#(my heart can only take so many Vecchio feelings at once)

[sdwolfpup]

Really not sure I've ever loved a character more than Ray Vecchio in "The Deal."

He goes in gunless, badgeless, alone, and -- by his own admission -- scared to death, and he takes Zuko down completely. Absolutely guts the man's bravado and leaves him exposed for the weak, petty dictator he is.

And then after making a deal to protect Paducci, when Zuko threatens Ray's own safety, Ray says "I didn't ask for that." He didn't come there for himself! He came to protect Paducci and because he couldn't protect Fraser or Marco and he's trying to make up for it.

The most character of all time.

[ayliamc]

Italia

Day 6 - On the Arno

Steps walked: 18,216

Flights climbed: 12

Vehicles ridden: 1

Points of interest visited: 3

Leonardos spotted: 3, depending on whom you ask

We woke in Venezia this morning to the sound we fell asleep to last night: a canal beginning to stir with the signs of life. Both of us were so tired so getting out of bed was a bit of a chore. But we were the first to breakfast at our hotel and our benevolent host greeted us as joyfully as ever, making us a cup of tea and a double espresso (for me and Dan respectively) while we put together a full and yummy breakfast.

We bid our host adieu and — after some deliberation about whether or not to take a water taxi to the train station, barely faster but more for the novelty of it — ultimately walked to the train station. We tried again at the coffee shop that reportedly had some vegan croissants and were early enough to snag a few for the train before they ran out. It ended up being a delightful midday snack on the train as we approached Firenze, some of the lucky few on the train who didn’t have someone sitting next to them.

‘Twas after lunch and we’d had the croissants (Italian croissants all have filling in them; there’s no such thing as a plain croissant here) to keep us from getting grumpy, but lunch was a priority. On the way we happened upon a cool old church. We took a picture with it and moved on. More on this later.

Here I am, unimpressed.

We had found a vegan restaurant kinda on the way to our Airbnb. (Now we’re in real cities, I will only patronize VEGAN RESTAURANTS!) So we trudged to Nirvana, a vegan restaurant close to the Arno, the river that runs through the heart of Florence. Florence’s Thames or Seine, if you will. I finally got to order the ravioli that I’ve been craving and Dan got a big plate with some kind of plant-based meat and some of the best potatoes I’ve ever had. Simple but so good.

Sated, we walked the rest of the way to our room, which proved to be a picturesque walk along the Arno where I could imagine that what I was seeing had once been seen by Leonardo himself. Many of the buildings certainly look old enough to have been here when he was.

Firenze is similar to Venezia in that feels fake, like a toy town or something from a movie or storybook. But they’re different in that Venezia has a kind of wrongness to it. That sounds more harsh than I mean it. But I don’t exactly know how to explain it. (Side note: i do feel kind of guilty as I imagine my friend Sean reading this and my thoughts about his dream city are that it shouldn’t be real.) But Firenze feels more like I’ve been transported back in time. But so have a LOT of other people. Other people from my time. So we’re all just a bunch of 2023 people walking around the 16th century.

I marveled at a bridge we had to cross in that there were literally apartments built onto the bridge itself, only to shortly thereafter discover that our rented room was one of those apartments! We are literally suspended over the Arno, on the Ponte Vecchio. We can see the Galleria Uffizi from our bedroom window, just down the riverbank. We later tried to identify which window is ours from the Uffizi.

So yeah, great location but it has a price: namely the shower (more on that later) and the wifi (whose connection is so bad they’re forcing my blog posts to come late because there’s literally not enough bandwidth to upload them).

The Galleria totally caught me by surprise, in terms of its existence and the items inside. For some reason I became very anxious and irritating (yeah, you read that right; irritating, not “irritable”) and I feel bad for Dan. Honey if you’re reading this, I’m sorry. Thanks for putting up with me. But we got our tickets around 3:30, got a little lost and ultimately found our way, despite the museums inexplicable lack of paper maps in lieu of digital maps you can only access online, but there’s no wifi. (A docent shared in my exasperation at this. She said, and I quote, “Don’t expect things to make sense in Italy.”) Turns out this gallery holds a lot of awesome stuff. About a million and a half Roman statues, plus the mother-flippin’ Birth of Venus!

Two works from Verrocchio’s workshop that Leonardo had a hand in! (Though they straight up credited Leonardo for one of them in its entirety. They’ll really slap his name on anything now if it helps them.) And one unfinished Leonardo (that I think also had been painted in part by others)!

A Rembrandt and a Michelangelo and Caravaggio’s Medusa and a Melzi. Melzi was likely a sort of apprentice to Leonardo, and a kind of adopted son. I also learned the etymology of the word “hermaphrodite” which as soon as I learned it seemed so obvious I felt stupid.*

Here I am with the Melzi.

After the first floor (which was actually the second floor) Dan announced, “That was fun, wanna go to a cafe?” To which I replied, “That was only the first floor!” But it was indeed the second floor. You can see the confusion. In any case we spent about two hours in the museum before slowly meandering around the Uffizi square and looking at all the sculptures before walking to another vegan restaurant for dinner. Universo Vegano, this time. More good food, and we could see the Duomo down the street. (The Firenze Duomo, not the Milano Duomo.) We also took advantage of the superior wifi here (over what was offered at our apartment) so we looked up a few more points of interest and discovered that the random fancy church we passed earlier houses some tombs of note. We’ll be sure to go visit it properly tomorrow.

After dinner (with stuffed croissants in hand for breakfast) we walked by the Duomo, the one where David was originally meant to be displayed before being declared too magnificent. (We’re seeing that tomorrow.) Cool building to be sure.

A quick stop in a nearby market so we could pick up a few breakfast and snack foods** and then back for an early night over the Arno. We got to relish in the challenges of showering in an old building where the water took 5 minutes to get hot, stayed hot for about four minutes, then got cold again and stayed cold. There was a brief war as we shut out the lights when I heard a mosquito buzzing around. We tried in vain to remove her but alas. ‘Twas a comic failure. I’ve already been bitten a bunch while we’ve been here and don’t relish waking up to more welts.

Our apartment also has a window that opens down onto the Ponte and it doesn’t close — I think it’s for ventilation — so we went to bed to the sounds of a live musical performance at the bar below us and the hourly chimes of a nearby church before the city joined us in sleep.

*Hermes and Aphrodite had a child who was born both male and female. Their name? Hermaphrodite. As in Hermes + Aphrodite. You get it. So do I.

**Dan wanted to buy a bottle of wine or beer, but it was all sealed off in the market because of a soccer game… all sales of alcohol in glass or aluminum containers were forbidden in Firenze’s historical district until 7am the following day. Crazy.

[deadletterpoets]

Cass/Batgirls Creative Teams challenge

I'm bored so I decided to give myself a bit of a challenge of picking 3 creative teams I'd want to write a solo Cass that is more in tone with what I love from Batgirl 2000 but for the modern age and 3 creative teams I'd want to write a Batgirls comic that is more in tone with the current Batgirls series that is more "light heart, fun energy, BFFs forever" vibes. Only rule is I can't use the same creative in both list. I'm at work and this is off the top of my head so let's just have fun.

Cass solo:

Mariko Tamaki/Marcus To - This comes straight from the Asian Superhero Celebration comic. Their story together was probably one of the better stories in that anthology and there was a good amount of solid material in that book. To is phenomenal, I've wanted him on a Cass book forever and I hope that wasn't the only time it happens. Tamaki is hit or miss with me in many regards, but I think her Tec run was solid and her writing of Cass has been better than most that have written her since her return so I'd be curious where she'd take her in a solo venture.

Gene Luen Yang/Marcio Takara - I've wanted Yang to write Cass for a while and the energy and quality he's brought to Shang-Chi is something Cass needs in DC IMMEDIATELY. And do I even need to explain Takara I mean Takara is one of the only artists to make the Orphan suit look legit. Now with Cass as Batgirl I NEED Takara back drawing CassBatgirl again cause I've seen Takara CassBatgirl art and I want it in continuity NOW!

Alyssa Wong/Elena Casagrande - I'll admit Wong didn't use to be on my top list for Cass even after she'd written her before. I just wasn't feeling it. However in the couple years since the first time she wrote her Wong has improved a lot as a writer. Namely her Aphra series is pretty great. And also her one shot Shang-Chi and Iron Fist series has shown she can handle the fight scenes needed. Also the next time she wrote Cass in the Urban Legends story with Batwoman was a much higher quality to me and now I'd be curious for more. Casagrande is the main artist from Thompson's Black Widow book and frankly she made that book a must read. Her art was phenomenal, her fight scene paneling was incredible. It was worth reading just to see how cool she was making Natasha look and I want that for Cass.

Batgirls:

Jeremy Whitley/Gurihiru - The creative team from some of the best Unstoppable Wasp issues, need I say more? Yeah? Okay look Whitley is a white boy, yes, but he NAILED the fun energetic teenage/youth tone, that IMO Batgirls is currently failing at, in Unstoppable Wasp. He doesn't belittle the characters involved, nor does he belittle the audience reading it. He would rock a Batgirls book. And just look at the style of Gurihiru to know they would compliment the tone so well.

Sarah Kuhn/ Kelly & Nichole Matthews - Once again I'm bringing in a writer that has already nailed the tone in previous books so Batgirls would be fine. Kuhn has worked in the field of YA for most of her career, I believe, before she even did Shadow of the Batgirl and then SoTB came and she knocked it outta the park so if DC really wants Batgirls to be competing on that level they need someone who is already excelling on that level. The artists are twin sisters and I saw their art in a book called Save Yourself! (which I enjoyed and recommend) and I think their style would compliment the tone of Kuhn very well.

Danny Lore/Luciano Vecchio - Again Lore isn't someone I would've thought of for this a couple years ago, but one book has put Lore on the map for me as someone I want to see more range from at it was their Champions. Champions was basically put in a chokehold during Eve Ewing's run (that I believe made her quit being a comic writer but that's a different conversation) with the whole Outlawed story and Lore basically had to come in and play clean up while also telling their own story and then wrapping it up pretty quick once it got cancelled and you know what? They kinda succeeded. Sure nothing's perfect, but the main thing they did well which I would want most to carry over to Batgirls was the dynamic of the characters involved. Even if a writer isn't perfect for the tone they can salvage a lot just by how they write the characters and Lore showed me they put in the work to get characters right and that's enough for me, for now, to give them a spot on this list. Now because it was Lore's Champions that made me want them, I figure might as well bring in the artist to right? Plus Vecchio work on Ironheart (and he literally just did a Batgirls redesign) I think his style would mesh well with the tone DC wants for Batgirls.

