Happy Blog Anniversary to Me

Happy blog anniversary to me.  Happy blog anna versary  to meeeeee!  Happybloganniversarytome!   Guess what, my blog is one year old!  Can you believe that you have been reading this drivel for a whole year? 

Before I had a blog, I wrote essentially the same types of things but as emails.  The emails were sent to a small group of friends and family.  They more or less had no choice.  It popped in their inbox so they read about what we were doing.  I would occasionally hear from someone.  I wanted to reach a larger group, possibly people I did not know and I wanted a site that I would be able to refer perspective guests to, so they could read about the guest house.  Having a blog fulfilled both of those needs.  Last year at this time I made the change from emails to a blog.

There were some downsides to this change from email to a blog.  Some people (including the mother of one of my friends) just can’t figure out how to click on a link and read a blog.   Or figure out how to subscribe so that my blog posts show up in her email account just like the emails did.  Her son (my contemporary) can’t figure these same things out either (I am not even going to write about the level of education that this man has).  She forgot to ask her daughter the last time she visited.  And worst of all on my part, when I visited in June I did not make it out to see her. (my defense, I did not have a car and my time was not my own) I write about this woman because she was one of the faithful respondents and I lost her when I made the switch.   On the positive side, last spring as we were planning the trip I was able to have a page about the trip that was password protected.  So the people who needed to see it and wanted to get on the schedule could.  That saved a huge number of emails both ways.  But, during that same visit back to the states I was pretty much surprised by the questions I was asked from people who I thought were reading my blog.  So if one day I manage to write a book and get it published and then go back for a visit (because book sales have been phenomenal)  and I get asked questions from my friends and family that were answered in the book I’ll probably feel even worse, huh? 

Another of the upsides is that I have reached new people.  It is so cool to hear from them and read the comments or emails that they send me.  We live in the country.  Sometimes the only person I see each day is Ben.  And he is not the conversationalist that Siena was.  Positive contacts or comments even from total strangers can make my day.  

The statistics that I see indicate over 365 posts in a year.  That means I would average one a day.  But we all know that is not true.  Because of our internet connection I can only squeeze 2 or 3 pictures in each post.  If I have a lot of pictures about a subject then the post has to have several parts to it.  I don’t like doing that but I also don’t want to cut out any pictures.   Maybe in 10 months when we move that will change.  I think I average posting 5 or 6 posts about once every 10 days.  Of the blogs that I read, some post every day, Monday through Friday and take the weekend off.  Some post every now and then and some go for weeks without posting.  Some repeat a topic on a certain day each week.  I kinda ‘wing it’, but I am always on the look out for something interesting to write about and of course festas and sagras.  Having a blog acts as a diary.  In the Spring when I am pondering which flowers to buy and plant, I can pull up the entries from summer and look at pictures and read how I felt about the flowers, then make my choices.  Same idea works for the festas and sagras. 

There are a number of blog hosting services out there.  I like WordPress because I can write using a program called Windows Live Writer, then chase Ben off the internet so that I have unrestricted access and publish the posts.  It was easy to set up my blog.  The WordPress site guided me right through the process.  I remember that I asked 1 question of a fellow blogger and I think I emailed WordPress customer support one time too.

Fellow bloggers brings up a some what sore point.  To the right of this, is a column titled “BlogRoll” which lists just about every blog that I read or check. (There was a point this summer for reasons unknown to me that the list disappeared, but I got it back once I realized it)  I have been amazed and some what hurt that few of those fellow bloggers reciprocally listed my blog.  I finally decided not to take it personally, when I realized that each time I add a new site it takes me between 10 to 15 minutes to figure out how to do it.  Any sort of changes to the static portion of the blog, like the BlogRoll or the pages at the top is not hard, I just have to remember where it is on the administrator’s menu and sort of hunt and peck around for it. 

