Day 19: Pietrasanta-Sesto Calende

Another beautiful day in Pietrasanta….we take our last walk around town stopping to buy a piece of parmigiano-reggiano that our friends in Sweden requested.

We say goodbye to the people at the hotel and thank them for their hospitality.

We are going to Sesto Calende, a town near Malpensa Airport, because we are flying to Copenhagen tomorrow and visiting friends in southern Sweden. We will leave most of our luggage at the Hotel 3 Re because we don't want to have to carry it all to Sweden and because we are flying on EasyJet, a European budget airline (our first experience) and they have strict weight limits for checked baggage. This hotel was the first hotel we stayed in on our first trip to Italy in 1993. We have stayed there since and I use it for clients from time to time. The women who run the hotel–Silvia and Raffaela–have agreed to store our excess bags for the four nights we are gone - we'll be back for one more night on our return.

The drive from Pietrasanta is uneventful except for a drama with the traffic reports that pop up on our GPS. All of a sudden the estimated time of arrival jumps by more than an hour. There are reports of accidents on the autostrada causing long backups. We consider getting off and taking alternate routes but I get suspicious because the autostrada alert signs show no indications of any problems. We ignore the warnings and find no backups…..the GPS system is not reliable.

When we stop for lunch at an Autogrill, we are surprised by their newest specialty–a bagel–

but resist the temptation to try one.

Sesto Calende is a small town about 10 miles north of Malpensa, on the banks of the Ticino River at the bottom of Lago Maggiore. Everytime we come back to Sesto Calende, I'm reminded of what a nice town it is–not historic but very typical. And the location on the river with the waterfront promenade is a very pleasant spot. The river is wide and the houses on the far side are very grand with–unusual for Italy–broad expanses of manicured lawns.

We are greeted warmly by the sisters who run the hotel and we get settled into our room. The hotel is doing very well–they have a lot of international guests who come to learn about helicopter maintenance at a local facility–and they have made a lot of improvements since our first visit in 1993. Rooms are much bigger, the furniture is quite attractive and the bathrooms are modern and roomy.

http://www.hotel3re.it/eng/Default.asp

After an exploratory walk–where I am surprised to find that even Sesto Calende now has a self-service laundromat–

we get in the car to go to the local equivalent of Walmart (Bennett's)–a gigantic store on a busy commercial strip–to buy an umbrella (the one we brought has died). We experience a bit of culture shock but we do buy an umbrella. Hopefully we won't need it.

We have dinner at the hotel restaurant. When we first stayed at the hotel, I had a dish called gnocchi alla romana–disks of semolina flour, butter and eggs baked in the oven and topped with parmigiano. I thought they were delicious but never found them anywhere in all our Italian travels. So I asked the sisters if they might make them for us…and they did.

They were delicious–so simple but so good. They explained that this is more of a dish made at home - not one found in restaurants - but we think they'd be a hit on restaurant menus. We had a very good grilled branzino as well and a nice Muller-Thurgau from the Alto-Adige, but the highlight was the gnocchi.

One interesting thing about the dining room is that the helicopter trainees all eat there and they are a very international lot….so there are Americans, English, Asians and Arabs all in the dining room.

Tomorrow we head for the unknown–Sweden.

Diana's Reading List

Some of you have wondered what I've read this trip, so here goes:

1. The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: A Tale of Passion and Folly in the Heart of Italy by Joe McGinniss.This very good writer spends 9 months with the football (soccer) team in a small Abruzzo town which has made it to Serie B. (If you don't know what Serie B is you really need to read this book.) He's a rabid fan and fascinated by all he encounters and his memoir of the team, the townspeople, the ways of Italian soccer is vivid and fascinating. You don't need to be a soccer fan to enjoy this book.

2. Gomorrah: A Personal Journey Into the Violent, International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System by Roberto Saviano. Perhaps you've seen the movie - this is the book. The author is a part of the story - he is exposing the system out of personal rage and shame. Horrifying, brutal and depressing but worth reading.

