It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Upgraded to First Class for the 7 hours to Milano. As ever, thanks for flying Delta.
Arrived in Milano on a beautiful afternoon. It only took minutes to acquire our first shopping bag.
Happened upon an exhibit of Futurist art, including one of Mike’s favorites, Balla’s “Mercury’s Transit of the Sun.”
Reflections of circular light fixtures with cathedral spire.
We arrive at Maggioline at last.
Casa, dolce casa.
Poppies at 110 kph along the A11 east of Parma.
Today’s adventure: an organized 8+ mile hike up and down the streets, olive groves, forests, quarries, and hills surrounding Monsummano.
It was challenging and hot, but well-timed rest stops for shade, music, and refreshment (often wine and salami) kept morale high.
Our first guests arrive.
Wren brings the party.
The queen surveys her birthday kingdom.
The start of an amazing birthday dinner prepared by local chef Sara.
Birthday cantucci, vin santo, and song.
A visit to the nearby olive oil and wine producer for a tasting of both on a beautiful afternoon.
Followed by a traditional Tuscan lunch in Borgo A Buggiano.
Today we visited the wonderful Antinori winery, a modern gem carved into the Tuscan landscape.
We enjoyed a nice rosé while waiting for our lunch table.
Tonight was another great cooking class at the house. Everyone chipped in for mushroom crostini, ravioli, lemon chicken, mixed peppers, and a summer tarimisu served outside on a beautiful night.
Thor, one of the two resident dogs, waited patiently while we cooked inside.
Annmarie starts the day with a walk along Via Della Corti.
After saying goodbye to our first guests earlier this morning, we welcome Hilary, our friend from Ann Arbor, to the group.
Our afternoon activity involved a trip up to Montecatini Alto for a welcome lunch via the 130+ year old funicular.
Walking the “Green Path” up to the birthplace of Leonardo.
The walk afforded amazing views of Vinci and the picture-perfect landscapes surrounding the town.
Monsummano morning.
Visiting the town of Montelupo, known for its pottery and ceramics since the 1300s.
A fifteenth century rabbit at the surprisingly nice ceramics museum in Montelupo.
At Ceramiche Tombelli, Marco demonstrates how the pottery is glazed.
Back at the house, Hilary plays a bit of Schumann.
Got up early to get front row seats at the amazing medieval parade held twice a year in the town of Fucecchio.
Between the drums, bugles, and flags, were short depictions of medieval life, including pestilence, witchcraft, floggings, beheadings and, of course, people being burned at the stake.
We dropped Hilary off at the train station then made our way up into the mountains north of town with our next guests, Jeff and Tiffany. The hilltop towns and moody sky were right out of a fairy tale.
We ventured into crowded Florence today, including a visit to the Uffizi Gallery, home to the overly popular “Birth of Venus.”
Tre carabinieri.
Shira and Steve arrive!
We head out for a morning hike to the hill town of Montevettolini, seen in the distance.
Cooking class night: mushroom crostini, zucchini carpaccio, stuffed zucchini flowers, fresh pesto pasta, and fish with tomatoes and capers.
Our last cooking class of the season with our teachers and friends Justina and Tamara.
A great day capped off by a dramatic moonrise over Montevettolini.
Dropped off Jeff and Tiff at the Pisa airport and couldn’t resist a quick peek at the tower. It’s still there.
A morning walk along the Mediterranean with Olga, our innkeeper, as our guide.
We visited Pietrasanta, a town known for its sculptures, including an enormous park bench with great views to the sea.
Cocktails on the patio at sunset watching paragliders float over Monsummano Alto.
Friendly chickens.
We’d stumbled across Piero’s shoe shop on our last day in Monsummano—a historic shoemaking town—two years ago. We returned much earlier this year to order shoes from him.
He knew little to no English but Google Translate really facilitated our transaction.
A walk through the majestic Roman pines in the main Montecatini park.
A spritz toast to the arrival of John and Brian, our next guests.
A bit of pool time at the end of a busy day.
A morning at the lovely Capezzana winery in the Carmignano region, one of the oldest in Italy.
Nothing like drinking wine at 11am to facilitate a nice photo op.
Selecting our cut directly off the T-bone for a great dinner at Il Maialetto, home to all things meat.
Capezzana winery
Sunday morning hike up to Montevettolini, the picturesque hilltop town seen in previous pictures.
The route wound up and down hills, through olive groves, forests, and across a stream.
Reaching Montevettolini after about an hour, we found they were having a fundraising event for a children’s charity in the village square. We had a hilarious time chatting up “The Professor of Paella.”
Montelupo train station.
