(Quick) Tour de France

Saturday, October 14th – Tuesday, October 17th: Paris (Amanda)

Paris has always been a city high on our list to visit, and even with our lofty expectations, we were both blown away by the grandeur of the city.

After a quick flight from Florence, we arrived at Gabriela and Arnaud’s house. Bill and Gaby are good friends from high school when Gaby was a Mexican exchange student in Erie. Gaby, her husband Arnaud, and their darling three year old daughter Juliette graciously opened their beautiful home to us.

On Saturday night Gaby and Arnaud took Bill and me to Bon, one of their favorite restaurants in Paris. We enjoyed some nice champagne and an incredible meal that was followed up by our new favorite dessert…molleaux au chocolat! Move over baklava! After dinner we all drove around to see Paris by night…..it is the City of Lights, after all. Bill and I were very quickly impressed by the city and excited to see more the next day. We were already starting to wish we had planned for more time there.

With only two full days for sightseeing, we were so lucky to have Gaby. She helped plan out each of our days: Sunday we would hit the sights on the Rive Gauche, Monday we would spend on the Rive Droite. We began Sunday at the Arc de Triomph, most notable, of course, for being the spot where my sister Alisha and her fiancé Alex got engaged earlier this year. It was great to see the place where they shared such a special moment. After seeing the Arc we headed down the Champs Elysees, through the Place de la Concorde, and into the Jardins des Tuileries. It was there that we realized we were in Paris during the perfect time of year. The air was crisp and the leaves were just beginning to change colors. It was the first time on this trip that it felt like autumn to us.

After a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries we ended at the Louvre. Initially we had planned on going inside, but we've heard that the Louvre itself takes at least a day. With our time running short, we decided it would be a good excuse to skip it (and plan a return trip to Paris, of course!). We crossed over to the Ile de la Cite—a small islet in the middle of the Seine—and spent what seemed like hours just staring at the Cathedrale de Notre Dame. The rest of the afternoon was walking and shopping, and, naturally, stopping for more molleaux au chocolat. We ended the day at the Bastille Memorial and then took the metro back to Gaby and Arnaud’s house. That evening Arnaud whipped up an incredible Parisian meal including fois gras, confit de canard, and lots of smelly French cheeses that I won’t try to spell. Everything was so delicious (even the cheese)! It was a perfect, cool evening, so after dinner we ventured back out and took the metro to Montmartre for some great nighttime pics of the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge.

On Monday we headed out for more of Paris, beginning the day at the top of the Eiffel Tower. I think it’s worth a trip to Paris if only to see the tower in person. It’s hard to believe that this magnificent structure was initially poo-poo’d by the public and considered an eyesore. It was once the city’s plan to tear the tower down after twenty years; can you imagine Paris without La Tour Eiffel? Thankfully, it proved to be valuable for radio communication purposes.

After a few hours gawking and touring the tower we followed the Seine down to Saint German-des-Pres. On Gaby's recommendation, we went to the most famous cafe in Paris, Les Deux Magots, once frequented by famous artists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway. What was supposed to be a quick stop turned into a long lunch and an afternoon of people-watching. We eventually went back to the house and had one last fabulous dinner with Arnaud and Gaby at a nearby restaurant.

We were sad to leave Paris the next day but were both comforted by the fact that we knew we would be back. It was so nice to finally meet Arnaud, Gaby and Juliette. They made our first trip to Paris so specical, and we hope we can soon return the favor by hosting them in our nation’s capital.

Bill wants me to include a quick Hooray! for his Cardinals, and we hope all else is well back home in the States. Au revoir!

Amanda

Tuscany

Wednesday, October 11 – Saturday, October 14: Tuscany (Bill)

We left Magliano after an early breakfast and took the long way to Tuscany, first driving through the center of Umbria to the historic walled town of Assisi to visit the Basilica di San Francesco, a gorgeous church that houses the tomb of St. Francis himself. We left Assisi and drove west to Perugia, home of the world-famous Perugina chocolate factory. (Actually, the factory was located outside Perugia, in a suburb called San Sisto. This little secret resulted in about an hour’s worth of aimless driving and direction-asking, but we eventually found the factory and its museum. The drive was worth it, if for nothing else than to stand beside, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest piece of chocolate in history, weighing in at just over 13,100 pounds. Probably gained another kilo or two just breathing next to that thing.)

From Perugia, the road west continues around Lake Trasimento, past Cortona, under the Autostrade, and then presto! you’re in Tuscany and you know you couldn’t be anywhere else. The rolling hills look like a patchwork quilt of green grass and brown tilled earth lined with cypress trees, and every so often a peaceful farm house rises up against the horizon. It is just so serene and stunning that it’s hard not to forget yourself and drive right off the road.

