HELP! I’VE FALLEN IN (love with) TUSCANY AND I CAN’T GET UP

Life Happens…

    Around the first part of January, I started to loose focus on the Italian trip and had to start focusing on my life.  Shit started to happen while I was out making other plans, as the song goes.  School began to get more intense.  The Elementary Music Teachers, over reaching again, were looking at doing three or four grants for instruments, equipment, a traveling drum set, refining a keyboard methods book we had all had a hand in developing, and just plan teaching.  Vintage Singers had their annual Twelfth Night Concert and we did one of the hardest Handel pieces I think I’ve ever done, ‘Dixit Dominus’, written by a 22 year old Handel while visiting Italy.  You see, even Handel went to Italy.  Our director promised that our spring concert at the end of April would be much easier.  We all hoped she was telling the truth. 

     And church.  Church had barely let up after Christmas.  I was losing choir members left and right.  One had cancer surgery and was awaiting the second surgery to put her internals back together after her chemo.  My only tenor was quickly succumbing to Lour Gehrig’s disease, and his wife, my strongest alto, had to become his caregiver.  My other strong alto had been out of two months with a strange auto-immune disorder.  My friend and lead soprano had to tend to her business degree before she failed the classes.  That left me and a soprano, who fell and dislocated her lower leg bones, to sing tenor.  I had to switch my other good alto to soprano, and my lead bass was retired, going off vestry, and probably going to runaway with his wife in their motor home for some place far, far away.  Preparing and planning for weekly services was taking more and more time, and interfering with my real job and my home life more than it had every in the past.  It was with great sadness and resolve that I decided to resign my Music Director position at St. George’s.  I had an Epiphany during Epiphany. 

    I would be 54 in two weeks and I was still running around, multi-tasking, pleasing everyone else, but slowly watching my life drift away.  I did the things I enjoy doing, but I felt like I had to work through it all and I really didn’t get the enjoyment out of it.  I planned to tell the Priest around annual meeting at the end of February; I would work my last day the first Sunday in June and that was all I would do. 

     Knowing the way things were going with the trip, that would be the day we would have to pack our bags for the plane ride on the following Thursday.  I could already envision that last week before the trip being an absolute ‘madhouse’.  I would have to work Saturday and Sunday at school to get grades done.  At Church I would have to file music and make everything presentable for the next director.  The list was getting longer by the day and I hadn’t even finished planning the Italy trip yet--or paid for anything yet.

    So while all of these things were swirling around in my life, I got sick and lost a day of work.  That day, after returning from the doctor, and two hours in Rite Aid waiting for prescriptions to be filled, I wrote down a little list of things that needed to get done—things that I could remember, at the time, that we had to do or decisions we would have to make.

TO DO LIST ITALIA:

• European cell phones
• Check limitations/transaction fees of credit cards
• Buy a large suitcase (checked)
• Walker for Marianne
• 4 photo copies of each passports
• Get Euros
• Money belts 2 for each?
• 2 Small or 2 medium packing ‘boxes’ for both

PORTLAND June 9 & July 4

• Motel in Portland 2 nights with free parking & shuttle to and from PDX

ROMA     giugno 10 & 11

• Shuttle tickets from Fiunacino to Termini Roma    (at airport)
• Confirm/Pay Hotel Sileo  Roma        ($220)
• Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour in Roma

MAGIONE

• Fernando Scattini:  Driving us to Firenze or taking treno? 
•       Or Ticket cost: Magione -S.M.N.
• Pay F & R (Bella Magione)

FIRENZE

Locate luggage storage in Firenze giugno 19 noon to 4 PM ?

