Girls on a Mission

Bags packed.
Reservations made.
Flowers from my valentine(s) in a water bottle ready to make the trek.

Destination: Cortona.
Where is Cortona? Tuscany of course! I'm still not sure how I came across it and why it became one of my top "hill towns" to visit, but it did and I'm glad!

With both of our times in Italy drawing to a close, Jess (AKA Mom of Minions) decided we'd let the kids spend one last long weekend together while she and I headed north to wine country to ship back home. Okay, I really wanted to hit Pisa, but flooding took place instead so wine was a fabulous runner up option and hello, we're multitasking here! 

This morning we met up Stefano who spent the entire day driving us around the valley, taking us to wineries, and telling us the history of the region. I'm telling you- hiring a local to show you around is hands down the best way to explore places and if you're lucky, they do all the driving so you can sit back and enjoy the wine view.

Our first stop was Montepulciano, one of the Mideival and Renassance towns in the region, which is known primarily for its Vino Nobile. This wine made primarily of Sangiovese grapes is aged for 2 years in barrels, or longer if riserva. Despite traveling to this town when my parents were in town (yeah, you would have never known based on the lack of blog posts) seeing the town again, this time with blue sunny skies looked completely different! Our walk through the off season crowd was rather enjoyable too.

Cantina Città Sotterranea Ercolani was stop #1. Here I found my knight in not so shinny armor waiting for our arrival before touring the underground ancient city. How ancient? Well, there are two Etruscan tombs, medieval torture devices, and lots of stories from its past. Of course most the chambers now are used as barrel storage areas as the vino nobile ages to perfection, but it was a fun tour to check out before our wine sampling started mid morning. It was here we first learned what the glass green containers atop each barrel was. The simple 2 part glass container was designed by da Vinci to allow for easy wine access (samples/topping off) while still allowing a tight seal, provided by water, to allow for the air to escape the barrel, without letting any in. Air in a wine barrel? That's a whole lot of vinegar.

We tasted the vino nobile riserva from 2005 and 2006, along with the some other stuff that wasn't all that yummy. Of course pecorino cheese will always be the clear winner for yum factor, but I did walk away with a box full of red wines and a large bottle of Vin Santo, the best stuff ever to dip biscotti in.  

Stop #2 in Montepulciano was hands down our most favorite place of the day. With a name like Gattavecchi (which was the founding family's name) there's potential. Pair that with the fact that this winery was originally set up by monks, and connected to the church? Oh and did I mention the bellissima vista and the old lady who greeted us who had been working there since she was 20? Yep. This place was amazing. A quick tour through the rebuilt cellar (bombed during the war) revealed more huge barrels and an Etruscan cellar. Back upstairs we were met by one of the owner's sons who explained to us in detail the wines, flavors, and process- he had to with the size of pours being given to us!

We both fell in love with the rosso  and bought them out of one of the labels! I guess walking out with 5 boxes will do that to their stock? Everyone is happy though- they have more room for the new stuff and we get discounts. We also tasted their new vino nobile before it was to be introduced to the press later this week. At first sip, it was bleh but once we tried "what it will age into" the flavors began to make more sense. And the additional pecrino cheese and bruschetta drizzled with fresh pressed olive oil? Yum. Yum. Yum.  Purchases made, business card collected, car weighed down by another 7+ boxes of wine??? Time to head over to Pienza for a tour and pranzo. 

Pienza, famous for being the birth place of Pope Pius II was rebuilt as a Renaissance town after he became Pope. The tiny town had only a few streets, but the view was stunning along Via dell’Amore, Via della Fortuna, & Via del Bacio. Totally filing those places away to sneak off one day with a special someone to enjoy the sun soaked country side. Lunch was a yummy ravioli with sage and butter, and somehow we managed to make room in our bellies for more food. Absolutely beautiful, tiny hill town, complete with cheese shops!

Somehow between the sun streaming in on me through the back seat window, some winding roads, & several cap naps, we made it to an abbey near Montalcino- Abbey of Sant' Antimo. The wind blowing through the olive trees, birds chirping and briliants greens made it difficult to shake my food/wine induced slumber, the I wanted to breathe in that fresh air so badly! And I did. And I enjoyed every bit of that air expanding through my bronchial airways encouraging all that Naples crud to leave. Yep. Near coughing attack, but I think my lungs are much happier again.

