Rome- "Closed by reason of circumstances beyond one's control"

Rome, Italy
October 19-22

There are times that you go to a city and you feel an instant connection. You stay for a day, maybe for a week, and magical things happen during your stay. You have amazing experiences with wonderful people and places and food and it breaks your heart when you have to leave. For us, Rome was not one of those places.

Rome as viewed from the Piazza Venezia.

We should have seen it coming, the signs were all there. I have been joking with Shaun for months now that all of the amazing things that have fallen into place for this trip were signs from the universe that we made the right decision to do this. Well this time the signs were all saying "Closed" but somehow we just missed it. It all started when we left Buonconvento. We were driving to Rome to return the rental car and Silvanna had told us that the quickest way was to drive down the SS2 and pick up the A1 highway in Chuisi, which I kept calling Chiuso, a word we had heard a bunch of times, and which I now know means "closed".

We had very few issues actually getting to Rome. The highways were fairly well marked and the airport was outside the city so we simply dropped the car off and followed the signs to the train. We had booked a hotel right near the train station so it was just a short walk to the hotel from Termini station. After checking in and unpacking, we walked over to the Tourist Information center. The plan was to blitz the sights during what amounted to two and a half days in Rome so he suggested the 3 day Roma Pass. They cost 25 Euro each, but allowed you free transportation on all Metros and Buses as well as free entrance to your first two Rome sites. It made a lot of sense considering our plans so we got our Roma passes and set out to do some sightseeing.

It was fairly late in the afternoon at that point so we decided to go see a few of the more famous outdoor sights; the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. The guy at the TI had told us that bus 175 was the best one for those sights, so we ventured out to find the bus. Now, let me be clear. We have taken the buses in almost every city we have been to; in France, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In every case they were clean, punctual and very easy to navigate, so I have nothing against buses. The Roman bus system was the problem. First of all, there was not a bus map to be found. Every other city would have maps of the bus routes at all the stops so you knew which one to take. Here, they seem to expect you to just know which buses go where. And the timelines they give for how often the buses come seemed to have come from some kind of fairytale world. Most of the time we would wait forever for a bus to arrive, then the driver would get out and go do some kind of paperwork. Then he would usually come back, smoke a cigarette on the bus, trim his fingernails, do some origami and write letters to his family before deciding to finally open the doors to the people waiting to board. We would all rush onto the bus and then we would all sit there, crammed on board for another 15 minutes before leaving the station.

So that was our first experience with Rome's public transportation. By the time we got off the bus we were both feeling pretty gross from the ordeal, but we were determined to see some "wicked old stuff" so we were off. First stop was the Trevi Fountain. We knew vaguely where it was, but the city map from the TI had teeny tiny lettering that was virtually impossible to read so we were a little turned around. We knew the fountain was of Neptune (Triton) and we were on Triton street so when we came upon a mossy statue of Neptune I originally thought we had reached the Fountain. It seemed disappointing but there were a bunch of people taking pictures so we did too. It only took a minute or two before we realized that this could not possibly be the fountain that everyone talks about. We moved on, and when we found the actual fountain we had a good laugh at the difference between that fountain and the one at the Trevi bus stop.

This was the first crappy fountain we came to. Even Shaun's face is saying, "Really, this is what all the fuss is about??

Now that's more like it!

We were still laughing about the mossy fountain vs this one.

The fountain was gorgeous but it was also an absolute mob scene. People were packed in on the steps leading down to it, waiting for their chance to throw a coin in the fountain, something that will supposedly ensure your return to Rome. I had read that the tourists throw around three thousand dollars into the fountain per day, but the coins are collected and donated to the Italian Red Cross. So we ponied up two coins and stood with our backs to the fountain and tossed them in. Then we made our way through the crush in search of the Spanish Steps.

The Spanish Steps is a wide staircase of 138 steps that rises up from the Piazza di Spagna and looks down on the fountain called "The Old Boat" in the Piazza. It is mostly known as romantic spot where couples come and sit at Sunset or at night and bask in the loveliness of the city. I think it might have been more lovely if the guys offering to give you "free" roses didn't come up to you every 10 seconds and try to jam them into your hands. A firm no was all it took, but it was still a bit annoying. So we had our little romantic moment and headed back to shower for dinner.

The Spanish Steps at night. Very romantic, especially with the Hawkers swarming you every ten seconds.

It was Shaun's birthday that night and we wanted to go somewhere nice. We will both celebrate our birthdays on this trip so we made a deal that we would just do a nice dinner to celebrate. When you are taking a trip around the world, you don't really need presents too! So Shaun had found a place on trip advisor called Ad Hoc and attempted to make a reservation for 8:30PM. I say attempted because they had a service like Open Table, only instead of telling you right away whether you have a reservation, this one said someone woould "get back to you". Since we were heading out we didn't find out what the response was before we left.

Just like the time before, the bus situation was out of control. We waited forever and then finally got on, just to wait some more. By the time we got over to the end of town where we needed to be, it was too late to do any sightseeing so we figured we would try to find the restaurant and make sure they had our reservation. It was 7:30 so the restaurant had just opened, but when we explained that we tried online that afternoon, she said "Oh no, we have been booked for days, we are all full!" We must have looked really sad, because she said she would double check. Then another woman came over and she explained what was happening. I told them we would eat now if that would make a difference. They conversed for a second and then she said, "OK come with me" and seated us at a romantic little table for two near the window. The other woman said she must have liked us!

The first thing they did was brought us some complimentary champagne! I thanked her again and told her it was Shaun's birthday so we were really grateful they had seated us. She helped Shaun pick the wine to go with our meals and then brought the bottle. It was called Chiuso, which she explained means "Closed". Hmmm. The meal was great. We both got a pasta course, in Shaun's case a Carbonara Sampler. If you've never had pasta carbonara, get out of your chair, drive to the best italian restaurant you know and order it. Its like a combo of Pasta with bacon and eggs. It is so rich and delicious and creamy and I am drooling just thinking about it! Shaun's sampler had traditional carbonara, a mushroom carbonara and a Truffle carbonara. It was sooooo good. So the birthday dinner was a big success and we were already fat and happy when we went to leave. Just as we are putting on our coats the woman who gave us the table came back over and gave us a little brown bag. It was a bottle of sparkling wine as a thank you for choosing Ad Hoc for his celebration. A nice touch.

