TWO DINNERS

FIRST NIGHT

"We have big surprise for you this a evening" Stefania beamed her eyes wide with excitement. They were taking us to a movie premiere in Montalcino. We had no idea of where we were going so we left ourselves totally in their hands as they pointed us into designated cars for a caravan into the adjoining hill town of Montalcino. They told us we'd be starting out with pizza before the movie and that's about all of the secret we knew up front. I had no idea of what to expect, only that their best friend Mirando was about to become a movie star. The only image I could muster was a scene for Cinema Paradiso with an open courtyard and a film projected on an ancient wall.

Montalcino is not a big town by anyone's categorization but our hosts guided us into a part of the village we wouldn't have been able to discover on our own. Once we had all parked we followed our Italian hosts down the cobbled streets as the streets narrowed to barely more than walking paths.

We were expecting a small pizzeria for just our group of nine. What we encountered once we turned into the final narrow streets was a table dressed in white and lit with a string of amber lights, set for at least a hundred additional diners. This idea of community dinners goes back centuries in these small Tuscan hill towns. There's a strong sense of pride and loyalty given to the place you grew up in and either still live in or come back to frequenty. These little pockets of our planet still exist where neighbor knows neighbor, and children play in the street under the watchful eye of an entire community. It's where Saturday nights are filled with the sounds of local chatter from groups of men in suspenders and women in house dresses sitting outside their front doors on chairs worn from decades of use.

It's where a pizza dinner on a Saturday night for a hundred and the viewing of a locally made movie are a part of the fabric of life. We were so grateful to have been included with seats at the table even when there were five courses of pizza to get through and the movie shown only in Italian didn't start until almost midnight.

Oh, and Mirando was a total star!























A RETURN TO SAN QUIRICO D'ORCIA

I don't believe we've ever made a trip to Armena without having a dinner in San Quirico at Trattoria Toscana al Vecchio Forno. Here the art of dining al fresco is raised to a four star level. The restaurant is set in the sleepy hamlet of San Quirico d'Orcia.

We've eaten here in every season sitting either inside or out, but summer dining under the typical Tuscan arbor ceiling on pea gravel floors and surrounded by lush greenery is the setting we like the best.

Once again we were a table of nine stretched out as three nations, Dutch, Italian and American, with so much more in common with each other than differences with the biggest commonality at this moment being food.

Lets get to the menu. Allesandro played the roll of matre'd for the appetizers ordering plates of Bruschetta with Tuscan white bacon and rosemary, a puff pastry au gratin with diced vegetables and a smooth smoked Scamorza cheese, an aubergine roll with Ricotta cheese and Porcini mushrooms and a cheese pie stuffed with Ricotta cheese from Pienza, pears, Saffron from San Quirico and a touch of honey from Montalcino all accompanied by both red and white local wines

We didn't go full out skipping the second course and deciding that a pasta course was going to be enough after all the appetizers and there was a hint that we might want to save room for dessert. Rick chose Gnocchetti, a plate of delicate potato dumplings stuffed with spinach, Tuscan sausage and crunchy bacon.

I went somewhat out of my comfort zone to try Paccheri della Val d'Orcia, a tubular pasta cut into short segments and served with fresh leeks, chives, Bronte's pistachios and prosciutto Toscano croccante. If that doesn't make your mouth water maybe Italian cooking isn't for you.

I decided that any new clothes I was going to be purchasing on holiday were going to have to be one size up from what I normally wear in order to make room at the waist for the desserts.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to resist. I went on a no sugar diet for two months before we were to leave, a lot of good that did.
We decided we'd wait the extra ten minutes for a soufflé al ciccolato, a pure chocolate soufflé served with a dish of orange slices in a spicy thick syrup. It was almost definitely death by chocolate!

But the closer was a regional specialty, Pesche cotte al forno nel Brunello di Montalcino: baked peaches cooked in Brunello di Montalcino served with vanilla gelato and drizzled with the reduced peach and Brunello wine syrup.

