176. 36! Palazzo Vecchio and Villa Borromeo

Happy Birthday to me!

Annette makes sure I have a great day with some cool presents and the usual smoked salmon dinner!

After a great birthday and quiet Christmas the world is reeling from the devastating Tsunami that hits South East Asia...

Villa Borromeo

So to cheer ourselves up we have booked a table at the very elegant Villa Borromeo in San Casciano, where Liz Taylor and Richard Burton apparently came in the 60's... We enjoy a slap up meal in very plush surroundings.

Palazzo Vecchio 

We also finally get to check out Florence's town hall, the Palazzo Vecchio. For three years we've been admiring the outside and it's only taken us this long for a cloudy day to force us inside!

It was definitely worth the wait... The monumental first courtyard, designed by Michelozzo is covered in frescoes by Giorgio vasari and depicts scenes from the Austrian Hapsburg estates. In the centre is an bronze angel and dolphin cast by Verocchio, originally this was in the Medici villa in Careggi.

The main room, Salone dei Cinquecento or hall of the five hundred was originally the grand council where the 500 members met and later Duke Cosimo held court. It was in this room also that Leoardo's battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo's battle of Cascina frescoes were carried out but unfortunately were ruined and  lost forever. Giorgio Vasari frescoed over them with scenes of victory for Florence over Pisa, but there is a tiny chance that some traces of the original frescoes are hidden underneath... one of those unsolved mysteries that might one day see the light of day, literally!

There are also six statues along the hall that represent the labours of Hercules and the piece de resistance Michelangelo's marble group, the genius of Victory, which is quite sublime...

We have a look around some of the smaller rooms, but nothing quite compares to this!  All in all a very nice birthday treat!

(Original journal entry 24-29/12/04)

175. Pre-Christmas Crackers & Gemma and Tiz 2

Nov. 23rd

After 120,000 miles the clutch on our trusty Nissan Sunny has finally packed up... three days later and 392 euro poorer, but we have a new clutch and are once again mobile!

Dec 1st

On a wet Wednesday evening in rush hour traffic I crash into a lorry and the car conks out again! Diagnosis; a new fuel pump - which will take two weeks to order from Japan... so two weeks of busses and trains then!

Dec 16th

And our landlady wants to put the rent up from 550 euro to 700 euro! An increase of 30% from January 1st... now all that just cracks me up!

Gemma and Tiz 2

Our good friends Gemma and Tiziano have invited us over tom their lovely home in Prato for the day to help us forget our woes...

Gemma is cooking and we are eating! Outside it's a cold, rainy day, but inside there is lots of warmth, laughs and good cheer to warm the heart! We can forget our housing situation, fortunately we have the new fuel pump, so are mobile again.

We enjoy a very pleasant day in good company and even fit in a game of chess and a few rounds of bridge! A nice appetizer to our Christmas holidays which start on Tuesday...

(Original journal entry 19/12/04)

174. Fiorentina vs Bologna /Scotish market

A cold and miserable end to November and the same for the first week of December, but there is always Fiorentina! Piero has a couple of English friends who are coming over for the Bologna game, so I join them for what should be an easy win...

The rain doesn't ease up for the match and we scrape a 1-0 win - thank god! I would have been rather angry to have stood in the rain for two hours and seen Fiorentina lose!

At the moment there is a Scottish market on in Santa Maria Novella and I indulge in some Whisky tasting to warm myself up.. just the job on a cold and wet Saturday afternoon!

Viola - Braveheart!

(Original journal entry 5/12/04)

173. Fiesole and Salsa

A bright, sunny Sunday afternoon forces us out of the flat and up to Fiesole. It's been a while since we've visited this beautiful part of Florence and so we drive up to Mt Ceceri and have a ramble in the woods and enjoy the Autumn colours.

After our party, we're invited to Jane's party for a lesson on how it's supposed to be done! We finally buy a D.V.D. player and can now enjoy watching some films in English, but don'rt worry we won't spend every evening in front ogf the gogglebox as we've also enrolled in Salsa lessons at the very cool, happening Jaraguar near Costa San Giorgio! We've paid in advance for four lessons, let's see how long we can keep it going for!