Anyway, that's it. Let me know what you think.

[travelwankerworld]

Another trip booked with ‘Untravelled Paths’ & another success.

This time a 4 night trip to the Puglia region of Italy – The Dolce Vita Puglia Experience

We flew from Luton to Bari with Wizz Air.

It was very cheap, about £70 each return.

It would have been even cheaper had Wizz not done their ‘Roulette Wanker Seat’ routine! Where unless you pay to pick your seats; unlike any other airline who will allocate you seats together – Wizz makes a point of making sure you are as far away from your travelling partner as possible!

So underhand. So out of order.

It is a 4-hour+ flight so is nice to be sat together.

The upshot, about a 1/3rd of the flight’s cost, was paying to sit together!

The saving grace is that overall, it is still cheap for the distance (& the convenience for us from Luton).

We did the lounge at Luton. The basic reason being that I had a credit left on my ‘Priority Pass’ membership which I wanted to use up before it expired.

  1st Stop – Matera

The flight was good & when we arrived we were met by our guide Marius. We were the only 2 on our flight & found out there were just 2 more coming & they were on the later Stanstead flight that night.

Off we went to our 1st stop – Matera – It is a city carved into the mountainside. The original dwellings here were effectively caves.

It was quite an impressive place & we saw it first at night all lit up.

Our accommodation was – Residence San Giovanni Vecchio

We had a wander about & up to the main square, then back down to get some food in a little pizza place –

Trattoria Braceria Bellavista di Fedele Manicone

It was a nice little place, the food wasn’t amazing but it was fresh & the wine was cheap! – it was also served in a carafe with wicker around it & with small glasses.

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Standard ‘funny faces’ picture was required. Lisa is getting much better at them!

  Lost In Translation

Whilst wandering around we found a bakery (Gran Caffe) that Lisa had seen whilst researching – it was stuffed with loads of dirty cakes!

We ended up asking a bloke behind the counter what was the best – he pointed out what sort of looked like doughnuts but with a bit of custard creeping out of them.

We ordered 2.

Wow! They were gorgeous.

So we then tried to find out what they were called.

One thing I need to say here, which was one of the reasons Italy grew on us, was the fact that most people don’t speak English, just Italian.

I love this. (we Brits are generally shit at languages so for once we didn’t have to feel guilty for this).

This then lends itself to a lot of gesturing & the use of Google Translate!

It is also how we arrived at what we called these – Titty Titty Lemon Cakes!

We ‘spoke’ to a woman & she tried to explain in Italian whilst gesturing to her chest & laughing & saying Limon a lot.

Cue immature photos:

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Wehay! – Titty Titty Lemon Cakes

Loads of Lemon Titties!

Anyway, enough fun for day one & back to the apartment & bed.

The next day we went across the road for breakfast & finally met our other 2 ‘travellers’ – Kamal & Friddy.

Marius met us & gave us the ‘What to do’ rundown in Matera on a map.

We then went almost next door to a shop that had a model of the town so it could be explained further – it is very much a 3D type of place with lots of levels & alleys to explore.

https://travelwanker.world/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/VID_20191010_101702.mp4

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We did a lot of walking, the place was impressive & the weather glorious (it’s October!).

One of the places you are supposed to go is Casa Grotta which was a look at the ‘caves houses’ presented to you of how they were lived in.

Quite frankly, it was shite!

Throughout Matera, there are various sculptures of Salvadore Dali’s art. Can’t remember if there was a reason for this.

We also came across some a temporary art exhibition whilst we were there – some female sculptures sat in various places & some ‘turkeys’ which were individually designed & painted…..but, to be honest, they just looked like big cocks!

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Dali

Dali

Female Sculpture

Big Painted Cocks

  Cookery Class At A Retreat

We all met up late afternoon to go to our cookery class. About a 30-minute drive & we arrived at some grounds.

From what we understood it was like a retreat. It was in the middle of nowhere & looked very nice.

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We made pasta dough from Semolina flour & then went onto make a variety of different shaped/types of pasta.

We also made 2 other dishes, one was made from nearly stale sourdough bread (soaked in water) rubbed with garlic & layered with tomatoes. The other was very similar but mixed with egg and herbs to make balls that were to be fried.

It was quite a laugh doing it with a few breaks so we could get a bit of wine in.

Then we got to eat all of our own stuff. It was pretty good actually & very simple.

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We got back to Matera, went for a quick nightcap & then bed.

Next day, we had breakfast & checked out – we were off to Alberobello

  Bread & Focaccia To Die For

On the way though we were going to visit a traditional bakery that still uses a stone oven & only cooks sourdough bread. The place was called DiGesu’

Wow!, both Lisa & I could have died here. The bread looked & tasted amazing.

We got to try the various types of bread washed down with a small glass of red (well I did, it was 10.30 am but they wouldn’t have put it out if they hadn’t wanted us to have it).

The whole thing was very interesting.

A sort of byproduct from this style of baking is the focaccia bread.

They make the focaccia dough & put it in various spots in the oven to test the temperature.

Quite frankly it is one of the best-tasting things I have ever had! So much so that it was what we bought from the bakery to have later for our lunch.

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So we left there & were on our way to Alberobello.

  Early Proof Of Tax Dodging

This place is very famous for the type of houses they have – they are called Trulli’s.

They are round in construction & were originally built without mortar/cement.

It is said that part of this style of housing came about as a tax dodge.

Landowners at the time were taxed by how many building they had; so the landowners would get their workers to build these house for them to live in.

When/if they got news of someone coming to check their ‘wealth’ the landowner would instruct his workers to take apart the houses thus avoiding tax.

So we got to stay in one for the night. This was right in the heart of the area where these were best preserved (& funnily enough where the tourists came). They were lovely.

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So off we went for a wander.

  The Wine Tour – A Tale Of 2 Servers

Early afternoon we met up again to be taken to a local vineyard for a tour & wine tasting – Yay!!!

The winery was called I Pastini.

It was really nice here, a family-run place in lovely surroundings.

A young lady did the tour around the various buildings & part of the vineyard. It was actually quite interesting and didn’t go on too long which gets a massive tick!

They plant rose bushes at the end of each row of vines here. They do this as if there are pests/bugs etc, they will attack the roses first. This is like having a warning system for their grape crop & so if it happens, they can do something about it.

Simple but effective. I found stuff like this quite interesting.

Some wine tours we have been on are beyond dull.

And let us face it, nobody gives that much of a shit about how it all came about etc – we are there to taste & drink the wine!

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The wine tasting was good – we got a selection of nibbles to go with it.

As I recall we tried 4 or 5 wines.

What I do remember very well (which is where the problem lied) is that 2 people were doing the wine pouring for the tasting.

The side we were on was a woman who had clearly challenged herself to pour so little in the glass that it would have evaporated by the time you went to taste it!

It literally was the smallest amount of wine that could allow you to taste it.

On the other side of the room was the young lady who did the tour & she was making up for our loss with her pours, she wasn’t pissing about!

Kamal & Friddy were on her side & after about 3 they were not finishing theirs & pouring some away ready for the next one. I can’t even get my head around this, but we would have loved that problem!

The result – they ordered a case of wine to be shipped back to the UK & we bought a bottle to take away with us.

You would have thought that most people that own a vineyard & do these type of tours must have realised that if you get people a bit pissed they will get their wallets out.

We would have.

There is no question we would have also bought a case, they were pretty reasonable. Alas, we were sober & therefore could easily rationalise & avoid spontaneous purchases!

We left there, wallet intact, back to Alberobello.

We did a bit more wandering & picture taking; then went to a wine bar to try & rectify the wrong from earlier.

That evening we went to a nice little restaurant, the food was pretty good but I am not naming it. The service speed was a joke & getting the bill at the end was like pulling teeth. Such a shame really,

Next day was time to move again.

We had until lunchtime to wander around the bits we had missed & sneak in a cheeky beer before leaving.

The next destination was our final one in Bari.

On the way, we stopped for lunch at a little town called Locorotondo. We were told to have a little explore before settling down to eat which we did.

Was a very pretty little town with lots of rabbit warren type of streets.

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We wandered around for what seemed like ages looking for somewhere to eat. We googled various places but nothing seemed quite right & most were in these narrow streets which were in the shade.

  A Perfect 90 Minutes With Wine, Meat & Cheeses

We finally, just before we lost the will to live, decided to sit at an outside restaurant that we had passed about three times  – Controra

Quite frankly, this turned out to be one of the highlights from our trip. We sat there for about an hour & a half and was just perfect.

We had a great view, were sat under a shade (it was proper hot that day) & ordered a bottle of the white wine that was from the vineyard we went to the day before. We also ordered a plate of meats, cheeses & bread. It was all superb.

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It turned out, through broken English & lots of gesturing, that the woman who owned the restaurant/bar was the sister of the woman at the vineyard who was tight with the tastings (who turned out to be the owner’s mother!).

The toilets in this place were a bit quirky. My favourite part was the fact that above the sink there was no mirror on the wall, there was just writing saying ‘You Look Fine‘ which quite frankly is genius.

We left here to go to our next stop.

If we didn’t have to go, we would have happily ordered another bottle of wine, more food & sat here for hours.

Enroute to Bari was another stop, this time to visit an Olive farm – Masseria Brancati

We had the standard tour of the old buildings with old ‘machinery’ AKA massive stones that crushed shit, no big shakes in terms of new stuff.

What was interesting that we didn’t know, was the fact that olive oil used to be called ‘Liquid Gold’. It was the modern-day equivalent of oil i.e. it was used for all sorts of things and thus made it very valuable.

So much so, that they would hide & disguise where the olives were stored and processed to avoid being robbed.

The olive groves here were massive. All the trees were 5 meters apart from each other which was the distance required to make sure each tree got all the light & water it needed without imposing on each other.

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The slightly mind-blowing thing of it all is that all the trees were saw were at least 1,000 years old, quite a few were 2,000 years old & there was one that they had dated at 3,000 years old – so if Jesus did exist, this tree existed well before he did.

….and they are all still producing Olives!

Also, each individual tree is a National Heritage Site – they are all tagged & are monitored by satellite.

What the fuck!

  The Buzz Of Bari

We left there and headed to our final destination – Bari. (** – Sidenote story – read at end)

We arrived & went to our B&B – Antipico.