• Find Transportation
• TAXI/Elettrico Bus A to Piazza Cimatori 19.6.10
• TAXI/Elettrico Bus costs/stops in Firenze/Fiesole
• Book Firenze/Donatella tours / pay for them
• TAXI from Pz. Cimatori to Treno stazione S.M.N. 26.6.10
• TRENO Firenze (S.M.N.) to Empoli

EMPOLI

• Maggiore Rent
• Locate: Maggiore Rent in Empoli
• TAXI to/from Maggiore Rent from Empoli treno stazione (26.6.10 & 30.6.10)
• Phone #’s for Maggiore & taxi in Empoli

SAN GIMIGNANO

• Elettrico Bus stops/costs/schedules in San Gimignano

TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE

• Admission Costs for: 
• Etruscan museum (Volterra)
• Ab. San Galgano
• Banfi Winery (Montalcino)
• Mate Winery (Montalcino)
• Ab. D’Abato
• La Foce
• Etruscan museum / parking (Chiusi)
• San Bagio (Montipulciano)
• Monteriggioni?
• Dievole Tour (E40)
• Treno tickets/costs: Empoli to Lucca

LUCCA

• TAXI to/from treno stazione:  Albergo Diana giugne 30 & luglio 2
• TAXI to Pz. Verdi and back/etc.
• Bus to/from Campo dei Miracoli (Pisa)  
• Schedule/book/costs for Campelino climb
• Lucca Tours/etc.: bikes / Torre Guinigi / San Giuseppe concert tickets?

TRENO tickets/cost:  Lucca to Roma

Shuttle Treno:  Roma Termini to Fiunacino

Shuttle to/from motel

Motel at Fiumicino airport luglio 2, 2010

     I suddenly started to get a panic attack.  This was too much to do in such a short time—well four months time.  I handed the list over to Marianne who appreciated it very much, but I could tell she really couldn’t believe that I was worrying about all matter of minutia while being sick.  She smiled and thanked me.

     By the end of the week, she had found a hotel at the Rome Airport—researched to make sure it had a free shuttle, etc., and even paid for it.  This is when we found out that a foreign business will not take credit cards that have an expiration date before the reservation date.  Our card’s expiration date was 2/10.  I had called the card company and they had assured me that the card was good through the end of February and that we would have the new cards within three weeks, but that did not calm the apparent fears of the Italian people.  We had opened our travel account with another bank in October, and of course they had given us a Visa card.  We just hadn’t called to activate it because we didn’t want another credit card.  One is just enough, thank you.  So, while Marianne’s on the computer making the reservation, I am on the phone conversing with the automated card activation service.  It didn’t take more that 15 minutes and we had a non-expiring card and a reservation at the Hilton at Fiumicino.  The next day I found the best rate anywhere near the Portland airport for a ‘stay-park-fly’ package that cost just about as much ads the Hilton room in Italy. 

     Soon Cristina, from Firenze, we thought, was bugging us to send her copies of our passports.  I had assumed that this would be collected along with the €30 cleaning deposit on the afternoon of June 19 in Firenze.  She wanted it sent electronically, but I ‘mi scuzi, mi dispiace’ed her that we had no way of doing that and that I would be glad to run out and photo copy the documents and send them by snail mail.  She agreed and sent an address, Bologna.  I couldn’t believe it.  Bologna.  I though she was going to greet us in the Piazza Cimatori in Firenze.  It was sounding like she wasn’t going to be there for that key exchange, but yet someone else.  I actually had concerns about she premature tactics and I emailed the Firenze Chamber of Commerce.  Yes, they actually do have one of those. 

     Next, we had to find out if Fernando would drive us all the way to Firenze or if we had to get treno tickets.  We knew that if he did drive and drop us off, that Fiona could probably help us find our way to the apartment.  Next came the problem of, which sometimes woke me up in the middle of the night, finding the car rental place in Empoli. 

     I searched and found a contact email and began a brief conversation with yet another Cristina, and found out exactly where the Maggiore Rent was located.  It was not out a country road as Google Maps claimed, but across the Arno River in the town of Solvignana, about five minutes from the treno stazione.  Once I had that all confirmed I started looking a Google Maps to find the easiest, and I mean safest, route for us to drive out of the two towns and south to San Gimignano.  The roads I found came within 20 km of the hill town of San Miniato.  I couldn’t believe it.  Early in my search of places to visit in Italy, I found Vinci (Leonardo’s birth place) and San Minato.  Vinci was a little north of Solvignana and not in the direction we were heading, but we could, in theory, take a 30 side trip over to this absolutely picturesque hilltop town of San Miniato.   Then we could wind down adequate rural roads, avoiding some of the more populated areas that are on the highway that leads from Empoli, south and east, eventually to Poggibonsi.  We could leave the highway at Cauldo and head up S-1 to San Gimignano.

