Not Free for You

I just read a short article about Italy changing its museums pricing policy. As of July 1, 2015 free admission to museums will be restricted only to students under 18 and teachers (no age restrictions offered). Those who fall within the ages 18-25 will be receive discounted admission, but there are no details what the discount will be.

Those over 65, both Italian and foreigners will no longer receive free admission after July 1, 2015, with the exception of the first Sunday of each month. It seems the Minister responsible read the data that showed discounted or free admissions were applicable to more than a third of the population, both local and foreign. Big bucks, er… euros being lost there.

I had to chuckle at this news. A few years back, Ron and I were at Pompeii. When I went to buy tickets, there was a sign offering free admission to teachers. When I asked for my discount, I was asked for a teacher ID. I had two with me; one ID was the STA International Teacher ID Card, the other was my ID card from my university.

The ticket seller took my International Teacher ID Card and threw it back at me saying it was not acceptable. Being nonplussed, I handed over my university ID card. He looked at it and said “The discount is only for EU countries.” Suppressing laughter mixed with anger, I shouted through the Plexiglas “Hungary IS in the EU as of 2004!” In his lackadaisical Italian manner of not giving a damn, he then countered with “Well then it is only for elementary school teachers.” That ended the argument, but I did secure a discount on Ron’s admission.

End note: As an instructor both in CA and here in Hungary, I have never once received any discount using my STA International Teacher ID Card. It was wasted money! 

Related articles

• 100+ Discount Providing Stores for Teachers

Pin It Now!

Baloney - Bologna

You may have noticed that pictures were posted for Bologna, but I did not blog about the city. I was totally underwhelmed with it. As the taxi took us from the train station to the hotel, my heart dropped to my kneecaps. The outside of the hotel and all surrounding area was so covered with graffiti, you only knew the walls were there as a support for the paint.

The hotel as listed as a 2 star, which was fine with me when I booked it since it was only for one night and it was cheap. However, once we made our way through the scribbles, doodles and drawings, like maneuvering through a spider’s web, the hotel was extraordinary. The lobby extended to two rooms, with modern leather and chrome furniture, a bar fully stocked, an inviting breakfast room, and a snippy young man at the desk.

Having been up since early morning, we were tired and hoped; Ron presumably prayed that we would get an early check-in. Mr. Snippy-Snappy had difficulty finding our pre-paid reservation and then when he did was quick to inform us that check-in was not until 2pm. We had 4 hours to kill, but left the carry-ons behind, but the backpack with my wallet and laptop were still melded on to my back.

It is still not clear to me why I was not crazy about the city, though I honestly tried with exhaustive enthusiasm. It is the seventh most populated city in Italy. Perhaps it was the fact that there was more paint dabbling on the public walls than one sees in a modern art museum. It did have extensive damage from WWII, but still it is proclaimed to have beautiful and significant architecture. Other than the 4 towers that remain from the original twenty, there were some lovely buildings, but none that truly stood out as spectacular.

When we were able to get into our room, it was huge, clean, and ultra-modern. The bathroom was conspicuously recently remodeled. The view was of a side street with truck parking, but so what. The problem came at night. Being around the corner from the University of Bologna, the noise was incredible, but the heat was still such at midnight that it behooved us to leave the window open. By 4am, I could not take it any longer and shuttered the window, which thankfully, blocked all noise.

In the future, Bologna may be on my list to fly in and out of, but not to stay. Photos are in the photo blog if you want to check them out here.

Related articles

• Four Reasons to Visit Bologna, Italy NOW

Pin It Now!

Italy - Bologna

Pin It Now!

Italy - Ravenna

Pin It Now!

Adriatic Resort Claims Tourist Hearts

Yesterday took its toll with all of the exercise going up and down hills. Up until yesterday, my pedometer read 14.9 miles that we covered since leaving Budapest. Not all of that was on easy walking sidewalks either. In San Marino, we reached nearly nine miles according to my pedometer. This alone was a terrific excuse to sleep in later and relax. If we needed a secondary excuse, it would be that the museums are closed on Mondays. There are so few here, it is not of importance anyway.

We just about covered Rimini other than running through the residential areas, though we did do some of that also in our wanderings. Basically, we did all that a respectable or even excellent tourist could do other than spend days on the beach soaking up the sun. Hence we took our local #2 bus around a loop through the city, getting off at the Augustus arch. After window shopping, it was curiosity that brought us into one store called COIN.  Truth be told, it was also the need to find a bathroom, besides curiosity. Just browsing I did find some great shorts on sale for €20, reduced by half price. The pair I bought was brown, but I was tempted to get another salmon colored pair, until Ron made a comment about some show host he watches, who gets razzed for wearing salmon colored pants. Like a fool, I didn’t even look to see if they had my size in that color. Being they were close-outs, the selection was limited.