Bari, we were told, was a lively local town.

There are tourists here, no question, but the locals outnumbered by far.

We liked it here and it grew on us very quickly.

We had a quick wander about and got a drink in this really cool little bar – La Ciclatera. It was a small place that had alcoves & stuff everywhere!

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Then back to get showered & changed ready for dinner.

When we went out in the early evening, we got to see what Marius has said about it being lively.

The place was buzzing with people everywhere. It was a Saturday night, yes, but not like you would think.

The big difference was that it was everyone. There were families, groups of young people, groups of older, groups surrounding by kids.

Everyone was out.

People were sat everywhere & anywhere and there was a lot of noise being created by what seemed like the whole community coming out to play.

We had decided to try a place to eat called MareViglie lo Sprofondo

We really liked it here, it was pretty busy but the service was excellent. Again, the lack of English speaking made the asking/choosing more fun.

This was very apparent from our starter order – we thought we had chosen a ‘premium’ platter to share – we pictured it being hams, salami’s, cheese, olives and the like – lovely!

What came out?

3 big portions of raw cold fish! – Salmon, Tuna & Swordfish.

A far cry from what we wanted but actually really nice.

The main course was better but somehow I ordered a pizza which effectively had chips on it & a bit of ham!

Lisa fared better with ‘mouse ears’ pasta.

Despite this, it was a really nice meal & a nice bottle of white.

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Afterwards, we wandered about for a bit; the streets were still full of people & this still included kids of all ages. We went back to our little bar again for a couple of G&T nightcaps.

The next morning we heading for our breakfast. Not quite the same as we had experienced in the 2 other places.

It was a short walk to a cafe where we were eligible for a free coffee & a croissant.

This was supposed to be the ‘Bari’ way……well, quite frankly, we preferred the other way!

  Bari On Bikes

We then met up with Marius, Friddy & Kamal. This was going to be a tour around Bari on bikes.

Friddy & Kamal decided they didn’t want to do it. They were going to get a train & visit another town nearby. We said our goodbyes as we wouldn’t see them again.

A shame really as the cycle tour was really good – Velo Service

We saw a lot of places that we had already seen….but this time with some information explaining what on earth things actually were & with some history behind it.

Including Basilica San Nicola which was St Nicholas’s church – he was the patron saint of sailors, prostitutes & children; which sorts of works if you think about it.

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One of the stops has a bittersweet taste to it.

We stopped at basically a woman’s house in a square. she had a little kitchen set up outside.

We were going here to learn how to make pasta again as we did when we were in Matera.

This woman was quite a character, she spoke no English & just shouted for most of the time.

She shouted to her neighbours, to people walking past she knew…but most of the time she shouted at her husband.

Marius & the girl from the cycle tour gave us a running commentary.

She was laying into her husband big time.

Really slagging him off, saying how lazy he was & utterly useless arsehole! (he looked a lot like the character of Manuel in Fawlty Towers).

We sat there in the sun, with a beer & made pasta.

She cooked various things & we tried them.

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We really enjoyed it here, so much that we said to Marius about coming back for lunch, which he arranged.

We did our last bit of wandering & then headed back for food.

We had asked Marius to join us which he did before he had to leave for his flight.

Anyway, we had some lunch, it was like tapas really, a few small plates, nothing mind-blowing.

When we left and asked for the bill, they wanted 50 euro!

Holy shit! How much?!

We did the British thing and paid immediately asking no questions.

Then followed it up with a whole lot of bitching in private.

It did put a bit of a dampener on our last lunch to be honest, but such is life.

Since then I have looked at the Google reviews & a lot of people complain about the ‘Quantity to Cost’ ratio, so it wasn’t just us she stiffed which is nice to know.

Anyway, off we went & found a little bar to get a bottle of white wine & while away an hour or so until we were ready to head to the airport & home.

Another great trip with Untravelled Paths to a lovely part of Italy.

___________________________________________________________________

** – Sidenote Story:

When we 1st arrived in Bari, a friend of mine, Simon (Hells Bells Hols Bols) rang me. I text back to say I was away in Italy & would ring when I got back to the UK.

A variety of texts were then exchanged where it turned out that not only was he also in Italy, he was also in Alberobello! & further to this, he & his wife Rosemary had bought a Trulli! He was actually there having work done!

Gutted!

Had he rung the day before we could have all met up for a beer & seen their new holiday home (which they will be renting out when finished) – you can find it on Instagram – https://instagram.com/trullo_genista

  Puglia, Italy – Pasta, Pizza, Wine, Sourdough Bread & More Wine Another trip booked with 'Untravelled Paths' & another success. This time a 4 night trip to the Puglia region of Italy - …

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1286

Monday, November 4, 2019

 Tailgaters are one of my driving pet peeves. I have many. I was accosted by one this morning while driving home from the airport at 4:15 AM after dropping off family. I have been rear ended twice so I'm very sensitive to cars that follow too closely. When I couldn't see the headlights in my rear view mirror I took my foot off the accelerator to allow my car to slow down gradually to the speed limit since we were going a little faster than that. The driver seemed to get the message and backed off a little. Once I started to speed up, it was back way too close again. It then pulled out and passed me and the car in front of me on a double yellow line on the airport parkway. I hope that person doesn't wind up causing an accident in their hurry to get where they're going.

 Conan the Barbarian #10 - Jason Aaron (writer) Mahmud Asrar (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). We find out why Conan is being sacrificed at long last. A wicked witch and her hell spawned offspring have finally done the Cimmerian in. I hope they don't go with zombie barbarian after this.

 Ironheart #11 - Eve L. Ewing (writer) Luciano Vecchio (art) Geoffo (layouts) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This isn't the first time a close family member of a super hero turns out to be a super villain. Miles and his uncle Aaron come to mind. It's till a good shocking plot device though and the last page will make you gasp.

 Invisible Woman #4 - Mark Waid (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This is an interesting take on Susan Richards but it could easily have been a Black Widow story. This will only have any impact on me as a fan if there are references of her past spying in other stories that Sue is in. The penultimate issue ends with Sue in deep doo-doo and a plane load of children about to be blown to smithereens. The last issue should be cool.

 DCeased #6 - Tom Taylor (writer) Trevor Hairsine with Neil Edwards (pencils) Stefano Gaudiano (inks) Rain Beredo (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Why didn't I listen to my little voice and pass on reading this mini? The zombies win. The end.

 Runaways #26 - Rainbow Rowell (writer) Andre Genolet (art) Dee Cunniffe (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Doc Justice becomes the team's benefactor while they figure out where they're going to live. They had to leave their old hideout due to nearby construction. I like that the team is going into action next issue but I don't trust the Doc. He's too good to be true.

 Batman Annual #4 - Tom King (writer) Jorge Fornes (art pages 1-29, 38) Mike Norton (art pages 30-37) Dave Stewart (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). This is basically poorly illustrated daily entries from Alfred's diary of cases that Batman takes on. The point is to show what a busy boy Batman is. I can suspend belief as well as the next Bat fan but chasing a bank robber across the roofs of buildings on horseback defies logic. That was the first case. Then Batman slays some dragons the next day. Dragons. I almost stopped reading. Fortunately, the later cases were more interesting. Overall however, I would give this a pass unless you're a Batman completist.

 Red Goblin: Red Death #1 - Just in time for Halloween, this $4.99 US Norman Osborn and Carnage symbiote mash-up villain will make your blood run cold with all the blood running on the pages. There are three stories here all lettered by VC's Joe Sabino.

 "Great Responsibility" by Rob Fee (writer) and Pete Woods (art) has Norman failing to stop Carnage from going on a killing spree.

 "Big Mouth" by Sean Ryan (writer) and Pete Woods (art) has Norman bumping into an old college buddy and paying him back for some old slight.

 "The Wayside Darkness" by Patrick Gleason (writer) Ray Anthony-Height (pencils) Marc Deering (inks) Dono Sanchez-Almara with Protobunker (colours) has young Normie Osborn being groomed to be a murderous maniac by his grandfather. I forgot that little Normie was infected by the Carnage symbiote too.

 I keep reading Carnage stories hoping to find some redeeming quality to the character and most of them don't present any. That's why I'm not a Carnage fan.

 The Last God #1 - Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer) Riccardo Federici (art) Sunny Gho (colours) Tom Napolitano (letters). Discover a whole new fantasy world in this richly illustrated comic book from DC's Black Label. It's got a Game of Thrones feel but with a bigger element of Sword and Sorcery. The art is gorgeous.

 Excalibur #1 - Tini Howard (writer) Marcus To (art) Erick Arciniega (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). There's a lot going on in this reboot but I do like that it's still centered around Captain Britain. Things start with Morgan Le Fay and a new gate from Krakoa to her Otherworld realm. Brian and Betsy Braddock's connection to Otherworld plays a significant part in this story. I was wondering why Betsy didn't want people to call her Psylocke anymore and we find out on the last page.

 Basketful of Heads #1 - Joe Hill (writer) Leomacs (art) Dave Stewart (colours) Deron Bennett (letters). Most of this debut isn't as gory and creepy as the cover suggests but I have a feeling that it will be eventually. The first page has someone walking around with a basket with at least two talking heads and I don't mean the rock group. Then we cut to 1983 and meet Liam and June, two young lovers in Maine. Throw in four escaped convicts and an 8th Century Viking axe and you've got me sucked into this story. I really liked the writing because it connected me to all the characters in the story. I want to find out what the deal is with the heads.

 Savage Avengers Annual #1 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Ron Garney (art) Matt Milla (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). We find Conan in South America as he wanders north and runs afoul of some human traffickers. One victim curses her captors and that alerts Daimon Hellstrom. The barbarian and the Son of Satan meet while rescuing the women at a slave auction and are joined by the Black Widow. Conan's got a crush on Nat now. I love these Conan adventures in the modern world and I hope the Cimmerian makes it all the way into Canada.

 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #13 - Tom Taylor (writer) Ken Lashley, Todd Nauck, Ig Guara & Dike Ruan (art) Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). "You Say You Want a Revolution" stonged me but it didn't stop me from reading this fun issue. Spidey teams up with the Fantastic Four to revisit Under York, the city beneath NYC ruled by an evil dictator. The dictator's daughter, who opposes his rule, helps to overthrow him. I'm glad that threat is gone now.