3. The Woman At the Washington Zoo: Writings On Politics, Family and Fate by Marjorie Williams. Wonderful!! Collection of essays by former Washington Post and Slate writer. Sharp, insightful profiles of politicians, essays about work and family, and the final section - very moving essays about the cancer that ultimately took her life.

4. The Brief, Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Tour de force novel by Dominican/American writer. It's too hard to resist saying wow.

5. The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings by R.W.B.Lewis. Erudite, beautifully written history of Florence, with some personal experiences as well.

6. Carry Me Across the River by Ethan Canin. Novel about a Jewish man's turbulent life in the 20th century. Engrossing.

7. Granta issue: Lost and Found. As ususal with Granta, interesting fiction and non-fiction. (I left this one at a hotel but don't want to leave any of the others. This is the point at which Jim wonders whether we should seriously look into the Kindle.)

8. The Saddest Pleasure: A Journey on Two Rivers by Moritz Thomsen. Memoir about a journey to Brazil and trip on the Amazon. This writer is the author of Living Poor, the clasic Peace Corps memoir and here he reflects on his life in Ecuador where he remained after Peace Corps, and the issues of poverty, oppression, farming and relationships which absorb him. Not easy going but worth it.

9. The Serious Game by Hjalmar Soderberg. Wonderful Swedish novel by contemporary of Strindberg's. Love story but also great portrait of Stockholm at the start of the 20th century.

Day 16-18: Pietrasanta

NOTE: In the interests of catching up with our trip before we get back, I am posting one report for our three days in Pietrasanta.

The hotel is wonderful…almost perfect.

However, the roomy marble shower in the bathroom (there is also a large tub) has no place to put soap or shampoo except on a narrow ledge at the bottom–a curious omission. (Every trip we seem to comment on the deficiencies of Italian bathroom design.) Other than that, it is hard to find anything lacking. The rooms is nicely decorated, the bed is comfortable as is the furniture. The breakfasts are terrific and the service is outstanding. The staff is friendly and helpful and the location is right in the middle of everything.

The town is a pleasure to walk around–the modern sculptures and classy modern art galleries are a nice accent to the traditional attractions in most Italian towns. Each day when we come back from our excursions (see below), I usually take a walk around the town and in our time in Pietrasanta, I think I covered almost every street in the center. One of the most famous artists represented is Fernando Botero, a Columbian who lives in Pietrasanta part-time. His very distinctive style–very round human figures–is represented right at the entrance to town

and there are many other modern pieces scattered around the town.

One day I climbed up to the fortress above the town (of course, it was closed for restoration) but I did get a good view of the town.

Another day, we did a quick walk through of some of Pietrasanta's attractions; the Duomo

the Baptistery

the art museum, which is located in a deconsecrated church on the main piazza

did some window shopping (there are some very elegant shops in town)

and checked out the monuments and memorials celebrating Pietrasanta's past.

Each evening, before dinner, we had a prosecco at the same bar (the one that was in the sun) and watched the endless stream of people. By the third day we were recognized by the waitress so we felt like "regulars".

Each day we went out for an out of town excursion. On May 1, we drove up into the hills to Sant'Anna di Stazzema. We had tried to go in the fall but the combination of the winding, narrow road and foggy rainy weather turned us around. The drive today was much easier….the road was the same but the weather was very cooperative–bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

Sant'Anna di Stazzema is a small mountain village where the Germans massacred almost 600 civilians in 1944 (mostly women and children, as well as the town priest) as a reprisal for partisan activity in the area. There is now a hilltop memorial to the victims and a very well executed museum with details of the massacre and exhibits about the resistance movement in the area. The church where the killings took place is also open for visitors. It is a beautiful location, the museum is compelling and the memorial is very moving.

The web site of the village has a lot more information about the events.

http://www.santannadistazzema.org/sezioni/THE%20MEMORY/

We had talked to the manager of the hotel that morning before leaving and she was very emotional as she told us that her mother's family was from Sant'Anna and many of her relatives were among the victims. We recognized her name in the lists and narratives in the museum.

