Palmabella's Passions

We flew to Oakland on Thanksgiving morning, arriving at noon, when Roxanne picked us up at the Oakland airport, and drove us to Charlotte and Cindy's home. Our ride to the Ontario airport was stressful with a blowout at 85 in the fast lane, and Brad changing a tire on the freeway!

Dinner was wonderful, everyone ate too much, and went to bed full!

Friday was what I most looked forward to...SHOPPING! Brad and I were on an 8 a.m. BART train to Market Street in San Francisco. We started at Bloomie's, met Joy at 10:00 at Nordstrom, took a coffee break, shopped some more, and met Kim and her family at Kuletto's at 1:30. We had lunch, and wine before resuming our shopping mission.

Roxanne joined us, and we stopped at Crate and Barrel, Gumps, and finally joined everyone at 6:00 for a cocktail at the St. Francis. I saw the big tree lighting in Union Square, and we took off to North Beach in three taxies for dinner at "Firenze by Night". Brad had fabulous escargot, I shared sausage -stuffed mushrooms with Joy, and had veal in a pesto-cream sauce.

Saturday, we shopped at the Ferry Building Markets, buying cheese, breads, cold cuts, and hloiday gift items. We relaxed at Charlotte's and had an enjoyable drink with my old boss, Steve. Then we returned to S.F. with Charlotte and Cindy for a fabulous dinner at "Boulevard". After a lemon drop, I started with foie gras, then veal with hen-of the-woods mushrooms, fried mozarella with prosciutto, and zucchini. For dessert, I had an apple torte with apple fritter gelato. YUM!

Sunday was a lazy, rainy day. We relaxed all day, ate yesterday's food purchases and Cajun Bread Pudding with ice cream. We had an easy flight and drive home to nice, dry, desert weather. We agreed it was a lovely weekend, with our perfect hostesses, and we may need to make it an annual event. Great friends, great food, great shopping!

Jan and I left at 9:00 a.m. for Orange County, and by 11:00 we were parked by Nordstrom at South Coast Plaza. We met for lunch at noon, but Jan became ill, so I got her settled in her room at the Marriott Suites, and went back to the mall. I shopped for five more hours, and returned to the hotel with 5 Nordstrom bags, one from Williams-Sonoma, one from Borders, three from Crate & Barrel, and a Chico's bag! Not bad for Day 1 of the weekend!

Brad arrived around 7:30, and met me for a drink in the hotel bar. Les had come to take poor Jan home, but she was to ill with the flu to travel Friday night. Les had a drink with us before our lovely dinner at Antonello's. We started with a glass of prosecco, and then a nice salad with pears and gorgonzola. For his entree, Brad had veal, and I had my favorite dish on their menu: rolled lasagna pasta stuffed with cheese and prosciutto in a pink sauce and bechamel.

I enjoyed coffee while Brad indulged in a chocolate lava cake with ice cream and fudge.

On Saturday, we headed to the Bead Show at the Fair Grounds. We arrived shortly after it started at 10:00, and I frantically bought beads until 2:00, with one 10 minute break! It was overwhelming to see booth after booth with thousands of choices of stones, beads, crystals and gems! I will have lots of great January projects to work on!

We returned to South Coast Plaza and had lunch at Lawery's Carvery. Yummy prime rib sandwiches! Then we shopped...AGAIN.

We did quite well and added a few new bags to the stash. It is getting crowded in our hotel suite!

We had some "down time" and relaxed in the hotel. After a nap, we went out for a snack, as neither of us wanted dinner.

Sunday, we slept in, had coffee, and checked out at 10:00. We barely got all the shopping bags in Brad's trunk, and put our luggage in the back seat.
This is the SECOND load!

We headed to Corona del Mar and had brunch at Bristol Farms. I bought everything I wanted at Sur La Table, and we enjoyed an hour of the beautifully decorated Roger's Gardens decorated for Christmas! I bought a topiary basket I can "accessorize" for every holiday!

We were home by 2:00 to finish the last tree, and be on time for the Slow Talk monthly book club! A perfect shopping weekend (except for Jan getting sick!).

January SUCKS! I don't know exactly why I hate January so much every year, but I do. I count days for it to be over. It is one-twelfth of my life, but, evey year it seems to have the same effect on me. It is cold. (Ok, so I live in the desert, and it is currently in the 50s, but tonight it is supposed to hit 32 degrees!) I am not going outside. I am a cold wuss. You will not hear me complain in August when it is 118 degrees. It will be better than JANUARY!

I am also ALWAYS on a diet in January! Could be why I am GRUMPY. Actually, I am several of the dwarfs...Sleepy, Dopey, (Sneezy left, but I am still coughing!) I would like to crawl into bed and have someone wake me when January is over.

Since that is unlikely to happen, I must cope. My two usual coping strategies, cooking/eating, and SHOPPING, are not allowed right now. Oh sure, I can cook lowfat meals, whoopie..., or make another salad...contain my enthusiasm! I spent too much money in December, and at the Chico's opening January 4th (the last fun day in January), so I'm on self-imposed "Shopping Probation" for a while.

I have one coping mechanism left (alcohol has calories, so that's not it).

I will plan TRAVEL!

I am

I have been looking for flights for our June trip, and found some I like today! Our tentative itinerary looks like this:

Florence 4 nights
Montalcino 4 nights
Umbria 7 nights
Cortona 4 nights
Chianti 4 nights

It seems like lots of moving around, but this trip is about returning to "Oldies but Goodies", and spending more time in Umbria. There will be a wonderful GTG in Assisi during our travel where I hope to meet Slow Travellers Janet, Barb and Art, Jane, Ken and Casey, Giulia, Judith and Letizia. I will also get to visit again with Alessandra, Judy (Diva), and even Pauline and Steve! I hope to visit Jane again in Chianti, see Tania and Keith in Cortona, and hook up with Ida and Bill in Florence!

In-between Slow Travel, hunting for airfares, and naps, I have a few of my Italy books open:

I will just escape to Italian dreamland for the rest of the month!

On Friday, February 2, we will be joining a large group of Slow Travellers for a wine and food GTG in Paso Robles, California! Twelve of us will be sharing a rental house, http://www.cottageatcapitolhill.com/, where large group meals will take place. Brad and I will be staying at the house with Shannon, Colleen, Marcia and David, Beth, Marta and George!

Friday night kicks off the weekend with a pizza dinner, and meeting old and new friends.

Saturday's wine tasting agenda is as follows:

11:30 AM Wild Horse Winery
12:45 PM Castoro Cellars, Templeton. Shannon will be serving up cheese, pate and bread at this stop.
2:15 PM This is where the group will split up! There are four wineries to choose from.
4:00 PM Back to the house for the party.

I am going to hit the shops in Cambria in the morning ( and a BEAD store). I will meet the group (and see how much fun they are having) at Castoro Cellars. Well, I might need a snack! Then I'm back in downtown Paso to check out the Olive Oil shop and cheese store, and maybe a nap. I'm guessing Brad will need one before the party!

I'm bringing crab lasagna for Saturday night's dinner. We made two big pans last weekend, and they are waiting in the freezer!

Crab Filling:

1 lb. fresh crab, cleaned
1 c. ricotta
1 egg
3 chopped green onions
1 T. butter
7 oz. gruyere cheese, grated
zest of one lemon
salt and pepper

Sauté green onions in butter for 2 min.
Combine with crab and other ingredients in a bowl.

Bechamel sauce:

6 T. Butter
6 T. flour
4 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste

In med. saucepan, over med. heat, melt butter and flour, cooking for 2 min.
Whisk in milk. Cook, stirring until thick and boiling. Set aside.

Makes one 9x13 pan or 7-8 individual ramekins

Layer:
Béchamel sauce
Sheet of fresh pasta
Crab filling
Parmesan cheese
Repeat

Depending on pasta. If you use homemade pasta that is very thin, you will have 4-5 layers. If using purchased semolina pasta sheets, it will be 3-4 layers.
On very top, end with pasta, béchamel, parmesan, and pine nuts.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Can be made the day before and refrigerate until baking.

Friday morning, I drove the "back way" over the high desert to Las Vegas, with one Starbucks stop and another bathroom break. This is an interesting drive, but VERY isolated, and a little creepy with no other cars for miles, and no cell phone signal in case of an emergency! It took me 3 hours and 45 minutes.

I drove straight to Fashion Show Mall, and parked by Nordstrom. I phoned Vegas Ms. (Beth) from Slow Travel, and she met me for coffee with her mom, Betty. We had a nice visit talking about travel and ST, and upcoming GTGs! By the time we left the table, I think we had each gotten excited about each other's favorite vacation destinations...Italy for me...DUH!, and England for Beth!

On the shopping front, I purchased a lovely black pant suit, a top, a blouse, and a scarf! I checked into Caesar's and picked Brad up from the airport. We had an uneventful dinner and evening of gambling.

On Saturday, we lingered over coffee, then hit three bead stores, and bought a birthday gift. We had time for an afternoon nap before going to Brad's cousin, Connie's home for dinner. Connie and John have moved to a beautiful new house about 30 minutes from the Strip. We had drinks and a BBQ with cousins Connie and John, Marti, and Linda and Phil, as well as friends!

We made it back to the Mirage for Brad's early Valentine gift: tickets to see Jay Leno! We picked up tickets, had a latte, and took our seats for the 10:30 Jay Leno show.

The opening act was quite a wonderdul surprise! The "Alley Cats" performed for the first half hour. They are an A Capella Doo Wop group made up of 4 guys from Orange County. They were AMAZING! I sang along with all of their songs: "At the Hop", "Book of Love". "Run Around Sue", "La Bamba/Twist and Shout", "Barbara Ann", and the funniest was bringing an older gentleman up from the audience to do the Bass part to "Blue Moon". (Bomp-a-ta-bomp, bomp-a-ta-bomp, bang-a-ta-bang, Blue Moon!) I thought I'd wet my pants laughing as they had him singing and doing their choreography (ski poles step left, ski poles step right...). Here is their website. If you have a chance to see them, don't miss it!

http://www.thealleycats.com/index.html

Jay performed for a solid hour, barely stopping to take a breath. His routine was very funny, and pretty "clean"...refreshing for a headliner comedian in Vegas. We especially enjoyed his humor around America's poor eating habits, and stories of his Italian parents!

Sunday, we had a nice breakfast, walked through the Forum Shops (where I bought a pair of black/white walking shoes for Italy), and did a little more gambling. As we went to sleep at 3:00 a.m., we needed a nap, so we slept for a couple of hours, and got ready for Connie's 60th birthday dinner at Bally's.

We walked to Bally's and found the group in the appointed meeting place (a bar with music near the restaurant). We ordered drinks, and soon were seated at our table for 12 in the restaurant, "Al Dente". The table shared two orders of bruchetta, and two orders of fried calamari...more wine was ordered. While we waited for our entrees, we were served a complementary bowl of something that looked like one green ravioli sitting in a bowl of orangy-pink sauce. The first taste was a surprise in several ways. It was green ice cream sitting in a canteloupe "soup". The ice cream was basil flavored, and would have been lovely on it's own, or perhaps in a martini glass with a light lemony swirl under it. The canteloupe part was awful, a distracting flavor that overpowered the subtle basil ice cream, which was actually quite good. Our entrees arrived. There were a couple of ribeyes, a couple of lamp chops, a couple of lobsters, a couple osso buco, and a couple of pasta dishes ordered. Overall, the lamb and osso buco seemed to be the best choices. A birthday cake was served with coffee, and gifts were opened. It was a very nice evening, and Connie was happy to be surrounded by family and friends!

We walked back to Caesars for a last gambling fix, and were packed and in bed by midnight. The weekend went by quickly, but was a nice combination of shopping, relaxing, gambling, family time, with highlights of the Alley Cats, Jay Leno, and Connie's birthday dinner!

Monday was a long, hard day, as we woke at 5:00 a.m., loaded the car, checked out of Caesar's at 6:10, and I dropped Brad off at the Las Vegas airport at 6:30. I then drove straight to work (one Starbucks/bathroom stop), and did supervision for a few hours, before my quick afternoon nap!

Saturday morning, I woke up at 7 to an almost eerie foggy winter scene. My guess is that it was somewhere in the 30's. BRRRR. Good things we had that lovely fireplace in our room, and I brought my flannel jammies!

I had coffee with Shannon who was already up organizing breakfast. Soon Marcia and Colleen appeared, and I braved the elements and went out for a smoke (with my jacket on over my pajamas). In a neighboring Oak tree, at least a dozen vultures gathered! We did NOT share our breakfast goodies!

Soon, everyone in the house was up and moving. Many from the close-by motels joined us for breakfast. I met Cheryl, and Kathi and Rob. Shannon did an amazing job of planning and shopping for breakfast foods! There were seven kinds of cereal, granola, fruits, cakes, breads, bagels, muffins, croissants, jams, yogurt, cheeses, juices, and MANY pots of coffee or tea!

Shannon signed three copies of the new "Chow Venice" for me.

At 10:30, I decided to skip the first winery, White Horse, and I drove over the hill to charming Cambria. When I left Paso Robles. it was 40 degrees and the fog was just starting to lift. 15 minutes later, over the hill near the ocean, it was 61 and sunny.
I walked through the little shops in Cambria, and had a lovely latte sitting in the sun.
I bought two birthday gifts for friends, some hand-made glass beads to make a necklace, a Valentine's pin for myself, and several funny cards.

I met the ST group at the second winery, Casoro Vineyards. Most of the crowd was there, and I was happy to see Chris and Frank, Wendy and Rob, and delighted to meet Krista and Steve.

There are tons of winery photos on Slow Photos, so for the sake on blogspace, take a look here: http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showgallery.php?cat=4052

We continued on the wine tour to Eberle Winery, where a private tasting had been set up for us on the lawn. It was sunny and warm enough to remove my jacket! After the winery, Brad and I stopped in downtown Paso with a successful purchase at their funky bead shop! I will be back there next year!

Next blog will be SLOW BOWL Part III: Saturday Night!

After the wineries, and shopping, we had a little downtime, and Brad took a quick nap, while I read and freshened up. Soon friends gathered at the cottage, and appetizers appeared as the chefs worked their magic. There was obviously no shortage of vino!

We enjoyed Marian's cheeses, and Colleen's yummy pastry-wrapped brie with cranberries and pecans (FOUR batches).

We salivated while watching Sharon create her creamy mushroom cups.

Nancy arrived with her upbeat sister, JoAnn, and her delicious apple-gorgonzola salad. They poured over my scrapbooks of Italy.

Brad and I were able to catch up with Kathy (AnnieK) about the past six years. She was there the night we met, and we hadn't seen her since our wedding.
David was busy filling the most gigantic salad bowl in the world with Caesar salad.

Wendy had gallons of corn chowder on the stove, next to Kathy's delicious chicken cacciatore and creamy polenta with fontina.

My crab lasagnas were in the oven, with Dave's eggplant parm right behind. It was a feast Slow Travel style: plenty of food and wine with GREAT company; a true celebration!

How we managed to eat more after that feast is truely amazing, but the desserts were plentyful! Krista made both an olive oil citrus cake, and a Tiger Bundt cake that were delicious, and Marcia's lemon curd cheesecake is also a keeper. There were cookies and chocolates all over the house!

Coming soon...later in the evening, Sunday morning, and some final thoughts!

COMMONALITY: Travel, appreciation of good food and wine!

COMMUNITY: Old and new friends sharing.

FRIENDSHIP:

LAUGHTER:

CELEBRATION:

These photos say it all. What a wonderful group of generous, helpful, kind, and interesting people! Brad and I managed to be the last ones up two nights in a row.

Sunday morning, when I came upstairs for coffee, Shannon and Marta had a full set of "bag lunches" ready for all of us to take for our drives home. Chris arrived with dozens of delicious homemade cinnamon rolls ready to bake.

FABULOUS WEEKEND! We are all ready to return for SLOWBOWL TWO!

After less than 3 hours of sleep, the alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 3:45 a.m.. We were on our way to the Ontario airport by 5 a.m., and our 7:20 flight to Denver left on time. We had to rush to the next gate at a different terminal, so no time for a coffee, snack, or even a stop in the beautiful "smoking lounge". Remind me to make future connections in Denver whenever there is no snow. Most airport smoking lounges are disgusting, even for a nicotine addict. This one looked like an upscale bar with nice chairs and tables and clear air. It was empty. Healthy Colorado!

We arrived in Charlotte, NC, and I sat with the luggage while Brad picked up our rental car (complete with GPS!). I nursed a Starbucks while we waited for Jan's flight to arrive from Florida. One of the fun things about meeting other Slow Travelers, is you have already developed a relationship on the message board, or through PM, and in our case, Jan and I have been working together for several months on a committee to plan next year's Savannah Gathering. We already felt like "old friends" before we met.
As we circled the airport, we connected by cell phone, and found her at baggage claim. Excited hugs were followed by non-stop conversation in the car for our almost two-hour drive to Hendersonville.

Brad and I checked in to the lovely B&B, Pinebrook Manor. (More on this later.) We explored our new "home" for the next three nights, then went into town in search of dinner.

We cruised the Main Street of Hendersonville (actually called Main Street), and looked at choices for dinner. Melanie had recommended a wood grill/wine bar called "Flight". It looked like just what we were looking for.

There was a very cool mobile of dozens of birds hanging from the ceiling. The restaurant had two dining areas, and we opted for the upstairs, which seemed quieter.

The menu was varied, but featered several wood-smoked meat dishes, and a few seafood options. We had a glass of wine, and chose our entrees. Brad and I both had a grilled flatiron steak, topped with a gorgonzola-horseradish mixture. I t came with crisp mixed veggies and a lovely prosciutto-pea risotto. Jan had grilled trout with the same side dishes.

A second glass of wine and some coffee got me relaxed and excited about the weekend Slow Travel GTG.

Kathy Wood suggested the B&B where we stayed in Hendersonville, NC. There are four comfortable rooms. When we arrived, Melanie, the charming proprietor told us she had upgraded us to the largest suite, as we were the only guests on Thursday night. There would be another couple there over the weekend.

The house's living area was spacious and tastefully decorated. Here is the living room, complete with a massive fireplace, comfortable seating, and a piano.

The dining room held the coffee area, where I could frequently be found before breakfast.

More info on Pinebrook Manor can be found on their website:http://www.pinebrookmanor.com/

Each night at Pinebrook Manor, we were able to choose what time we wanted breakfast (but coffee was available early). We decided we could be showered and caffinated enough for me to make complete sentences by 9 a.m..

Here is the plant-filled breakfast room overlooking the "back yard" and wedding garden.

Our first breakfast was sweet potato pancakes with ginger butter, bacon and fresh mixed berries with yogurt.

Our two other breakfasts were stuffed French toast (with cream cheese and marmelade), and a mushroom, green onion, ham and cheese fritatta with cranberry-orange muffins.

We were upgraded to the largest suite at Pinebrook Manor: The Lord Byron Suite.

The King bed was so high, one of us (not me) had to use the little mahagony steps to get up on it! Behind the screen was a large jacuzzi tub. The bathroom had a very large marble shower, and the fireplace was delightful.

One of the highlights of our weekend was meeting our gracious hosts, the Candlers.
Linda and John welcomed us to their lovely home on grounds of the Brevard Music Center. Linda feels about France, the way I do about Italy. Every room has art, fabrics and treasures from their visits to Provence. The front doors, living room mantle and two huge French doors in the dining room were all shipped from France. This is an amazing home in a beautiful wooded setting with a babbling creek running through the back yard.

One of my FAVORITE things to do is decorate, and to visit beautifully appointed, yet comfortable homes of friends. This one certainly fit the bill as a great home to entertain guests!

