More climbing, part deux

Well, for some reason I couldn't continue with the last post, so will continue here.

More photos...

The ceiling in the library in the Duomo.

Man working...on a tiny corner of the floor of the Duomo.

At the top of the 'panoramic' view tower...just parallel to the Duomo's bell tower (can't climb that).  Lots o' steps to get up here as well.

The view of Siena from the top of the panoramic view tower

The warning at the top

Heading back down the narrow winding stairs

While riding an escalator (more correctly, a series of escalators) to get down 1 hill in Siena, we saw this bicyclist ride his bike onto the escalator and hold on as he went up the steep hill.

Where we need to go...

How we're going to get there...

Well, we discovered as we were returning to our car that Siena is basically 2 really high peaks with a huge valley in between, so to return to our car we had to go down 1 peak and then up the other.  Good news is we found our car, figured out how to use the pay box to get out of the lot and returned to the Castel in time to give the 'Ferrari' back.  

A lovely lunch outside in such beautiful weather, we both read our books and enjoyed the view.  There is a sales meeting going on here this week for a car company called Lancia ~ seems quite swank.  So, there are about 65 folks here all looking very Italian and stylish and lots of fancy cars parked about the grounds.  

As Leah was in the spa in the 'wet zone' (the pool area), I was sitting in the courtyard and got wind of a wedding that was taking place this evening on the grounds.  The groom ~ a native of Finland, who lives in the US ~ was working with the wedding coordinator of the Castel and said they would be running a little late as 2 of their guests were lost and a 'piece of the bride's dress was left at the previous hotel!?!?!  They all seemed quite calm and in the end it went off without a hitch ~ although the 2 lost friends didn't arrive until after the ceremony was over.  As we were eating dinner tonight, their small wedding party was seated across from us and seemed to be having a great time!!  Congrats!!

Well, our time in Italy is coming to a close and it's been a fantastic adventure!!  I am so happy to have shared it with Leah and we have laughed our way through Italy with lots of memories to share!!

We are off tomorrow to London for 1 night and then will be back home on Thursday night!!

I am going leave you tonight with the sunset from our window...

 Ciao...

xoxo

Stacy 

Climbing our way through Italia...

Another gorgeous set of days here in Tuscany (Monday and Tuesday)!!  We keep commenting that someone must be painting the sky the most beautiful shades of blue each morning and cannot believe our good fortune (fortunato) with the weather during our time here in Italy.

Monday morning we got up (after a little alarm-setting snafu by me...forgot the time change...oops!!) and jumped in our 'Ferrari' ready to travel to Pisa, which is about 2 hours away slightly north and completely on the west side of Italy.  I set the GPS and we were off.  Leah did a spectacular job of driving and I have taken to calling her 'Mario' (as in Andretti) while she is driving as she has melded into the Italian way of traversing the highways and byways without a problem.  My job is basically 'to monitor the GPS' and to double-check it with one of the many mainly useless maps we have of Italy.  It is a very difficult thing to find a good map here in Italy, especially for driving, as nothing is labeled and the scale is quite off.  In any case, after nearly 2 hours of driving we exited the Autostrada (highway) and began traveling south toward Pisa.

We spotted the Leaning Tower as we approached the north end of Pisa and after a little bit of driving around and trying to get inside the 'wall' that surrounds the city (we couldn't), we found a parking space in a lot (somewhat sketch, but we figured we have full insurance on the car, so oh well...) and walked a little bit to the entrance to the old city.  We then 'ran the gauntlet' of vendors selling sunglasses (we were already wearing ours, so clearly were not in need of an additional pair), every manner of 'Pisa' wear and memorabilia (get your Leaning Tower lamps here folks!!) and behold...the Leaning Tower of Pisa!!!

And wow...does it really lean!!  So, we bought tickets for 1340 to climb the tower!  Because it was a Monday, the crowds were far less voluminous than would be on the weekends, so we were able to actually get tickets on-the-spot, which was great.  We also had to check our bags, as they do not allow any bags (only a camera) during the climb, due the narrowness toward the top.

Now I'll admit I was a bit nervous about climbing the tower, because both Leah's and my guide books warned that the spiral nature of the stairs can cause vertigo in some folks.  I believe they phrased it something like this...'It is a 10 minute climb (294 stairs) and 5 minutes are typically needed to recover from the vertigo-like feeling created by the winding stair cases and the tilting of the Tower.'  Hmm...should be interesting!?!?!

