camanoescape – The Wagnerson's Travel Adventures

We picked up the rental car at AutoEurop after a bit of a walk from the train station in Chiusi.  The VW station wagon we’d reserved back in February was unavailable, so they upgraded us to a Mercedes wagon.  Quite nice!  A few wrong turns and a couple of quick U-turns had us at the top of old town Chiusi and one of our favorite restaurants in Tuscany…la Solita Zuppa.  We walked into the bustling restaurant full of patrons and were quickly greeted by the husband and wife owners with a look of recognition.  “You live between Seattle and Vancouver, yes?”  Yes we acknowledged.  The meal was amazing and one of the owners was able to sit and visit with us when the lunch rush slowed a bit.  With our tummies full AGAIN, we climbed into our rented chariot and got on the A-1 autostrada (our I-5 equivalent) heading for Pergine Valdarno.

The arrival in the little town was delayed by a low tire warning as we exited the A-1.  We stopped to see what that was about and found one rear tire dangerously low.  Even though it was only flat on the bottom, we decided it would be best to change it.  Unloading our luggage to reach the spare, it was discovered that our rental car had no spare tire.  It did however have a plug-in tire pump that looked like a toy.  The little pump whined to inject air into the tire as the thunder clapped and rain drops the size of golf balls started pelting around us.  We reloaded our bags and sacks into the car out of the rain as we watched the tire return to normal size.  Soon enough we were on our way again and we arrived in Pergine Valdarno around 5:00 pm.  There are many charming aspects to this town.  No one here speaks English, but the townspeople are all wonderful as you attempt to communicate with them.  There is no “supermarket” here.  There is a butcher shop in one location, a bakery in another, a fruit and vegetable market that also sells flowers, a farmacia or drug store, and a basic market that sells other staples like coffee, sugar, etc.

We’ve stayed in Pergine Valdarno in 2013 and 2016.  Both times we have stayed in the Casa di Vignolo, a villa that we’ve affectionately called, the Rubble Pile.  It is a wonderful two-story venue with a full kitchen including a 600 year old stone sink.  The last time we were here, Irene Gren, the owner showed us around all of her family’s properties in the town.  Villa Fracassini was one that piqued our interest.  Another large venue with an installed elevator that took you between the kitchen, dining room and living room on the ground floor and the bedroom areas upstairs.  It has a walled off back yard with grape vines, an olive tree and a swimming pool.  We decided if we came here again, we would try Villa Fracassini.  Italy 2018 gave us that opportunity and we met Irene in the town square and she gave us a key to our new digs.  Villa Fracassini was everything that Casa di Vignolo was and even more. The four of us sat around our dining room table with Irene and enjoyed a glass of wine as she caught us up on the changes in her life since we were here last.  Today was her birthday and she was planning on making the 40-minute drive to Florence to have a birthday celebration dinner with her boyfriend at her favorite Chinese restaurant.  She loves Chinese food.  I knew there was a reason I loved that girl.  We wished her happy birthday and off she went.  Once Irene left, Lynda and Barb set out to make this house our home for the next 11 days.  The ladies are sending Doug and me out to try and buy food supplies.  More to come!

I know that there are those who might say I have no sense but indeed I have five and am grateful for everyone. We have discovered that, as we travel,we truly experience Italy with all of our senses. Maybe the most obvious is with our sense of sight. Oh, the things we have seen! From the Sistine Chapel, to the colorful seaside towns on the Amalfi coast, to the rolling hills of Tuscany with its ancient walled cities. Our heads have been turning in all directions trying to take in all that we can. Some we have in pictures and some only in our memories. Thank You Lord for eyes to see. We also gave our sense of hearing a good workout. Three sounds that have become all too familiar are suitcases being dragged across cobblestone streets, endless bottles being dumped in the garbage, and all the scooters that really sound more like a weed eater. Thank You Lord for ears to hear. Of course I can’t forget the sense of taste especially having just come from Bologna, food capital of the world. We have eaten soooo much wonderful tasting meals. All those restaurants that don’t even know they’re in a competition for our #1 favorite meal. Thank you Lord for mouths to taste. Then there is the sense of touch. As we walked through the different stores we used our hands to feel the different textures. As we ate all those wonderful meals our hands became sticky. But my favorite sense of touch was feeling my husband’s hand in mine as we took leisurely walks through the streets of Bologna. Thank you Lord for hands to touch. We found that our sense of smell could go one of two ways. We enjoyed the smell of fresh sea air and large lemon groves in Sorrento. But the smell of mushrooms in Dale’s lunch in Bologna did him in for the next couple days. Either way thank you Lord for our sense of smell. Sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. God gave us so many ways to experience the wonders of this world.