     I was feeling confident about things, until I realized that both Fernando and the Albergo Diana in Lucca had our credit card information, with questionable expiration date.  Would our reservations be disregarded because of this ‘glitch’?  Then I remembered that the Hotel Sileo in Roma hadn’t communicated with me in two months, since before Thanksgiving, and I was sure they didn’t have any credit card information.  We were stuck until the Visa Company reissued our new cards.

HELP! I’VE FALLEN IN (love with) TUSCANY AND I CAN’T GET UP

Visit to Port Orford, Oregon

     Our friends from down the street, Peter and Lana, bought a house in the nearly remote sea-side community of Port Orford, Oregon.  Both of them are retired now and have spent a great deal of their free time somewhere on the coast dreaming of the day they might have a cottage at the ocean.  They found a terrific house, very sound and weather-tight.  It isn’t on the beach, but in Port Orford you don’t really want to live at the beach.  It is a bit severe—climate-wise.  Between Christmas and New Years we visited then in their home on the southern Oregon coast. 

     Marianne and I, just as everybody in western part of the state, love the Oregon coast no matter what part of it we are on.  When I was growing up in Idaho, my dad took the family on a Oregon vacation.  I remember vividly visiting the Oregon coast, especially Sunset Bay, near Charleston and Coos Bay.  If you don’t know about the tide pools at Sunset Bay, which every school aged kid on the western side of the Oregon Coastal Range knows about, and then you don’t know the Oregon coast.  It is absolutely one of the best places in the world to witness the beauty of creation.  Shore Acres, just a few miles south, is one of the finest botanical gardens you’ll find, and the crashing surf is breathtaking.  Situated on the grounds of former timber baron, J. P. Simpson, the multi-acre park, secluded in coastal pines, over looks the dramatic Pacific coast.  Marianne and I went there on our honeymoon.  Although the Oregon coast has gotten terribly over-run with development and tourists, most of the beauty remains. 

      Bandon is the favorite get away spot for many ‘Roseburg-ers’.  Bandon-by-the-Sea was a quiet fishing town, once ravaged by wild fires; it was the perfect place to get to the water, either in a cheap motel or camping at Bullard’s State Park.  In the last ten a years the poor sleepy community has been battered into “Californication” by the addition of a world class destination golf course, Bandon Dunes, which is said may be on a par with St. Andrew’s in Scotland, but it sure sucked the ‘ow-key’ cheapness out of Bandon. 

     For over about eight years, we have been going to Yachats, south of Newport (now shamefully and grossly commercialized and over-built).  Yachats (Yah-hahts) was the perfect tiny town on the Oregon coast.  We would always go over after Christmas and stay until New Years.  Summer was also a great time to find a week to hang out in the sleepy wind swept community.  We have even contemplated finding a house that we could buy stay, rent, and retire to when I was through teaching. 

     Our favorite place to stay was the Shamrock Lodgetts—cabins that had a pristine unspoiled vista of the whole Pacific right outside the front porch.  It was what the Oregon coast use to be.  The shops and restaurants were fun and funky to explore and it was quiet, except for the Landmark on the weekend.  We stopped going after the strip malls started to dot the highway and some senseless greedy-types bull-dozed the Lodgetts and turned the property into multiple family dwellings—cheap looking boxes going for $800, 000 to a million. 

   Fed up with the greed and the corruption of the Oregon coast, many of us Oregonians keep searching for a place that offers a small town life, uninfluenced by the outside world.  Our friends, Lana and Peter, also theatre/music friends, both recently retired, were longing for a pristine patch of coastal space.  They found it in Port Orford.  Located on Highway 101 26 or so miles south of Bandon, this very unassuming and economically depressed area has a lot going for it.  The town is situated around the headlands, on which the old coast guard center was located.  The old buildings are now a museum.  The clean and organized trails around the headlands are perfect for walking, in almost any weather. 