 The Superior Spider-Man #12 - Christos Gage (writer) Mike Hawthorne (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Jordie Bellaire (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). After making a deal with Mephisto last issue Otto returns as the cold-hearted Doctor Octopus to battle the eight-armed Norman Osborn from another dimension. I thought this title has been superior to The Amazing Spider-Man recently and I am sad to see that this will be the last issue. I hope that's it's for now and not forever.

 Contagion #5 - Ed Brisson (writer) Adam Gorham (art) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I read this whole thing because there are super heroes in it that I like. Fighting zombies isn't very interesting and the way the heroes defeated the villain was pure crazy comic book made up stuff and that's what I read comic books for.

 Harleen #2 - Stjepan Sejic (writer & artist) Gabriela Downie (letters). We get a bonus origin story of Two-Face in this issue. The budding romance between Doctor Harleen Frances Quinzel and the Joker is unfolding slowly and naturally in this insightful origin story of Harley Quinn. This character has evolved so much in the hands of Stjepan Sejic from her first appearance in Batman Adventures #12, an all ages comic book, by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm. What surprises me is that I was made to feel sympathy for the Joker, a villain who I find very hard to like. I can't wait to see the transformation of Doctor Quinzel into Harley Quinn in next issue's conclusion.

 Silver Surfer Black #5 - Donny Cates (writer) Tradd Moore (art) Dave Stewart (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Wow, this 5-issue cosmic awakening is mind-blowingly epic. The Silver Surfer makes the ultimate sacrifice in his battle with Knull, God of Darkness. How Norrin Radd emerges from this fight makes for a major change to this iconic hero. My fervent wish is for this to lead to a new regular series written by Donny Cates. Artist Tradd Moore's close collaboration with this story is obvious in how well his images coalesced with the captions in each panel. I loved all the different ways that he drew the Silver Surfer. I was in awe just flipping through the pages marvelling at the colours and images. You will see that Silver Surfer Black is the perfect title for this story. Buy it when it comes out in book form if you didn't get this mini.

[180abroad]

Day 34: To Florence (Highs and Lows)

Florence was my favorite stop on my Mediterranean cruise twelve years ago, so I really wanted our time here to be amazing. And after a rocky first hour or so, it was.

But first, a car show!

As we were leaving Assisi, we saw that a classic car show had sprung up in the main town square. So of course we had to stop and admire for a minute or two.

We reached the station a little over an hour before our train. We had a great time talking while we waited. It’s funny how easily that switch can flip from one side to the other...

When we got to Florence, we were sucker-punched with a burst of chaos. It was hot, crowded, and all the streets were torn up for an ongoing project to install a tram service. It was a 30-minute walk from the station to our apartment, and I knew that Jessica was still having some ankle pain from walking on the hard Roman cobbled streets. I wasn’t exactly 100 percent either, so we went ahead and found a place to buy bus tickets before we left the station.

But because of the road mess, we couldn’t find where the bus we needed was stopping. We tried asking the man at the bus counter, but he either didn’t speak English or just didn’t want to talk to us. A woman at another counter confirmed that our bus wasn’t stopping at the normal spot, but she didn’t know where it was stopping now.

Unsure what to do, we wandered around the train station and down the block, looking to see where the bus might be stopping. We found stops for other buses, but not the one we needed.

I was getting frustrated and wishing that we could have just walked to begin with, and it seemed to me that Jessica was rapidly getting frustrated as well. It turns out that Jessica would have been happy to give up on the bus at this point and walk to our flat. So despite us both wanting to just walk to our flat, we each soldiered on thinking that we were going along with what the other wanted.

And unfortunately, we apparently both looked more frustrated than we felt. Despite both of us swearing after the fact that we were still feeling calm at this point, we each thought that the other was about to blow up.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before we started bickering. And as the bickering rapidly crescendoed--I hate to admit it, but it’s true--I smacked her. It was on the arm, and not hard enough to hurt, but it was deliberate and in anger. I was and am ashamed of doing it; it is an unacceptable childhood tantrum instinct that still comes out on rare occasions when I am extraordinarily frustrated and angry.

That cast a rather heavy pall on the rest of our walk to the apartment.

Of course, once we got to the apartment, we learned that it only had one bed, not the advertised two. Oh, the irony. At least we had learned on our first night in Rome that it was possible for us to split a double bed between the two of us. And this almost certainly wouldn’t be the last time.

If there’s a silver lining to our quick tempers, it’s that we’re equally quick to calm down and reconcile. We realized that we had been acting out of frustration and misunderstanding, not out of malice or deliberate childishness. Since leaving Seville, it seems like things always become difficult when buses get involved.

As Jessica put it, when we try to take the bus, things go off the rails.

Our argument put behind us, we went out to the nearby supermarket to pick up some food and stock our amusingly tiny kitchenette. Jessica whipped us up a delicious meal of fresh ravioli, red sauce, and shrimp (along with a very tasty Italian pinot grigio), and we decided to make the most of the remaining daylight and go for a stroll around the city.

We liked it so much that we’ve tried to make it a ritual whenever we can for our first night in a new city.

We crossed back over the iconic store-lined Ponte Vecchio and up the main drag to the Piazza della Signoria, the square that holds the iconic Palazzo Vecchio--a fortress-like palace that has served as the political heart of the city since the 13th century.

But my favorite thing in this square is the nearby Logia--a raised arcade where the Medici family would show off the highlights of their massive sculpture collection. The arcade is still open to the public and still holds real ancient sculptures--not replicas!--many of which you’ve probably seen before in pictures or textbooks.

After basking in the historic and artistic awe, we continued up the main drag to the Duomo--Florence’s skyline-dominating, marble-draped, domed cathedral. Freshly cleaned, it shone bright white, green, and pink in the setting sun.

The dome of the Duomo is particularly significant. When it was completed in the mid-15th century, it was the largest dome ever built, dwarfing even that of the Pantheon in Rome, whose lost construction techniques had baffled builders for centuries. It came to be seen as a symbol that humanity was capable of not just recreating Roman achievements but of surpassing them.

Standing outside the Duomo, we realized that we were standing at the epicenter of the Italian Rennaisance and--thus--much of modern civilization. Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome may be the world’s most opulent cathedral, but to me, Florence’s Duomo is unquestionably the most beautiful and impressive.

Not wanting to push ourselves too far on what was supposed to be a rest day, we meandered our way back to our flat for an early night.

Next Post: Florence (or, The One with All the Art…and Tombs)

Last Post: Assisi

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Fantastic Florence

The Florence Dairies

 Florence is popular for a reason – it’s spectacular.

I am going to start off this post with one of my favourite quotes about Italy, you know, because there are so many to choose from.

“A man who has not been in Italy, is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see.” -Samuel Johnson

What is the root of this romantic, mysterious fascination with Italy, and why is Samuel Johnson so spot on – if you haven’t been to Italy, you haven’t been anywhere. Be embarrassed.

To say that Italy is magnificent is a massive understatement, and there is a very good reason why the Big 3 – Rome, Florence and Venice. They are beautiful. They are cultural, historical, and every other relative adjective you could possibly come up with. Italy has earned its fame.

This is my collection of observations on what it’s living in Italy. And that’s where The Florence Diaries begin…

Florence is the most accessible and walk able of the main cities in Italy.

One of the most asked question from me is “What’s the best way to spend one day in Florence? My first answer is always “Spend more than one day in Florence” – in fact, I recommend spending at least three days in Florence to really soak in the Renaissance charm of this city. However, we also know that a lot of people just don’t have that amount of time. So here I am sharing few tips for you to cover the most of Florence in a limited time period.

Plan Ahead: This seems basic but we can’t emphasize it enough. If you know you only have one day in Florence, you’ll need to take advantage of the amount of time you do have. The only way to do that is by having a bomb-proof plan for getting in, getting out, and which of the Florence attractions you really want to see. 

The Must-see things and places in Florence:

Santa Maria del Fiore:

This is one of the most famous cathedrals in Italy due in large part to its dome – the largest in the world from when it was built in 1431 until 1888. 

The dome climb is one of the more popular attractions in Florence but in high season the line can stretch to over 2 hours.

If you’ve never been before and only have one day in Florence you should at least walk around the outside of the cathedral to get a feel for its immensity and see the Gates of Heaven. 

There are so many restaurants , cafes and bars with the spectacular view of the central dome , so chill here along side the amazing view and a glass of amazing Italian wine .

The Boboli and Bardini Gardens

A city like Florence, well known for its amazing art collections, monumental architecture and rich historic past can sometimes have you forget about the natural beauty that abounds in the form of well-maintained gardens and parks.

The magical silence and stunning architecture in the Bardini Gardens seems to get lost in the crowd of places to visit while in Florence.

You might find yourself looking for a green area or a picturesque garden gate, however, when you enter from here you go first into a building where you will find the ticket office, and then take an elevator up to the gardens. The entrance walk into the gardens will have Florence to your back, and if you turn around you will have a view over the red terracotta rooftops and the Arno River.

Undoubtedly the most scenic part of the garden remains the great Baroque staircase and the Wisteria Tunnel, both of which lead to the Kaffeehaus and restaurant. 

Ponte Vecchio- The Everlasting Symbol of Florence

The Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge)  is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmentalarch bridge over the Arno River noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. 

Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewellers, art dealers and souvenir sellers. 

It's certainly an interesting bridge. Full of old fashioned shops, this bridge is famous is Florence. Take some time to cross this one, as it can lead you to an awesome Pitti palace on the other side of the river and a beautiful district!

Pitti Palace (Palazzo Pitti)

The palace, which houses several important museums, was built in the second half of the 15th century and the palace still bears the name of its first owner, the Florentine banker Luca Pitti.

Now it is the largest museum complex in Florence and today the Palace is divided into four museums: the Treasury of the Grand Dukes on the ground floor, the Palatine Gallery and the Royal Apartments on the first floor, the Modern Art Gallery and the Museum of Costume and Fashion on the second floor.

Following are some information which you require at your next visit :

Opening days

From Tuesday  to Sunday

Opening hours

08.15 am -  6.50 pm

Closed on

Mondays 1 January, 1  May, 25 December

Piazza della Signoria- The historical centre of Florence

Piazza della Signoria has pride of place as the historical, political, and emotional heart of Florence.  

The Piazza della Signoria is Florence's primary meeting place for both locals and tourists. Several concerts, fairs, and rallies are held in the Piazza Della Signoria throughout the year.

