Example of irony... it's warm and sunny in Germany.

On the 28th, we decided that we had had a wonderful vacation, but it was time to head back to Germany. The car was filling up with expensive wine, we were dead tired of the few warm layers of clothing that we had brought, my black sport shoes were permanently water logged and smelling, and our livers hurt. Not that we're complaining. We EARNED that liver failure, thank you very much, drinking heavenly Tuscan and Piedmont red wines. Our wine cellar will be a prime method of enticing you folks to come visit us! (plus I've decided that I'm going to try to learn to make ravioli and make that egg-yolk thing. Cholesterol be damned.)

So, we spent a night at lovely Army Lodging near our home base, then gave up on Army lodging and broke into our friends' house while they are out of town. Actually, we had a key, so no windows were broken, and we're planning to beg forgiveness next week when they return. The 29th, my birthday, was mostly a day of laundry and unpacking and the typical mundane activities after a big trip. The very best part of the day has been receiving so many great email greetings. Really, I'm sitting here in the Ramstein library just glowing. I made the executive Birthday decision last night to NOT celebrate the occasion yesterday, amidst piles of laundry, and so we're getting together with Gabi and Mike tonight and having my traditional strawberry shortcake birthday "cake" (just like I would make for all those Burgers, Beers and Broads celebrations).

We'll be in Sarah and Aaron's house until Tuesday, then in Ramstein AFB lodging until we fly out 6/14. So far, I think that the Wanderlust is fading, and we won't try to squeeze in any more trips over the next few weeks. But I can't guarentee that!

The most ironic part of all this is Germany's current weather-- muggy, but high 70s/low 80s, blue skies, better weather than we've had in weeks. It's a good lesson that sometimes, the best place is "home". Wherever that is.

Changing Water to Wine

We departed Cinque Terra on Saturday, May 24th and headed for our "second beach time" at Cap d'Antibes, just west to Nice, France. During our time in Cinque Terra, we were lucky to have 2 sunny days during our five day stay, that served as respites from our well-worn layers. As we drove west to the French Riviera, however, the weather and the forecast only worsened. Sadly, there is a socked-in low pressure zone all around here, with rain forecasted daily for the next 10 days everywhere we looked. Our desire for warmth and sun started some manic internet searches and brainstorming of new plans. Maybe we could.... drive farther west in France (rain all to the Atlantic), fly Ryanair from Marseilles to Spain (rain and cold to Malaga)..... basically rain and cool now from Portugal to Croatia, excepting very southern Italy, but I'm afraid to take the new mini to Naples.

So, 2 grumpy souls gave up on the beach plan and loaded up the car, and headed back to Germany Sunday morning. We did appease ourselves by stopping at the gourmet sandwich shop for smoked salmon and chevre sandwiches for breakfast (with god bless it McDonald's Coffee), and fois gras/fig preserve/chevre sandwiches for a lunch picnic.

However, while driving the highway through the Piedmont area of Italy, we were reading about Barolo and Barbera wines, and spontaneously decided to pull off and go visit these areas. We have learned that wine tasting in sunny weather is nice, but it's not so bad in the rain. We had fabulous luck to find a wonderful guesthouse, with friendly host Daniela at La Gialitta (in Barolo, we recommend!). We have an apartment in her house, decorated like a Tuscan cellar, complete with kitchen, fireplace, books, Wifi!!!! For 68 euros a night! We threatened that we'll stay for a month, but I think that we're still getting weary of life out of a suitcase, and we'll head back to Ramstein soon. There is no "home" anywhere-- what isn't in Sarah's basement in Landstuhl is in a box mid-Atlantic. This makes me look forward to arriving in Georgia and setting up house even more.

To end on a positive note, I had I think that most delicious item 2 days ago: one large homemade ravioli, carefully filled with a ring of light spinach/ricotta mouse, within which was set a raw egg yolk. Somehow, the ravioli was sealed, gently and quickly cooked, topped with chopped asparagus and parmasan and butter. On puncturing the ravioli, the gooey warm yolk gooed all over the mousse/pasta/asparagus....mmmmmm. Very decadent.