Shaun enjoying his carbonara sampler. Please note the bottle of wine called Il Chiuso. The waitress pointed out that Chiuso means closed.

Even funnier was when we got back to our hotel. We had booked it with a last minute rate the night before arriving in Rome, so it was a pretty nice place even though it was close to the train station! They must have seen it was Shaun's birthday when we checked in and gave them his passport, because they had left us a bottle of prosecco in the room! It was like the city was trying to woo us. And they almost had us at that point. Almost.

Such a beautiful sunset. Too bad it was a sign of the Apocalypse!

The next morning we woke up early and heard a very strange noise. Thunder. We had been on the road for about 8 weeks at that point and we could only remember two days where there was any considerable rain. We've truly been blessed with the most unseasonably warm fall Europe has seen in years. So it was strange to hear thunder and even stranger to look out and see it absolutely pouring!! We needed to get our train tickets for Venice so we decided we would dress warmly, walk up to the train station, get the tickets and head out to the Vatican. Within about 20 steps we were both soaked to the skin. We ran to the train station and found water coming in all over the place. It was literally streaming down from the ceiling in some spots like someone had left a hose running! We found this rather odd, but chalked it up to Roman engineering, got our train tickets and a coffee and watched the mayhem. At this point there was so much thunder, lightning and rain that there was no way we were going sightseeing. We headed back to the hotel, hung out our clothes to dry, ordered a pot of coffee and worked on our blogs for a while.

By the time the rain slowed at all it was lunchtime, so we headed back up toward the train station. We figured we would take the metro over to the Vatican area and get lunch before heading to the Vatican Museum. When we got to the train station, we followed the signs downstairs to the metro where we were met with a huge crowd of people trying to read some sign. "Chiuso", it said. Closed. The rainstorm was apparently so bad that it flooded the metro and so it was closed for the day. We would have to take the bus. And so would every other person in Rome who usually took the metro.

I don't think I need to explain to you how bad the bus situation was that day. Lets just say that there are a number of gentlemen in Rome who I now know far too well. Shaun and I were crammed in like absolute sardines. It was an endless ride, but eventually we got over to the Vatican area. We grabbed a quick bite and then went to the Vatican Museum. The museum is interesting, not only for the art, but also for the way it runs. They know everyone wants to see the Sistine Chapel so no matter which route you choose, the longer intererary that allows you to view everything or the shorter itinerary that cuts out most other stuff, you will end up at the Sistine Chapel.

The museum was founded in 1771 and houses many great works of art that were amassed by the Catholic Church over the centuries. If we really wanted to we could have spent all day there looking at statues, sarcophagi, paintings etc. Unfortunately, after all this time we have a bit of "museum fatigue" so we really just wandered and checked things out on the way to the Sistine Chapel. The one dazzler for both of us though, was the "Gallery of Maps". I know, it doesn't sound very interesting, but trust me it was gorgeous. A huge hallway just filled with paintings on the walls and up the ceiling, frescoes and topographical maps all inlaid with these beautiful frames and lit from the sides. As I've often said, I'm not sure a photo can do it justice, but I'll try.

Two views of the Hall of Maps. My neck hurt from craning it in all directions to take it all in!

Unfortunately they don't allow photos of the Sistine Chapel, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it was amazing. At this point, we've seen a lot of works by Michelangelo and I'm just blown away that the same guy who sculpted David from a single block of marble at 29 also spent 4 years painting 12,000 square feet of this chapel ceiling. You would think he only lived to about 40 with all that hard work, but he lived to be 88 years old. Crazy. I am officially a Michelangelo groupie at this point. He is, as we would say in Massachusetts, Wicked Awesome.

Once we left the Sistine Chapel we headed around to St Peter's square to take a look at the Basilica. (Dome designed by Michelangelo of course) The line was huge to go in, so we just hung out people watching in the square for a while. We had dinner plans with family and we needed to shower and change which meant more buses. Ugh. We headed back to clean up at the hotel.

Saint Peter's Square outside the Vatican.


That evening we met up with my cousin Kate and Ed's daughter Maggie. Maggie goes to college at Catholic University but she is spending a semester abroad in Rome. We both remember what it was like to be a starving college student so we invited Maggie to bring a friend along and join us for dinner. Maggie suggested the area around Piazza Navona, which was a great choice. The fountain there is gorgeous, second only to the Trevi Fountain, and there are tons of restaurants around. We met up with Maggie and her friend Helen at Piazza Navona at 8PM and headed off to dinner. It was another good meal, and more free prosecco. The funny thing was we had brought our sparkling wine for Maggie and Helen, and then the waiter here was giving us glasses as well. Must just be a Rome tradition, we can't be that popular.

Anyway, the food was good but the company was excellent. It was interesting to get Maggie and Helen's take on Rome. They both said they had a rough start, but had really grown to love Rome. During their fall break they get to do much more travel around Europe, visiting Dublin, London, Paris and Barcelona. What a great experience! As someone who didn't get to Europe for the first time until I was 32, I think it is wonderful that they get to do this. Hopefully it will spark them to continue to see the world and inspire their friends and family to do the same. I am a firm believer in Mark Twain's idea that prejudice cannot survive travel. That once you get to know a place and a people you have a better understanding for what they go through and how they live.

So after our nice meal, we went back to the fountain in Piazza Navona and said our goodbyes to Maggie and Helen. For those of you who don't know, I am from a big family on both my mother and father's side, but my father's side, the is particularly large. My dad had 12 siblings and I have 66 first cousins on the Flatley side. In Maggie's generation there are 129 more! My cousins were all really close growing up and we still love to get together when we can, but it isn't as often anymore now that everyone has their own families. So it was really nice that Maggie's semester in Rome coincided with our trip and we got to do some Flatley Family bonding! In a few weeks we will be in England and Ireland where I hope to do some bonding with even more distant relatives if they will have us!

Maggie, Shaun and I at the fountain at Piazza Navona.

Me, Maggie and Helen. It was fun to see them!





The next morning we headed back up to the train station to see if the metro was running. After the strangeness of the day before I had doing some poking around on the internet and found out that the storm had been much bigger than we realized. Two people were actually killed! There were over 7000 recorded lightning strikes over Rome and there was massive flooding throughout the city. That is the why the metro had been "Chiuso". What we didn't realize was that that word would continue to follow us.