Walking around the downtown area, we honestly didn’t do much of anything. As it turns out, the castle is only open for special occasions, and not for touring. Thinking about a picnic, we made our way to the covered market for a selection of cheeses and snacks to lunch on. After thinking about it, we did not have knives or any other silverware or plates, so this limited our selections. Finally, we bought some cheese that could be ripped apart and another that looked like flying saucers.

Going back to the hotel always raised the challenge of getting to the bus stop at the right time. With only one bus per hour and no buses after the 7:26 pm run, it made it difficult. Once there, we took our stash to the solarium on the top floor where there are tables, regular chairs, and lounge chairs if you want to sunbathe.

Afterward, Ron napped while I wrote. But later, after feeling rested, Ron wanted to go swimming to say he swam in the Adriatic. This required another warm body to protect his clothes and anything else he took with him. I am not certain this would be necessary. As you wander through the rows of beach chairs and lounges, people have their beach bags and other items sitting on their chairs or hanging from the umbrella hooks. They are truly trusting, whereas I have a bike lock with me at all times. There have been a plethora of beggars around the downtown asking for money; it surprised me that they have not made it to the beach area to steal

The beach has been pretty empty today with the weekenders all gone. With undue optimism, the beach crew goes through straightening hundreds of lounge chairs that may have been pulled from their neat line up and at the same time, they unfurl the corresponding umbrellas. This strikes me as tedious busywork. If the chairs and umbrellas need to be rented, which they presumably do, they should open them as needed. When they are all opened, it seems impossible to tell which one has actually been rented and which just have squatters. I looked for some sign to solve this mystery. There were no distinguishing factors between the chairs that were occupied and those that were not. This is a riddle to be solved at another time. 

After Ron cleaned up, we walked to the ferry boat for a ride to the other side. It is less than a two minute ride, for 80 cents, it is worth it for the novelty of it. Before it got too late and the lack of sun caused a temperature drop, we went on the Ferris wheel. I would have liked to know if it is permanent or just a summer event. It is identical to the one that was in Budapest until it was moved to the Sziget Festival. We never did ride that one. This one was not well attended. From watching on the sidelines before paying our €8 each, we counted maybe 9 people riding. There are 42 cabins plus one VIP cabin. This one was pink with gold crowns on either side. Who would get to ride in this one is anybody’s guess. Each cabin can hold 6 riders legally, so this is a considerable capacity to have only 9 riders. When it was our turn, there was only a family of 4 behind us. The height it reaches is 60 meters, giving a sufficient view of the surroundings, but the prettiest part was the sunset. Having glass panels over the doors, it was difficult to take pictures, but we managed.

It started to get chilly out, yet we were both still in shorts. This is the first night that the temperature has dropped enough to cause a chill. Not wanting to get into a rut with restaurants, we walked around on this side of the harbor until we decided to take a chance with Restaurante La Buca www.labucarimini.it for dinner. There was one table open outside, but with the chill, we took refuge inside, which was pretty empty. We both ordered salads; Ron had scallops, I ordered gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese sauce and walnuts. Both of our choices were excellent and will make it into a TripAdvisor review!! As we were eating dinner, the place slowly filled until be the time we were ready to leave, it is full. It must be well known amongst the locals.

Having full stomachs, a walk was needed, so Ron suggested we go to see the horse fountain lit up at night. There were a number of people out; astonishingly there was an equal mix of senior citizens and young people.  From here we walked back to the ferry, which runs longer hours and on demand, unlike the bus system. From there it was a pleasant stroll to our seaside home.
Tomorrow we leave early for Ravenna.

Pin It Now!

American Living in Budapest Attacked by 2 Italian Crazy Ladies

This is explore Rimini day, right after breakfast. I am shocked and bit dismayed at the extensive breakfast buffet the hotel provides. What I find perturbing is the vast number of sugary selections including 7 different cakes and desserts and 3 heavy coated sugary cereals. Starch and sugar are king and queen for breaking the fast. My choices are the 4 types of ham and one of cheese. Okay, it will do after 4 trips to the espresso machine.