Cinque Terra, or, Is the Pesto Greener on the other side of the tunnel?

Thursday, May 22, 2008: We’re on day 4/5 of our Cinque Terra time. There have been three main stars during out time here.

1) The Terrace at Manuel’s Guesthouse: For the first three days, we stayed in a 5 room, casual, “ramshackle” per Rick Steves, guesthouse, up 117 stone steps through crooked walkways. While the rooms were modest, the highlight of the place is the fun and casual terrace. A long, homemade table runs under a corrugated roof, with tattered Tibetan prayer flags draped from one end of the terrace. On the terrace, there exists the triumvirate of great afternoons: great company from the other guests, an honor-system tap for 1 euro glasses of house wine or beer, and a spectacular view over the roofs of Monterosso to the Ligurian Sea. Ahhh. Every late afternoon, we’ve found that there is no place that we would rather be than sitting on that terrace, sipping cold cheap beer and chatting with our housemates. We’ve had an eclectic collection of English-speaking fellow travelers, many from Canada, but also Australian Dean with South African wife Catherine and MIL Ann. The world is small; we also met John and Allison, on their honeymoon from Cary, NC. Sadly, we could only reserve 3 nights at Miguel’s, but we got permission to still come and hang out on the terrace for our remaining 2 afternoons.

2) Beautiful scenery: Yesterday was by far our best day, as we awoke to bright blue skies and warm temps after days of drizzle. After a picnic lunch on the terrace (see above) of salad with marinated artichokes, wild boar salami, pecorino, and olive-oily foccacia spread with olive-oily fresh pesto, we took a boat tour from Monterosso (town #5) down to Riomaggiore (town #1). We happily got a little sunburn while hiking the trails that connect between villages. I was re-fueled in Manarola (#2) by wonderful Orange & Cinnamon gelato (gelato and pesto both offset any caloric gains made by hiking). We took hundreds of photos along the way, then hurried back to Manuel’s for Terrace Time with the gang.

3) RICK STEVES, AND I AM NOT KIDDING. So there we were yesterday, lunching on the Terrace, and up the 117 steps walked RICK STEVES. I am not kidding. I wish that I could report that I was cool, calm and collected, eloquent supportive of his books, and a classy representative of my country. Instead, I think that Beetlemania might be the best adjective to describe my behavior. Friends, this is what happens when you raise your child with too much PBS—they get more excited about seeing Rick Steves that I would have been about Brad Pitt. He signed our Italy 2008 book, I got a photo with him, I got a hug, and….OK, I’ll never live this one down…I even teared up. Poor Neil, he didn’t get this kind of excitement when he proposed. I blame it on the wine with lunch. We saw Rick again last night after dinner, but I left him alone, lest he remember that crazy blond woman from the afternoon and feel threatened. Neil has been threatening me with R.S sightings for the last three years, with guilt-imposing “What would Rick think?” comments when I have overpacked. Not to sound TOO crazy, but it was the highlight of our trip so far. Wish I could say that I was cool.

Unfortunately, the weather this last 4 days has not been what we had hoped for. We did get blue skies and warmer dry weather yesterday, thank goodness, but today has been sunbreaks between storms. Neil just returned from a walk, that started with sunny skies, and ended after a sudden storm with a grumpy drowned-rat husband in need of a hot shower and a caffe macciato.
-Suzanne

Wine Versus Clothes (the eternal question)

Monday, May 19: In a small car, space is precious. And when schlepping bags up medieval streets, every pound counts. Ergo, we decided that we needed to try to lighten up the suitcases a little, and clear out a little more space from the car if possible. So Monday, we made a small detour through Camp Darby (American base near Livorno) to do some laundry, catch up on email, and use the MPS (Military Postal Service). However, one cannot mail liquids or alcohol through MPS, so we just had to make the tough decisions about what we could get rid of for our next 3 weeks of travel. We got rid of clothes to make room for wine. In the battle between a Brunello and an extra sweater, I’ve got my love to keep me warm. Luckily we also have run-flat tires, because we’re using the spare tire space for wine, wine in the trunk, behind the seats. Given the recent weather and the amount of time that we’re spent doing pleasure reading, we also ditched some of the 100 bottles of sunscreen that I packed, and umpteen unread books. If we get into a serious car accident, the EMT is going to have NO IDEA how so much red could be flowing from such a small car with 2 occupants. Then again, once they discover the true nature of the flow, they would probably stop attending to us, and just start soaking up 2001 Reserves off the pavement.