Sunday night dinner in San Miniato at the outstanding Maggese restaurant. After our almost 4 hour, 7+ course (we lost count) vegetarian meal, chef Fabrizio Marino came out to greet us.
Monday meant the arrival of 6 more guests: John, Laura, Emily, and Olin (arriving by car after a week in Germany) and Jim and Kat (arriving by plane after a week in Portugal). Everyone pitched in to prepare a welcome dinner on a beautiful night.
We marched our largest group ever up to Montevettolini so couldn’t resist another mirror portrait.
Wine tasting in Montecarlo at Buonamico winery.
The cat and the magpie.
After some Wednesday morning shoe shopping, we drove to nearby Pistoia to tour UFIP, one of only a few makers of cymbals in the world.
Emily and Olin, both accomplished percussionists, tried out their products during our visit.
The cymbals are cast out of brass, then hardened, trimmed, lathed, and hammered by hand.
The impressive baptistery in Pistoia.
John and Brian hosted us in their Montecatini rental apartment for a great happy hour where we also marked the Herold’s 31 wedding anniversary.
Market tomatoes.
Thursday morning train to Lucca prior to our bike ride to Pisa.
A stop along the route adjacent to a Roman aqueduct.
Our bike ride from Lucca to Pisa took us through beautiful landscapes of rivers, forests, towns, and meadows.
After overnight rains, a snail makes a run for it across the patio.
Our final six guests left this morning for trips home, so we’ve got the place to ourselves for the weekend. It’s strangely quiet after three weeks of visitors.
Riding bikes along the Serchio river west of Lucca.
Train conductor, Pisa to Lucca.
The start of a challenging Saturday morning hike over steep, poorly marked and maintained trails in the hope of finding the ruins of the 15th century convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
After 2+ hours, 1300 feet of elevation gain, and with the help of 2 paper maps, 2 GPS phone apps, and 2 helpful hikers, we found the rather spooky remains of the monastery.
We took a different route home which we thought would be easier to navigate. We were wrong. These are my socks after bushwhacking through steep grades of knee-high bramble in an effort to find the trail.
The reward after finally finding home.
Portrait with new haircut.
A tearful farewell with our innkeeper Olga (left) and her sister Simona—who is also the town mayor—as we leave Monsummano for Assisi.
A skeptical examination of the wedding ring of the Virgin Mary kept in the cathedral in Perugia.
We check into our hotel, a great stone building amid farm fields and vineyards on the flatlands outside Assisi.
On Tuesday morning we walked the Pilgrims Path, about 5 miles from our hotel, to Assisi, an imposing limestone city perched on a hill.
After an arduous climb to the town center, we had amazing views of Umbria for miles.
Not surprisingly, Assisi is full of sites and relics relaying the story of St. Francis, including his baptismal font.
After a full 10 miles of walking amid all that history, we reflected on our pilgrimage with gin and tonics and porchettta-flavored potato chips by the pool.
Rose early (relatively) on Wednesday to reach Monte San Rufino, a grassy hilltop high above Assisi and the Umbrian plains, before the heat and crowds arrived.
After a short hike through slopes of wildflowers and bees, the views were amazing.
On our way down, we stopped at Eremo delle Carceri, the remote cliffside hamlet founded by St. Francis and his Brothers in the early 1200s.
The site was beautiful and well maintained but still very remote and very high above the towns below.
The small chapel.
St. Francis’s stone bed, carved into the hillside.
We went for a walk Wednesday night around the neighborhood to build up an appetite, passing by beautiful fields of new wheat and plenty of barking dogs.
Thursday morning found Annmarie getting a haircut by local hairdresser Vanessa. No language barrier prevented a great cut.
Our last-day focus was the hilltop town of Orvieto, home to the remarkable cathedral.
Another Orvieto highlight was the Well of St. Patrick, dating from the 1500s. The 175-foot-deep well—an engineering and design marvel—ensured water for the town . . . and a nervous pope in exile . . . In case of a siege.
View from the very bottom. Kinda dramatic. And claustrophobic.
Morning view from our bathroom, Bastia Umbra, Italy.
Safely back home in Ann Arbor, we proudly campaigned in the U-M Law Quad for Olga's sister, Simona, who ended up winning another term as Monsummano's mayor later that weekend.
As if a month in Italy isn't enough of a birthday gift, I spent a bit of my real birthday (Flag Day) with one of only 11 remaining copies of the first printing of "The Star Spangled Banner," considered the rarest printed sheet music in the world. Thanks, U-M Clements Library!
And we bring our postcards to a close with one last shot of the Villa at twilight, and with our sincere thanks to all our guests for making the trip so great. Grazie mille!