When we first started talking about our third trip to Italy we talked of checking out some of the southern parts of the country. Places as yet unexplored by the Wagnersons. Then we saw a short bit on the television about Eataly. It was described as a food theme park located in Bologna. Hmmm, what could sound better than that for  the foursome who first set foot in Italy with the motto of “starting in the north and eating our way south”?  Plus the fact that we love Bologna. Anyway we revised our itinerary and nixed southern Italy and decided to just go back to our favorite places, including of course,Bologna. As time went by and we did a little more investigating and began to wonder if Eataly was all that it was cracked up to be. We had a good time in Rome. We had a great time in Sorrento. Then we arrived in Bologna.

We spent a few days just exploring the city and then to set out in earnest to find Eataly. When we found it we were somewhat amused and more than a little disappointed. It was practically next door to the hotel we had stayed at last time and was not much more than an oversized Barnes and Noble.  Really, that was it? We went back to the room for a rest and did some more research. No that was not it. Eataly Park was just out of town, a short bus ride. We asked several people about it and nobody seemed to be bubbling over with enthusiasm. Still, that was a big part of the reason we were here. So with the next day being our last full day in Bologna we said good night with plans to meet at 9am for a light breakfast and then to catch the bus. As Doug and I were getting ready for bed I asked what he would think of him and staying home the next day. It all of a sudden sounded like too much work. We’re not as young as we were and we were both feeling a little tired. His immediate response was “it wouldn’t break my heart”  So it was settled. The only thing left to do was tell Dale and Lynda They showed up at our room at 9 as planned. We said our usual good mornings and how did you sleep. Then it got quiet for a minute and Lynda said “what’s wrong”.  I planned to kind of just ease into the discussion but ended up just blurting out that we didn’t want to go but they still should. I wasn’t sure what the response would be but it came quickly from Dale. He didn’t want to go either. We all started talking and laughing at once. That’s why they’re our besties.

Sorrento is such a great town.  The lemons here can be the size of grapefruits.  Our last day in Sorrento we spent in an impromptu wine class with our friends from the Corner Shop.  Giovanni introduced us to his wife and his one-year old daughter, Sophia.

When 6:30 am on Tuesday May 1^st rolled around, we said goodbye to Sorrento and headed back to Naples where we could catch the fast train for a quick stop in Rome and then onto the unquestionable World Capital of Good Food…Bologna.  It didn’t disappoint.  The trip is over 370 miles and not counting the half hour stop in Rome, took three hours.  History is alive in this town and its vibe is alive as well.  The food, no matter where you go, is amazing, and the people are friendly.  As an example, there was a restaurant we wanted to try and made reservations for 8:30 pm (the hour it opened for the evening).  We arrived a bit early, but the staff welcomed us in and brought us some house wine to drink while we waited for the place to open.  Before you knew it, various appetizers on the house arrived at our table.  There were no menus.  As we were finishing up our appetizers, the  owner came by with his own bottle and a glass and asked if he could join us.  He freshened our glasses and poured some for him.  He talked to us a bit and explained what they were cooking that night.  He then recommended a couple of pastas for our first course and then told us what they were serving for the second course.  The food was fabulous.  As we sat there enjoying our meal, a young woman patron who noticed a small Cougar logo on my jacket, confessed she was a UW Husky and asked if we were Cougs.  She has been studying at the University of Bologna for the past year and her mom lives on Bainbridge Island.  What a small world.  As we finished our meal and left, she waved and said “Go Cougs!”  I thanked her and assured her the Cougs could use all the help we can get.