Our final stop was a winery in Montalcino- La Potazzine Gortelli. La potazzine translates to mean a local small birdbut it's also commonly used as a term of endearment for children. In this case, the owners 2 daughters have been called le potazzine by their nana and the name of the winery was found. This stop was undoubltly on a different business plan. The owner held many hectarces of loand and distributes his wine world wide. The estste was heautiful, and decorated for visiters. in a formal tasting room we sampled wines that were okay. Based on the price tag, they should have been fabulous but as we kept telling ourselves throughout the day- buy what you like! And well, at 48E a bottle? That label just wasn't so adorable anymore and the contents of the  bottle only so-so. Yeah, this famous Brunello wine? Non me piace! 

So over all? TripAdvisor rocks again in helping me figure out this latest adventure. The day was long, but we got what we wanted- cases of wine for wine shipment time and saw many cities along the way! As for food and wine? Ugh. Sono pieno fino a quando lo facciamo anche domani!

Weekend in Review

Whenever my work day ends at 1800 on a Friday evening...you know some crisis hit just seconds before my normal quitting time. In all honesty, I was only a tad faster than a tortoise getting into the office that morning and when combined with raw sewage spilling out onto one of the decks in the office building, the evacuation didn't allow me to sit at my desk until 9 am. So after some math, I really did not sit at my desk for all that long, but it's just extremely frustrating when issues hit regarding travel so late in the day. Took me back to NPS days...

Luckily I have some of the most fabulous coworkers EVER. Despite the Freaky Friday feeling when I was the one staying late when they got out of there closer to my normal time, we all met up to decompress and laugh away the stress from the week; like friends will do and only coworkers really can when we've all be exposed to the same stuff. All. Week.

And when that's not enough? You're so thankful that the wine tour you signed up for weeks before falls on that weekend, and the large group you were anticipating turns into primarily a group of your friends. 

On what started to be a rainy Naples Saturday, the whole 8 of us headed up north towards Benevento on a standard 50 person bus. Yep. Lots of room for wine. And moving between seats as the clouds lift, rain stops, and the sun appears shinning its warm rays down on the green ground.

Trip #2 up to the OCONE winery was just as good as the first time last May. Actually, this time was better as our small group was able to tour learn more about the winery! Our small group quickly took on that of a family appearance as we moved the tables together to make our "head table" to dine at over our ridiculous number of wine tastings. Our tour guide, Aldo, who happens to be a walking encyclopedia once again walked us through the Neapolitan Toast several times so we could kick off the tasting with a proper spumante toast:

(As you raise your glass up)

Aiza aiza aiza 

 (As you lower your glass down)
Acala acala acala

(As you clink glasses with everyone)
Accosta accosta accosta 

(Everyone raises and holds their glass)
Alla saluta vosta! 

SALUTA!

And how can you not be in a good mood after a toast with friends? Or sampling all those wines? It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon- buoni cibi, buoni vini, buoni amici! All the boxes that had "KO" scribbled on them didn't hurt either to start getting my wine shipment to resemble a decent collection. And? With the exception of a few bottles from this place, these are "every day" wines which means when I'm missing Italia? Hit the wine stash, raise a glass, and teach my new friends the Neapolitan toast. 

Our time with Signore Domenco and his sons was far too short, but the wine and food coma was coming on strong so we didn't fight it too much as we loaded back onto our bus and made the drive back to Naples. Plus the final event of my day- tapas, paella, and karaoke! Yeah, no pictures or videos from that fun night, but rest assured- it was the perfect way to end my day!

Barcelona Pleasures

MAJ545 found the lack of food mentioned a little disconcerting since we had some fabulous food. Go figure that this is the guy that used to meet me at crazy early hours to run or do some crazy weight workout at the gym- right?

But he's right. I would be leaving out a huge portion of the culture/local feel if the sangria and tapas we devoured enjoyed weren't mentioned so I offered him to guest write. Below is his account...edited only when needed to meet the requirements of E' un po' come's posting requirements. Enjoy!