This is the look of satisfaction

ON TO ARMENA

ONE MORE CAR STORY

When we first started coming to Armena there was an established routine for all guests. Rentals were on a weekly Saturday-to-Saturday basis with check-in after four on arrival Saturdays and check-out before ten on the Saturday you were to leave. In those first few years the Coop grocery store in Bonconvento closed early on Saturdays and was closed all day on Sundays. You had to get there early on your Saturday arrival to buy food supplies or you were out of luck until the following Monday. Since we had a toddler in tow going for forty hours without any provisions wasn't a situation we wanted to have to face. We made sure we got to the COOP  and at least purchased what would keep our daughter fed and well hydrated for the first part of our stay. Old habits die hard. Even though the COOP is now open for a full day on Saturday minus those hours between one and four when the entire town closes down and in addition it is now open in the morning on Sundays but we still race to the Coop the minute we arrive to do our initial food and beverage shopping. This trip was no exception. We sped, well actually we crawled up the dirt road to the frattoria, dropped off our luggage and then dodged potholes and ruts the size of a New York manhole cover to get to the COOP and spend our money on prosciutto, magnum bars and wine. By the time we reached the COOP, after having navigated our way both up and back down the obstacle course of a road our rental Peugeot was covered in a layer of dust and grime making it fit in with the rest of cars in the COOP parking lot. All three of us raced around the aisles of the store pushing our carts with the precision of Indy race car drivers until Rick decided it was too much for his delicate constitution and begged for the car keys so he could wait in the air-condition. Rick's abandonment left JoHannah and me to bag and pay for all our digestible and drinkable loot. After we had paid and bagged our groceries we loaded our bags back into our carts and headed back out to the parking lot to find Rick, load up the car and head back to Armena.

We pushed the carts down the lane we thought our car was in, found a Peugeot, opened the boot and began loading in the two bags of food, one bag of cleaning supplies and a half-a-dozen bags of various wines and liquors. It did seem strange that the car air-conditioning wasn't running and Rick wasn't sitting in the front seat but the smell of the dust we had accumulated on the drives up and down the road to the frattoria seemed to be right. While we were loading up we notice another car one lane over seemed to be having problems. They kept flashing their lights and honking their horn in a way that got us worried  and a bit concerned that something was going awfully wrong. It never dawned on us the figure sitting in the front seat of that car waving his arms and mouthing something we couldn't understand but looked something like "You Idiots!" might actually be Rick.
We had only bought the wine at the COOP and in between purchasing and packing we hadn't found the time to drink any of it. So that excuse wasn't going to hold much water. By now we'd almost completely loaded the bags into the car before it dawned on us that the Peugeot we were loading wasn't our car. Ours was the one with the crazy screaming person flailing his arms and honking his horn. We quickly pulled everything out the trunk of the Peugeot that wasn't ours hoping we hadn't pulled out anything that didn't belong to us, slammed the hatch shut, pushed our cart over the dividing median and loaded all our food, supplies and libations into the right Peugeot. Thankfully we didn't get caught but Rick's slowly shaking head and eye roll was punishment enough and was going to require a lot of the purchased alcohol to heal our wounded pride.
ARMENA

Paradise found. Your first of almost anything is always amazing no matter what it is. This was JoHannah's first glimpse into our heaven on Earth and it was as awe striking to her as it initially was to us.

The grounds of the fattoria are lush and fragrant with shaded areas dotted by hydrangeas and roses and hanging gardens of rosemary.

The vista from the top of the hill looking out over the infinity pool stretches almost to the sea and captures the lilac and violet hills of the Tuscan landscape

Even if you go no farther than the pool during a week long stay at the farm you won't have felt cheated or disappointed.

Built in the fifteen hundreds and attributed to the architect Baldasssare Peruzzi the warmth of the terracotta brick structures doesn't come off as pretentious or grand but instead homey and comfortable.

After all the compound still remains a working farm where like Noah's ark animals seem to live two by two among the vineyards and olive groves of the farm.

But even if the farm were dilapidated and barren it's the Saracini's and their genuine incorporation of their guests into their family that make this fattoria a home to whomever comes to stay.

One week is never enough for us. No matter what other destinations we've plotted out into our itinerary by the end of our week we're ready to cancel everything and stay put content to do nothing more than soak up the sun, the fresh air with its heady earthy fragrances, as well as the peace and the wonderful warmth of Fattoria Armena.

FROM FLEAS TO ANTIQUES

THE APARTMENT

There's an eclectic little B&B in the old town section of Arezzo, BiBi Bed&Breakfast. The building is old but the inspiration is oh so new!

A woman named Laura took possession of the business in 2014 and that's when the three hundred year old building began its crazy transformation. We searched and searched on the Internet looking for a place to stay in Arezzo for the one night we'd be there before Arezzo's monthly antique fair began.

When we saw the BiBi we knew we had to try out its satin sheets and Regency headboards. There's a fine line between good design and kitsch. We weren't quite sure which side of the line the BiBi was going to fall but once we met Laura we knew it didn't matter. The entire B&B makes room for guests in three suites and two rooms. We reserved the two rooms and what rooms they were.