We got on the B metro, which we planned to take to the Colosseum. The Colosseum dates back to 72AD and is one of the most important sights in Rome. We were all excited on the train to finally see some of the Wicked Old Stuff as we had been calling it. So you can imagine our surprise when the Metro slowed down at the stop but didn't actually stop! At first I thought we had missed something. (Were we supposed to jump?) but when we got off at the next stop there was an electronic sign flashing something about the Colosseum stop and "Chiuso". We should have seen the rest of it coming.

Always the optimists, we started to make our way over to the area around the Colosseum, but we were both starving so we decided to get something to eat.
We found the cutest little restaurant down a side street called Cafe, Cafe and the lunch menu was inexpensive and interesting so we decided to just have an early lunch so we could go all day. I had veal meatballs in curry sauce with basmati rice. It sounds strange but it was delicious! Shaun had a serious case of food envy. We had a nice relaxing lunch. After all the Colosseum had been there for thousands of years, it would still be there another hour.

Bellies full and feet rested, we walked back over to the Colosseum. It was truly a sight to see from the outside, but something was strange. There didn't seem to be any lines to get in? People were just milling about aimlessly. We finally got close enough to see why. The gates were still closed and on the gate was an 8x12 peice of paper with a notice scribbled in Italian and English. The English one made me laugh out loud. It said "Today the Colosseum is closed by reason of circumstances beyond one's control".
Well that explains everything! At least we knew about the big storm the day before, nobody else seemed to have any clue that had happened so people were just bewildered! (Some were clearly angry as well). It was the saddest group of tourists you ever want to see.

I find this sign hilarious, in a really sad way.

We decided to try to salvage things by walking over to Palantine Hill. Maybe we could see some things over there? Nope. Chiuso. Oh well, lets just go see the Forum. We went into the visitor center and saw lots of people. Good sign. We couldn't quite find the main entrance though so we finally asked. Chiuso. Of course it is. And why would you bother putting up any kind of sign? Why not just let hundreds of people wander around and ask you individually? Do I sound bitter?

At that point you would think we would be furious, but we found it kind of hilarious. We had this one day set aside to do these sights and they were all closed. Plus, they were the whole reason we bought the Roma pass. That and all the free transportation on Rome's wonderful bus and metro system. Sigh. We decided we weren't going to let Rome beat us down, no matter how hard it seemed to be trying. We would continue to wander the streets and take pictures of Wicked Old Stuff from the outside. We were kind of like the Griswalds. "Look honey, there's the outside of the Colosseum!" "And the outside of the Forum!" Good grief.

The Colosseum...as viewed from the outside

The Forum...as viewed from the outside

We did see some really cool things that day though. We wandered up and down the streets around the Colosseum and did the same around the Forum, where at least you could look down on some of the Old Stuff. We went to a Piazza that had been designed by my buddy Michelangelo and then one of my favorite spots, the Piazza Venezia with the Altar of the Nation. We stopped by the Pantheon and then went back to visit the Trevi fountain again, just to try to end on a high note.

Piazza Venezia was beautiful

The Pantheon


The final night our stay in Rome was typical of everything else we had experienced. We wanted to go to Trastavere for dinner, a cool section of Rome across the river. The metro didn't go that way so we needed to take a bus. After waiting about a half hour for the bus and watching buses come and go to every other destination we finally gave up and went back to Piazza Navona. We had a mediocre dinner and headed back to the hotel. We were heading to Venice in the morning and we were both pretty happy about it.

So I will just say this about our stop in Rome. The whole visit was a bit of a mess from start to finish, but I do realize that not all of it could have been prevented. Nobody could have predicted that a massive thunderstorm would cause total chaos in the city for two of our three days. Nobody could have known that it would flood every major archaelogical site and shut down the metro. There are millions of people who go to Rome every year and love it. There are T-shirts and bags and hand towels and ashtrays that all attest to the fact that people "Heart Roma", so take my experience with a grain of salt. We had some good food, some time with family and a number of laughs over the craziness of the situation. And if nothing else we learned some Italian. I don't think either of us will ever forget that Chiuso means Closed!

One last look at the Trevi fountain. It was beautiful.

How Eileen got her Groove Back

Nice, France and Buonconvento, Italy
October 11-19

When we last left our heroine, she was tied to the railroad tracks with a hand to her forehead crying, "Who will SAVE me!!"

Just kidding. But I was in need of saving of sorts. I needed to get away from all the big city noise and crowds and lights. I needed someplace quiet for a few days that didn't involve subways or train stations or hotel rooms (next to train stations). So we scrapped a few plans to stay in big touristy cities in Italy in favor of a place that neither of us had ever heard of, a small Tuscan village called Buonconvento. We were heading to this small town because it housed an Agriturismo called Podere Cunina that looked like it would be the perfect place to relax for a few days. But first we had to get there!

In order to get from Avignon to Buonconvento we would have to take the train across Southern France to the Italian border (using our Eurail pass) then take an Italian train to Genoa where we would go to the airport to pick up a rental car. Then we needed to drive down the middle of Italy about 4-5 hours to Buonconvento. Sounds like a day trip right? Nope. Not possible. We needed to split the trip up and I had the perfect solution- Nice, France!

I first went to Nice in 2004 on my sabbatical and I still vividly remember how shocked I was to find these gorgeous Caribbean Blue waters in the South of France. I wanted Shaun to get a taste of it as well and since Nice is pretty much the last stop before Italy, it would be perfect for us. We booked one last train station hotel, the Ibis in Nice and then boarded a train from Avignon to Nice early Tuesday morning. We arrived in Nice around 1:30, checked into the hotel, threw some bathing suits on under our clothes and headed toward the water. First we needed to eat something though, so we stopped for a pizza and a salad at a cafe. Finally at around 2:30 we stepped onto the beach and laid out our towels on the rocks.

Shaun in the beautiful Place Massena in Nice, France

Yes, rocks. I should mention that most of the beaches in Nice are covered in rocks not sand, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. The rocks are fairly small and smooth from the water so once you settle in you can get pretty comfy. The weather that day was gorgeous, hot and sunny, so after a little while Shaun went in for a swim while I watched the bags. He said the water was a little chilly, but clean and beautiful. The rocks were a bit difficult to walk on though. So now it was my turn. The water looked so inviting but walking on the rocks looked like not so much fun. There was only one solution- I wore my sneakers in to the water. It may not have been fashionable, but it sure was fun! And really, who will ever know I did that? (Oh, except you. Right.)