So Much for Liver Rest

Gentle reader, in the last account, you read Neil innocently suggest that we go a full day without wine, to allow a bit of the jaundice to clear and liver enzymes to recuperate. Just so you know the truth, that idea lasted until about 7 pm that evening, when we realized that we had already eaten, and that we had just spent 30 minutes watching Deal or No Deal Italian-version, and we were bored in Tuscany, so what the heck!.....

So did we go visit the Etruscan museum, listed as the third-best site of Etruscan treasures and funeral urns, oh so full of musty history? Heck no. We went across the street to La Vena di Vino, for wine-tasting with cute Lucio. For 12 euros, Neil and I split 5 generous tasting glasses of Tuscan wines (mostly Sangiovese, but a few blends), including a heavenly “Super Tuscan” over a plate of local sharp Pecorino and Parmegiano cheeses. Then, just to seem friendly, we bought 2 more glasses to sip to complete our early evening. Apparently the place gets HOPPING, based on the posted photos of many a Tuscan wine + karaoke + guitar playing party that we saw, and the ceiling was strewn with bras. Unfortunately, we were there much earlier than party-hours, so we didn’t get to break out in karaoke this visit, but maybe next time.
-Suzanne

Illegal Driving and Heavy Eating through Tuscany

It’s been a few days since we had internet access (since leaving Florence). So…

We managed to survive driving out of Florence. For any of you who read in a guide book “never try to drive into downtown Florence,” they aren’t kidding. Don’t try. But we made it.

On the road out of Florence, we totally unexpectedly came across the US War Cemetery for the Italian campaigns. We have been to a couple of the US Cemeteries in Europe, and they are always impressive. They are beautiful and silence-provoking. We stopped there for a bit for a quiet moment.

During our drive to Siena, we decided to take a detour to San Gimignano, one of the more notable Tuscan hill towns. It is impressive. It is hard to do justice in words, unless you are much better at it than I. But it is beautiful. Sweeping green vistas, ancient city walls, tiny medieval streets, terra cotta everything. . . the scenery is so gorgeous at every turn that the photos are starting to get redundant. But we’re taking more anyway. And we had a fantastic lunch of chicken liver crostini, pumpkin and leek ravioli, wild boar ossobuco, carpaccio in gorgonzola sauce, and wine. Then chocolate panna cotta.

Then on to Siena where, again, we drove illegally through the middle of the ancient city. Carefully, though. I managed to avoid knocking over any statues. The Duomo in Siena is extremely ornate, in a different way than Florence. Florence’s Duomo is more of an architectural wonder, whereas Siena’s is more artistic. Lots of strolling. Had a simple dinner, but with some fun company we just happened to get seated next to. That night, we strolled to Il Campo, the central town square, only to find that they were filming a chase scene for the next James Bond movie. So we stood on the edge of the square and watched what’s-his-name the James Bond guy jump through lots of “extras” recruited from the locals.

In the morning, our very budget little hotel served breakfast on their terrace with absolutely stunning views over Siena and the Duomo. Goes well with cappuccino. Then we spent most of the early afternoon sitting on a balcony of a pub overlooking Il Campo eating panini with beer and watching people. Tough day.

From Sienna we drove, down lots of fun winding roads, to our next destination the Castello di Ripa d’Orcia. It is a castle, still owned by the original family, now run as a B&B. It’s pretty unbelievable. It sits on a remote hilltop, accessible by several miles of dirt road, and holds a commanding position overlooking the entire Val d’Orcia and the Orcia River. About a million miles from anything, it feels like you are truly in the heart of Tuscany. Oh, and you are staying in a castle. It is not run as a hotel, so there is no concierge or amenities, or any such thing. It consists of two brothers of the family who check you in, show you to your room, serve you your breakfast and your dinner. Other than that you are all on your own in the majestic setting. Really impressive.