Vertically striped walls done in alternating Venitian plaster and paint and the puddling satin curtains with huge tasseled tiebacks created the envelope not to mention bathroom walls sprinkled with glitter.

Once your eyes adjusted to the striking walls and poufs of fabric it was the accessories that completed the effect of a royal retreat that either made you swoon or laugh with glee.




















THE AREZZO ANTIQUE MARKET 

We chose the BiBi so we could be close to the center of town and the antique market that runs the first Sunday and the day before of each month. It took us a while to figure out the wording of the dates until we realized that the first Sunday might also be the first day of the month.  Since the market is a two-day event the Saturday before might actually be the last day of the month before. Their translated description wasn't bad English but an accurate explanation of how basic time works.

Regardless, we figured it out and Saturday morning we were out the door and up the slopping ten-degree hill to the Piazza Grande and the center of the event.

Arezzo is an antique lovers mecca. Even when the market is not in session the streets of the old town are a cornucopia of antique shops specializing in almost anything you might be looking for. You can go from shops specializing in antiquities to those with a more modern bent, from art deco to mid-century modern

If budget wasn't a concern you can go high end with the beauty of Murano glass chandeliers. This burst of Italian sunflowers took our breath away. All you would need is an eighteen foot high ceiling in your entry hall to hang it in and good sized trust fund to finance it.

The market not only filled the Piazza but extended its tentacles well out into the streets emanating from the main square. Here the finds were just as exciting as the those we saw in the main square.

There are always going to be things that catch your eye and the first vendor's collection to pull us in was a man from England who had an unbelievable collection of silver plate flatware all in their original polished boxes

He had also transformed these wrought iron railing segments into lamps that could be adjusted into either floor or table top height. If I were doing a container to take back for clients a pair of these would have been the first to be included. At three hundred euros for a pair they were a steal even if you included the cost of shipping and converting to American standards. I still have his card and he says he ships worldwide.

After the lamps this settee and set of dining chairs reupholstered in vintage sack cloth would have been the next to go into the container.

It didn't take long for the heat and shopping to require a little break from the excitement and strain of antique overload. Aperol spritzs and cappuccinos got us a second wind and it was off to do some real damage.

But not before we stopped to get serenaded by a singer who dressed and sounded perfectly appropriate for the event.

Rick and JoHannah headed straight for the vintage linens. We found a woman from whom we had purchased many years before, Stefania Zocchi, who still attended the market with boxes and boxes of soft as baby's behind vintage Italian linen. We ended up with a monogrammed set of sheets and pillowcases while JoHannah walked away with a collection of pieces including euro shams, pillowcases and bed sheets.

Rick scored again from another merchant, who specialized in bolts of ticking, sack cloth and dyed linen walking away with roll of napkin fabric big enough to cut out a dozen oversized napkins.

I walked past this fish painting a half dozen times before I finally went back and bought it having no idea of how I was going to get it back to the States but convinced I could figure it out before we left Italy.

I don't know if it was the fish painting that got me in the mood for lunch but it was time to eat or go hungry before we left Arezzo. Today the duty of picking a food group was to me. It was my call. I opted for pizza at this strikingly modern restaurant, a break in the opposite direction of all the antiques we were now carrying around.

Sharing is a tradition when it comes to pizza and since we couldn't decide on which pizza we wanted we ordered two. There wasn't a slice left or an olive able to slip through our greasy fingers.

We wore ourselves out around three in the afternoon. We were planning on a four o'clock check-in in Armena for the original intent of this entire vacation, time with friends.

ROME TO AREZZO - LESSON LEARNED

DRIVING TO AREZZO

Vacations have one thing as a compulsory ingredient- travel. Unless your vacation consists of finally building that she shed in the backyard your wife has been hassling you about or hiding at home while you recoup from that tiny facelift you didn't want your co-workers to know you had done then a vacation means getting away from your home base. It means moving from one place to another. The upside is you get to be somewhere far far away from that she shed or the nosey neighbors. The downside is you need to get in your car stuffed to the gills with suitcases and beach toys, or squeeze into a way too small middle seat on a full airplane, or hop a jitney to the Hamptons with all the other twenty-somethings hopeful of finding romance. In our case, for this year's vacation, once we had flown into Lisbon and then Rome in those dreaded middle seats the sequence of subsequent travel arrangements didn't stop. No. We had a full itinerary of additional transport needs we were going to valiantly attempt to conquer.
Our plan after Rome and following our attempt of transitioning out of time zone fatigue was to rent a car for the next nine days and head north into Tuscany.