(Original journal entry 21/11/04)

172. Allez Francais! Est Arrivé...

A surprise french evening - I spotted an ad for a cheese and wine tasting event and so after work we go and check it out... It's at the French institute in Piazza Ognisanti. There is a mélange of things going on... they are celebrating 50 years of the twinning of Florence and Reims, there are some great Beujolais Nouveaus and French cheese to taste and a photography exhibition.

We bump into our British Institute director, Vanessa Hall Smith... so this is how she spends her free time! There is a classical concert going on as well which we stay for and we also bump into another work colleague, receptionist, Leonardo.

Vive le France1

171. Fiorentina vs Inter

Well what do you know, my good mate, Piero has managed to swing a couple of tickets for the big game. Brazilian superstar, Adriano and his pals at Inter Milan are visiting 'purple paradise' and we are ready for the battle! After gaining promotion from serie B, The viola are now back where they belong with the big boys of serie A and I'm ready to see some top notch calcio! The season has started ok, with Fiorentina having won 3 lost 2 and drawn 4, with three of them scoreless, so we're lying mid-table.

We have some good players this season, including Giorgio Chiellini, Fabrizio Miccoli, Angelo Dilivio, Christian Maggio and Giampaolo Pazzini. The legendary Dino Zoff has replaced Emilio Mondonico as our manager, but it hasn't been a particularly good start to the season... Inter on the other hand have one of the best squads in Italy, with Adriano, Mihajlovic, Veron, Recoba, Edgar Davids, Vieri, Materazzi and our old keeper, Toldo in goal... an almost impossible team to beat!

We meet up for a pre-match pint at a local pub and make our way to our seats in the Curva Ferrovia. Fiorentina edge the first half with a 26th minute goal from defender Dainelli. Inter press hard in the second half and we resist until the 81st minute when that man, Adriano pops up to score the equaliser! The game finishes in an amicable 1-1 draw.

We pop to the fiddlers pub for a consolation drink and ponder on what might have been... a thoroughly entertaining evening however and welcome back to the big time for Fiorentina!

170. Big Night 2

It's party time at the Cooper household! Even though our flat isn't big enough to swing a cat in we've decided to invite ten of our closest friends. Much cleaning and cooking ensues and they all turn up! I've cooked my legendary melanzane alla parmigiana and Jaime Oliver inspired rice. We've got our classic 'toasty bits' and of course various bottles of red and white wine. The only questions are, will they speak to each other and will they have a good time...



Fortunately the answer seems to be yes! We have Nadia and Alberto, Gemma and Tiziano, Alison and Piero, Bea and Riccardo and Jane and her friend, Luca. That's three English and seven Italians.


The music I've chosen in true 'Lee' fashion doesn't inspire anyone to dance... maybe they needed something more to drink first! Everyone seemed to get on well, the food is eaten and wine consumed. So a great success!

169. Umbria All -Saints

After our dip into Umbria a few weeks ago we now get the chance to explore Tuscany's neighbouring region in a bit more depth. It is the All-Saints holiday weekend and we have three days off work. We've managed to book a late room in an Agriturismo farmhouse near Todi. While Tuscany and the rest of Italy seems to be under cloud and rain - we enjoy some sun on all three days of our short break.

Saturday - Lake Trasimeno

We pack up the car and set off nice and early and arrive at our first destination, the beautiful Lake Trasimeno to the south of Cortona in time for our picnic lunch, bathed in glorious sunshine. Afterwards we go for a wander reminiscing about the last time we were here. Next we drive on through Perugia and down to Todi. The countryside is beautiful, it's less touristy than Tuscany with more off-the-beaten-track, less well-known  places.

We find our farmhouse after a short drive and as usual it turns out to be in the middle of nowhere! It's just outside of the tiny hamlet of Doglio with wonderful views. We meet our host, Franco, who seems to be a bachelor, friendly, but a bit rough and ready! We unpack and have a little 'pisolino' (nap), before changing into our gladrags and heading out to Todi for the evening. Unbelievably I put deisel in the car instead of petrol, but we are rescued by a nice man at the garage who kindly pumps it out of the tank and we are on our way again.