We stayed at the Ripa d’Orcia for three nights and used that as a launch pad for Montalcino, Montepulciano, and Pienza. Montalcino and Montepulciano were primarily wine destinations for me, but are spectacular hilltop Tuscan cities in their own right. We did some great curvy, winding Italian road driving in the Mini, visited some great vineyards and various tastings, and bought a positively stupid amount of expensive but oh-so-delicious wines. More stunning views than we know what to do with, medieval charm out the wazoo. And food. Ahh, the food. Let’s see… potato gnoccetti with pigeon; spinach and ricotta dumplings in sage; wild boar stew with polenta; goose breast and foie gras with Sienese spiced bread sauce. And a 2001 Barbi Brunello di Montalcino. And some fantastic cheesecake.

In Pienza (Sat. 5/17), yet another insanely charming little town, we happened to arrive at the same time as the 1000 mile Italian classic sports car rally race. Yep. It was the most amazing collection of automobiles I’ve personally ever seen. About 300 cars: Mercedes 300 SL gullwings, Porsche Speedsters, Mazeratti’s, Ferrari’s, Jaguar Le Mans cars, Alfa Romeo’s… on and on. Gorgeous. And a fun thing to watch. The whole town was into it as the cars sped along the ancient streets cheered on by children, old men, and tourist husbands happy to be free from pottery for a while.

Today we are recuperating a bit. A week has passed, packed with wine, food and busy touristing. We are spending the night in Volterra (Sunday 5/18), a little west of Siena, perched up on a high hilltop overlooking Tuscan countryside. We’ve declared a no wine day, eating lightly, and even catching an afternoon nap. This evening we will no doubt take in the sights here and then in the morning we’ll be en route to Cinque Terra.
- Neil

Off to Florence!

We arrived in Florence yesterday evening (5/11). We had intended on doing the entire drive in one day, but after a cookout at my commander's house on Saturday evening we decided to just get a few hours of driving behind us. So we left his place around 9pm and drove about 3 hours to the very southern edge of Germany on the Swiss border. After a little bit of time driving aimlessly, searching for a hotel that was not either $250 per night or in the red light district, we stumbled upon a very nice little place, crashed, and woke up early to get back on the road.

So Sunday we finished the drive, and after a brief planned detour ended up in Florence in the late afternoon. Then, despite guide book warnings to not drive into the center of Florence "under any circumstances," we drove into the center of Florence. It was terrible, but we eventually made it to our hotel. And I do mean "eventually." For reference, the driving into the center of Florence was worse than driving in Paris, but better than Amsterdam, or god forbid Rome. Many a time, I practiced my new favorite Italian word "Maladictione!" (Curses!), and did my best hand gestures at the sky.

The hotel is very nice, and in a wonderful location just over the Piazza della Republica and very near the Duomo. Fortunately, given my driving experience that evening, we had an emergency bottle of wine packed along, which I promptly cracked open. After a little decompression time, we had a very nice dinner at an off-the-beaten-path restaurant recommended by the hotel desk clerk. We started with a crostini plate with chicken livers, champingons, and tomato. Then a local specialty soup called ribollita, which is a thick minestrone type soup with white beans and pureed bread. Suz had a fresh fish baked with rosemary (didn't recognize the local name, but it looked like a dorade). I had a thick cut Florentine steak, also a local specialty. All accompanied with local Chianti. I guess, technically, all Chianti is local in Tuscany.

Today, we have thus far dodged what was supposed to be bad weather. But it's been nice. We visited the Duomo and climbed to the top with spectacular views of the city. Then all the ancient art at the Duomo museum. Then we ate again. Grilled vegetables and pasta. Suz had a simple mushroom sauce, and I had one of wild boar. Cheeses and honey for dessert. And wine. After lunch we walked off our meal by shopping for leather in the central market. Two (yes, two) new purses for Suz and a very nice jacket for me. Now we are back at the hotel relaxing at the coffee bar and writing while we gather up our energy for more food and wine. Tough life it is.