Month: July 2017

On this morning we we offered a tour of ‘Romitorio’ – which belongs to the family we are staying with and was first built as an Etruscan tomb. In the Middle Ages (1300’s) it was used as a hermitage site and in World War II it was used for a hiding place and protection of the partisans.

As they explained it, Carlo bought this property adjacent to his family farm and ‘discovered’ it as he was clearing away the brush from the hillside. Say what? I guess Italy has more of these historic sites than the country can pay to maintain, so if you buy property and there is something like this there, it is up to you to maintain and care for the costs as Carlo and Isabella have done for this site.

Carlo has cleared it all out and started to do the work of preservation. When he found the site it had been last used by farmers as a pig pen and chicken coop so you can imagine the filth he has had to clear away to make it a place to come visit.

Since the time he has cleared it out, now the government sends archeologists to come study the site to understand what happened here and the significance of the tomb paintings, art, and frescos.

When we first saw it all of our jaws dropped and Tony (of Tony and Maddie – cute honeymoon couple on this trip – more on that later) said what we were all thinking, ‘Wait, Carlo just FOUND this?’ Again, the legend of Carlo continued to build.

It reminded me of the set of Land of the Lost and it was hard to wrap your mind around how old everything was that you were looking at – a very fascinating tour.

After the tour it was mid-day and so hot! We decided to have lunch with Maddie and Tony (the honeymooners I referred to earlier). They live near Iona University in New York and he is originally from Philadelphia and she is from Virginia and were married on July 1. It is so great when you come on a trip like this and are able to meet fellow travelers and connect and laugh with them. They both have tremendous senses of humor and we find all of the same things funny.

Dana nailed it when she said at lunch, you remind me of Seth Meyers. Ding, ding, ding! That was it, Tony looked and talked a lot like Seth Meyers with a similar sense of humor and Maddie is equally as engaging. Oh how they had us laughing. The four of us together had a fun lunch in Pienza followed by touring the town a bit while licking gelatos. After the gelatos were gone we decided it was too hot to walk around anymore and we all headed back to the villa for naps.

Dana and I laugh that nap time is a big event now.  We gleefully anticipate the opportunity to go back and get into our ‘napping’ outfits, take out our contacts, close our eyes and rest in the coolness of our room.

This night we were offered the opportunity to have a professional Chef come on-site to prepare a delicious four course meal while we watch, we could ask questions, and sip wine. He based the menu on what he finds delicious at the market that morning to ensure you are eating locally and seasonally.

As we wouldn’t have to drive anywhere, we said YES to this experience even though it was the fourth activity of the day that started with the 6:30am hike. For all that has transpired since then, thank goodness for the hike that morning.

Giancarlo was a PRIZE. His personality alone would have been worth the price of paying for this extra dinner. He was like a caricature of himself and the most enthusiastic chef I have ever seen. He had the same enthusiasm of the little mouse chef in the Disney movie, Ratatouille.

The way he described each dish and then plated and served each course, was beyond belief. We felt like there were even side dishes for each course. As in ‘here is your pasta course’ with a ‘side of pasta.’

Another ‘side-bar’ story to this evening was one of the families that came to dine with us from the other fancy property. It was a Doctor and his wife and their two children. A girl who was 18 and going to be a senior and a son who was 13, and was quite the ‘boy wonder’ for his age. His name was Zach, and he was like a 50-year-old man trapped in a 13-year-old body. From the moment I sat down I found this little Doogie Howser to be an odd mix of pretension and cute young boy all wrapped into one. A conversation with him felt oddly uncomfortable.

‘Hi, I’m Zach,’ he says as he is cooly sipping on Prosecco. I’m like ‘Oh, you are drinking?’ He says, ‘Oh yah, I’m Jewish and this is a very normal part of our culture.’ I don’t know what to say but, ‘Ah, okay, cool?’ Looking at his father who nods in agreement. His father had a big bushy beard with warm physician eyes, and so I think well, okay, he seems to have this under control, I’m not going to worry. Zach continued to drink with us the rest of the night – including wine and grappa. He would take sips and then run over to the swing set to play with the other kids and then come back and sip. It was the oddest thing.

