Day 5 Monday
It is time to leave the Piedmont region. After another delicious breakfast, we say our goodbyes to Gloria and Antica casa Fiore, and we head back to Milano. Jessica is a student and has to attend class today. We decide to spend the night in Milano and drive through the Lake Como region on Tuesday, spending the night in Verona. Staying flexible this trip has been an effort for me. I would typically have had an agenda with all of the stops and sights planned out. But we wanted to include Jessica in as much as we could and do some of the things she would not otherwise have done. We were not sure if she would have more time during the week or even the weekend. On Saturday we must board our cruise ship in Civitavecchia. So today became a planning day. Over the weekend, Jessica found a flight out of Milan to Sardinia. She has wanted to visit the island too, so she will now join us in Sardinia on Sunday. This is our first stop on the return cruise home. Monday night we meet Jessica after class for aperativos and gellato.
Day 6 Tuesday
Goodbye Milano. No problems getting out of the city and north to Como. The town of Como is much more alpine than anything we have seen so far, although the Gothic medieval style is still prevalent. The route took us from the city of Como to Bellagio and then south down the other side of Lake Como to Lecco, and onto the autostrade to Verona. A busy, fun, but long day in the car.
The town of Bellagio is a highlight for me so far. We drove into the town, parked and walked around before settling on a cute outdoor patio restaurant for lunch. The sun was shining, and the lake was beautiful. We were truly on vacation. I would definitely return to this area to spend more time. The off-season is probably even better because it was not crowded at all.
The southern trip away from Lake Como was much less interesting, and the Autostrade to Verona was boring. We did not have a room booked for that night. I had emailed B&Bs on Monday night, assuming I would pick up internet service while we were in Bellagio and be able to confirm a reservation. But there was no free internet access in Bellagio. Even when we arrived in Verona, there were no responses from any of the Bed and Breakfasts that I had emailed. We park and walk around the center city of Verona tossing out ideas when we passed this little hotel and voila! They had a room and the price is right. It is small but very clean and with service that is excellent. Our Bellagio lunch sustained us that night, albeit with a bottle of Giuseppe’s wine from Piedmont.
Day 7 Wednesday Verona
What a gem of a city. Since Verona was not in any of the tentative agendas, I did not have much information on what we would see here. I knew it was the setting for Romeo and Juliet but there is so much more. We visited the medieval arena which is still used for theater productions in the summer time. The arena itself is in much better condition the Roman Coliseum.
After the arena we walked to a church which was being renovated, and then we visited Verona’s castle. Again, the history which is everywhere in this country begins to overwhelm. There is so much, and it is so old. We left Verona with a confirmed reservation for Thursday night in Siena and what we thought were good directions to a country farmhouse B&B in Tuscany. We had the reservations, but the directions were less definitive.
We were encouraged that the B&B’s web site was in English and the email reply from the owner was also in English. But when we called for better directions, the owner spoke only broken English. He was friendly and he tried hard to explain, but there was still a big gap between us. It was an adventure finding this place, but after three stops asking for directions we finally arrived at Casa Columbia in Sovicille, Italy. This is “Under the Tuscan Sun” land. The owner’s wife was present, and she spoke not a word of English.
Day 8 Thursday Sienna
Paul, our bed and breakfast host who speaks broken English, has given us an itinerary for today. We will first visit Monteriggioni, a walled village on the top of a hill that is in remarkable condition. Monteriggioni, first built in 1203, is encircled by high walls with fourteen fortified towers, built to guard the northern borders of Siena against invasion by the Florentine armies.
From Monteriggioni we travel to Castellina of Chianti. We have an appointment to meet with a wine shop owner and taste the local wines. As it is raining and cool we visit, taste, and elect to do lunch at a local trattoria. We have some of the best bruschetta, and a primo serving of ravioli, complimented by Chianti Classico. It makes me hungry again writing about it.
We left Castellina of Chianti and headed to Vagliagli, where Paul has set up a visit with a local Chianti producer. Unfortunately, the road to Vagliagli was closed. GPS again might have gotten us there another way. By the time we got back to the main road we were ready to head to Siena. The time was slipping away and there were a few highlights in Siena that I wanted to see.
We arrived in the town Centro, found free parking and walked to San Domenico. This is a barnlike Gothic church dedicated to Saint Catherine, Siena’s patron saint. Her preserved head is now kept in a gilded marble tabernacle on the altar. It is here that Steve sees and greets a fellow Toledoan – Renee Ellis. We were quietly walking through the church when he and another lady exchanged glances. She got up and the two of them laugh. Renee is an employee of O-I that Steve has known for years. She is in Italy with her parents and siblings and in Siena on a day trip from Florence where they are staying. The world is a small place.
We next visited the Siena Duomo, which is said to be one of the most spectacular in Italy. It is one of the most ornate I can remember. I am sure you could spend an entire day or more just looking at the details. Unfortunately we did little more than a walk through. I am getting to the point of overload on history. It is almost overwhelming to realize the life the people of these times must have led. I am glad to return to my bed and breakfast and go to dinner.
