Well, as you see it has been some days since my first post. I must say that the days have been long and the Internet iffy. Actually, the Internet connection has been good for phone service, but for some reason, my laptop has been quite sporadic.

Before continuing, I will offer a very brief lesson in Italian. First, you almost always pronounce every letter in a word, even the trailing "e". That means no strange rules on silent letters. When I asked my way to Via del Compane I has to ask again pronouncing it "compan-ye" (sounds like companion without the trailing "n") rather than "compane" with a long "a" and silent “e”. And the two words I use most often are scuzami (excuse me) and grazi (thank you). And it wouldn't hurt to practice rolling your "r"s. And then there are buongiorno (good morning) and buonasera (good evening) and, of course, ciao which means hello but seems to work fine for goodbye (which is actually addio),

On Monday, we decided to take a day trip to Siena, famous for its cuisine, art and museums. About a lovely 30 minute drive from Il Colombaio we soon arrived. However, we discovered that the town was quite crowded with tourist groups (even at this time of year) with very limited parking. Pam and Merv decided to drive back and so did Sharon. So I dropped off Erin who planned to hook up with Amy, Missy, Steve and Josie who had left earlier.

As we returned I realized that my first mistake was not letting Sharon return with Pam and Merv since Siena was one of the major stops on my itinerary. So, after dropping Sharon off, I returned to Siena (probably my second mistake). This time I found an excellent parking spot at the end of the row in the lot (which fit my long Volvo) and called Amy to find out where they were. They sent me coordinates which I plugged into my mapping app and away I went. I'm not sure where it all went wrong but I wandered through the medieval streets seeming to go only downhill before I finally realized that the map was leading in the wrong direction. This was when I stopped and asked directions to the Via del Compane and was sent all the way back up the hill (on my bad knee). I finally got a handle on their location, but then received the dreaded "Your battery is critically low" message which soon resulted in a dead phone. Now I'm wandering blind in a town older than Columbus with no idea where I am or where I am going.

As fortune would have it, I found an electronics store where I purchased their largest and fully charged portable phone charger. I also asked the girl at the counter for directions to the Restorante Il Compane which, as it turned out, to be just a few blocks up the hill and to the right. This proved to be fortuitous as I now executed by third, and nearly fatal, mistake, which I only learned about later.

Armed with a charging phone and knowledge that I was close to Amy et al, I merrily (well at least in a better frame of mind) headed up the street and soon met up with them and was greeted by "George" by everyone including the waiter and, I think, some of the eaters nearby. Relieved, I sat down and ordered the tagliatelle al cinghiale (tagliatelli being a rustic ribbon a pasta and the meat being boar). In the middle of eating, the manager came out with a phone looking for "George Fluke". I was busy with my head in my plate. Fortunately, Missy picked up on what he was saying and took the phone (her Italian being the best of the bunch) and soon figured out that I had left my credit card, wallet and, yes, passport at the electronics store (mistake the third).

I wolfed down my boar and hot footed it back to the electronics store where the girl greeted me once again with "George". With many "grazis" and a kiss on both cheeks, I gratefully retrieved my stuff and headed back to the restaurant. I can only thank the fates that I asked for the restaurant by name and not the street or she would not have known where to call. Undoubtedly I would have probably realized my missing wallet when I went to pay for lunch, but I might or might not have made the connection back to the electronics store.

My relief required that I do but one thing - stop at one of the many shops along the way and purchase a chocolate gelato. Now, if you've never had gelato, it is Italian ice cream but not only lower in fat, but also more flavorful and lower in air content giving it a richer, denser texture and flavor. You can find it more and more in the States and definitely in the freezer at your local grocery. But be warned, it is quite addictive.

Meeting back up with the group, we proceeded along the winding streets to the Duomo, the Central Cathedral, of Siena. Begun in the 12th century, the Duomo is a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque-Gothic architecture. Here we spent some time: however, with an ominous cloud moving in, Amy, Erin and I decided to find our way back to the car. Using electronic maps is good, but they don't really tell you which way to start. This means you often pick a direction, walk a ways and see if the dot is moving the right direction. Fortunately, my usually good sense of direction started us in the right direction. We were not back to the car and on the road long before the clouds opened up.

We returned to Il Colombaio where we had all acquired some goodies for dinner. This included some prosciutto, ham, a blue cheese and a hard cheese (not sure just what kind), various other meats and spreads, some crusty bread and at least six bottles of wine. And an assortment of Italian cookies for desert. Unfortunately, we discovered after we had eaten that food inside the building was not allowed. Steve smoothed it over with Giuseppina and all seemed ok the next morning at breakfast.

We sat around talking for some time but the food and the wine finally caught up with everyone and we drifted off to bed.

A fountain outside the Castello di Belcaro

A corner of the Castello di Belcaro

Looking down the Nave of the Duomo to the Alter

The Alter of the Duomo

The entrance to the Duomo

The Church Of San Domenico

A street in Siena

To Day 3 - Florence