Zach also felt free to offer his opinions on any topic and challenge adults. Dana is a fourth grade teacher, which was a hit of the night. The parents were all intrigued and asking her all kinds of questions about her work except for Zach. Apparently he has issues with the core testing and feels it is too subjective and was pointing out specific sections he thinks are challenging and don’t make sense in a tone that made you think Dana would be compelled to call the school board as soon as we returned to our room. Not so much.

The daughter was another story, very sweet, and clearly under the shadow of her brilliant brother. I couldn’t quite understand what was happening when it took her 3 hours to eat the above pasta dish. It was all she ate that night. She  literally licked each strand of pasta – like a little cat, licking off the pepper, then she would take a little bite. I was so confused, I had never seen this. I could possibly learn from her as I was slurping down pasta on this trip at a much faster clip.

As we listened to Zach tell us about life some more during dinner, I finally asked. ‘Zach, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ I coudln’t wait to hear his aspirations. He replied, ‘A chemical physicist. No, actually, a particle physicist.’ I said, ‘Wow, and what is a particle physicist?’ Everyone at the table was wondering so I went ahead and asked the question. He replied, ‘It is the study of subatomic particles.’ I was thinking, I definitely woke up too early for this conversation and will now shift my attention to the beautiful plate of duck in front of me that I am too full to eat! Somehow I managed though…it was perfectly cooked and delicious to the last bite.

We were absolutely TOAST after this dinner and ready to head straight to bed, only there was Grandpa waiting with the Grappa. The whole dinner Dana was saying, ‘We can’t drink with Grandpa tonight, we can’t drink with Grandpa.’ I was like, ‘Yes, I agree, I’m tired.’

Next thing I know…I hear Dana saying ‘Okay, one glass.’ And we were pulled in – for another 30 minutes. Until Carlo his son came to collect his dad and was talking to him in Italian, ‘It’s late! Please stop.’ You could feel the family tensions rising as Carlo probably has to come collect his dad each night because of his dad’s passion for connecting with the guests and drinking Grappa. He is harmless and you can pour out the grappa when he isn’t looking – so really, to pay respect to him for a few minutes at the end of the night isn’t so bad.

We finally headed to bed and slept the soundest night of the trip. It was a LONG and wonderful day that wiped us out. Possibly haven’t been that tired since my first trip to Disneyland at age 3 or 4.

When you hear the words ‘progressive wine tasting’ combined with ‘estate’ and the name ‘Donatella Cinelli Colombini’ – you can’t help but say YES to this tour. The name alone drove up our curiosity, even though we are still on Monday and started this day at 6:30am with the trek with Carlo, then the farm tour with Luciano.

It was was about a 50 minute drive out to the estate on many ‘one-way’ roads that actually were roads for traffic in both directions. On this trip, I have become the official driver and Dana is the expert navigator. We make a great team and equally squeal when opposite facing cars are taking a turn too far into your lane. It does keep the blood pumping! Also, there is the fun event of when a car with a red flag is coming your way and within seconds a WIDE LOAD truck taking up the whole road is in front of you and you literally have to figure out or hope and pray there is a little area for you to pull over into so the truck can pass. Usually it means pulling into brush and hoping the rental car company won’t charge you for the scratches to the vehicle.

Behind those few harrowing experiences, we are learning how to navigate well and even know when GPS is trying to send us in the wrong direction. We are quite proud of our internal compass that tells us always to heads towards Pienza.

After the windy road drive to the estate, we arrived and were greeted by a small Italian woman in interesting ‘wrap pants’ – I have seen several women in these type of pants, that are sort of reminiscent of MC Hammer 1980’s Hammertime pants. I was half distracted by these pants as she gave us the tour of the estate that was once owned by the grand duke of Tuscany.