We had done the car rental many times in the past and since this was our third stay at La Residenza I knew there was an AVIS rental office about five blocks from our hotel, an easy walk. I had made our reservation well ahead of time and reserved an economy automatic sedan, fingers crossed there would be enough room for three adults, three large suitcases, three carry-ons, three personal items, a bag of snacks and by now several shopping bags of the loot we'd accumulated on our buying spree in Rome. We'd been in this situation before and managed to get everything into the trunk and backseat of an economy car as long as the one backseat passenger was willing to hold either one larger suitcase or two carry-ons on their lap and the front seat passenger could stuff the personal items and snacks under their feet. I, as driver, had to be willing to give up the rear view mirror as it was completely blocked by the floor to ceiling luggage and rely on the side mirrors for safety and guidance. It sort of worked.
This time when the AVIS desk clerk asked how many people and what kind of luggage we'd have I watched as the swarthy Mediterranean color drained from his face and turned an ashen grey similar to the color of wet cement. Then in his pigeon English he whispered,
"I upgrade you to midsize Peugeot. No extra charge.  I go on holiday tomorrow too and I don't want to meet you on the road."
My trade off for his concern was I'd need to purchase the most expensive and comprehensive insurance policy AVIS offered, just in case. I accepted.
Once I had figured out that I needed to use the break to get the ignition key to engage I was off to the hotel.

Rick and JoHannah were supposed to be back at the hotel with all our luggage downstairs and ready to go. All I had to do was drive back the five blocks to the hotel I walked to get to the rental office, pick them up and we'd be off to the next stop on our Italian adventure. What I discovered is that a five block walk is not necessarily a five block drive.

Rome is not really laid out in a sensible manor. A five block driving trip shouldn't require a GPS navigation system, but if you think that then you don't really know Rome. Rome can have five to seven streets all running parallel to each other and all going one way in the same direction. If you want to go in the opposite direction you may have to search miles away from where you want to go to finally find a street that goes east instead of west. Then once you do they'll sneak a little trick in and change the direction of allowed traffic several blocks along with a no entry sign forcing you to move even further away from your destination. I thought I'd be able to negotiate the "short" drive using my usual "follow your nose" method of self-navigation. I was quite quickly lost and turned around as if someone had picked me up and spun me until I was dizzy.
To complicate my return after having zigged and zagged for a good twenty blocks I made a wrong turn onto an expressway. That added an additional five kilometers before an exit ramp appeared leaving me off in completely uncharted territory. I hadn't panicked yet but the instinct to wet myself was quickly approaching. JoHannah had offered to go along with me in case I needed any help. At the time, I shrugged that off thinking I could handle it. Regrets don't get you back on the road to home or in this case our hotel.
Some way I managed to get myself back to the Via Veneto, a street name I recognized and knew was close to La Residenza.  Then I discovered a little alley without a sign I had missed on my first go around. It was my staircase to heaven and a keyhole to the hotel.
Our hotel sat on a very narrow one-way street.  As I pulled up in front of the hotel only to see no sign of either Rick or JoHannah I was at least hoping there would be an available parking spot. There, of course, was none. I couldn't stop in front of the hotel since there were several cars behind me all with amazingly loud horns. I had to move on.
I pulled around the block praying that I could find a place to pull over and text them I was finally here, although I questioned why they hadn't been texting me since I'd been gone for more than an hour and a half. I was also concerned that if I did made it around the corner I might not be able to get my one-way streets and my secret alley to line up to get me back to the hotel again.
I texted Rick. No response. I texted JoHannah. No response. I had pulled into a no parking taxi stand to do this. Now the taxi drivers were outside my car flailing their arms and trying to air shove me out of their spaces. I realized there was no way that I wasn't going to piss off someone so it was back to the hotel.

Here's where my luck changed. The streets all lined up. I made it the hotel. I left the car in the middle of the street ignoring the honking cars behind me. I walked into the hotel to find the two of them sitting calmly in the reception area unaware that I had been texting them and completely unconcerned that they hadn't seen nor heard from me in two hours. I made them pull the luggage down to the car. I got us loaded up. I made them both put our next destination, Orvieto into their Google maps app and off we went.
We had planned on stopping in Orvieto and then Cortona before reaching Arezzo and our next hotel reservation at BiBi Bed and Breakfast. All we managed was a lunch of prosciutto and melon and a lite pasta followed by a walk past the beautiful Orvieto Duomo before we went back to the car and agreed that a bed in Arezzo was more enticing then a gelato in Cortona.