Off to a late start for the kids had to catch up on their rest.  Well after a hearty  breakfast (bacon and eggs for Lance) and granola for the rest of us.  Out the door and off to the Colosseum we went.  David hired a guide and after queing up in we went.  Wow this place is amazing.  What a powerful experience to imagine myself as a enslaved gladiator fighting for my life and then waiting to see if the audience will let me live or die.  A very different world they lived in.  Makes a person glad to be borne into he 20th century.  Note to myself….remember to appreciate what I have been given…..it is so much more than others have ever dreamed of having.

Where to begin….we picked up the kids up yesterday morning and took a shuttle back to our apartment.  A much needed shower and home made soup….throw in a quick nap and we were off to see the  Vatican.    

I just thought we should say a few words about the camping experience, after all we are on a camping trip.  The weather has been great here in Italy.  On the warm side (High 80s-Low 90s) when we first arrived last week but we found some shade and a great swimming pool.  On Sunday we got up to dark skies…..this was not looking good.  After a quick breakfast of breakfast bar and a cup of coffee we thought it would be a good day for laundry.  Big fat raindrops began  falling.  We began stripping the bed, gathering everything made of fabric we could lay our hands on (Including the sleeping bags) and stuffing it quickly into the back seat of the car.  Okay we are off to the laundromat….getting everything carried inside and…..”Boom”,….. lighting….thunder…. the sky opened up.  It rained like I haven’t seen in years. (for about 2 hours)   Once the laundry was done and we had a bit of lunch we headed back to see what was left of the tent.  Well let me tell you, the “American Coleman Tent” did us proud.  Not a drop of water was inside….but wait….why is the floor so squishy?  We of course had put a ground cover (plastic 9×11 tarp) on the ground before setting up the tent…..well let me tell you ….water had settled under the tent…on top of the tarp!    Humm…what to do?  David patiently undid one side of the tent and lifted it up….reveling about 2 inches of water.  After much sweeping and wiping  of the ground cover …we left the tent propped up on one side for a couple of hours so that it would dry completely.  We were so glad that we had all clean and dry linen for bed that night….It was an adventure in camping.  I guess we should set up on a slope so the water will run off next time…lesson learned!

On the bright side….we see wild pigs (Chingali)  almost every night while we have dinner.  Some of them have babies!  They are on the other side of the fence thank goodness…..but so charming to see them come out of the woods to munch on the meadow in front of our camp site.  There are some deer (European Roe Deer) as well…..this is a great camp site for seeing nature.

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We were up early and on the road this morning.  We were told there was a Thursday market in San Gimignano and we intend to be there before the bus loads of tourists…..we made it!  The town was just beautiful.  The 13th century wall kept most of the bad guys out… But when the bad guys got in….well they just climbed up into these great stone towers, pulled the ladder up and set the bottom floor (that Had wood in it) on fire!  From the top of the tower they could look down on the invaders and say “NANNER…NANNER”!  Lol.  All kidding aside, a great day….great people and beautiful Tuscan landscapes.  A day to put in the memory file of our minds. ]

] We we took a few short videos of the market.  This square has been the scene of a market every Thursday for a thousand years. We bought a few things including some of the most amazing Pecorino and Parmesana Reggiani that I have ever seen.  The pecorino is made, on site, with sheep’s milk.  The one I chose was covered in hay and aged.  I’m telling you, this stuff is amazing.  We bought some local pasta and the girl at the counter told us how to prepare it using the cheese.  Maybe tomorrow .  Tonight it was roast chicken, fresh salad and local Chianti.

After a couple of days of rest and laying by the pool we decided to get up and explore the Tuscan countryside.  Jean and I take Rick Steves’ guidebooks as gospel so, after reading about a hilltop village near us, we set off for it this morning.  After a cappuccino and a croissant, we set off on our quest.  Our destination was the medieval hilltop town of Volterra, about 40 miles from here.  We enjoyed the beautiful drive as the road meandered through the rich farmland boasting wheat, olives, and, of course, the beans that are such a staple in Tuscan cuisine.  The road eventually narrowed and we began to climb into the hills.  As we did, the vistas opened up and we were mesmerized by the beauty.  (Actually, I am relaying this second hand.  Jean described it while I shifted gears and tried to keep us from getting killed by Italian drivers who fancy themselves to be Mario Andretti incarnate).   Reaching the village was much easier than finding a parking place for the trusty Berlingo.  We circled around the medieval walls a couple of times until Jean spotted a likely suspect.  She got out and asked a passing Policia if this was a legal parking spot.  It was,  and we were IN!  And it was only a few miles straight uphill to the entrance of the medieval inner city.  (At least it seemed like miles………..Parking inside the walls is reserved for residents and delivery vehicles, which tried vigoursly to run us down as we walked the cobblestone streets. The town was everything we had hoped for and more.  We searched out a restaurant recommended by Steves but, it turns out, there was a sign on the door that they were closed.  Apparently they decided to take a little vacation.  Fortunately, next door there was a great little outdoor café and we enjoyed a wonderful Tuscan lunch.  I had a very traditional Tuscan vegetable soup, loaded with the local seasonal vegetables.  It was ladled over a big slice of hearty toasted bread and served with plenty of parmesano on the side.  Jean had the local potato gnocchi with fresh pesto and the sliced pork roast accompanied by fresh spinach.  After a hearty lunch, we shopped our way to the Etruscan Museum.  Volterra is a goldmine of Etruscan artifacts and we wanted to see them all.  If you don’t know who the Etruscans were, join the crowd. (Me actually, ……..Jean knew) The Etruscans (Tuscany……get it?) were the original settlers around here.  Their highly cultured civilization goes back 3500 years or so.  They were eventually absorbed by the Romans and became an integral part of what is now Italy.