We got to see inside the villa and rooms like the historic kitchen, billiard room, and the cellar where the barrels of wine are stored. They also gave us a selection of locally produced meats and cheeses to sample with the wine.

By now I am a meat and cheese machine and my ‘vegan’ stint of earlier this year is a distant memory that I can only hope I can return to when I get home as a massive reversal to the early on-set heart attack I may be promoting with all of these fatty meats and cheese tastings.

After the morning trek with Carlo, we had about an hour to eat breakfast before we all headed to the family farm of our hosts, where Grandpa Luciano was going to give us the farm tour to see where they produce their products and care for their animals, see their wine storage, and wrap it all up with a tasting of their delicious farm products.

Grandpa Luciano (the family patriarch) is a piece of work. He trolls the property at night looking for guests to sit down and drink grappa with him. He doesn’t speak English at all but has a little mini-ipad he uses to communicate the translation. He is determined and very endearing.

Listening to his tour of how farming has changed for him since he was born in 1940 and started working on the farm at age 15, was absolutely fascinating. He showed us the old ways and the new ways and brought us down to where they keep the animals. In addition to the usual chickens, goats, rabbits you may see at the fair or other farm tours – they had a pig pen like I have never seen in my life. The most robust pigs and one gigantic mamma pig with her piglets.

To watch Luciano feed her a monster zucchini and the way she dominated eating that and moving her little piglets out of the way was impressive. She basically would throw them across the pen with her snout. I asked her name and grandpa said she doesn’t have a name. I figured they don’t name them to not get too attached – as he said no pigs live to old age and that as soon as she isn’t able to have pigs anymore she would be butchered.

Your heart sinks a little when you understand that, but then you remember all of the delicious ham an sausage varieties we have eaten on this trip have had to come from somewhere and you are hit with the realization once again that demand drives supply. Yet, still, memories of Charlotte’s Web and Fern trying to save Wilbur tend to stick with you for a lifetime. Oh the tension of farm life!

After the tour they sat us down to try their farm made meats, olive oil, truffle oil, chianti, cheeses – it was all very good and a great way to spend the morning and lunchtime.

A 6am alarm clock on your vacation seems unnatural, but we didn’t want to miss the Monday morning adventure with Carlo. He is the husband of Isabella, the owners of the property of where we are staying. By now it is Thursday and I am getting caught up on blogs, and I giggle to think what a legend Carlo has become to all of us staying here as we learn more about him each day. He is a true Renaissance man who knows a stunning amount about agriculture and farming. You get the feeling he could break a wild animal’s neck with his bare hands and understand how to skin and prepare it for dinner.

Most everyone staying on the property joined us on the hike – about 12 people. We left promptly at 6:30am on a 7 kilometer, 2.5 mile hike. It was beautiful to see the morning sunshine on the across the landscapes of crops, vineyards, and olive orchards. We thought 2.5 hours was an over estimation of the hike. Nope! It was 2.5 hours.

It was a nice opportunity to get some badly needed exercise and get to know some of the other travelers staying at the villa. Overall, it is a great group – of course with the addition of those that make you giggle later. Throughout the week we have gotten to know a few that really are a lot of fun and that have made the trip even more enriching.

Sunday was our first full day at the Farm and the family plans an orientation from 9:30am – 11:00am to give you an overview of the area and also walk through all of the activities available for you to explore during your week visit.

When you arrive, there is an itinerary called ‘A week with Isabella Daily Options’ – along with a thick 3-ring binder with detailed explanations for everything for you to explore in the surrounding area. From hikes, to restaurants, to towns. You really don’t need to plan a THING before you get here because they go to great lengths to offer you amazing options.