To see more photos of this beautiful home, check out:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=36370&cat=4121

I love collections, and appreciate others who have the desire (and space) to show and share theirs. Since I've never been to Provence, I was interested in learning about Linda's beautiful collection of Santon dolls. The faces are made of clay, and each doll is dressed and carries a gift. The tradition is to include the "village people" bringing gifts to the Christ Child with the nativity scene figures. Linda's collection is beautiful.

This French artisit with his painting of Provence was my favorite!

The Brevard GTG was a whole week ago, and there was so much to blog about, and so many photos, that it is time I finally get to the party itself! On Friday night, we met around 5 p.m. for wine at Linda and John's party-ready home. It was fabulous to see "old friends" Kathy, Pauline and Steve, and Jan (now "old friends" since we met yesterday)!

We spent the evening meeting, and getting to know so many new friends! Sandi and Bill were lots of fun, and we think our hubbies look like brothers! I can't wait to spend a week in Italy with Sandi in 2008!

We had a delicious dinner: chicken-spinach lasagna, salad, rolls, and lemon or chocolate desserts. After dinner, the "new" Slowchicks performed, Pauline awarded ST baseball caps, Earline read her poem, Kelly and Riley entertained, and we enjoyed a whole lovely night of connecting with other Slow Travelers!

On Saturday, the whole gang showed up again at Linda and John's for more vino and fun before we went to dinner at the charming Hob Knob restaurant in Brevard.

For everyone's Slow Photos of the weekend, see:
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/showgallery.php?cat=4120

I left for Scottsdale at 7:30 a.m., and arrived at our Marriott Suites by 11:30 (with one Starbucks stop). After checking in, I hit Nordstrom and bought two skirts and a pair of black sandals. From there I visited favorite shops in the Borgota (a shopping center modeled after an Italian village), Seville Center, and the Marketplace. It was 105 degrees, and by 4, I headed back to my room and cranked down the air conditioning. After ordering a snack and a drink from room service, I joined the Slow Travel Thursday chat, then took a nap. I got a phone call from Brad at 6:15 saying he had missed his flight to Phoenix! (This happened two years ago when we also came to Scottsdale for our birthdays.) He would be on the 7:30 flight, which was running late! So much for our 8:30 dinner reservation. I settled in by the pool with a diet coke and my book (after Googling restaurants under "late night dining"). Brad also did some research, and came up with plan B for dinner. He arrived at 9:50, and we were at "Twisted" by 10:15.

Twisted has been open only three months. We ordered wine, and were brought a complementary pretzel appetizer.

Our appetizers were both great. I had ravioli gnudi in basil olive oil, and Brad had a spicy gazpacho with "Pueblo pesto".

Our entrees both could be categorized as "jazzed up comfort food". Brad had "Pepper, Coriander Crusted Pork Tenderloin" stuffed with goat cheese and cranberries, with carmalized sweet garlic green apples and pomegranate red wine reduction.

I had "Rocky Mountain Range Meatloaf". At the bottom of the stack was a thick gorgonzola stuffed crostini, served open face with a large serving of meatloaf of organic buffalo, lamb, and wild boar; with Serrano bacon and Creole Sauce.

Brad cleaned his dessert plate of a Triple Layer Ancho chili chocolate cake with chipolte chocolate mousse and dark chocolate ganache. I had one of his berries and coffee! It was after midnight, and I was in a food coma!

Even with the delay, Brad had a very nice birthday!

"Tween Day" is May 11. It is the day BETWEEN Brad's birthday and my birthday. I have ALWAYS shared my birthday. I was born on my father's 65th birthday, and it falls close to Mother's Day, so as I child, the three of us celebrated all three events. There was usually a party/family dinner on the closest Saturday, then Mom was taken out for Mother's Day. Brad and I enjoy celebrating our birthdays (usually out of town for the weekend) together, and dragging out the festivities for all three days! We have had birthday celebrations in Laguna Beach, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale. Next year will be Brad's BIG __(the one after 59). He has chosen ROME for the destination! Oh darn!

When I wake up on my birthday, I feel like a little kid on Christmas morning. I also feel like the old TV show, "Queen for a Day"! Brad gives me cards throughout the day, starting the moment I open my eyes! 364 days a year, I am the first one up. On my birthday, Brad gets up to have that first sip of coffee with me.

After a latte, we drove out to the Boulders Resort, about 25 miles outside of Scottsdale.
http://theboulders.com/?src=ppc_google_brand&s_kwcid=the%20boulders|1041093134

Our first stop was El Pedregal, the shopping and dining complex near the resort.
http://www.elpedregal.com/

Brad bought one of my birthday gifts in a nice shop there (details later).
The buildings, and casitas at The Boulders blend in with the rock formations and desert landscape. I would imagine it beautiful at sunset. After walking around the resort, we visited the Four Seasons Resort, just down the road. We had a good lunch in their dining room.

The Arizona desert is beautiful, especially with the cactus in bloom, and the surrounding mountains. It is very different than the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area where we live. Our area is much more of an oasis with palm trees and tropical flowers everywhere, and more agriculture (dates, citrus, and even grapes). I think it is even drier. Since we are just two hours from the ocean, we get a LITTLE humidity. In Arizona, 105 felt much hotter than it does at home!

It was definitely time for gelato and a nap!

I am convinced NO ONE packs like I do for a trip to Europe! I continually read packing threads on Slow Talk, and am AMAZED at how little people bring for a three week trip. Let me start by saying we always have a big rental car, we don't take trains, as Brad LOVES driving in Italy, and I have no trouble lifing or managing my luggage! Brad is also a wonderful "Schleppopotomus". He is always entertained and challenged by getting everything in the rental car trunk the first time he must pack it.

I always pack ON PAPER first, not in my closet. I type a full page of everything I will bring, then add accessories, purses, shoes, shawls, and misc. items like books, maps, camera, chargers, adapters, Italy cell phone, etc. When I am done with my list, I check off each item as I pack it.

Our Italy days go something like this:
We get up early (6:30-7ish). I wash my face, run a brush through my hair, and jump into capris and a top. Palma goes outside to caffinate and smoke. Breakfast. Brush teeth. Out the door by 9ish. Hang out in a hilltown, or city, exploring our surroundings, shopping, sightseeing, stopping for breaks in caffes. 1p.m.ish: Lunch. Unless we are on a daytrip, we return to our room for a nap from 3-5ish. THEN I shower, wash hair, put on some make-up (low maintence 15-20 min. max for the whole routine!) and dress nicely for dinner (usually a skirt or dressier top, or dress).

If we are on a daytrip, where we won't return until after dinner (three times this trip), then I shower in the morning and wear something like a skirt or sundress for the day.

This year's pack list (Which is the LEAST I have EVER brought) consists of :
7 pair capris/crop pants (3 black, 3 white, one black/white)
1 pair long linen pants
4 skirts
3 dresses
3 purses/one evening bag
3 pair shoes plus what I wear on plane (black, white, dressy black, gold)
3 very lightweight summer cardigans/jackets (black, white, an one matching skirts)
21 daytime tops
5 dressier tops
4 shawls
2 nightgowns/light robe
bathing suit/cover-up
22 pair of underwear (throw one away each day) more room for shopping
3 bras
14 selected pieces of "fun" jewelry (all made by me)
Trader Joe's insulated bag (for wine, cheese, cold cuts)
Slow Travel tote bag
3 books to read/journal (Brad brings 3, and we trade)
Cosmetic case (size of a zip-lock bag)
cigarettes (Cartons fit in side zipper. Can't buy Virginia Slims in Italy.)
Brad packs laptop, ipod, camera, converters, chargers, Italian cell phone

Yes, this ALL FITS in my Briggs and Riley 28 inch roller bag, and is around 48 lbs.
In my small carry-on bag, I bring my jewelry, my pillow, and a book for the plane. My purse with passports/tickets/journal fits in there too.

So, it all fit, but then I take a few things out of the BIG bag, and put them in my 22" roller bag (which attaches with a strap, and they roll together). In here goes a few gifts for people I will see in Italy. The point is, I will have the 22" bag virtually EMPTY to fill with whatever I buy in Italy. DUH!

Why would I dress any differently than I do at home? I also don't do laundry on vacation (may send bras or nightgown to hotel laundry). Brad has laundry/dry cleaning done half-way through a trip, and wears everything twice. He is MUCH fussier than I am about packing.

I did my "fake pack" last weekend. (Must make sure everything fit in my bag, and stayed under weight limits.) All my clothes are ready, and I won't wear them before I go (OK, I might have to borrow one of the pair of white capris...)

Here is what I DON'T bring:
umbrella (don't ever use one at home either...my hair will dry...)
closed-toe shoes (only worn in winter)
Meds/first aid items consist of my once-a- week calcium pill, a few bandaids, a tube of neosporin and some Advil. (That's all I have at home too!)
Guide books. I've already done my homework. I have confirmations, maps, and ST restaurant lists in a folder.

Now I must wait 28 days to go!

I can't sleep. It is 1:36 a.m., and three weeks from tonight, we will be leaving for the airport (at 4 a.m.) for this summer's trip to Italy!

June 28: ONT-ATL-FCO

June 29: Arrive in Rome at 8:30 a.m., drive to Firenze. Dinner at Cibreo.

June 30: Mercato, San Lorenzo, lunch and "walking tour" with Ida and Bill.
Celebrate Ida's birthday with lunch at Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori, and
dinner at Buca Lapi.

July 1: Florence: I Latini (maybe a visit with Jane, Ken and Casey)

July 2: Lunch with Gloria in Pisa, afternoon in Fiesole, drink at Hotel San Michele
Dinner in Florence at Osteria Chingale Bianco

July 3: Shopping stop in San Gimignano on our way to Montalcino
Dinner at Grappolo Blu

July 4: Mt. Oliveto, Bagni Vignoni, evening in Montalcino

July 5: Meet Ida and Bill in Montalcino. Market Day
Lunch at Latte di Luna in Pienza
Afternoon at Amorosa (in the enoteca), explore Montisi
Dinner at Da Roberto in Montisi

July 6: Montalcino in morning, Banfi winery in afternoon.
Dinner at Poggio Antico

July 7-13: Drive to Umbria: Le Case Gialle
Umbria Jazz Festival
visit Assisi, Montefalco, Todi, Bevagna, Spello
lunch with Judith

July 14-16: Cortona
Visit with Alessandra & family, Tania & Keith

July 17: drive to Hotel Villa Le Barone in Panzano

July 18: back to Assisi for Slow Travel GTG!!!

July 19-20: Chianti
dinner with Jane, Ken and Casey

July 21: FCO-ATL-ONT

I took this photo of a shop sign last fall in Bologna, not because I liked the store (mostly junky teen jewelry), but because I love the WORD, and the concept of accessorizing. I have gone through many "phases" of hobbies in my life, and always seem to need some kind of creative outlet. Besides cooking, a constant interest and way to create something, I have had my share of hobbies and crafts that seem to be related to this theme: At one time I had 14 dollhouses or miniature room boxes. I enjoyed decorating each scene, almost as much as decorating my "real house". I have gone through painting clothing and silk scarves, stained glass, and scrapbooking is still a favorite form of accessorizing pages of photos.

I am currently in my JEWELRY PHASE. I used to buy both costume and semiprecious stone jewelry to complement special outfits. Shoes and purses to go along with the deal were (and are still) fun too! For the past year, I have bought more beads/stones, and made many of my own necklaces, bracelets and earrings. I obviously have too much time on my hands! Making SOMETHING is relaxing, fun, and allows me to experiment with color, texture, and ACCESSORIZING!

So the clothing has been packed for two weeks, and we still have two weeks to go before the Italy trip. (The pants and capris are waiting on hangers in the guest room). As I added accessories (jewelry, shawls, and purses) to the basic wardrobe of white or black pants, capris and skirts, and a couple of dresses, I took a few photos to illustrate how I add accessories to the basics. For the next week or so, I will blog about my "Palmabella Jewelry", and how to incorporate it into my Italy wardrobe.

Brad bought me these luscious seafoam green faceted beads at the Jem Faire in Costa Mesa in December. They were in my Christmas stocking.

In January, after completing the necklace, and having just enough beads left for a matching bracelet, I found this shawl in Las Vegas. They easily dress up my white eyelet skirt with a white top or tank! (They are a little more flattering on my neck than on my white guestroom duvet cover!)

Stay tuned for much more!

I like to find different ways to use my accessories (I have a Christmas stocking that I use as a holiday purse), when I am not wearing them. This Italian shawl was being used as a runner on my dining room table, until I snatched it up and added it to my suitcase.

It works with this green stretch top, and EITHER the yellow glass beads, OR the dressier green necklace. Those stones remind me of juicy green grapes! (Keep picturing the white cotton skirt, white linen pants, or white capris on the bottom half.)

I have been kicking myself for months for not buying more clasps in Italy last year. I found a FABULOUS bead shop in Bologna, where the clasps cost me 3-6 Euro. Here they average about $30 each on up! I only bought a dozen. What was I thinking? They do NOT have a website, but I am practicing my Italian, and hope to be able to order some by phone!

This is a "daytime" fun necklace. I call it my "Candy Necklace". (Everything seems to go back to food with me!) I bought these African beads in a shop in Brevard, NC, when we attended the Slow Travel GTG. Here they are with a yellow Chico's tank, but they go with almost any of my solid color tops and black or white capris.

Murano glass! On our last trip to Venice in 2003, I did NOT make my own jewelry. We bought art glass and added to our crystal glasses. Why was I not thinking BUY BEADS!? I bought a tiny handful of loose glass beads, just because I knew that someday I would find something to do with them. Oh well, I now have yet ANOTHER reason to go back!

I found these coral and gold Murano beads at a bead show in Ontario, and couldn't resist, as coral is one of my favorite summer colors.

That white skirt or linen pants will get a new punch with coral top, beads, shawl and purse. (I'm leaving the coral sandals at home, as this is Palma's attempt at "packing light"!)

Coral looks GREAT against a tan too!

For a cool daytime look, I have a coral t-shirt top with white capris (really cropped pants), a white eyelet "jeans jacket", and beads that look like eyelet. This necklace works with ANY color of my stack of solid color tops: coral, yellow, green, red, aqua, magenta, or black!

I love my VERY comfy Chico's chocolate brown "Travelers" dress. It has an empire waist, and capped sleeves. By itself...boring. I can change the look with two of my most recent necklaces.

Here are the citrine beads I bought in L.A., before meeting southern California Slow Travel friends at Mozza for pizza in March. I strung them with the pendant Brad bought me at the Boulders resort in Scottsdale on our birthday weekend. Yesterday's post made me think I associate a lot of my jewelry with food, but today I realize I associate some pieces with trips!

Let's add an inexpensive Italian market shawl.

This is one of my favorites! There are 6 strands of champagne and bronze freshwater keshi pearls. As luck would have it, I bought the perfect clasp for it in Bologna, figuring someday I'd find a use for a brown clasp!

How about with a bronze San Gimignano shawl, and a beaded purse? At home I would wear beaded bronze sandals, but in Italy I will make due (on those cobblestones) with my gold leather espadrilles!

I love red! I mixed this Murano glass focal bead with red beaded rounds that Brad calls "raspberries", and small white seed beads. Guess I'm not the ONLY one who thinks of jewelry in terms of food.

These what I refer to as "pregnant tops" are in. After a couple weeks of gelato and Italian food, I'll be ready for something loose, comfy and cool!

Sandi, here is a closeup of one of the Bologna clasps:

This trip I have a lot of black and white clothes that mix and match. This is a lampwork bead and black jet bead necklace.

Here it is with a black and white skirt, shoes, and purse!

I made this ceramic bead necklace specifically for these Chico's black & white striped capris, although I have worn it with other outfits.

Tomorrow more black and white!

In 2005, I bought a piece of designer gold jewelry in Lucca. Orlando Orlandini is an award winner goldsmith with a workshop in Panzano. I had priced his work in a the U.S., and knew I was getting a good price in Italy.

Here is his website:http://www.orlandoorlandini.it/

The piece I bought (signed and numbered and in a BEAUTIFUL BOX) is this gold "lace heart" with a diamond. To me, it symbolizes that my heart is in Italy.

Gold Heart Pendant

The problem I have had, for two years, is that the heart came on a black silk cord. Every time I wear it, in a few minutes, the heart slides, and the clasp ends up in the front! I stopped wearing it! Last week, I decided to "mess with it", and re-use the heart as a centerpiece for some gorgeous black crystals I bought in Scottsdale. Now I will wear my heart again!

Let's try it with a sleeveless white "Traveler's" top, cutwork skirt and cardigan jacket:
I think this evening bag makes the gold beads pop (and it packs flat)!

Eleven days from today, we will be here:

Yesterday, Brad sent me these flowers. When I asked him why, he said, "You should have flowers while you are waiting to go to Italy!"

We got a few last minute (actually, we are incredibly early) trip things done this weekend. We downloaded Season 6 of 24 to watch during our week long vacation renatl in Umbria. We made copies of our passports and credit cards. We bought snacks, and did some housecleaning.

Sandi suggested I look for sunflower beads. Ask and you shall receive:

Anyone with a blog LOVES getting comments from friends and readers! So THANKS to all who read and post a comment!

I thought I'd respond to a few recent comments!

Jerry said:
"Palma - if you started selling your jewelery you would be able to take three more trips to Italy each year! Your work is wonderful."

In reality, if I hadn't bought beads this year, I could have taken another trip to Italy!
I LOVE Jerry's blog for both his recipes and his rants! If we lived closer, I would be one size larger!

Sandi said:
"I love your beads! I am on a bracelet fix~ I have braclets to match everything. "

I love bracelets too, and was on a bracelet kick last year. I have made LOTS of bracelets for gifts, but I often wear my stash of 10Euro ones from San Gimignano, that I couldn't duplicate for twice the price and lots of my time! Sandi's blog is another I read regularily for her yummy recipes. I am waiting for some jewelry photos!

Judith said:
"If I see you wearing this outfit in Italy, be warned. I am stripping it right off you and stealing it."

I will NOT be wearing this when I meet Judith! Me in my underwear is a blog we can all do without. My initial reaction is anything I wore would be SEVERAL sizes too big for Judith, but then I remembered that she sews, and has all those contacts that do tailoring! Judith, here is the cutwork skirt and that goes with that jacket:

I also love Judith's blog! Italian recipes, fashion, and stories that make one THINK!

Judith, here is a blurry photo of the cutwork top with another crystal necklace:

For those of you bored with the jewelry, just a couple more days! I'll get back to some food, and next week...ITALY!

One more week to go! Though my clothes have been packed for WEEKS (except the capris/pants hanging by my suitcase), there are still a FEW things to do before Italy!

I began cleaning my house thoroughly for my wonderful housesitter/dogsitter, Andrea.

Yesterday I got my haircut, Brad gets trimmed on Saturday.

I have printed out all my lists, restaurants, confirmations, and Slow Travel stuff and they are in a in a folder in Brad's carry-on. So are the maps. (I found the maps last night at 1 a.m. when I couldn't sleep.)

The jewelry weighed in at 8 pounds. Now, this may seem like a lot of weight, but all that is in my carry-on is the jewelry, a book and snacks for the plane, and my pillow that smushes down to nothing. About 12 lbs. total. I have been carrying lots more than that around on my hips for years!

I put all necessary phone numbers, Italian cell numbers and contacts in Italy into my journal. That stays in my purse.

I made a green necklace out of freshwater pearls I've had for a year.

Brad renewed his International Driver's License.

I checked our passports and put them in my travel purse. They don't expire until 2011. I am SURE!

I got a spare pair of sunglasses. At home I only wear them on my raft in the pool, or when I drive with my convertible top down. I always take sunglasses on trips.
They match my sundress, and countless other black and white clothes.

Brad's new toy, a Garmin Nuvi 670 GPS (with Europe maps) arrived yesterday. Tonight he can unpack it and play with it.

Next week, I have clients, get my nails done, and call the credit card companies.

I think I'll go re-check my flights.