Spike Lee's film "The Miracle of Sant'Anna" is set in the area and deals with the experiences of the black army unit that fought against the Germans in the mountains. We learned that the Italians are not too happy about the film because they think that the contributions of the Italian resistance is minimized. We hadn't liked it either - a disappointing effort by a filmmaker we usually like very much.

We try to drive down on a different road than we came up on, only to find that what we thought was a road was really only a bicycle path. When we come to the end of the road, we have to turn around and go back down the same way. In any case, the scenery is very beautiful.

We have lunch on the beach in Viareggio, one of the large Italian beach resorts on this coast. The resort is crowded on this holiday and the "boardwalk" is full of strollers. We have a sandwich sitting in a one of the beach club snack bars, enjoying the sun and the people watching.

On May 2, we drive to Lucca on the main non-toll road to get a different view of the drive. When we get to Lucca, it is difficult to find a parking space but we drive into the city and park–semi-legally (with ten other cars)–on the sidewalk next to a church near Piazza San Francesco. Lucca is a favorite city of ours and we frequently stop for a short visit while in the area. We like to visit our friend Paolo at the Piccolo Puccini Hotel, buy some chocolate at the Caniparoli shop and have our favorite lunch–fried chicken and vegetables–at La Vecchia Trattoria Buralli. We accomplish all three goals and also have a nice walk across town, passing many of our old haunts from when we studied Italian here for two weeks a few years ago. We also have a nice discussion with the Italian sitting next to us in the restaurant–an engineer from Carrara on a day trip with his family. He starts talking to us by complimenting us on our command of Italian, which may not be accurate but is very flattering.

On May 3, after doing our laundry at the laundromat in town, we drive to the beach town of Marina di Pietrasanta, about five miles away. It is a beautiful day again and the town is lively. There is a very big spring market that stretches for blocks with food, jewelry, clothing, plants, flowers and soaps among the things being sold. We stroll through the market and then have a light lunch at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the beach. We walk out on the pier that stretches across the beach out into the water; the beach looks very clean and well maintained.

Before heading back to Pietrasanta, we walk through another food section of the market (which makes us wish we had come here for lunch) and have some excellent gelato at Peccati di Gola (translates as "sins of gluttony")

One more detour before returning….a drive into the hills above Pietrasanta on a road on the way to Capezzano and Capriglia that has the tightest, most continuous hairpin turns that I can remember ever driving. But we do get some nice views into the mountains before coming back down to town.

We have two dinners at da Beppino in Valdicastello, the next town over. Our Friday night dinner is the best of the trip–we have the house antipasto consisting of a number of plates of delicious food–meatballs, fried vegetables, ham, panzanella (bread and tomato salad), white beans and more–followed by wonderful tagliatelle with a rich porcini mushroom sauce for me and tortelli with spinach for Diana. Diana has a refreshing dish of strawberries with vanilla gelato for dessert. The house wine is outstanding and a great value and the waiter is professional and friendly. We enjoyed our meal so much that we decide to come back on Sunday and it was almost as successful–Diana's steak is especially good.

Saturday's dinner was not as successful. We had chosen a Slow Food recommendation–La Giudea–which is just around the corner from the hotel. Unfortunately the staff was not up to the challenge of the very full restaurant….service was slow and confused and the food–while okay–didn't make up for it.

All in all, we really enjoyed our time in Pietrasanta and would happy to return there in the future–especially if we could stay at the Albergo Pietrasanta.

Day 15: Florence-Pietrasanta

We sleep well in the sumptuous surroundings. Breakfast is surprisingly limited for such a luxurious place and the service was slow. If the weather had been a bit warmer, we could have taken breakfast on the beautiful terrace but, while sunny, it was still cool.

After breakfast, we take a walk around the city

past the apartment where stayed for two weeks in 2004

and stop to say hello to our friend Lino who works at a bar near the Ponte Vecchio. There are a fair number of tourists out this morning, especially on the Piazza Signoria.

We stop in the church of Orsanmichele

which had been closed for years; this is the first time that we had seen it when the sun was out and we see a lot more of the art and decorations than we had on our last visit–a rainy November afternoon. No pictures allowed inside but here's a sample from the internet.