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Every city/country/region has its own flair.  That certain something that makes it unique and colorful and when looking back on its memories makes you reflect…ah yes that is it.  While living in Belgium I discovered I wasn’t too particularly fond of the location (cold, dark, flat farmland, failed industrialization), or of the natives (Walloon, French), but what made it unique to the other countries of Western Europe was its beer and chocolate.  Both were fabulous and when I travel abroad I look for those small unique qualities that set it apart from its peers.  In Paris it was the food and bad attitudes.   Rome was the pizza and wine.  The U.K. had plenty of horse racing and “make yourself welcome” appeal.  So what was it about Barcelona that made it unique?  The architecture has been discussed in detail by Katie so I won’t bore you with that but I must caveat that after staying there, Barcelona is straight Gaudi not gaudy.  Where I want to expand upon is the food and drink.  

Since we were in Spain I insisted, with no hesitation or disagreement from Katie, that we have sangria.  I’ve never had it before and was quite excited when we picked up our first fishbowl of it under the signage of Hooty the Owl.  I’m not kidding.  Hooty the Owl lives in Barcelona.  Being this was my first sangria, and I’ve become a wine snob living in California, I was first taken back by the ice cubes floating in my fruit filled wine.  But when I tasted it, it was all good.  It was the perfect refreshment after hiking along the streets all day, and a great compliment to sandwiches and tapas (nothing worth noting, standard pub type grub).  Not too sweet wine filled with ice and fruit slices of lemon and limes.  It was picture worthy as some of you may have already seen.  Originally arriving with a straw, that was discarded immediately if not sooner; I quickly located the bottom of the glass while it ran down the back of my throat.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh tasty!

Our second exposure to sangria came after an hour of hiking along the water.  We were attempting to make our way along the shore and piers to Katie’s yacht which happened to be parked across the bay (it had to be over 100’ long and 5 stories tall), when we were ushered into a small fish house overlooking the water that promised to feed us well and get us along with the night.  First impressions were good.  We didn’t speak the language but hand and arms signals, and the waiter’s broken English seemed to work well.  That’s how Katie was offered a whole raw fish on a plate that looked at her longingly.  But that wasn’t what I wanted, nor did she, but that’s neither here nor there.  Since I was in Barcelona I felt that paella was a must and it must be eaten with sangria.  So both were ordered and I waited eagerly for their arrival.

Unbeknownst to me Katie was eye-locked with something above my head.  When I turned, I found several legs of pig (still clovened) hanging just behind me with small white plastic thingies stuck in them.  I was glad they were in there, because it turns out those catch random juices that leak from the legs while they are curing above your head.  I can only imagine the market for those things and how they had to develop.  

I digress…the sangria arrived.  I was a bit disappointed with the size of it upon arrival, but figured I was in a touristy area and not worry.  But then I tasted it and was not as happy with it as lunch time’s version.  Katie felt the same but then dinner arrived and we focused on our meal.  Now this was my first time eating paella and I was excited by the bounty in front of me.  Shrimp, muscles, prawns, rice … things I couldn’t identify, all of which looked and smelled great.  Well you know what they say about books and covers…yeah it was like that.  The seafood was way overcooked and the rice tasted like pure seawater.  Now anybody that knows me and has eaten out with me knows that I refuse to leave a full plate or even a partial plate of food.  Not the case here.  I couldn’t plow my way through it and the substandard sangria couldn’t wash the taste down enough.  So unfortunately it was an epic fail on my part.  Katie ordered the grilled cuttlefish, which I only had a semblance of its existence from the manipede episode of Southpark,  It looked tasty and Katie enjoyed it thoroughly.  Unfortunately the visit put paella in a bad light for me and every time I saw it on a menu (which was everywhere) I thought badly of it.  Too bad, someone will have to come along one day to fix that for me but for now…no more paella for this guy.

