TWO BIRTHDAYS AND A FAREWELL
It's been our experience that there are two kinds of vacations and vacationers. The first group uses the word "vacation" to mean "relaxation". They get up with no itinerary and no desire to go further than the pool or the wet bar. A vacation is an escape from the stresses of whatever they face on a daily basis back in their real worlds.
The other type of traveler translates the word "vacation" more closely to "exhaustion". This group has an itinerary that schedules every minute of every day and marches to that manifesto dragging everyone along whether they want to or not.
My family is split on this and since there are three of us it's impossible to come out with a tie. I doubt anyone who knows me knows what side of the coin I'm on.
Today I had to give in to the first group, well sort of. We only put together two plans.
Jocapo had arranged for a wine tasting at the Capanna Winery in Montalcino. The other would occur later that evening at a birthday celebration for Stefania and Giulio and a farewell to our San Francisco and Dutch friends.
The winery tour was to begin a three. I twiddled my thumbs until then. The winery has remained in the Capanna family since 1957. Jacapo grew up with the founder's great-grandson. Our tour guide was also a childhood friend of Jocapo.
There's an intrinsic beauty in most Tuscan wineries. So many are centuries old buildings built from stone quarried from the area's bedrock that had millions of years ago been a sea.
We were told that as they added on to the existing structures they were constantly finding seashells and fossilized crustaceans in and among the rocks they used to build new.
I'm not a drinker so the tasting part of the tour was a bit of a waste on me. The wine made here is a Brunello, the most prized wine in the world. Due to the clay soil, the average low rainfall and the temperature of the area it produces a wine that no other wine district in the world can match. There are regulations governing every aspect of its production and the wineries are monitored regularly by a set of inspectors. That is why a 2016 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino sells for $996 a bottle in the United States. Don't tell anyone but after I swished that 2016 Brunello around in my mouth for a few seconds I spit it out behind Daniello's back. I have a hard time trying to decipher the imaginary bouquets of roses, strawberries and pepper that have no part in its production.
The architecture and the caves are thrilling enough for me and besides when we go on these alcohol adventures I am more than happy to be the designated driver.
After a three-hour nap time for all the inebriates it was off to Siena for another bit of debauchery, Stefania and Giulio's birthdays.
There were fifteen of us this time arriving a half-hour late at another friend of the family's restaurant.
This would be our last dinner together as a group. JoHannh, Adam and Roby were headed off to the Amalfi coast and then back to England before JoHannah and Roby headed back to San Francisco and Adam headed for Slovenia to meet up with a friend. Laura and Eric were going to take a leisurely drive back to Holland. The dinner wasn't so much about the food this time but just the sheer joy of spending time with everyone we held dear. We all spoke different native languages but it didn't stop the laughter or the understanding of most every word. We all knew the intent and you can see it on our faces.
Look closely as Giulio holds up his gift from Emmy.
See the joy in Stefania's face as she looks at the book of photos Rick made with pictures he had taken every year we've been coming here
of the seasonal changes on a pomegranate tree in the yard in front of our apartment.
Cin cin echoed through the room every few seconds. It wasn't until one in the morning that we finally drove through the gates back in Armena .
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