I have a couple more photos of jewelry I made for the trip. Here are four-strands of brightly colored crystals twisted together:

This outfit (I bought the shirt/jacket in Asheville, N.C.) is what I had in mind:

If I eat my way through Italy, I may have to wear a lot of those elastic waist skirts! If that is the case, I can at least dress it up with this bag:

And while we're accessorizing the white, how about this bracelet and ring from my last trip to Capri? YES, I'd like to find some beads like these to make a necklace!!!

"My bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."
Friday morning we will be Firenze!

Today my tasks are to pick up the rental car, get my nails done, see three clients, and sleep for a few hours before we get up at 3 a.m. Thursday to leave for the airport.

I hope plan to blog from Italia, so stay tuned for the food, the sights, the gelato, the cappucino, the GTGs, the vino, and of course...a little shopping!

Whoo hoo! Soon I'll be blogging from:

It is Thursday at 2:20 a.m., and we are leaving for the Ontario, CA airport at 4:00 a.m. for our flight to Atlanta. I have been up since Wednesday at 5:30 a.m.. I'm too excited to sleep! I saw clients last night until 9, and Brad got home from work at 9:30, staying to get EVERYTHING done so he can relax on vacation. We shared a sandwich for dinner, closed the luggage, and then I HAD to watch Top Chef! At 11, I played with the dog, who was glaring at the luggage.

Now I am drinking coffee...DUH, and because Brad has to drive the 1.5 hours to the airport, he is in the middle of a 2 hour nap. I was tired four hours ago... but now I am hyped up and ready to roll. I'm also on page 224 of the book I saved to read on the plane. If I can stay awake until Atlanta, I won't be needing that Tylenol PM in my purse for the flight to Rome!

In 10 minutes, I will wake Brad and jump in the shower. I can hear Italian music in my head. I will have gelato in the next 24 hours. I can't wait to hear the voice of our new GPS speaking Italian.

It's now 3:38, and the luggage is in the rental car! The 2 big bags are our clothes. The small suitcase and red duffel are filled with suprises (60 lbs of them) for my Italian Slow Travel friends! The other red bag is my carry-on, weighing in at 15.5 lbs. That's jewelry, my pillow, a book and some snacks. Brad's computer bag didn't make the photo! Travel light? One bag less than last year, and those two will be empty soon, so I might not have to hit Mail Boxes Etc. in Panzano!

Ok, time to put the laptop in Brad's bag, and we're OFF and even ahead of schedule!

ARE WE THERE YET???

We had long , easy flights with lots of sleep on the planes. We arrived in Firenze on Friday afternoon, after driving from Rome. Our Hotel Burchianti is charming and our room has a lovely frescoed ceiling full of fat cherubs eating grapes.

Our first evening, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Il Cibreo. We began with a glass of Prosecco and they brought complementary appetizers of a savory ricotta pudding and crostini with pate. Then bread, caponata, roasted peppers, a tomato aspic and zucchini arrived. The waiter pulls a chair up to your table and proceeds to explain choices for the first two courses. For our primi piatti, Brad had a lovely polenta with butter and shaved parmesano, and I had potato-ricotta flan with fresh basil pesto on the side. My challenge will be for Diva to get me that recipe. OMG! It was to die for, so light and delicious! The pesto was so light, it was almost like a basil mousse!

For our entrees, I had vitello tonato with a glass of Trebbio and Brad had squab with a Chianti Classico. We passed on dolci, but were brought a piece of complementary flourless chocolate cake.

We walked to Vivoli for gelato....yes it was fabulous. Brad tried cafe-ciocolato and stracchiatella, while I had crema and amaretto. YUM! One more cappucino and we were asleep by 1:00. A Perfect first night's dinner!

I had a fabulous day of shopping in Firenze, which I will blog about later. The point of THIS story, is that , unfortunately, I arrived in Florence with a blister on my bunion. After walking and shopping from 8 a.m. through the Mercato Centrale, San Lorenzo, down Via Proconsolo, around the Palazzo Vecchio, a stop for lunch, Santa Croce neighborhood, and ending up at Santo Spirito, my feet could go no more. This was a fabulous accident, or just fate. We walked to a taxi stand. There were no taxis for several minutes. Finally along came a strange looking vehicle... a white station wagon, decorated with bright stickers, decals, and plush flowers. The inside was even more "decorated" with floor mats that looked like black & white checkered tile, TONS of stuffed animals, and baskets of lollipops. The driver was an attractive woman wearing a large hat, covered in flowers.

She was quite a character, and at first I thought she was a harmless eccentric "nutcase". She talked about how the world needed more love, and didn't have a clue where our hotel was. We directed her along the way, as she talked about how people should worry less about money, and concentrate more on love. Then she explained that her husband had died of cancer six years ago. This had been his taxi. Then her close friend lost a child, Tommasino, to cancer. SHe now uses her cab to transport cancer patients for free, and to take children with cancer for rides. In the back seat we saw photos of her with Paul Newman and other celebs. She has established a foundation in Tommasino's name.

By the time we got her to our hotel, she was my new best friend. Brad tipped her triple our fare, and I was in tears when we got out. She posed for this photo, Her tearful and heartfelt message was to make the most of every day and to share love with others. I was GRATEFUL that my blister prevented us from walking back to the hotel, or we would not have met this amazing woman. (My foot did NOT hurt later at dinner!)

Sunday, July 1

I got up at 7, caffeinated, and we spent an hour at the Internet spot across from our hotel. Then we had another latte and a cornetto at the corner caffe, and I read while Brad went out in search of new reading glasses, after losing his yesterday (now a tradition in Italy). He returned quickly with two new very attractive pair of cheaters. While I sat in the caffe, I had a lovely surprise of a “Welcome to Italy” phone call from Slow Travel friend, Jane in Greve.

We walked to the Furla store looking for a white handbag. Eureka! After our VERY patient sales girls brought out at least a dozen bags, I ended up buying two purses, a necklace, earrings, a fun watch, and a pair of flip-flops with dangling heart charms (hoping these might accommodate my festering blister). We still had an hour before our 1:00 lunch reservation, so we PAINFULLY walked to the Arno in search of a cold drink. My blister on my bunion is now purple, the size of a grape, and ripe to burst. Brad seems to have a theory, that I walk just FINE with a little vino. We sat at Harry’s Bar, and I found comfort in a glass of prosecco, while Brad enjoyed a beer.

Lunch at I Latini was a fun experience. We started with racioli and penne with meat sauce. Our secondi were a delicious roast pork with delicately fried zucchini blossoms. When I began speaking Italian to our waiter, we received a more attentive level of service, and all of our food was great. We had a bottle of wine from Sardenia, and I bought Brad a cigar ashtray with a rendition of the restaurant in the center. We took a short rest after lunch.

At 4:00. We got our car from the garage, and drove to the Oltrarno to pick up Sheri and Joe for our ride to Fiesole. The GPS got us to Piazza Carmine, and then to the glorious Villa San Michele. As we drove up, the driveway was lined with Bentleys, Porsches, Ferraris and top of the line BMWs. The façade of this 15th centuray monastery was designed by Michaelangelo. We entered the lobby, and to get to the bar, walked up onto an altar, then turned through a portal leading to the monastary’s dining room, and out to a stunning loggia overlooking Florence in the distance. I explored the grounds with terraced gardens bursting with flowers.

We parked ourselves on this terrace for the next 2.5 hours, where the ladies enjoyed prosecco, and later, coffee, and the guys had a beer, and our driver, Brad, switched to Coke Light. We had the lovliest SLOW conversations in this gorgeous and relaxed setting.

We returned to Florence at 8:00 and went to see Sheri and Joe’s large apt. at Residenza Il Carmine, and then returned to our hotel. Brad was great at navigating traffic in Florence, and only ran one red light that we know of. We had a quick snack of a proscuitto and fontina foccace and walked to the nearest gelato shop. I had a scoop of dolce latte, and Brad had “Mr. Nico” (peanut and chocolate). We were asleep by 11:00.

Ok, I was BAD, but then we knew I would do a little damage in Florence.
Here are my scrapbook, 2 Furla purses, some beads, jewelry, a watch, placecards and a shawl.

NOT pictured are 8 Christmas gifts which must remain nameless, as my friends read this blog! Also not pictured are a beautifully wrapped necklace, and another silk shawl, and my flip-flops!

The leather I bought from "Stella" (Diva's friends) is hard to describe. I bought a beautiful black suede shawl with a lacy cutwork design and a shirt-jacket (lightweight for the desert) out of the same fabric. This photo doesn't do them justice, but you'll get the idea...

Finally, after collecting Italy charms for three trips...here is a bracelet for them!

July 2, 2007

We had a lazy morning, beginning at 8 a.m. when we picked up a few gifts at the San Lorenzo Market, stopped at the Internet spot, and lingered over a couple of lattes. We got our car, and picked up my bracelet with the charms I brought from home attatched, and headed to Pisa. As soon as we got on the autostrada, we came to a stop. Italians got out of their cars, pacing the highway and smoking cigarettes. We read our books in the car...for 40 minutes! We let Gloria know it would be a LATE lunch. When we got going, Brad made up for lost time by driving like a bat...well you know. We arrived at Gloria's apartment a little after 2 for an Italian late lunch. What a delight to finally meet Gloria and her charming fiance, Marcel!

We spent a lovely couple of hours enjoying gnocchi and risotto in the University area where Gloria works. It is SO lovely to meet Slow Travel friends in person. Gloria was enthusiastic about the U.S. Bridal magazines I brought her, as she and Marcel are planning to wed next June. They make a terrific couple!

We drove back to Florence, and the GPS is working well for us! I had my last Florence shopping fix on the way to dinner, buying a shawl and necklace and two gifts in a lovely shop on the way to the Oltrarno.

Our dinner at Osteria Chingale Bianco was fabulous! I will do a separate blog with photos later, as now we are ready to leave Firenze!

We walked to the Oltrarno from our hotel near San Lorenzo, and found the restaurant busy with wonderful scents coming from within. We began our “Last Night in Firenze Dinner” with strozzapretti for me, and spagettini with a delicious pesto for Brad. We had a great Pinot Grigio, and I asked the chef for the recipe: cooked spinach (pureed), ricotta, eggs, parmigano, then rolled in flour and boiled for 5 minutes. Does that sound correct, Diva? These were served in a butter sauce with a splash of cream if my taste buds are accurate. They MELTED in your mouth!!!

For our secondi, Brad had chingale with polenta, and I had a grilled veal chop. We shared a panna cotta with ciocolato on Brad’s half. This was a terrific food memory for our last dinner in Firenze!

We packed, loaded the car and left Florence about 11 a.m.. We spent about three hours in San Gimignano. The first order of business, was stashing our luggage, as we had one large piece that didn’t fit in the packed trunk. We drove up to the Hotel Antico Poggio, and luckily, I remembered the clerk, Elisabetta (and she remembered me from last May), who graciously stored our bag for a few hours. It was like “old home week”, as next I popped into a tiny shop where I had purchased a gazillion pashminas last year. Sylvia, greeted me with “ Palma, Palma from California!!!”

We stopped for coffe and gelato, and then I did a laser strike through town. In about an hour, I purchased two purses, two gifts, three pieces of jewelry, Ida’s birthday present (we will see her Thursday in Montalcino), and the big ticket item…

This year, at our favorite ceramic shop in town, we bought two large jars to use as planters on either side of our pool.

On to Montalcino!

We arrived in Montalcino, checked into Albergo Il Giglio, and got all our luggage up to the second floor without an elevator. Our room has a fabulous view from our window. We parked ourselves at Caffe Fiaschetteria Italiana and relaxed in the piazza with a latte and vino, people-watching for a couple of hours. I visited a couple of shopkeepers I know (Massimo from the linen store, and mi amica at La Bottrguccia). I bought an Etro necklace, and a pair of sandals that fit over my now HUGE blister pad. (No more pain, as it has popped twice and been lanced by Dr. Brad once!)

We freshened up for dinner, and had a wonderful meal at Grappolo Blu. I started with pinci with ragu, and Brad enjoyed an unusual sardine appetizer with pesto bruschetta and garbanzo beans.

For secondi, I had the delicious formaggio with miele, and Brad had coniglio stewed in Brunello. We finished a bottle of Vernaccia, and were too full for dessert. Brad bought some wonderful surprise gifts, (which must remain a secret)!

We walked to Kaffina, an internet caffe, but could not hook up our Mac to their wi-fi.

I woke at 5:30 to a pink sunrise out our window, and the sound of roosters crowing. By 6:00, I decided to go out for a walk. The streets were deserted, and I enjoyed a stroll around town... even before caffiene. This must have been more Italian magic, as usually I can't even dress myself, let alone form words or phrases before coffee. Montalcino was mine until I saw one adorable stooped old gentleman with his dog, and uttered a "Buon Giorno". I walked a few blocks, then headed back to the piazza to watch morning life unfold.

Wonderful scents of bread and fresh pastry came from the pasticcieria. Two women set up the newsstand. Others washed floors in the two still-closed caffes on Piazza Popolo. The garbage trucks came by at 6:50, followed by the street cleaner woman, and another girl with a broom. Fresh pastry was delivered to Alle Logge di Piazza at 6:55. Two more locals walked their dogs.

At 7:00 sharp, two carbinieri pulled up to the caffe for a quick espresso, and my prayer for a latte was answered. The caffe was now aperto! I felt like I had stepped into Isabella Dusi's, "Vanilla Beans and Brodo". By 7:30, I had scarffed down a big latte and a still-warm donut-like pastry. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the earlier breeze had died down. There were others in the caffe, and the flower shop opened. Men and women chatted on the street. Oh yes, I could do this every morning!

I returned at 8:00 and met Brad in the Giglio's breakfast room for more coffee, while he ate a torta di mele in honor of the 4th of July. Then I began the frustrating search for a gift I had made for Jane, and several other Slow Travel friends. The small package was nowhere in our luggage. Either it is still somewhere at home, or it was taken from our luggage during the TSA airport inspection. I'm hoping it will turn up in Palm Desert!

We left Montalcino for our short drive to meet Jane, Ken and Casey in Buonconvento. They greeted us a few minutes before noon at the designated bar across from the train station. We hugged like old friends, though it was our first meeting. Casey was pleased with his stash of Skittles candy.We parked near a portal of this flat, walled town, and Jane said they hoped to find a watch for Casey's birthday tomorrow. My radar said, "The shopping street should be that way"... and it was. In 50 yards I pointed to a jewelry shop with a SWATCH sign in the window, and Casey made his selection. Jane laughed that I found the right shop in less than three minutes.

We entered the Museo d' Arte Sacra and wandered through three floors of Madonna icons. We enjoyed the brief cultural experience, and were quite impressed with Casey's knowledge of sacred art.

After our brief tour of tiny Buonconvento, we went to the restaurant, I Poggioli for pranzo. Brad and I enjoyed our meal of pici con cacio e pepe, and shared order of grilled salsiccia, but the company and conversation were even better.

We stayed so long, talking, that the restaurant was closing, and finally asked us to leave. We will be able to get together again with Jane's family at the Umbria GTG, and again in Greve.

Before heading back to Montalcino, we took a drive to the charming village of Bagno Vignoni and strolled around the central bath. It was a perfect and easy short side-trip on our way home.

When we returned to the hotel, a nap was just what we needed. I slept like the dead for over two hours with a nice breeze blowing in our window. We sat in the piazza to revive me with a latte, and later wine. We enjoyed that spot for over two hours!

We wandered back to the hotel for antipasti in Il Giglio's restaurant, then some wine, a pot of coffee for me, and grappa for Brad. It has a been a lovely and relaxing day... with no additional shopping bags in our room!

Another picture postcard day in the Val d' orcia!
After coffee, Brad and I took a walk through the various contradas of Montalcino. Some of those streets are pretty steep, but we enjoyed the quiet, pretty residential neighborhoods, some with gardens, and many with flowers by their entries.

Ida and Bill arrived around noon, and after they checked in, we drove to Pienza. We gave them the "nickle tour" of Pienza, and were sitting at Latte di Luna for lunch. After ordering, I got up to walk from our table on the terrace to an area just outside the restaurant to have a smoke, when two women stopped me. One said, "Excuse me, are you on SLOW TRAVEL?" It seems they are "lurkers" from England, and visiting southern Tuscany for 2 weeks. They recognized me! I am a famous Slow Traveler!
Their names are Helen and Kate from London! We chatted about Italy travel, and I encouraged them to become more active ST members. You just never know who reads a blog!!!

For lunch, Brad and I shared pici in ragu, and I had maile arosto, while he had duck with olives. We bought some pecorino, and drove 5K to visit L'Olmo, where we have stayed in the past. We continued our lovely drive toward Sinalunga, and spent a couple of hours at Locanda dell' Amorosa. We wandered the grounds and had drinks in their "piazza".

Our final stop on the drive was the tiny town of Montisi. This was quite a pleasant surprise. Montisi is a compact town wrapped around a central castello. Only 5 K from Pienza, it has not yet been dicovered by many tourists, and maintains the feel of a "real" hilltown. Brad and I will be joining Gail and John, for a week in May 2008 with http://www.gailsgreatescapes.com/. Also joining us that week will be other Slow Travel friends: Sandi and her sister, and Jerry and Paul. We thought we'd get a "sneak preview" of the town. Gail suggested we contact her friend, Elizabeth Cochrane, an accomplished artist who lives in Montisi http://www.elizabethcochrane.com/. We called Liz, and she invited us to her home and studio. What a treat to see where Liz's gorgeous watercolor and oils are painted. She has an amazing talent for capturing light and shadows, and her scenes of Montisi, olive and cypress trees, the Tuscan counrtyside, and florals are stunning.
Liz also teaches group and individual art classes.

After visiting Liz's studio, we walked through town. She knew the group that was currently renting the villa Gail's groups will be staying in. The front door was open, so she asked if she could show us the house. The families from Seattle were most gracious, and allowed us to wander through the beautiful villa while they were preparing dinner. It is spectacular! The garden, terraces, pool and views are even better! I now will have even more to fantasize about for our May trip!

Next, we walked through town to the Rondo Bar and had wine and antipasti on the terrace. We had platters of four salamui, formaggio, and bruschetta. Later, we moved indoors for pizza, and coffee before driving back to Montalcino for the evening.

Tonight I will sleep well, dreaming of just what scene I'd like to comission Liz to paint. Every view of the Val d' Orcia is so gorgeous, how does one choose?

I was downstairs by 6:30 after a great night’s sleep. I had a pot of coffee before Ida came down and we headed ro my caffe for another couple of lattes and a stroll through town. We relaxed, and read and I caught up on my journal.

We went to Il Grifo for a light lunch, saving ourselves for tonight’s big dinner. I had a plate of pecorino with pears and a glass of Banfi chardonnay. After lunch, we drove to Castello Banfi for wine tasting. Ida and I sampled three whites: Chardonnay, Savignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio…still my favorite. The boys sampled Brunello, Rosso di Montalcino, and some super Tuscans. We bought 12 assorted bottles, including some Dolcetto and Brachetto di Acqui.

From there we took a white road shortcut to Saint Antimo. It was Ida’s first experience on a white road. She was freaked out and sure something would happen and we would “never be found”. Though it was my third visit to Saint Antimo, there is SUCH a magical quality to the place…such awesome silence, that it always moves me to tears. Lavender was in bloom, and it was a beautiful warm day.

We returned to Montalcino and took a lovely 2 hour nap before getting ready for dinner. We met Ida and Bill downstairs and exchanged birthday gifts. Ida gave me a gold purse charm for my bracelet and a lovely bronze charm. She loved her ceramic fruit bowl for her house in Vico.

We drove to dinner at the beautiful Poggio Antico. The entry is an impressive cypress-lined driveway.

We were seated on the stunning terrace and offered an appertivo and a complementary mini caprese salad. This is the loveliest terrace with cypress trees, candles on the tables with lovely linens, lemon print cushions, and a HUGE fig tree.