The culmination of our time in Barcelona was complete with a great meal and wicked awesome sangria.  As part of our A.D.D. wondering of the streets, I credit Katie for finding the coolest little restaurant in the middle of an ally that we happened to stroll down.  Yes we strolled, since walking is difficult when your face is skyward most of the time.  This little place, which I have no idea what its name was so I’ll call it that little place in the alley, was fantastic.  We arrived close to nine at night and got a cozy (i.e. really close to our neighbors) table and checked out the menu.  I spotted my elixir of choice and ordered up 1.5 liters of sangria (equivalent of two bottles of wine).  My thoughts on ordering so much were simple; with the addition of ice and fruit, wine is pushed out so you have to make that difference up by ordering more.

It arrived in a crock jug, something perfectly suited for a homey little place and it was gloriously sweet and smooth with a nice citrus flavor from the limes and lemons.  We noticed that Barcelonian sangria didn’t get too fancy with its infusions of various fruits like apples, or grapes.  They kept it to the two fruits mentioned before.  Both Katie and I agreed this was by far our favorite version.  I only wished I knew what kind of red wine they had used, guess I’ll just have to ask next time.  But when the sangria was poured all was good in the world.  We had a delightful dinner of tapas choices followed by a main course.  We each had different tapas and since we both have quite different palates, there wasn’t the awkward questioning of sharing our food.  I’m not even sure what we had, but I do remember they were all cooked/prepared perfectly and I would order them again in a heartbeat…something along the lines of sausage, shrimp, roasted red peppers and something dipped in pesto sauce.  It escapes me a bit now, so I know Katie will yell at me for not writing this sooner.  :D  When ordering, I was a little annoyed when I found out the British guy next to me had chosen the last of the rabbit, but I conceded and had a nice steak followed by some tiramisu.  Yes I know it is Italian, but it happens to be my favorite desert of all time and I couldn’t resist.  Especially since Katie didn’t want dessert but was included with dinner so she ordered the flan and handed it over to me.  Score!  

As you may have guessed the sangria was still going down while we ate dinner and this is the only time I will ever say this but I actually wished there was more ice in our crock.  The restaurant had used very little which is good and bad.  Good because we had more of the good stuff but bad because with the just the two of us drinking it took quite a bit of time to get it all down and it was a tad warm by the time we got to the bottom.  Undeterred from our task of completion we overturned the entire crock into our glasses, paid our bill and walked along the street called La Rambla home, at an angle, while dodging street performers and illegal beer sellers.  Then we completed the night with second desert and had some Belgium chocolates, at least I did, that I brought down with me.  I escaped with some Italian coffee thrown at me and knocked out for a couple of hours before making the trip to the airport, an adventure in and amongst itself, and headed back north to the land of chocolate flavored beer.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Katie for allowing me the opportunity to write this portion of her blog.  She was quite hesitant to allow an “outsider” to relive her memories, but since we shared them together I was granted an exception.  I just hope that I have done them justice and haven’t ruined this opportunity for anyone else hoping to be published on this page.  Thank you Katie, also, for such a wonderful weekend.  Hanging out with you is a joy and effortless and since we are both extremely A.D.D. in our wonderings and carefree in our itinerary, traveling the backstreets and finding small cafes just wouldn’t have been the same without you there.  I can’t think of anyone I’d rather of been there with and glad you can put up with my lack of public transportation use.  Hope we can do it again sometime in another city, in another country adding another adventure into our lives.
Ja-Rod (MAJ545)

Il Vino di Solopaca

A little later than I had hoped, but it happened none the less- my adventures have resumed in Italy. This weekend after some serious running (14 miles!) I met up with my "other family," loaded up the van, and we drove. And drove. And drove.

Our mission of the day was to locate the place that sells chocolate with a" liquid pop of wine inside" and the gas pump wine place.

Both places are located in Solopaca.

No. That's not Italian for Lonely Lama.

Really, it's not. Depsite the fact that the 2 adults in the car voiced that it's the translation our brains were reporting.

As we contined to drive northeast the views from the windows changed from toxic waste land & bufale to mountains & farmland. Shoot, we even found a super old aqueduct...not like it was hard to miss when the road passed under it.

Shortly after we passed under the aqueduct the GPS lead us into Solopaca and signs for our destinations lead us into the correct driveways.

Stop #1 was Cantina Sociale di Solopaca, where our limited Italian and their limited English still got us our 3 5L demigans of wine from a gas pump. Amazing right? Totally priced right, even there is no way I could get through that amount of wine before it turns.