The bus to downtown leaves right outside our hotel, but only once an hour at 36 minutes past the hour. At 9:36 we are waiting with tickets in hand. A covered market is our first discovery; it is like a small version of the great market in Budapest, but without separating stands. All the sellers are joined at the hip without the benefit of walls or anything that may assure privacy.

St. Rita’s Church was the next item on our tourist map for the historic things we must see according to the tourism bureau. While we were standing outside reading the sign explaining the church, suddenly I felt something brush against my arm. Thinking it was Ron, I only slowly turned around, but then was jolted into another state of reality. There were 2 unseemly women at my side, one with a babe in arms and the other the likely grandmother. They started begging for money, but when refused, they showed their aggressiveness by starting to paw me. This tactic surely was to get into my shoulder or cut the cord of my camera from my neck. I pulled back and yelled firmly “Stop!” I have had better success getting dead animals to follow my commands then I did these two. It was like I was using telepathy rather than vocalizations. They kept at me. Ron suggested we enter the church. It felt like sanctuary where the vampires could not enter and neither did these two. 

Though they did not enter, they were blocking the doorway to leave once we were done. Two young woman were standing on the other side wondering what was happening and trembling slightly. Ron walked through them without cause, but this was the token freebie for the hour, now I had to pay the toll to cross over to daylight. Regardless of what words I used, all English mind you, and with no deference to tone or decibels, they were immune to any verbal actions. They stubbornly refused to budge, so I had to try to move through them. This is where it went from bad to disgusting. There was a stringent attempt to molest me, not for sexual reasons, but for whatever goods I may have on me. Knowing the feeling being violated, reality left while survival kicked in. Like a linebacker, I made it past them, sending them flying to the sides of the doors as I rushed onward. It took hours to temper the memory.
   
There is an extensive chapel, very interestingly decorated. It looks like each section was designed by a different artist. Marbles of varied colors adorn the walls and balustrades while a wide assortment of small statues are placed on them. There are no pews and few chairs. Best of all, there no women waiting to attack.

It is not clear whether this is a Saturday thing or a general occurrence, but the main streets within the center of the city were primarily pedestrian. We even witnessed a police officer stop two autos trying to drive into the center.  There were an incredible number of bikes with riders ranging from pre-teen to octogenarian. Some of these frisky seniors mounted their motorcycles, donned a helmet and took off down street.

Our own walking tour included the Gate of Augustus Caesar, St. Augustine Church, and the open air market, which surrounds the old castle and wraps around to flow to the lower level. Here they sell produce, plus anything else you can imagine. There were humungous dealers with hundreds of pairs of shoes and another with just as large assortment of purses. We found the castle closed, so touring the interior was impossible. Later we were informed it is only open for special occasions.

One of the best ways to learn about a city is to visit their city museum. As will many things Italian, the museum was closed for a 2 hour lunch break, so we waited in the nearby park for it to open. With a mix of art, architecture, and history, this was a delightful couple of hours. It was additionally relaxing as we had the entire 4 floors entirely to ourselves with the exception of a guard on each floor.

Across the street from the museum was a Greek restaurant. With good intentions of lunching there, after seeing the door wide open, we walked in and sat down. It was empty, which can play either of two ways. The food is either so horrible, the locals will not eat here or we were just off kilter with our eating times. The latter turned out to be true. We were informed it was too late to serve food. Apparently 2:30 pm is their bewitching hour. The restaurant across the street was happy to host us and served up delicious salads.

Fortified with nutrients, we walked to the river, then to the train station. We bought our tickets for San Marino’s excursion tomorrow. They were €9 Euro each for a round trip. Not bad considering an individual bus tickets within the city is €1.20 each.

Just for the fun of it, we took the ferry back to our side of the shore. It is 80cents per person.

Dinner was at Newport Beach Restaurant. With menus only in Italian, we had to suffer with having pizza again. It was the only thing we could interpret. With every table filled and only 2 waiters, we did not ask if either could interpret, but when we ordered we realized it would have been a fool’s errand anyway; his command of English was equal to our Italian.

Related articles

• The Meeting of Rimini
• Italy weekend breaks: Rimini is Italy's leading lady

Pin It Now!

You Want to Go Where?

I always have this optimistic idea that if we take an early flight, we will have plenty of daytime left once we reach our destination. Failed attempts to prove this a truism have still dissuaded me from being hopeful for some future time. Here is how it went downhill.
4:30 am the taxi arrived to take us to the airport
30 minute ride to the airport
33 minutes waiting to check in with Alitalia (they don’t have web check- in from Budapest)
15 minutes in the Diners Club lounge for multiple cups of espresso and some rolls, before running to the bathroom and then another run to our gate
6:30 am boarded the Alitalia flight to Rome
1 ½ hour layover in Rome - hunt down the Diners Club lounge
40 minute flight to Bologna on Alitalia, wait for carry-on suitcases, because I have a backpack this counted as my one carry-on.