We shared an antipasto plate of proscuitto, soprasotta, and culatello di Zibello. My primi was pici in a white lamb ragu. Brad had a wonderful porcini risotto. We both had grilled lamb chops in a delicious Brunello reduction sauce. We enjoyed 2 bottles of Roero Arneis and Brad had a marscpone-caffe gelato for dolci. We lingered with our wine and coffee until 11:00. It was a lovely, peaceful day with a luscious dinner.

We packed, had coffee with Bill and Ida, and I caught up my blog with yesterday’s photos. We left a little after Ida and Bill, and set off for Umbria, passing beautiful scenery along the way. We drove past Perugia, with Silvanna’s good directions, and the closer we got to Le Case Gialle, the more sunflower fields we saw.

We arrived at Case Gialle at noon, hoping to just drop off our large bag from the back seat, but our apartment was ready. We received a warm greeting and instructions from Silvanna. We unloaded the car, settled in, and walked around the property. The view of Montefalco from our large terrace is stunning. The apartment is large, with a well-stocked kitchen, bedroom with the same view, and a huge terrace with door to either the kitchen or bedroom.

By 1:00, we were starving, so we drove to Bevagna in search of lunch. We arrived at Occtavio at 1:45, their last customers for pranzo. Brad ordered gnocchi Sagrantino, and I had a delicious picchiatelli with guanciale and pecorino.

After lunch we walked through the sweet little town of Bevagna. There were charming little streets with multiple arches overhead that appear to keep the buildings on either side from leaning in toward each other. We walked through the whole town after getting a map from the tourist office. Bevagna has an ancient Roman theater, and several charming piazzas.

From Bevagna, we drove 10K to Foligno in search of a supermarket. This was Brad’s first experience in an Italian grocery store, so he learned how to get the grocery cart for a Euro, choose his loaf of fresh bread, and bag his groceries. We were next in line at he cashier, when a tiny, ancient lady came up behind us with only a few items. I told her to go ahead of us. She thanked us and proceeded to speak rapidly in Italian for the neck several minutes while I kept smiling and nodding. I understood about 75% of what she said. When Brad asked me what she said, I translated: “I live alone now, so I don’t need much and I don’t cook much, but I like my fresh bread, but I don’t make it any more. My husband of 65 years died, and I am 93 years old.”

She asked me how long we had been in Italy. I told her we had been here one week so far, and we were staying another two weeks in Italy. I said we come every year, but this was only our second visit to Umbria, and our first day in Foligno. I told her we lived in California, and she complimented my Italian. Then she frowned and asked, “How do you like living in THAT place?” I said it was pretty and warm where we lived, but I hadn’t gotten her meaning. She said, “No, I don’t mean what does it look like. I mean do you like to live where your country does so many bad things in the world?” I was at a loss for words, and not fluent enough in Italian, so all I could think of to say was, “Mi dispiace.” By then she had paid for her food, and Brad was bagging her groceries for her. When she had all of her things, she came back to say good-by to us and wish us well. I wish I had taken her picture.

We came back to our apartment (HOME on the GPS), and unloaded our bread, cold cuts, cheese, coffee, milk, water, soda and snacks. We took a nice nap, then enjoyed our usual early evening wine and coffee on our beautiful terrace. We weren’t very hungry, so we had a snack of a slice of bread with gorgonzola dolce and salumi with wine for dinner. We sat quietly looking at he lights of Montefalco in the distance, and read our books until 11:00.

I was up at 6 and on the terrace with a pot of coffee at 6:10… DEFINITELY an advantage of a vacation rental! I enjoyed the golden morning light and sounds of roosters. At 7:40, Mauro brought a loaf of bread, and I got Brad up at 8:00 for our breakfast of fresh bread, slathered with butter and Silvanna’s honey and jam. After a second pot of coffee, we headed through the countryside, taking backroads to Assisi. We passed dozens of sunflower fields, and soon we could see the majestic cathedral of San Francisco on the hill in the distance.

Our last visit to Assisi was on a gray, rainy day, where it was difficult to navigate the steep, wet streets; but today the sun was warm, and the flower boxes were blooming. We parked at Piazza Matteotti, and walked through town, up and down the pretty streets with flowered porches, shops, and a stop for coffee. Along the route, I bought black sandals that I thought might work with my blister (MUCH better…now down to a bandaid). I also found the very nice jewelry shop in town, where I bought a gold charm of Assisi, and a beautiful silver and enameled pendant. We took many photos of the view from San Francisco, and went back to Pallotta at the main piazza for lunch.

For pranzo, Brad had Stragozzi a la Pallotta, (spaghetti in an olive and mushroom sauce), and I had ravioli con spinachi e ricotta in burro e salvia. We both had vitello al limone for our secondi. We had no room for dessert, so we had coffee at an caffé with Wi-fi, where I could blog.

Brad went to pay for our parking. The total was 7 Euro, and Brad gave him a 10E bill. He got a few coins back for change, and told me on the way to the car, he thought he had been stiffed 10 Euro. I said, “Let’s go back!” We walked up to the guy. He looked at us with an almost defiant look until I began speaking angrily in Italian. It only took three words: “ Allora, mio marito…” He sheepishly pulled out a 10 Euro bill. I glared and said, “Non e justo!”

We returned home at 6:30, read on the terrace, snacked on nuts, wine, and coffee, and skipped dinner. We were asleep by 11:00

Another early morning with coffee by 6:30, and a wonderful breeze to read on our terrace. Mauro brought bread (it is piling up…now there are three loaves) at 7:45, though we are not big breakfast eaters, so we will save it for later. At 9:00, we were at the stalls in Montefalco for market day. On the way, we stopped in someone’s driveway for more sunflower photos.

At the market, I bought 2 tops for 12 Euro. The guy started at 10 Euro each, but after a little bargaining in Italian, I was pleased with my purchase. We’ll see if they disintegrate when washed! We walked toward the main piazza, where I bought a linen table runner, napkins, and a pretty cosmetic case.. Then we hung out at the busy caffe watching market day life in Montefalco. We also bought a car charger for our Italian cell phone that I keep forgetting to charge. The computer, I-pod, and camera seem to get top priority.

I stopped in a ceramic shop, Il Girasole, and knew I was “in trouble”. First I bought a rectangular platter with sunflowers, then a large floral salad or pasta bowl, and a platter with pumpkins and zucchini flowers. Brad went outside to read on the steps. Then I saw matching plates to the pumpkin pattern, so I bought 4 dinner and four salad plates (all to be shipped home). Brad patiently waited outside. At one point her came back to see what was taking so long. He got a little scared when he saw all kinds of bowls, chargers, and other items all over the counter.

We stopped outside the walls to buy an Italian travel hairdryer (our first experience in a vacation rental), and a few necessities we forgot to get yesterday, like toilet paper and dish soap.

On the way back to our little house, Saint Brad asked why I only bought four placesettings of piatti. He suggested that I should get more to use at another table for our October Slow Travel GTG! I will call her back! We had a great lunch of this morning’s bread, salami, and pecorino from Pienza. It was time for a nap.

At 4:30, we woke up, made a pot of coffee, revived, showered, and we set off for the Perugia Jazz Festival. Two years ago I was was “traumatized” by the eleven flights of escalators from the parking lot to the top of the town. I get terribly dizzy on escalators, and avoid them everywhere. On that trip, I had puffed up 10 flights of stairs, next to the escalators our friends were on, only to find that the eleveth flight HAD NO STAIRS, and I had to take the escalator. I had no choice (unless I walked back down and spent the day in the car while everyone else saw Perugia), so I got on shaking, and had “jello legs” for 15 minutes afterwards. I swore I wouldn’t retun to Perugia unless I took a taxi up and down.

We arrived at the parking structure at 6:20, and Brad’s concert started at 6:30. We finally got a taxi, and made it to the piazza for Brad’s concert by 6:45. The California State University, Hayward jazz band played until 8:00. Brad was like a “Palma in a ceramic shop”. Brad asks very little of me on our trips, and lets me plan almost everything we do. He dutifully schleps all my purchases, gets me on wi-fi, keeps every appliance charged, and drops me off in steep hilltowns before parking, to save my feet. An evening in Perugia with jazz was the least I could do, and I even got a 5 minute stop in the Furla store for a black evening bag, when we stopped at a caffe next door.

For dinner, we ate at Il Baldo. Brad had stragozzi arrabiata, and I had penne vodka. We shared a veal cutlet for secondi. We walked along with hordes of jazz enthusiasts, through the streets of Perugia. There were several venues going on, and you coulkd hear the music all over town. We stopped for gelato and coffee before waiting 30 minutes for a taxi to take us back to the parking lot. We left Perugia a little after midnight, and drove back with some exciting lightening, arriving home around 1:00 a.m..

It was a little cooler this morning during my usual 6 a.m. coffee hour on the terrace. We left at 9:00 for Trevi, and arrived just as it began to sprinkle. We ducked into a bar, and waited out the summer shower with a latte and cornetto. In 30 minutes, the rain was done, and we explored the tiny town, high on a hill. The church, St. Augustino, was really lovely with a beautiful altar, and high domed ceiling. We wandered up and down the steep brick streets with much renovation going on. We decided to move on to Spello.

Spello was a charming, flower-filled town with beautiful houses, gardens, and a park in the center of town. There were many shops and caffes for tourists. We walked all over until 1:00, then found a restaurant for lunch. Both restaurants we had read good reviews of were closed, so we found Il Cacciciatori, with a gorgeous panoramic view from the flower pot filled terrace.

For lunch, we shared a plate of proscciutto and figs, I had tagliatelle with porcini, and Brad had agnliotti with basil and pomodoro. After coffee, we walked back to our car, and returned to Le Case Gialle. A nap from 4-6 revived us for an evening in Montefalco.

We had an apperitivo at the caffe, and a quick internet fix until 8:30. We walked down a sloping side street to the lovely Coccoroni for dinner. We sat outside on the garden terrace, and shared a plate of tagliatelle with ragu. The restaurant’s specialties are grilled meats from their large fireplace oven. Brad had lamb, and I had a perfectly cooked filetto. We had a side dish of grilled baby artichokes drizzled with olive oil, and panna cotta with caramel for dolci. We drank a bottle of Vin Tonda di Antonelli, and completed the feast with coffee. Our beautiful waitress, Isabella, was delightful. We returned home to sleep at 11:30.

I was up at 6, had coffee, showered, and we were on our way by 8 for another Umbrian adventure. We dropped of Brad’s laundry shortly after 8 in Montefalco, then headed to Marsciano, and up the hill to San Venzano to visit Barb and Art. They greeted us warmly with coffee and sweet cake, and showed us their lovely Italian home and garden.

After a nice visit, we followed them on a white road to a beautiful spot absolutely bursting with sunflower fields in all directions. We took LOTS of photos.

We would be returning to San Venanzo for dinner with Barb and Art, so we said good-by and drove lovely back roads to Todi. We followed Art’s great directions of exactly where to park, and took a finiculare up to town. We walked to the main piazza, then up and down the streets of town. I bought two pair of beaded sandals, and two bracelets.

We stopped at a wonderful two story walled fountain for coffee and a coke, then chose Le Palme for lunch on the terrace. Brad had strogetti with asparagus, guaniciale, and pomodoro; and I had a very delicious risotto with salsiccia and sage.

We left Todi around 3, and decided to spend the afternoon driving through tiny towns on back roads, and looking for more sunflower fields. We saw tiny towns, charming stone houses, and beautiful country estates. We began playing, “Let’s pick out our house in Umbria.” I chose 3 pretend houses, ranging from a tiny stone cottage to a sprawling gated compound with additional buildings for my friends. It was a fun fantasy, between finding the perfect sunflower field.

At 6, we returned to Barb and Art’s for a lovely dinner. We began with prosecco and bruschetta with pesto, and olive pate. Our next course was prosciutto with melon. Then Barb made a wonderful pasta dish with homemade pesto, sundried tomatoes, chicken, mushrooms, and hot red pepper. It was absolutely delicious, as were the “house wines”. We had coffee and dolci (brownies and whipped cream) in the garden and chatted until 9:00. On our way home, we missed a turn, so our return trip took a little longer than planned, but we made it back to Case Gialle, and were ready for bed shortly. It was a very enjoyable day with Slow Travel friends, good food, and lots of luscious Umbrian scenery.

We got another early start for our visit to meet Judith in Citta di Castello. It was about an hour drive where we passed by Foligno, Spello, Assisi, then north through new territory for us. We were parked and in Piazza Matteotti with a latte by 10 a.m.. It was market day, and the square was filled with many vendors. Judith arrived within five minutes, and we spent an hour chatting like old friends at the Bar Latin, with wicker sofas instead of chairs in front, and a wonderful clean bathroom.

Judith led us through the main shopping street, where I bought an evening bag, and we saw some lovely stores. Citta is a charming, and sophisticated town. We walked to a couple of Judith’s favorite restaurants, but both were unexpectedly closed, so we settled ourselves on the terrace of a small Osteria for lunch. Brad and I shared gnocchi with gorgonzola and rucola, then had a very tasty scallopini in green peppercorn sauce and some vino bianco. We sat and talked all afternoon, until the restaurant closed.

A little before 4:00, we followed Judith’s car to an industrial park area of town to have Brad measured for four custom tailored shirts. This was an interesting experience for Brad. The first step was to choose four fabrics…not his strong suite. Judith and I looked at cottons, silks and linens. She and I offered our suggestions, and favorite choices, but Brad had veto power. We all agreed on a peach stripe, an aqua to match Brad’s eyes, a bluish-purple he liked, and my favorite, a red stripe with contrasting white collar and cuffs. Brad chose two collar styles and was measured using a “sample shirt” as a guide for fitting. The whole process took about 40 minutes, and they will have the shirts ready in time for Judith to bring them to next week’s Slow Travel GTG. Brad was very pleased with the price of 70 Euro per custom shirt. We said good-bye to Judith, and followed her to the highway that would take us home.

Brad is an aggressive driver, and he enjoys driving in Italy…a little too much. He is skillful, but sometimes, he scares me. This trip has been better than most, and I don’t think I’ve screamed yet. This must be understood to appreciate the humor in the following exchange. On the way back, we passed many more sunflower fields, and were talking about how beautiful they were and how we have really lucked out with perfect weather in July. As we came around a curve, there was a small field that had passed it’s prime, and the sunflowers were dead. I said, “Oh, look at the droopy dead guys.” Brad, in a panic, said, “Where??? Did I hit them?” I laughed for the next 10 K, telling him it was his guilt speaking, and maybe he should slow down.

We returned to Montefalco, picked up Brad’s laundry, and settled in for a coke at our favorite bar. I returned to the ceramic shop and added more pumpkin plates to my order (six of each instead of four), and stocked up on bandaides, as my blister is still oozing through 2 a day. We sat and read our books until 8, when we walked to L’Alchimista for dinner. We had been looking forward to this restaurant all week.

We began with an antipasto of melted scamorza cheese with prosciutto on bread. For primi, I had strangozzi with saffron cheese, zucchini, and pancetta. Brad had polenta with gorgonzola and sausage. For secondi, I had a wonderful breaded pork chop, and Brad had filetto in Sagrantino. We were both so full that as we walked back to the car, we were laughing ourselves silly. We both really enjoyed today with Judith, the shirts, and great food!

Today, on our last full day in Umbria, we decided to revisit Orvieto. We really enjoyed a brief visit there in 2003, but wanted to explore the town with more time to wander.

On our way, we drove by another glorious sunflower field, and stopped for photos. We arrived in Orvieto a little before 10:00, and walked through town, stopping in shops along the way. We took a break for coffee and panna cotta gelato around 11:00.

I hit the ceramics shops, actually remembering where I had purchased items four years ago. Brad is always amazed at my shopping memory! I bought a large lasagna sized ceramic baking dish, and two gifts in one shop. The other major purchase was a large wall platter for our patio, with poppies and lemons. Since the house is full of ceramics, the cupboards are full of dishes, we are now decorating the back yard. That should get me through a few more trips to Italy! Brad gave me a clear “NO” when I looked at one of those large antipasti sets with a large central platter surrounded by six curved sections. I moved on as he RARELY says “No”, and he was enthusiastic about the other ceramic purchases. Don’t cross “Il bello marito” who schleps bags, and then makes it all fit in the luggage! My last purchase of the day were darling gifts for our two grand Godchildren.

We visited the beautiful Duomo, saw Marlena Di Blasi’s palazzo, and walked across town to Il Volpe e L’Uva for lunch. I had some very simple ravioli with olive oil and lemon, and Brad had orchiette with pepper and pecorino. We both shared grilled pork with balsamico for our secondi. We walked off most of our food coma getting back to the car, and were home for a nap by 5:00. We enjoyed a relaxing evening at our casa gialla with the last of our cold cuts and bread for an evening snack. Brad did some repacking to condense many of my purchases. Domani…Cortona!

We really enjoyed our week in the Umbrian countryside. Our little yellow house was quiet and private. The scenery was spectacular, and we loved the hilltowns, especially Montefalco. I think we are both ready to be back in a town with piazzas, people, caffes and walking to dinner. Brad loaded everything into the car, and I straightened up the kitchen and emptied the refrigerator. We certainly have accumulated a lot in the last two weeks. Our trunk AND backseat are now full! We said good-bye to Silvana and Mauro, and by 9:30, we were on our way to Cortona.

We easily found our hotel, Villa Marsili, as we drove into town, and it was a wonderful surprise. Though we arrived before 11:00, our gorgeous room was ready, and we were able to check in. All our bags were brought up, there was an elevator, and parking. We were back in the lap of luxury! Outside, there is an impressive gate, a garden and a pergola with tables for morning coffee or evening prosecco. The lobby and breakfast room are lovely, and our room is a very large corner one with a huge bathroom, large shower with great water pressure, and three windows of stunning views. We can see sunflower fields and Lake Trasimeno in one direction, and the edge of town in another. It is about two steep blocks to town, and soon we were wandering through Saturday’s market.

We popped in to Il Girasole to see Alessandra, then found the porchetta truck and bought sandwiches. We settled in at a caffe for cold drinks and and our panini, then found room for gelato. By 2:00, we were ready for a nap. I snoozed for an hour, then had an hour on Wi-fi to catch up my blogs from the week.

We showered, dressed for dinner, and came down to the garden, where we were served cocktails or juice, and a variety of antipasti were spread out for the hotel guests. Since we had a late dinner reservation at Bucaccia, we walked back to twon at 8:30 for a drink before dinner.

Bucaccia was a charming Tuscan style restaurant with lots of brick arches, wine bottles, and different levels for dining. It is owned and staffed by Romero, quite a jolly character, and his whole family. Much to our surprise, the “wine steward” was his eight year old daughter, Francesca. She arrived with our bottle and a corkscrew, asking Brad to hold the bottle for her while she expertly opened it and poured a taste.

We shared tortelloni with prosciutto and “sheep cheese” as our primi. Brad had a wonderful roast pork, “cinta di Senese”. I had a filetto Muffata with more “sheep cheese”, a house specialty. We finished a bottle of Terre di Tufi, and returned to Piazza Republica at midnight.

We were amazed at the number of people in the streets at that hour. It was difficult to get a seat at a caffe, and TONS of people were gathered or walking through the piazza from all directions. We had coffee, and Brad sipped a grappa as we watched families, teenagers, couples and groups of all ages, meeting and greeting each other. We began our walk home at 1:00 a.m., and it was still crowded. Quite a hoppin’ Saturday night in Cortona!

We had just what we needed…a lazy Sunday in Cortona. I slept until 7, threw on clothes, and went down for coffee in the garden with a book. It may sound like we've been going nonstop, but I have read five books since we’ve been here. Brad emerged a little before 9, and we enjoyed the hotel’s wonderful breakfast buffet. We haven’t seen a hotel breakfast like this since we were in Bologna last year, and Jerry, you can’t count Diana’s, because that qualifies as pranzo!!!

