The Propositions UPDATES

Remember the challenges? Well, we’re doing pretty well. Jon has a bottle of Absinthe in his possession and a collection of toilette photos:

Gibson is going to leave his Red Pants book here in Rome and he tried some Cynar (say, CHEE-nar – it’s artichoke liquor) at a restaurant called Peruca in San Gimingnano. The waiter, trying to warn him, offered him something called Napoleon instead, but Gibson was determined. Here’s the evidence. That’s our waiter.

(As a side note, another remarkable thing about this restaurant was the incredibly HUGE wine glasses:

A fitting vessel for a Supertuscan wine.)

In the pursuit of one of her tasks, Ellen is compiling a list of the gelato flavors we have tried. I’ll update this list as we go:

Fiore De Crème di Latte
Cinnamon
Limoncello
Strawberry
Peach
Melon
Berry
Chocolate
Limone
Honey
Crema
Pistachio
Banana
Coconut
Mandarin
Mint Choco Chip
Choco Chip
Crème Caramel
Pineapple
Raspberry
Vanilla
Caffe Latte
Peanut Butter
Kookies
Blackberry
Tiramisu
English Soup
Pine Nut
Wild Strawberries and Whipped Cream
Cappuccino
Fig
Blueberry
Hazelnut Peanut Butter
Eggnogg
Tartufo di Rum

My challenges aren’t going so well. I saw these pigs, which are dead, but not the kind I had in mind to kiss…and the store was closed.

Also, I saw some old men playing cards last night, but it was after a full day walking around and I just didn’t have it in me to go ask them to let me play a hand.

Dinner at La Torre

We had the most amazing dinner tonight! The restaurant was a recommendation of our host at the hotel and it was fantastic.

Perched near the tower in Castilina in Chianti, we were welcomed by Fiurenzo (the best waiter ever) with a firm hand on Ellen’s arm as he pulled us to a great table on the patio. Fiurenzo brought us an enormous plate of ripe melon wrapped in proscuitto. He was delighted when we wouldn’t let him take our plate of wild boar sauce away because we wanted to sop of the oil and spices with our bread. He called this "scarpetta" and he showed us how to douse the already oily plate in more oil, salt and pepper and cut mop up the leftover sauce with bread chunks. Molto buono! He spoke maybe one word of English to us and throughout the meal, we really were his guests. We invited him to pose for a picture with us:

Some random images

Mmmm pasta-in-a-bag



Pigskin



Robodragon on the Autostrada


Bart with teeth...mama mia!

The gelato that saved Florence

July 5

Florence is hot and packed. It was really, really hard to get away from the snowglobes and boxershorts with David’s penis on them. Crap for sale everywhere. It was REALLY hard to get past the crowds and the junk and the feeling that this city has sold its soul.

Gibson sums up Florence like this: “Cheapened by strong presence of seedy street vendors hawking cheap sunglasses and faux Gucci bags.”
Ellen: “Junky Junk.”
Jon says, “I’m glad we’re in Rome.”

Then we walked away from the centro. We found quiet streets and a little purple and orange wine bar that had sandwiches and drinks. We found an old monastery apothecary started in 1220 and in 1600’s they started selling their soaps, tinctures, and potions to the public. Gibson really wanted a tincture. We found the best gelato shop in Italy so far. One of the flavors was called 2-0 and it was three colored stripes of the Italian Flag. EE-TAL-EE-AH!
We went to the Piazza di Michelangalo. Here are Jon and I with Florence behind us:


We returned to the villa to clean up and off we went to dinner.

Pump and Blend

PUMP AND BLEND
Siena has been vacated. We arrived around 7 PM and literally, the only people in town are us and other tourists. We know the football game is on tonight and that people will be watching it somewhere, but there was NO ONE in town. We wandered into a snobby wine library and had mediocre wine and then down to the piazza where the only souls around were tourists watching the game at the overpriced and crappy piazza-side bars and restaurants. We asked a local waiter what was going on and he replied: “New Italian joke:‘Closed for Football.’”

We opted to wander aimlessly for a while before finally finding an open restaurant for dinner. The game was on and all the cooks and servers were gathered around a tiny TV. The food was good…not great, but certomente better than average. We lingered, talking about how we were a little dazed by Siena. Its hills and snobbery total lack of anything feeling authentic. It was a surreal and strange day and then. Italy. WON.

The score was 2-0. Finally Siena came alive. We exited the restaurant and the streets were suddenly full! People were riding vespas up every street…they were honking and shouting and we heard a fire cracker or two. Trucks carrying 10 guys drive by swerving and honking. There was a circle at the top of the town that seemed to be a major meeting point. People were in their cars and on their motorcycles and they were driving around in endless circles around the roundabout. We began to cheer and pump our fists along with the teaming masses of people. Everyone was so happy!