All and all I like having a blog.  I feel very privileged that I have the time, resources and freedom to be able write like this and send it out to the world.  There are still a number of countries in this world where I could not do this, either because of my sex or because of freedom of speech issues.  As an American I spend a good bit of time worrying about the value of the dollar and the exchange rate.  I should stop and think sometimes, that for what I don’t have jingling in my pocket I have had instead a healthy, well educated, trauma free life.  I have the confidence that I could go anywhere or do anything that I want.  Head scarves, restrictive forms of dress, social or political rules don’t really stop me.  And I can take pictures and write about all these things.  Lucky you, you can read them!  Please keep reading.  Keep commenting.  Now, I think I will have one of my Hostess cupcakes (that a total stranger that I met through my blog brought me) that I saved from my birthday to celebrate!  There will be a candle and I expect to hear you singing.  Ready now:  Happy blog anniversary to Martha!…

I’m thinking of Christmas

Yeah, I know it only the beginning of November, but this is usually when I start thinking about Christmas.  By the time it arrives I am tried of it.  When we were at the last sagra in Vivo D’Orcia these were the decorations on the tables.

 

 

So I am thinking I will make something similar for the table decorations for Christmas Day lunch at Il Cacciatore.  Of course the ones I make will somehow involve gold spray paint and curling ribbon.  I realized I needed to gather and press leaves now rather than waiting.

 

 

The hydrangeas have cooperated by producing these wonderful ruby colored blooms.  I have them drying in the laundry/furnace room.

 

 

Hopefully they will keep this wonderful red color.  We’ll see. I am sure I will have to write about whatever I make.  So look for a post about them in late December.

Fall Flowers, Part 2

For some reason known only to my computer, Part 1 of this will not post.  Sorry.

 

The begonias are a little ragged.  All of these were wintered over from last year.  I plan to try it again. 

 

 

And here’s some of the hydrangea blooms that have turned.

 

 

This is the underneath of the blossom.  Not only have they have turned colors but then have physically turned over.  Above is the top side and …

 

 

 

you can see the underneath side of the leaf and how the blossom has turned over.  I don’t remember the ones that I had in Virginia doing this.  The string is so I can hang them up to dry.

 

That’s the state of flowers in late October here in Tuscany.  This week, the first full week of November it is going to rain a good bit.  We finally had one fire on Saturday night.  But it really is not that cold yet.  I easily could have cut grass again and still might have to.  Yikes!

Spiders

Several weeks ago we had a cool, foggy, dewy morning.  I was able to get these interesting shots.  I like the ground spiders.

 

 

 

 

 

This one might be hard to see since I was shooting against the sky.  I think the suspended water drops are pretty cool.

 

 

For a different type of spider check out what my blog friend, Lucia, and her children have been making here. 

She is such a good Mom.  And probably a fun one too. 

In case I don’t get around to it later, Happy Halloween!  I’ll miss the Vienna Halloween parade (always a big event to me) and Trick or Treaters!

Vivo D’Orcia

On Saturday, October 17 we went to the sagra of mushrooms and chestnuts in Vivo D’Orcia.  This is a really good one and one of my favorites.  It should be, since it takes us 2 hours to get there!  It is very small town but well run.  This year the web site suggested calling for reservations which we did.  We got there a little early but were able to get good parking and able to be seated and served before it got crowded.  All of which was good since we had a 2 hour ride home.

 

The gnomes and other fairy tale figures were pointing the way.

 

 

Simple but tasteful decorations in the big, open, heated dining area.  Paintings of all the types of mushrooms that are found in the nearby woods and dried fall foliage.

 

And what we drove 2 hours for…

 

 

Polenta with porcini mushroom sauce in the back and the best of all, zuppa di porcini (a soup/stew) in the front.  This soup/stew is so good and rich with lots of woodsy hearty flavors.  Hmmm!

 

If we live on the east coast next year this will be a hard one to miss.

Free Things

Well, who doesn’t like free things.  We have received 2 in the last week or so.  First, Ben got his flu shot (regular flu not Swine) for free.  We happened to be in the main health building and saw a poster advertizing flu shot clinics.  Since Ben has a chronic medical condition he qualified.  So we went.  The women who try valiantly  to take his blood (Ben is known in the US as a ‘hard stick’ meaning it is hard to find a vein to draw blood from) were happy to see that this time it would be a simple case of just sticking him and shooting him up with flu vaccine.