The museum was fascinating.  We were astounded by the art and advanced culture of the time.  We were not so impressed when we decided to make a bathroom stop at the museum.  After a quick look at the facility, I decided I was not adequately trained to attempt such a feat.   Jean however, was up to the task.  She admits to some adept positioning.   All in all, it was a wonderful day.  I would write more but, it is 10:00PM and I am being devoured by mosquitos.

We took a nice drive today from Vicenza to Sea Pines Lodge at Camp Darby near Pisa, Italy.  After the difficult experience with the brand new, onboard GPS in our Citroen, I decided to pull out the trusty portable GPS that I usually bring along on these trips.  I programmed my destination and suction cupped her in the windshield right next to the fancy original equipment model that had given me such a hard time the day before coming down through Austria.  Since I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off ( I smell a conspiracy here), I just left it on right next to old faithful.  Now I have two state-of-the-art computers and Jean sitting next to me with a detailed map of Italia on her lap.  We made it off of the base fairly uneventfully but at the first juncture, the two GPS’ started fussing with each other over which way we should go. It got pretty nasty between the two of them so we had to put them both in “time out” and go with the written word.  Bottom line, we got here a half an hour earlier than either GPS had predicted.

We made our way straight for the commissary for a couple of rib eyes and a bottle of wine.

After two days at Ramstein AFB, Germany, a couple of long hot baths, and lots of laundry, we headed south towards the Tuscan sunshine.  In fact, Jean had “Under the Tuscan Sun” in her audible book library so we listened to it on our long drive to Italy.  It passed the time and made us anticipate our arrival even more.

We have traveled this route before and, it is truly, stunningly beautiful by any measure.  We last traveled this road with our dear friends, Jerry and Colleen Michaelis, last fall when we rode the tour bus down from Ramstein.

Our plan was to stop on Bolzano, Italy, just south of the Brenner Pass, to visit our old friend “Utzi” the ice man at the archeological museum there.  You might remember that he was discovered, frozen in the ice of the Tyrolian Alps, near the border of Austria and Italy about twenty years ago.  After a long dispute, he ended up an Italian citizen and resides in the Bolzano Archaological Museum.  We visited the museum in 2001 and we wanted a repeat visit so we could capture some photos and video for our granddaughter, Bella.  Bella is absolutely fascinated with all things archeological.  Unfortunately, our plans were dashed by endless road construction and traffic jams.  When we arrived in Bolzano, the museum was already closed.  The best laid plans,…………right?

We’ll just press on and go to Vicenza, Italy for a couple of days.

Back on the road I carefully programmed my GPS to take us to the middle of nowhere.  That was NOT my intention but that is exactly what happened.  My lovely traveling companion/navigator/wife, trusty map book in hand, told me on numerous occasions that it appeared to her that we were going the wrong way.  Did I listen?  Noooooooooooooo!  I am, after all, a man, and deeply in love with my electronic gadgets.  It turns out, Jean was right and the seductive voice inside the GPS thingy was leading us into the hinterlands of the Dolomite mountains.  When I finally gave in and listened, we were about fifty miles out of our way.  We navigated through the byways and small towns of northern Italy until we found Vicenza.  Voila!  Now what?  We had a suite reserved at the Army Base there but where the heck is the Army Base?  Naturally, our worthless GPS was no longer speaking to us after the last debacle so we made our  way to the train station where reckoned we could ask someone.  That worked out about as well as the GPS.  It seems that no one could speak enough English to direct us and my command of the Italian language ends at cappuccino.

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We finally located a young lady who was kind enough to draw us a crude map on the back of a napkin.  Giddy with the anticipation of a hot shower and a queen size bed, we made our way there only to find the gate closed and locked.  We drove around the fence line of the base until we found a place that looked very official with a guard at the entrance .  I kept the motor running (it’s 10PM now) while Jean goes to ask.  It turns out we were at the main entrance of the local jail.  Good news however, this had happened before apparently, and the guard held up a sign in English directing us to the 24 hour gate of the base which was nearby.

Well we came for an adventure right?  We both had showers and a bite to eat before collapsing into bed.

Note to self:  Jack Daniels does not pair well with peanut butter and crackers.