Stop#2 was Santi Martini, a small winery but the one that sold the chocolate coated wine candies. After establishing that they were in fact open we darted in to pick out our items. Rumor has it that their wine is yummy...but since it's in a real bottle it's going to have to wait to be tried for just a little bit. All I know is that the chocolate malt balls with a little burst of wine are fabulous. Which is why all the bags I purchased are still unopened.

Soccer & Wine

Um no. Not together but combined into the same day makes for a pretty fabulous Saturday, especially when you add a Nap. Yeah, you read that right. Nap with a capital n.

Actually, let me back up. The first event of the day was running out in Lago with my training buddy. Just 5 miles today but for some reason it was rather brutal, even with the promise of coffee and a pastry at the end of our miles. Luckily, a portion of the pack of dogs realized that we were lacking motivation and on our way back up the hill they came barking after us. Our days of "stop, drop, and roll" were quickly adapted to "halt, turn, and yell." Even in English those dogs knew not to mess with us. Adrenaline rushing, that last half of mile, up hill was no problem. Oh and that cappuccino was fabulous too.

Next stop of the morning (um yeah, it was only 930 by this time) was Carney Park for...drum roll please...queue trumpet fanfare....the last soccer game of the season! Don't get me wrong, coaching was fun but with holidays interrupting the season it was beginning to feel like the season would never end. My Blue Dragons rocked it on the field once again and ended their season with only one loss. Turns out the team we lost to (that nasty orange team) lost to another team we beat so- had we been at full strength that day the outcome may have been a tad different. None the less, as I passed out their blue jersey and gold star sugar cookies I was really proud of them.

After our award ceremony I went to watch my coworker's youngest kid play since I'd been trying to all season. This is the kid that I've been asking to run with me for months and the one I've won over by telling him about Nico and that I live above a pizzeria. He's such a cute 4 year old- but then again I find most 4 year olds adorable. His team also won (yay Red Dragons!) and I watched him get his soccer medal. And with that, I was totally soccered out.

Once home rather than cleaning my rather messy house I found a sleepy kitty and decided to make him share my big bed. How is it that something so tiny can take up so much room!? Three hours later I decided it was probably time to wake up. Told you- it was a Nap. A fabulous nap.

Last event of the day was a wine tasting event at the bottom of the hill organized by a coworker. It was a lot of fun to hang out with coworkers outside of the work environment. My co-coach and his wife were there, with a beautiful picture drawn by my little buddy when he remembered that they would see me. As the rain came pouring down (because it couldn't rain during my run or soccer game) we sat and talked about things other than ship repair and it was a blast. Once again I was reminded just how much I like my coworkers.

Wine sampled, yummy food consumed, and bottles purchased, it was back up the hill for bedtime. So what if I slept a large portion of the afternoon? Not only was it a busy day but the morning held the promise of a trip to Shoe Alley. Yep. Again.

Wine Blending

Now that I don't have Italian class in the evenings I'm rediscovering that I can go out after work to do fun things like...Wine Blending at Stappo! Way long ago (like 3-4 months ago) I met Heather who does wine info classes at the local wine club here in MdP. It's not quite Taste of Monterey but it's a ton of fun and I always learn something new. Tonight's class was about blending wines and how with the correct blend you can get something a whole lot better than the individual wines. We learned about the different quality levels in Italy and how with each level up the "pyramid scheme" there are fewer and fewer. Yes, house wines and home blends are the bottom of the pyramid but we all know that some of our favorites are from that category! Don't under estimate your unlabeled bottle of wine from the local grocer.

After tasting 2 wines we were put to the task of blending them to make our entry for the taste test. Our team of three liked one bottle a whole lot better than the other so it was our base with just a splash of the other.

Yeah, that didn't work.

With several more splashes and swirls we had a drinkable product and poured it.

We apparently had gone for a different market segment than our judge belonged to, but what I learned in Napa was if you don't like it, don't make it since if you don't sell it...you're going to have a whole lot to drink! Nope, we didn't win but the glass handed to her was empty by the end of the evening. It was a with food kind of blend.

Grape Stomping- Check!