Shaun swimming in the waters off Nice

See, you can't tell that I have sneakers on!








We stayed on the beach until around 5:30 and then headed back to shower up. We walked into the Old Town for a quick dinner and then headed back to the hotel early. We had to catch an early train the next morning if we wanted to get to Buonconvento by dinnertime. Between the ocean swimming and laying in the sun, it was a fabulous day in Nice.

On Wednesday morning we were on the train by 7:30AM headed to Ventimiglia, Italy. We were using the last day of our Eurail pass to get out of France so when we got off the train in Ventimiglia we bought two tickets to Genoa and boarded the train for the next leg of the journey. Both of those train ride were beautiful. These trains run along the coast of France and Italy and for much of the ride you have beautiful views of the water. When we didn't have water views we were both reading so the time flew by. Next thing we knew we had arrived in Genoa. That's where things got interesting!

The train ride to Genoa. We had no idea what awaited us.


We got off the train and immediately left the station looking for the bus stop. We had researched the buses and knew there was a cheap one that would take us to the airport. I was looking at the schedule when Shaun called my name. I told him I was just trying to figure out the schedule and I would only be another minute. He said "Eileen, you better take a look at this". I looked over and saw two paddy wagons and at least twenty policemen, all in black in full on riot gear. Behind them we could hear quite a bit of noise but we had no idea what it was. I motioned to Shaun that we had better get on to the median where the bus was. As we walked over, we heard an Australian gentlemen rather urgently telling two other women that no buses were coming and asking if they wanted to share a cab. I stepped up and told him that we would definitely share a cab. He told all of us to follow him and we walked up the street just as a huge protest turned the corner into the train station. It was loud and angry and scary and I was very glad to be walking away.

We walked around the corner and the Australian told us to wait there. He said he would take the elevator up to his hotel and see if he could get us two cabs. In the meantime, one of the women who was actually from Genoa, told us that they had closed down a factory and these were the factory workers protesting the closure. She talked about how hard things were in Italy right now and how some people were very angry with the government. Finally, our friend the Australian came down and told us he had gotten one big cab. We needed to take the elevator up though. He had arranged for them to let us all on this strange elevator. As we got in, he explained that this was the only elevator in the world that goes both vertically and horizontally. I felt like we were in some sort of Batman scene as the elevator went horizontally for about 100 feet and then stopped and went vertically for another 100 feet, dropping us off at the top of Genoa. On the way up, we learned that we were made up of one Australian, two Americans, a woman from Greece and one from Genoa. The five us us squeezed into the cab and headed to the airport the long way, avoiding the protest area.

The cab ride was insane. Shaun and I were in front and we could barely speak because we were fearing for our lives. This guy made NYC cab divers look like newbies. By the time we got to the Genoa airport I was ready to kiss the ground. In all the craziness, our only regret is that we didn't get the Australian guy's name. We would have liked to repay him for his kindness when we went to Australia this winter. Looks like we will need to pay it forward instead.

I was fairly nervous about having a rental car in Italy. The Italians are known as much for their crazy driving as for anything else. There's a reason for that. They are insane. Soccer may be the national pastime, but tailgating has to be a close second. And if you are on a hairpin turn on the edge of a cliff but you are deemed to be going too slow, they will pass you even if there is a semi coming in the opposite direction. Thank God Shaun was driving, not me. My job was "Map and Sign Girl". I would try to spot the turns ahead of time so that we didn't need to slow down at all, lest we be killed. After a little while we were both pretty comfortable in our roles with just the occasional "Holy Crap!!" or "Save me Oprah!!" escaping us when someone decided to pass three cars at once on a blind curve or something like that.

So on we drove down through Italy. Silvanna, the woman at the Agriturismo had told me we should stop in Pisa along the way to see the tower. Vanda had told us that the tower was cool but the rest of the town was a Sh**hole, so we decided we could make that a quick stop! We did and we're both glad we stopped. It's true that Pisa doesn't have much to offer, but the tower is kind of unbelievable to see in person. It truly looks like it will topple over any minute! But more surprising to me was how beautiful the actual square and the tower are. I'd always pictured it like it was all decaying and dirty, but it is actually quite pretty. We were both glad we went and happy to head back on the road knowing we weren't missing anything else by skipping the rest of Pisa.

The famous leaning tower.

The rest of the drive to Buonconvento was beautiful. It was the end of the day and we were driving through these Tuscan hills just following the signs. Silvanna had told us to follow the signs to Florence, then to Siena, then towards Rome for about 30 minutes and we would eventually see signs for Buonconvento. It was just as she said. At around 6:15pm we reached the sign that pointed toward Resta and took a left hand turn onto the dirt road. We drove up and up into the hills on a winding dirt road following the little hand-made signs that said "Podere Cunina". Finally after about 10 minutes of slow driving we arrived at the farm. We were both awestruck by the views from the place- gorgeous pink skies over miles and miles of hills and farms for as far as the eye could see. Podered Cunina lies in the middle of the Sienese Clay Hills in Tuscany and is a farmhouse that had been turned into an Agriturismo with 6 apartments. Every apartment is named for a type of tree and ours was named for the Pine tree. It was called Pinus. Yep, Pinus. We've had lots of fun with that.

The road that led to the Farmhouse was long and winding

The stairs lead up to our apartment. In the foreground you cann see the herbs that grew everywhere on the property. Huge rosemary, sage and mint plants everywhere as well as lavender and even cactus.

At that point we finally met Silvanna, who I had been exchanging emails with for the last few days. She was just as sweet and helpful as all the reviews had said. She gave us a local map and showed us all the best towns to visit and how to get there. She gave us a list of restaurants in all the nearby towns that they recommend. Then she showed us the apartment. Shaun said it best. Sometimes you rent an apartment online and they make it look so big and beautiful and then you arrive and realize it must have been the way they photographed it. This was just the opposite; the photos online did not do it justice. We had a big dining area with an invection stove and oven and a washing machine in the corner. Off to the side of the dining room was our bedroom with a queen sized bed and a twin on the side. There was a big downstairs bathroom with a shower and another half bath as well as a sitting area and couch upstairs. Outside, each apartment had their own little patio with a table and chairs. Ours just happened to be closest to the outdoor brick oven that anyone in the apartments could use. And did I mention that she had cut us a deal because they were going into Low Season? We had rented the apartment for 5 nights but I think we both knew at that moment we wanted to stay longer.