Numerous statues designed by some of the most famous Florentine artists decorate the square. The most famous of the piazza's sculptures is a copy of Michelangelo's David (the original is in the ​Accademia), which stands to watch outside the Palazzo Vecchio.Other must-see sculptures on the square include Baccio Bandinelli's Heracles and Cacus, two statues by Giambologna - the equestrian statue of Grand Duke Cosimo I and Rape of a Sabine – and Cellini's Perseus and Medusa.

 The SUNSET of Florence :

Dusk is an important time in the life of an Italian city. In Florence, you have a couple of great options for enjoying the end of the day – the first and most traditional is to find your nearest wine bar and settle in for an aperativo or pre-dinner drink, usually accompanied by some small plates. 

If you have a bit more energy, head to the Oltrarno. After passing over the beautiful and historic Ponte Vecchio get ready for a 20-30 minute hike up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo, where the wonderfully-scenic Basilica di San Miniato sits. Be sure to get there before it closes so you can peek inside. Then watch the sunset from the best view of Florence in the whole city. It’s the perfect to end to an eventful day of exploring.

The Bronze Pig of Florence

Porcellino, as the Italians call him, means “the little pig”. However the bronze porker sitting at the side of the New Market (Mercato Nuovo) is really a wild boar, or cinghiale in Italian. 

He supposedly brings good luck when visitors rub his snout and put a coin in his mouth. If the water washes the coin from the pig’s mouth and it falls into the grate below, you will have good luck and you will be sure to return to Florence. If not, try again. The coins are used to support an orphanage. 

So my friends , here I have tried to tell you my experience from Florence in a very compact version. “Trust me its worth it “  I must say the person who haven’t seen Italy in its lifetime is lacking on a bigger and ultimate experience of life.

 I wish you all good luck and wish that all of you will visit this amazing country soon and will create a count of experience .

Just remember do not forget to write me your experience about this beautiful city and in case any support you need from my end , contact me through any of my social media.

 Yours Richa Gujaria

[2peasinapodme-blog]

Part Due: The riches of the Montepulciano Region

“In vino veritas.” (In wine there is truth.) – Pliny, the Elder, 23-79 A.D.

     Italy, though smaller in size than France or California, is actually the world’s largest wine-producing country and one of the oldest, dating back to Etruscan times (from which the name ‘Tuscany’ is derived). With 20 wine regions stretching from its north to south end, Italy also offers the most variety of wines. Looking closely at the center of the map below, you will notice the large pale blue area (Tuscany) that makes up a good portion of Italy’s central wine-producing region. Within that area, many of the most notable wines come from the world-renowned Chianti and Montepulciano regions, where the climate and soil conditions seem to be ideally suited to growing the Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes for which the region is lauded.

     If you read Part One of this post, you will recall that our 12-day tour of Italy was broken down into 3 distinct regions. The first, the Chianti region, is located in the northernmost part of Tuscany, just south of Florence. (If you missed that post and would like to read more about the beautiful Chianti region, including Radda, Volpaia, San Gimignano and more, please click here.) For Part Two, we travel slightly south to the famous Montepulciano region, another of Italy’s renowned wine-producing territories.

     Rising early on day 4, we were anxious to begin the second leg of our journey, starting with the hilltop town of Montepulciano — from which the surrounding wine region takes its name — and then on to our second lodging — a private medieval tower in the tiny hamlet of Monticchiello.

     The drive to Montepulciano from Radda in Chianti is a quick hour and a quarter on the autostrade.  A couple of important things to note about driving in Italy: 1) a good GPS is a must — preload it with maps of Italy before you go; and 2) Italian drivers are quite a bit more aggressive than American drivers. They drive faster, and they have a tendency to tailgate…a lot. 3) The unspoken rule about driving on the autostrade is that you never linger in the fast lane, as drivers tend to do in America. The left lane is for passing only. Once you have overtaken the car ahead of you, you must return to the right lane immediately to allow others to pass. And if you don’t comply, other drivers aren’t afraid to remind you by attaching themselves to your back bumper (refer to tip #2). Take my word for it, and just stick to the right lane unless you are passing.

     After exiting the autostrade, we arrived at the outskirts of Montepulciano to find traffic backed up for at least a mile from the centro vecchio (old center) and the polizia turning cars away. It wasn’t clear why traffic was being rerouted, but we opted to follow the other cars that were veering off the main road and parking along the side streets. We  were quite a distance from the old town center, but we had comfortable shoes and embraced the opportunity to walk off a tiny bit of the food that we had been storing up in our ever-increasing bellies, like camels amassing water for a long desert journey.

     As we approached the city gates, we realized that the traffic was the result of a large festival with dozens of vendors selling a variety of wares and food items along the streets and piazzas. Little did we know that May 1st is a national holiday, “Festa dei Lavoratori” (Italian Labor Day), so locals from all around the region had come to Montepulciano for a day of eating, drinking and festivities. Aside from the inconvenience of the expanded crowds and traffic, it was wonderful to see local families out in full force, celebrating their much-deserved day off.

     On any given day, Montepulciano is a must-see destination. A beautifully preserved medieval city, it is much larger than others we had visited on this trip, but no less charming as a result of its grander scale. In fact, with its winding cobblestone streets, narrow passageways and grand piazzas, it oozes old world charm. And because it caters to locals as well as tourists, it has many shops of substance selling lovely local products, as well as innumerable restaurants and cafes.

     With all of the festivities and extra foot traffic, we were extremely glad that we had an advance reservation for lunch at L’Altro Cantuccio Ristorante. The entrance to L’Altro Cantuccio is hidden down a tiny alley off of the main artery, Via di Gracciano del Corso. It’s easy to miss, but you won’t want to. This was one of the best meals we had during our 10 days in Tuscany. If the artichoke flan (bottom left) is on the menu, grab it. It’s light, airy and simply packed with flavor, especially when paired with the local white wine, Papeo Vermentino Reserva, which is creamy and well-balanced. When in Tuscany, Mike always likes to order the pici whenever he gets the chance, and this was no exception. Pici, similar to bucatini but without the hole, is a regional pasta variation and typically found only in Tuscany. Featuring a delicious wild boar ragu and fresh fava beans (in season in May), his pasta was quite impressive. But the winning dish was without question the hand-made tonnarelli, a regional hand-pulled pasta, flavored with local Nobile de Montepulciano wine and paired with bacon, zucchini and pecorino (below).

     The complexity and originality of this dish was beyond words. There are many things that Tuscans do extremely well — the obvious pasta, wine and cheese, come quickly to mind — but right up there at the top of the list is the production of top-quality pork products, especially cured meats such as prosciutto, salami, and bacon. I don’t know what they do to make their bacon so darn good, but it was by and far the best I’ve ever had. So good, in fact, that it warranted its own photo (below) to illustrate its inherent beauty. Look at that perfect marbleization and the seductively translucent ribbon of fat.

     After a truly inspired meal at L’Altro Cantuccio, we wandered around Montepulciano, casually enjoying the sights and some shopping. You could easily spend an entire day in Montepulciano, so plan accordingly. But be warned that the streets are extremely steep, so it’s not for the faint of heart. On a hot summer day, the trek up to the main piazza atop town (below) can be pretty grueling, especially if you’re traveling with small children.

     Before we knew it, it was time to work our way back to our car (this time thankfully downhill!) and head off for the neighboring village of Monticchiello, just a 10-minute drive, where we would find our lodging for the next three nights — our own private medieval tower (‘torre’) nestled into the ancient stone wall that surrounds the town.

La Torre di Carlo (center) at the very top of the village of Monticchiello.

    We were met in the parking lot just outside of the main entrance to the village by Giusi, the charming son of the owner of La Torre di Carlo. Since visitors are not allowed to drive into the village, Guisi graciously transferred all of our belongings into his car and drove us up through frightfully narrow cobblestone streets to the highest point in the village, where La Torre affords a spectacular 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside.

La Torre di Carlo, Monticchiello

     The unabashedly enchanting, La Torre di Carlo is the perfect nest for two guests. Despite being centuries old and part of the town’s medieval fortifications, it has been aptly updated with all the modern conveniences and very attractive decor. A soaring spiral staircase starts in the compact, but sufficient ground floor kitchen and leads first to the second floor sitting area with expansive views of the village and valley below. One more flight up and you find the snug but inviting bedroom (bottom left), also with panoramic views, and then on to the top floor and the remarkably modern bathroom, featuring a stunning view of the neighboring town of Pienza from the peek-a-boo window in the shower.

     From the bedroom’s massive picture window, we soaked up the bird’s-eye view of the lush, sun-dappled terrain — as well as the spires and towers of the opposing hilltop town of Pienza, once the feudal enemy of Montecchiello — and for miles and miles beyond.

View from La Torre di Carlo

     Even on a rainy day, the view of the countryside from the tower is astoundingly beautiful…

     The sun setting behind Pienza illuminates the velvety fields, creates long, imposing shadows from the region’s indigenous cypress trees…

     Torre di Carlo’s vine-covered terrace is the perfect place to take in the sunset with a bottle of local Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

     Among the innumerable charms of Monticchiello, and really all of the Tuscan villages, is the peaceful aura that settles over the town after the last of the tour buses has departed at the end of the day.  Suddenly, as if all at once, you experience a distinct sense of calm and feel incredibly lucky to be left behind as evening casts its shadows over the village. You become mesmerized by the precious silence, broken only by the sound of chirping birds or the toll of the village bell tower. That’s when I really like to explore a town and capture the nuances of its innate beauty with my camera. Of course, I do realize that Mike and I ourselves are also tourists, covetously infiltrating the centuries-old town that others are lucky enough to call home, but as we are comfortably settled on the inviting terrace of our private medieval tower, we feel a tranquil sense of belonging.

[Side note: From my experiences, the most unforgettable place to be after hours is the town of Assisi. After all of the tourists have left for the day, the town fills with the ethereal sound of the monks’ low, droning chants as they make their way to evening prayers. If you choose to visit Assisi, I highly recommend you plan to stay overnight. It is a completely different, and utterly magical experience than the one you will find if you visit during the day alongside thousands of other tourists.]