I had pre-purchased train tickets from Bologna to Rimini via the Italian train website. The train was scheduled for 2:45pm, so we had a couple of hours to kill. With carry-on luggage in tow, it does not make for great sightseeing, so we walked with the luggage long enough to find somewhere to eat. There was always the left luggage in the train station, but A.) we would have to hunt it down, B.) it is an extra expense, and C.) you never know if they will really be open when you return. Opening and closing times in Italy are just suggestions.

We found a pizzeria where they claim the crust is digestible by anyone, because is it filled with vitamins, nutrients and “pulses”. Don’t ask. I am just retyping what the menu claimed. It was a great pizza with the fresh ingredients they promised. What I was not able to digest was the bill; at 37 Euros, I am calculating that into dollars and getting knots. This was the price of a good dinner, not pizza.

With still an hour to go and no other place to waste time, w went to train platform. It was this or risk loitering charges at the restaurant. We tried reading with our sagging eyelids. The train ride to Rimini is 50 minutes. Not a pretty ride scenery wise, so sleeping is okay. However we just had a guest leave us in Budapest before we left ourselves. She went to Eger a 2 ½ hour ride from Budapest and had her entire suitcase stolen from the luggage rack above her. I was not going to sleep and risk any loss.

Ever since knowing Ron our first stop anywhere is the tourism office. Without a map in hand, he doesn’t feel fulfilled. Generously, they were able to fill our needs for Rimini, Ravenna, and San Marino. They also sell bus tickets, so we bought those too. Each ticket is €1.20.

Here is where Rimini misses out on making it big time. The busses run one time an hour. In order to get the bus we needed, we would have had to wait 45 minutes, about 40 minutes more than our tired eyes would vote for, so plan B was to take a taxi. Ron asked how much the ride would cost and was quoted €12. As much as I hate parting with money needlessly, this seemed really a need at the time. Coincidentally, when we reached the hotel, the fare was exactly €12.

Our hotel is lovely, with the sea directly across. Once you walk the equivalent of a block seaside shops, beach tennis courts, a children’s racetrack, bocce ball courts, and changing rooms, you find yourself at the lounge chairs with over-sized umbrellas for rent. The Adriatic waits. From the balcony off of our room, besides a view of the beach, there is one of a Ferris wheel. To reach it from here, you walk to the end of our parcel of land and take a ferry across for 80 cents. We were too tired to do this tonight. However during our walk, we were impressed with the architecture of some of the buildings, both hotels and apartment buildings.

Dinner was at the Blue Bar Pizzeria on Via C. Zavagli N.156. Both of us had a mixed salad and lasagna. This place offers craft beers, so I tried one. I could only wish I could get it in Budapest.  After dinner we went for a coffee elsewhere. This strip is filled with hotels on the shoreline. One offered Karaoke, another had guests dancing. After being voyeurs for about fifteen minutes, we went back to crash.   

One more thing: I had no idea Rimini existed until the bug bit me after reading the article the "10 smallest countries in Europe". It was then I discovered Rimini is the gateway to San Marino. What a great discovery.

Pin It Now!

Italy - Rimini

Pin It Now!

There Are Wedding Bells Ringing

Friday, we will leave for Italy with the express purpose of visiting San Marino. San Marino is one of the 10 smallest countries in Europe, ranking at number 3 after Vatican City and Monaco.

Our 20 year anniversary is September 3.The tiny Republic of San Marino is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, founded on 3 September 301. Although it would be fun to celebrate there on our actual anniversary, time slipped by, and we booked guests for that date and beyond. Fortunately, it is a former Fulbright scholar and her husband whom we are genuinely fond of, so it will not be a hardship at all.

During the course of events in the US with the Supreme Court decisions, it just seemed like it was time to take that final step into the realm of legality. The overwhelmingly heterosexual connotation associated with the word marriage makes it get stuck in my throat when trying to voice it in connection with gay couples (gay being sex inclusive) and their vows. Yet, when Ron and I started the dialogue, the concept has transformed from an annoying weed in the yard I wanted to ignore to a welcoming full-fledged botanical garden.

Just for the record, no one proposed to the other. It was just like 20 years ago when it went something like “Well what do you think about…?” It worked then, so why change now? Guess who raised the question both times!