During the orientation you are encouraged to really saturate yourself in the surrounding area verses trying to make yourself tired with all kinds of long day trips where you leave the area. We are staying in the ‘Val D’Orcia’ which is really what you think of when you think of Tuscany. All of the picturesque rolling hills, eucalyptus trees, and hill towns are as far as the eye can see. It is truly breathtaking.

We really enjoyed Isabella’s orientation and tips on how to be a good guest in Italy and really appreciate the culture and what Italians in this area have preserved for over 1,000 years. For example, if you buy property in the area – it is very controlled, everything is decided for you – what materials you can use to renovate, what colors, etc. They have strict laws on no pools or fences – which preserves the landscape. You have freedoms in Italy as long as it doesn’t infringe on others freedoms. If what you want to do with the property changes the ‘view’ of another, then you are not allowed to make that change.

After we signed up for just about everything we headed back to our little house. I was so tired, I needed to lay down. I had a BRILLIANT idea to have espresso after dinner the night before because I thought the cups looked so cute and all of the Italians seemed to be doing it. Well, I payed the price with about a 2 hour night of sleep. Yikes.

Dana decided to take the car to the local co-op to get groceries for our lunch and allow me to rest for a bit. She returned with fresh made pasta and sauce, and a few other things we needed for the mornings. While she prepared the pasta, I went to the garden and picked the fresh veggies for our salad. We have the tiniest little cupboard that is or ‘kitchen’ – it has as sink and a stove and all of the supplies we need and somehow – it works!

Our lunch we absolutely delicious and we enjoyed it with some complimentary wine the family produces that they included as part of our welcome. As it was Sunday, after our late lunch – we finished around 3pm, it was time for another nap. I will MISS these Sundays when I get home. LOL.

I did try to sleep – but still couldn’t relax, so I got up and wrote another blog. That usually helps me – to get all of the thoughts out of my head out and recorded.

We had them makes us dinner reservations at a place that had the same name as one of my favorite places in Florence. Soon it was time to get ready and go and we were on our way. We had 8pm dinner reservations and gave ourselves about 45 minutes ahead of our reservation to walk around the the little hill town of Montefollonico.

We arrived at the perfect time of day when the sun is setting and hitting the buildings with the softest light. You feel like you could point your camera anywhere and take a great photo. You don’t have to be a good photographer in Italy, really. Most everything you are looking at feels like beauty at its finest, so you just point and shoot and voila, you have an amazing photo.

We arrived at the restaurant at 8pm, sat down and looked at each other and realized we weren’t hungry! We started laughing thinking why are we here, we were still full from lunch. And yet still, we stayed and ordered dinner and a glass of wine each.

We are constantly amazed at just how good the wine is here and how cheap an amazing glass is – about 5 Euro. We ordered salads and Dana had a bowl of Tuscan soup (which she couldn’t stop raving about, she said it had layer upon layer of flavors). I had their house speciality which is a pasta that they finish at the table in front of you in a gigantic pecorino cheese wheel that they have made into a big bowl – so that they can really coat your pasta in cheese.

When they brought it to me I said, ‘Wow, I basically just ordered a fancy mac and cheese.’ But it looked delicious so I ate it and we somehow finished our dinners. Still, we were so full and decided we needed to do SOME form of exercise when we got back – like wind sprints in the front yard. Not really, but we needed to do something!

We ended up taking our flashlights and went on about a 30 minute walk out on the property under the pitch black sky. You could see so many stars it was amazing. We only decided to turn back when we heard a ‘rustling’ in the bushes. That was enough to get our cardio up all the way home and we were done for the night. We had signed up for a 6:30am 7 kilometer hike with Carlo the next morning, it was time to get to bed.

 

For the last 2 years I had wanted to come to this farm house run by a family that accepts different visitors in different specialized rooms within the farm house. I read that it is quite an exeperience to stay with this family for a week and have them recommend all the best to you in the area and help you with anything you need. They also recommend that you stay at least a week (they don’t accept reservations for less in the summer), and for this reservation I had to commit to 8 nights.

