Thursday - Sunday - Lucca, San Gimignano, Pisa, Florence, Home

Since our car had died in the road on Wednesday night, and since there was no rental car place in Greve, Bill & Jo took a bus to Florence on Thursday morning and got another rental car.  While they did that, Simon, an employee of the vineyard, gave us a tour of the winery.  When Bill & Jo returned, we all climbed into the car, grabbed a quick lunch in Greve, and started for Lucca. 

The plan was to visit the ancient town of San Gimignano, make a sweep past the Leaning Tower of Pisa, then go on to Lucca. Since we were travelling the backroads, it took us a while to get to San Gimignano, and we didn't arrive until after 3 p.m. San Gimignano is famous for its towers. Once, there were 72 towers in the city. Now, 14 towers remain. We parked the car outside the city walls and went into town. The streets were narrow and hilly.

 

A shopkeeper in San Gimignano recommended that we take the backroads to Pisa, as it would be both shorter and faster because of rush-hour traffic on the big roads between Florence, Pisa, and Lucca.  We punched the address into the GPS and set off.  We drove, and drove, and drove....

Rush-hour traffic in the small towns was no piece of cake, either.  A few miles outside Pisa, we gave up on Pisa (it was already dark) and made a bee-line for Lucca.  In short, getting there was a nightmare.  We finally arrived around 8 p.m.  We were to stay at the La Romea B&B.  We phoned ahead.  Guilio, the owner, said he would meet us just inside the city wall.  We parked in front of a bicycle shop, and within a few minutes, Guilio's car screeched to a stop behind us.  We transferred our suitcases into his little mini-van.  Guilio recommended that we not attempt to drive around Lucca.  "It is a very small town, and the streets are very narrow...."  Narrower than what we'd already seen?  Guilio had no problem convincing us to park the car and walk everywhere we wanted to go, for the day's drive had strained our nerves to the limit!

The hotel was down a tiny alley - we'd never have found it without Guilio's help.  There was a tiny courtyard outside.  A tiny wine shop opened onto the courtyard.  The owner was standing in the doorway when we drove up.  "Stay right there," I told him.  "We'll be back in a minute!"  We took our bags upstairs, dropped them in the floor, then ran backdownstairs, intending to head straight for the wine bar...but he'd already closed up and gone home.  :(  We walked around the corner, found a quiet restaurant, and had an antipasto plate and an entire bottle of wine.  As we were eating, Libby & Jordan came in.  They'd arrived earlier in the afternoon and had already been looking around.  We invited them to join us, but they'd already eaten. 

The next morning, Bill & Jo went for a bike ride around the walls of Lucca.  Joey & I caught a bus to Pisa.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Joey in front of the Leaning Tower

Notice how the Leaning Tower managed to right itself when the camera was in Joey's hands.  ;)

In Pisa, we snapped shots of the Tower, then - what else? - went to find something to eat.  Afterward, we managed to get on the right bus back to Lucca.  We walked around Lucca for the remainder of the afternoon.  I wanted perfume for a souvenier, so we found a perfume shop and I chose a scent.  As we were paying, the clerk reached up and brushed my cheek with the back of her hand.  "Oooooo, so dry!" she exclaimed.  She made tsk-ing noises, reached under the counter, and handed me a little tube of moisturizer.  "For day or night!" she said, dropping it into the bag.  Gee, thanks.  "Grazie!" I said.

Bill and Jo, Libby and Jordan, and Joey and I had dinner that night at La Giglio, a restaurant not far from the hotel.  Joey ordered a pasta dish with rabbit in it and amused the waitress with comments about "bunnies."  When she brought his plate, she told him, "Here's Roger!"  Funny, "Bugs" was the first cartoon rabbit that had come to MY mind.  :)

The next morning, we packed our bags.  Bill, Jo, Libby & Jordan were going on to another town south of Florence, but, alas, Joey and I had to end our trip on Saturday and fly back on Sunday.  Bill & Jo helped us check into a hotel near the airport, then dropped us off in Florence, near the Uffizzi museum.

There must have been a million people buzzing around the Uffizzi. We walked around a while, then got in line for tickets to the museum. After 30 minutes, the line had not advanced an inch. The throngs of people were beginning to get on my nerves, and Joey's too. Noise. Jostling. Pidgeons swooping our heads, even under the porch of the Uffizzi. "Let's get out of here," I said. Joey seconded that motion. We did a little shopping, ate lunch, then started trying to figure out how we were going to get back to the airport hotel.

We walked and walked and walked, looking for a bus station or information on how to get to the bus station. Finally, we found a tourist information center. A clerk showed us a map. We were "here." The l'autobus estatione was waaaaaaay over there. We set off walking. After a good many blocks, Joey spied some taxicabs waiting outside a hotel. Good idea! We hailed one, and rode back to our hotel.