Here are the tentative plans. If anyone attends the nuptials at all, chances are some attendees will be from Ron’s Iowa family. Same sex marriage is legal in Iowa. Iowa is centrally located making it travel accessible for others coming from other parts of the country, especially those from Michigan, Illinois, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania. This is not to say that regardless of where you live, you are not going to be invited and welcomed to attend. You are more than welcome to join us, but no pressure if you cannot travel. The location will be Des Moines, Iowa. 

To fit into my school schedule and spring break, we are looking at Saturday, April 19th the day before Easter. Not that it was a conscience decision, but the timing seemed perfectly suited to the season of rebirth and renewal. Iowa being in the Midwest, it has some symbolic feel besides as it is in the middle of a divided country, yet it is a state leader in liberal thinking. The more I think about it, the closer to perfect it falls on the scale of best choices of venues. Here is hoping all goes well. There is a 3 day waiting period for the license. This may be tricky.

Then after realizing that spending six weeks in Panama and Nicaragua in December and January will severely be truncating our planning time; we had to speed it up. We are making calls to ministers in Episcopal, Unitarian, and other liberal churches in the Des Moines area. Interestingly, I found a list of 150 Iowan ministers who signed a petition supporting same-sex marriages. From this list, we were able to get other ideas for potential churches, but I favor Unitarian or Unity, but will flex enough to go with an Episcopalian. I wanted a 5 minute ceremony; Ron wants 30 minutes at least. After 20 years, we are still working on comprising. That never ends.

Keep us on your radar for the continuing saga and plans as they unfold.

Related articles

• Sunset on San Marino's peak

Pin It Now!

Italians From All Over - Unite

This is just a quick note to share with fellow Italians who are not YET citizens of the land of wine and olives. We had a guest here who is exploring her Italian heritage and we were sharing stories. I had learned quite some time back that I could possibly be eligible for Italian citizenship or a passport since my mother’s father was born in Italy. My maternal grandmother popped out just as her parents reached NYC. Since my grandparents and parents are no longer around, it has been one wall after another. Finally, I gave up.

This is what our guest shared. There is a website called www.myitaliancitizenship.com where they lead you through the matrix of eligibility, how to source the records needed and more. I just quickly glanced at it today, but have it book marked for the future. There are some records in my files, but it is far from complete. This is a treasure chest for researching Italian backgrounds.

Related articles

• How To Obtain The Italian Citizenship If You Are Italian

Pin It Now!

Firenze Card

I have not been able to keep up with this the way I normally would. Though I was able to get connected to the Internet in Florence, there was blocks and restrictions that I did not want to try to hack my way through. Therefore, it all fell by the wayside until getting home. That is always a mistake, so here is a condensed version of the rest of Florence.

We decided on buying the Firenze Card. I am always suspicious about the savings on these cards, but looking at the cost of this one made my eyebrows peak. They are 50 Euros each and there is only a 72 hour option. Basically, we would only have about 50 hours to use it since we have a mid-afternoon flight. Looking at the cost of entry for various places, it seemed like a good deal, but better yet, there are different entry points for card holders promising a shorter line.

Strangely enough, now that I am writing this, when I looked at their website, it shows it is now 72 Euros for 72 hours. It jumped 22 Euros since we were there on the 25th.

We did it and this is the breakdown of some, but not all of our entry fees.
Bargello – 12 Euros
Opera del Duomo – Museum of the Duomo     10 Euros
Giotto Campanile Tower - 412 stairs to the top 10 Euros I climbed to the top
Bapttistero de San Giovanni – Baptistery 5 Euros
Cappelle Medicee – Medici Chapel 9 Euros
Palazzo de Medicee – See through chairs and chapel with frescoes 7 Euros
Galleria dell Accademia – David 11Euros
Uffici too long a line on Tuesday, but went back on Wednesday and got right in.

The Jewish Synagogue and Museum were out of the way. By the time we got there, they had closed. We were going to try to get back there, but never made it during their limited hours.

During our walkabout, we discovered a craft beer place where ten beers are on tap. They were celebrating their 1 year anniversary, so we joined them for a brew. As I was sitting there, I spotted Eric walking down the street. He was meeting some friends for dinner, so could not stay for a beer.

I had spotted a pair of sneakers I wanted to try out. My current pair was wearing out. We had seen the store in our travels, but could not remember where. I had the sense it was close to the beer bar, so we retraced steps. It turned out to be blocks away, but worthy of the hunt. I bought the sneakers.