We head back to the hotel–Diana stops to buy a scarf at the Straw Market–and Luca, the desk clerk, takes us on a tour of some of the other rooms at the hotel–all spectacular in one way or another, either size or decoration or both. Then we are off to Pietrasanta. The ride out of Florence is easy…traffic is reasonably light at 11:30 am and we are soon on the autostrada heading west. We decide not to stop in Lucca for lunch and just grab a sandwich at an Autogrill.

We drive right up to the hotel in Pietrasanta…straight across the whole "centro storico" including the main piazza. Luckily for us the weekly market has just finished or we would have had some difficulty navigating through town. We had visited the hotel–Albergo Pietrasanta–last fall but the day had been so rainy that we never really saw anything but the inside of the hotel.

The town looks very nice as we drive through….it has a distinctive feel due to the presence of many modern sculptures in the streets and piazzas, which contrast vividly with the traditional look of an Italian small town. Over the past 25 years, Pietrasanta has become something of a modern art colony and there are a number of well-known artists who spend part of the year in town. We are greeted warmly at the hotel by Federica, whom we had met last fall and had invited us back to stay at the hotel. We are shown to our room which is a very beautiful and large–not quite as grand as at the Residenza del Moro but spacious and comfortable.

Here is the web page link for more photos of the hotel.

http://www.albergopietrasanta.com/albergo_pietrasanta_hotel.phtml

The public rooms are also tasteful and filled with the owner's collection of modern art. There is glass-ceiling atrium in the garden where breakfast is served and a pleasant outdoor area.

Before I go out for my exploratory walk, Federica suggests that we make dinner reservations for the holiday (May 1) weekend because she expects that the town will be full with visitors. We discuss various possibilities and make a plan for next few nights. Then I go out for a walk….the rain that threatened earlier has stopped so the sun is now shining and the temperature is pleasant. My walk is very nice…the town is level but the tall Appennines are close by and provide a striking backdrop. The town looks very prosperous with lots of chic shops sprinkled in with the traditional mix of Italian stores. In the middle of the entrance to the main street is a large gilt picture frame

which makes the town itself a "work of art". I walk past the cathedral which dominates the main piazza

but it shares the space with the old town castle set into the old town walls

several sidewalk cafes, an old church which is now a museum

and a number of modern sculptures.

Later in the afternoon, we sit at the cafe that is in the sun and have a prosecco before dinner. Dinner is at Il Gatto Nero (the Black Cat), which seems to be a favorite of locals. Our meal is just okay…..I have a bowl of pasta and bean soup and Diana has ravioli to start. For seconds–we have a grilled fish and a roast pork dish–but most everyone else in the place is having the steak….so perhaps we ordered badly. The wine–Montecarlo, a red from near Lucca–is fine.

The stroll back to the hotel through the lit up town is very nice. Tomorrow is May Day and we will drive up to Sant'Anna di Stazzema, which was the site of a massacre of townspeople during World War II and the subject of a recent Spike Lee film.

Day 14: San Quirico d'Orcia-Florence

The sun is shining brightly this morning…..grrrrr. I take my last morning walk around the town.

After breakfast, Diana goes out for some last minute shopping and we say goodbye to Ulli as we pack the car. The drive to Florence is pretty but uneventful….we make a stop in Castellina in Chianti at one of our favorite gelaterias–L'Antica Delizia–and it is terrific as usual. We also stop in Panzano to try and say hello to my client who is now staying there but she is not in the hotel and we can't find her in town.

We make only one wrong turn on our way to our hotel which is right in the center of town, a block off the Arno River. The Residenza del Moro is just around the corner from where my sister Barbara lived for six months in 1993 when we made our first visit to Italy. (In order to be absolutely accurate, it should be noted that Diana had been in Venice for a day or two as a teenager enroute to Israel.)

The Residenza del Moro is a luxury hotel in a renovated old palazzo and it is quite spectacular. It is the sister hotel of the place where we are staying in Pietrasanta and the manager offered us a complimentary night in Florence. Here is a picture of our room (with a jacuzzi), statues hanging on the walls and frescoes on the ceiling.