There were five kinds of cheese, ham, salami and prosciutto, pate, cereals yogurt, eggs, all kinds of breads, rolls, cornetti, pasteries, and cakes, an assortment of fruits (even watermelon), nutella, jams, and five kinds of juice! We are NOT big breakfast eaters, but it WAS a lovely spread. I had a roll with salami, a piece of cheese, and a bite of almond pastry with two POTS of coffee and steamed milk!

We sat in the garden after breakfast, and read our books, then told Giulia, a lovely young woman at the hotel (who may visit us this fall when she goes to see her friend in Las Vegas), and the hotel manager ALL about Slow Travel. He immediately took out a classified ad and began browsing the site.

We wandered into town and enjoyed Sunday around the piazza, stopping at a caffe for a coke. I bought a red linen shirt at one of my favorite shops. We decided to have our main meal for pranzo, and were seated in the vaulted brick dining room of La Grotta, a pretty trattoria. I had a delicious “mezzaluna”, half-moon shaped pasta atuffed with gorgonzola and pears in a butter sauce. Brad had tagliatelle with duck sauce. Our entrees were grilled lamb and veal in limone. After stuffing ourselves, we returned to Villa Marsili for an afternoon nap and some blogging.

We had prosecco during the hotel’s “Happy Hour”, then returned to town. As we were approaching the Piazza Republica, we heard three woman yell, “Palm Springs!” One of the women recognized me from buying a piece of her jewelry at home (before I started making my own). We chatted with the three women, who with their husbands, are staying in a villa near Lake Trasimeno. We ended up passing out more Slow Travel cards.

We planted ourselves in our caffe, and watched the world go by for the next three hours until 11:00. During that time, I consumed two lattes, and two scoops of gelato. Brad had Bitter Campari, a bottle of water, two scoops of gelato, a caffe Americano, and a grappa.

I think we needed the easy, lazy day!

We went to breakfast after waking, well-rested, a little after 7:00. I then had my large pot of coffee and milk in the garden. Brad and I set out for the white roads, just outside town, where we have been looking at bright yellow fields of sunflowers from our hotel room window. First, I admit, we did a very touristy thing…we went to see Bramasole, from “Under the Tuscan Sun”. It is easy to see why Frances fell in love with the property, and had a vision to restore it. Though she no longer lives there, it is quite a lovely spot.

“Girasole”, the Italian word for sunflower is such a lovely word, and they truly turn their pretty faces to the sun. Standing in a field surrounded by big yellow jewels in a sea of green, can’t help but make you happy! (I don’t recommend this to anyone who is afraid of bees, as each flower has a couple feasting on their pollen.) We took more photos, and when we returned to the car, Brad had a perfectly round yellow imprint on the back of his green shirt.

After our drive through the sunflowers, we returned to Cortona for some shopping. I’ve been pretty well-behaved over the weekend. I bought green sandals and an unusual pendant from Alessandra at Il Girasole. The design is made of petals, leaves and twigs, topped with resin, set in silver.

We stopped for pizza in the piazza, and talked about how enjoyable our visit to Cortona has been. I have been here twice before, always on daytrips from southern Tuscany, but Cortona’s piazzas a most wonderful at night. We expected more tourists, but found the caffes filled with more Italians and a few other Europeans. It is definitely worth staying for a few days, with enough good restaurants and shops and a wonderful Etruscan museum.

We returned to our hotel for a rest and shower. It was in the mid 90’s today. At 6:00, we returned to the main street to the Busatti linen shop. This wonderful line of woven fabrics has been around since 1842. I found a fabric I liked to have a bedspread made for our master bedroom, and wanted to show it to Brad. He was as enthusiastic as a man can be about a coverlet, so I ordered it with three pillow shams. We then went to our caffe for a glass of vine.

At 8:00, we met Alessandra for a very special dinner at Osteria del Teatro. We began with two orders of the fabulous cheese fondue with truffles, cleaning both plates. Then we had three different pastas, and shared each of them: pici with a tomato-garlic sauce, tortelloni with noci pesto, and ravioli with cheese and pears. All were delicious! We had just enough room left for dessert. Alex and I had marscapone charlotte with chocolate sauce, and Brad had a warm pear drenched in chocolate. Over the fours hours we lingered talking nonstop, we finished two bottles of an Avignonese Sauvignon Blanc. The food and setting were great, but we especially enjoyed Alessandra’s warmth, humor, lively wit and openness. We laughed, and talked until midnight, when after a short walk, we said good-bye until our next visit to Cortona. What a lovely last evening we had in this beautiful town on the hill!

After only five hours of sleep, as we went to bed very late last night, we had coffee, breakfast, and our bags were brought down to the car. Villa Marsili really has been a gem of a hotel. The spacious room and bathroom, fabulous breakfast, easy walk to town, great water pressure in the “high enough for me” shower, and a staff of wonderful people. Stefano, Mirko, and Giulia help us with every possible question, and were delightful just to chat with. We were a little sad to leave them, but were invited to stop by for a coffee of appertivo, whenever we are next in Cortona (and they are now following my blog)!

By 11:30 we arrived at the beautiful Villa Le Barone, just outside of Panzano. It is like an old country manor house, with beautiful grounds and a restaurant. The Villa was a former watch tower in the Middle Ages, then was converted to a farm (fattoria) during the Renaissance when it became the property of the Della Robbia family. It has been a guest house for 30 years.

When I made our reservation, I decided I’d splurge on a superior room for our last few days. We were told that we were in Room 10, so we followed the young woman in a yellow maid’s uniform up two flights of stone steps. There was a sitting room with a HUGE vase of sunflowers, and three guest rooms leading off of it. Then she unlocked an arched wooden door that led to a hallway with a tiny wood circular staircase. Now I’m picturing the two 50+ lb. 28” bags getting up here, that are waiting in the car. I could barely clear the steps with just my purse. Brad was right behind me with the Slow Travel tote bag carrying the GPS and our books and camera. The maid is chatting to me in Italian about how beautiful this room is, and I’m telling her we have a lot of luggage. We are smiling at her as we puff up the stops behind her while mumbling “Oh my God!”, and “Oh sh__!” In addition to our two large bags, there are now four smaller bags and two boxes of wine (That’s if we leave one packed suitcase and a HUGE Furla shopping bag in the trunk). Just shoot me now. Did I mention it was 98 degrees?

OK, the room was stunning, with a “crown of blue and yellow fabric” over the bed, a writing desk that I could easily seat 8 people at for dinner , two big blue and yellow easy chairs, a huge armoire, dresser, ancient tapestries hanging from the walls, and a high vaulted brick and beam ceiling. It really is charming…once you get up here. There is a lovely view from three huge arched windows, air conditioning, and a vase of fresh roses from the rose garden. How could we trade all this in? A healthy tip later, and all the bags were in the room, while Brad and I gulped down a bottle of cold water. We were spoiled at Villa Marsili with space luxury AND a refrigerator for the cheese and sodas, but this would work. I only feared a nighttime bathroom run, as you have to go a couple of those weird steps back down the hallway to the sloped ceiling curved bathroom tucked into the stairwell. We had a coke in the garden, and explored the grounds and pool area. There was a funky little well-equipped bar downstairs where you help yourself, and sign a room tab.

By 1:00 we were ready for lunch, so we set out for the nearby hamlet of Lamole, climbing the lush Chianti hills to Ristorante Lamole. It was a wonderful choice, thanks to Diva, and other Slow Travel reviews. I ordered spinach and ricotta gnudi in a butter and sage sauce, and Brad had ricotta and pear ravioli with pecorino. Both pastas were delicious. We shared an entrée “special of the day” which was “Fritti Toscano”, a huge assortment of tempura-like fried rabbit, chicken, and an assortment of veggies: zucchini flowers, eggplant, onions, and peppers. A glass of white wine and coffee completed a terrific meal with wonderful service from our adorable waiter, Matteo.

After our delicious and relaxing two hour lunch, we drove to Greve, where Brad spent from 3:30 to 5:00 sampling six wines and a grappa at Le Cantine. I spent part of this time in the caffe next door with my book and a latte.

Then we walked around the piazza, and I got a gold rooster charm for my bracelet (Gallo Nero), and I bought a beautiful tablecloth to go with my Montefalco dishes. We arrived back at Villa Le Barone at 8:00, and sat outside with no desire for dinner, so we had gelato and coffee before heading up the stairs to our “royal tower” for the night.

We slept in, and had breakfast at 9:30. Then we were off to Radda for a lovely morning of walking around town, coffee at a caffe, and an internet stop. I bought a pretty white and gold shawl and some red Italian Crocs for 12 Euro. They seem to work well on my still sore blister. We had a lovely lunch at Le Vigne. Brad ordered assorted crostini, and fagottini (like tortellini stuffed with spinach and pecorino) with basil and tomatos. I had a delicious pork loin slices with cooked apples and onions. There were some "ugly American" ladies there, and I apologized to the owner for their embarrassing behavior.

After lunch, we drove toward Giaole, to Rampini Ceramiche. BIG TROUBLE!!! I fell in love...with a new pattern. Oh, I HAD to have these dishes! I bought a set of 8 dinner, salad, and pasta bowls, a platter and pasta bowl. Hey, they match my yellow chargers, so I didn't need any of those! I am SO BAD! Brad was very quiet, but admitted the pattern was beautiful when we left. We returned to our room for an afternoon nap.

DInner on the terrace at Vescovino in Panzano was a beautiful setting, and one of our top three meals. We were given a glass of prosecco to start. We had a sformato di pecorino with a pear salad to start. Our pastas were penne with fresh sausage for me and pappardelle with chingale sauce for Brad. He then had a duck breast in wine sauce, and I had rack of lamb with minted zucchini. We shared a panna cotta drank a bottle of vine, and ended with coffee. We shared Slow Travel cards with two couples from Laguna beach who were in a villa here for 5 weeks. It turns out they had taken Diva's cooking class.

I need all the exercise I can get. Forget about my swollen, fat feet. Forget about my blister. It's the stairs that I am not used to. I am also used to coffee within 5 minutes of waking, and also all day, and right before bed. In Italy, there is wonderful coffee, but it is not always available at the hours I keep. Hotels are NOT on my schedule.
Here I am at midnight, with the last cup before bed.

Here is Brad, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Here is the staircase to our tower room at Villa Le Barone. It is tough when fully awake. It is a challenge before a couple of cappucini! It is a NIGHTMARE with luggage!

Roosters crowing. Stone houses on hilltops. Cyprus-lined driveways. Vineyards and olive groves. Hundreds of white roads to explore. Tiny hamlets. It is SO beautiful!

It is quiet. It is peaceful. It is already warm at 7:00 a.m..

Here is our tower at Villa Le Barone. The windows at the top are ours.

Today is the Slow Travel Umbria GTG near Assisi. We decided that after driving two hours back to Umbria, and visiting with old and new friends at the GTG with some wine, we really needed to stay somewhere close to the party. At midnight last night, I read a post by Mary Jane, suggesting a new guest house, just outside Bevagna. We now know this area well, and decided to give up one of our nights at Villa Le Barone, so we wouldn't have a long drive back to Chianti late at night. Thanks you, Mary Jane, as this was to become an unplanned and wonderful surprise we would hate to have missed!

We stopped in Radda for gelato and a quick wifi fix, then drove back toward Umbria, excited about today's Slow Travel GTG.

We passed now familiar Bevagna, and in three Kilometers, turned into the driveway of Genius Loci, our country house for the night. Mary greeted us in the beautiful reception area, and Michael, the Inn's manager (and Mary's son) showed us to our lovely room.

The restored farmhouse has been lovingly recreated into an 8-room country inn with all the comforts of home! Everything is spotlessly clean with beautiful stone, tile, fabrics, and much attention to detail. Each room has a different theme. We were in the "Rose Room", which was tastefully appointed.

From our window (or the terrace) is this gorgeous view of vineyards and the typical Umbrian patchwork of farms in the valley:

Check out their website to see more of Genius Loci!

http://www.geniuslociumbria.com/

Where to start? This was the MOST fantastic opportunity to meet so many wonderful Slow Travel friends from Italy and the U.S.!

We arrived at the lovely Villa Rosy, outside Assisi to meet our hosts and hostesses, Janet, Alan, and friend, Valerie; Corinna and her beautiful family, and were greeted warmly by good friends, Pauline and Steve. Already sitting in the hot sun of the afternoon were "old friends", Jane, Ken and Casey, and Marcia and David. Judith delivered Brad's beautiful custom shirts, and brought us a most beautiful gift of a handcrafted ceramic bowl from a craftsman in Citta di Castello.

Soon, Barb and Art arrived, and we met Valerie and Bryan, Mary Jane and Fulvio, Ann R., and Janet's sister, Ann, and her husband, Carl. We sat with Shelly and Gail for dinner, and had a fabulous visit with Karen and Vincenzo, who we hope to visit during our September 2008 trip to Italy.

Could it get any better? Yes! We enjoyed meeting and chatting with Kim and Kevin, who drove all the way from Bacoli with KILOS of fresh buffala mozarella! I pigged out on Brad's and my share! Soon, we were delighted to meet Letizia, her husband, Giulia, and Rebecca, all "famous" long-time Slow Travelers! What a delightful group! I must return to stay with both Letezia and Giulia on future trips to Italy. Mary, our lovely hostess from Genius Loci, also attended the GTG, and was able to meet all of the wonderful Slow Travelers who attended! She is originally from Long Beach, CA, and has lived in Umbria for over 40 years!

Pauline and Steve had just returned from Diana and Micha's in Piemonte, and they delivered my beautiful ceramic jar that I made last fall on Diana's pottery wheel. Diana took my little lump of thrown clay and glazed and fired it with a lid, so I now have my precious jar for serving Italian honey with pecorino!

Diana also sent some delicious Brachetto di Acqui. Boy did that cold refreshing nectar of the gods hit the spot on a sweltering hot afternoon! I can't wait to enjoy a few more bottle of it with the Baurs in person next year!

Being in Italy in July had already surpassed my expectations with the glories of the sunflower fields, but being here for this amazing GTG, was the best part of the timing of this year's travel! Grazie a tutti!

How's THIS for the first thing you see when you open your eyes?
We had a relkaxing morning on the terrace of Genius Loci, visiting with Mary Jane and Fulvio before they returned to Vetralla, and enjoying Michael's warm hospitality, coffee and breakfast.

The beautiful pool looked inviting, but we wanted to get started on our drive back to Panzano to begin the unpleasant task of repacking for our return home tomorrow. I'd love to stay here for another week in Umbria!

We made a stop in Castellina for a gelato lunch at Antica Delezia. YUM! Crema caramel, stracchiatella, and Antica Delezia for me! Oh how sad!!! The last gelato in Italy!

We crammed everything in our luggage and prayed we will not be over 70 lbs for each big bag! They were full and heavy! We asked the front desk for help with our luggage, and a big brawney Italian man in sweaty workclothes came up the tiny spiral staircase to our room. He threw that 70 pound bag onto his shoulder, and quickly ran down the three flights, coming back for another. Brad brilliantly waited at the car. I stayed in the room, watching in awe. He carried those bags like he had no more than a 5 lb. bag of sugar on his shoulder. Packing the car tonight would facilitate us getting out by 6:30 tomorrow morning!

We arrived at Jane and Ken's Italian home at Frattoria Viticcio, and shared a bottle of prosecco. We had a house tour and walk around the beautiful grounds of their home for the past year. It is their last week in Greve, and it is easy to see why this will be hard to leave. We chatted, and Casey wore Brad out with a game of.

Next, we followed Ken in our car to the restaurant. Jane had warned us that it might seem they were leading us "out to the middle of nowhere". We climbed a hill with fabulous views looking back at Greve, and then arrived at the beginning of a white road. After several minutes of driving, we saw an abandoned SUV that apparently didn't make it to the restaurant. We kept driving, trusting Jane and Ken, that there would eventually be dinner at the end of this adventure.

At the END of the white road was a lovely stone building, and a parking lot FULL of cars. We had arrived at La Cantinetta di Rignana. http://www.lacantinettadirignana.it/lacantinetta/english/index.htmlHow did all these people FIND this place? The restaurant was hoppin'! Casey was clearly a favorite customer, and everyone flocked to him with hugs and kisses when we arrived. He ran into the kitchen for more hugs and greetings. We were directed to the lovliest spot on the terrace to a special table marked, "Reserved for Casi".

We began with an antipasti platter that included three salamis, olives, pickled onions, peppers and crostini with pate. Then we shared two pasta dishes; papardelle con chingahle and tagliatelle in noci sauce. Ken and Brad served the pasta.

We then shared three orders of tagliata from the grill: one with arugula and parmesan, one with balsamico and sale, and one with rosemary and green peppercorns. All were delicious, but the balsamico was my favorite. We had side dishes of grilled vegetables.

We had a delicious wine, and managed to eat dessert too. I had panna cotta, Brad had chocolate mousse, Jane had strawberries with balsamico, and Ken had most of Casey's gelato. Casey had a good time playing on the hill below our table.

This is the way to leave Italy...IF you have to go home.
1. DON'T think about leaving until the afternoon of your last day.
2. Pack early, and hope for the best.
3. Spend a long, leisurely evening with Slow Travel friends, good food, and lots of laughter. Drink wine. Have dessert!
This is ESPECIALLY great if you know you will see them again soon at home!

We were up at 5:30, and in the car (with no coffee) by 6:25. The first problem was that the electronic gate in the parking area of Villa Barone would NOT open. No staff came to work until 7:00. We needed to leave by 6:30 to allow enough time to get to the Rome airport. Brad angrily managed to manually open another gate which then required him to do some difficult backing out of the parking area, turn around in an impossibly tight spot, and literally drive across the breakfast room terrace area to get out. THAT wasted 15 minutes and raised both our blood pressure, as we had asked the day before about our early departure!

Brad made up the time, and there was little traffic on a Saturday at that early hour, so he drove VERY fast through the Chianti hills, while I silently tried not to get carsick, and prayed for an Autogrill on the Autostrada where I could down a cappucino or two! When we were an hour from Rome, we had a 10 minute stop with a bathroom break, and a most delicious coffee and a Coke Light.

Brad dropped me off with all the luggage, and returned the rental car. That took 20 minutes, and gave me a chance for my last smoke. When he returned, we got into THIS line at Delta:

That line didn't move for over an hour. We boarded 30 minutes late, then sat on the runway for an hour and a half. I slept through most of that and missed takeoff. We landed two hours late in Atlanta, but still had 2 hours and 15 minutes before our flight to Ontario. We were hopeful. We lost the 15 minutes when there was another plane at our assigned gate. Luggage took over an hour to come out. Our Ontario flight left before we even went through customs. Everyone's connection left, so we joined the line of 200 grumpy people who needed to be re-ticketed. Delta was NOT on top of things.

We had landed at 6:30 p.m.. At 11:45, we had new ticket's on tomorrow's first flight to Ontario, two $7 vouchers for "dinner" (although most of the airport restaurants had closed), and a hotel voucher for "Country Inn". We had a choice of Wendy's or a sandwich place. Two sandwiches, a coke and a coffee put us over our limit. We arrived at our hotel at 1:15 a.m. for 4 hour nap before returning to the airport at 6:30 a.m.. At least we had a shower.

Our flight to Ontario was uneventful, and I napped some more. I got all our luggage, while Brad picked up the rental car, and we arrived at home early in the afternoon. Ego was very glad to see us, and the housesitter left everything clean. We tried to stay awake, but took a nap that lasted three hours, then went to bed for the night at 11:00. THIS is the hard part of travel. But every hour spent in Bella Italia is worth it. We forget this part. We remember every lovely hour in Italy!