The weather certainly changed here from our time in Rome and Sorrento.  It is much cooler, and we’ve had rain off and on most of the days we’ve been in Bologna.  This is our fourth day here and we leave for Tuscany tomorrow morning.  Time is flying by but the four Wagnersons are doing great.  I say that because we really are.  We have however, noticed more of our limitations on this trip.  It was only 5 years ago that the four of us climbed all 498 steps to the top of Asinelli tower here in Bologna.  This tower was built in 1109.  There’s not one of us that thinks we could probably do that again.  We are looking forward to resting up in Pergine Valdarno, the center of Tuscany where we arrive tomorrow and the pace of life is oh so nice.

We arrived in Sorrento yesterday. Our third visit to this city by the sea. On our previous visits we purchased several pieces of marquetry or wood inlay, intarsia. This art form originated in this area in the 800’s. It is sold in many of the local gift stores but we bought ours from the Stinga brothers known as the first family of Sorrento intarsia. Roberto and Franco are third generation and are still using the tools that have been in the family since the 1800’s. Doug and I anticipated buying another piece on this visit. Doug even said maybe a table. I didn’t know if he was serious. As we walked towards the shop we were all a little nervous what we might find. Our friend and the artist of our treasures was not a young man on our last visit and that was two years ago. We also knew his wife was battling Alzheimer’s. We were so excited when we were greeted with a look of recognition and that precious smile. After hugs and a short visit we set about the business of making our choice for this trip. There were no tables so Doug had to settle for a “happy hour” cart. Mr Stinga was determined that we not leave without an additional piece. So we also ended up buying the piece we had picked out for the next trip. They will be waiting for us when we get home. I’m looking forward to displaying them when we get home. But money will never be able to buy the memories of that humble man with the shy smile telling he’d see us next trip.

We arrived in Sorrento on Friday, April 27^th.  This place is as magical as we remembered it.  We were looking for a different restaurant to try, new to us, and we set off on what Doug’s phone with the map said was a 13 minute walk.  Well, about the time we reached the 20 minute mark, Doug who was in the lead slowed and started scratching his head as he peered into his phone.  There should be a police station here he observed staring into his phone.  I remarked that there was one we passed a few hundred yards back.  Oh well, we’re on vacation and just looking for another adventure.  Here we had one staring us in the face.  We backtracked and walked on up in the new direction.  Reaching the main road in Sorrento, the Via Corso Italia, we walked on with Doug leading us to the appropriate side street and in no time, other than the time someone in our group knocked on the side of a car that tried to take us out, reached the desired destination:  La Cantinaccia del Popolo.  This little off the beaten path place was jammed to the gills.  We would have at least a 20 minute wait.  No problem, we’re on vacation.  So we watched and observed.  We watched how the staff interacted with the customers, smiles on their faces, always hustling, laughs were easy and freely given.  We met the owner.  We met the owner’s 11 year old son who would swoop in after diners left a table and he would clean up the table and set a new place setting.  We met the owner’s teenage daughter who was taking orders from customers.  There was a great vibe to this place.  People on yelp and tripadvisor raved about the lasagna here.  Soon we were seated and when ordering, Doug and I both set out to try the lasagna.

