Buon Viaggio e Giorno Uno

We made it!  Aside from the near impossibility of comfort within the confines of a transatlantic flight, we arrived unscathed.  Nace and I left Ft. Myers on time due to an unexplained afternoon with no rain in southwest Florida.  Despite a very brief layover in Charlotte, we had no cause for anxiety and connected for the 9 hour flight to Rome, joining Glenda and Rod, Ellen and Joe.  The contrast to our 2011 Delta/Alitallia disaster was quite remarkable.   The flights were all on time, we did not repeat the 36 hour, unplanned delay at JFK, and the unspeakable bathrooms on the Delta planes. 

We struggled to get some sleep on the plane; some had more success than others.  Rod and Glenda sat in the row behind us and I turned around to spy Rod curled up with his head on Glenda's lap, both sleeping soundly.  Joe and Ellen were 20 rows forward of us so I am unable to give an eyewitness report.  Between naps I managed to do a few laps around the plane and forage for refreshments.   

 

We arrived in Rome ~9 am and spent two hours waiting for our luggage and securing our rental van.  This might be a record for luggage delay, although I consider myself blessed to have mine at all.  This is the first trip in recent history where my luggage and I arrived at the same destination.  It seemed they were taking the luggage off the plane one bag at a time, but in the end we all were finally reunited with our luggage.  Rod and Glenda paid the surcharge for overweight bags which led me to conclude it would have been cheaper to by one of their bags its own seat.  

The rental van experience was very positive.  I used a broker (Europe by Car) that arranged a rental from Budget.  I had a lively conversation with the attendant, fluent in 7 languages; mercifully one was English. We wound up with a capacious Mercedes van.   The van was parked in the garage across from the terminal in a sardinic (they were tight) configuration.  Had I been 2 lbs heavier I have no idea how I would have squeezed into the door opening of 6 inches.  We loaded up and mounted the GPS that I pre-loaded with a European map set and were on our way.  Within a few minutes I re-acquired my aggressive northeastern driving skills and we headed north to Tuscany.  

Once past the outskirts of Rome we exited the toll road and followed signs to a trattoria for lunch.  Those under my care expressed serious doubt as we wound our way through the countryside but we were treated to a very delightful first meal in Italy.

 

Every member of the family participates in the "business" and we were served by two young people who returned to the kitchen to work on homework between courses. 

 

Tummies full and a mild buzz from the vino rosso we returned to the toll road (A1) and continued north to Tuscany.  We arrived ~4pm and were received warmly by Barbara, who owns and runs the Scannano agriturismo.  We got a comprehensive tour and settled into our rooms.  After a quick change we gathered around the pool overlooking the valley, sipping vino rossa di casa and thanking God for the blessing of a safe arrival.  In stark contrast to our American tradition of dining before the sun sets, we were treated to a phenomenal prima de cena (before dinner) sunset.  

Our dinner on Saturday was a pasta pomodoro primi, and a bacon-roasted turkey secondi that was superlative.  In between we savored a plate of peccorino of various ages topped with sheep ricotta and drizzled with a fig-balsamic reduction.  We were not quite finito as the dolce that followed was a delizioso flour-less chocolate cake made by Barbara.  We consumed a considerable quantity of outstanding vino bianco e' rosso and by 10 pm we all hit the wall.  

Ellen waiting for dinner with her new friend

  Torta al cioccolato-molto bene!

Barbara w/ Glenda and Rod

Those who are familiar with my many peculiarities, know that sleeping is not among my best attributes.   There are exceptions to everything and I can honestly not recall hitting the bed; I woke up 8 hours hence, well in excess of my norm.  This should have moved Nace to contact a coroner since it would be more likely that I was dead than sleeping past 7 am.  

I followed the aroma of coffee and found Barbara's father, Lucianno, in the kitchen.  He knows no English, took one look at me and produced three expressos to kick off the morning.   Even more miraculous, Rod, the consummate sleeper had been awake since 6:30 am sitting by the pool! 

Fiona

Prima colazione

 By 8:30 we convened in the dining room and added Fiona to our table.  She is an executive with HP in Hamburg Germany and alone for a few days until a friend arrives. 

On the way to the van for our first adventure

Our goal for the day was to go to Mass.  Lucciano recommended we go to the Basilica in Asciano, visible from Scannano on the next hilltop to the west.   

This was NOT our welcome reception

It is a short and curvaceous drive to Asciano.  With time to spare we took a quick tour around the town.  As time for Mass grew near I rolled down the window to ask "dove Basilica" and the man raised his eyebrows and pointed to the building literally right in front of us!  The entire population of Asciano was in the center of town enjoying marching bands and majorettes.  Rod thought they were there for us, but it turned out to be a celebration for a local soccer team.  The team was seated at Mass in the area reserved for dignitaries and the homily, whose duration may have set a modern record was obviously directed to these young men who had no alternative to rapt attention considering their seating front and center. 

 

 

After Mass we strolled and found a pizzeria for lunch.  Hand tossed, thin crust pizza is our weakness and each couple shared a pizza and salad-molto delizioso.  

 

We had already spied a gelatoria on the way to lunch and returned for our afternoon dolce.  

Gelatoria

Molto felice-very happy!

That is NOT a beauty mark but evidence of cioccolato gelato

Back in the van we drove to Buonconvento, another ancient hilltop town for a post-lunch walkabout. 

On the way we spied the source of the delizioso pecorino (formaggio di pecora-cheese from sheep) from dinner last evening.  

Sampling the water from the ubiquitous brass taps in every town

The gate at Buonconvento

Divas showing off their nuovo bling from the art fair in Buonconvento

Twenty minutes later we retreated to our Scannano oasis, sipping vino bianco poolside. 

 I asked Barbara to make our primi pasta for this evening "picolo" since we did not want to feel compelled to eat the entire portion and be too full for the secondi.  Tonight is lasagna and tuscan chicken.   Dinner is served ~8:30 so we have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the spectacular views.

Gathering before dinner 

Antipasti

Intermezzo

  Buonanotte!