Firenze

This morning we went into the small town of Lecchi for espresso and a danish to prepare for our trip to Florence. Pat stayed at the house to beautify, Annie, being more considerate than Shelley and I, brought a danish back for Pat before we departed for Florence. The route to Florence is the same as our trip to Montecatini, so it was an easy drive and only about 1 hour. Annie had printed directions and we arrived perfectly at Piazzelle Michelangelo. Parking surprisingly was free; il bagno, however, was not. Buying an espresso got us a visit to the toilet at the nearby Bar Michelangelo. A short bus ride into downtown dropped us off at the main train station for a walk in the rain to San Lorenzo Market. The sun came out a short while later. The covered market is where all the locals go for fresh meat, cheese, pasta, bread, etc… There are all kinds of unidentifiable meats and animals hanging up and displayed in cases. We lined up with everyone else and got some beans and bread, some red wine, and a couple of sandwiches sliced fresh for us. After eating lunch and haggling with a few merchants in the market, we decided to take in some culture. We visited Santa Croche, L’Accademia (not able to get in) and the Uffizi. We finished the day with a lengthy hike across the Ponte Vecchio and back up to Piazzelle Michelangelo to watch the sunset. We stopped to get a few items at a market to supplement our leftovers. Pat and Chris tried to get fuel but pay at the pump has a totally different meaning. Another game of Up to Ten and Back Again to finish the night. Chris lead the entire game up to the 16th or 17th hand; this, ladies and gentlemen, is a big deal. Chris's unorthodox strategy usually keeps his score in the basement. Needless to say, Pat will probably complain about having to stay up to play, but he won every game. Dammit. Off to Rome tomorrow. Ciao!

Assisi

Wednesday May 31

We went to Assisi today. We were very happy to have found a parking space 1 minute from the church. Our excitement was short lived….we were at the wrong church. Where we really wanted to be was at the top of a beautiful hillside town, FAR above the first church. Once we got to the right place, we spent the afternoon meandering though the very quaint town of Assisi. St. Francis monastery was pretty neat. There are actually 2 churches built on top of each other, and the lower church is much more interesting and ornate than the upper church.

There is no picture taking allowed, and you are supposed to speak in whispers. If it gets too loud a security guard announces “Silencio” over a loud speaker (kind of counter productive if you ask me!) Anyway, we heard “Silencio” quite frequently…until Chris departed with Abby! On the way back to the car Uncle Pat suggested we hike all the way up to Rocca Maggiore. Ok, not really, but he was a good sport once we got going!

We hiked up to a fortress that overlooks the city and went inside for a closer look. We’re all in agreement that we got our money’s worth. After climbing some steep stairs and a tight circular staircase, we walked through a long tunnel that is actually inside the fortress walls. At the far end it emptied out into a polygonal shaped tower. We found ourselves up very high overlooking the Umbrian countryside. The wind was so strong we were afraid we might lose something…like one of the kids, or maybe even Pat!! We then headed for home and ate a gourmet meal at La Corta…Food was fantastic, but we almost left right after we got there. It had been suggested that we make reservations and thankfully we did…at least that way they knew to stay open! We were the only patrons. The server brought us only 3 menus and when Pat asked for a 4th he was told that 3 was all they had!!

Guess they were not expecting a big crowd! Despite the rocky start we stayed for dinner and it was fantastic. We had bruschetta with smoked salmon for an antipasto, then Pat had ravioli filled with clams in a clam sauce, Shelley had a delicious risotto, and I had gnocchi in a Bolognese sauce. Pat, Chris and I had delicious filets and Shelly had sea bass for her main course. They brought us a complimentary bottle of vin Santo (local dessert wine) when we were done. Fabulous meal! The night ended with Shelley, Chris and Annie kicking Pat’s ass in cards. Ok, again, not true; but we did play and have fun. Called it quits at 2:30 and thought we were turned in. Chris left to check on laundry, his loving spouse went to bed, and evidently he got locked out of the house. Who on earth checks laundry at 3:00am anyway?! Thankfully Pat has better hearing and was able to recognize the banging of someone in distress! Ciao!