No, not for Brad and I. THAT Anniversary is in September. But just two years ago, today, I became a member of the Slow Travel family! I can't believe it has only been two years since I started reading travel information about Italy, trip reports, and posting questions and comments on the Slow Talk message boards. At first, it was just a great source of information. Soon, I developed relationships with members, made friends, and found myself an actively participating member of the community, and THAT was the first six months. We took a pasta class from Diva and attended out first GTG in Sonoma in March, 2007. That was the beginning!

Fast forward to the present. Brad and I have both formed deep and growing friendships. We have attended many Slow Travel GTGs and hosted one last fall. Our social life, like a magnet to a compass, has been pointing more and more toward our ST friends. In 2007, I met Beth in Las Vegas for a quiet cup of coffee, kicked off the year with the fabulous "Slow Bowl" in Paso Robles, dinner at Mozza in Los Angeles, and dinner in Pasadena when Jerry was in town. We had an evening in La Quinta with Carole and friends. We flew across the country in April to attend the Brevard, NC get-together. Sheena and her daughters also visited us in the desert in April. In June, we had dinner with Nancy and Bill in the desert. WOW! I have not made it to a Bay Area event yet this year. That must change!

This summer we met an amazing number of friends in Italy: first Sheri and Joe in Florence; Gloria and Marcel in Pisa; and old friends, Ida and Bill in Montalcino. We spent days with Barb and Art, and Judith in Umbria. We were able to visit Jane, Ken and Casey twice and THEN, we saw everyone again at the big get-together in Umbria! We met Mary T., Corrina, Janet, Valerie, Karen, KimC and Kevin, Mary Jane, Ann, Janet, Rebecca, Letezia and Giulia! We visited with "old buddies", Pauline and Steve, and Marcia and Dave.

This weekend, we are off to San Diego for "Pinot and Ponies" with Shannon and the gang, and a "Missing Italy" dinner with Jane and her family. We'll be home four days before trotting up to Vancouver to meet the Pacific Nortwest group for a foodie market and scavenger hunt to make dinner together. A whole new group of playmates!

It is starting to look as though Slow Travel has had a MAJOR impact on our life. You think? We are looking forward to the "Second Annual Desert GTG" in October, and our next TWO Italy trips in 2008 will be spent with friends we met as a result of the group. In May we will be in Montisi with Gail, John, Jerry, Sandi, and company, and in the fall we will return to Piemonte for a week with Diana, Micha and Max!

I have spent many hours working with my wonderful co-committee members, Sheena, Kathy, Terry, Jan, and Leslie E. planning the "Great Slow Travel Gathering 2008" in Savannah next spring. THAT will be an amazing event!

I look forward to weekly chats, try to attend the Concentric Reading Circle when possibe, and then there is THIS BLOG! My how my life has changed!

Those we have met and bonded with have been so genuine, fun, and share the joy and fulfillment that come with exploring the world. We are of all ages and interests, have different travel styles and budgets. We certainly PACK from one extreme to another! None of that matters. We seem to love food, wine, and our trips, whether they be European adventures or weekend get-aways. You can't keep us home for long!

So to all Slow Travelers, I raise my glass. May we continue to travel, meet, nurture our friendships, and enjoy sharing our stories. I hope to see YOU soon!

Friday, we arrived in San Diego a bit before Brad's business meeting. I dropped him off at the appointed place, and had two hours to spend before picking him up. Oh darn, there was a Nordstrom down the street! I have not shopped since Italy, so I did a quick buzz through the store. I emerged in 40 minutes with a top, a jacket and two pair of shoes. I stopped for a quick lunch, and by then, Brad was done. We had time to check in to our hotel, pick up some pastries in Little Italy, and relax before our date with Jane and Ken.

We arrived at Jane and Ken's lovely home, and began with appetizers on the patio on their gorgeous new tabletop from Florence! We enjoyed prosecco, gorgonzola-cranberry torta, mushrooms, and proscuitto. Then Jane and Ken politely looked at ALL of our Italy photos!

We had dinner at Acqua Al 2 in San Diego, and began with pasta, pasta, pasta! Jane and I shared a pasta sampler: 5 small plates of pastas in different sauces: fusili in a spinach-pecorino sauce, penne vodka, bow ties in a zucchini-garlic sauce, rigatoni in eggplant sauce, and finally a hearty ragu.

Dinner was unrushed, and there was a slide slow of Florence scenes on the wall of the restaurant. We enjoyed our young Sicilian waiter, Danieli, who was fluent in Italian. We tried helping him win a trip to Firenze by writing a great review for his boss. He was most attentive and charming.

For our secondi, I had a delicious filetto in balsamico reduction, Brad had a New York steak in green peppercorn-brandy sauce, Jane had a veal chop with mushrooms, and Ken had tagliatta with arugula. Of course, we enjoyed a couple bottles of vino!

We returned to Jane's for dessert. We brought an assortment of Italian pastries from Zuchero: sfogliatelli, cannoli, tiramisu, and chocolate tortas. We didn't make much of a dent, but tasted several!

It was a long, and delightful evening of conversation, food and wine! Though, we met Jane, Ken and Casey in Italy, I'm sure we will get to visit more often in California!

Saturday, we picked up Shannon in Ocean Beach and headed to the Del Mar Racetrack where we met Sue, Marcia and David. Marcia and Dave's friend, Vladimir, a horse trainer, generously gave us seats in his box. Cheryl and friends, Arlene and Cecelia, joined us a little later. We had our own little feast going on! I brought the pizza rustica, Shannon packed fabulous sandwiches of cambazola and fresh figs on fig bread (and some healthy tomato, cucumber, humus, sprout things I didn't even consider). We had fruit, wine, water, and finished off the afternoon with Marcia's Kahlua brownies! YUM!

We enjoyed betting, winning and losing our money, and chatting between races.It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and Del Mar's racetrack is a beautiful venue.

We met again for dinner at The Vine. Krista and Steve joined the group, as well as new Slow Travelers, Susan and Robert. The wine flowed all evening, and we shared numerous appetizers including the now famous "Shannon's Super Sexy Pate", bruschetta with carmalized onions, tomatoes and basil, and a queso fondito with melted cheeses, olives, raisins and corn relish.

It was exciting to celebrate Shannon's new ownership in this fun restaurant with a welcoming open space, outdoor dining, and bar with a great wine list. The menu is attractive, varied, and very affordable for quality food.

Everyone enjoyed their entrees, and my pork chop was delicious! We shared a couple of desserts, I had two cups of GREAT coffee, and true to Slow Travelers's style, we chattered all evening, and closed The Vine.

The Slow Travel party pair is home! We had another whirlwind weekend with Slow Travel friends, worthy of several blogs. Be patient with me. It is a busy week!

Last Thursday, August 30, we flew from Ontario, CA to Seattle. We didn't get in til after 10 p.m., checked in to our hotel, and grabbed a late night appetizer for dinner. We shared some coconut shrimp and jerk chicken wings at a nearby Bahama Breeze restaurant, and started our "foodie weekend adventure".

Friday morning, we arrived at the bustling Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. I had little luggage space to work with for bringing home food items, since I checked an extra bag containing our Italy 2007 scrapbook photos...all 40 pounds of them!

We wandered among the food and flower stalls, where I drooled over the dahlias and lilies in every possible shade. I bought some lemon-basil orzo, caramel sauce, and two kinds of jam. Across the street, we did a quick run to Sur La Table, for a few holiday gifts, and extra napkin rings for our upcoming Desert GTG, as I think we just hit 39 people!

We stopped for coffee and HUMUNGOUS cream cheese-chocolate chip cinnamon rolls (breakfast and lunch). It was great to get a "cool fix" from our HOT summer weather in the desert.

A street entertainer kept us amused, just outside the door, with his ability to play TWO guitars (one balanced on his nose), and a harmonica, while keeping two hula hoops going. And they say men can't multi-task!

I do love the food shops at Pike's Market, but my FAVORITE thing there is the flower stalls! I have been known to take over a hundred flower photos in this two block area, but I tried to contain myself. Here are a few.

I browsed every vendor's booth to choose just the right combination for an enormous bouquet for our hostess, Sheena, for tomorrow's GTG. Here is the arrangement I came up with:

We left Seattle around noon, and headed to Vancouver, British Columbia. My first and only previous visit was at age 20 when I was "in love" with a cruise ship bartender named Peppi. I took an Alaska cruise with my parents, and there was an overnight stop in Vancouver. We had chamber of commerce weather, and I remember bridges, totem poles and Stanley Park. That night, the Italian crew on SITMAR Cruises (later bought by Princess) had a soccer team that played a Vancouver team. Passengers were invited to attend the game, and Peppi was on the team. The Sitmar team won, and invited the passengers who cheered them on to come for a midnight supper of spaghetti carbonara down in the crew's dining room. My parents and I went, and had a ball with the off-duty Italian crew members. It was my first taste of carbonara, and one of the guys shocked my mom by saying the crew said SITMAR was an acronym for "sex isn't too much after ravioli"! But I digress...

We crossed the border in a light drizzle, but found clear weather in Vancouver. We checked into the Listel Hotel, and walked around busy Robson Street before having an afternoon glass of wine in the hotel bar.

We drove to dinner at Monk McQueen's for a great dinner with Slow Travel friends. We met Ann and Scott, Janie and Geoff, and Sheena's husband, Terry for the first time. What a lively, funny, and delightful group of people! We shared baskets of calamari, and everyone enjoyed the fresh fish entrees. I had a wonderful panko crusted sole with crab leg quiches and veggies.

Brad enjoyed his mahi-mahi with blueberry sauce, and managed to save room for a chocolate lava cake.

We chatted for hours, enjoying the company, food, wine, and a beautiful Vancouver view. Janie passed out shopping bags for tomorrow's food shopping/eating fest, and detailed information and directions on all our stops. We were already SO glad we would be spending the weekend with this group!

By 8:30, I had consumed a mug of hotel coffee, and a venti Starbucks nonfat latte. I was capable of complete sentences, so we met Ann and Scott, our gracious chauffeur for the day. We headed to meet the rest of the group at the Farmer's Market coffee truck. I passed on more coffee, deciding to hold off until our next stop with a restroom.

The Trout Lake farmer's market was wonderful! There were lots of produce booths, flowers, cheese, herbs, and vinegars, chocolates, bread, and a few crafts. I LOVE to look at food! It was sunny and cool (for us), with just a hint of fall in the landscape. For some reason, I get very excited when I see pumpkins, and fall colors, as it is one of the most beautiful times of the year, and I associate the foods with family, sharing, and a bountiful harvest. Way before Thanksgiving, I begin to feel blessed, grateful and generous! It makes me want to nest even more than usual! It is almost time for butternut squash soup, pumpkin ravioli, and apple crostadas! People ask, "Do you dream in color?" YES! I dream of foods in all their glory!

Brad gathered our spinach for our pasta course, and I found FABULOUS, huge bunches of sage (I forgot to take a photo) for a dollar each! I can't even tell you what I spend on sage a month at home! I've tried growing it, but the leaves burn in my yard even in shade! I must try again!

Ann found the most wonderful pomegranite vinegar. I must order some! Next year I will bring no scrapbooks and an extra EMPTY piece of luggage!

Our next stop was the amazing Bosa Foods: "Italissima Quality Gourmet Mediterranean Foods"! I thought I had died and gone to Italian food heaven, or been zapped to a beautiful new grocery store in Italy. This place was an Italian food lover's dream. Deli, fresh pastas, cheeses, olives, hanging prosciutti, wheels of parmigiano, a panini bar, a cappucini bar, every kind of flour, breads, dolci, olive oils, vinegars...well, you get the idea!

After buying ingredients for our dishes, and sharing a panini or slice of pizza, we moved along to Thomas Haas Chocolate. I'm not a big chocolate fan, but Thomas was adorable, and had fabulous bakery products, desserts, and treats for everyone. Sheena had ordered an amazing chocolate cake, and I found a chocolate with oozing caramel center that had my name on it. I also had one of the best cappucinos in North America!

Next, we stopped at Sheena and Terry's beautiful store, "At Home". Beautiful bath products, linens, home accessories, dishes, jewelry, gifts and so much more made this a wonderful afternoon stop. Handy dandy, there was a wine shop steps away, where we made our selections for the evening.

We all congregated in Sheena and Terry's beautiful back yard, and enjoyed the views all around us. From their deck, we saw the lovely woodsy surroundings, pots of plants, and our dining area with pitchers full of hydrangas and candles. Just around the corner was an incredibly well-designed refuge of jaw-dropping beauty, complete with a waterfall...Terry's garden. Another lovely spot is Sheena's patio with vines, a patio table and a serene fountain. We chatted, drank prosecco, and several at a time went into the kitchen to prepare an appetizer, or do some prep work for dinner.

We enjoyed a variety of appetizers: funghi trifolati (mushroom bruschetta), olives, sweet balsamic baby onions, baked brie with red pepper relish, and fresh mozzarella with basil, olive oil, and crushed red pepper. We had marinated salmon with mustard aioli, baby spinach, red onion, pancetta and peach salad, and spinach-ricotta strozzapreti in brown butter sage sauce. We devoured panzanella salad, barbequed prime rib, and mushrooms stuffed with gorgonzola and spinach. Of course we had dessert! Broiled peaches with honey and cinnamon topped with marscapone, and the Chocolate Thomas Haas cake! It was a feast for...foodie Slow Travelers who love to cook and eat! We might have had a few bottles of wine too.

A perfect ending to a perfectly lovely day! Photos of it all are here.

We landed in Oakland at 2:05 on Thanksgiving Day. By 3:15, I was sipping a lovely lemon drop with a splash of Chambord (the house cocktail), at Garibaldi's.

It was wonderful to see our old friends, Roxanne, Charlotte and Cindy, as well as Cindy's extended family! Lots of laughter, wine, and good food...the theme for the weekend!

Brad started with a yummy crab bisque, and I had a simple endive salad with blue cheese and pomegranites. Our entrees were lovely (no turkey at THIS table!).
Here is my ribeye, smothered with mushrooms, cipolini onions, and pancetta.

Brad really enjoyed his squash ravioli with truffles on a bed of chard!

Dessert was a simple choice. Brad had "chocolate budino" (espresso gelato drenched with caramel sauce and topped with tons of assorted nuts), and I had panna cotta with cranberries.

It was a GREAT SHopping Day!

Brad and I caffinated at 7:00, and I was crossing Market Street shortly after 7:30. No crowds yet at Nordstrom. I had purchased two pair of shoes, a FABULOUS half-price Furla bag, and four gifts by 9:00. Brad met me then, and we hopped down to Bristol Farms until it was time to meet Joy at 10:00. We spent another hour in Nordstrom, and I bought another four gifts, five ornaments for my "shopping tree", and helped Brad choose some clothes for himself.

After a latte break, Joy and I headed to Chicos and Bloomies, while Brad carted shopping bags back to the hotel. Next, we went to Crate and Barrel, while he hit Virgin Records. Another tradition: we met ANOTHER sorority sister, Kim, and daughter, Haley at the bar in Kuleto's for a wine break. We were also joined by my desert neighbor, Jan, and Roxanne.

Neiman Marcus, more ornaments, and 5:00. It was time for another latte on Maiden Lane, before walking to Gumps. I found two Italy ornaments, AND my favorite scent from Santa Maria Novella. I bought both lotion, and room spray in "Casablanca" . It smells just like Italy to me.

We had a drink at the hotel, and grabbed a taxi to the Marina, where Charlotte and Cindy joined us for dinner at Izzy's. Oh, what a happy day!

Saturday morning after coffee in our room, we walked to the Clift Hotel to meet our friends, Jan and Les. When I was a child, my parents used to stay at this beautiful property. As a young adult, I remember the treat of going to the stunning Redwood Room for a drink.

The Clift had apparently undergone some major re-decoration! What was once quiet, tasteful glamour, is now a combination of ultra-modern, "humorous touches", asian accents, and some art deco stuff that is lost on me. I don't "get it". The rooms are painted grey with lavender accents and orange lucite cubes as end tables. The Redwood room still has a gorgeous lit glass bar, but is otherwise dark and depressing, as is the whole lobby. Check out the photo gallery here: Clift Hotel
Here are Les and Brad standing by the HUGE chair in the lobby.

I did love the roses on the registration desk...all 96 of them in this perfectly twisted arrangement. (They lock these up at night, so no one pulls out one rose and messes up the whole twist thing.)

We grabbed a taxi to the Ferry Building and walked through the outdoor market, then hit my favorite indoor shops for cheese, chocolates and Sur La Table. We settled in at the Wine Merchant for the next several hours. For lunch, we had fresh bread with triple creme cheese, and an assortment of soprasotta, salami, brasola and olives. A variety of wines were tasted, but I stuck to a lovely sparkling rose. Roxanne joined us at noon (more wine), and Shannon joined us at 1:00 (more wine). We left about 2:30 and had time for an afternoon nap before leaving for the GTG.

We walked from our hotel, three blocks to The Grand Cafe, and ordered a glass of wine in the bar. Soon Sharon, Shannon and Colleen arrived and joined us. At 5:30, we found the rest of our group, Judy and Bill, Eden, and the newest Judy, already seated at our table. Wendy and Rob arrived, and our party was complete.

The conversations, as always, revolved around recent travel, future travel, holiday plans, food, family, and just catching up with old friends! We ordered wine and food, and the time flew by.

DInner was very good, and everyone enjoyed their entrees. Eleven of us managed to try ten different choices from the menu! My Beef Bourguignon was truly the BEST shortribs I have ever had!

Here is the happy group:

We all enjoyed our surprise party favors from Sharon. After dinner, shared dessert, and coffee, each person made a toast to the group. Everyone shared their heartfelt joy of having found this special community, and wonderful group of friends. It was quite a lovefest! Later, some of us sat in the bar for a while. We didn't seem to want the evening to end. Seven cups of coffee later, Brad and I walked back to our hotel, full, happy, and delighted because of the special group who had gathered to complete our holiday weekend. We are thankful for our Slow Travel peeps!

Last night we kicked off the Paso Robles SLOWBOWL 2008 with vino, friends, and a "Mac and Cheese Smackdown".

We had three yummy Mac and cheese baked versions (by Marcia, Stephanie, and Palma), and even Dave's fried Mac&Cheese cubes! Appetizers, Kim's chili, Wendy's salad, and Colleen's Matzo Crunch rounded out our feast. 34 of us partied, and Deborah served every flavor of liquore imaginable (and some you wouldn't have imagined)!

Here is Shannon with our hostess gift:

For some reason, I've had trouble uploading some photos this morning....and I've tried two wireless places. I know where I can find several MODS to find out why. If I drink ONE more Starbucks Venti, I may die!

Jerry and Paul are in the room next door at the Melody Ranch. I met Jerry at 6:30 AM in my jammies and robe in the parking lot, (out to the car for a freezing smoke), on his way to the first coffee run of the day. There was ICE on the cars, but the sun is shining now.

We had breakfast with Jerry and Paul at the Cowgirl Cafe, so we are ready to hit the wineries. I will check in later...

After everyone was caffinated, or breakfasted, we met at the cottage, or Melody Ranch for the carpools and trolley to begin the wine tasting.

Our first stop as a group was Castoro winery. We had a fabulous lunch, provided by Wendy, Rob, Jerry and Paul and Shannon: lots of cheeses, snacks, condiments, and sandwiches to go with our wine.
What a happy group, AND I was able to "herd" them together for a group photo!

From there, we split into groups to visit either Tablas Creek, Halter Ranch, or Pasolivio (for olive oil tasting and buying). Since I am more of a cook than a drinker, I went for the olive oil, and was delighted to bring home the Olio Nuovo, Lime oil, and Tangerine oil. Yummy recipes to create soon...

We were fading by 3:30, so everyone had a couple of hours of "down time". There was a book enchange, and several shopped or napped. Believe it or not, I was a napper.