It can be a gamble because if you get there and it is a ‘bust’ you are stuck for 8 nights. On the other hand I had read so many ‘if you can do this once in your life, you must’ reviews and also many people said they return annually. It felt like a good decision to just rest somewhere for 8 days and see what happens. No stressful travel days, no packing and unpacking….so we decided yes back in March and booked the stay.

As we approached the property, we couldn’t have been more thrilled. It was everything we hoped for and more! We were greeted by Isabella who escorted us to our room. The ‘old chicken house’ – which doesn’t look anything like a chicken house and was prepared with everything we would need to be comfortable upon arrival.

Only one thing was missing, I had asked for it to be prepared with two beds and it looked like one big bed. No problem, two ladies came in and switched out all of the sheets and bedding happily. These beds and pillows also looked like such quality (compared to our last hotel where the pillows were flatter than pancakes and the sheets felt itchy).

After we got settled, Isabella made us a dinner reservation in town. We were delighted with her selection at a place 10 minutes away in a small little hill town. We dined outside again were pinching ourselves to be in this part of Italy with a whole week ahead of us in our little farm house.

After 3 nights in Stresa on Lake Maggiore, it was time for us to journey to Tuscany where we would be staying at a Tuscan farm house near Pienza for a week.

The travel included a train ride from Stresa to Milan, change  of trains in Milan and then speed train to Florence, where we would pick up our rental car to drive to Tuscany.

Our first train from Stresa was at 9:40am, but we ended up sitting there on the train in Stresa for over an hour as there was ‘an accident involving a person’ that had to be investigated. We were sad for what happened but also going a little nuts as the man assigned to one of the 4 seats in or little section must not have had a shower in a week. When you are stuck on a hot non-moving train and smelling in really bad body odor, it makes an hour seem endless and I was literally gagging and coughing at one point. It was so odd too because he was a really good looking young man from Geneva who was super polite and brought us water and chocolate that the train station was giving away because of the delay.

Another challenge of the delay was that we would miss our connection in Florence and need to take another train. There are pretty much trains going from Milan to Florence every hour, but unfortunately, the next 3 trains after the one we were missing were already sold out in 2nd Class. I could only trade my ticket for another 2nd Class ticket and the next available train would put us into Florence to late to pick up our rental car. What to do? I end up buying business class tickets for us on a 2:20pm train – the next available train – at a cost of $175! It’s these decisions you make when traveling that can make or break the connections you need to make, so you need to just fork over the money as you can’t always depend on public transportation to be on time. Especially in the summer with the crowds.

As it turns out, when we got to Milan, the conductor said ‘oh no problem, you can go on the next train at 12:20pm even though it is sold out, just go to train car #5.’ That turned out to be a luxurious dining train car with all leather reclining seats and just a few people sitting there. Versus the 2nd class cabins that were packed like cattle. What a break!

Except that…we now had non-refundable $175 train tickets for a train we were never going to need to board! Ugh. We decided to at least try to get a refund when we get to the Florence train station. I wait for 35 minutes in the customer service line at the train station in Florence which felt like a sauna and was packed. Also it is known for pick-pocketing and begging from tourists. Dana stood against a wall and watched several shady things go down, while giving the death stare to anyone approaching her while I waited in the line.

When I got to the front of the line, I explained my ‘situation’ to the customer service rep. He said, ‘this is a shame.’ He went away, came back, went away, came back (I’m melting in the heat while I wait). Then he comes back with paperwork and says ‘We need to fill this out.’ I’m not even sure if I am getting a refund, but it seems I am making progress. I fill out the paperwork, write out what happened. He stamps it and says, ‘Okay, you will get your refund back on your credit card.’ YAY! This must be the trip of refunds.

We then proceed to get a taxi to the rental car place. The lady taxi driver asks us where we will be driving. I say ‘Tuscany.’ She says, ‘You are IN Tuscany, this whole region is Tuscany.’ LOL. I guess it is like someone arriving in Los Angeles and renting a car and saying, I am driving to California. LOL!! Touché.