For some perspective, the best lasagna either one of us has ever had was in a hole in the wall place in Bologna, Italy.  We stumbled upon that place on our first trip in 2013.  When we returned to Bologna in 2016, we stopped at the same hole in the wall place to try the lasagna again, to see if it lived up to the hype in our own minds from our visit three years earlier.  When we sampled that again in 2016, the answer was….there was no hype, this is the best lasagna we have ever eaten.  Now flash forward to last night.  We are now sampling the lasagna from La Cantinaccia del Popolo.  Oh my, this lasagna is really good….exceptionally good, maybe even better than that.  One of the ladies asked how this compared to that lasagna at the hole in the wall place in Bologna.  Hmmm.  It seems close.  Since Bologna is our next stop after Sorrento, we can have a close in time comparison.  Both Doug and I decided that we would need to sample the lasagna here in Sorrento at least one more time, just to give it a fair shot.

Saturday in Sorrento found us wandering down to the Corner Shop, where we renewed old friendships with Giovanni, the proprietor and his dad.  They told us about an air show that would happen at 2 pm today with the Italian fighter plane squadron.  We made plans to watch it from the rooftop of our hotel.  In the interim, we had lunch at an Irish Bar where one on the patrons coming out yesterday told us as we walked by, we must go there.  “It’s brilliant” we were told.  How can you pass on that kind of an endorsement Ronnie, or Kat?  Welcome home the proprietor shouted to us as we walked in.  What a fun place.  We made it back to our hotel in time to set up on the rooftop of the hotel.  We had the place to ourselves, and the airshow was short but spectacular as the photos show.  Those planes were CLOSE flying through the city!  Dinner plans at a place we have not been to before on the water tonight.

Dinner tonight was a lovely setting, with Mount Vesuvius in the background, and small boats and colorful buildings on the other side.

The service was excellent with smiling faces waiting on us every time we turned around.  Food was good and the company (the 4 Wagnersons) was fantastic.  Boats coming and going, we love this place!

It was just the four Wagnersons with our tour guide, Marcello, who made up our group to tour the Sistine Chapel.  Whew!!!!!  We were all dreading that Pat and Bill were a part of our small group tour.  Why did we think Pat and her husband Bill were joining us?  Because Pat told us they were joining us.  “Oh your tour is with LivItaly?  Us too.  You know we have the same small group tour with LivItaly.  You know there are no more than 6 in the tour group and we’ve got the 6 of us here and the 6 of us all just fit so well.”  She also told us her life story, her husband Bill’s life story, and their future plans for travel…all in the space of about ten minutes between 6:45 and 6:55 a.m. while we were waiting across from the Vatican Museum for 7:15 a.m. to arrive when we would meet our tour guide and eventually make our entrance into the Chapel.  I think it was when our apparent new friend Pat, insisted that the six of us all go around in a circle announcing our name and some other fact about ourselves (or some sort of thing), that I officially checked out of the new blooming friendship with Pat and Bill.  In fact, I just walked away, up the hill a bit, looking for our guide who wouldn’t show himself until 7:15, because you never know, he might show up early.  Anything to get away from the endless chatter that was invading my brain.  This was all without even a cup of coffee on board yet.  Yikes!

Anyway, Marcello the guide showed up, told us it was just the four of us in his group and things got much better after that.  After he introduced himself to us, Doug told him there were two things Marcello got high marks for:  1) you speak loud enough that we can actually hear you; and 2) you speak great English.  Marcello gave us his basic rules for maneuvering through the museum and into the Sistine Chapel.  He moved fast.  There might be times where we would need to jog, is that okay with everyone?  Everyone was onboard.  We entered and for the next three hours, shared an amazing time.  We spent about 15-20 minutes in the Sistine Chapel with probably no more than 30 or so people inside the chapel with us.  It was brilliant!  Remarkable!  Fascinating!  We continued on with the tour.  After an hour and a half, we went back through the Sistine Chapel.  By now it was filled wall to wall with people, with little room to move or breathe, and no place to sit.  What a difference 90 minutes makes.  We ended our time with Marcello after touring St. Peter’s Basilica.  We said good bye and climbed into a cab, all four of us glad to have experienced the Sistine Chapel wonder.  Now, let’s get some coffee.

