Meet Milla Adams
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
extra pics
"farewell"
"Jules & Jim"
"early morn"
"smoky Volterra"
"Firesides"
"The Swing"
"Welcome to Cinque Terre"
"friends forever"
"internet cafe"
"pizza makers"
"Le Balze"
Fri. Oct. 28 Last Day - Room with a View
Susan woke at 5 a.m. and waited patiently at our bedroom window for the sun to rise.
Karen left by bus from the Volterra station at 10:06 a.m. this morning. She plans to spend the day at the Pisa tower and relaxing in LuckyHouse B+B before flying to Canada tomorrow at 6 a.m.
The last 5 of us are planning to clean and scour the villa and eat all the leftovers.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thurs. Oct. 27 - La Rocca di Monte Voltraio
Well, the day started under some gray clouds, but the happy group was not to be deterred. Robin Hood and his merry band of ladies - Linda, Karen and Sue, decided to finally climb Mount Voltraio, a great mountain beside which our beautiful villa.
First though, we decided to pack our glass/liquid gifts, as Robert wants to make sure that he can get everything into the luggage, particularly the rocks that he has gathered throughout this whole adventure....about 50 pounds of pebbles and boulders. I don’t know if all the bubble wrap will do the trick.
With large walking sticks in our hands to drive away the wild boars, we drove up to Villa Palagione to get some information about the trail to the summit. We discovered that there was once a thriving town in the 12th and 13th century above our villa owned by the Mucinni family. This family was part of the Medici family who owned all of Florence. Our villa was part of this Voltraio mountain community which prospered because of the minerals and agriculture in the area. The Medici family used the villa right above ours as their summer retreat and hunting camp. Today there are just fossils and ruins peeking out from the limestone and clay. The mountain top is 458 meters high above our villa ....a fairly difficult hike up, but worth the effort, as we reached a wide panoramic view of the surrounding valley and mountains. We found delicate purple crocuses, interesting fungi, and several fossil rocks containing shells, a sure sign that this ground was once a part of a vast sea.
Ken and Recia opted to visit the Etruscan Museum in Volterra!
The afternoon was spent in the Internet Cafe in Volterra. Robert just had to get his ‘blog pics’ uploaded on the blog, as the computer runs very slowly at the villa.
In the meantime, Linda, Karen and I went to buy a bus ticket for Karen to go to Pisa on Friday to catch her flight early Saturday morning. Can’t believe the end is finally coming to this Tuscan adventure.
We then went to tour the Viti Palace, located on a side street in Volterra. The ‘Viti‘ family made their money in the alabaster business starting in the 1850’s. Karen wanted to live there in this monstrous mansion with the 20 foot ceilings!! Linda and I will pass on this one...no chandeliers, or jade elephants or amber buddhas for us.
The whole group returned for a feast of leftovers, in our effort to empty the fridge.
Today we heard that there had been flash floods in the Cinque Terre Region, particularly Monterosso and Vernazza. Karen, Ken, and Recia were just there one day before. I guess someone is looking out for them!
There were a number of people killed, and the railway and autostrada linking all of the villages, have been closed due to dangerous conditions. The road may not open for months to come.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Oct. 24, 25, 26 - Horses, gondolas, David
Linda, Karen, Susan and I left early Monday morning and took the train to Venice. Because Recia lost her passport when in Cinque Terre, she and Ken had to travel to Rome for a new one. All went well with them and they were back in Volterra the same day. They are glad to be Canadian!!
We reached Venice and after finding a nice place to stay, called the "Bruno" hotel, we had a delicious pizza and chicken supper which was very expensive. We soon learned that Venice is NOT famous for its food. We spent the evening wandering the streets of Venice sightseeing. In the morning, the real Venice came alive. We visited the Rialto bridge and the famous St. Mark's square and Duomo. The Venetian wall in the church covered in jewels was impressive, and so were the 3 bronze horses of St. Mark's.
We decided to ride the Grand Canal and check out all the action in a vaperetto (water taxi). We went from one end of Venice to the other in the boat and loved the coloured palaces of the past and the action on the Grand canal or Main St. We left Venice and trained it back to Florence for another round of art, statues, and food.
We took Karen to see Michelangelo's statue of "David" and his "Prisoners", and more in the Academia. "David" is the best!!! We all had supper once again in our favourite sandwich cafe and stuffed ourselves with facaccias. We plan to eat those every day once we get home. We watched the man make them very carefully.
The next day, we got up very early and returned to the Uffizi gallery to spend the morning examining all the great masterpieces. Leonardo is in a class all of his own by Caravaggio's "Medusa" is my fav.! We are all now experts in Renaissance art.
We finished Florence off with a yummy pasta lunch in the famous market building near the Lorenzo market. We caught the fast train back to Poggibonsi and we home by 3 p.m. Wed.
The drive through the Tuscany countryside with the sun shining on the colourful fall trees made us feel sooo good to be back away from the big tourist cities of Florence and Venice.
Only 2 days left!!!
We reached Venice and after finding a nice place to stay, called the "Bruno" hotel, we had a delicious pizza and chicken supper which was very expensive. We soon learned that Venice is NOT famous for its food. We spent the evening wandering the streets of Venice sightseeing. In the morning, the real Venice came alive. We visited the Rialto bridge and the famous St. Mark's square and Duomo. The Venetian wall in the church covered in jewels was impressive, and so were the 3 bronze horses of St. Mark's.
We finished Florence off with a yummy pasta lunch in the famous market building near the Lorenzo market. We caught the fast train back to Poggibonsi and we home by 3 p.m. Wed.
