Our Final Evening in Rome

We lingered into the evening on the bustling streets of Rome... not quite ready to leave it all behind... Dinner at La Fortunato in the thriving area of the Pantheon... back to the great Roman nightlight of the Trevi Fountain... and then on through the city back to the Spanish Steps... History and the cool Rome night air embracing us for one final evening... We'll be back.

Gin Rummy, Bacci Ball, Rainbows & More Great Food...

We enjoyed our final day in Tuscany at our fabulous villa by staying home and just enjoying being together... We played a friendly game of cards (just ask Angie and Ron!)... then a little Bacci Ball on the freshly mowed lawn.... a quick shower gave us the gift of a late afternoon rainbow... and then another yummy meal with Carla... our favorite chef! She brought gifts for the girls... handmade spoon rests. Another wonderful day in Tuscany with friends.

Last day memories

Friday afternoon waiting for Carla

Our last sunset
Pam at the Spanish Steps
Spanish Steps ( a gathering place )
Porsche and Ferrari siteing ( both very nice )

Friday was our last night in our wonderful villa in Montespertoli. Everyone looked forward to Carla arriving with dinner preparations. What an experience she was. The fabulous food she prepared was beyond description. She also brought gifts for each of the ladies. I'm sure each of us will think of her every time we use her ceramic piece. I really hope to see her again and she will be in our memories forever.
On Saturday, we all got to explore Rome again in a more relaxed pace. Our hotel at the Spanish Steps was very nice and close to all the restaurants, fountains and shopping area. Dick and I found the Ferrari store for some 'manly' shopping for a change. For some reason, in all the stores the ladies took us to and all the patience all the guys had, we somehow was abandoned in this store. I did find us a car photo op.

The trip back on Sunday went without a hitch with exception of the sad feeling of our friends going their separate way.

This trip with everone was very enjoyable and special. Pam and I miss all of you and the laughter that was shared.

Our hope is that we can all look forward to getting together again very soon.

And, Charleston's Cooper River bridge run is not as far off as we think. Plus, I need that long to get back out of my Italy debt.

Ron and Pam

What we've been doing the last days of our trip (Wed., Thurs. Friday)

Hello to all!! Sorry, we haven't blogged in a couple of days. We've been gone or too tired to blog when we return from our adventures!!

Wednesday we actually hung around the villa most of the day because we were so tired from the previous two days. We finally decided to venture out to our little town for dinner. Stanage left for Venice to spend the night with her dad.

Thursday Stanage returned late from Venice. Ron and Dick decided to stay around the villa, while Sally, Gina, David, Angie went to Cinque Terre for the day. What a wonderful day. See the pictures for just a sample of the day that we had.
Friday, (today) most of us haven't left the villa, except a few went into town for gelato. We've all be packing and trying to find places in our suitcases for all the treasures we have found in Italy!
Saturday we're getting up bright and early to leave our wonderful villa for one more night in Italy(Rome).

Monday & Tuesday in Venice & other places

David's buddies, Pig, Garfield and Superman riding on the Gondelier's hat brim!
Debra Molina with Ron & Pam in Venice showing us the sites...

Hello gang! Well it's been a couple of busy days!! Sally, Ron, Pam headed out EARLY Monday morning for Venice & didn't arrive back until LATE Tuesday night. Gina and David met us in Venice on Tuesday. Stanage left for Venice early this morning for a couple of days. Her dad just happen to be there at the same time, so she is spending a couple of days with him. Dick, Angie and Stanage have stayed close by the villa and small towns the last couple of days. Angie and Dick took off early this morning for a Olive Oil tasting nearby. I don't think we have an agenda today(thank goodness), so it'll be a relaxing day! Here's just a couple of Venice pics.

"Lots of Laughter"

As beautiful as Italy is... it wouldn't matter a bit if we weren't getting along together... and I would characterize our trip after the first week as one filled with laughter... we wake to the sounds of conversation (or the crazy "Coo Coo" bird outside our windows) and finally go to bed when everyone is just worn out from laughing... Ron has learned Italian... his first word was "Chippa" just use the english word and add a vowel to the end... and we thought Italian was going to be tough... drinking Grappa with the locals... and then finding that they remember us the next evening... finding most things funny... including our driving pursuits... the stress is lessened when we get back to the Villa and compare notes on our escapades... everyone has a better story than the last person who made it home alive!! Our GPS systems only add to the Chaos!!
Coming soon... I'll tell you about garlic breath... and have I mentioned Gelato????
OH MY GOSH! It is as good as everyone says!

Biking in Lucca

Gina and David leaning together in Pisa....


Lucca street scene with Sycamore trees...

After Pisa on Saturday we toured the walled city of Lucca on bicycles. What fun! Lucca was one of our favorites and definitely deserves more time... a city of music... Puccini was born there and culture... well... they didn't kick us out and we certainly enjoyed our time. We purchased traditional pasteries at Taddeucci including an Anice flavored bread with raisins and other little yummy treats... thank goodness we rode off a few calories on the bikes!

Monterspertoli - City of Wine

How lucky could we have been... our little village of Monterpertoli has been hosting a Chianti Festival all week long. We purchased wine glasses in little "feed sacks" to hang around our necks and have sampled the best that Monterpertoli has to offer all week long... there has been music in the streets... and today was a sweet parade celebrating their wine and agricultural heritage... animals and folks dressed in period costumes... fellas sporting wild fake mustaches... ducks in rolling, floral decked cages.... again, so quaint and fun! Here are a few more pics to tell the story... Pam, Ron and I (Sally) are off to Venice tomorrow for more big adventures... the rest are staying around for the Flag Throwing demonstration in town which will signal the finale of the festival in town. We're making the most of every lovely day... wish you were all here with us! Ciao!

Ron, Pam, Sally, Stanage went back into Florence for Sunday. We had some great 'gelato' at Grom's. I found an Italian sports car, called the SmartCar Roadster and posted a photo.

Dick and I did a currency conversion on the cost and in US dollars it will run about $28,000.00.

Sorry SmartCar. We performance guys will stick with our Corvettes, Porsches, and BMW's.

We left early yesterday for Pisa and Lucca. We had our "photo opp' in Pisa... a quick spin around the grounds and we were off to the next town!
Lucca was a pleasant surprise. We had lunch in a piazza where an antique car and motorcycle show was happening... then rode bikes around the ramparts and into the ancient city center.
We all decided that Lucca was our favorite spot so far on the trip. The city is small and quaint and quiet... really enchanting... then back to the villa for wine and conversation in the evening

before ending up back in Monterspertoli at the our local spot for a lite dinner and fun with Guiseppi.

The Hood

Here are a few shots from around the Villa. We have a panoramic view of hillside castles and grapevines as far as the eye can see.

Friday and taking it easy

Friday was a easy day for the group. It was a bit rainy so we decided to stay close to home base and do some ceramic shopping in nearby Montelupo (a ceramics town). We ate lunch in a small restaurant where we were the only Americans and had a truly Italian experience... most of us ate some sort of seafood after the waiter was kind enough to decifer the menu! After shopping we hung out at our little town and then spent our evening here at the villa and had a wonderful dinner.... goodies from the local merchants... local cheeses including a fabulous fresh picorino; mild and sweet... fresh cherries and strawberries... melon and proschutto... bread and olive oil from a local grove bottled this month... salami and a fresh arugula salad.... YUMO!!! Oh yea... and of course Vino!! We ended the meal with chocolate and Lemoncello! This morning our shorts are TIGHT but we're going to ride bikes in Lucca and hold up the leaning tower in Pisa! Ciao!