That's right- grape stomping. And no, it wasn't like in I Love Lucy or that viral news clip where the news reporter takes a major spill. This was the full Italian experience (from many decades past) recreated for us Americans. But I really couldn't think of a better way to spend the sunny hours of the day than out in the vineyard filling crates of grapes, squishing them, and then sitting at a table that sat 50+ chatting with people I've previously met through Girl Scouts, running events, VBS, soccer, and even on last week's wine tour. Talk about a small community!

With nothing more than being handed a shirt, hat, and knife we were directed to go pick grapes- the green grapes. Luckily the vineyard had some time to dry out from last night's torrential downpour. Just a little. Although it wasn't muddy, the soil was very soft (like it was volcanic ash or something) and beautiful! Our two crates were filled pretty fast- I mean with the grapes trained to grow to the lower branches makes it very easy. It may not have been gleaning but it was still a blast oh and the grapes were yummy. Actually eating a grape or two from the vine grossed me out since they were covered with a blue powder and my hands were rather muddy, but Joe convinced me I wouldn't die and they were really good so I had to try them. I was more focused on figuring out just how many grapes were needed to make a glass, bottle, case of wine...with the efforts of all us I'm pretty sure 1/4 of their vineyard was harvested. And it really was a group effort- even the little kids (pint sized ones that were swimming in their shirts) were handed knives to join in. (Only in Italy.)

 Feeling somewhat accomplished, but really dirtier more than anything else, we headed to the restaurant side of things and found out that Joe already knows half the people I know because they work for him. Go figure. Oh well- I had grapes to stomp. And stomped I did. It was rather gross feeling because as one mentioned, there were cold and warm spots which made her asking if someone had peed in the tub. Ick. It actually felt more like cold dish water with food particles in it...again, ick. (That's that look on my face that was captured but I assure you it was fun.) Once our feeties were clean we sat down for lunch. The lunch was in true Italian fashion: a ton of food spread out over multiple courses and 2+ hours. The conversations were entertaining and perfect timing since it's almost olive harvest and I learned that we had to head north for the first pressing for the best oil ever. In between glasses of wine, plates of food, and laughter we'd play the "name that cheesy 80s song" being played game. Well, I kind of lost since I think I was the only 20-something there and someone who shall remain nameless said I pretty much was grouped in with her kids. HA. I'm not that young.

The final event of the day was when they poured the crushed (stomped) grapes into an old press. Apparently someone had asked about the grape juice and they were bottling it up. Um yeah. Ick. I declined bringing home a bottle of it. What would you do with it? Boil it into a syrup? Any idea how many feet were in there?! Rumor has it too that their white wine wasn't all that great which is why the bottles of red were drained rather quickly from our tables. 

At any rate, it was a fabulous day and I really am glad that at the last minute plans were changed from beer and balloon festival to grape harvesting. I think I'll try to stick with all things Italian this first year for festivals and then branch out. Next festival on my schedule is the chestnut festival in early November but of course I also hope to hit up the Apple festival, but in the mean time I need to lay off the food and get running. Tomorrow is 5K number 4 of the year and then next weekend I'll be in Siena for a 10K (oh, and more food). Seriously. This is ITALY. You really can't avoid food without missing out on a ton of the culture so just balance it with plenty of running and stick to not being a huge fan of pasta and you'll be good- trust me.

4 Months!

I’ve survived 4 full months in Naples. It’s crazy that 4 months have passed but at the same time I feel like I’ve been here forever. This last month in particular has just flown by; I barely remember my first 3 months in the Navy Lodge! Even looking back at pictures and previous posts there are already things I don’t remember. This is bad because I’m the one who always remembers things, but it just goes to show that this blog really is a good idea to maintain a historical record.  

At any rate, the days continue to fly by filled with the good, bad, and stinky. Work continues to be a challenge (what I wanted- right?). Unpacking/setting up house continues to make microscopic progress (Nico isn’t too helpful with this). Nights are filled with Bible study, coaching soccer, Italian classes, and if I’m lucky, hanging out with friends before turning into a pumpkin when the clock strikes 10. The trash piles continue to reach towards the sky. Smoke plumes continue to fill the air with the stench of trash, smoke, rubber and the smell I just call “Naples.”

