Home again
Arriving Home: And so, we head
home. As I type this, we are three hours outside of Portland, flying over
the clouds at 583 miles per hour - somewhere over Saskatchewan. I have had
high-speed internet access three times on this trip: Last night at the
Sheraton Hotel at the Frankfurt airport and twice on Lufthansa.
As you can see from my long diary, we had a great trip with our friends.
Though we only made a dent in the fascinating Italian culture, seeing the
highlights has inspired us, educated us, and sometimes amused us. Finally,
we really had great weather on a Big Trip.
Many thanks to Mary for planning the middle portion of our adventure and
many thanks to Martin and Shirley for flying in from London to spend 4 days
with us.
Most delicious dish on the trip
The first night in Florence - zucchini and parmesan salad at Villa Antinori.
Best new discovery
Bresaola. Ultra-thin slices of cured beef.
Best Brushetta
Garlic and olive oil at the cellar restaurant in Montepulciano.
Best Caffe Americano
We have a tie:
The bar in the Grand Royal Hotel or at the cafe in Sorrento town square.
Best service and menu
Osteria del Castello at Castle at Brolio in Chianti
Best gelato
Coconut in Florence... but the date ricotta was also wonderful.
Best lunch
The Little Pig Restaurant in Florence on September 30.
Still dreaming of that asparagus risotto.
Best Dinner
First night in Florence at Villa Antinori
Best Hotel
The Hotel de la Ville in Florence for class and location ties
with the Grand Royal Hotel in Sorrento for class and view.
Best traveling companion
DT
Disappointments? The bread. We didn't have a decent
piece of bread in three weeks (except for the wonderful, chewy, Bavarian
stuff on Lufthansa). I was expecting excellent breads from ancient brick
ovens. No. Guess not. I was also very surprised about the graffiti in the
big cities. It is everywhere and awful. Especially Naples.
Added later: We are home - great, fast flight in our little
pod seats. Excellent service - but a bit bumpy over the Rockies. After
arriving home - perfectly maintained and organized by Mark the Manny - we
had to go downtown to a dinner for U of O track & field... and are packing
to head down to Eugene in the motorhome for Duck Football.
All is well, and it is great to be home.