  La Cantina de la Porta, Monticchiello

Despite being such a tiny enclave, Monticchiello has a few surprisingly impressive restaurants, two of which — La Cantina de la Porta and Osteria La Porta — are run by the same owners, yet maintain very distinct personas in ambiance and menu offerings. The first night we arrived in Monticchiello, despite the rain, we decided to amble down the hill to La Cantina de la Porta (everything in Monticchiello is no more than a 5-minute walk). The more contemporary of the two, the newly renovated La Cantina (right) is refreshing and light-filled, accented with pale wood furniture and a giant clock face displayed on a multi-hued egg crate-covered wall. Their antipasti platter — all sourced locally — was divine, especially the finocchiona (salami with fennel seed), as was the house-made ravioli. Their extensive wine list proved to be too tempting for our indecisive sensibilities, so we ultimately ordered two bottles — one of the region’s renowned Brunellos for Mike and the Antinori “Bramito” chardonnay for me. After dinner, our server graciously re-corked what remained of the wines to ease transport back to La Torre for a later date.

     In the morning, we anxiously awoke and threw open the floor-to-ceiling drapes to discover that the rains had moved on and had been replaced with low misty wisps of clouds dipping down between the rolling, green hills — a magical scene to be sure. With a full day ahead of us, we were quick to rise and set off to begin our circular tour of southern Tuscany.

View from La Torre di Carlo, Monticchiello

     In advance of our Italian journey, Mike had completed extensive research to determine the very best route that would allow us to see as much as possible without spending extended amounts of time in the car. Let me reiterate that a good GPS is essential when navigating these country roads where a missed turn can get you way off track and off schedule. Here is the itinerary he created (red route, counterclockwise starting and ending in Monticchiello):

     First stop, Pienza — the opposing hilltop village that we could see from La Torre — where we would find a cafe to grab a quick breakfast and review our route for the day.

Village of Pienza, in Tuscany, Italy

Arriving early in Pienza, we found convenient parking just outside of town (like most Tuscan towns, Pienza is pedestrian only) and walked directly to the piazza centrale by the town’s main church to seek out a coffee shop. We soon discovered that we were not the only ones with that idea; however, we were the only tourists among many locals. In Italy, everyone sits and enjoys their coffee over conversation with friends or opts to stand at the coffee bar to sip and chat, but no one…repeat no one…takes their coffee to go. In fact, the American practice of walking around with coffee in hand is considered gauche, uncivilized and, well, American. So, when in Italy, Mike and I fully embrace their custom of sitting, sipping coffee and enjoying the parade of passers-by…and the piazza centrale in Pienza is a perfect locale for people-watching. Stylish ladies with high heels and colorful hair (Italian ladies seem to love rainbow hues) walked their dogs, while their husbands ventured inside to order cappuccinos and croissants. Back out on the sun-warmed terrace facing the cathedral, they passed the morning with coffee and chiacchierare (chatting).

     After our very satisfying morning repast (why, why, why is Italian coffee so darn good?!!), we wandered through the town of Pienza, a truly charming enclave which still brandishes its medieval past with aplomb. Pienza is not a large town and can be covered in less than an hour, but be sure not to miss the lovely pedestrian pathway behind the cathedral which offers remarkable views of the surrounding countryside (bottom).

View from the town of Pienza, Italy

     In order to complete our circular route by late afternoon, it was time to get on the road towards our next stop: San Quirico d’Orcia. A mere 15-minute drive from Pienza, San Quirico d’Orcia is another small Tuscan town worth a stop, if you have the time. Spend a half hour or so wandering around the town, stopping at the lovely Romanesque church, below (where you may find a painting class in progress, as we did), and plan to browse a bit on the colorful shopping and dining street, Via Diomede Leoni (right). As we departed, Mike and I both agreed that San Quirico is the type of town that we could actually live in, should we ever be lucky enough to relocate to Italy — it’s large enough to possess the fundamental infrastructural elements one needs, yet still small enough, and utterly charming enough, to make you feel every bit of its centuries-old history.

     Back on the road, we were heading to our third stop, the historic, fortress-guarded town of Montalcino, most notable for its world-famous wine, Brunello di Montalcino. We started with a brief visit to the 14th-century fortress which is, naturally, entered through the rustic wine shop and enoteca (wine bar). Purchase your tickets at the bar, and they will pull back the velvet rope to allow you access to the steep wooden staircase leading to the fortress anterooms. Look for a niche carved into the stone wall of the back room to locate the hidden staircase (very narrow!) up to the parapets. From there, you are rewarded for your efforts with an outstanding view over the distinctive red tiled rooftops of the town and the vast surrounding region (below).

View from the fortress in Montalcino, Italy

     Return down the same way you came up and consider pausing for a glass of wine at the outdoor cafe, attractively situated within the fortress walls. Or continue on to the center of town where you will find many good wine bars, tasting rooms and restaurants from which to choose. To pinpoint the center of Montalcino’s main shopping and dining area, just look up to locate the tall bell tower (below and above) which will lead you to the bustling Piazza del Popolo.

Piazza del Popolo, Montalcino, Italy

     If you’re particularly hungry, you can select from one of the many restaurants on the piazza that offers outdoor seating (some also offer valley views from their interior restaurant areas). But my suggestion would be to wait for lunch (see below) and simply sit, sip one of the region’s wonderful wines and take in the picture-perfect scenery. As you work your way back to your car, stock up at one of the many wine shops or stop into the leather goods store on Via Panfilo dell’Oca for fine leather products — purses, belts, jackets, etc. — at reasonable prices. (Note: many shops close by 1:00 pm.)

     For lunch, I recommend one of two options: 1) You might consider a stopover at the Fattoria dei Barbi winery on your way out of town. They offer free winery tours and have a wonderful restaurant and cantina. OR 2) Procure picnic food items (wine, cheeses, salumi, bread) in one of the many shops in Montalcino and head straight for Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, the next stop on our circular tour, and just 9 km (5.5 miles) away.

     Situated in a tranquil valley surrounded by terraced vineyards and rolling hills, Abbazia di Sant’Antimo is the perfect picnic destination. The idyllic, protected site was originally occupied by a Benedictine monastery, said to date back to Charlemagne’s time in the 9th century. The existing Romanesque Abbey can be documented back to 1118, a date that can be found inscribed into the altar step. “This was the period of greatest power of the abbey, which had authority over 38 churches, from Pisa to Grosseto, and control of about 1000 mansi, or farm estates, throughout Tuscany. The most important possession of the abbey was the castle of Montalcino, which was the residence of the abbot.” [Wikipedia] Over time, Sant’Antimo lost power to Montalcino and the abbey was abandoned and eventually fell into a state of disrepair. In the 1870s, the Italian state restored it to its original grandeur, and today you can once again hear the melodious chants echoing throughout the imposing stone walls, as the current monks in residence recite their daily canons.

Abbazia di Sant’Antimo

     The sprawling grounds of the Abbey make the perfect location for a picnic or an afternoon siesta in the sun. Be sure to walk around and admire the towering Cyprus trees and the gnarly, centuries-old olive trees scattered around the grounds.

Ancient olive tree on the grounds of Abbazia de Sant’Antimo

Tuscan olive tree

Detail of olive tree

     After enjoying a little down time at Abbazia di Sant’Antimo’s serene surroundings, it’s time to head out once again for the 5th and final stop on our tour. (Note: there are many other worthwhile villages to see on this circular route, including Castelnuovo dell’Abate and Castiglione d’Orcia, but for time’s sake, Mike selected only five stops so that we could make the most of each visit.) And be sure to factor in time to stop along the way to capture the astounding beauty of the region, such as this stunning golden carpet of flowering rape seed (used to make canola oil):

Field of flowering rape seed, Tuscany

     Continue south and east, approximately 14 miles from the Abbey, towards Poggio and Castiglione d’Orcia, until you reach Bagno Vignoni. As the name suggests, this was, and still is, the site of volcanically warmed thermal baths which date back to Roman times. Located along the main route that pilgrims traversed to reach Rome, weary travelers and those who suffered from a variety of ailments, would stop to take advantage of the restorative waters. Today, you can still see the ruins of the early Roman baths and saunas. Don’t miss the unique village square which is dominated by a large pool (below) that contains the source of the underground volcanic aquifer that feeds the baths.

Bagno Vignoni

Sculpture at Bagno Vignoni

Sculpture at Bagno Vignoni

     “Do as the Romans,” they say, so I didn’t waste the opportunity to soak my tired feet in the naturally warmed spring that runs through the village, a welcome respite at the end of a long day of touring. Temporarily revived, it was time to head back to Monticchiello and our cozy tower for a well-earned cocktail on the terrace.

     Our second night in Monticchiello, we decided to try the Cantina’s sister restaurant, Osteria La Porta, which had come highly recommended for the excellent quality of both its food and service. Located immediately inside the village’s main entry gate (right), the restaurant maintains an enviable position for attracting both tourists and locals. We had hoped to sit on the outdoor terrace, but the weather proved to be too cool that evening, so the terrace was closed. But not a problem, as the interior of the restaurant exudes coziness with its quintessentially Italian decor. High beamed ceilings give a sense of openness to an otherwise snug space, while walls covered with wine- and produce-laden cupboards add warmth and charm.

Interior of Osteria La Porta, Monticchiello

Asparagus Flan, Osteria La Porta

Tables are close enough to strike up a conversation with your neighbor, which we did eagerly, comparing notes on photography with the couple on one side, while learning quite a bit of useful information about the University of Wisconsin from the very affable mother-daughter duo on the other. The amiable owner, Daria, even joined in for much of the friendly chit chat, and all were happy to discuss the highlights of the menu, of which there were many. Mike and I started with the Insalata di Lingua (beef tongue salad) and a deliciously light and flavorful asparagus flan (right). The restaurant, and the region as a whole, is known for the characteristically Tuscan Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a plentiful T-bone or porterhouse steak, simply rubbed with salt and pepper, and grilled rare (don’t ask for it otherwise). Unless you have an extremely hardy American appetite, it is intended to be shared between two people. We ordered it in the traditional Tuscan way, accompanied by a side of lemon-infused cannellini (white) beans and an arugula salad. As usual, the cut was so plentiful that the two of us together barely made a dent. Daria graciously prepared a “doggie bag’ for us which we gladly took back to La Torre for the following night’s dinner alla casa.

Bistecca alla fiorentina, Osteria La Porta

Amaretti Bagnati nel Caffe, Osteria La Porta

Normally, if I can’t finish my dinner, I pass on dessert, but in this case, I’m very glad I didn’t follow my own doctrine. I love a good tiramisu — who doesn’t?! — and I didn’t think that that sublime combination of flavors could ever be improved upon, BUT…that was before I met Osteria La Porta’s Amaretti Bagnati nel Caffe (right). This blissful blend of amaretti biscotti dipped in coffee and served with marscapone and chantilly cream is sheer perfection. Daria described the concoction’s simple preparation which I am determined to try next time I have guests over (and I will certainly share the results with you then).

