Vino, vino, Vino

It has been quite awhile since my last post, because it has been difficult to find wi-fi in Italy. I drove the car down the autobahn from Munich until we stopped for lunch after crossing the border from Austria to Italy. It was an amazing drive through the Alps (at 90+ mph; we are supposed to keep it under 100 the first 1500 miles while the engine is broken in), just breathtaking. Then Jason took over and boy am I glad; it was crazy in Genoa trying to drive in town with virtually no road signs to guide us (the GPS on the car quit working for a time due to a corruption of the disk Jason copied), scooters driving all around any space they can fit, cars jockeying for position, and cars randomly parked on the side of the road. I was really stressed just sitting and observing, I don't think I would have done well driving!

We found Drew and our room and spent a couple of days exploring Genoa which had all these little alleys (they call them streets), colorful building facades, lots of graffiti (all over Italy which is very sad), great wine and friendly people. The best part was a ferry we took from the harbor to the north end of town - really pretty!

Next was Cinque Terra. Absolutely magnifico! It is a string of 5 small towns on the Meditteranean, each with a unique character, that are accessed only by foot or train. Even though it was in the middle of the week and not quite the high-season, it really felt crowded. I would steer clear of it in summer. But these towns were situated either down on the beach (fishing industry) or perched up on a cliff face where they terraced the hillsides for agriculture similar to pics I have seen of Japan. Jason and I hiked between 2 of the villages (whew!) but stuck to the train the rest of the time. Very much recommended!!!

After staying an extra day in CT we moved on to Tuscany. We are currently staying just south of Siena and it is very lovely rolling hills of wheat and grapes. The wine has been fantastic, the food incredible, and our B&B hosts like family. Yesterday we toured the property which is over 1000 acres and then did some wine tasting. In the evening we took a "cooking class" and made dinner - spinach & ricotta ravioli, stuffed veal rolls, veggies and tiramisu. It actually turned out really, really good (though it was hard work and that probably helped the taste appreciation). Except for his allergies kicking in, it was probably Jason's most perfect day yet.

Today we will tour a bit more around the area, looking for wineries and maybe go through Siena. Tomorrow the boys head to Rome and I will continue roaming the countryside and meet up with them in a couple of days in Verona.