We arrived on Sunday (two days ago) and I have just now connected to the Internet. A large storm blew through here yesterday and played havoc with the service. However, I now seem to have service and will try to post some pictures before I go to bed.
Our flight was delayed about an hour from Hotlanta to Rome. But Amy, Erin Donovan and Pam and Merv Forney and I finally arrived with no problems in flight. Passing through customs was uncharacteristically quick and we hardly broke stride. However, we next had to hook up with Sharon Campbell>who had arrived the day before. Unfortunately, she was having problems with the SIM card that she had purchased and was without phone service. Finally she asked one of the people at the restaurant to text me and, with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we were finally united and proceeded to our rental car.
While I had requested an SUV, I received an "upgrade" to a Volvo V90 SW (SW stands for Station Wagon. The last station wagon I drove was a 1959 Rambler American, click here.) After the GPS fiasco with the Mercedes in Bristol, England, I had
decided to purchase my own GPS prior to the trip and make sure it worked and was loaded with the full Western Europe maps. Let me say that, while the Volvo was considerably better appointed than the Mercedes, it was still a long car that sat way to close to the road surface. I would have much rather had the SUV.
However, with no SUV in site, we loaded the luggage and people into the Volvo, and, along with Pam and Merv (in his SUV) we started up E80 along the western sea coast towards our accommodations at Casale Il Colombaio di Toiano just west of Siena in the heart of Tuscany. We made a brief stop at Spazio Cafe near Villiaggio del Franciulo for a light lunch and were on the road again. If you would like to follow our travels, check out this Google Map.
A quick word about driving in Italy. First, yes they drive on the right side of the road. All of the speed signs are in kilometers per hour but then so are the auto speedometers so it is no problem. When reading the direction signs, they are also in km but convert to miles by dividing by 8 and multiplying by 5. Make it easy, e.g. 45km is 45/8 which is, say 4 and a 1/2, then multiply by 5, call it 22-23mi. Many of the major roads have tolls. You can set your GPS to avoid them; however, the trip will be longer though probably more scenic. I found paying the tolls with a credit card to be quite easy - look for the booth with the blue Carta sign. However, Merv and Amy seemed to have problems with cards so look for the booths with the attendance. Tolls typically run 1-3 euro ($1.25 to $3.75).
On two lane roads, watch out for people crossing the center line on the outside curves. It seems to be standard. And in town, the scooters seem to have no restrictions to lanes so be ready to be passed at any time. Personally, I feel that scooter drivers who do this are on their on and if I happen to take one out, that's one less annoyance in the whole country.
We arrived at Il Colombaio around 5:00pm and promptly met up with Steve and Missy Brandon
along with their daughter, Josie, who had arrived a few hours before us. (Some of you might remember Steve, aka Shamrock Steve, and Missy from the Beatonite Invasion of Ireland back in 2009.) Steve promptly introduced us to our host and hostess, Paolo and Giusseppina Losavio. Paolo e Giusseppina proved to be wonderful folk and the accommodations, while rustic, were lovely. The building was originally build in 1300 as a medieval tower. The rooms maintained the original tile floors that never seemed to be cold. Of course, as I have seen in my travels in the British Isles, with many old buildings that have been brought up to modern standards, there are many compromises that must be made; but this only adds to the charm of the accommodations.
That evening we ate at the Ristorante La Compagnia in Sociville. This restaurant was the epitome of what you would expect an Italian restaurant to be. For dinner, I had the dried beef carpaccio which proved to be just ok and then then the pasta con frutti di mare (pasta with seafood). This last dish proved to be excellent with the pasta itself being the king of the dish. However, the best dish of the night was the gnocchi al Gorgonzola (Gorgonzola being Italy's primo blue cheese.) We all returned to our rooms satisfied with our first real meal in Italy.
Our flight was delayed about an hour from Hotlanta to Rome. But Amy, Erin Donovan and Pam and Merv Forney and I finally arrived with no problems in flight. Passing through customs was uncharacteristically quick and we hardly broke stride. However, we next had to hook up with Sharon Campbell>who had arrived the day before. Unfortunately, she was having problems with the SIM card that she had purchased and was without phone service. Finally she asked one of the people at the restaurant to text me and, with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we were finally united and proceeded to our rental car.
While I had requested an SUV, I received an "upgrade" to a Volvo V90 SW (SW stands for Station Wagon. The last station wagon I drove was a 1959 Rambler American, click here.) After the GPS fiasco with the Mercedes in Bristol, England, I had
decided to purchase my own GPS prior to the trip and make sure it worked and was loaded with the full Western Europe maps. Let me say that, while the Volvo was considerably better appointed than the Mercedes, it was still a long car that sat way to close to the road surface. I would have much rather had the SUV.
However, with no SUV in site, we loaded the luggage and people into the Volvo, and, along with Pam and Merv (in his SUV) we started up E80 along the western sea coast towards our accommodations at Casale Il Colombaio di Toiano just west of Siena in the heart of Tuscany. We made a brief stop at Spazio Cafe near Villiaggio del Franciulo for a light lunch and were on the road again. If you would like to follow our travels, check out this Google Map.
A quick word about driving in Italy. First, yes they drive on the right side of the road. All of the speed signs are in kilometers per hour but then so are the auto speedometers so it is no problem. When reading the direction signs, they are also in km but convert to miles by dividing by 8 and multiplying by 5. Make it easy, e.g. 45km is 45/8 which is, say 4 and a 1/2, then multiply by 5, call it 22-
On two lane roads, watch out for people crossing the center line on the outside curves. It seems to be standard. And in town, the scooters seem to have no restrictions to lanes so be ready to be passed at any time. Personally, I feel that scooter drivers who do this are on their on and if I happen to take one out, that's one less annoyance in the whole country.
We arrived at Il Colombaio around 5:00pm and promptly met up with Steve and Missy Brandon
along with their daughter, Josie, who had arrived a few hours before us. (Some of you might remember Steve, aka Shamrock Steve, and Missy from the Beatonite Invasion of Ireland back in 2009.) Steve promptly introduced us to our host and hostess, Paolo and Giusseppina Losavio. Paolo e Giusseppina proved to be wonderful folk and the accommodations, while rustic, were lovely. The building was originally build in 1300 as a medieval tower. The rooms maintained the original tile floors that never seemed to be cold. Of course, as I have seen in my travels in the British Isles, with many old buildings that have been brought up to modern standards, there are many compromises that must be made; but this only adds to the charm of the accommodations.
That evening we ate at the Ristorante La Compagnia in Sociville. This restaurant was the epitome of what you would expect an Italian restaurant to be. For dinner, I had the dried beef carpaccio which proved to be just ok and then then the pasta con frutti di mare (pasta with seafood). This last dish proved to be excellent with the pasta itself being the king of the dish. However, the best dish of the night was the gnocchi al Gorgonzola (Gorgonzola being Italy's primo blue cheese.) We all returned to our rooms satisfied with our first real meal in Italy.