Well, we walked about for a while, did some tchotchke shopping, resisting the temptation to purchase all of the Pisa-gear available.  Then it was our time to climb.  As we were waiting in line, the previous group was coming out of the leaning front door and many of them we seeking a banister to hold to steady themselves.  Let's say my nervousness increased ever-so slightly.  But, Leah was super-excited...

Off, we and 38 of our closest friends, went.  We started climbing and you can totally feel the tilt of the Tower and the stairs are extremely well-worn with the footsteps of the many who have walked them before.  It was difficult to stay in the center of the step due to the lean, so it was easy to see why the indentations/wear-patterns were as they were.  I found very quickly that if I looked at the step just ahead of me, rather than trying to look way ahead and up, that I had no vertigo or feelings of weirdness.  We climbed for about 5 minutes or so and then were at the 5th 'level' of the Tower and all walked around the edge (railings were provided) in order to allow the traffic above us to descend, as the stairs got a little bit more narrow as we ascended (just a bit!!!).

Once the way was cleared, we all started to head upward again around and around with the steps more notably narrow.  We then ended up on the 7th level (I think there were 8 in total), which is 1 below the very top.  We had to walk around this level on some elevated steps and got to see the 4 bells located on this level (the Tower was built to be the bell tower for the adjacent church, because it had no tower).  Once we walked nearly all the way around this level our final set of stairs were upon us.  Now these were of the 'corkscrew' variety and pie-shaped and very narrow.  Once we arrived at the top, the payoff was pretty cool...

The Basilica...a view from the top of the Tower

I held my camera parallel to the ground and snapped it.  The level below is the 7th level...one before the top.  Seems kind of high!?!?

On our way up the stairs...

The stairs...look at the wear on them

At the 1st stopping point...about 5 stories up.

Going toward the top...look at the stairs

Coming out at the top...from the most narrow stairway

We made it to the top!!

Going back down...

It was a pretty cool sight to see, although (as we had been warned) Pisa itself is a bit dumpy, but to be able to climb the Tower was super-fun!!  We were taking photos and a couple offered to take a photo of us if we would take a photo of them.  They were from Rhode Island.  We all remarked at the coolness of this climb and talked about our travels.  As we were getting ready to do our descent (we were the last ones in line), we were talking about where we had been/were going and we both commented that after Pisa we were going to Lucca, which is not too far away.  So, we said, "See you there," and began our descent.

Surprisingly, coming down was a little more difficult than ascending.  The angle of the Tower + the angle of the steps + varying step lengths/depths made it a little more challenging for our balance, etc.  So, now I understand why the folks came out looking a little off-kilter.  I get it now!!

Well, we again 'ran the gauntlet' of vendors, walked to our car (thankfully it was still there and fully intact) and then we headed off to Lucca.  Lucca (pronounced "Luka") is a city in the western part of Tuscany that was for a time occupied by France, specifically Napoleon's sister, Elisa.  So, it has both French and Italian influences in its layout and architecture.

We found it with no problem, but with the crappy map from which I was navigating, it was a bit of a struggle to find an 'entrance' to the walled city.  Finally, we found an entrance and there was a small parking lot just outside of it with 1 spot available.  So, Leah grabbed it, we paid for our ticket, and we were off.  We had about 60-90 minutes to explore, as we really didn't want to be driving after dark, so we walked through the wall's entrance and made our way down the main drag.  Leah had read about this delicious treat known only in Lucca that is basically a lemony donut, rolled in sugar and either served dipped in Nutella or just plain.  It is apparently sold on 'Nelly carts' which are available on market days, of which Monday was a market day.  Sadly, we arrived in Lucca too late to find this treat, but instead we got a little gelato to round out the afternoon.

We saw the Cattedrale di San Martino, located in the Piazza San Michele (the proported locale of the donuts) and walked around a bit.  Leah heard a funny noise as we were walking and saw some movers shuttling items from a 4th floor apartment to the ground level using...

It's difficult to see, but this 'ladder' is actually a lift that has a flat platform on which items from the home were placed and it was raced up/down for moving.  Leah and I both commented on the complete lack of warning to folks below in case something might fall off during transit.  

