TUSCANY: WINE ALLLLLL THE WAY HOME!

Mr. and Mrs Abroad with one of Cinque Terre Hamlets to our rear

First of all, please let me apologize for going so long without scribing.  It's been too long, far too long.  So long, I don't even know where I left off.  So much has happened since my last blog.  Let's see, I've been to Atlanta, attended a bachelor party, tried to drive to Chicago, had two tire blowouts, saw the Cubs last home game of the season, had four job interviews and canceled a last minute trip to Stockholm, Sweden.  I'll be honest, I'm quite knackered (thanks Rambo for that one).  But we can talk about all that some other time.

Right now it's Tuscany time.  As you've read before, I've trekked to Italy once before.  If you don't recall, let me jog your memory....Parents visited, Parents don't travel well together, Dad got his pockets picked in Pisa, we saw old Rome and its very old treasures and I broke up a fight outside a bar.  Tuscany is not Rome.  A few days ago, I was talking to my senior editor, Mrs. Abroad, and I was describing the difference between Rome and Tuscany.  After about 10 minutes she cut me off and said..."So you're saying Rome is a one night stand and Tuscany is a very passionate love affair that lasts a very long time."  I was appalled.  So appalled that I quoted it in this blog.  For the record, I told Mrs. Abroad that it was inappropriate for ME to mention anything like that in my blog but in keeping with my writing integrity, I felt compelled to quote her accurately.  But Tuscany is amazingly beautiful with its Vineyards, Mountains, winding roads and Castles.

Prior to arriving in Tuscany we made our way to Cinque Terre.  Cinque Terre consists of five towns, hamlets actually, built into the sides of cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  Yes, it's actually more amazing than it sounds.  One of the more amazing sights in Cinque Terre is the Way of Love.  It's a path that you can walk, for a nominal fee, along the coast that connects all five towns.  In between two of the cities is an area where you can leave a lock or string or write a beautiful message dedicated to someone you love.  The wife and I shared a loving kiss for our future together.

You gotta pay for love and the Way of Love

I almost forgot to mention one small detail.  This was the first trip that we rented a car.  So we drove from Zurich to Cinque Terre to Siena to Lake Como.  Actually, we drove from Zurich to La Spezia and then ferried to Cinque Terre but you get the picture.  Leaving Zurich via car is an experience as we drove through the Alps and saw amazing little Alp towns and a completely different side of Switzerland.  It was refreshing to see a less flashy side of Switzerland compared to the Glitz and fashionistas of Zurich, Luzern, and Geneva.  I'll say this too, it's an entirely different world going into Italy.  I'll leave it at that because trying to describe it will offend either Switzerland or Italy and I have nothing but love for both countries (maybe a little more for Switzerland!)

So off to Siena.  Many folks know about Florence and its Duomo's and open air leather markets but in Northern Italy they have a saying, "You either love Siena or you love Florence"  Siena is Florence's cultural rival and for a place I honestly never even heard of, I was pretty impressed.  We spent a day walking through it's historic medieval old city and had lunch overlooking Piazza del Campo.  Most folks know Piazza del Campo for the twice a year bareback horserace Palio di Siena.  When we arrived, we just missed the second of the two races but the Piazza was bustling with tourists and locals. Strangely enough, we overheard an american tourist, whom I presume was an consultant, discussing the pending changes taking place at H-P.  Sure enough, a few weeks later, H-P was making significant strategy and management changes.

Take a look at Siena for yourself....

Where the horse race was held. Piazza del Campo 

Future sister-in-law recommended this place for Tiramasu

Unfortunately closed

Can't go to the well too many times.

Cathedral of Siena 

Oh wait, there's more

Pretty darn amazing

Room full of very old hymnals

Pretty cool city right?  This definitely was a great start to seeing Tuscany...but our next stop was just beautiful, relaxing, and a different type of heaven on earth.  Maui and Kaui is one type of heaven on earth and Castello Banfi is another.

But first, some shots from the car...

This beats Central Illinois any day!

The Banfi family, from what I've heard from our resident wino in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the largest Vineyards in all of Italy.  The family are actually Americans of Italian descent.  They make some amazing wines and have a Castle that sits on their property overlooking their vineyards.  It is sooooo much better than it sounds.  Sooo much better.  And it's also very relaxing with only a hand full of guests allowed on the property at any one time.  We literally had 9 glasses of wine tastings and ginormous wine pairings with our five course meal.  In between wine they also had an open bar in their library, just in case the wine didn't hit the spot.  It was a great experience and I never knew that I could drink my weight in wine!

Take a walk with Mrs. Abroad and me at Castello Banfi!

The wife + wine = NO WHINING!

Miami Vice meets Tuscany

Open says-a-me!

Next up...The last and final Swiss blog....to be honest, it's going to be difficult to wrap all this up, so please be patient with us.  We have had some amazing memories shared with friends and family and have made more friends in this wonderful country they call the Fatherland, Switzerland.  I have to run to one of our farewell dinners with friends.

Bis Bald