We gathered at the cottage by 6 for another amazing array of appetizers, lots of wine, and a wonderful dinner. SLow Travel cooks and bakers really go all out! There was so much good stuff, but MY favorites were Charity's brie with fig preserves, Judy's gorgonzola-fontina polenta with tomato sauce, several yummy chicken-tortilla casseroles, Marci's mushroom ravioli, shrimp and rice bake, Marcia's antipasti salad, and Krista's chocolate decadance. I am leaving so many out, but it was all delicious!

Here are 5 of our MODS together after wine:

Krista made Gina's lemony semolina cookies, so Gina, this photo I took of all the bakers in your fan club, is just for you!

We're off to brunch! More later!

There is something very festive about a group of friends together on a trolley!
This was a great way to travel between wineries. Only Charlie, our driver, had to watch for cars. The rest of us could eat, drink, chatter, sing, take photos, and mostly: LAUGH!
The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and we traveled through the oak tree studded hills passing picturesque vineyards and wineries.

"Clang, clang, clang goes the bell..."

I hopped off the wine Trolley to join others at Pasolivo for the olive oil tasting and tour, and was so glad I did. Brad happily went on to Tablas Creek winery without me, where we joined up a little later.

First we had a brief tour of the processing process, which was brief and informative

Next we entered the tasting room. Though I was full from lunch, that bread dipped in tangerine oil and honey was wonderful! So was the lime oil, and the December '07 green, peppery, "Olio Nuovo".

I was happy with my purchases!

Tomorrow ...my first tangerine oil creation!

Lots of good stuff coming up! My "pack lists" are done.

We leave for Savannah in 13 days!

We leave for Italy in 56 days!

Then we return to Italy in 163 days!

Kim and Chris are coming to dinner TONIGHT! I'm going to go decorate my dessert.

Yesterday, I mentioned our trip to Italy in May. With the Savannah Gathering coming up NEXT WEEK, I am so excited, I need a distraction. Italy always works for that!. It is obvious that I am a planner (for travel, parties and menus). What I love about this trip to Italy, is that our first week is almost completely UNPLANNED! We will wing it in Rome. I want to wake up each day without an agenda and say, "Let's wander today, and see where we end up!"

We leave on May 16, and arrive in Rome the next day. We will meet Massimo and Biancamaria at their Via dei Chiavari apartment, Rome-is-home, near the Campo di Fiori to check in for a week.

As this is a third trip to Rome, we are not going to do any of the typical "tourist" things. We have seen the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Forum, Colosseum, Borghese Gardens and Museum, etc. We want to "hang out", wander neighborhoods, eat, drink wine, visit kitchen shops, food stores, take a nap, and wander some more. We will eat lots of gelato and drink many lattes!

I want to explore the Trastevere, eat pizza, paint flowers in the campo, and have a picnic for dinner. We will spend a lovely evening with our generous hosts, and have a special birthday dinner for Brad's big 6-0. One day I'd like to have lunch at the Bramante cloister at Santa Maria Della Pace. I want fried artichokes in the Jewish quarter. I'm sure I will find some wonderful pastas, and we may go to a GTG. We are most looking forward to some time together doing next to nothing. I bet the week will go by in a flash, and then we will be on our way to Montisi to cook and play with the gang on Gail's Great Escapes!

So much excitement going on!

Come check out our brand new website! Yes, we've decided to try finding a way to share our love for Italy with others! Come and see what we've been planning.

www.PalmabellasItaly.com

The next time I blog, we'll be in Savannah for the Great Slow Travel Gathering!

3:30 AM. We're off to the airport in an hour! I am caffinating.

My next post will be LIVE from Savannah! SO EXCITED!

I'm having SO much fun, I have been a very busy, naughty blogger! We arrived in Savannah Wednesday night, and have been going full speed since! Thursday we had lots of party preparations, and happy greeting of our planning team. We arrived at the rental house we are all sharing, right off Washington Square. Jan and I shopped for Thursday's Pre-gathering Gathering, met with Herb at the Gingerbread House, and waited for everyone else to arrive. Kathy, Charley, Kelly, Terry and Leslie were soon in town, and we all went out to lunch.

Brad and I are sharing the Carriage House part of the rental, a great 2bed/2bath apartment across the courtyard, with Jerry and Paul. It is a calm refuge from the busy main house.

We were all ready! A quiet moment in the garden:

Food was on the table.

We soon had 68 people milling about with wine and appetizers. I'm still not sure how so many fit, but it was a lovely way to start the weekend. Slow Travelers LOVE to get together and party. The crowd was ready for the biggest GTG in Slow Trav history, complete with a Web cam set up by Steve and Pauline!

Here are Jane, Shannon, Jan and Kim:

Pokey (Mindy) got "forked":

The Montisi in May sisters "practiced" having fun!

After the cocktail party, we had a great dinner at Cha Bella, came home and then filled the "Welcome Bags" until almost midnight. Another busy day ahead, but it was a great kick-off to the weekend festivities. We are all just SO happy to be together!

Friday:

We had some free time today to enjoy the wonderful city of Savannah. We took a nice sunny walk with Gail, John, Sandi and Bill, down to the river. The Spanish moss on all the trees is wonderful.

We were joined by Colleen K, and Kim and Kevin, for lunch at B. Matthews.

We did a few Gathering errands, and were able to get in an hour nap before the big night ahead at the Gingerbread House.

Everyone has arrived in Savannah! (well, Charisse is almost here!)
Friday evening's event is at the beautiful Gingerbread House.

Here are a few shots before the crowds descended:
The living room:

The Garden:

The food table is ready:

We're READY!

I'm still WAY behind on blogging the Gathering, but here are a few highlights and photos of the Gingerbread House evening:

Guests were greeted at the door with a glass (or two) of prosecco:

Passed hors d'oeuvres welcomed the crowd:

The open bar began, and a lovely spread of hearty foods was served. Pauline gave a history of Slow Travel, and introduced the Planning Team.

Our very own Ginger sang a wonderful Johnny Mercer, "Come Rain or Come Shine"
(as it turns out, quite an appropriate song!)

A wonderful evening with friends was a great way to begin the weekend celebration!

Here are a few more photos of friends at the Gingerbread House:
Brad and Gail

Pauline and Jan

Randy, June and Marcia

Shannon and John

Barb and SandraK

Sandi and Bill

Nancy, Gail and Palma

Wow! What a fun night! We stopped by to continue the festivities with our "neighbors" Shannon, Kim, Marcia, and Dave. We never seem to run out of wine and friends to drink it with! We even welcomed Chris in from the airport sometime around midnight!
Savannah is definitely starting to feel like "home".

Saturday at 12:15, we met for lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady and Sons. 34 of us hung outside, happily waiting for our reservation that Marcia had organized in advance. I love the awning above us that says, "Savannah Style"!

How could we be hungry AGAIN? Mmmmmmm, here comes the "BUTTA"!

We were accommodated at three large tables, and were even given separate checks.

I really enjoyed the fried chicken and carbs from the buffet. I was gearing up for another evening of alcohol consumption, since I am such a "lightweight" in that department! OMG! I don't remember the last time I had crunchy, yummy, chicken skin. The calories consumed in Savannah STAY in Savannah, right?

Brad really enjoyed his spicy blackened tilapia sandwich.

OK, I found the "Oooey Gooey Butter Cake" completely orgasmic. I bought the appropriate cookbook next door at Paula's store. What a fun lunch, and I wasn't in charge of a thing!!! Thank you Marcia! I even managed a 5 minute shopping fix with a necklace from Savannah.

Saturday was quite a day! I was caffinating by 7 AM after a late night of wine, and 4 hours sleep the night before. "Behind the scenes" we dealt with preparing all the door prizes to transport to the fort...no, to the History Museum. Leslie, Brad, and I heard of the change around 8:30 AM. Jan and Terry were at Pilates, and Kathy was at a Mod breakfast. We delivered the news as they got home. Charley, Brad and I put together the globe/"little people" centerpieces on an assembly line, and explained the change as the others came back to the house. Everything was ready, and Terry was in constant communication with Old Savannah Tours, the drivers and trolley captains. We enjoyed a break for lunch at Lady and Sons, then came back to shower, change and have an hour of down time before Jerry's "martini hour" began at 4.

We gathered in Washington square, picked up the others on Trolley #2, and headed to the museum. The bar was open, and boiled peanuts and veggies were served before dinner. It was a festive mood, and all those wonderful prizes were soon to be given homes.

Jill, Brenda, and Karen are lookin' good!

Joan, Kathy, Ginger and Marcia are ready to win a prize.

The Mods are a smiling group with Pauline!

After dinner, Brad MC'd the door prize drawing, and made it through 58 wonderful prizes in 45 minutes, as promised. I know I'm partial, but I think he did a GREAT job. Hope someone took a photo, as I was busy as a runner!

Pauline and Steve finally got to win a prize...a GRAND prize to France!

Mary and Tome were also thrilled to be GRAND prize winners of a week at an Italian villa!

New members Kathy G, and her husband, Lou, were happy recipients of two great books! Kathy certainly has a winning smile!

And speaking of smiles, here I am with my friends, Gail, Jerry and Sandi, excited about playing together for another week soon in Italy!

Following the party, we enjoyed the Ghost Tour, through Savannah's haunted areas, and had a chance to see all the beautiful squares and Colonial cemetery at night. On our way home from Washington Square, we saw that our neighbors, Shannon, Kim & Chris and Marcia & David were still up. Jerry and Brad scared the **** out of them by tapping on the window. Despite our disturbance, we were invited in for wine, chatting until 1AM. I love being in Savannah with friends!

Here is the "Behind the Scenes" version of Sunday morning.

Kathy, Brad and I went to Vic's at 9:15 to do a run through with the projector, laptop and THE MOVIE. We had tried it on Friday. Everything worked, but we needed to hook into the restaurant's speakers for amplified sound. No sweat, right? On Friday, Brad and I made a stop at Best Buy, and bought every conceivable cord and cable for a PC, a MAC, input, output, etc. LOTS of back up plans!

We walked into the upstairs dining room, and the whole set-up of tables and buffet was WRONG (not like Kathy and Jan's walk through instructions on Friday). There was no way everyone would be able to see the movie with their configuration. We firmly asked them to MOVE EVERYTHING including the buffet tables, chairs, set tables and flowers. They efficiently did so in about 15 minutes.

Then we started hooking up computers to projector to speakers. We got movie, but no sound with Kathy's laptop. We got the same with my laptop. We brought Steve in to see if he knew something we didn't. We decided it was the speakers that were the problem. The restaurant had another set. NONE of our cords worked. The crowds were gathering outside. We made them wait. I tried not to cry. I went out for a cigarette, praying it would all work when I came back in. It didn't.

We tried 4 laptops, two projectors, two sets of speakers...still no sound. We let in the guests. I smiled and greeted everyone. The breakfast buffet began. I was too heartsick to eat. Believe me, THAT doesn't happen often. I have only been too upset to eat, ONE other time in my whole life. It was inconceivable to me that after over 325 hours of time and love went into that movie, and now we wouldn't be able to show it???

Keith, the AV guy at Vic's, saw my distress. He PROMISED me he would have sound and we would be able to show the movie. At 10 minutes before show time, I went outside for the last prayer and smoke. Brad's food looked good, but I had priorities. I returned, Keith gave me a thumbs up, and we watched the movie. My tears were a mixture of relief, love of Slow Travelers, and the release of weeks of anticipation.
After the movie, I hugged and kissed Keith, Brad tipped him $40 (if there had been a hundred dollar bill left in my wallet he would have gotten that too!), and I realized I was hungry! Oh well, all's well that ends well. I could eat later at the airport! It was SO rewarding to share our movie with everyone in Savannah!

Here are some photos at Vic's: (I kept myself busy with the camera so I wouldn't cry!)

Where to start? There were so many!

I will start with my own personal hero:Brad!
My very dear husband, always a treasure, has been amazing this whole past year with regards to the Gathering. He listened as our plans progressed, he helped whenever possible (printing name tags, door prize tickets, magnets to put in the Welcome Bags). He agreed to MC the drawing (I sort of volunteered him without even asking first, but I think he was honored.), buy all the wine, pour prosecco at the Gingerbread House, and schlep all weekend. He was calm and cool during the "projector-sound crisis", and offered to go to Radio Shack during brunch to BUY speakers!

He inputed ALL the music in the movie, upgraded my computer memory 2G to hold a____ file, purchased every song I needed from I-Tunes, and figured out the fastest way to copy 60 DVDs. He printed and put on labels and inserted jewel case covers ALL day, before we left for Savannah, and had a disagreement with his boss about time off from work (we were originally going to stay a week, then she said he couldn't go AT ALL, but he made it work.)! He is MY Gathering Hero!

Spending time with Pauline and Steve:

Being around Pauline and Steve is always a treat. I have missed Pauline's presence on the boards, and I LOVE to hear her laugh! It was great to see her 4 days in a row. It was truly delightful to watch Pauline watch the movie and laugh. It also made her cry, but those were tears of love!

Dinner at Cha Bella:

After Thursday's kickoff "Pre-Gathering Gathering", the Planning team, and Pauline and Steve had a fabulous dinner at Cha Bella. Some of the food was really amazing! Brad's scallops were the BEST I have ever tasted, and when we ran into another table of Slow Travelers, I tasted Kim C.'s pork chop over parmesan "polenta" (but I think they were grits)! OMG there was sugar cane in the meat jus that made me HAVE to hunt down the recipe! I have emailed the chef, and as a back up, I found sugar cane syrup on the internet, and a marinade that might just recreate this flavor! If none of that works, I will be writing to Bon Appetit!

Hanging out with my friends on the Planning Team:

It was an amazing feeling to see our months of planning come to life as each event was successful. The Thursday Pre-Gathering Gathering at our rental house had everyone excited about being together and about what was coming. The Gingerbread house was a wonderful beginning to the "official" events. It was a treat to see and feel the enthusiasm and the sense of community. New members, seasoned members, all together in a wonderful setting! Saturday, we enjoyed various activities during the day, then were taken by trolley to the museum for a low country boil, an exciting drawing for prizes, and an entertaining ghost tour. Sunday we wrapped up the Gathering with a brunch at Vic's and the movie! The teamwork all paid off!

Playing with my buddies before we go to Italy together!

We had a ball! It has been almost six months since Jerry, Gail, Sandi and I have played together. We had a blast in Savannah and with Paul, John, Bill and Brad, and are counting the days until we are all together in Montisi for a week!

Meeting "old" and "new" friends!
What fun to finally meet, in person, so many friends from the boards: Colleen, Ginger, Mindy, Brenda, Marion, Roz, and well, EVERYONE! I am also grateful that so many new members took this opportunity to attend their first GTG, and were welcomed into the community in grand style! When you go to a "normal" GTG, you usually have one day or evening to meet a smaller group of people, but in Savannah, we had days to play, relax, and really spend time with so many!

Being in the HOOD!
I really enjoyed walking down the street, and seeing other Slow Travel friends. A group of us were walking down by the river, and ran into Colleen, so she joined us. On our way to lunch, were "picked up" Kim and Kevin for an impromptu lunch. It was GREAT!

I also LOVED, LOVED, LOVED being in our Washington Square neighborhood, and and
hanging out at the house Shannon, Kim & Chris, and Marcia & David were staying. It was our refuge every late night for wine, snacks, and unwinding from each busy day!

Enjoying the beauty, architecture and amazing squares of Savannah!

Well, we just didn't have enough time to really explore every bit of this wonderful city, but I loved what we did see. We definitely plan to go back! A charming, friendly city, with great food and much to do!

Down time at the Carriage House:

It was great to share the Carriage House with Jerry and Paul. They are quiet, neat, and fun to hang out with for morning coffee, blogging, or a martini hour. Jerry had all the fixin's for three types of martinis before we met the gang on the trolley!

Showing the MOVIE at Brunch:
I think I covered this in yesterday's post!

What an AMAZING WEEKEND we'll never forget. It has been an honor to have had an active part in ALL of it! (It might take me a year to scrapbook the Gathering!) I also LOVE my new flower under my name on Slow Talk!

One month from today, we will be in Rome! Our last visit to Rome (my second and Brad's first) was in 2001 for our first anniversary. In looking back on some of those photos, two things are obvious: We have AGED, and there was a lot of KISSING going on during that trip!

Of course, we did all the usual tourist things you can cram in to 4 days of our FAST Travel grand tour of Italy! St. Peter's, the Vatican Museums, Forum, Colosseum, Borghese Gardens, Trastevere, all major piazzas and fountains, and even a half day trip to Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa.

Here are the more youthful Palma and Brad enjoying their delayed honeymoon:

Looking back through my photos of Rome reminded me of a story that made us both cringe and laugh during that trip to Italy. It was two weeks after 9/11 when we were in Rome. Soldiers with machine guns were all over town. Our hotel was a modest 3-Star near the top of the Spanish Steps. One night we decided to go to the luxurious Hassler Hotel for a drink. We began speaking with an American couple from Florida in the bar. George Bush Sr. had been there with his entourage of secret service people, earlier in the day.

At the bar sat a VERY annoying American woman on a cell phone. The whole lounge could hear her conversations: mostly her political views, her need to move "HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of DOLLARS" with her financial consultant, what would happen to her stocks and how her "republican sensibilities" were effected by this terrorist attack! The bartender asked her twice to get off the cell phone, as other customers were complaining, rolling their eyes, etc. She was also hacking and sneezing all over the bar with a nasty cold. Finally, the bartender courteously asked her to leave the bar.

Fast forward a week of our trip. We had been to Positano, Ravello, and we were on our last three nights in Italy, and had splurged on the fabulous Quisisana Hotel in Capri.

Cooking for Gail's Great Escapes for a week in Montisi will be a new and exciting experience. There will be 16 people sharing a villa for a week, and I am in charge of preparing a few dinners and a party!

Step 1: Plan menus...DONE ( I will be blogging from Italy, but I don't want to give the guests a "sneak peek" of what they will be eating.)

Step 2: Bring my recipes...they are neatly typed, and in plastic sleeves in a binder.
Then it occurred to me...the amounts are in English measurements (cups, ounces and tablespoons), not grams, liters, or ettos, or kilos! Hmmmmmm...

I retyped everything with BOTH measurements, and I will pack my collapsible measuring cups and some measuring spoons. I "practiced" ordering what I will need in Italian.

Step 3: Setting and Equipment
It is one thing to cook for Brad and I or our friends in MY kitchen, with ingredients I know, and all the tools and gadgets I have at my fingertips. I have all the cookware, bakeware, bowls, baking dishes, serving pieces, conveniences, and a stove, cooktop and BBQ I have lots of experience with. Though Brad says I ALWAYS make too much, I am NOT accustomed to 16 or 17 for dinner.

I was able to peek at the kitchen last summer, and I recently did a little research into the kitchen in the villa. It is GORGEOUS, and since the owner loves to cook, it is well-equipped. There is an island, a 5-burner gas stove with oven, travertine counters, and TWO sinks and dishwashers (not counting Brad)! There is even a wood-burning indoor grill! This is NOT a tiny Italian "one-butt" kitchen!

I WILL eat gelato at Giolitti and San Crispino, and try new flavors I have never ordered before.

I WILL eat fried artichokes in the Jewish ghetto.

I WILL do coffee taste tests at Tazza D'Oro and St. Eustachio.

I WILL spend some quality time at the Testaccio Market (and hopefully find some treats to share in Montisi).

I WILL enjoy meeting new and old friends at a Slow Travel GTG!

I WILL finish re-reading Angels and Demons before we take 3 Millennia's "Unofficial Angels and Demons Tour" with Tony da Roma.

I WILL order pasta "caccio e pepe" at a trattoria.

I WILL spend hours enjoying Brad's company while sipping vino at Cul de Sac.

I WILL visit Volpetti for more treats.