Local Day - Radda

Tuesday, May 30, 2006


Today was a local day. We did a lot of normal entertaining stuff. CJ, Abby and Aunt Shelley went exploring looking for leaves and flowers for Freddie’s (la brucca) habitat. Great rocks to climb….lots of lizards to chase……and vineyards to get lost in. CJ did a very humane act of kindness when he allowed Freddie, the caterpillar to return to his native land within a few hours. The rains came and went, but the Derzak/Sullivan/Hiegel clan went off to Radda in Chianti, a local little town that has a petrol station, bank and ATM.



The sun came out and we lunched outside at a small café which allowed you to bring your canine family members also. Four varieties of local chiantis with peora cheese and a biting honey sauce made up our appetizer. I had the zuppa toscanna which was to die for, as the rest of the clan tried a different crusty bread sandwhich with fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese and one of three pancettas or salami.

We originally were just going to go into town to buy some food to take home, but became bewitched with the quaint little shops ( and I mean piccolo!), the winding paths, the tree lined children’s park and gelateria, of course. Abby wanted her own, naturally. We made ourselves head back to Eoli ( cool to have a name for your house) when we realized that we had only an hour before Andreas and Michela arrived to cook a 3 course Italian regional dinner for us. Oh my, more wonderful food. Annie and I had discussed this trip early on as one of eating our way through Tuscany, and she was right. Might have to come back every year. Allan and Linda would love the various beans and greens combinations.

Annie was so good about snapping pics for RJ to share the presentation of each course before we dug in. And what an adorable couple Andreas and Michela seem to be. We pried and checked their relationship status. Appears that they live together, but Michela wants to keep it that way. Andreas looked hopeful that his culinary talents may someday change her mind. Their age to Pat and I were “30ish”, mere kids. They brought a large cooler with all their supplies and were surprised that we had already set the table. They didn’t allow us to lift a finger after that. Within minutes of cracking open our chianti Michela served platters of meats and cheeses (one of the meats was a homemade salami that Andreas makes), with a fresh tomato bruschetta. The primi course was a luscious pici (locally made pasta with no eggs, just flour and water, shaped much like traditional spaghetti pasta, but wider and longer) with the BEST Bolognese sauce. Yes, Annie and I became members of the clean plate club on this one. The boys pulled back a little short, but we now have a “cane” bag for tomorrow. The second course was medium rare beef strips sautéed with garlic and rosemary in olive oil and served in a pool of extra virgin olive oil….so flavorful. Our side was cannelini beans with garlic and olive oil. As if we weren’t piena (full) enough, dessert was one of those dark chocolate volcanoes Andreas baked and served warm. MMmmm. What a memorable event. And we have leftovers!!!

Radda in Chianti

Sorry we have not been able to upload pictures. I am working on fixing the issue.
Yesterday we rolled out of the house around 1:30pm to go find some light lunch. Pat was looking for some cheese, meat, pizza, or sandwich (something light)with a beer. We went 10 kilometers North to the closest little town - Radda in Chianti. WOW! Situated on top of one of the hills, with views of the valleys on both sides, it was beautiful! We ate lunch at a small cafe, we walked through the streets and had an unexpected eventful afternoon. We were just looking for some food and stumbled onto a jewel. Annie and Shelley can fill in some more details with photos hopefully in the next entry.
Also, yesterday was Andre's visit. An inhouse chef to prepare dinner. It too was fantastic. Details to follow from Annie and Shelley. Annie took some pics of the food for RJ.
We played Up To Ten and Back Again twice. It was a late night. Pat won both times, Chris lost big with alot of curse words and crummy strategy.

Its now Wednesday morning, we still have no luggage - It was scheduled to arrive yesterday by courior. Perhaps it will arrive today. Off to Assisi this morning - Early hopefully as we have not been out of the villa before noon yet.

Siena

Went to Siena yesterday; it was beautiful. The picture of Shelley and Pat is from the Campo Fiori, the big plaza in the center of town. We heard that they were having the "draw" for the Palio yesterday at 7:00pm so we waited to see the race. No race, but some good snoozing. While we were waiting we all racked out in the plaza for a catnap. Abby had some particular good down time as she had Uncle Pat as a pillow! If you look at the tower picture very closely you will see 3 little dots at the very top...that is Shelley, Chris and CJ. We would love to show you the beautiful panorama from the top, but they FORGOT to bring a camera up...and after 774 steps roundtrip, they were not eager to climb it again! After the climb the adults rested and CJ made friends with some Italian kids with a soccer ball. Half the fun of the day was just sitting in the plaza people watching and enjoying the kids. The picture out the windshield is to show the absurd driving we did through Siena. We ended up driving (very slowly) through what we have now determined was a pedestrian zone! Pat and Chris were very impressive with their control. The beautiful landscape shot is from our villa patio. More villa pics to come. Love to all, Annie

We're here!