We get to the Hertz rental car place and our met by the friendliest rental car rep I have ever met at a Hertz counter. She says, ‘We have upgraded you to an Alpha Romero, brand new.’ Wow. Yay.

We then ask about a bathroom for Dana. She says, ‘We do have bathroom, but it is not suitable for the ladies, if you know what I mean. For a suitable bathroom, you must go to a bar.’ I was all, ‘A bar?’ She says, ‘Yes, a bar.’

So Dana heads to the bathroom at the bar while I figure out the car and our directions. She comes back to our car with cold waters and cookies for the 2 hour drive and says the bar bathroom was indeed perfect.

With that we are off on our driving journey to the Tuscan Farm House near Pienza.

When I think of the most breathtaking hikes of my life – 3 locations come to mind, the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera Coast, the Napali Coast on the Island of Kauai, and a hike in the forest area off of Hood River, Oregon. I now have a new jaw-dropping hike to add to the list – the one we embarked on Friday morning from Verbania to Mergozzo.

We had two options this morning – the more touristy option to take a ferry to Isola Bella – to go to an another island and tour the Borromeo (well known power Italian dynasty family) Estate and gardens, etc. Or to take an off the beaten path hike. We both agreed we wanted to do the hike. Half because we are eating so much (carbs galore) and wanted the exercise, and half because we wanted to do something less touristy. Although I must say, Stresa on Lake Maggiore is a town with more European tourists than any other kind. It seems to be a vacation destination for Europeans. Being on a lake, there is no access to Cruise ships so you don’t have the ship loads of people dropped off into town in the morning that you have on the coastal towns. This is very refreshing.

Dana had researched some options before we left (once again – I am so grateful for her advanced research on these details that I didn’t have time for before we left). She found us a hike that was just 2 stops away (about a 10 minute train ride and 1.90 Euro each). It’s amazing what you can find on the internet from generous travelers that share there experiences on blogs, etc.

We were at breakfast by 7am this morning so that we could catch a 7:40am train and get an early start. Not having to ‘get ready’ helped – it was like going to the gym first thing. Hair in a pony and workout clothes on and you are out the door. With temps in the mid-80’s with high humidity mid-day – we knew an early start would be important for us to make this hike enjoyable. While the blogger had said this was a moderate 2 hour hike. You never know how ‘fit’ the person writing is – especially when they are Italian and you see Italian grandmas scaling mountainsides in flat sandals with little effort.

We arrived at the Verbania train station before 8am and followed the directions of the blogger to get to the start of the hike. The beginning was basically a 25 minute uphill hike on a switchback asphalt road with lots of stops for breaks before you get to the first little charming Hamlet town of Montorfano. Along the way we stopped at an old small cemetery, impressed that so many old graves are still paid respects to with beautiful flowers planted and cared for there. We also enjoyed nature growing off of the side of the road that you typically don’t see on hikes in So CA – blackberry bushes everywhere, etc. After you reach Montorfano, you begin the most beautiful part of the hike that hugs the Lake Mergozzo edge and ends in the center of the town of Mergozzo. Along the way we passed so many beautiful scenes – rows of cornfields, stacked wood that looked like art, a ‘mini stonehedge’ side of the road marker set-up with granite.

Throughout the shaded hike in the woods with views of the lakes and little waterfalls, we did not see but one other person on the entire hike. An older gentleman walking his dog. This was unheard of, to be enjoying so much beauty and have it all to ourselves. When I mentioned my other top hikes at the beginning of this blog – this was enjoyable at a different level and I will now add to my top 5 because to have such beauty and to feel like you were the only two on the road less traveled was priceless.