You can check out the rest of the hotel on this web site.

http://www.residenzadelmoro.com/

Once we get settled, I call our friend Jane Nyhan who lives in Florence, is a guide and is working with my client who is now in Chianti. She comes over and we spend the afternoon together…we have a coffee and then she takes us on an offbeat tour of Florence…showing some old things and some new things, including the elevator in the Hotel Continentale that has a sofa in it and the wonderful views from the rooftop terrace.

Then we make a stop at the Santa Maria Novella "pharmacy"–which has been in business for about 400 years. Diana needs to pick up some of her favorite creams.

It starts to rain lightly so we go back to the hotel which is just around the corner. When it stops, I go out for a walk–crossing over to the Oltrarno (the other side of the river)

and crossing back over downriver to Piazza Santa Croce where I take a picture of the church facade gleaming starkly in the light from the remnants of the storm.

Dinner is at an old haunt–Trattoria Belle Donne–where we ate frequently on our first trip to Florence. It looks just about the same (although it is under new management). The meal is enjoyable–more zuppa di farro for me followed by some nice meatballs (polpettine) in tasty tomato sauce. Diana has risotto with artichokes that she enjoys followed by a roast pork dish that is less successful. We finish with a pretty good panna cotta.

We have a nice conversation with the young Japanese couple who are seated next to us. They are carrying a guide book which looks a lot like a comic book/magazine with listings that feature pictures and the Italian names of recommended dishes from each listed restaurant. We later are aware of many other Japanese tourists carrying similar publications. It turns out that the man had studied in Rochester NY for a year and both of them enjoy traveling. We give them some restaurant and sightseeing recommendations for the rest of their stay.

Although everyone we meet who is in tourism complains about the lack of business, we do see many Japanese, French, and Russian tourists. Not as many Americans, however. Italians we talk with are enthusiastic and optomistic about Pres. Obama and his efforts to turn things around. Speriamo - we hope so.

Our palatial room at the hotel is just around the corner. Tomorrow we are off to Pietrasanta.

Day 13: San Quirico d'Orcia

Our last full day in southern Tuscany and the weather is…..uncertain. There are tantalizing patches of blue peeking through the overcast.

We have a slow morning including a visit with Ulli, our landlady, who brings back the load of laundry she has kindly done for us.

Late in the morning, we decide to try to take a short walk off one of the white roads to see the Capella di Vitaleta, probably the most frequently photographed scene in southern Tuscany. As we head out, we notice that the main street of San Quirico d'Orcia is filled with stalls….it is market day. (I later learn that the market takes place on the 1st and 4th Tuesday of the month, and we have never coincided with it before). We stroll up and down the whole length of the market–Diana considers some linen and we look at some baby clothes–but we end up not buying anything.

The sun is breaking through a bit when we head for the countryside……but there are still threatening clouds overhead. The vistas are so broad that you can see as many as 7 hill towns at one time and you can check the differing weather conditions all around the valley.

We park the car, walk around the locked gate to the farm and approach the Cappella, which sits on a rise right next to a farmhouse. Unfortunately, on the way, the skies darken and rain looks imminent so Diana heads back to the car while I contine on to take my photograph. The rain holds off and I get my pictures…..both the traditional view from the front

and a less often seen perspective from the rear.

Mission accomplished, we see that the sun seems to be out in Pienza so we quickly drive over there planning to get a sandwich and have a picnic. Unfortunately, by the time we get to town, it has started to rain. We still have our picnic and our porchetta sandwich but we have to sit on the covered portico opposite the cathedral.

After lunch, we head to Buonconvento over the back roads, passing a big flock of sheep in the fields next to the road.

Since it is still raining, we visit the art museum in Buonconvento which is another nicely arranged collection of local artwork. Again we have the museum to ourselves and the works of the Sienese school of 15th and 16th century artists are very impressive.

After spending an hour or so in the museum, we stop at a local gelateria/pasticceria and have some excellent gelato and a delicious piece of cake. Then we head back to San Quirico d'Orcia for a rest. We have our final dinner back at Il Tinaio.