Finally got to our villa in Montefiorile! We arrived in Rome late Friday night, and despite R.J.s help and multiple efforts of our own, our car was not available! Fortunately we were anticipating a problem and had a back-up plan, so we got a car and headed out in search of a hotel around midnight. We were able to leave the airport quickly...because we have no lugage! Yep, no bags made it. Hard to believe after being rerouted from DC to London to Amsterdam to Rome, that our luggage couldn't keep up! We talked to RJ a little after midnight local time, and I could envision him shaking his head as we told him we were "looking for a place to stay." It is a holiday weekend over here and EVERYTHING is sold out. We eventually got a room at a beachfront hotel in Ostia. (Sounds better than it was!) After checking on our missing bags (still no sign) we headed to Tuscany yesterday morning. It was a beautiful drive and the villa is fantastic. We#re hoping to load some pictures, but can't do so yet. We are finishing our coffee, overlooking the beautiful olive groves and vineyards. \More to come...Ciao!

Almost there...!

We are now in Amsterdam, having had a lovely morning in London. The kids will be v-e-r-y well travelled by the time this trip is done! We've been assured that we are on the next flight to Rome and expect to board momentarily. We know this kind of day would make many of our family and friends crazy; we're just taking it all in stride. We're together, the kids are having fun, and Shelley and Pat don't arrive until tomorrow! However, we can now relate to the pain that Marge and Tom Kelly must have felt at the start of their trip last month. A little nerve wracking, but it will all work out. We expect to land around 10:30 and have ZERO expectation of our luggage being there! Who needs clean clothes when you don't have a place to sleep or shower?!

Bumped, Still On The Ground in the U.S.

Our departure has been delayed. The flight from Dulles to London was oversold. We were told it was "Way Oversold!" We spent the night in the Holiday Inn, Dulles Airport with a voucher for lodging and meals. We'll be compensated additionally with four free round trip tickets on Virgin Atlantic. Annie is already thinking about a future trip. I was hoping to focus on getting off the ground, out of the country, to our destination. Annie thinks that maybe we can get bumped again and pickup four more free tickets. LOL!

So, about this Holiday Inn - Yep, its the site where Dad Sullivan did the bathroom marble. This was a redo over 10 years ago. Matt Sullivan was on the job installing tub surrounds and countertops; I helped for a few days. Dad Sullivan knows this site well, I'm sure! He had to measure all 393 bathrooms. The product appears to be holding up nicely.

The hotel is actually pretty decent. One of 6 Holiday Inns in the immediate Dulles Airport area to confuse travelers.

Matty, as I recall, we used some type of hot glue to secure the marble, right? Have you had the opportunity to introduce RJ to this hot glue product? It may work better than the melted wax/plastic from Makers Mark bottle.

RJ, please get your own userid to log comments; stop using Michelle's.

Some Preparation Before Departure

Today we prepared for our trip to Italy. Annie has already done most front end work - plane tickets, rental car, and lodging. Now comes the final packing and preparation. Departure Wednesday, May 24th, 6:30pm. So... we cleaned the play room today, just a 2 hour waste of time when many other tasks are still waiting to be done. Abby fell and bit her lip, just another delay to packing. We sent a digital pic of Abby's bloody lip to Simo for a quick evaluation - no Dr. visit. Annie talked with Shelley and Pat. Shelley is preparing their new digital camera. Pat is going to practice packing this evening. The Indians are currently getting whipped by the Pirates - Pat is not happy. Grady Sizemore did hit a two run homer to help the Indians - Pittsburgh wins tonight 9-6. Shelley's arm is feeling better after a bursa infection. She is going to Italy no matter what her Dr. says. Shelley and Pat depart Friday, May 20th.

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Trip attendees:
The Derzak's - Chris, Annie, CJ, and Abby
The Hiegel's - Shelley and Pat