So we walked a little bit and happened upon a pretty cool store filled with great clothes, scarves and purses.  :)  It's owned by an ex-pat American and his wife and was a great store.  We both got a couple of things and then were on our way back to the car to head back to the Castel Monastero.  Well, as we were walking, we walked right into our new friends from Rhode Island that we had met at the Leaning Tower.  Small world...they were very nice and we had a nice chat and I gave them our map (albeit of limited help) of Lucca, as it did have all of the major attractions...just not so great for navigation.

We hopped back into the car and set off and arrived back at the Castel without incident.  A great day!!

So, today (Tuesday) is our last, full day in Tuscany and we had our car ~ the 'Ferrari' ~ until 1p today.  So, we headed out for a final day of exploration in Siena.  Great part was that it's only 20 minutes away and the GPS did a great job of getting us to our desired parking 'structure.'  Not really a structure at all, rather it was located aside, behind, underneath the soccer stadium in Siena and was quite a mish-mash of cars squeezing into really tiny spots.  We found our little spot and started walking.  Our main goal was to go and see Il Campo, the site of a crazy horse race in Siena every year, and the Duomo, which is a Baroque-style cathedral and very unique/different compared to many of the other churches we have seen in Italy.

Here's some photos from our time in Siena...
 

Il Campo...the main city square and the Town hall.  This is the site of a crazy horse race in August, where the people stand in the center of the scalloped-shaped piazza and the horses and their riders run around the people.  Basically, this race has no rules and the winning horse does not actually need a jockey on its back to be declared the winner.

The Piazza at Il Campo

The Duomo (cathedral) in Siena...beautiful!!

Love the striping of the marble

The interior of the cathedral...breathtaking!

The marble on the floors were unbelievable as well...many different scenes were played out.

The ceiling of the Duomo

A column...love the details

Sunday drive and the importance of knowing how to reverse

Buonasera ~

Greetings from Tuscany!!  Another absolutely beautiful day ~ clear blue skies with perfect temperatures, as we are so glad to be able to wear long sleeves!!

Today was another wonderful day filled with fun times and experiences and lots of laughter.  I feel like we have laughed our way through Italy, which makes me so happy.  I have loved traveling with Leah and am so happy she agreed to come on this trip with me.  :)

Last night we ate at the Gordon Ramsay's Contrada restaurant on the grounds, which is a fine dining establishment.  There had seemed to be a bit of a buzz earlier in the day that Gordon himself might be here, but we did not see him.  Darn.  In any case, we had a fantastic dinner last night, experiencing their tasting menu which was filled with many fantastic dishes.  Our 'staff' of Guiardo, the lovely host and all-around good guy, Marco, our Sardinian sommelier, and Stephano, the food/beverage manager that checks on us multiple times per day, helped make our evening so lovely and enjoyable. 

This morning we had a light, yet lovely breakfast at a table with a view of the landscape.  On our table was an envelope with last night's entire menu enclosed.  We had asked if they could write down for us the tasting menu, but instead we now have an entire menu to take home.  So nice.

A little spa time this morning for us both, which was so lovely and great.  We had decided yesterday that we wanted to rent a car for a couple of days to do a few day-trips ourselves, so our VW Golf arrived today at 1p.  They offered us a Merecedes C-class, but Leah and I felt that the non-Mercedes variety of car would be better for us...just in case.  After some time for set-up of the GPS (had to get it switched from Italian to English), Leah was ready to drive and I was ready to navigate. 

Our 'Ferrari'

Let me explain something first...the hotel has given us incredible dossiers of the locales we want to visit along with maps of said locales.  The maps themselves are a bit difficult, as no roads are labeled with any distinguishing labels and the scale seems to be a bit off.  So...off we went.

We decided to get our 'sea legs' by traveling not too far away from the Castel and exploring the Chianti region of Italy.  We wanted to make sure we could handle the driving (Leah did spectacularly with the stick shift) and the navigating in this environment.  So, we were traveling along some really windy roads up into the hills, heading toward Giarole in Chianti, which was about 23km away.  Leah got the driving sorted out just fine and I was attempting to coordinate the GPS suggestions with the maps I have, which overall went well.  We made it to Giarole in Chiant in about 30 minutes, but because it was Sunday, most things were closed.  So, we decided to travel along to Radda in Chianti. 