Todi

Unfortunately the rain has started and we wander the streets of Todi under our brolly! It's a beautiful town with some wonderful stone roads and houses and we just manage to find a restaurant, dedicated to one of Todi's most famous sons, Jacopone - the food is very traditional, they are famous for a type of canelloni, which Annette tries. I have the pork chops, which are great with a mushroom, olive and truffle sauce and we share a smooth, fruity bottle of Rosso di Montalcino. We decide it would be better to come back to Todi on Monday and explore further in the daylight. For now we head to our Agriturismo for a well-earned sleep zzz

Sunday - Assisi and Spoleto

By chance, today we have decided to visit Assisi, home to Italy's patron saint, Francis...

Today is Halloween and tomorrow is All-Saints day and so what better day to visit Assisi - home of the most important saint in Italy, St. Francis.

As you'd expect the place is packed. In fact it takes us about two hours to make the thirty minute trip. Eventually we make it to this ancient and very beautiful city. The streets and houses, like Todi are completely unspoilt from modern architecture. We find a gorgeous cafe to have lunch in. It's right on the corner of a busy square, San Ruffino, where we can watch the world go by...

After we make our way through the cobbled streets, to the very impressive Piazza del Commune, where there is the first century Temple dedicated to Minerva. The sky is cobalt blue, the sun has come out and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. We reach the main cathedral, the Basilica of San Francesco, which is the head of the Fransiscan order. Built in 1228 it is a beautiful example of early gothic architecture. I take a peak inside as there are some world famous frescoes by Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti. The frescoes dipicting the life of Saint Francis are simply breathtaking.

Annette has a browse round the shops, Saint Francis would turn in his little tomb if he could see all these tourist shops! However there are some interesting, tasteful shops and Annette buys a couple of of scarves as well as some candles for our big party next week. We finish our day in Assisi with some tea and local strudel cake before leaving this beautiful city.


Spoleto

Our accomodation is quite a distance from here and instead of heading back for a rest and change, we head straight out for dinner, very tired, destination, Spoleto. This looks like somewhere we would like to spend a bit more time in. After booking a table at the 'Ristorante Apollinare, we head to the main square, Piazza Duomo and I get my first taste of Umbria's most famous wine, Sagrantino di Montefalco - it's wonderfully rich, smooth and has an earthy, funky, spicy backbone which lets you know you are drinking something a bit special! The restaurant has changed the menu to the one we saw outside in the window, but turns out to be a very jazzy place. Three out of the four courses are sublime and there are some nice touches like amuse bouche and complimentary grappa and we stagger home completely exhausted!


Monday - Todi and Perugia

We appear briefly the next morning and take our big breakfast back up to our appartment and after a more relaxing start to the day, pack up our things and enjoy a pleasant walk in the countryside around this lovely farm. Today is a bank holiday in Italy, 'Ognisanti' or All-Saints, but the real celebration is tomorrow's 'I Morti', or All-Souls. Sounds confusing? Anyway we see many people visiting their dead relatives at the local cemetries.


Todi

We take a drive back to Todi and enjoy a daytime tour of this beautiful city. In the main square, while admiring the view of the surrounding countryside we get talking to a local who decides to give us a long and detailed history of the area. Apparently there are 365 castles in Umbria, that's one for every day of the year! The simple Gothic Cathedral and three 'Palazzi', the Lombard-Gothic del Capitano, del Priore and del Popolo are built from this wonderful silvery, white stone that gives it an almost other-worldly quality. We walk to the edge of the city and admire the Bramante inspired Santa Maria della Consolazione temple, which actually had about seven different architects including Sangallo the younger. It is pretty impressive. Here we catch some lunch, a simple slice of pizza and head off for our last stop on our 3-day Umbria tour. We have to choose between Gubbio and Perugia and seeing as Perugia is on the way home and we'd like to devote at least a whole day to Gubbio we pick the latter!

Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of Umbria famous for its Jazz festival and yummy chocolate - unfortunately their annual festival was last week... d'oh! We park up and enter the hill-top city through the ancient sewage system (now, fortunately non-operative!). It's quite cool actually moving up a series of escalators while looking at the ancient ruins. Again the weather is quite pleasant today, which for November isn't bad, but not quite bright enough to light up a dreary city. Eventually we manage to find a chocolate shop. We enjoy a wicked chocolate cake and purchase some little chocolates to take home. I have a peek at the local museum, but there's not much to interest me there. The local artist was Pietro Vannucci, or Perugino as we know him and he painted mainly madonnas. The cathedral and main square looks like it's in need of a bit of love and a facelift so we head home...

It's a two-hour drive back to Florence and by the time we arrive back we are starving and so decide to stop at Porta Romana for a pizza. Not exactly the relaxing weekend we were hoping for, a desire to see everything and everywhere proving too much again! Maybe a weekend at home doing completely nothing would be in order... Nah!!!


(Original journal entry 2/11/04)

168. Villa di Castello

Our second medici villa in as many weeks! It's another sunny Sunday afternoonand this one is a fifteen minute drive away in a hilly area called Castello, near Sesto Fiorentino, to the north west of Florence. It's full title is 'Parco di Villa Reale di Castello, but it is known as 'Villa di Castello'. The villa is closed, but it's the garden that we've really come to see and enjoy.

The villa was the country residence of Duke Cosimo de Medici from 1519 - 1574 and at one time housed Botticelli's world famous 'Birth of Venus'. The gardens filled with statues, fountains and a grotto were also famous at the time all throughout Europe and had a profound influence on the design of other Renaissance gardens and later, French formal gardens.

We have a nice wander through the perfectly kept gardens and a laze on our trusty rug. I've brought my pad and while away a few hours sketching. As well as the gardens there is a wonderful grotto with some exotic animal carvings and a bronze statue, the fountain of Appenino, by Bartolomeo Ammannati. It is supposed to represent the mountain source of the rivers in Florence and is called
'The first of January'... and it does look as if it's shivering! There is another impressive fountain too, in bronze depicting Hercules and Anteus. It recalls the story from Greek mythology and here represents Florentine Duke Cosimo defeating Florence's enemies by using intelligence over brute force... although it helps when you're Hercules, the world's strongest man!

We enjoy a very relaxing afternoon, only beaten, or rather 'bitten' at dusk by some pesky mosquitos who are still clinging on to the remnants of summer.

167. Relais Certosa and Villa Sant Andrea

A very special evening, as old our favourite winery, Villa Sant Andrea between Montefiridolfi and San Casciano are showcasing their latest wines at the Relais Certosa hotel in Galluzo. The hotel is providing a slap up buffet meal and we get to taste some really nice wines.

We start with a lovely Vermentino, Pinot Bianco white wine blend before moving on to their Chianti Classico, which is youthful and fruity and the Riserva which is more complex and spicy. We finish up with their sweet, but delicate Vin Santo dessert wine. All in all not a bad way to spend a Friday evening!

(Original journal entry 23/10/04)

166. Orvieto

For the last few weeks I've been wanting to go to Orvieto, but a spot of flu, some inclement weather and a party at my good friend Alberto's have held off our visit. However this weekend the time is right...

On Saturday we finally celebrated Annette's diploma course pass with a whole bottle of 'Gosset' champagne and today we've risen in time to make the two-hour journey into Umbria.

Orvieto is halfway between Florence and Rome and my interest in the place goes back to 1996 when I did an Italian course in England. The course book was based on this medieval town and its inhabitants.

We arrive just before 2pm and so are pushing it a bit for lunch. We park up and start walking and find a restaurant that looks ok. It takes the waiter ages to come and then ages to bring some water and we haven't even ordered! After about half an hour we decide to leave... We walk on and hit the jackpot! A very elegant osteria, La Buca Di Bacco. We order the five-course truffle menu with a crisp white wine from Antinori's Umbrian estate... and are taken to heaven!