That afternoon, it began to rain, and we were glad we had given up on Florence in favor of the airport hotel. We rested a while, walked a while, went back to the hotel and ate dinner. Our flight was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. We had not been successful at checking in for our flights online, so we decided to get to the airport at 5:30 a.m. We called it an early night, since we had to be at the airport before the crack of dawn.

At the airport, we learned that our flight would not take off until 9:30.

Finally, we were on the airplane. Unlike most trips we've taken, this ride home seemed infinitely longer. As the plane approached the U.S., I'd have gotten out and walked, if I could've. We landed in Memphis just after 5 p.m., and spent another hour or more getting through customs, chasing our bags around the airport, and trying to remember which lot we'd parked our car in when we'd arrived more than a week ago.

It was a great trip - maybe a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip - but we were mighty glad to see Memphis, and even happier to pull into our driveway.  We'd grabbed some fast food on our way through Millington - mmmmmm, hamburgers! - and as soon as we washed off the road grime, we ate and collapsed into our own wonderful bed.  It had been almost 24 hours since we'd last slept. 

My "clock" is still a little messed up.  I woke up ("bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," as they say) at 4 a.m., Memphis time, starved for a good old country breakfast of bacon and eggs.

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Tuesday & Wednesday - Greve, Panzano, Sienna

Corniglia

I'm posting few pictures that should've gone with the "Sunday & Monday" post.  Something screwy happened before I was finished uploading pictures, and I could not get these pictures uploaded.  This first batch is from the Cinque Terra tour - Riomaggio, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterossa. 

Riomaggio



Riomaggio




"Il Gigante" in Monterossa



  

On Tuesday morning, we headed for Greve in Chianti. On the way, we stopped in Varese, where it was market day. Leaving Varese, we drove to Carrera, famous for its marble. We had lunch in a small piazza, then drove up to the quarries, where they are literally carving away the mountains. This part of the tour made me fairly nervous, as we had to drive through long tunnels and negotiate curving roads which were also being travelled by huge trucks carrying marble. I was glad to get out of there!

Market Day in Varese

Outside Carrera

After investigating the quarry, we drove on to Greve. It was almost dark when we arrived, and we could not find the vineyard. Finally, Jo called Alessandro, the owner, and he came to retrieve us (we were only a few hundred yards away from the entrance). We took our bags to our rooms, and since it was too dark to look around, we went back into town for dinner. Our waiter was a jolly fellow, and spoke good English. We drank local wine, ate local cheese and other local dishes. It was yummy.

Grapes on the vine at the Fattoria Viticcio



View from the vineyard

Wednesday morning, it was drizzling rain, but the rain didn't last long. After breakfast at the vineyard, Bill & Jo walked around to investigate the grapevines, almond trees, and olive trees.  Joey & I set off in another direction in the vineyard.  As I was snapping pictures, my camera battery played out. I could not re-charge it without an adapter since the electrical outlets in Europe are different from ours. Bill had an adapter, but he and Jo were hiking, so we could not borrow it. Joey and I drove to Greve, bought an adapter, walked around the town square, then went back to the vineyard. I was able to charge the camera battery a little before the four of us headed to Siena.

On the way to Siena, we stopped for lunch in Panzone and ate on the patio of a tiny restaurant overlooking a beautful hillside. As in almost every place we ate, the food was delicious, but this might have been one of the better meals we had, partly due to the scenery. Joey & I had local sausage with white beans. (If I can figure out how to make this at home, we'll be eating it often this winter!)

In Siena, we went straight to the Duomo (Cathedrale di Santa Maria), a Gothic cathedral built in the 13th century. 
Siena Duomo (Siena Cathedral) - Siena, Italy
It was magnificent! 

Cathedrale di Santa Maria

Joey and I spent almost the whole afternoon inside the cathedral.  Bill & Jo walked around the city a little, then we all met for a cappuccino in the Piazza del Campo.  It was dark when we started back to the car, and we had trouble finding our way back to the Gate of San Marco, the entrance to the city where we'd parked our car.  At last we found the car, and headed back to Greve.

A few miles outside of Greve, the car began to make strange noises, as if the gears were not engaging.  We struggled up a hill on a dark, curving road.  The car began to smoke and roll back down the hill.  We put on the parking brake and got out of the car.  Other cars stopped to help.  One man looked in our trunk, found a caution marker, and set it in the road.  We called the rental car company, and they said they'd send a tow truck.  We had no idea where we were, but, fortunately, we had a GPS with us and were able to give the rental car company GPS coordinates for where we were stranded.  While we waited, about a dozen other drivers stopped to offer help.  The tow truck arrived in about 45 minutes.  The  driver hoisted the car onto the flatbed truck, told Jo and I to get inside the cab, and told Bill and Joey to climb inside the car - while it was ON the flatbed.  With ravines on both sides of the road, the driver turned the big tow truck around in the road, and rushed back to Siena at breakneck speed.  We all just hung on for the ride.  He dropped us off at a train station where taxis were waiting.  One of them (with a driver who we've named "Mario Andretti, Jr.") rushed us back to Greve.  It was almost 11 p.m. when we got back to our rooms.  We staggered up the steps and fell into our beds.
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Sunday & Monday - Florence to Montecatini to Levanto