Again, more really wind-y roads with lots of switchbacks (see photo of GPS I took below) and about another 15km, we arrived in Radda without difficulty.  The Golf's stick shift is a little unusual, as the Reverse gear is to the left of 1st gear, rather than to the right of or below 5th gear.  So, we pulled into Radda and were looking for a parking space along this medieval wall and there was a Porsche Cayenne parked (it looked gi-normous compared to all of the other cars) and then there was a space open 2 cars to the right of it.  Well, we stopped just past the space the 1st go-around and Leah was trying and trying to get the gear shift into reverse, but was unable to do so.  So, we went around the wall again and hysterically, the same thing happened again, as we forgot the space available was just past the Porsche and again, we were unable to get it into reverse...it just would not go.  So, around the wall we went again for the 3rd time (look, kids...Big Ben!!)  and Leah was able to pull into the spot just fine.  We then spent a few minutes trying to get the gear shift into reverse and Leah thought she had finally found it. 

GPS en route...love the switchbacks

Driving along in Tuscany

View from Radda in Chianti

 Well, we walked around a bit...really great little town and walked through a local art show as well.  We bought some shoes (Leah, 2 pairs and me, 1 pair) and Leah found a great bag.  We then got a little gelato and sat to check-out the view. 

The landscape here in Tuscany is totally different than we thought it would be.  It is very rugged with lots of forests/pine trees and lots of hills (this part I expected).  Leah and I both agreed that the landscape we saw in the Piedmont (up north) was what we expected in Tuscany and vice versa.  Interesting. 

We then returned to the car to travel to 1 more city ~ Castellina in Chianti.  Well, Leah unfortunately had not found the reverse gear, but still was in 1st.  Thankfully, when she put it in gear, we actually rolled backwards a bit and did that a few times to get out of the space, which was good, as there were other cars waiting to get around us.  We then started driving in the direction the GPS recommended, which I knew was incorrect.  So Leah stopped in a closed petrol station and I reprogrammed the GPS.  She then finally got the gear shift into reverse (apparently one must push it down and then over to the left and up to engage it, so as to not accidentally end up in reverse when wanting to be in 1st gear)!!!  Such an exciting and necessary moment!!  The small victories, right?!?!

Off we went to Castellina in Chiant, about another 10km along the windy roads.  We found a parking spot and they have a fantastic medieval castle that is still quite intact within it's square.  We made our way in and started climbing to the top.  We got to get all the way to the top and it was really cool.  Lots of stairs, but totally worth the climb.

The Castel...let's storm it!!

The view from the top

At the top...it was a bit windy.

Leah conquering the Castel...on the roof!!

 Well, we decided it was time to get driving back 'home,' as we agreed we don't want to be driving in the dark.  That would not be cool!!  So, programmed the GPS to a town near our Castel Monastero, but not exactly to it.  Leah got the little 'Ferrari' up to 110km/hour on the expressway and even ventured to passing slower cars.  She rocks!!  We made our way pretty well with only 1 missed turn, but were able to correct our route quickly without difficulty.  I decided to go 'off GPS' to navigate us back to the Castel and was successful in this venture.  Yippee!!  We make a good team and had a great time.  It was nice to get out and control our own destiny a bit. 

Had a nice simple snack for dinner tonight in the Lounge ~ some cheese, salami, olives and breadsticks with our new favorite olive oil and a little Brunello ~ with Marco and Guiardo attending us as usual. 

A perfect ending to a great day. 

Tomorrow we are traveling to Pisa to climb the leaning tower (we hope) and to visit some villages along the way.  More fun to come, I am sure!!

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo
Stacy

Arrival in Tuscany and the Castel Monastero...

Well, it's Saturday morning and the sun is shining brightly, although it's the coolest day we've had since being in Italy.  We expected it to be much cooler during our time here than is has been, as they have been having a slight resurgence of summer-like weather the past week.  We did not expect Tuscany to be cooler than northern Italy, but that's the case right now.  Personally, I love the cooler temps, although our weather has been fantastic!!

We arrived here in Tuscany (via Siena train station) yesterday (Friday) evening, around 6p.  Our train travel from Vercelli to Milan to Florence to Siena was remarkably uneventful and easy, making each train in good time and without much difficulty finding spaces for our luggage.  On our final train from Florence to Siena there was a group of 6, 14-15 year old girls who were really hyper and high-strung.  They were running from the back of the train toward the front yelling some sort of chant and then when they got to our car (the 1st passenger car), a few of them ran forward into the conductors car and screamed this chant/cheer into the microphone of the train for all to hear.  The came running back into our train, laughing hysterically, etc.  Then 1 brave soul after another ran forward to use the microphone again to yell the chant.  Leah and I knew the chant after the 4th-5th time through, but were happy when these young ladies exited the train shortly thereafter.