We also ran into an old farmer and his helper along the way that tried to help us with directions. They both spoke no English – so that was fun. One look at Dana and he asked ‘Deutschland?’ – he thought maybe we were German. Okay, okay, I know it wasn’t me, but Dana that was giving that impression. Regardless, the communication was fun and friendly and he asked if we wanted to go to the town of the ‘Discotheque’ while he made dancing motions. We were like, no grandpa, no discotheque, for us, we are trying to get to Mergozzo. Then he was saying ‘Man and Woman’ with a thick accent. Like he was a man and we were women. Wasn’t sure if he was suggesting something or just taking the opportunity to practice his 10 words of English. We just laughed and went on our way – he really seemed harmless. He also wanted to make sure we had enough water, which was really nice.

When we finally landed in Mergozzo, we stopped lakeside for cappuccinos as it was still too early for lunch. We then walked around the little town to see locals lake side at a small park enjoying the day with their families. It was nice to see multi-generational groups all picnicking together and enjoying the beautiful summer day. We then headed back to our original lake-front spot to enjoy a delicious lunch of wine, pasta, and pizza (with lots of water to stay hydrated). It was breathtaking to sit at the waters edge, hear the lapping of the lake against the shore and look at the scene of the town on the water’s edge. Another ‘pinch me I must be dreaming’ moment of the trip.

Another great aspect of this hike was, we didn’t have to hike back the way we came. We could just take the train back. We found the Tobacco shop to buy our train tickets. In Italy a tobacco shop sells everything from tobacco, to lotto tickets, to train and bus tickets, to snacks, to stamps, etc.). You basically feel like you can solve most needs you may have in a tobacco shop.

Soon enough we were back in Stresa and headed back to our room, ready for well-deserved naps! Ironically we both tried to nap but just couldn’t relax. It’s similar to when you are a child and you are tired and your mom wants you to nap, but life is just too exciting outside so you can’t relax. That’s what it feels like to be in Italy and need a nap but you get hit with severe FMO (fear of missing out) and so you lay there for a while thinking about all you could be doing or seeing and just get right back up.

We had a big agenda that afternoon – Laundry and Blogging. See, all so exciting! Well, when you are in Italy…yes, it is ALL exciting and all an adventure.

As a funny post script to this day. While Dana was graciously doing our laundry so I could blog at local cafe, she caught a glimpse of the boat back from Isola Bella (the other option for the day that we didn’t take to see the Borromeo Estate. I laughed when I saw the photo as it looked so crowded and unappealing, we had definitely made the right choice for the day.

So Thursday night we were ready for a new place to try for dinner. Feeling like Dana has done so much good research for our trip, I offered to find us a place for dinner. I looked on Trip Advisor at the top restaurants in the area, really not knowing what to expect. #1 was closed on Thursdays, and #2 didn’t look appealing, so we went with #3.

I called down to the front desk and asked them to get us a reservation. He said, well, that place is often booked full and they have two seatings. It is too late for the first seating, do we want the 9:30pm seating? Since it stays light so late, we thought, sure, why not. It was already 8pm anyway and we weren’t tired since we had a rest day.

Dana was getting dressed up in a dress and I just was dragging my feet wanting to get dressed up – as it was still so hot. But then the front desk called back and said – I got you in and your private boat will be coming to pick you up in 30 minutes. You need to walk down to the dock, can you be ready down here in 15 minutes? I hear ‘private boat’ escorting us to an island and realize, I MUST change. So I do, and then we walk down to the boat dock and wait for our driver wondering, how much is this dinner going to cost us? So far, food has been so cheap in Italy, we figure, well, maybe this will be our ‘birthday dinner’ and we will splurge.

Not quite sure how to describe how the rest of the evening transpired except to say it was ‘magical’ – from the after sunset boat ride to the island, to the setting of the restaurant, to the views, to the view, to the service. It was another ‘Be Our Guest’ moment (on steroids) for both of us. We were giddy and thrilled to have that boat ride and that 3 hour dinner in a fabulous setting and once again grateful for the opportunity to be here, to be almost 50, and have these unforgettable moments in Italy.