I have the always excellent zuppa di farro and a rabbit dish "in the etruscan style" with olives. Diana has an unusual dish called "percorino fuso con i pignoli"–a plate of melted cheese served with pine nuts…..and a piece of the fabulous cauliflower flan. I can't leave town without a final "perfect" panna cotta…..which unfortunately may spoil me for other panna cotta in the future.

We say goodbye to "our" waiter and the owner and, on the walk home, notice that there are stars in sky.

Day 12: San Quirico d'Orcia

Weather continues to be iffy…..the morning is very overcast but there are glimmers of blue sky and sun–but it may be we are just being teased.

Diana is feeling a bit better this morning and it is a pretty drive to Chiusi on the valley road to pick up Marian and Karlie.

The sun is out when we reach Chiusi and we find a space right down the street from the station. We meet them in the station–the train is late but Marian had called earlier to alert us–and head off to show Karlie–a vivacious 11 year old girl on her first trip to Italy–what an Italian small town looks like. We drive up the winding road to Monticchiello but Karlie is sleeping and oblivious to the scenery. However, once we stop at a bar and have a drink and Karlie has a cookie, she perks right up. We walk up to the church

and have a look around inside, then stop in a shop for some browsing. Monticchiello is famous for its Teatro Povero, a theater "company" made up of locals who put on plays that reflect their lives and issues. There is a museum for the theater in the tourist office and we ask if we can see it. We are told that it will take ten minutes for the multi-media exhibits to get started so we go out for a short walk.

The museum is quite an ambitious undertaking–very creative with a combination of music, sounds, photographs and a number of examples of stagecraft crammed into four rooms. You start in the dark and the exhibits flash on as you move through the rooms. The idea is to show the history of the area and the life of the locals and how this developed into the theater project. Unfortunately for us, it is all in Italian and we are unsure about what is happening and where we are supposed to go next. But we recognize the effort and ingenuity that went into creating it……even if much of it is lost on us. Next time we will bring our son Seth, who is an actor and speaks Italian….he will help us make more sense of it.

Here is the web site for the museum which shows some pictures of the goings-on in the show. Other pages on the site tell more about the company, its history and philosophy.

http://www.teatropovero.it/museo/museo.html

When we come out and thank the staff person, he informs us that we have to pay Euro 4.00 per person……which we do, even though we would have liked to have known about the charge before we started.

The weather is deteriorating and it is getting close to lunch time so we drive back to San Quirico d'Orcia and show them our apartment. Before we eat we take a stroll around town, showing Karlie the Rose Garden and the Horti Leoni etc.

For lunch we go to Il Tinaio–Marian had stayed in San Quirico d'Orcia three years before for a week and her apartment was over the restaurant. Lunch is very good…the waiter is very attentive and Karlie is very adventurous–tasting a bit of everything. For starters, we share the cauliflower flan, the sweet and sour onions and the artichokes. This is followed by pici with garlic and bread crumbs for Karlie and Marian, parpardelle with rabbit for me and gnocchetti with tomato and basil for Diana. Diana and I share another perfect panna cotta and Karlie really likes her tiramisu with pineapple and coconut. A little red wine accompanies the meal.

After lunch the serious shopping begins….I go back to the apartment to work while the three women hit the stores. I catch up with them later for a coffee at the Bar Centrale and we make our way back to the apartment as the rain starts again.

Then we take them back to Chiusi so that they can catch the train back to Rome. An enjoyable day for everyone.

For dinner, we finally get to the Trattoria Garibaldi, which is a truck stop restaurant connected to a hotel and gas station on the main road outside of town. It is very busy this rainy evening–a few foreigners sprinkled in with truck drivers, workers and local families. It is known to have good fish so I have the spaghetti with clams, which is one of the best versions of the dish I have ever had, followed by a fritto misto, which is also excellent but such a big portion that I hardly make a dent in it. Diana really likes her melon and prosciutto but not the pizza that follows. But we are generally very pleased with the place and wouldn't hesitate to come back.

Tomorrow is our last day in San Quirico d'Orcia and, as we drive home, we scan the sky for stars, which might signal a nice day–but we don't see any.