Rome!  In my lifetime, I have spent a total of about 5 days here counting our first two trips to Italy (an incredibly small amount of time).  This place was the stage of many events in world history.  In fact, there are many publications here that refer to this city as the eternal city.  I don’t know much about that, but in my own mind, I call it the “lost city.”  The streets are so narrow, the buildings so close, the layout so random, that typical location finding skills that I have relied on all of my life seem to simply abandon me when we get to Rome.  It is now Wednesday evening and we’ve returned from an amazing meal at Virginiae Ristorante Cucina Romana.  This was one place we wanted to hit and it didn’t disappoint.  Since our arrival yesterday afternoon, every time we leave our hotel to go out to explore, despite each one of us in our own way leaving a stream of bread crumbs to find our way back to the hotel, we end up taking extra turns or twists or have to reverse course because we’ve gone the wrong way.  Every time!

Barb and Doug went out this afternoon to do some exploring and excitedly they told us as we were preparing to leave for dinner, that they had discovered the secret to Rome and there was no more getting lost.  The secret I am told is to turn right out of our hotel instead of left…and everything and every place we are looking for and/or wanting to visit is to the right.  The left is the long way around to everything good.  WOW, I am excited for this.  So, as we leave for our 7:30 dinner reservations at the Cucina Romana, we decide that Barb should take us there.  Confidently, she steps on out in the lead.  The three of us follow.  To the right we go.  Barb rounds one corner after another with the rest of us happily talking as we follow her lead.  As we waltz on past the Via di Parione, I speak up and say isn’t the restaurant down this way on Via di Parione street.  Nope, I’m told.  It is straight down here.  (Now I know the address for this place is 41 Via di Parione, so what do I do?)  Barb and Lynda stride out forward, I slow my pace because I know we’ll be turning around, and Doug sort of splits the difference continuing on in support of his wife, but….  When the ladies turn around after another 100 yards, the four of us walk down the Via di Parione Street until we arrive at our appointed destiny.  It was an absolutely lovely meal.  We head home…….with Barb in the lead and sure enough, she gets us back home without a misstep.  Maybe this going to the right sort of thinking is the better way to go!  I still feel lost in Rome but with guides like Barbarita here to help the less fortunate out, we are way ahead of the game.  It is late now on Wednesday, and we have our early morning 7:30 am “really small tour” of the Sistine Chapel set for 8 hours from now.  Ciao!

The Wagnersons are fully recovered from our Alaska adventure and are heading to Italy.  We are only one day away from our departure for Italy 2018.  The itinerary is set, our bags are packed (except me, I haven’t yet started to pack), and our international driver licenses and passports are in hand.  The Wagnersons pretty much travel light every time.  We each take only a carry-on suitcase for extended trips.  In fact, for three of the four Wagnersons itching to leave, those small suitcases have been packed for days. (Okay, okay…I’m packing, I’m packing!)

When we leave tomorrow, we will be flying out of Seattle on Lufthansa Airlines, nonstop to Frankfurt, Germany.  This is a 9 hour and 45-minute flight.  After about a two-hour layover in Frankfurt, we take a short one hour and 45-minute flight to Rome.  The initial leg of our trip will provide a brand new experience for me, my first flight on the iconic 747.  The first 747 was built in 1968, when I was fifteen.  Over the past 50 years, my dad, Lynda’s dad, my brother-in-law Rocky and multiple friends and acquaintances have built and worked on this amazing aircraft.  Every 747 in existence has been built at the Boeing plant in Everett.  Apparently, the last commercial passenger 747 was built and delivered from the Everett plant five months ago in November 2017.  Although I never set foot on one during the 50 years they were being built commercially, I now finally get to take a ride on that Grand Lady of the skies, and I am excited about it.  I’m excited about Italy too.  However, I really hope the particular 747 we fly on is itself not actually 50 years old.  That might give me pause.  I remember how I felt when I turned 50 years of age…of course that was a while ago, but I know I sure didn’t want to be carrying a bunch of people around on my back.  We’ll see.