This weekend flew by too fast and I find that this morning I’m not operating at my normal maniac Monday pace. Last week was a challenge (to say the least), but we survived. This week has already proved to slow down, however with our upcoming office move to an even deeper level of dungeon (which just may as well be another circle of hell) it’s going to be an interesting week. I also get to head to Trieste tomorrow for a quick over night trek to try to get a handle on what we actually do here at SSU. Wait. Let me re-phrase. I’m going to see how my funding documents translate into huge contracts and work being done on the ships. It may be my nerdy side shinning through but I am rather excited to see a ship out of water and see some of the things that I’ve sent funding through for. But I digress; this post is supposed to be about this last weekend, not the upcoming week.

This weekend was a hodgepodge of events: Italian cover bands of Queen, pink shirted men, the Blue Dragons amazing their coaches with a 12-0 shutout, repair guys (4 in total-including Fabio), full combat shopping at Ikea, watching team Napoli play a blow out game with lots of Italians in a local restaurant, the best gnocchi ever (with so much cheese it tasted like mac-n-cheese), wine tasting, wine purchasing, a ton of food, and my first out of town visitor! Phew. No wonder I’m tired! Nowhere in that list of events do you see “nap time” or “sleeping in.”

Now that your brains are probably trying to process what I meant by a few of those events I’ll explain. I recommend grabbing a cup of coffee (or Diet Coke depending on what time zone you’re in) since it’s going to be a long one…

Friday afternoon I didn’t leave the office until much later than planned on account I was waiting for a last minute contract to be issued. No big deal since it gave me time to chat with OG and GWB and wish them a very happy New Year’s and catch up on the latest and greatest happenings at NPS. Nothing like these chats to re-affirm that leaving was quite possibly the best decision I made all year, but at the same time realize just how much I miss these two. Pretty much 90% of my fondest memories from NPS involve these two so it’s been somewhat of a challenge adjusting to work without them here calling me up for coffee breaks, arranging “walk abouts”, & yes, evening long TRTs. (I really am looking for jobs out here for you both- just get those passports already!)

After taking off from the office, with FY11 in the books, I headed home to harass Nico for a while before heading back out to The (World Famous) Agora Hotel for their end of summer BBQ and performance by a Queen cover band. As planned, the group of folks Joe has bonded with were all sporting their pink outfits. Let me just tell you, grown men can pull off pink, but they really should avoid sequins. Trust me. While we visited and stacked empty cups, the lead singer of the band in his white track pants pulled way above his natural waist, bright yellow buckled jacket, and scary mustache danced his way around the pool singing 80s songs. At one song, he decided to strip the shirt…my eyes, my eyes. (Tracy, I think you got a picture of this? And please don’t believe a word Joe text.) After a successful kick off to FY12 I made my way back home.

Signore Nico was rather frustrated when I walked through the door at a rather late hour of the night, but luckily didn’t wake up because I needed my sleep before the big soccer game the next morning. The Blue Dragons dominated the field- 12-0. It was pretty even (1-0) at the end of the first quarter but then our super stars were put in and well, that’s when our score started to increase. Seriously, you really can’t explain to 7 and 8 year olds why they need to stop scoring so we gave up and just tried to move them into different positions. Eh, what can you do?

Next stop for my Saturday was to meet the repair folks at my place to install the shower box around my bathtub, evaluate why I can’t get hot water in the other shower, trouble shoot my shutters, and replace the light above the stove. Simple enough- right? Well they didn’t speak English and although they had an idea what needed to be done it was still fun to explain why the flush button was off the wall since I had to take the panel off to stop the continual running of water the night before.  I was upstairs while they were working downstairs and when I heard the land lady also down there I walked down to say hi. Apparently only of the 3 guys was working and the other 2 with the land lady were just standing in my bedroom chatting away. Strange? Yes, but this is Italy after all. Upstairs we went and while I was struggling with my Italian homework. 

Everything that needed to be looked at was- even with them trying to show me that the shutters really do work and that I was just closing them wrong. Really? While they were taking a break while one of them ran around the corner to the hardware store the other 2 asked about il gatto so I pointed to Nico out in his planter box stalking them. They both went out and started talking to him and I guess he liked what he heard since he was Mr. Social at that point. Not too long after that I hear a new person in my apartment- but at my second glance I realized I knew him. It was Fabio (my alarm guy) who came by I guess to help translate? Still I was happy to see him and we finally figured out which sensor was going off when it shouldn't. 