Our second free thing came from the Esselunga.  Esselunga is the large American style grocery store in Arezzo that we go to once a week.  We have to drive in to Monte San Savino to go to our local store so another 15 minutes in the car on to Arezzo to go to the Esselunga is not that big of a deal.  Anyway, Esselunga has a loyalty card (just like American stores) which we faithfully have scanned each time.  We accumulate points which can be redeemed for things in a catalog.  The catalogs run for 6 months, so it was time for us to select something.  And we did.

 

  

 

It is a real nice saute pan that we really don’t need now but might need when we move.  In the past we have gotten several place settings of china, a small combination food processor/stick blender and a set of towels.  The thing I find interesting is that many of the items look like they belong in Crate and Barrel.  When we lived in Virginia during the Christmas holidays I used to work at the Crate and Barrel in Tysons Corner.  I loved unpacking all the products as they came into the warehouse.  Many of the boxes came from Italy.  And many of the things I see on the shelves here in the stores look just like something I would expect to see this year at the Crate. 

And we have our free flies!  Yes house flies!  The house we rent has not always had window screens on it.  In the past flies have freely come and gone, lived and copulated here and died in the house, but not before laying eggs in the joints of the wooden ceiling.  The weather has been cold enough and now warm enough that the fly eggs think it is Spring and have hatched.  Writing this I can see at least 5 happily circling between the sunny closed window and the sunny spot on the ceiling.  Totaling missing the fly strip that is hanging down to catch them. 

Flies, flu shots and saute pans.  Not necessarily things that are usually written about together.  But all free things if you are in the right place at the right time here in Italy.

Chicken Phone!

For many years I collected chickens.  You know little china chickens, small stuffed chickens, pictures of chickens, all sorts of tacky chicken things.  When we moved from the states I sold a lot, stored some and moved some.  Last week in the Esselunga we ran across this phone.  I did think about for a whole week before going back to buy it.  I mean how many chances will I ever have again to own a chicken phone.  And yes,  I am aware of how I preach about saving money so you can travel and then turn right around and write about a totally frivolous purchase.

   

 

It would have been better if the handle was molded in the shape of a chicken head instead of just a decal.  But wait for it… yes it does crow instead of ring!  How cool is that?  The little stuffed chicken came along with the phone.  Now, (Bea, BK, and others this post does not mean that I intend to start collecting chickens again so please don’t start shopping)  “To the chick phone, Robin!   

Travel Planning Part 3

Another friend and her daughter hopefully are planning a trip in the Spring.  They live and work in Raleigh, a big city in North Carolina, but nothing like the cities that they want to visit.  Below, is some of what I suggested to them.  Hopefully this can help someone else plan too. 

A 7 to 10 day trip seeing Rome, Naples, Venice and us/Florence is waaaay too much!  If you stretch it to 14 days then you might get them all in and not hate each other and Italy at the end of the trip.  I always suggest balanced planning, some cities and some country. (*see below) Neither of you all is used to living or working in a crowded city and that is what all of these cities are.  And they are full of tourists all trying to see the same stuff as you are. 

 

So let’s plan for 14 days in the Spring

Day 1             Fly

Day 2             Arrive in Rome, get to hotel, bus tour around Rome to get oriented, dinner and sleep

Day 3              Rome

Day 4              Rome

Days 5-8          Leave Rome and train to Arezzo, stay with Martha and Ben, visit possible cities including Siena, Florence, Cortona, Arezzo and many others

Day 9              Train to Venice

Day 10            Venice

Day 11            Venice. Leave late, taking the overnight train to Naples and arriving in mid-morning

Day 12            Naples area  (Pompei, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast)

Day 13            Late afternoon, train back to Rome, stay near airport at the coast (here is where to consider if flying out of Naples might be a better choice)

Day 14            Fly

 

So that is 2.5 days in Rome, 4 days in Tuscany, 3 days in Venice, 1.5 days in Naples