Nearby was Trattoria de Carmone with outdoor seating, but it was packed. We had a table inside all to ourselves. This one was rated on TripAdvisor.

If you go, I recommend this B and B with great praise:
Casa di Annusca  Via dei Serragli 126 
50124 Florence 
+39-338-314-1076 
fbaudone@me.com (Fabio)

Pin It Now!

A Tuscon Wedding

People started moving about early in the morning, but not one person was showing his or her face to the outside world. When I finished showering, Ron had disappeared, so I wandered down the trail to the other buildings to see if he happened to be there. No sign of him. The only person around was one of Andrea’s friends. Although I intruded on her peaceful morning, she was gracious enough to offer me a cup of freshly brewed coffee. We had a pleasant chat about life in general before I thanked her and moved on.

Back at our building, I ran into Ron. He had taken a walk with the parents of the bride. They had not found a coffee sharing person yet, so he and I decided to walk the mile to the mini restaurant down the road. It turned out to be a mini-mini restaurant, which we were fortunate enough to have found open. Those who ventured there later found it closed. It was Sunday after all.

Wedding events were not scheduled until 5pm, so the 37 guests were free to lounge around the pool or elsewhere to occupy their own whims in whatever way they wanted. As the day progressed, the caterers arrived immediately bustling away in the kitchen of our apartment. They had every surface covered with either ingredients or utensils. Three cooks did not seem to spoil the soup; they worked like a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan. Not a single voice was raised during the preparation.

Under the shade of trees and a gazebo, long tables were set up for the bountiful food that would follow. In the meantime, there were dozens of chairs set up on the lawn for the ceremony. It resembled church seating. Creating an aisle between the chairs was a long white runner for the bride to walk down. It was sprinkled with yellow and white flower petals. To the left of the guest chairs, was a small platform where a violinist would perform prior to and during the ceremony. When the florist arrived to deliver their goods, sunflowers adorned the celebration area and filled vases elsewhere for a lovely flow of energy.

On each of the chairs was a small brown bag sealed with a sticker that proclaimed “Andrea and Marc’s Wedding – June 23, 2013”. Underneath each bag was a program giving the guests tips on having fun, what would happen during the ceremony, and what to do with what is in the bag after the ceremony is over. What the bags contained were multiple handfuls of candy confetti the likes of which is used for decorating cakes. This was to be tossed in lieu of rice or paper confetti. As promised in the wedding program, the ceremony was short, sweet and romantic.

There was a two hour ‘free-period’ after the ceremony and before dinner was served. During this time, the church seating transformed into restaurant seating with tables and chairs to seat 8 at each were waiting for the hungry guests. Typical of an Italian dinner, the meal was multiple courses. Rather than list it all, there is a picture of the menu below. Forgetting my diabetic issues, I ate everything and drank wine like tomorrow would never materialize. There is never a guarantee of a tomorrow, so I couldn’t risk letting these delectable pass me by, could I?

A band started playing where the violinist once was, there was now a dance floor. The transformations to accommodate each next phase of celebrations were swift and seamless. We shared a table with the same group from Andrea’s work who invited us for dinner last night. Again, the company was significantly enjoyable; laughter was generously stimulated and shared by all. In one section of the lawn, the married couple had set up a “Photo Booth”. There was a camera on a tripod set up, but before you ventured into a pose, you needed to adorn yourself. This was all thought of ahead of time. There were Viking hats, Roman warrior breastplates, shields, oversized glasses, funny hats, and assorted other “extricate your inner child” paraphernalia. The band played long after we went to bed at 1am.

Truly, this is within my top three best weddings I have ever attended.

Pin It Now!

Under the Florence Sun Going to Tuscany

Today we are starting the family hook-ups in preparation for the Tuscan wedding that is to follow this weekend. Ron’s grand-niece Elise and her boyfriend John arrived this morning after spending a couple of nights in Venice. Ron’s plan was to do some touring around seeing sights from the outside and the free ones from the inside. There isn’t much free here. Even some of the popular churches charge admission.

We took them to the Duomo, but Elise was refused admittance. She was wearing shorts and a sleeveless top. I could not believe the hypocrisy and sexism in this as men who were dressed in the same manner were allowed entry. Regardless, I waited with her on the steps in the shade. Elise is truly extroverted making her an enjoyable companion even if she was barred from the church.

Conversely, we did get into Basilica de Santo Spirito for free, where there is a wooden crucifix carved by Michaelangelo. Somehow, we did not see any guards collecting a fee nor did we notice any signs. It was not until later that we realized there was a fee for admittance to his specific chapel within the church.