Only 2 days left!!!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Venice is Sinking on Monday October 24 ... rain and cool here
Ken, Recia, and Karen returned last night from Cinque Terre. Recia lost her passport so her drama began this morning. I think the Canadian Embassy wants her to go to Rome to sort it out. Not sure because Linda, Karen, Susan and I left by train early this morning for Venice. When we arrived in Venice, it was raining and it rained the whole time we were there. The Adriatic sea even started to flood St. Mark's Square so they put up platforms for the tourists to walk on.
For more on our 3 days in Venice and Florence, read tomorrows blog.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Friday Oct. 21 Ken goes to confession
Friday Oct. 21- Ken Alkerton Tries on Coop Clothing
We got up at 7 a.m. to see Jim and Julie off to Pisa.
The rest of the household woke around 9 a.m. and after a hearty breakfast, we headed into Volterra to do some shopping.
Karen and Ken toured Volterra’s church called Santa Maria Assunta Church cathedral. Ken noticed that the alter was set for the celebration of the mass with a cruet of wine and water, and the chalice and the ciborium. At the other end of the church was the bier ready for the coffin and the purple cloth for the casket. Ken also liked the gold filigreed ceiling and the Chapel of the Arrows surrounded by the 14 “stations of the cross”. The Pisan Romanesque architecture kept Ken busy for an hour or so. I think he stopped at a few confessionals to cleanse himself once or twice. His mind has been filled with impure thoughts for years.
Rob and Sue sat in the internet cafe uploading pictures onto the blog.
Linda wandered the streets window shopping. Recia explored with her camera and enjoyed the cappuccino and pastries.
At 2 p.m., everyone gathered at Dioniso, the organic restaurant on the hill in town to enjoy homemade bread, pizza, and bean soup. The spaghetti portions were small but mighty good.
On the way back to the villa, we made a stop at the Coop grocery store and bought lots of delicious foodstuffs for supper. Ken was trying on the store’s sweaters and winter camouflage coats. The Coop grocery store is our version of Food Basics.
Our zuppe at the villa is the best of all the soups in Tuscany so far, because it becomes a mixture of all our leftovers. Even the villa cat comes in for supper and eats with one paw. We have decided to call her - “One Paw”.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Sat. Oct. 22 - Choco Train
There are 6 of us left and today we broke into two groups.
Karen, Recia, and Ken set out for Cinque Terre in the north. You will find out what happens to that trio tomorrow. I hope they enjoy the scenery.
Sue, Linda, and I headed for the chocolate festival in Perugia which is located 3 hours south of our villa in the province of Umbria. Perugia is rather large with many people coming and going. We managed to find parking and the chocolate train took us into "old" town and to the festival.
It was like being at the CNE in Toronto but with more people crammed into a few streets. Everything was chocolate! I began with a chocolate sandwich which was a cake folder and stuffed with shaved chocolate and covered in whipped cream.
Then I proceeded to eat a giant piece of chocolate cake smothered in hot chocolate sauce. Linda had a piece of vanilla chocolate and Sue just had a taste.
We moved along to taste all the free samples and then purchased tons of chocolate to bring home.
Well, maybe we will eat it on the plane as we cross the Atlantic. On the return trip, we drove around lake Trasimeno. We stopped for a mid afternoon snack in a small village on the lake known as Bacca. There was a group of protestors with signs standing on the dock chanting ...."lago liberino" as the developers were trying to privatize the lake. I joined the protest while Linda and Susan sat and ate their tomato sandwiches.
The afternoon sun was warm and the lake was beautiful. I guess shit happens all over the world. I think the developers wanted to build condos and prevent the locals from having access to the water. We had an uneventful drive back to Volterra and the 3 of us enjoyed a simple supper with a little Mick Jagger music. (John's favourite.)
"A lake that seems a lapwing egg; precious, delicate grey olive trees, cool sea, green shell".
Virginia Woolf 1882-1941
Karen, Recia, and Ken set out for Cinque Terre in the north. You will find out what happens to that trio tomorrow. I hope they enjoy the scenery.
Sue, Linda, and I headed for the chocolate festival in Perugia which is located 3 hours south of our villa in the province of Umbria. Perugia is rather large with many people coming and going. We managed to find parking and the chocolate train took us into "old" town and to the festival.
It was like being at the CNE in Toronto but with more people crammed into a few streets. Everything was chocolate! I began with a chocolate sandwich which was a cake folder and stuffed with shaved chocolate and covered in whipped cream.
Then I proceeded to eat a giant piece of chocolate cake smothered in hot chocolate sauce. Linda had a piece of vanilla chocolate and Sue just had a taste.
We moved along to taste all the free samples and then purchased tons of chocolate to bring home.
Well, maybe we will eat it on the plane as we cross the Atlantic. On the return trip, we drove around lake Trasimeno. We stopped for a mid afternoon snack in a small village on the lake known as Bacca. There was a group of protestors with signs standing on the dock chanting ...."lago liberino" as the developers were trying to privatize the lake. I joined the protest while Linda and Susan sat and ate their tomato sandwiches.
The afternoon sun was warm and the lake was beautiful. I guess shit happens all over the world. I think the developers wanted to build condos and prevent the locals from having access to the water. We had an uneventful drive back to Volterra and the 3 of us enjoyed a simple supper with a little Mick Jagger music. (John's favourite.)
"A lake that seems a lapwing egg; precious, delicate grey olive trees, cool sea, green shell".
Virginia Woolf 1882-1941
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