After this mammoth feast we fall out onto the cobbled streets and wander. Orvieto turns out to be a very beautiful city with some fascinating, crafty looking shops. There are several deep wells and Etruscan tombs and ruins. We check out the imposing gothic revival cathedral with its gold mosaic facade and I take a peak inside. There are some wonderful, colourful frescoes by Fra Angelico, Luca Signorelli and Benozzo Gozzoli.

We are also treated to a Morgan owners club meeting in the main square, with dozens of these classic beauties parked up. We decide to ascend this cool tower called  'Torre del Moro' for a panoramic view of the surrounding area, the sun is just going down and we witness a great sunset over the rolling Umbrian hills... breathtaking! The walk down is a little easier, but worth the effort.

In need of some refreshment before heading home, we stumble across this great cafe with some soft, comfortable chairs to sink down into while enjoying our alcohol-spiked coffees! A very pleasant end to a great first visit to this enchanting city.




                 
                                                       (Original journal entry 17/10/04)

165. Villa Petraia

Another nice sunny Sunday afternoon and one of the joys of living in the city is the number of Medici villas there are to visit. Florence's first family were not shy about spending their money and had dozens of these beautiful, huge villas and gardens built in and around the hills around Florence in the 15th century. We're slowly working our way round them and today is the turn of the Villa Petraia.

This sumptuous country mansion was built around a central tower and changed ownership several times, originally being bought by the Brunelleschi family, then Palla Strozzi in 1422, the Salutati family and then finally transferred to the Medici.

Cardinal and grand duke Ferdinando carried out a radical transformation in 1587, turning the villa into a princely residence. He built around the tower, but also the grounds were divided into three magnificent terraces.

The views over Florence are stupendous and we enjoy strolling amongst the Italian style gardens with countless fruit trees, flowerbeds and little lemon trees.

Then we head inside and are treated to a guided tour of some of the rooms, some of which are covered in colourful pastel frescoes, these are scenes featuring the exploits of the medici family and were executed by Cosimo Gaddi and Volterrano.

Finally we are back outside to admire this beautiful fountain representing Venus, one of the masterpiece bronzes by Giambologna.

All in all a very pleasant visit and all for free!


                                                      (Original journal entry 3/10/04)

164. Looking for Leonardo

'Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature, because in her inventions nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous.'

Leonardo da Vinci

A nice drive out to the beautiful Tuscan countryside is today's plan and perfect way to chill out on a warm October afternoon. The choice of destination is Vinci, as in Leonardo da Vinci. he was born in these rolling hills and was obviously inspired by the stunning scenery.

The last time we came here was on a freezing cold February afternoon and a return is long overdue. There are a few shops open and I spot a cool leather briefcase in a vintage shop which I buy for a very reasonable price.

The small cobbled street town is perched on a hill and is very quaint. There is a nice museum dedicated to the master and we enjoy a guided tour. Inside there are many wooden models of some of Leonardo's inventions, which are fascinating. I discover a new game called 'dama di bacco' - an alternative version of draughts, where the pieces have been replaced by small glasses which you fill with wine. When you take your opponents piece you have to drink the wine! Sounds like fun...

We return home to florence and are too lazy to cook, so walk round the corner to our now 'local' Spanish restaurant, Habitacion Liquidas for a wicked meal.






                                                      (Original journal entry 2/10/04)

163. Florence Wine Night

What a pefect way to bring this eventful September to a close...

One of our old haunts, the co-operative winery of Castello di Grevepesa from Greve-in-Chianti are hosting a free wine tasting evening in the centre of Florence, which is useful now we are living here!

A late lesson cancellation means I am free to go and indulge...

First I pick up my glass and then wander to various stands over Florence. First stop is by the Ponte Santa Trinita for a taste of a single blend Syrah wine which is very interesting. I walk along the Arno and stop at the next stand on the Ponte Vecchio where they have their Chianti Classico, Clemente VII and then over the other side for a taste of the Riserva, both very nice. Next it's on to the tiny Piazza Santa Felicita for their 'Super Tuscan' L'Essenziale and finishing up at Piazza Pitti for some of their other wines from Panzano.