The rest of Saturday was spent with Joe with a trip to Ikea and then dinning in a local restaurant while watching the Napoli game. (They won.) Watching the game with locals was hilarious. The staff was just standing behind the tables also watching the game. When Napoli scored hands flew up in the air, along with a piece of pizza or two. They sure love their soccer. 


Sunday it was out to Avelino for wine and food. We toured the Antica Hirpinia winery and tasted several of their wines. Were they good? Yes and at 5euro a bottle you can bet that I came home with a few bottles (like 6). Hey, Tanya did the same thing. After our wine tasting we headed over to a place not too far away for food. Between the snacks served with the wine and the encore of more of the same at this place I think I consumed more meat in 5 hours than I had all of the last 2 months...but it was so good. 


After being gone for hours, we headed back to the SS where I met up with a friend visiting from out of town. She followed me down to my place where she was just disgusted with my view and stated that she'd never come back. (Ha. She may have said these things but I don't believe her for a second.) 


So yeah, good weekend but busy. I owe you some pictures but for now just check out month 5 on my facebook page. :)

Just the Bare Necessities

Our first full day on the trip was spent follow the Route des Vins through the Rhone Valley trying to locate the various caves. You think that on a designated route with not only a GPS but also a map, we'd be pros locating our destinations. You'd think. That would be way to easy. This is why I don't go anywhere in the morning without my coffee.

After seeing lots of vines, we finally caught on and found our first cave and were even greeted by an English speaker. At this point I guess we were in the Hermitage region where Syrah is the main grape. (Check me out- I'm trying to get a handle on all these grapes/wine things.)

At any rate, we did lots of driving (in circles) but the views were great and the other drivers on the road so polite. How polite? Kim decided to actually wave a few folks in. (For you non Naples drivers this is a huge thing- trust me.) Lunch that day was fabulously fried calamari beignets and quite possibly the best french fries I've ever had. In this same town we also discovered some great themed topiaries. I'm not quite sure why they picked The Jungle Book  but it sure was fun to see a familiar face or two.  My first baguette was also purchased in this town but I was so full from lunch it's going to live to see tomorrow. 

We're Not in Italy Anymore

And that's 100% okay with me! It's amazing just how many things have become acceptable to me living in Naples for just a short 3 months and a week or so. Stop signs are totally optional. Piles of trash normal. The sound of car horns and scooters create sound waves through the slightly smokey air that is (often) pungent with trash smells.

At any rate, after a short hop from Naples to Geneva, we were on our way to Valence, France for a long weekend of anything but work. Well, they both did a little work, but I sure didn't. I was also the one member of the party who took the full day off on Thursday rather than a half day. (Hey- I still had to pack!)

Southern France is absolutely beautiful. We were all in awe on how clean, orderly, and green the views were out the windows as we took the trek. Yes, the Alps were rather impressive as well. Our route became a little scenic as we drove through Grenoble to break up the old stone farm houses. Before too long we were in Valence where the front desk clerk asked us "why are you staying here 3 days?" Apparently there isn't that much to do in Valence so we explained to her that is was a good mid point in the Rhone Valley for all of our planned stops. This apparently was a good enough explanation for her as she reached for some maps and started giving us suggestions for castles.

Our hotel room was fabulously resourceful for space- bunk beds! As the youngin' and also the one most excited about them, I claimed the top bunk as my tower. Of course as soon as I climbed up there, we decided it was time to go find food so I had to mange a graceful dismount.

Exploring the down center reminded me much of the towns I've seen in Southern Germany or Austria. Lots of windows with flower boxes. Cobble stones covered with outside seating for restaurants. We took the recommendation given to us and found Italian food on most of their menu. We had to laugh but were all happy with salads- so what if mine had mini fried raviolis on it. The dessert I had was simply divine and so chocolatey I had to actually drink water. Amazing- right?

After the long day of driving we called it pretty early- big day of wine tasting scheduled for tomorrow.