     If you are lucky enough to visit Monticchiello during the warmer months, be sure to book ahead so you can secure a seat on their lovely outdoor terrace which is atop the town’s medieval wall and enjoys a spectacular view of the Val d’Orcia landscape below.

Terrace at Osteria La Porta

Terrace at Osteria La Porta, Monticchiello

     The following morning, we set off on another adventure of sorts. Truly, every day spent in Tuscany is an adventure — you never know what you will discover around the next bend or what surprises may lie ahead in the next town. But in this case, we really didn’t know what we would find when we arrived for our 10:00 am appointment at the curiosity known as La Scarzuola, located an hour and twenty minutes from Monticchiello, just beyond the town of Montegabbione in Umbria.

     About a week before leaving for Tuscany, I had thrown a figurative wrench in Mike’s tightly organized itinerary by telling him about a bizarre compound, a fantastical villa of sorts, that I had stumbled upon unexpectedly through social media. With some slight modifications, we were able to rearrange the plan to include a morning boondoggle to La Scarzuola (below).

La Scarzuola, Montegabbione, Italy

     Originally a Franciscan convent, founded by St. Francis of Assisi himself in 1218, the property is set in an isolated and serene landscape in the rolling Umbrian hills. From Monticchiello, we followed the autostrade south to the town of Fabro, where we began the windy route up towards the tiny hamlet of Montegabbione. Just past Montegabbione, we saw signage for La Scarzuola and followed the narrow, unpaved road for a couple of miles before reaching the compound’s imposing gates.

     Possibly because of its remote location, or perhaps due to a shift in religious power, the original monastery eventually fell out of favor and into ruin. In 1956, the remaining deteriorating structures and accompanying property were purchased by an eccentric Milan architect named Tomaso Buzzi. For two decades, Buzzi set out to carefully reconstruct the existing church, as well as create his own Utopian “city” on the sprawling grounds.

La Scarzuola

     Buzzi took inspiration from some of history’s most significant architects, artists and notable structures — from the Acropolis in Athens to the Coliseum in Rome, the Parthenon, the Pantheon, Villa d’Este and much more. His resulting “citta ideale” (ideal city) is an intriguing, yet inexplicable mash-up of famous facades (all empty inside) in miniature form, jumbled together as if one rambling assemblage of follies.  Somehow, from his semi-controlled madness arose a kind of disorderly Wonderland-esque order.

     Upon Buzzi’s death in 1981, the property was passed down to his nephew, Marco, who leads the Italian-speaking tours with great pomp and flair (his British partner, Brian, leads the English-speaking tours). We arrived a few minutes past our reservation time and found the gates already closed, so we tugged the pull-rope which clanged the old monastery bell, and eventually Brian arrived to allow us entry. After hearing our distinctly American accents, he informed us that the morning’s tour would be offered in Italian only (apparently my email correspondence in Italian was so convincing, they thought we were Italian). But since we had come such a long way, we agreed to follow the Italian-speaking tour regardless.

     With my limited Italian, I was able to understand only bits and pieces of Marco’s speed-talking dialogue, but it was apparent that he very much enjoyed the sound of his voice and was quite entertained by his own sense of humor, much more so than his guests, evidently, who at times appeared disinterested and a bit restless. However, despite the long-winded verbal accompaniment, Buzzi’s structures are most curious and amusing. The cacophany of architectural styles and designs are cleverly juxtaposed one next to another — an amphitheater, 6 additional theaters, a myriad of stairs leading to nowhere, a whimsical numberless clock, several Dali-esque decorative features and a larger-than-life nude, to name a few — which together create a surreal and slightly bizarre, yet fascinating, composite.

La Scarzuola

La Scarzuola

La Scarzuola

La Scarzuola

La Scarzuola

La Scarzuola

     If you plan to be in the region and don’t mind veering off the beaten path, I would say that La Scarzuola is definitely worth a visit (and I hear that Brian leads a witty and engaging English-speaking tour). However, being unable to sufficiently follow Marco’s rambling Italian discourse (and possibly being a bit distracted by the rumbling of our stomachs), we stealthily peeled away from the group and followed our imaginary breadcrumbs back to the entrance where we found our trusty car ready to transport us to our next destination: Lago Trasimeno in the province of Perugia (most notably associated with the world-famous Perugina brand of confections, including the familiar Baci “kisses,” which are prevalent everywhere from coffee shops to gas stations).

[Side note: If a visit to La Scarzuola seems too remote or simply doesn’t appeal, you might consider an alternate day trip to the province of Perugia that would include visits to Lago Trasimeno, the city of Perugia (tour the chocolate factory or take a confectionery class, perugina.com), and the unmistakably beautiful medieval town of Assisi.]

     A pretty little lake, slightly smaller in size than its fashionable cousin, Lake Como, to the north, Lago Trasimeno is far less famous but not without its alluring qualities.

Lago Trasimeno

     We arrived at the charming, lakefront town of Castiglione del Lago just in time for lunch at the tiny enoteca L’Angelo del Buon Gustaio. Located right on the town’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, Via Vittorio Emanuele, it could easily be mistaken for a storefront, which it is, but it also serves admirable antipasti platters and fine wines.

     Owned by a congenial, young Italian couple, L’Angolo del Buon Gustaio (“The corner of good taste”) offers a very limited menu, but that doesn’t detract from its exceptional appeal one bit. Simply order the sharing plate and let Ricardo make the selections for you from their vast inventory of locally sourced meats and cheeses. Our masterpiece including a wide selection of outstanding and exotic cured meats — assorted salamis (including duck and deer), prosciutto, Parma ham, bresaola, etc. — a variety of aged pecorinos, a homemade quince paste and lovely fresh bread. A veritable feast for the eyes and the stomach!

Antipasti at L’Angolo del Buon Gustaio, Castiglione del Lago

     Before departing their company, we did a little shopping inside their pocket-sized store, where we picked up some local pici and a gorgeous prosciutto to bring home to our girls back in Chicago. With full bellies and delectable goodies in hand, we bid farewell to our lovely hosts and wandered through town to the fortress overlooking the lake. From there, we decided to head down to the lakefront park for a little siesta in the sun.

     Lake Trasimeno has three islands but only one — Isola Maggiore — that is inhabited. If you have the time, catch the ferry from Castiglione del Lago to Isola Maggiore and visit the tiny fishing village that dates back to the 14th century, as well as the 19th-century Guglielmi castle (currently closed for restoration but still a place of interest).

Lago Trasimeno

    With a 45-minute drive still ahead of us, in addition to a grocery stop to procure the necessary provisions for our evening meal alla casa, it was time to begin our return trip to Monticchiello. By the way, if you want to get a real taste for any foreign location, just visit a local grocery store. Mike and I always try to walk through a grocery, even if we don’t need to buy anything, just to see what interesting items we can find and what local shoppers are buying. Throughout our travels, we have discovered some good markets, some not-so-good ones, and some truly memorable ones; but regardless, I always find something of interest, and in this case, I unearthed gorgeous, hand-picked arugula and vibrant, fresh-from-the-vine fava beans.

     Once we were back at La Torre, we got right to work preparing our meal. Mike prepped the tomatoes, garlic and basil for the pici, while I started in on the fava beans. Shucking fava beans can be a time-consuming endeavor but made all the more palatable with a glass of wine and a stunning view (right). Fava beans have two shells that need to be removed in order to get to the bright green inner legume. First you must split open the soft outer pod to reach the interior beans, each of which is encased in a tightly sealed skin. It’s a labor of love to be sure, but completely worth it. Frozen fava beans are sometimes available, but I find that they don’t compare to fresh, so when in season, I gladly grab them and start shucking!

     Mike and I always love to work in the kitchen together, and this endeavor was no exception. Cooking in someone else’s kitchen with limited resources is not without its challenges, but complications aside, we had a ball whipping up our Tuscan meal in our Tuscan cucina!

    Inspired by the exquisite lunch we enjoyed two days prior at L’Altro Cantuccio in Montepulciano, we quickly blanched the fava beans and tossed them with some aged pecorino, a hefty squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of good EVOO to create a delicious salad for the spicy arugula. We topped the homemade pici with blistered cherry tomatoes to accompany the Bistecca alla Fiorentino that we had brought home from the previous night’s meal at Osteria La Porta. I’m not sure if it was the exceptional quality of the ingredients, the delicious local wine, the captivating company or the sublime ambience, but that was one truly enchanted evening!

     As with any home-cooked meal, however, there’s always some clean-up to do, so we tackled the dishes and turned in early to get a good night’s sleep — sadly our last at La Torre di Carlo — before setting off for Umbria first thing in the morning.

     I hope you have enjoyed this second installment and will stay tuned for Part Tre of our tour of central Italy. Next stop, the beautiful mountainous region of Umbria — from Orvieto to Spoleto — and then on to Rome. Hope to see you there…Ciao!

 This timeless travel post brought to you http://www.2peasinapod.online.

Tuscany’s Timeless Treasures Part Due: The riches of the Montepulciano Region “In vino veritas.” (In wine there is truth.)

[thegetawaydiary]

Day 22 | 23.06.17

FLORENCE, ITALY

- I had another terrible sleep, though this time I could blame it on other people. There is hardly any air conditioning, it is just a wall heater placed under the window so it in no way cools down the room; and the hostel is just generally noisy - you can hear other people walking around and closing doors. I know that’s just what happens in hostels but it just makes it so hard to get a good sleep. I had breakfast surrounded by asians (it seems to be a popular hostel for them), who chammed their food so bad and did the whole ahhhh things after each drink. Shit I get irritated easily but being tired and hot meant I wasn’t in the best mood. 

- I started my day by finally crossing the Ponte Vecchio, which I hadn’t yet done, and all of the shops along it just seem to sell jewellery, like super sparkling and glittering gold and diamonds. It was so so pretty to look at and in my head I was picking out all of the sparkly diamonds I would love if I was made of money/ had a million fingers to wear them all. 