Now some costs per person

• Rooms
• 3 nights in Rome                     $125 a night or $65 a person                                                    195
• 4 nights with us                      Staying in the guest house in the Spring                                 150
• 2 nights in Venice                   $50 a person                                                                            100
• 1 night in Naples                     $50                                                                                            50
• 1 night near airport                  $50                                                                                          50
• Total hotel costs per person                                                                                                  $545
• Train costs
• Rome to Arezzo  (3 hours)                                                                                                      25
• Arezzo to Venice (4 hours)                                                                                                     75
• Venice to Naples (10 hours, this price varies depending on seating/bedding)                       150
• Naples to Rome                                                                                                                      35
• Total Train Costs                                                                                                                  $285
• Food, car and other costs
• Food 12 days at $75 a day                                                                                                       900
• Museums         5 at $20                                                                                                          100
• Buses/taxis/ferries 9 days at $15                                                                                          135
• Car rental for 4 days                                                                                                              100
• Gas 1 tank                                                                                                                               75
• Total other                                                                                                                         1310
• Total for trip per person in  USD not including airfare    $2,140  or figure roughly $2200 per person before airfare.  With airfare, probably about $ 3000. 

Using this, you can see that if you knocked off Naples, added an additional night in Venice and  flew out of Venice what the savings could be.  Each additional city has a cost.

 

Again this is a nice trip designed for people who want to sleep in safe, clean, comfortable rooms and sit down for 3 meals a day.  It is possible to take this trip for either less or more.  And keep in mind the biggest estimated cost is food which you spend money on anyway at home.  (unless you leave a gang of teenage boys at your house while on vacation you probably should not have any food costs occurring at home)

 

*Another blog writer supports my balanced theory mentioned above.  Please see tip 1 of Cherrye’s posting about reducing vacation stress.  http://my-bellavita.com/2009/10/27/tips-for-reducing-vacation-stress/

 

 

If you are reading this and have just returned from a recent trip to Italy and would like to comment on costs please do.  Otherwise get planning now!  And you vague folks… who keep emailing ‘Oh, we think we are coming in April or May’  HELLO!!! That is just 6 months from now!  My former co-worker/office mate, Chef Mike, will tell you from watching me that trip planning/researching takes months of work.  Two groups have already tentatively planned for the weeks of May 10-15 and May 22-29.  Planning ahead is a good thing so get started!

Are You Planning Follow-Up

I apologize that in the post below, Are You Planning?, the costs area does not post as 3 columns.  I tried tinkering with it and probably made it worse.  But imagine it as 3 columns, Category, Description and Cost Per Person.

Our next door neighbor in Virginia, Jane, is trying to plan a trip for her family.  After I wrote the post below she responded with some good questions.  Here they are with my responses in bold.  As you can see there is no one easy answer to some of her questions.  Each person’s situation is unique.  And each person has to do their own planning based on their budget, desires and time available.  Sometimes it is better to have one person plan, trying to be mindful of her traveling companions’ desires.  (This works best if the companions get on the plane, follow the plans and smile.  However, if one of the companions gets on the plane, opens a guide book, ignores all the preprinted plans and says ‘we are going here, right?’ while pointing to an obscure site, 2 hours away from anything, even though this person has had 6 months of being asked for input about the trip and never expressing any desires.  But Hey!  I’m not naming any names here!)  Sometimes because planning takes a lot of time it is best to divvy up responsibilities.  Assign a city, place to stay, possible restaurants to eat in, how to get there and so on to some of the traveling companions.

 

Jane’s Questions:

I am on a couple of fare watcher sites. What a surprise, Ben has a posting about this on his blog. It took less than 10 minutes to find it, but of course I cheated and ask him how to look for it… http://moving2italy2.blogspot.com/2008/11/info-about-fare-watcher-web-sites-for.html  I think that I am slowly learning to use Ben’s web site start all searches with Info About

Which airports are better to fly in to ? I think Pisa is a good choice. Delta has a direct flight from JFK to Pisa (but not everyday) and Pisa is an easy airport to get in and out of. Florence would be a good choice but would probably require a plane change and perhaps additional cost. Rome is a good choice too.

Should we fly in to one and out of another? Depending on your plans, yes you should consider this. For example if you want to start in Rome and finish up in Venice then it makes sense to fly out of Venice rather than taking the train or spending 6 or 7 hours driving back to Rome just so you can fly out of there.  Again there are cost and time factors to consider.  It might cost more to drop the car in Venice, it might cost  significantly more to fly from Venice and you might end up going through Rome anyway.   