We talked about poor Zumo having to drive out of a crazy town at night with all this mayhem happening, but little did we know it was actually easier because whenever you almost cut someone off or turned in front of a car trying to pass you, all you have to do is pump your fist in the air and yell “EETAAL EE AH!” And you blend right in. People let you through and in fact, they welcome you to their street party. We had our hazard lights on; we drove with the windows down. We pumped our fists. We called it the “pump and blend” method of getting out of town.

Tomorrow: Firenze!

PARADISO

In the La Spezia train station we went directly to l’officuio tourisme was our first stop in La Spezia. The woman there told us to take a bus to the street we needed. We all agree that Tourist Information Offices are fantastic places. They always are so helpful. We were the only tourists on the bus and it was PACKED with people. I kept almost beheading a little boy with my backpack.

We picked up our rental car and set out on a wild drive to Tuscany.

Zumo was amazing. He drove with confidence and verve! Ellen navigated perfectly and we soon found ourselves on the autostrata! At one point we stopped to grab a bite to eat and wound up at a freeway rest stop with the most amazing sandwiches…there were people there selling cell phone service in the parking lot. They had spiffy matching jackets with the numero tre on them.

When we found our Riserva Di Fizzano, where we are staying, it was so beautiful Ellen and I practically wept. Olive groves, vineyards and rolling Tuscan hills. There is a pool. Our room is not ready, so he shows us to the tables outside the restaurant and they bring us a wonderful bottle of white wine…it turns out to be our welcome drink and it is free.

Our room is insanely nice. Due to a booking error we are getting this mansion for about $100 a night. That's abot $65 per couple.


The doors are too small for Jon:



We swim and rest poolside until it’s time to head to Siena for my birthday dinner.

Put it in Your Mouth and see if it Works

The rest of the 3rd was spent exploring Vernazza and Monterosso. Monterosso is very much a resort town, and Gibson did not like the look of it one bit. But there we had some great foccacia and beers in a little park and then headed for the beach. We found out that the city’s commerce is all mostly aimed toward people paying 50 cents for a bathroom to change in, 9 euros for a towel and then 5 Euro for a beach chair. Troppo costo! We went back to Vernazza where the water was perfect and the rocks to sit on were free. We spent hours swimming and lying in the warm sun. God, is this vacation or what?

For dinner, we wanted to try the restaurant by our hotel as it is way up on this hill and out of the way of tourists, but it was closed on Mondays. So we went back down to the bottom of town and found a restaurant that had tons of fresh seafood.

Our meal included: Whole fish and shrimp (heads, tails, skin, eyeballs) floured and fried in olive oil. Stuffed muscles in their shells filled with parsley, garlic, breadcrumbs and cheese, a stew of whole shrimp and something tricky and delicious that looked like Giger’s Alien in a clay pot. Roasted, sliced cuddlefish in a simple olive oil and fennel salad. Tiny gnocchi in a meat and tomato sauce. Pesto spaghetti with anchovies and a gorgeous vegetarian platter with roasted zucchini, potato and tomato and three kinds of baked savory tortes. We topped it off with two great bottles of local wine. Freaking fantastic.

Jon and Gibson’s meal went something like this:

Gibson: Jon, this fish head is for you.
Jon: I can’t eat that. It’s looking at me.
(Gibson stabs out the eyeballs of the fried fish.)
Gibson: There.
Jon: Still, no.

Gibson summed up the meal perfectly: You just put it in your mouth and see if it works!

July 4: Hey, it’s my birthday! Up around 7:30 to type and make coffee. The rock mover is moving rocks. We’re heading to Toscano today… renting a car and braving the roads. Time to wake Jon up and get moving!

logos cacti italiano

The very rare Italian Graffiti Cactus:

The Stugots

July 3

This morning, the crane outside our bedrooms made its presence known. Monday morning construction. A guy is moving rocks. Loudly.

We made breakfast at home. Yogurt, COFFEE, raisin cake and melon (which turned out to be too ripe) and bananas.

Jon has a new nickname. Ellen gave it to him..."Zumo." From his zoom lens. It has stuck this morning so it will be there forever now. Cool.

This morning we tried to figure out the Italian word for balls. I think it's stuggots, but I am not sure and don't have internet to find out.

Jon surprised us with his obscure knowledge againCherylyl Crow and Lance Armstrong are or were going to be married. Wow, Jon, The things you know....

I'm King of the Frickin' Sea!

July 2

We started the day with a pastry and delicious coffee at a bar in Riomaggiore. Here is Gibson with his blood orange juice.




We did a little shopping, (Hi mom! I found you something great!) and then we set off. We walked the gorgeous and easy Via di Amore between Riomagiorre and Manarola and then we continued onto what I will remember as the Via di Hate. Let’s just say the trip between Manarola and Corniglia was a steep and exhausting one. We walked for a good two hours and a lot of that was in the blazing sun. It’s probably 88 or 90 degrees and there was very little shade for a big part of it. There was a long hike on a rocky footpath and then about thirty thousand stairs again.

