Out of Venice.....The Adventure Continues!

Ken with the Mercedes at Malvarina



Monday, May 15th

Last night we hopped on a vaporetto around 9PM to cruise down the Grand Canal to see the sights at night. Great idea Geo! The lights and buildings were beautiful. We could see into some of the building and homes where we saw incredible Venetian chandeliers. We got to see the Venice Casino. No Sondra and Susan we didn't go in and gamble since we were not dressed for the occassion.

In Italian style we stopped for a dinner at 10 PM. We followed that up with gelato. (a scoop of conconut and pistaccio for Sally, a scoop of tiramisu and cheery for Ken) Hey, they were small scoops!

The weather has been beautiful and lots of Americans and Brits here. The sites have been Italian, but it doesn't feel like we are immersed in the culture, since everyone speaks English. It is supposed to be a little more difficult; it certainly is more fun when you have to struggle with the lafnguage a little.

Sally's favorite person that she met was an elderly Australian man who told her of his world travels over his life time. When she asked where Harry's Bar was, he broke into "As Time Goes By", from Casablanca. Then he said, "Maybe that's Rick's Bar, my memory is not so good anymore." Sally thought he was pretty cute.

Tuesday, May 16th

We arrived in Malvarina in Assisi last night. You would think that it would be easy since we had been here before. We have always told Joel it was about the adventure and journey. Last night we had second thoughts about that when it was dark, no map, and no address. The day started out great. We hopped on the vaporetto to the train station with no problems, and waited there 2 hours before the train left. We sat by the waters edge sipping on a cappuccino on a workday. We saw a baby grand piano being unloaded from a boat, products being delived that we see everyday being delivered on land, but here it is via water. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was perfect for our last moments in Venice. We caught the train with no problem; the trains are so nice and comfortable. We arrived in Florence 3 hours later to pick up our renal car.

Now the adventure and journey begin. We were told that it was a 4 minute walk to the rental agency. Fe forgot about the distance and time perception of Italians. Forty-five minutes later we were hot and tired from packing all of our lugage. Everyone we stopped and asked told us that it was only 2 more blocks. We finally have our Mercedes Benz (it was only a $50 upgrade for the week; this will be the one and only time that we will be able to get this offer). It took us over an our to get out of Florence. We we finally got out we hit an unmanned toll both where we had the choice of the TelePass lane or the ticket lane. We chose the ticket lane but didn’t get a ticket, so we had to back up abou 500 feet. Good thing there wasn’t any traffic. Ken went into gas station to get some help. No one spoke any English. The gentleman indicated that we could go through the TelePass and pay domani, and assured Ken that the gate would go up. Wrong! Ken had to push the red button at the gate for help. Once again the voice was in Italian. After saying that we spoke only a a little Italian the gate rose. We were off and running! Then we hit a traffic jam that slowed us down. We had less than 2 hours to make it in time for dinner. When we realized that wasn’t going to happen, we were settling for it just to be light. When we realized that wasn’t going to happen, we just wanted to find the place. When we fially arrived at 10PM, they asked if we were hungry, they sent us to our room with a bottle of wine and panne dolce (sweet bread).

This morning was so much better. Malvarina is an agriturismo, a working farm. We stayed here three years ago, and was definitely on our list for our visit. The accomodations are very simple and magical. There is no telephon or tv. Our view from our room overlooks the Umbrian valley since we are on the side of a mountain. The flowers and the sounds ofbirds (we thought there was a cookoo clock that turned out to be a real bird) make this place a favorite! We are the only ones at the place this morning because the tourist season hasn’t started yet. Antonita (the breakfast, laundry, and everything else person who does not speak one word of English) had a whole breakfast spead out for breakfast and offered to make us scrambled eggs. They are the best scrambled eggs that we have ever had. When Sally asked her in Italian if she made them with cheese and oil, she went into long explaination. She assumed Sally would understand. She has been great and patient with us in understanding the language. We now feel that we are in the heart and soul of Italy.

We found a barber shop for Ken and mosquito cream for Sally’s 15 bites. This afternoon is cooking with Maria, and tomorrow Cladio, the owner, has arranged for Peppe to take us on a tour of Umbria. It was an offer that we couldn’t refuse. Not sure when we will be able to upload pictures. Ken and Sally

Dakota: no matter what Aunt Sue says,you are the youngest blogger! I wish you coulld all be here to experience this incredible place. It feeds your soul, and hopefully if all goes right in kitchen...our stomachs! Sally