Best for last

We have had a great trip. We always do. In each trip there seems to be that one special gem that shines above the rest. For this trip it came at the very end.
Sunday was Mother’s Day and we had planned to celebrate it with a hot air balloon ride over Tuscany. How amazing would that be? Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate and so there we were all dressed up and no place to go. We didn’t seem to be able to regroup.
We made a late breakfast. We read. We did a little laundry. The day slowly slipped away all the while us feeling a little restless. We maybe wanted to do something but not really a big outing
Finally by late afternoon/early evening we decided to go try a new restaurant we had read about. It was nearby and we had to eat.
We punched the info into the navigation system and off we went. We started out on familiar roads but when we made a severe right turn in an unfamiliar town we began to question our navigator. We wound through extremely narrow streets with tight turns until we found ourselves headed out of town on a narrow dirt road leading up into the hills. The road got narrower and windier as we continued to climb. Oh boy, this was looking like another Wagnerson adventure.
Just about the time we began to consider turning back we saw the familiar stone wall of a Tuscan hilltop town. A very small town. We were to find out later that the town of Duddova boasts only 20 residents
We parked the car tight up against a 1000 year old stone wall leaving barely enough room for another vehicle to get by. And I mean barely.
We walked up to the restaurant where there was a couple sitting outside with a glass of wine checking us out as we go by. Not being rude, just people watchers like ourselves. Inside Leonardo greeted us warmly and asked us if we were there to eat. When we said yes he seated us at the only table we saw. From that moment on we experienced the most amazing evening. The food was the best we have had in 3 trips to Italy. It is surpassed only by the enjoyment of the time spent with the family who prepared and served us our meal. Leonardo, his wife Valeria, and his mother and father.
I don’t have the writing skills to do the evening justice. We told Leonardo how wonderful the food was and he said it’s just Mama in the kitchen cooking what she made for the family as he was growing up. We asked if we could move in. Mama came out of the kitchen several times to make sure everything was ok.
As the evening came to an end Leonardo took a picture of the four of us for a kind of guest book he keeps. We hugged and said good night with the promise of returning one more time before we leave.
We returned last night and impossible as it seems the evening was even better than the first. By now we were showing pictures of the families and telling stories back and forth. Laughter in the room mingles with all the mouthwatering aromas coming from the kitchen. We asked if we could get a picture of all of us. They disappeared for a bit and returned without their aprons and Valeria is carrying their 6 year daughter Dalia. They had gone and gotten her out of bed so that we could meet her and so she could be in the picture. We exchanged email addresses and hugged and hugged some more. Memories we will treasure forever. We could not have dreamed up a better ending for our trip. Today we’re packing. Tomorrow we drive to Rome. Thursday we fly home. It’s been a great

A is for active appetites
D is for Duddova our new favorite
V is for velocity on the corners
E is for energy, where did it go?
N is for naviga, our friendly navigation system
T is for tasty tentacles
U is for U-turn, quick we missed our exit
R is for Rome, better the second time around
E is for elevator, in the house?