Our bedroom with the view of the Tuscan hills that we looked out on every night and morning.

That first evening was hilarious and wonderful. We had brought a few things from France, salt, pepper, chocolates and some jam, definitely not enough to make a dinner! So we headed to the grocery store, but it was closed. Actually, the hours were pretty funny. It was the Coop (which you may remember from our stay in Switzerland) which is a full-on Supermarket, but the hours were very Italian. They were open from 8:30AM to 1:30PM and then again from 4:30PM to 7:30PM. It was the same everywhere in Tuscany, all the shops and restaurants closed for a few hours in the afternoon. For Shaun and I, it would end up shaping our days. But first, we needed something to eat, so it was off to downtown Buonconvento for dinner at Ristorante di Mario.

This was one of the restaurants that was recommended by Silvanna and there were lots of people eating in the dining room downstairs and on the terrace. When we told them we didn't have a reservation she pointed upstairs, where there was another dining room. What we didn't know then was that the guy who ran that dining room was insane.

Everything started off fine, if a little fast. He very quickly asked us if we wanted Vino (yes) Rossa or Bianco (Rossa) and then Aqua (yes) gazzetto (yes). Then he walked away and came back with a pitcher of Sparkling water and an unlabeled bottle of Red Wine. he put both on the table and walked away. Similar to some parts of France, they would just charge you for how much wine you drank.

Things got really interesting when it came time to order. He just started in speaking VERY fast italian. I caught a few words like Tagliattelle, Ravioli and Spaghetti so we knew it was the pasta course. I didn't know how to ask him to repeat it so I made a sort of hand gesture and he just said it all again, only louder. Still staring at him blankly, he gave me his little notebook. I think his other career was a Doctor because there was no deciphering the notebook. So Shaun just said Tagiatelle and I said Ravioli. That started him in on what appeared to be sauce options- he loudly recited 8 or 9 types of sauces. Once again I tried to ask a question and he just rifled them off again, louder. At this point, the girls sitting near us were laughing quietly and Shaun and I were very close to bursting out in hysterical laughter as well. We both ordered the Ragu because we knew it was a meat sauce and prayed for this to end. But no, it was time for the main course. Same deal. He bolted through the options in manic Italian. Shaun ordered vitello and I ordered bistecca because they were literally the only things we could understand. He went to put in our order and then came back and said something else, "Contorno". I had no idea what that meant but thought it was probably about dessert and would lead to another showdown, so I just said No Grazie. (We later realized he was asking what we wanted for side dishes).

Once the food came, we were both relieved. The pasta portions were very small and along with the main course, it was a perfect sized meal. Some vegetables on the side might have been nice, but it probably would have broken us to order them. The best was watching everyone else that came in go through the same experience! Even the Italians seemed thrown off by his crazy speed reading of the choices. Each new group had their own experience and then got to chuckle at the next group. We finished up our dinner, paid the very reasonable tab and headed back to the Farmhouse. We settled into our comfy bed, amazed at how dark and quiet it was in this little corner of Italy. We slept better here in Tuscany than anywhere else we had been so far.

The days we spent in Tuscany were so relaxing. We were in a great spot in the middle of wine country. We were about 90 minutes from Florence and just over an hour from San Gimignano and Chianti. Montalcino was 20 minutes away and Siena was 30 minutes. We had a car so we were on nobody's timetable but our own. We wanted to eat dinner at home most days and lunch if possible, so most days we made breakfast at home, read a bit, did some laundry and headed into town to get something from the butcher for dinner. Shaun would usually go running in the hills sometime in the morning as well. I was content to relax here as these were some serious hills!

An evening drink under the gazebo by the pool

The sunsets were just gorgeous. We always tried to get back in time for Sunset

In the afternoons we would go exploring. Silvanna had warned us that the tour buses were still coming and that most of the towns could get pretty crowded and unmanageable when the buses were in town, so as long as we waited until around 4 go arrive in a town, we would have it mainly to ourselves. San Gimignano was a favorite of ours. Like most of these towns, it was built way up on a hill and still had the ancient city walls. It was gorgeous and quaint and full of little shops and restaurants. We walked around the city for a few hours and then found the museum of wine where we did a little wine tasting. As we walked back through the city, we passed a butcher shop and decided to stop in. One look was all we needed before deciding we would make a Steak Florentine for dinner.

Steak Florentine is basically a T-Bone or Porterhouse steak from the Maremma cows that is cut in a really thick portion for two and grilled over an open fire. We had already tried the brick oven and thought this would be a perfect food experiment. We drove back to Podere Cunina all excited about our giant piece of meat. Back at home, Shaun got to work on the fire while I prepped the steak. Silvanna had herbs growing all over the farm and she said I could help myself, so I picked some rosemary, chopped it up and seasoned the steak with just Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil and fresh Rosemary. While Shaun grilled the Steak, I prepped some side dishes. (Silvannas husband, Pier Giorgio actually came out to see what Shaun was cooking because he said it smelled so good!) In about half an hour we sat down to perfectly grilled Steak Florentine, sautéed mushroms, chickpeas with a garlicky broth and steamed zucchini. We had a bottle of local wine, a Brunello di Montelcino that we had purchased the day before after a lovely wine tasting at the Altesino vineyard. It was a meal we will remember for the rest of our lives. Shaun says he has never had a better steak. I agree, and something about having made it ourselves in this amazing spot made it even more special.

The incredible Steak Florentine. Best. Steak. Evah.

I think that was also the night we decided to stay longer in Tuscany. We had rented to apartment for 5 days but we didn't want to leave that soon. There was plenty to see and do in the surrounding towns, an we also wanted to spend a few days doing nothing. We spoke to Silvanna who was happy to extend us for two more days as she was going into her slow season. We were thrilled to have a full week in this amazing place.

