Tuscany - Kathleen meets McDonoughs and Buteras
Trip Start
Jun 30, 2005
1
36
47
Trip End
Ongoing
Bucine, Italy
Sunday, November 4, 2007
We rented a villa at an estate in Bucine, which is in central Tuscany, about 30 miles from Siena and 45 from Tuscany. The apartment had 3 bedrooms and a full kitchen, which would be great since Kathleen and eating out hasn't been perfected yet. (We were in the Il Poggio apartment) http://www.lupinari.com/eng/home.html
We met my parents in Rome and were able to spend 2 days there before heading out. Meghan and I had been there in May so had some idea what we could reasonably do. The weather the first day was bad, so we walked a bit and saw the Pantheon, but otherwise it was kind of a wash. The 4 (+1) of us went to St. Peter's the next morning, and since only the wheelchair and 1 other can sneak the line Meghan and I took a pass while my parents saw the Basilica. Susie and Beppe arrived that day and met us for lunch, then we took a quick tour of the main sights (Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc...) as the weather was good.
The drive to Tuscany was around 2.5 hours. You pass through some spectacular countryside heading into the hill country. As usual, Kathleen was great in the car - we've learned that keeping her moving with her is the only sure-fire sleep trick - which is great as we currently have no car and she's about 4 months away from riding on a bike, even in Amsterdam. The Lupinari villa was fantastic - renting a bigger place is definitely the way to go in that area. As you'll see from the pictures, we had spectacular views of the surrounding areas. With our crew we figured 1 activity per day would be about the max, so that's what we targeted. All of our sights were within a 90 minute drive, which made things quite manageable.
Sunday we visited Cortona, which is a hillside town where the filmed Under a Tuscan Sun. It sits right on the edge of the Tuscany/ Umbria border. It also marks the farthest expansion of Charlemagne's empire for you history buffs. Beppe, my dad and I even snuck away to the local version of the VFW hall to parts of the Palermo - Inter and Roma - Milan games. Beppe and Susie's good friends Lino and Gracia joined us that day and night having driven down from San Remo on the French border. Monday we visited Montepulciano, home of some famous wineries. It is yet another hilltop town, with a main road that climbs nearly straight up from the city gates (clearly designed for a wheelchair and a stroller !). We got our exercise, tasted a few local vintages (see the shots of Kathleen and I in the town square - not a bad way to calm your little one when she's in a screaming fit) and made it back home in time for dinner. Susie was gracious enough to cook for us, which reminds us all why Italian men have it so good at home.
Tuesday the weather was crummy. We drove to San Gimignano, which is a hilltop town studded with 15 or so surviving medieval towers, but the rain put a bit of a damper on the day. Wednesday we visited Siena, which is Florence's ancient rival for Tuscan power (as Florence has 450,000 residents and Siena 60,000 you can guess who won). My friend from St. Louis, Edie Dorris, is studying Italian in Siena at the moment, so we got together with her for lunch. Edie gave us a bit of a native's tour of some of the main parts of town, and we also saw the Duomo, which at one point was going to be the largest church in the world (the plague put a permanent delay into the expansion plan). Even so, it is enough to impress even a seasoned cathedral viewer like myself.
Thursday we visited Montalcino, home of the Brunello wines, which rank among the world's best. The day was beautiful, but Kathleen had chosen that day to act up a bit, so our time spent there was a bit short. Still, a few of us spent some funds on what we hope will be excellent reminders of the town once they are uncorked. Friday we made the big push to Florence, which is the biggest and most hectic of the Tuscan cities. We saw the David, which never fails to impress me, and a few of the other big sights during the day. That night we ventured out for our first dinner of the week in a town nearby Bucine, and lo and behold Miss Kathleen decided to behave ! Beppe ordered us about the largest steak I've ever seen, which for someone living in Northern Europe is a sight for sore eyes and taste buds. Saturday we headed back into Rome, where we had a great dinner Saturday night (I guess Kathleen likes to drive, travel and eat out, so she has expensive habits already).
All in all, a fantastic trip. We could see a change in Kathleen even during the 10 days as she became more aware of people and would smile and follow you as you moved around her. Hopefully grandma and grandpa were suitably impressed with her as well, as she was on her best behavior for at least most of the time !
As we found with our Olympic trip in '06, while Italy is magical anytime, it is even better with native speakers. Thanks to Susie and Beppe for making the trip even more memorable (and for Beppe for saving me from the clutches of the Polizia di Finance on the way back to Rome, but that's a story for another day).
When you see our next posting, it will be as London residents. We move on Nov. 21st, leaving a placed that's been our home for a fantastic 2 1/2 years. There are always mixed feelings leaving somewhere, but with the disruption via the sale of the bank and the departure of some of our best friends over the past few months, it seems like the right time to start a new adventure. We leave with fabulous memories, great friends and a permanent reminder of our time in Amsterdam in the form of little Kathleen. Tot ziens to Amsterdam !!!!