We arrived at Dionora, a charmingly restored farmhouse just outside Montepulciano. Our friends Jeff and Ginger from D.C. had come here five years ago on their honeymoon and had loved it so much that they return every year in October. When they found out we would all be in Italy at the same time, they invited us to join them at Dionora.

We stayed two nights but it turns out we could have stayed a month. Dionora was so relaxing and beautiful, and having Jeff and Ginger as hosts made our stay perfect. It was so good to see them and they knew the area so well from their visits. Jeff immediately took us into Pienze to do some wine shopping; we stocked up on some fantastic vino nobile and vinsanto. We spent the next day driving around to charming towns like San Quirico, and eating a wine and cheese picnic on the lawn of the 800-year-old cathedral San Biaggio in Montepulciano, and dipping our feet into the ancient Roman Baths at Bagno Vignoni.

And we spent that evening sitting under the grapevines by Dionora’s pool drinking vino nobile and then having dinner at La Grotta, where we ate arugula salad, crostinis and tripe, tagliatelle pasta in white truffle sauce, and roasted pigeon stuffed with pancetta and pecorino cheese (Jim, I hope you’re still reading this blog…that was for you).

We reluctantly said goodbye to Jeff, Ginger, and Dionora on Friday morning and drove north to Florence for a couple of days of sightseeing. Such a contrast from the rest of Tuscany, Florence is crowded and jam-packed with so many historical pieces of architecture and art that it’s a bit overwhelming. We walked through town all day Friday, visiting Santa Maria del Fiore (more commonly known as the Duomo), a monolithic church that covers over 27,000 square feet and can accommodate up to 25,000 people. Its entire exterior is covered in white, green, and red marble, and, like its extravagance or not, one must agree that it truly is an architectural marvel. We also visited the Piazza della Signorina with its outdoor statue garden, and the beautiful church of Santa Croce. We walked along the Arno River to the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s most famous bridge and the only one not destroyed by retreating Nazi forces during World War II. Saturday, we woke up early and hit the Piazza Mercato Centrale (the “central market”) and had fun shopping and haggling with the merchants there. Had some great pizza before having to say goodbye to Florence and drive out to the airport.

Italy was absolutely fantastic, and we plan on returning there some day for a longer trip. We crammed so much into eight days that we were a little worn out when we boarded our flight for Paris. Paris, however, is a magical place that immediately provided our second wind. Amanda can tell you all about it in our next post.

Until then, arrividerci!

Bill

Reunion of the Sabines

Monday, October 9 – Wednesday, October 11: Magliano Sabina (Amanda)

Bill and I said goodbye to Rome and headed north towards the province of Rieti in search of my long lost Italian relatives. My great-grandmother was born in the village of Magliano Sabina but moved to the United States around 1920. We knew finding any of her relatives would be difficult because my grandmother had only been in contact with her mother’s family once in the last fifty years, and even that was fifteen years ago. But I still wanted to see the small village where my great-grandmother was born and I figured meeting family would just be a bonus.

After about an hour’s drive from Rome we arrived at our hotel, an old converted postal stage located on the hillside of Magliano. We checked in and headed up the mountain armed only with my great-grandmother’s birth certificate, letters written to her in 1949, and the names of a few people that I was related to (but I was not sure how). Added to all of that, I speak zero Italian. A long shot, right?

Once we reached the top we found Magliano Sabina to be a very quaint old village with winding narrow roads barely passable by car, even by European standards. We stumbled upon the only pharmacy in town and went inside to begin our search. Everyone there was so helpful to us, despite the language barrier. They made phone calls and spent time looking at my letters to investigate. We eventually left 30 minutes later with two phone numbers in hand, one for Morino (my grandmother’s first cousin) and the other for his son Antonio.

Back at our hotel, I phoned Antonio. I was a little hesitant because I wasn’t sure whether he could speak English or would have any clue who I was. The funny thing is that when I called, someone had already beaten me to it. Word had already got back to his family that some crazy American girl was looking for him :) He and his family graciously (bravely) invited Bill and me to their home in Rome for dinner the following evening.

Bill and I took advantage of being in Magliano the next day before heading back to Rome. We toured the beautiful and ultra peaceful country side, stopping to see goats being hand-milked in rolling pastures. Later, we stopped to take some pictures of a gorgeous vineyard when an older Italian man drove up on his tractor. Initially we were a little nervous about being on his property, but he invited us further into the vineyard and proceeded to give us a lesson (in Italian, unfortunately) on grapes and winemaking. We left with handfuls of grapes that would instead have gone to the local wine production.