For lunch, we returned to the same piazza where we had dinner Thursday night, but a different choice in restaurants. This one Osteria del Santo Spirito, was a much better choice, even if it sounds like they only serve first holy communion. Italian restaurants can be extremely confusing with their portion control. Menus offer primo and secundo choices, where the primo is generally either a pasta or risotto dish. Often times, having ordered this as my single entrée, it had turned out that the portion couldn’t fill a demitasse cup. Yet, the price could fill my piggy bank. A cost of 8-15 Euros should provide something more than a tablespoonful of food. With this in mind, the three men ordered the full portions, as opposed to the half portions.

Ron had gnocchi swimming in cheese sauce; my rigatoni macaroni were covered with a tomato sauce sprinkled with dry Ricotta cheese. John dared to try a pasta dish that is served with gelled fish row. As the hot pasta melts the row, it provides a fishy sauce. Elise was the smart one with some forethought ordering a small portion of the same rigatoni I had. John’s dish was too adventurous for my taste and honestly, I don’t think he was overwhelmed with joy at his choice either. He mentioned more than once that it was an ‘acquired taste’. He seemed to be waiting for his taste buds to start acquiring a flavor appreciation, but he took a considerable sized portion as a to-go package. I doubt it ever ventured further than the refrigerator to the trash once we were at the villa.

We still had time to kill before the prearranged taxi drove us to the villa in Tuscany where we would settle for two nights. Trying to walk off our dinner, fatigue took over with the younger ones long before it did their elders. A coffee stop was in order to while away the remaining hour or so.

At promptly 5pm as scheduled the taxi/van was there to transport us. The ride was a paltry 30 minutes, but the cost was a significant 70 Euros, which we shared with Elise and John. No wonder the Italian economy is in shambles.

Without any real expectations of what a Tuscan villa would be like outside of vivid imaginations, we were pleasantly surprised. The hills in the distance and the fields surrounding the villa itself are covered with olive trees and grape vineyards. It was as delicious as any imagination could perceive it to be.
We were greeted by the bride, Andrea. She is the older sister to Elise and another of Ron’s grand-nieces. He being one of 7 children, there are lots more grand-nieces and grand-nephews running around. Andrea and Mark had a quick civil wedding back in Colorado for the grandmothers on both sides of the family who could not get to Italy. We were shown to our room which was one bedroom of a two bedroom apartment, which included two full bathrooms, a living room, a dining room that could seat 20 and a full sized eat in kitchen. Andrea’s parents were given the second bedroom. The second floor included additional apartments where she placed fellow workers who came for the celebration. Just 30 steps out the back door were one of the swimming pools.

Down a trail weaving through olive trees were two more buildings, each with full apartments and a humungous shared kitchen. This is where all of their friends were staying. All totaled there were 37 people who arrived for this wedding. The actual ceremony is scheduled for tomorrow, but the festivities continue. Andrea and Mark booked and paid for the entire stay at the villa and for those who chose, it was available through Tuesday. On Tuesday, there was a wine tour scheduled for anyone who cared to stay and imbibe.

Tonight, however, was the night to party. Female friends had arranged a hen party for Andrea while Mark’s buddies planned a stag party. A whole lot single person celebrations were planned a little too after the fact, but a bus came to pick them up at 6pm. Off they went back to Florence to kick up their heels. Ron and I had stayed behind and wandered the surrounding land. We were not quite certain if we would eat dinner or not since we had no idea what the plan was and had not done any shopping.

As we walked back to our assigned building, a crew from Andrea’s workplace was busy cooking up a dinner. As soon as they spotted us, they invited us to share with them. Seven of us had a communal meal of spaghetti and steak. The food was tasty, but the companionship was spectacular. I had not laughed so hard in years. They are not only a fabulous group of medical professional people, but they are dynamic human beings. We stayed up until close to midnight having a grand time.

Pin It Now!

Don't Give Me Any Flax About How We Ended Our Day

What do you mean you hate museums?

Friday was spent walking around the city. We had decided that we would not visit any museums or anything that charged an admission because when we return, we will buy the Florence Card. We left the B and B by 9:30am and did not return until 11:30pm.
   
There were a couple of outdoor displays that filled small segments in our day. One piazza had a presentation on the uses of flax. This was particularly intriguing to me as flax seed is supposedly one of the food items that are a glucose inhibitor. What I didn’t realize are the many other uses for the plant itself. Besides being used for making linen, it is used in surfboards, rope, stuffing for chairs, and a few dozen other things that I had no idea about.