I WILL hunt through at least four carefully scoped out kitchen stores for gifts for MY kitchen.

I WILL enjoy time wandering and eating in Trastevere.

I WILL visit the Bramante Cloister at Santa Maria Della Pace.

I WILL have a rooftop drink with a view at Hotel Eden. No talking me out of this one. I have wanted to do this on every trip to Rome. I don't care WHAT they charge for a drink!

I WILL treat Brad to a special "birthday dinner" at Agata e Romeo.

I WILL have fresh flowers from the Campo in the apartment every day.

Photos are courtesy of Rome.info

There always seems to be a thread on Slow Talk about "packing light". Some are able to pack for weeks in one carry-on bag. Others wash out clothes every night and wear them again. Jerry just blogged about why he also brings plenty of clothes and shoes.

I guess if one is traveling by train, or alone, or going somewhere (I can't imagine where this would be) where they won't see anyone, and if they don't ever take photos with themselves in the picture, then maybe a case could be made for the freedom of one bag. I figure, I can handle my luggage, Brad puts the bags in and out of the car (only once this trip), and a driver will meet us and deliver us to our apartment in Rome. I like to dress for dinner, match accessories, and be what I call "appropriate", SO... I am packing Palmabella style.

I have gotten better. I have my 28" bag (with lots of room at 47 lbs, and a second bag (which COULD be a carry-on, but I'm checking it). Then as usual, my very light carry-on has a book for the plane, my pillow, jewelry, and snacks for the trip. (One year the jewelry was 16 lbs., but I have learned to bring lighter pieces.)

Brad has one big bag for clothes, a second small duffle full of kitchen/cooking items (all my stuff) to check, and he will carry the laptop with his reading material. No sweat!

Brad packs the electronics: cameras, Italy cell, adapters, converters, Italian hair dryer, ipod, GPS, and appropriate chargers.

Last night Brad and I sat outside and talked about how our Italy travel has changed in the past few years. Yes, we have SLOWED DOWN, thanks to our membership in the Slow Travel community and the philosophy of staying longer in one area and really exploring that region instead of flitting all over the boot on one trip.

We started our Italian adventures together in 2001 by driving from Milan to Lake Garda to Venice and ending up on the Amalfi coast! On another trip in 2003, we began in Venice, spent a week in Tuscany, a few days in Puglia, then Basilicata, and again ended in Capri. By 2005, we had calmed down slightly, and divided our three weeks between Tuscany, Umbria and STILL ended with a week in Positano and Capri.

That summer I became a Slow Traveler! I no longer feared not returning to Italy. We had gone from "hooked" to "obsessed", and knew we would be returning each year. We traveled to Piemonte, Emilia-Romana and sampled Liguria. We returned to Umbria, making it our own. I spent two weeks with Ida in the Garfangana.

In 2006, we were "regulars" at GTGs (Get-Togethers) closer to home, and began meeting other Slow Travelers when in Italy. I attended a GTG in Cortona, and met Nancy and Bill in Montalcino. Last summer we met Gloria and Marcel in Pisa, Sherri and Joe in Firenze. We visited with Jane, Ken and Casey twice in Tuscany. In Umbria we met Judith, Barb, Art and Mary. We also attended the Slow Travel Umbria GTG and met MANY new friends from both Italy and the U.S., as well as seeing many friends we knew from home.

Slow Travel has largely determined where we've traveled domestically as well. After attending GTGs in Brevard, NC and Vancouver, B.C., we made new wonderful friends across the U.S. and in Canada. We have hosted friends from 9 states and Canada at our GTGs in the desert. It has become an annual event. We wouldn't consider missing the Slow Bowl in Paso Robles! We spent an amazing 5 days with our buddies in Savannah.

I spoke to a close friend in the Bay Area last week on the phone and mentioned I would probably see her in June. Her immediate response was, "Oh is there a Slow Travel party up here?"

Let's look at this next vacation! (TWO more sleeps!) We will be staying in a Slow Travel friend's apartment in Rome, and spending time while there with Massimo, Biancamaria, and hopefully their daughter. We are hosting a small GTG where we will meet at the apartment for a drink, and then dine at a close-by restaurant. We are taking an "Angels and Demons" tour of Rome. Why? Because we read the book? NO, because it is given by Slow Traveler, Tony!

The second week of our trip, not only will we be meeting up with Slow Travel friends, but we will be LIVING with six of them, and we will be cooking for them (and 8 others) for a week. This wonderful opportunity for a week in Tuscany came about because of our friendship with Gail and John when Gail flew out on the spur of the moment for our desert GTG.

So I guess Slow Travel has really changed not only how we travel, but where we travel, and who we travel with!

It has been an absolute blast to spent time together with Gail and John, Jerry and Paul, Sandi and Bill, and to meet Sandi's sister, Holly, who will be with us in Montisi. This is going to be one fun group! Will that lovely, quiet medieval town EVER be the same?

I'm SO ready!

Today, my "to do " list is short: Nail appointment, bank, call ATM/credit cards to notify them of travel.

I figured since I get to be in Italy in the spring, my house/dogsitter should get to sleep on a set of sheets perfect for Italian dreams.

I am charging my BRAND NEW Canon HD Camcorder (that my very nice and generous ex-husband gave me for my birthday!).

It is around 100 degrees here, so I will have my last fix of pool time for 2 weeks.
Yes, there is a pool in Montisi, but I will be in the kitchen (and it would be too cold for me anyway)!

Then I will do what I always do...sit and WAIT until it is time to go.

I hope to blog daily from Rome. Montisi may be more difficult, but surely either Jerry, Sandi or I will have a scoop!

I am very excited to get on our way, but in reality, though we will leave our house at 9:45 this morning...Italy is eighteen hours away!

We leave Palm Springs and fly to SFO. (Farther west than when we started)

Then we fly to Amsterdam, arriving at 10:30 AM Saturday.

Finally at 12:30PM, (Saturday), we leave Amsterdam for Rome, arriving at 4:00 PM.

My big bag of clothes weighed in at 49.5. The "cooking bag" is 30 lb. We're off!

Next blog will be coming from ROMA! Ciao for now!

Ciao from Rome! We arrived after long but on-time flights. Three of our four bags arrived, but not my BIG one with almost all my clothes. Thank God the cooking stuff is here. I have a change of clothes, capris, a nightgown and underwear. Hopefully, we'll get it soon. That aside, it is so wonderful to be here. The driver was still there (even though it took a while for us to do the lost luggage thing...), and we arrived at 5:15PM, and were greeted at the apartment by Massimo and Biancamaria.

After a tour of how to work everything, and checking on wifi, we took a neighborhood walk, and picked up necessities (coffee and milk)!

Then I needed a cappucino to perk!

It worked, and we took a walk, ending up at dinner at La Sagristia.

Today was a lazy Sunday! After our morning coffee routine, we walked across the Ponte Sisto to Trastevere. There had been a brief morning shower, but the sun was out with big puffy clouds in a beautiful blue sky.

After wandering around, we got thirsty, and stopped for a drink at the

The piazza was a busy place!

How cool is this doorway to a shop?

Here they are close-up. Rope/leather and mirror squares!

More soon...

We have been eating out way through Gina's list of restaurants. Don't ever go to Rome without it! For lunch on Sunday, we had our main meal of the day at Checco e Carettiere in Trastevere.

We shared an order of "Bombolotti Carettiere" as our primi.

Gina recommended "anything fried" so we shared calamaretti and carciofi alla Giudea!

Some coffee and complementary dolci put us straight into a food coma, and home for a nap!

Sunday evening we went to Cul de Sac for wine and a snack. We weren't too hungry after our huge lunch, and this is our favorite wine bar in Rome. We discovered this in 2001, and it was actually our waiter who first introduced us to the Val d'Orcia, by telling us all about his home town of Pienza.

We literally drank our way through several regions of Italy, beginning in the Veneto with my glass of prosecco, Brad's San Giovese from Emiglia - Romana, over to Piemonte with my Gavi and down to Umbria with Brad's Montefalco Rosso. The evening ended with my Brachetto di Acqui.

Of course we worked up an appetite and had a salami plate and some gorgonzola dolce!

Our real surprise was when we paid our bill, we asked if we could by bottles "to go". We had selected three bottles, and when the waiter added them up, it was much less than we thought it would be. They give a 20% DISCOUNT if you take it unopened! SCORE! Three bottles of wine for 34 Euro!

A few Slow Travelers met at our apartment for a drink and appetizers at 6 on Monday evening. Here are Sherry (Mimi), and Shelagh (SJ).

Tony (da Roma) and Flaminia entertained us with stories of Rome.

We enjoyed getting acquainted while munching on pecorino with rosemary honey, gorgonzola dolce, and soprasatta with our wine.

Tuesday, it rained...and rained, "gatti e cani", pretty much all day and night. Let me catch you up on the situation with my luggage, since it has been DAYS since I've mentioned it. We arrived at FCO on Saturday afternoon, one bag short (my BIG one). Sunday morning at 8 AM, Alitalia called MY CELL PHONE and said they had my bag, and it would be delivered by courier that day. They were clearly going to CALL FIRST, as we are in an apartment, not a hotel where they could just drop it off if we weren't home.

Sunday night...no bag. "It will be there Monday morning at the latest." I believed them, and had only bought a toothbrush. (I had SOME pants, a change of clothes and some extra undies.) No big deal. By Sunday evening, I was disappointed, but hey, we were in ROME, and I was SO happy seeing and doing and eating and drinking, that it was still ok! I used Brad's shampoo, etc., and he had packed the hair dryer. I wore jeans again. Monday, I let Alitalia buy me some makeup and two tops. We were "in the hood", and had the cell handy at all times. They said it would be here "late afternoon", so we came back to the apartment, and got ready for the GTG. Massimo called and said they had called HIM, AFTER they attempted to deliver my bag in the morning! Excuse me, we were at the corner having coffee with our cell phone on!
I decided Alitalia would love to pay for the cute shoes I "had to buy" yesterday!

We were given a new window of 9-1 on Tuesday. After coffee, we hung out in the apartment, had lunch from our provisions, read our books, and watched it rain.

At 12 :15, my bag was delivered! YEAH!

So what does one do on a VERY rainy afternoon? GO SHOPPING, of course! It is dry in the stores, and we had our 2 Euro umbrellas from the street vendor! We visited Gusto, a lovely kitchen shop, where I bought a huge jar of honey with pepperocino. Then I had a laser strike at Furla, with a wonderful bag AND a new wallet! Next, I found a lovely green linen outfit (pants and jacket), and a sweater set.

We relaxed in a cafe until time for dinner. It was a perfect Palmabella rainy day in Rome!

Continuing on our "Stella restuarant tour of Roma" brought us to dinner last night at Myosotis, near the Piazza della Rotunda (Pantheon neighborhood). It is a pretty restaurant with a "nuovo Roman menu".

We were served bruschetta with the owner's homemade Umbrian olive oil when we sat. Brad started with stracci con tomatoes, olives, and basil, while I had the BEST and lightest gnocchi of my life in a gorgonzola sauce.

For secondi, Brad had a veal medallion , wrapped in procsiutto with an asparagus puree, and I had grilled lamb.

We drank a bottle of Alois Lageder Pinot Grigio di Alto Aldige, and enjoyed our dining experience very much. It was POURING when we got out, so we grapped a taxi to our corner bar, and had coffee and grappa half a block from home. Tutto bene!

WARNING: This post may cause extreme hunger!

Yesterday we had a rainy trip by taxi to the Testacchio market. The rain was on and off, but we found some great little shops where I bought a few ingredients for my cooking in Montisi this coming week. Volpetti is a foodie's dream. I went a little "pazzo". We were offered many tastes, but when I chose four cheeses and ordered a KILO of each, they REALLY gave us kid glove service. Everything was so delicious, I was like a kid in a candy store!

After our rain drenched food shopping trip to Testacchio, we took a nap, then ventured out for dinner at Vinando (another Gina recommendation). OMG! There is a huge menu of "small plates" to taste along with an enormous wine list. We began with my stuffed fiori di zucchini (filled with ricotta and basil), which were light and crisp. Brad had a plate of bufalo mozzarella with olive crositni.

For our entrees, Brad had vitello con arancia, and I had vitello saltimbocca with a side of grilled zucchini.

On Thursday, we arrived at Piazza del Popolo at 9 AM in time for a cup of coffee before we met Tony da Roma, and our group for our tour, following the story in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.We began at Santa Maria del Popolo, where the first bishop was killed and branded with the word "EARTH". We saw the private chapel containing the statue of the angel which guided character Robert Langdon across Rome to try to save the second bishop from his death.

Tony did a great job of pointing out a plethora of inaccuracies in Brown's book. Next we traveled (by air conditioned van) to St Peter's square at the Vatican. We learned all about the Swiss Guard, and saw the imbedded plaque designating wind: AIR.

The next stop was Santa Maria della Vittoria, where a bishop was burned, and Langdon was almost suffocated in a sarcaphagus.

Here is Saint Teresa "in ecstasy":

Thursday night, we got dressed up and had a "post birthday dinner" for Brad. I chose another of Gina's recommended restaurants for a special night out, and indeed it was!
We took a taxi across town to Agata and Romeo. This is near Santa Maria Maggiore. As we got close to the church, there were MOBS of people lining the street. Our taxi driver told us the Pope was coming to say mass in just a few minutes. As we got to the front of the church, we could see all the cardinals and priests sitting out in front, and many carabiniere and polizia in place for the Pope's arrival!

We arrived at the restaurant, and rang the doorbell to enter. It is lovely inside, and you are greeted by pink peonies everywhere, and on each table.

We began with a glass of spumante Brut. Look at the beautiful oval water glasses!

We are leaving Rome this morning, and I won't have wifi in Montisi, but I will take lots of photos and post when I can! In the meantime, here are a few "Rome Moments":

Born to be Wild:

No, he wasn't after us. These are used only for high speed autostrada chases or organ donors.

Read the menu before ordering a "grande".

Palmabella makes a ragu:

This tiny coffee bar, just steps from the villa was my refuge all week in Montisi. My daily schedule was to be up by 6AM, put away any remaining dishes that had dried overnight, make coffee for the guests (several pots each morning, but no espresso available), start whatever food prep wad necessary for later, or bake a treat for breakfast, then head to the coffee bar when it opened at 7 with Brad for our breakfast. Some mornings it was just coffee for me, other days we had a cornetto with creme or marmalade. My first day there, I asked for a doppio in a HUGE glass, then filled with steamed milk (the equivalent of a venti latte). This treat was 2 Euro, with Brad's cafe Americano costing 80 cents (the locals price). Tourists paid one euro.
After three of these the first day, (morning, mid-day and late night), they automatically reached for the big glass as I entered. They even let me take their glass back to the villa, or bring a villa glass to them for a "to go" cup.

While others at the villa were fueled by vino, my coffee breaks are what kept me going. I also took an hour's nap 4 days during the week. Evenings, my usual bedtime was somewhere after midnight, and I loved evening with the locals at the coffee bar.
Gianluca and the ladies were delightful, and really kept my mental health in check.

I packed 300 packets of Sweet and Low in zip locks. I returned with ten. Two packets per cup...do the math! I drank a bit of coffee!

There is so much beauty in Italy, I can cry thinking about it...the art, the architecture, the duomos and tiny chapels, the green valleys, stone houses, cypress lined roads, the seascapes, the arches, the hill towns and vineyards, the olive groves, oh my, but for me, nothing quite does it like a field of sunflowers or POPPIES!

We had a great poppy field close by, as well as many scattered blooms along the road, and the beautiful Spanish broom was a blaze of yellow.

On Sunday morning, our first full day in Montisi, after coffee at the bar, we wandered off with Jerry and Paul to show them one of our favorite nearby spots, the Locanda dell' Amorosa. We spent a lovely week in this fabulous property, and it was around the corner from "our" poppy field.

You enter the property through a beautiful cypress-lined driveway.

The geraniums are too good to be true, the lemon and rosemary fragrance permeates the air, and it is always picture perfect in the piazza.

We walked around the property and showed the guys the lobby, restaurant, chapel, and cantina.

Sunday afternoon, many wineries throughout Italy were open for the once a year Cantine Aperte. You can visit wineries that would ordinarily need an appointment, or not be open at all for visitors. I had a sip of their only white wine, and decided I was much more interested in taking photos of the beauty around me than I was in drinking.

We were just down the road from San Biago, the beautiful church below the town of Montipulciano.

We enjoyed relaxing with the group in this beautiful spot. Then it was time for a nap, some coffee to revive, and get ready to go to our group dinner in Montisi.

I must say, the group cleans up well for dinner! We gathered for wine in the garden (more on the garden and the villa later...) before dinner.

Who are these two handsome guys? Brad and Holly's husband, Rick! (Sandi's wonderful brother-in-law)

Sandi, and her sister Holly are coordinated and accessorized!

Here we are enjoying the moment.

Another shot of me with the handsome men!

Monday morning at 9 AM, we left for a tour of the area with our tour guide, Pino, and his son, Marco, for a tour of the area. Pino is delightful, as well as knowledgeable, and gave us all kinds of interesting information. Our first stop was an olive grove with a view of the monastery San Anna in Camprena.

Pino explained the process of growing, and harvesting olives and making oil.

We arrived in Montepulciano, and wandered through the town.

For me, the highlight of our tour with Pino was our visit to the famous Montepulciano Mazzetti Copper Shop and near-by workshop, where we watched master Cesare Mazzetti work with the same tools his father and grandfather used to forge beautiful copper pots, molds, and containers.

Cesare was charming and playful. He chose Holly and Rick (the couple married the longest in our group), and designed a copper disk wall ornament using symbols that represented their family. He put two hearts with their initials, two flowers for their daughters, and two "bursts" for their romance of over 30 years.

Here are Holly and Rick (behind her) with their copper disk. These are used locally as favors for weddings with the couples' wedding date as a gift for guests.

After we left the workshop, Cesare promised all of us a copper disk if we left him our initials. Here is ours I will hang in the kitchen! (We also got the "bursts of passion"!)

Brad and I left Pino's tour and scooted off to nearby Pienza for some Pecorino shopping and lunch. After our shopping errands, of two wheels of different ages of pecorino, and a couple jars of my favorite lemon honey, we chose a pretty, favorite spot called "Chiocciola" for a cheesy meal.

I love the flower-filled garden of this restaurant. The air is filled with floral scents with a definite whiff of cheese!

My FAVORITE thing on their menu involves a basket of bread, and melted pecorino with honey.

It was just as yummy as I remembered! Brad ordered veal scallops covered with melted pecorino.

Sunshine, glorious weather, good cheese, bread and wine...what could be better?

We were up at 5:30 to give the ballooners a proper send off! Brad went along to video Jerry, Paul, Sandi and the others going up on their adventure. I began my cooking preparations for our lunch, and that night's dinner until he returned to help.

Here is the inflation process:

After the "safety talk", they have one last chance to change their mind. Everyone is ready and excited!

The gang filled the basket!

Up, up and away!

Be sure and check out Sandi's Smilebox collage on her blog, Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.

Since I was up at the crack of dawn, I heated up ragu I made in Rome and froze, and turned some into a vodka sauce with pancetta for lunch. I also got started on the warm potato salad for dinner, and marinated some figs in balsamic and honey for our salad dressing.

Warm Potato Salad

2 lbs red potatoes
2 T olive oil
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 red onion, thinly sliced
¼ c. chopped chives
1 c. crumbled gorgonzola

Preheat oven to 400. Boil cubed potatoes for 10 minutes, until tender. Saute mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Toss potatoes with mushrooms, chives, onion and add gorgonzola. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Tuesday, we decided to prepare a hearty lunch for the returning ballooners, and those who had stayed at the villa for Liz's watercolor painting class (more on that tomorrow).
I made a ton of a meat ragu when in Rome, and brought it to the villa frozen in two large disposable tupperware containers, with a