Our driver, Salvatore, picked us up in a Mercedes (nice, eh?) and we set off for the Castel Monastero.  We are located about 20-30 minutes east of Siena, up in the hills and this used to be a functioning monastery, but is now a hotel and spa.  Did I mention they have a spa here?  Clearly this was an intentional plan on Leah's/our part...good plan, I'd say!!

When we arrived we were greeted by many folks, all of whom were incredibly kind and gracious welcoming us to the Castel.  We checked in and then Sara, with whom I have been emailing about our stay, gave us a tour of the grounds and showed us to our newly-upgraded Junior Suite.  Huh???  Oh well...we'll take it.  Not sure why this happened, but as I learned in Vegas a couple of years ago, just go with it!!

Our suite is 2 stories and off of the main courtyard.  There is a living room on the lower level with TV, mini bar, and as Leah noted, a functioning cook-top.  After climbing the stairs there is the bedroom with 2 twin beds (really they are full beds) and a beautiful bathroom.  A lovely space for us to spend our time in Tuscany!!

The stairs...looking down

The bedroom

The loo

So we got settled-in after a small tour to show us how everything works and then got spruced-up for a casual dinner in the Cantina, a lovely restaurant located in the wine cellar, which was just a spectacular space.  I, of course, didn't take my camera last night, but will get photos next time we go which I am sure we will while we are here.

The funny thing when we went to have dinner is that we walked down our stairs and one of the folks who work here said, "Good evening, Mrs. Lerner."  Hmm...how'd he know my name?  We then asked him for the best way to get to the Cantina and he escorted us there and on the way introduced us to the Chef as he was passing by.  We were seated at a lovely table for 2 and took in the beauty of this gigantic wine cellar.  We guessed the monks probably owned a lot of the land (read: grapes/vineyards) and made/sold wine for additional income.

Our dinner was quite good, starting with a trio of Pecorino cheeses, which was spectacular and then followed by grilled prawns with a lovely salad for Leah and the linguini with puttanesca for me.  Simply delicious and just what we wanted.  A lovely Chardonnay with dinner and we were grand.

Slept in a little bit this morning and then went for breakfast.  We walked in and I was instantly greeted by the manager, Stefano, and I have no idea how he knows me or why we are getting such spectacular treatment!?!?  We were seated and then enjoyed the beautiful buffet of fresh cheeses, breads, fruits, eggs, etc.

We were supposed to only spend 3 nights here (as when making the reservation that was all they have available) and then were going to go to a B&B in Siena for the final 2 nights.  Based on our experience here so far and our agreement that this is where we should end our trip, we have been able to extend our stay here at the Castel until we leave for London on the 19th!!  Yipee!!  So happy!!

Here's a few photos of our environs and the beauty of it all...

The view from the bedroom window...to the east.

View of the courtyard, looking west from our room.

The Chapel...services held on Sundays at 1030a...we both had spa appointments at that time.

Leah's lunch on Saturday outside in the courtyard...a lovely Caprese salad.

My lunch...fresh mozzarella with prosciutto.

Freshly-made breadsticks...yum!!

Our new favorite olive oil for dipping bread...recommended by Stefano, the food/beverage manager.  We have the location in Siena where this is sold and will be bringing some home.

As we were eating, this bee kept buzzing around my plate and Leah correctly noted he wanted the ham.  So we took the piece he was coveting and put it on a plate for him to enjoy. 

Courtyard view at sunset

Another view

Today (Saturday) we are taking it a bit easy, enjoying our new digs, as we have been really busy the entire time we have been in Italy and we both feel like we need a day or so to relax.  We checked-out the spa and I just returned from a fantastic massage, which was such a special treat during this trip!!  Leah is getting a mani/pedi right now and I will tomorrow and then she will have a funky scrub/shower treatment which isn't anything we've seen at any of the other spas we've experienced.  Should be interesting.

Tomorrow we are going to get a rental car and venture out and explore Chianti, as we are on the very southern edge of it and it is quite close.  We are going to then travel to Pisa on Monday and explore areas around there, as well as brave the climb of the leaning tower.  Tuesday we are planning on exploring Siena itself and perhaps do a winery tour (or 2) along the way.

This has been such a wonderful trip, so far, and I am so happy to be able to experience Italy!

xoxo
Stacy