We really had a nice mix of up and down time during the week. We spent one morning and afternoon in Florence, which gave us plenty of time to see the city and to go to Accademia to see David. If you haven't heard of Michelangelo's David, it is widely considered the most important sculpture in the world. It is a truly incredible sight. The statue, which depicts David (from the story of David and Goliath) standing at rest with his sling over his shoulder and the rock in his hand. It was created between 1501-1504 from a single block of marble (!) when Michelangelo was only 29. It is 17 feet high and the detail is incredible. You can see every vein in his hand and every muscle in his leg. Shaun and I were both taking pictures from all sides when a museum guard came up and told us photography is not allowed. Well, I guess ignorance really is bliss because I'm so happy we got some photos of this masterpiece!

David. If you are ever in Florence it is something you must see for yourself.

I don't love Florence, and I think Shaun felt the same. Even its most famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, seems a bit cheesy and touristy to me. It is just wall to wall gold jewelers and wall to wall people. The downtown streets of Florence always seem crowded and somewhat dirty. The Duomo is beautiful and David is incredible, but in my opinion the best view of Florence is from up on the Piazza Michelangelo, high above the city. We started and ended our day trip to Florence from there. This was my second visit and I'm not sure I will be back.

The view from Piazza Michelangelo

The smaller towns were what I really loved. Montalcino, Montepulchiano, Castellina in Chianti, San Gimignano and even little Buonconvento. I loved their little town squares and the ancient walls. I loved the old ladies chatting in the streets, the old men on their bikes and how everyone seemed to stroll in the afternoons. I loved the butcher shops where we found a way to communicate by pointing to something and saying "Per Due" (for two). I loved the small vineyard we went to in Chianti where we drove up and were greeted by a man who clearly worked the land. He immediately told us he spoke only Italian and then he and Shaun proceeded to "talk" to each other, both in their own language but somehow understanding each other and what the other person was trying to say.

More than anything though, I loved Podere Cunina. Practically every night we pulled out the cameras and we took shot after shot, but there was just no way to capture the beauty of the area on film. It was mid-October so all the fields had been turned over but somehow the miles of overturned dirt just added to the charm of the area. The newly overturned soil must have been full of worms and other treats because we saw pheasants and rabbits and even deer grazing along the hills. There were olive trees all along the hillside by the house and little patches of forested areas dotted the hills in the distance. The Tuscan sun was so warm that even though it was only in the 60's, you could sit by the pool in shorts and a T-shirt.

The beautiful pool. It was too cold to swim, but not to sit in the Sun and enjoy the view

Shaun with Silvanna and Pier Giorgio, our wonderful hosts at Podere Cunina


After a week of living this charmed life, it was time to go. We exchanged hugs and kisses with Silvanna and Pier Georgio, who had been such gracious hosts. We promised to come back someday and to tell everyone about their beautiful home in the Tuscan hills. And we got into our little car and took our final drive down the long dirt hill that would lead us away from Podere Cunina, away from Buonconvento and Tuscany. We were headed to Rome, back to big city life for a few days. After our stay in Tuscany, we were well rested and ready for all the city had to offer.

Farewell Podere Cunina with your beautiful Sunsets.

Food, Wine and a Case of the Blues

Lyon & Avignon
October 5-11

The city of Lyon, France


When we arrived in Lyon, we had to find our way to the apartment we had rented. Evasion Loft is situated in the heart of Lyon, and it is made of up of four bedrooms in an old converted factory building. It is on a main road and should have been easy to find, but we didn't have a city map and Shaun had written down the address, but not the directions from the train station. Usually there is a Tourist Info Center right near the ttrain station so that isn't a problem, but in this case there was no TI in sight. We were determined to walk so Shaun started to lead us down the streets. We were able to get a bus map but things were still fairly unclear and Shaun was walking faster as he got more frustrated. Finally after a few bad turns at an intersection we all stopped thinking he was going to figure it out and tell us which way to go. Instead he went behind some construction and next thing we knew he was gone from sight. We couldn't figure out what had happened. He had the only map, so we just stayed where we were for a while. We assumed he had just gone ahead to find the place and would come back for us. Finally, after about twenty minutes we realized that he wasn't coming back. Worse still, I realized that he had given me the piece of paper with the exact street address. So now he had the map and I had the address.

Two people stopped and asked if we needed help, but they didn't know where the street was that we were looking for. We thought about hailing a cab, but none came by. Finally, John remembered that he had an Ipad app that had a download of the Lyon city streets. He pulled up the app, we found the street and walked about 10 minutes. As we walked up to the nondescript building that housed Evasion Loft who did we find wandering the streets? Yep, Shaun, who did not, in fact, remember the street number. Apparently he couldn't find us behind the construction and thought we had walked ahead. By the time he realized we hadn't he didn't know where to find us. Everyone thought I would be infuriated with him, but I knew he didn't purposely lose us and I could see he was flustered too. I gave him lots of crap that afternoon, but he felt bad enough as it was.

Once we got into Evasion loft, everyone was really happy. The place was very cool, and it fit only the seven of us, so we basically had the whole place to ourselves. The owners of the loft, Therese and Olivier, were a wonderful French couple in their late 50's. Therese spoke very good English and was outgoing as can be. She immediately launched into lots of helpful tips about the city and gave us a map they had marked with the things we might want to see. Olivier spoke less English than Therese and seemed to be much more shy as well, but he had a quiet sweetness about him. My French was pretty good at this point so Olivier and I chatted a bit when I would see him and he always smiled and tried to make a little small talk with the others. I must admit, I had a soft spot for Olivier and his quiet ways.

Therese and Olivier, Our wonderful hosts at Evasion Loft in Lyon.

That afternoon we all just settled in to the place got our bearings. Our friend Lynn was also joining us in Lyon and we knew she was arriving shortly. If you've been following since the beginning, you may remember that Lynn was the one who is living in Germany right now. She graciously lent Shaun and I her apartment for six weeks after we sold our house, but before I had quit work. We were both looking forward to seeing her as was everyone else. Lynn was also one of the founding members of their "wine club" and she loved to bring interesting wines for everyone to try. When she arrived she came in with a whole bunch of cool wines, just as she always does!