     We drove there in about two and a half hours.  Miraculously the rain stopped when we got into town.  However, the first night it rained hard—driven sideways by the high wind.  We had our appetites set on the best fish and chips on the southern coast, according to Sunset Magazine, at ‘The Crazy Norwegian’s’.  However, after two bottles of wine and appetizers at our host’s new home, we arrived at an over-packed hole-in-the wall restaurant at 7:30 PM to find that it had a wait-list—and hour.  Peter was shocked.  He couldn’t believe that the place could ever be that full.  The restaurant across the street was closed so we headed back up 101, near their home, and had pizza at ‘Hard Rain’.  They have never had a bad meal there.  The food was great and the young waiter kept us in stitches.  Pizza and salad was a complete meal.

     The next day the sun broke through and the coast revealed itself in glorious splendor.  Marianne was in a reading mood, but I needed some outdoor time.  Peter and Lana walk daily and have a favorite trail--the headlands.  We happened to choose to walk on the most perfect day possible.  Leaving Marianne to fend for her self (the town boasts an excellent Quilt Shop) the three of us took the scenic route, taking in a small lake right on the shore, the beach, the dry dock, and the headlands walk.  Talk about the coast at its raw best.  The surf was incredible.  The cliffs and bluffs are high in this part of the coast and the ocean is deep.  The combination creates thundering waves that crash on shore in an awesome crescendo.  This is not the gentle rolling surf of Seaside; it is unadulterated mother earth at her powerful best.

    The sunny day, extremely rare, afforded us the opportunity to walk the beach and comb for agates.  Coming into the park, we were met by a young porcupine, which was agreeable to picture taking, provided we were respectful.  The water was just a little too cold to walk in, and because the surf here pounds the shore with unbridled fury, it was best to keep on the dark, aggregate-like sand. 

    Next, my hosts showed me the highlights of Port Orford.  It was a typical rural town on the Oregon coast, except the houses around the lake, and the big ones on the way up to the headlands were impressive.  The whole park area at the former Coast Guard Station has been developed and maintained.  It was a great place to walk, with huge, majestic trees and absolutely stunning views of the steep shoreline below.  As you walk around the headlands, you can see the old rescue station where the coast guard would run down the hill, and slide the huge boats into the protected surf.  The light house is gone now, but the vista from the concert pad that remains was breathtaking.  We happened to run into a mutual friend, Diane, a former ‘Mousketeer’ (honesty) and dancer who was one of the first brave souls to move to Port Orford from Roseburg.  She and her husband Rick have a great piece of property up above the highway.  Marianne and I have done incredible theatre with both Diane and Rick—hugely talented, giant hearted.

     Being a former dancer, Diane has to walk, and walk briskly, ever day.  That’s how we meet on the trail; she was completing her third lap of the two-mile trail.  After a comical reunion, with howls of laughter, we decided to make plans for breakfast the next day at a local café.  Then, off she went power walking into the forest.  That night we ate in: delicious fresh-made ravioli from ‘Hard Rain’.  Along with a salad, left over pizza and wine; it was a feast. 

     Breakfast at a local café brought rain, but the food was great and the company ‘molto’ fun.  Rick and Diane were ecstatic about our plans to visit Italy.  The outgoing couple has been helping with a fledgling theater in Port Orford, Theatre 101, which our mutual friend, Perry, has created.  They have already done a dozen shows in the three to four year history of the theater.  Rick and Diane took us on a tour of the space and we were pleasantly surprised by the place.  By the end of the tour, the rain was sideways again and rivers were coursing through the parking lot.  We said our goodbyes to all and headed back out on the road for home.  We are hoping to get back to Port Orford soon.  It was definitely worth a second look.