Geographically challenged, I can’t really judge the distances Distances are further than most people think they are. Using the train site http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c79686605528a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD and this mapping site http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm can help you judge distances.

We don’t want to cram in too much but figure we should see Rome , Pisa  and Venice ( you are by Florence correct which isn’t too far from Pisa??) We are 2 hours from Florence, 2.5 hours from Pisa and 2 to 3 hours (traffic) from Rome. For a seven day trip, yes, you are cramming too much in. In your particular situation I would eliminate Rome because I know how important it is for a certain 16 year to see Venice (and we want to cultivate this fascination). So many trips in the future can begin or end in Rome. And too many big cities, crowds, noise, confusion and all that comes with travelling can make the vacation seem like torture rather than enjoyable.

 

And a new hotel in Florence to report on:

My blog/Louisville friend recently wrote about a trip to Florence that she and her husband made.  You can read about the 80 Euro a night hotel that they stayed at on her blog.  http://www.artnbarb.com/   The October 22 entry. 

 

Finally I am going to make a new post category, Travel plans.  Hopefully I can go back and include this category on all the posts I have done before that concern travel plans.  Maybe I’ll even get around to making a page about it.  I feel like I am answering the same questions all the time to friends in emails.  Maybe just having it in one place will be the easiest.  Now if I do this, are you all gonna come and visit?

Are you planning?

Good Gosh!  I just realized that it is  mid-October and I have failed to write my monthly lecture about coming for a visit.  One of my blog friends, Miss Expatria, wrote about the same subject recently.  If you want to read her post her is the link.  http://missexpatria.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/get-ready-get-inspired-and-go/#more-1100.  The part that I like the most which is directly quoted here is

First, there was the short talk I gave at the monthly meeting at my parents’ American-Italian Club of South Jersey and Friends. (Named as such “because we take everybody,” my mother explains.) Having already spoken to them several years ago – and since they all know my parents, they’re more than aware of what I’ve been up to – I glossed over the particulars of my life and instead talked about how important it is to just… go.

Buy the airline tickets – even if they’re for a year from now – and make your dream trip happen. You don’t have to learn the entirety of the Italian language in order to visit your favorite cities. You don’t have to schlep your stuff on and off a tour bus in order to see the sights. You’re not going to find the Italy of your dreams by talking about going. A magical experience is not going to spring forth from a map. It’s only by going there and doing it that you’ll be able to have memories that last a lifetime.

 

Our friends BK and Jim are talking about visiting with friends of theirs sometime next Spring.  To help them plan I have prepared some ideas and a budget.  Maybe this will help you plan too.  This is a 3 week trip for 4 adults in the Spring or Fall, not summer during the high season.

 

        Day 1  Fly

        Day 2  Arrive in Rome.  Get to hotel/apartment. Rest  Bus tour around city for overview.  Dinner and bed

        Day 3  Rome

        Day 4  Rome

        Day 5  Leave Rome and train to Florence

        Day 6  Florence

        Day 7  Florence

        Day 8  Train to Arezzo.  Pick up car come to Monte San Savino (MSS)

        Days 9-16 Day trips from MSS; Siena, Perugia, Assisi, Cortona, Chianti, Montepulciano, Pisa, San Gimignano, Volterra are just a few choices.

        Day 17 Drop off car in Arezzo then train to Naples and then on to Meta

        Days 18-20 Day trips by bus, train or ferry; Pompei, Sorrento, Amalfi, again just a few choices

        Day 21 Train back to Rome

        Day 22 Fly home.

 

Possible Hotels and Costs

        In Rome first time around, check out this apartment near the Vatican.  http://www.vrbo.com/239137#comments   This the vacation rental by owner site.  Our friends Tania and Keith list on it and use it all the time to find places to stay for themselves.  This is a good one with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathes, good location, 140 Euros per night for 4 people and good feedback comments.  When you are reading this site make note of the owner listing number (239137) so you can find these places again.