Later that evening I finally got to meet my relatives. We had a wonderful dinner with Morino and his wife, Antonio and his wife and three daughters, and Ottavio, Antonio’s brother. Rita, Antonio’s wife, prepared an amazing meal consisting of specialties from Magliano Sabina. It’s difficult to put into words how incredible the night was. The highlight was when I handed Morino a letter that he had written to my great-grandmother (his aunt) in 1949 while he was living in Mexico. We didn’t need to speak a common language for me to understand how moved he was to see a letter he had written halfway around the world 57 years ago. We shared pictures and stories from each side of the family. Ottavio even managed to draw out a family tree so we could all fill in the blanks while we were there. They are all such wonderful and generous people, and I feel blessed to have finally met them. We will definitely keep in touch and I hope that with some planning we can reunite more of our family members in the future.

We drove back to Magliano late that night for some rest before our trip to Tuscany the next day. Bill will tell you about that in our next post.

Ciao,

Amanda

Roman Moon and Phoenix Sun

Hello again! Sorry we’ve been out of touch for a few weeks. We just returned yesterday from our two-week visit to Italy and France and didn’t really have any time on our trip to post updates. But we’re back home in Thessaloniki now, and if you bear with us, we’ll catch you up on our travels.

Friday, October 6 – Monday, October 9: Rome (Bill)

We arrived in Rome in the late afternoon and were immediately taken aback by how spread out the city is. Most of the historical sites are in the old district in the center of town, but the rest of the city is huge and very sprawling. Rome is the kind of city where you can drive in the wrong direction for a long time before realizing that you are heading out of town instead of into it. Trust us, we know.

We checked in and decided to call it an early night so we could be well rested before tackling the city in the morning. Our hotel was only half a block from the Bologna metro stop, so Saturday morning we hopped on the subway and headed to Vatican City. Unfortunately, because it was closed the next day, the line to enter was about two blocks long. Fortunately, the Vatican was well worth the wait. With over 1,400 rooms, each full of beautiful and ornate pieces of history, the Vatican can be rather intimidating. But we hit the highlights: the Gallery of Maps, the Raphael Rooms, the Round Room and the Gallery of Statues, the Apostolic Library, and, of course, the Sistine Chapel.

Neither of us had seen the Sistine Chapel before; it is even more magnificent that we had imagined. Once you look up at the ceiling, it is all you can do to resist lying down on the floor to stare at it for hours. When you look at the detail in Michelangelo’s work on the ceiling, it seems impossible that he finished it in only 4 years. Then, to come back a quarter of a century later and paint the The Last Judgment on the wall behind the main altar (which took another 6 years to complete), it is easy to see why Michelangelo’s talent and genius has been celebrated for centuries. The Sistine Chapel was so breathtaking and tranquil, Amanda did not want to leave. Only my pleading (and perhaps the thought of another plate of delicious Italian food) got her to reluctantly walk out. We headed down Guiseppe Momo’s famous spiral ramp and out into one of Rome’s biggest draws, the Piazza di San Pietro.

St. Peter’s Square is pretty impressive, featuring perhaps the grandest church in Christendom, the Basilica di San Pietro. This absolutely breathtaking structure was also designed by Michelangelo, so I’m guessing the guy did pretty well in art class. We snapped a ton of pics of the Basilica, its fountains, and the architecture surrounding the square.

We then headed east until we hit the Tevere River and followed it south until we were in Trastevere. We had some great salad and pizza for lunch, then crossed the Tevere and walked along the Circus Maximus before jumping on the metro so we could head home and get ready for dinner.

[Quick funny story: as we headed toward the metro stop we passed Raja Bell, an NBA player who was sight-seeing with his family while the Phoenix Suns were in town to play an exhibition game against a team from Rome. I told Amanda I had to go say Hello to him. I told him how impressed I was by his defense against Kobe Bryant in last year’s playoffs, and that this was coming from a life-long Lakers fan. He was really nice, and seemed genuinely happy that I recognized him and paid him the compliment. Amanda may try to tell you that the best part of the story is that I totally tripped over a loose cobblestone in the street while approaching him and nearly fell on my face, but that part is NOT true…]

That night we took the metro to the Via Veneto, probably the most famous street in Rome. Had a fantastic dinner and then walked along the Veneto and stopped for a cappuccino before turning in for the night.

Saturday, we took the metro to the Piazza di Spagna—the famous “Spanish Steps”—and spent the day walking all over the old district. We went to the Piazza del Popolo and then shopped along the Via del Corso, stopping at San Carlos (with one of the most ornate church interiors in Rome) and the world-renowned Trevi Fountain. We then walked through the old Roman Forum to the Colosseum, probably Rome’s most famous landmark. We metro’d to the Piazza Navolo for dinner, and then walked back across the city so we could take pictures of the Colosseum at night with our third full moon of the trip overhead.

This post has been rather long, but like I said, Rome’s a big city. I wish I could promise that because Magliano Sabina is such a small town that the next post will be short, but it probably won’t be since we had such an amazing adventure there. I’ll let Amanda tell you that one.

Until then, Ciao!

Bill