The other exhibit we found was and in retrospect still is a little confusing. It had something to do with motorcycles, but it was rather vague and strange. There was a motorcycle which looked like it was entirely decoupaged with newspapers while retaining all of the details of the bike. However, later when I inspected closer, it felt like it was sculpted from Styrofoam and not actually a motorcycle at all. Just as peculiar, there were bean bag chairs also covered in newsprint, both black and white and in color. In one section of this exhibit, there was a barber shaving a man with an old fashioned straight edge razor. On the opposite side, there were books all pertaining to motorcycles for sale alongside leather racing jackets. Adjoining this exhibit was a carousel, adding to the perplexity of the situation.

We ended our day by having dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Okay, no flack here. We collect Hard Rock pins from every city we travel to where there is a Hard Rock. There is something about these restaurants that transform me into a music lover, which I am not normally. There always seems to be some nostalgic souvenirs hanging on a wall that transport me back to a time when music played a significant role in a memory.  Honestly, dinner here was a vast improvement over last night’s, but that could be because I indulged by having ribs and pulled pork. Heavenly! We bought our pins on the way out too. 

The weather was spectacularly sunny, but not overly hot.

Related articles

• Music memorabilia coming to Hard Rock

Pin It Now!

Greetings from Florence

We are in the ancient city of the Medicis and of course Michaelangelo's most spectacular creations. However, right before leaving, I sliced a chunk out of my left pointer finger. Three hours of non-stop bleeding should have been a clue that stitches were needed, but the day before our journey, I had State Exams all day. No time to figure out where to go for a nee dle and thread. Since then, the abundant bandage that is not occupying my finger tip, makes it near impossible to type on a netbook keyboard.

The wifi where we are staying does not reach our room, so not only is the Internet a problem, but using Viber on my phone is also. 

Before leaving, I had an overdue maintenance done on my camera. They updated the software on it. I never tested it before leaving. Now, each time I take a picture, it takes 3-5 at once. In spite of turning off multiple exposures, it has not solved the problem. 

Suffice it to say, regardless we are having a great time. Saturday, we'll leave for Tuscany for the wedding, our reason for being here. Ciao!

Related articles

• Florence, Italy
• Top Rated Attractions in Florence, Italy

Pin It Now!

Eating or Reading?

Our friend Jennifer who is an English teacher in the US, sent this to me.

"One of my English dept. colleagues has a friend from college who hosts "reading retreats" in Italy.  They were first located at the castle in the first link below, but an earthquake forced a relocation; the second link shows the new location.  Really interesting!"
 
http://www.galeazza.com/en/home.php
http://www.corteeremo.com/en

Just the thought of a reading retreat set my juices a flowing, my imagination revved up, a list of books to bring organizing in my mind, and had me reaching for my travel planner. Then I read this post in the blog from the retreat, which put the brakes on any dream of attending.

"While in New York last week I learned that nearly everyone in the Big Apple is on a low-carb diet. How sad. On Sunday December 23nd from noon till dusk Pippo, Luna and I are hosting a ten euro all-carb and protein brunch with pancakes and maple syrup, bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, and all kinds of naughty foods that will fatten everyone right up. Don’t come if you’re on a diet, but if you would like to splurge like we often do, I’ll introduce you to one of my best friends, french toast made from Panettone. Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate should push you well over the 3,000 calorie count! Ho ho ho!"

This would be a diabetic nightmare. Another section in the retreat description details how everyone is expected to be part of the communal cooking with cozy photos of people side by side, preparing a pasta. 

I enjoy cooking. I adore Italian food. I am one-half Italian. I am diabetic. White flour pasta and a long shopping list of carbohydrates are no longer on my list of things to do or eat. Though the reading retreat part would be heaven, the eating part would be hell. Even if I were able to escape the cooking detail, the aromas would linger and waft through the building cruelly teasing my senses with temptation. 

It would take a day of muscle screaming exercise to drop my sugar level to the point where I could indulge in one meal. Exercise is one of the words on my list of profanity to avoid.

I know myself all too well. By the end of the second day, I am certain I will want to rip someone's throat out. Why tempt fate?

Related articles

• Low Carb Diet Plans
• Panettone Bread Pudding
• Cracking the Low-Carb Code
• Diabetes-Friendly Desserts!
• My passion for Italian confections, Part 2 - Panettone
• Gladstone scientists discover novel mechanism by which calorie restriction influences longevity

Pin It Now!