        Florence  Another VRBO listing.  Many positive comments   http://www.vrbo.com/9714   160 Euros a night but does not include cleaning fees or utilities.  Another Florence choice would be  http://www.johanna.it/struttura.php?file=residenze&leng=eng  I have stayed at the Johlea.

        In MSS this is the new hotel that just opened this year.  http://www.hotelilmonte.it/   A room there with breakfast would be between 70 and 90 Euros.  Another choice for 7 nights or possibly longer would be our neighbor’s agritourismo which has a 1 bedroom apartment and other larger apartments.  I don’t know what his rate would be  http://www.bevignano.it/home-page-en.htm   and I don’t know if the rental would have to start on Saturday.  But of course, staying with us is always the best choice.

        In Meta (south of Naples but well connected by public transport) my friend Carmela’s place would be the best choice.  http://www.orchidcorner.net/en/ 

        In Rome the 2^nd time  http://www.romeairportaccomodation.com/english.htm  B&Bs near the airport.

Average hotel costs per night would be 80 Euros for 2 people or 40 Euros a person. At today’s exchange rate (Euros X 1.5) this would be about this would be $60 USD per person per night.

 

Train Costs

Using the above schedule, here are some approximate train costs.  These are for first class tickets but not on the fastest trains (which increases the costs significantly some times to arrive only 10 minutes faster) 

        Rome to Florence        35

        Florence to Arezzo       9

        Arezzo to Naples         44

        Naples to Rome           20

Total                                 108

These costs are per person and in Euros.  At today’s exchange rate (Euros X 1.5) this would be about $162 USD per person.

 

Car Rental

This plan minimizes the use of a rental car.  And also allows you to possibly get a smaller size car since all 4 of you  will only be riding in the car with luggage for an hour (Arezzo to MSS).  If you plan to drive the car south that is about a 4 hour drive and would not be as much fun if you all were jammed in with luggage.  AVIS is right across from the train station in Arezzo. 

The car rental sites were being difficult but if you were renting on October 22 -29 (it won’t let me put in Spring dates) a VW Passat wagon was $534 USD.  That should be big enough for 4 adults.  As I wrote before you would only be driving an hour with luggage to MSS and the rest of the time you would have plenty of room.  Figure 3 tanks of gas at $150 USD each. 

This would average out to $246 USD per person for the week of car rental.

 

Food and Other Costs

Food costs per person would probably be about 50 Euros/$75 USD a day (3 meals a day with house wine, water, 1 coffee stop and 1 gelato stop)  Museum entrance fees about 15/$20USD Euros a day.  Buses, taxis in big cities about 10 Euros/$15USD a day (multiply by the number of days in the city) 

 

Totals

Lodging                         20 nights at $60 USD per person                                        1200

Food                                 20 days at $75 USD per person                                          1500

Museums                      5 per person (that’s a lot, trust me)                                      100

Buses                                6 days, Rome, Florence, Naples area                                      90

Train                                 4 First Class trips                                                                            162

Car Rental                       7 days including gas                                                                    246

Grand total per person (not including airfare) in US Dollars         $3, 298

 

This would be a very nice trip.  Time in the big cities with the crowds and museums balanced and broken up by time in the peaceful, relaxing country.  Now it is possible to do this trip for more money and also for less money.  $300+ a night rooms do exist!  Rooms and food in smaller less touristy towns like Monte San Savino are less than in Rome or Florence (bigger cities) or Siena or Cortona (touristy cities). 

 

And lastly, on my very first trip abroad to London I was on a half day bus tour around the city.  At the Westminster Abbey stop there was an older gentleman who got off the bus but could not make it into the Abbey because of the steps.  He was in tears and so was I.  He had saved a long time for this trip but could not enjoy it because physical limitations had caught up with him. 

Traveling is physically demanding.  It opens your eyes and changes your life.  Witnessing that gentleman’s distress made me decide that I was going to see and do as much as I could for as long as I could.  Fortunately, Ben shared that belief too.  When we lived in the states we did not have many of the toys, services and conveniences that our friends had because traveling every year was more important than a daily $5 coffee.  If you can figure out a way to save $5 a day for a year, you would be more than half way towards the cost of this trip.

So now get planning!