     When we got home I emailed Fiona Lapham:

We are hoping you will be working and cooking so we can dine there (if we can afford it).
We will be staying in an apartment on Piazza Cimatori (via de'Cerchi and via Dante Alighieri  --about four blocks (?) south of the Duomo).  We are getting 'dropped off' by the tour/B&B people from Magione, where we'll be the week before.  What's the best place to get a taxi or ride the ellettrico bus A if he drops us off farther out of the city?
I started reading the travel books and found that the Thursday we are there (giugno 24) is Festival of St. John of Florence and Calcio Fiorentino.  The books warn about avoiding this day.  Is it really that bad--that pazzo!?  I would love to see the soccer game, but can we get anywhere?  will we be able to get into a restaurant?  If I do in fact have a job you of course will be more than welcome to dine there. 

She responded:

The best way to get a taxi is to call the company, the number is 0554242, or, you can get dropped off at one of the taxi stands. If you tell me which direction you are coming from when you get dropped off I can recommend a stand. 

San Giovanni, or St. John's day, is really fun! The soccer game is really interesting, though very violent. The best part of the day is the fireworks at night. The city does get quite crowded around that time, but I don't think it will be too bad to get into a restaurant. The only difficult part is getting out of the city afterwards, but if you're staying in the city than it shouldn't be a problem. I usually go down to the city on that day since it is so fun. 

Let me know if you have any questions, Fiona

HELP! I’VE FALLEN IN (love with) TUSCANY AND I CAN’T GET UP

Nuovo Anno
Our social obligations were light on New Years Eve. No parties to attend and we
were figuring we would be in bed before midnight. We put in a video and had some
wine (Italian, of course). About 11:30 PM in got in the hot tub, and was enjoying
another star-filled night—with just a little bit of clouds. All was peaceful and quite
until some ‘yayhoo’ up on the hill decided to test his gun, early. Either that or he
was so drunk he didn’t know what time it really was. In Roseburg, you’re allowed
to shoot off fireworks and guns on New Years Eve and for about two weeks before
and after the Fourth of July. It’s a very ‘American/Patriotic’ thing to do.
I really didn’t like the idea of bullets flying or spent firework cinders falling on
me in the tub, so I closed it up at about 11:50 and went in. To my surprise Marianne
was still awake and trying to find a New Years Eve telecast on TV. I knew I must
be getting old when I realized that the music and the groups on these shows were all
sinister looking ‘ganstas’ rapping to hip-hop, or poorly performed songs by young
girls in slutty-hooker outfits. What happened to rock and roll? Anyway, we settled
on Ryan Seicrest and a very sad looking Dick Clark or the countdown to midnight.
It was cold and snowing in New York that year. In Roseburg, the clouds blew in
and it rained. So once the hoopla died down, Marianne was off to bed. I headed
for the computer, after remembering that the Seminario in Volterra said they would
take reservations in January. It was midnight here, and nine AM in Italy.

Friday, January 01, 2010 9:11 AM (New Years morning 12:11 AM our time)
Buongiorno: It is January and my wife and I are still interested in staying at
Seminario Vescovile. Our dates have changed. We will be coming in from Firenze via
Empoli and San Gimignano on Saturday June 26th and staying through Monday June 28th.
Marianne thinks she should be fine in a double with a bath.
Please let me know what I need to do to reserve and pay for both nights.
Grazie, David and Marianne Jones

Good afternoon,
we are pleased that you've choice our seminario and we thank you.
What type of room do you need because we don't have rooms with handicap
access. Is it ok for you? Please let us know about it.
I also forget to tell you that the price is 18,00 euro pro day and pro
person so 36,00 euro per day , breakfast excluded.
Thanks and best regards, Seminario

Friday, January 01, 2010 9:16 PM
Buongiorno: Si. 36,00 euro per day , breakfast excluded 'fa bene'. The price is
wonderful. Is there a place close to find coffee and breakfast?
Per favore. Acqua caldo? Marianne says she will be fine with the regular double/bath room.
She has more trouble with long distances and stairs.
It is meraviglioso. Grazie. Grazie Deo.
Bene Anno, David and Marianne Jones

Good afternoon,
yes we have hot water. We are 10 minutes walking from the centre and each type of shop
is situated in the centre of the town. It is ok or it's too far for Marianne?
Best regards and happy new year, seminario

Car Rental …
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Monday, January 4, 2010 11:11 PM
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