That evening, Therese suggested a place for us to go to dinner. It sounded like a Lyon bistro with an Asian Fusion twist, which was fine for John, Vanda, Shaun, Lynn and me. Kathy and Kevin opted to do dinner by themselves which was probably a good idea since the menu was definitely on the more adventurous side. It was really good, but definitely a little out there. By the time dinner had ended everyone was tired so we headed back to the apartment. As I went to bed that night I was getting a sore throat and just generally feeling lousy. I think the long nights and all the travel had finally caught up with me. I knew this would probably happen to us at some point on the trip so we had packed Tylenol Cold Nighttime and Daytime tablets just in case. I took the nighttime tablets and settled in to sleep.

In the morning I woke up and knew immediately that I was sick. It never turned into anything horrible, it was just a sore throat and that general fatigue and body ache you get with a bad cold, but it was enough to make me feel lousy. The rest of the troops headed out biking while I took some Tylenol Cold Daytime. We were only here for two nights and I didn't want to spend the whole day in bed so I decided to go out walking and find a place to lie in the Sun.

It was the best decision I could have made. Once I showered and got outside I felt a little better. One thing I had decided was that that I wanted to have Pho for lunch. Pho is basically an Asian beef soup with lots of broth, noodles and vegetables that comes with a spicy sauce on the side. I figured it would be just what I needed to clear out my head and throat. We were in a very cosmopolitan city so I knew I should be able to find a place that served Pho. Imagine my surprise when I walked out the door of the apartment and saw a place called Viet Nam about 50 feet down the road. It was only 11am so I made a mental note to get back in time to have some Pho before the restaurants closed at 2:30PM. (It's very common over here for restaurants to close down between the lunch service that ends at 2:30 and the dinner service that starts at 7PM).

So off I walked with no destination in mind. I had a map that Therese and Olivier had given me so I walked in the general direction of the Rhone River. Lyon is a beautiful city, and like most old European cities, it is built around water. There are two rivers in Lyon, the Rhone and the Saone and they both had cool pedestrian bridges so I decided I would do both crossings. The views from the first bridge were beautiful and it felt good to be out in the sunshine and fresh air. I walked through the city down to the main square called Place Bellecour and stopped in at a bookstore. I needed a new book, but their selection of English books was very limited so I continued on. After crossing the second river I started wandering through the hills on the other side of Lyon. I came around a corner and found a saw a staircase that seemed to go on forever. If there's one thing I've learned on this trip its that you should always take these staircases! So I did.

The Rhone river in Beautiful Lyon

One of the lovely pedestrian bridges that crosses the two rivers


It was a long hike up to the top of the stairs but when I got up there I saw some signs for a park so I knew I had made a good choice. I followed the signs for the park, only stopping to grab an orange juice at a convenience store. Now that I was this high up, I knew I was heading in the general direction of the Notre Dame Cathedral at Fourviere, which you could see from down in the main city. I thought it would be great to check that out so I kept walking. Finally I came around a corner and to my astonishment, I had stumbled upon what basically amounted to the ruins of an ancient Roman city! The city of Lugdunum is over 2000 years old and was a center of commerce and entertainment for the Gallo Romans. There are two amphitheaters on the grounds that are shockingly well preserved. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but it was quite amazing. Best of all there was practically nobody there. When I got there there were three young women wandering through and a you guy who was napping in a sunny corner. I thought that was a great idea so I settled myself into the opposite corner and laid in the sun for a while before continuing on.

Just your everyday 2000 year old Roman Ruins on the outskirts of town!

This is the amphitheatre where I took my nap! It was warm and toasty in the Sun.

Next stop was the cathedral. Once again, it was completely quiet and peaceful so I lingered about in the chapel below and then upstairs. The church was built in 1872 as a tribute to the Virgin Mary so it is relatively new for France, but it was quite beautiful. The paintings inside all had a gold leaf trim that looked gorgeous in the afternoon Sun. After leaving the church I walked around back to find an amazing view of the city. I took some pictures and then realized it was 1:30. If I wanted Pho I needed to get a move on!

The outside of the cathedral

The beautiful gold leaf paintings inside


As I started walking back I realized I had gone very far from the apartment and I needed Public Transport if I was going to get back by 2. I found a spot where there was a funicular to take you back down to the side of the river, and it looked like it connected to the Lyon Metro. I bought an all day pass and took the funicular down. The metro is just like every city so I took one subway to Place Bellecour and another out to the B&B and arrived back at Viet Nam at 1:50. I ordered my Pho and some Green Tea and settled in by a window seat where I could people watch. The Pho was yummy. Strips of beef in a mild broth with scallions, sprouts, chili peppers, noodles and cilantro. I loaded it up with the hot chili paste and dug in. I figured I would kill this cold one way or another.

After lunch I was exhausted so I went back to the B&B and laid down for a nap. By the time everyone got back I felt pretty good. We decided to do some snacks at the apartment so Shaun and I walked to Les Halles (the covered market) and picked up some bread sticks and local dips. When we got back everyone had contributed something so we had a really nice spread going. We all relaxed in the main living area and snacked on cheeses and breads and olives and dips and some wine.

Vanda lounging on the giant beanbag chair in the living room of Evasion Loft

That evening Olivier and Therese suggested a place for Chicken down the street that was family run. Shaun, John, Vanda and I went while Kathy, Kevin and Lynn stayed behind to finish the bread and cheese and other snacks. The chicken place was a good call. After all the rich food it was nice to just have some plain roasted chicken with homestyle sides like mashed potatoes and carrots. We headed back early and went to bed, glad to have a "down" night.

The next day we had to leave for Avignon, but John and Vanda had rented a minivan so for the first time in about seven weeks, Shaun and I didn't need to catch a train. The plan was to drive to Avignon slowly, stopping for one, possibly two wine tastings on the way. (Don't worry, the driver wasn't drinking the wine). By the time we got to the first stop I was feeling bad again so I laid down in the Van and took some Tylenol Cold while they did a tasting at a place called Charpoutier. I could tell they all liked it because they came out with a few bottles. A quick lunch and then we stopped in town at the Valhrona Chocolate factory. Now that was a tasting I could get into! All through the store they had bowls of the chocolates that you could sample. The best part was at check out! We purchased a few bars of dark chocolate and they threw in all sorts of samples. Yum!! Next we stopped at a place called Cave de Tain. I didn't want to miss both tastings so I came in for this one. The wines were inexpensive and everyone liked them wines so we picked up a few botttles. With seven people traveling together we figured we would go through it.