Ellen went up ahead and got some cold water and Jon poured it down my back and over my head. It helped – I was still exhausted, but and we made it into Corniglia for a great little lunch and a few ½ litres of vino bianco. I ordered a "salad cake" not knowing what it would be. It was delicious spinach and garlic filled pastry dough. Ellen had a mixed salad and the corn in it was canned. Well, you can't have it all...

We returned to Riomagiorre on the train. Ellen’s quest for water was finally fulfilled when we walked to the beach and swam in the Ligurian Sea. It was calm and warm and everyone there looked like they had baked in the sun for their whole life. Not us…but who cares! I took some photos of us on the beach, but you don't want to see then. Trust us. It was pure heaven. Jon’s quote from the beach: “I’m the king of the fricken sea!” We could have bobbed in the gentle waves all day...

On the way home we shopped at a few little markets and got ingredients for dinner. Pesto, pasta and spinach salad with ripe, juicy tomatoes and crostini with cheese. Here’s a picture of the meal and the view outside our kitchen:

(photo coming soon!)

We sent the evening sipping limoncello and eating strawberries on our porch. Pure Heaven.

Jon and Gibson’s quotes of the day:

Jon wowed us with his obscure swallow facts: If you throw a swallow, it will come back to you.

Gibson’s was observational: Italians love graffiti.

Va Bene

As I type, Gibson and I are sitting on the veranda of our hotel, Villa Argentina. The view, as the hotelier said in an email to us before we got here, “From there is something to see.” That is such an understatement of the century. The view is mind-blowing. Here’s a picture:



When Jon and I arrived last night we had been traveling for about 36 hours. We met an old man in the street walking his dog and we asked, “Dove Bar Centrale?” I pronounced it like ‘sent-ralay.’ This is where we are to meet Gibson and Ellen and we need to get there – we’re about 40 minutes late due to the Italian Train system not being what it used to be. He asked me, “What is Bar Centrale?” “A bar – restaurant?” “OH! Bar CHEntrale!” He says and bemused. He explained in the simplest words how we could find it.

We came upon Gibson and Ellen – sitting in Bar Centrale watching football and drinking a fantastic bottle of vino bianco…Local grapes, chilled cold and refreshing…

We watched some of the world cup football game where someone was playing someone else to the equal delights and horror of people around us.

We caught up with each other’s travel stories and ate some nice pasta. Gelato on a hot summer evening is just about as good as it gets.

The walk to the hotel was up up up up about 30 thousand stairs (trenta mille for those playing along). But when we got here, we are ready to forgive this little town for all its maddening stairs and thank it for the view.

The Propositions

We delivered The Holubs to the airport Sunday morning. Gibson was drinking coffee. What? Gibson doesn't drink coffee. "It's a mocha, so it doesn't count." He said, already jittery. They had a 10 o'clock flight to LA and then over to Madrid. We are meeting them in less than a week in Italy.

We've each come up with 2 things we have to do while we're there...kind of a scavenger hunt or a challenge to ourselves to seek out interesting things while we are there.

The lists are in:

Jon: Try some Absinthe and take photos of interesting toilets (not necessarily at the same time.)

Gibson: Leave a copy of 30 Days in Red Pants in a bathroom somewhere and all of us must try Cynar.

Ellen: Eat___________over the Ligurian Sea (we'll fill this in later) and find the weirdest gelato flavor in Italy.

Alex: Play cards with a local and get a picture of one of us kissing a dead pig hanging in a window of a shop or deli or wherever.

Wow...I think Italy will be glad she met us....or will she?

Genesis

So we're sitting at Top Pot last year -- we had just had drinks or dinner or something and we were rounding out the evening with one of their fantastic donuts. I mentioned that I thought it would be a fun thing to think about going to Italy all together...Jon and I travel. They travel. They responded that they were planning a trip to Italy. "Next Summer!" they said. It really was as simple as that. Now we're leaving in two weeks. The Holubs are leaving in one. We're meeting in Cinque Terre -- Riomaggiore -- on July 1.

This little blog will have an ongoing narrative of our exploits - sights, sounds, meals and people we meet. To our friends and family -- please comment! I hope we can update it daily -- or at least every few days.

The cast of players will include:

~~The Holubs~~
Gibson:

and Ellen:

~~& The Allreds~~

Jon and myself:

Wait -- that's actually me and R2D2...

Here's Jon:

(That's actually a full sized beer mug.

He is a giant. )

Next up: Our lists. Each person comes up with two crazy things we have to accomplish in Italia. Gibson's might include pit hair...oh dear...