                                                        (Original journal entry 30/9/04)

162. Torna a Surriento - Return to Sorrento

Well here it is! Finally after a seven year absence I'm returning to Sorrento and Naples to see my family...



Even with living in Italy for the last two years and ten months I haven't been able to make it down to Naples to see them. My excuse, working on Saturdays and reluctance to take the car down to Castellamare. Will they forgive me?

We take the Eurostar train after work on Friday evening and have to stand for part of the journey as  there are no available seats in second class and a Sicilian porter won't let us sit in an empty first class carriage... We arrive at Napoli centrale station at 10 o'clock and are warmly welcomed by my cousin Antonio and family. A short drive to Castellamare and we settle into their huge appartment. It has great views over a nursery and the enormous mount Faito. We have a late night supper and catch up on family news.


Saturday

We appear at around 10 am for breakfast. Antonio says we're too late for a visit to Sorrento, Positano is out of the question and the weather is too bad for Capri... d'oh! He has our day planned out for us and it doesn't include seeing any of the famous sites... Anyway he takes us for a drive to Vico Equense and a rather nondescript beach at Seano. Is this really the best he can offer? We enjoy a relaxing granita in a outside bar in Castellamare, the bill for the four of us coming to the same as one drink in Florence! We pick up his wife Nilla from work and head home for a gigantic Neapolitan style lunch. His younger daughter, Mariapia is now a young lady and has changed into what must be her 5th outfit of the day! After a short pisolino we're on the move again - this time we go to Pompei, not to the archaelogical site, but to the rather ugly town of Pompei. He shows us the cathedral and inside there are all these strange paintings that I saw with my mum years ago of accidents that people had and messages of thanks to the Madonna for saving them...  Antonio then stops at a religious bookshop to pick up his latest order, 'Miracles and Wonders'. The next stop is a visit to his older daughter's new flat, she is recently married and he wants to show off his present to them, the whole flat! And when I say the whole flat I mean, the whole flat, from the building, to the furniture, tv, video, towels, crockery and even cleaning fluids! You think I'm joking? Anyway Anna and her new husband are very friendly and we stop for a coffee.

For the next leg we are handed over to my cousin, Franco and his wife, Tina. I haven't seen them for about seven years either! it's great to see Franco he is a real character and confirmed Anglophile. Tina has a nosey round Anna's new flat and is less than complimentary about it. They then take us on a long drive through the crazy streets of Castellamare and up a large mountain to this beautiful restaurant. Franco is an architect and says that he designed the place! So even though he hasn't booked, has no trouble getting a table. he is on intimate terms with the owner, her sons, the chef and waiters all of whom we are introduced to and who join us for drinks throughout the evening. There is a very camp singer performing, but the food is fabulous and we are treated so some very tasty pizza and seafood pasta along with some very crisp white Fiano wine. Even Franco's son, Raffaele turns up to say hello - it's an emotional evening for me.

Sunday

Antonio has thankfully allowed us out of the house to make the fifteen minute train ride to Sorrento - while he goes to church! We spend an enjoyable morning wandering in this charming town, with what appears to be many other English tourists and indulge in cappuccini and sfogliatelle pastries before the rain comes down and spoils it all. Fortunately like all true Brits we have brought our trusty umbrella! Lunchtime is approaching and in Naples that can mean only one thing... a very large slap-up family lunch! For this we have a date with my auntie Anna, who again I haven't seen for seven years. Suffice to say it's another emotional reunion. Anna broke her ankle a few years ago and finds it difficult to get around. Uncle Mimmi looks well and shows Annette and me some of his conserved vegetables. It's good to see Franco and Emelia and their two daughters Cristina and Marianna who are now young ladies... We have a wonderful afternoon of feasting and Annette even gets a tarantella lesson, although Franco says that her bum isn't big enough... which makes her day!

And so our flying weekend visit to the old country is over... it has been lovely to see everyone after so long and nice for them to finally meet my lovely wife, Annette. We're back at Antonio's to pack up our bags and he then drops us off at the station for our 7.30 departure back to Florence and before we can say limoncello, our Naples experience is over and Santa Maria Novella awaits...

                                                      (Original journal entry 27/8/04)