Wine tasting on the way to Avignon. That's Kevin, Kathy, Vanda, John, Shaun, Me and Lynn

That evening, the others dropped Shaun and I off in Avignon. The apartments they were looking at during the planning were either out of our price range or couldn't sleep 7 so we had opted to just get a cheap Ibis hotel room. We figured we could still cook at their place and we would just sleep at our place. They headed to Saint Remy for the night and Shaun and I checked out Avignon. Its a very cool city that is encircled by a Medieval Wall with lots of shops and restaurants. Avignon is mainly known for the giant "Palace of the Popes" inside the city walls where seven Popes lived from 1309 to 1423 after Pope Clement V moved away from the dangers of Rome to a new palace at Avignon. This move would eventually cause a schism in the church and lead to a double papacy (one in Rome, one in Avignon) in the early 1400s when the Romans insisted on having the Pope in Rome. But enough about religious conflict, back to our story...

The first night was great. We found a little restaurant through Lonely Planet called Au Tout Petit. (The Teeny Tiny) It was inexpensive, the food was great and the owner was just wonderful. The wind had gone crazy that day which we knew was the mistral, but he explained lots more about it. He told us that it usually lasts 3 days to a week and it is a very cold wind, but it never rains during a mistral. He also gave us in depth descriptions of the things on the menu, including the history of certain dishes. If you are ever in Avignon, stop in at the Teeny Tiny, you won't regret it.

The next day was nice. Shaun and I slept in and then had a little breakfast. I had slept poorly and I was still feeling crappy so I went back to lay down while he went for a run. Then we both went to check out Les Halles (Yep, same name as the market in Lyon). We were going to make dinner at the apartment the next night so I wanted to see what they had. There were lots of great stalls selling meats, fish, cheese, charcuterie, breads and vegetables. It was clear we could get everything we needed here.

When we walked outside after that, it was gorgeous out. There was also a blues festival going on and there was a guy playing the blues in the square right outside Les Halles. The food for the festival was a big plate of sausages and ham with Sauerkraut and a beer, so we settled in at a table and had lunch with the Blues Man. It was appropriate music for Avignon and me, as I will tell you later.

Lunch in the square listening to the Blues. We felt like we were back in Germany with the big plate of Sauerkraut and Meats

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area around the Palace of the Popes which was absolutely beautiful. Beyond the palace is a scenic overlook that looks out on Villlenuev Les Avignon, the sister city of Avignon across the water. We were up on a hilltop and the Mistral was blowing like crazy so it was very cold, but very cool.

The Palace of the Popes, right inside the city walls

There is a vineyard at the top of the hills beyond the palace.

That evening the others arrived in Avignon. They had a nice time in Saint Remy but it was quick visit so they were a little harried. We left them to unpack and make dinner at the apartment while Shaun and I had dinner together and headed back to the hotel. That night I had another bad night's sleep and woke up feeling crappy. I think that night was the impetus for getting homesick. You can only feel crappy in strange cities for so long before it catches up with you. I was down in the dumps but at first I didn't say anything about it. Nobody likes to admit that they're in a bad mood, especially when you are with lots of other people.

So the rest of Avignon was filled with highs and lows for me. One fabulous afternoon Kathy and I took a walk across the city to see the Palace of the Popes. We decided since it was so nice, we would walk across the bridge to Villeneuv Les Avignon. As we came across the bridge we stumbled upon a full on Medieval Festival! We had to go check it out. Everyone was in full Medieval regalia and people were hawking goods and food and there were sword fights and a medieval wedding ceremony and it was just insane. We had a good laugh and took some pictures before wandering on.

This is Kathy trying desperately to take a picture of the river. The Mistral was blowing so hard we literally had to brace ourselves against the wind wo we weren't blown off the bridge

We thought this was hilarious when we took it. Kathy was trying to get just the right moment when the guys behind us were in full sword fighting mode!

Villeneuv Les Avignon was much quieter than Avignon, which was nice. We wandered the old streets and chatted until we realized it was getting late and we were very far from home. It took a while and some faith that my French translation was good, but we managed to figure out the bus system and get back to town. Thank Goodness because we had been walking for hours and had no idea how long it would take to get home!

You've never seen two people happier to be on Public Transportation!

That evening I made dinner and had a meltdown. In that order. Dinner came out great; a nice hearty meal of chicken piccata with salad and pasta and bread. The cooking and the dinner were fine but by then I was exhausted from the long day outside, my cold and three bad nights of sleep. Avignon is a little bit sketchy so I couldn't really walk back to our Hotel (by the train station) by myself and the Pats game was on so I was stuck waiting for half-time. I won't go into the details, but just suffice it to say that if you're feeling blue and homesick you should talk about instead of holding it in. Otherwise you may end up crying in the streets of Avignon to the utter bewilderment of your wonderful husband who doesn't know why you just went from normal to crazy in two quarters of football.

Dinner was quite nice...

The best thing that came out of that night was a complete 180 in our planning. We were headed to Italy next and we were going to try to do hotels for 3 days in multiple cities like the Cinque Terre, Florence, Seina, Rome before heading to Venice on the 22nd. I needed a break from big cities and all the running around though, so we went online and found an Agriturismo in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany and e-mailed to see if they had availability. They did and she was willing to give us deal for the last minute booking. We used some of the money we saved on lodging to book a rental car. We would have an independence we hadn't had for 7 weeks, with no reliance on train schedules or metros and most importantly, a chance to just chill out.

With all that decided, we had a nice end to our stay in Avignon. Lynn and Shaun and I had done two days of shopping at Les Halles the day before so we had all we needed to cook again. We had one final meal at the apartment with everyone. Pork Tenderloin, vegetables, bread, cheese and wine. It was a very nice night, but very low key and easy. Shaun and I headed back early to pack. There was no way to get to the apartment from Avignon in one day so we were off to Nice the next day to split up the journey. I left Avignon feeling bittersweet. All the books I had read about planning these long journeys prepared you for the fact that you would get homesick at some point, but it still took me by surprise. I think it was a combination of a lot of things. Seven people is a lot to travel with regardless, but when you are sick and not sleeping well it is even harder. On the go forward though I will be sure to deal with it head on, because it doesn't just get better if you say nothing. I will tell you though, that a few days in Tuscany will do wonders for whatever ails you. But you'll just have to wait to hear about that!

So goodbye to France for now. I'm sure we will be back.