We were relieved to be reunited with our luggage in Florence. Bill rented a car, and after a slight problem getting the car to go in reverse, we hit the highway to Levanto. We stopped for lunch in Montecatini and picked a restaurant on a whim. The menu had so many delicious dishes that we - especially Joel and Jo - had a hard time choosing. Jo deliberated for a long time, then finally made her choice, whereupon the waiter asked, "For today or tomorrow, Signora?" (Thus began a week-long ragging of J & J about their indecisiveness at mealtime.) ;)   We each ordered something different and passed our plates around the table so that everyone could have a taste.  The food was wonderful! 

After lunch, we encountered the first of several difficulties with Italian plumbing when Jo & I tried to wash our hands and could not figure out how to turn on the water.  (We eventually discovered a button on the floor.)

The drive to Levanto was beautiful. Along the way, we saw vineyards, olive groves, and citrus trees dripping with ripening fruit. As we approached Levanto, the roads became curvy and narrow. In Levanto, the streets were so narrow that it was difficult to navigate without hitting pedestrians or parked cars. The street where our hotel, the Stella Maris, was located was tiny. Determining street names was a real challenge. We drove around the block a few times (narrowly missing bicyclers and walls) before we found our hotel, the entrance of which faced a pedestrian alley. Finally, we found it and hauled our luggage up the stairs.

The building in which the Stella Maris was located was built in the 1700s and still featured original frescoes on the walls and ceilings. Our room was beautiful. The floors were marble. There was a fresco on the ceiling above our bed. 

After we stashed our luggage in our rooms, Joey & I set out to explore.  A few blocks away was the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.  We walked along the waterfront for a while, then met up with Bill & Jo.  We had drinks and antipasto in a little bar, then walked next door for dinner.

On Monday, we bought train tickets and explored the cities of the Cinque Terra.  Joey & I rode past the first few towns and got off the train in Riomaggio.  We didn't see much.  We walked up a very steep hill and saw only houses and little gardens.  Deciding that there wasn't much there to investigate, we walked back down the hill and wandered into a tiny restaurant.  We had bread with pesto, a couple of glasses of local wine, ravioli, and spaghetti with mussels.  Mmmmmm! 

Our next stop was Corniglia (pronounced "Cornelia").  At first, we thought there was nothing to see there, either, but then we walked down some stairs, went underneath the railroad tracks, and came out on the other side to a beautiful view - narrow cobblestone streets lined with colorful houses and shops.  We headed toward the sea, stopping for gelato along the way.  As we sat near the water's edge enjoying our gelatio, we decided that we would eat or drink in every town, all the way back to Levanto, and that's exactly what we did!

This Cinque Terra area was a hiker's dream (or nightmare, depending on which "leg" one took).  As we sat in courtyards, swilling beer or wine and downing pizza, we saw lines of people making their way up paths on the distant hillsides.  Silly tourists...there's a train!  ;)

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Italy - October 2010

My very nice brother, Bill, offered to take Joel & me with him on a trip to Italy.  How could we say no?

Our flight was to leave on Friday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m.  We picked up Bill and his friend, Jo, and hurried to the airport.  Wouldn't you know it...just as boarding time approached, they announced that something was wrong with the airplane, and parts were being flown in from Atlanta.  We hunted up an airport bar, had some dinner and a margarita, and not long after we returned to the gate, we boarded the plane for Amsterdam.

Joey and I barely slept a wink during the night-long plane ride.  We arrived in Amsterdam the next morning.  Unfortunately, our luggage did not.  The airline information desk said Bill's & Jo's luggage had been sent to Florence.  They didn't know where ours was, but said they'd find it and send it on to Florence.

Saturday - Amsterdam

We went to our hotel, spashed some water on our faces, and caught a taxi into the old part of Amsterdam.  The taxi let us out near Dam Square.  We had some coffee in a little corner cafe, then Bill & Jo set off in one direction, and Joey & I set off in another. 

Amsterdam is a beautiful city, full of old buildings and beautiful little canals.  We strolled around for a bit, checking out specific landmarks such as the Anne Frank House, then we wandered aimlessly for a while.

Soon, we found ourselves in the "red light" district, where women, clad in underwear that the parson would not approve of, sat in shop windows advertising their wares.  They reminded us of animals in zoos.

We strolled around a little more, then, looking for a place to rest our aching feet, we hunted up a coffee shop where we could relax.  After that, we were uncommonly hungry, and wanted to try some local food.  Joel had a dish called "hutspot" - mashed potatoes mixed with carrots and onions, with meatballs and gravy on the side.  I had a "pancake" with bacon, mushrooms, and cheese.  Later in the evening, we met Bill & Jo, and the four of us caught a train back to the airport, then a shuttle back to the hotel. 

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