here that that was easier said than done. Our room was on the street side and the street was about 8 feet wide, wall to wall. So it was better for motorcycles and drunks walking home, of which there were a few…and at least they were loud. The temperature cooled to a balmy 85 degrees when the sun went down with not a breath of air moving. My better sleeping through chemicals philosophy seemed to work well for me, however, Ryan was not so lucky. Dorth, who seemed to sleep every other night on this trip, was I guess on a “not” night. So with a small flashlight clenched in her teeth, she read most of the night. Oblivious to their plight, I sawed the zzzz’s.
Day 14: Sunday August 26
After breakfast at the hostel, we decided to head down to the beach for a couple of hours of sun and swimming in the Adriatic before starting back to Budoia. Dorothy had about 5 minutes of wrestling with her conscience on whether to go to mass or go to the beach. Luckily, the beach won and I’m sure she will burn in hell for her decision…HEATHEN!
The trip back to Italy was much faster as we avoided Trieste. This allowed us more time in Slovenia. So breakfast in Croatia, lunch in Slovenia and dinner in Italy. Well aren’t we just the globe trotters!!
Ryan cooked stew for us for dinner in his new D.O. (that’s Dutch Oven for you less cool people). It was very delicious! While it was cooking, Dorth got on the computer and attempted to chronicle our adventures in an email. Unfortunately, she hit the wrong button, AGAIN, while trying to send it and deleted the whole thing. Two hours of work wiped away with the press of a button. Luckily, Ryan is more computer savvy than either Dorth or I and was able to “find” it floating out there somewhere. My HERO, saved the day again!! Meanwhile, Ryan and I watched a movie and relaxed while our stew was stewing.
Day 15: Monday August 27
Paddy aka Ryan went into work about 1030 so we had an easy morning. Ryan even made pancakes for us...FROM SCRATCH!! How yummy were they! Truly a renaissance man is my boy! After he left, Dorth and I attempted to “help out” by cleaning a little and repacking our suitcases. We very consciously waited until the stores opened up after reposo at 4pm or 1600 depending on how you look at it, to do some shopping for Paddy and stock him up on some stuff. HELLO!! Could somebody have told me that the stores CLOSE at 4pm on Monday??? So we took a walk into Budoia in hopes that a small market or SOMETHING would be open. Well! As luck would have it, the only thing open was a Bar/Café on the corner of this little road. Once again, fate intervenes to help us make some memories. We walked in and found a table (there was only one other person in there besides us and the bartender and only three tables in the establishment). The Bartender was this 83 year old woman who we named Margareta. Small, skinny and grey hair pulled back into a bun, she looked about 90. Well, we ordered due (that’s two) vino rosso and started to “chat” with the only other patron in the bar. His name was Giuliano and he spoke a little English. So, armed with our trusty phrase book, we attempted to answer him in Italian…for about 3 minutes. Much arm waving and pointy talky ensued. As we planned to leave, Giuliano bought us another round and we graciously accepted since it was already being poured. We can’t be rude now can we?? Meanwhile, the 5 o'clock whistle must have blown because the bar has started to fill up with guys coming in on their way home from work. One quick glass of wine, a glance in our direction, and out the door they go. Truly drink and run. However, the best was the drive thru drink. We hear this rumble outside, a guy walks in and gets a glass of wine, chats for a few, drinks his wine and back out to jump on his tractor (which he left running) and drive home. One more round on Giuliano and we say enough thank you very much and we’re out the door. As we stumble down the street…just kidding, we laugh all the way home about our shopping afternoon….with no groceries to show for it. Ah well, we’re in Italy.