- I made my way to the Palazzo Pitti and waited to get my ticket to the Boboli gardens which is a must do when in Florence. I stood there waiting for ages while all three servers just ignored me, drinking their coffee and chatting. Italians have the worst customer service skills. I found it annoying how at these tourist sights they do not give you a map or a pamphlet or any information (unless you pay for a tour, and even then you only get that stuff sometimes), and quite often there is no information around the sight. Most of the time walking around the gardens I didn’t know what I was looking at, and it would’ve been really great to know more of the history of the gardens. At one point I did imagine how the Medici family (who owned the Palazzo Pitti and Boboli gardens) would have strolled around the great gardens in their robes, it kind of blows my mind imaging that such a family lived here and walked where I walked. Walking around the Boboli gardens was very nice, but it was also very hot again and so it made it harder to appreciate it. After the gardens I got a gelato from a place across the road from the Palazzo Pitti and there was a hair in it :(

- I walked to Santa Maria del Carmine which is the home of the Brancacci chapel, and was something I was very excited to see. I ended up only being charged 4.50 euro but the girls in front of me who were probably around my age were charged 6 euro each, which I thought was the standard price, so I’m not sure why I got charged less. I was a bit confused and it must have shown on my face because the ticket lady asked me if I was alright, if everything was okay. Walking in to the chapel and turning around to see the frescoes was amaaaazing, it was really almost indescribable. After seeing these walls only in textbooks, powerpoint and the internet while studying them at both high school and university, seeing them in real life really was something else. I honestly could have cried, which is embarrassing but seeing the frescoes by Masolino, Massacio and Lippi with my own eyes, and being able to really appreciate the work was just such an amazing moment and something I will never forget. Sitting in the chapel in front of the work was very peaceful, though I did get up several times and take as many pictures as possible, but it was hard to get one of the whole chapel. It was definitely worth the 4.50 euro. I thought it was odd though that I wasn’t asked to cover my shoulders or knees, as I had come prepared for that and expected it, especially in such a special place. I ended up feeling a bit disrespectful. I went out and watched a short film about the church and the artwork, and then sat in the convent courtyard just feeling very happy and peaceful. 

- After spending a while there I made my way back to the hostel, stopping in at a supermarket on the way to buy some much needed fruit and some more plasters because the sandals that I got in Vernazza were rubbing the tops of my toes. I just had to hope that these ones would actually work because it seems that Europeans don’t know how to make good plasters. UPDATE: they’re shit too, they came unstuck.

- I went back to the hostel feeling burnt, because I had forgot to put sunscreen on this morning, and ready to have a chill time for the afternoon an try once again to catch up on posts (still failing), and also to figure out if I wanted to go to Venice tomorrow. The internet stopped working though so I didn’t get very far, and I was still undecided about venice. I headed out again to wander around the city and maybe get a polaroid of the Duomo if there was the really nice golden light again. I also wanted to head to a gelato place across the river that was recommended, so I went there and got chocolate and cheesecake flavour, which really was just boysenberry with the tiniest amount of biscuit crumb on top. it was nice, the chocolate was really good, but I think I’ll just stick to lemon. I probably should’ve bought actual dinner instead but I didn’t find any where I wanted to eat so I went back to the hostel hungry. On my way I got hit on by an old Italian man with the line “oh you dropped something... it was my heart”. I hate how the men here will make kissing noises when you pass them, it’s so gross. 

- I went back to the hostel to shower before the Russian girl spent an hour in there again, and tried to go to bed early again but didn’t get to sleep until after 12.

M

[samaroundtheworld]

Every country has its own cuisine. But within the country, even different regions have their own cuisine. Even though these are not the dishes one thinks of when thinking of Italian cuisine (usually pasta and pizza), these are part of it. 

On the picture on the top, there is a typical Italian breakfast that costs less than 2,50 euros. It is a cappuccino (although an espresso is way more common), with a cornetto al ciocolato. As you can see, the cappuccino does not look like Starbucks’ since it is way smaller, but more flavorful. Cornetti are my favorite pastries, i do not know why. They can be filled with chocolate, pistachio, creme, or jam-- the possibilities are endless! I guess they remind me of those late nights that my host sister’s boyfriend used to take us to a bakery and we would get one for 1 Euro, freshly made; we would get them and they would be warm, including the creme and ciocolatto. Anyway, the reason why I am bringing a “typical” colazione Italiana, is because it is completely different than the American, and even the Mexican, ones. In the US, we are so used to eggs and bacon, with toast and hash browns, while here they eat such a light but filling breakfast. When I came three years ago, it surprised me because I would eat two pieces of toast, one with nutella and one with cherry jam, with a cup of milk or espresso daily. Frankly, I never got tired of it after two weeks. It was a shocking thing that I went through, and I bet it was for a lot of my American classmates. 

On the picture in the middle, there is panino. We causally found this place after our classmates and profesoressa left us that “La Specola” (which is a Zoology and Natural Science Museum, here in Florence. It was truly amazing and interesting; many things were seen and learned) we wondered around. By “we” I mean Priscilla and Karina. We realized that we were hungry so we just started walking and at some point we ended up on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio. Not too far from it, we walked through a narrow alley where then we turned right to find a packed sandwich place called “Ino.” I have heard that if a place is packed, it means that the place must be good. I was not really craving a panino but the other girls were, so I decided to give it a try. Since the menu had many options--surprisingly-- I told the guy that was taking the orders that I did not know what to order and he told me not to worry about it that he will order for me. When I got my panino, I was surprised at how big it was! It could probably feed 2 people because it filled me up with only half of it. It had prosciutto crudo toscano, perocino fresco tapenade e pomodoro. It was really good, but too heavy for me. I am glad that the guy got me that one though, because I love prosciutto, but I never usually order it. I also ordered a glass of wine, but I did not enjoy it with the panino as much as I though I was going to, so I ended up not finishing it. 

Lastly, the picture on the bottom is the famous gelato. I have blogged about gelato before, but decided to blog about it again because it is that good. Every place I go, I keep liking it better and better. The flavors I got on this one were dark chocolate, coconut, and coffee. I feel like Italians take a lot of pride in their gelato (but honestly, just in anything they make). It may look like ice cream but it is not; gelato is so much more creamier and has so much more flavor-- natural flavor! There hasn’t been a time that I have eaten it and have tasted artificial flavors. I have eaten it almost daily and I regret nothing.When I went to Bari, it was November and December so there were not a lot of gelato places around and I probably only ate it once, that is why I am enjoying it so much this time around. 

I am a foodie at heart. I come from Houston and live in a really diverse part of the city where I get to try different types of food whenever I want. Thus, I am so excited to be trying different things here. I might even try something with mushrooms, even though I do not like mushrooms, just because I AM IN ITALY. I have been here for a week and honestly, it feels like time is flying by. I do not want to leave, I really don’t. There is so much to see and try, but not enough time. 

[sdwolfpup]

AO3 Tag Game

I was tagged by @nire-the-mithridatist!

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 129 works, of which 23 are vids. I'll try to answer these for fics only where I can.

2. what’s your current ao3 wordcount? 1,447,129 words. 1,237,505 of which have been since 2019. 😶

3. how many fandoms have you written for and what are they? I have 29 fandoms listed. The ones I've written for are: ASoIaF/Game of Thrones, due South, Z Nation, Hard Core Logo, Prison Break, Mass Effect: Andromeda, BSG, Dragon Age Inquisition, Slings & Arrows, Farscape, Friday Night Lights, SNL RPF, Sleepy Hollow, Firefly, and *technically* The OC and Supernatural and Political RPF in a crossover thing I wrote for Brynn once.

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos? Heart Full of Gasoline (1328 kudos)

Baby I Will (1026)

Go On (946)

Working 9 to 5 (765)

To be in your arms again (739)

All five of these are Jaime/Brienne fics. The first four are all modern AUs, the last one is my post-Game of Thrones season 8 fixit.

5. do you respond to comments? why or why not. I do! For chaptered fics I make it a personal requirement that I answer them before or immediately after I post a new chapter so I don't fall too behind. For one-shots I eventually get to them although sometimes it takes a while. I think I feel strongly about it because as someone who was primarily a vidder for most of my fannish life, comments were like gold nuggets. Every comment meant so much to me, and still does. One of the ways vidders tried to encourage comments was by expressing that gratitude via responding, and I think that sometimes helps on fics, too. For fics in small fandoms, I'm excited to find anyone who read the story and then took the time to comment. For a big (to me) fandom like JB, I'm grateful that people chose to read one of my stories when they had so many to choose from, and responding to comments is how I express that.

(All that being said, I totally understand why other people don't reply to comments, this is just why I do.)

6. what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Oddly, it's probably not the JB fic where it's the end of the world, but rather an ME:A fic I wrote from Reyes Vidal's POV after the confrontation with Sloane in the caves: If It Could Hurt Like That.

7. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve ever written? I do, although I don't tend to think that way. The craziest is probably the one I mentioned above that I wrote for Brynn, which was a Supernatural/The OC/Barack Obama fic. Although I also like the one where Vecchio & Fraser from due South go on Serenity from Firefly.

8. have you ever received hate on a fic? Technically I suppose yes, although it was so mild I don't like to call it 'hate.' Someone said on Working 9 to 5 that they weren't reading anymore once they hit the pegging. 🤷🏻‍♀️Which is fine, people shouldn't read what they don't like, but also, you can just leave without announcing it. (Especially when this person had never commented on the fic otherwise, lol.)

(Bonus shout out, though, to the person who left a comment on my candy cane dildo story that began: "What is it with the holidays and ass play stories?")

9. do you write smut? Yes. Heh.

10. have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of. That is a milestone I would be very happy never reaching.

11. have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! I've co-written a couple of things with @brynnmck and it's one of my favorite things to do. She's my OTWP (one true writing partner, hee).

12. what’s your all time favorite ship? Based on how long I've been shipping them and the sheer number of fics I've written, it's got to be Jaime/Brienne.

13. what was the first fandom you wrote for? The 10th Kingdom is the first fandom I ever posted fic in, although not on AO3. The first fandom I ever wrote any sort of story for, was Star Trek: the Next Generation, but it was only the beginning and I never finished or posted it.

14. what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I truly don't know how to answer this question. Overall probably Heart Full of Gasoline, because of the scope of it, and the fact that I'm still proud of how it turned out. But I think never far away might be my best pure story for emotions, and I've re-read my Fraser/Vecchio fic, Sign Language a bunch of times and it makes me happy every time.

IF they want to do it, I'm taggin @gabolange, @teatotally, @brynnmck, @robotsdance, and @firesign23 and any of you who want to do it please say I tagged you! Because I did spiritually.