Day Six, Seven and Eight.

Ron and Elda had made a date with Constanza for an early morning walk. They set off at some ungodly hour (8am not Renate's best time) for the hills and came back an hour or so later full of good spirits. I was just getting up. A last leisurely breakfast, good-bye to the Villa Il Paradisino, and off we were with Michelangelo to our new hotel Michelangielo. The traffic of Florence is truly a nightmare and you should avoid driving there at all costs. After what seemed like an endless drive, we ended up at the five star Hotel Michelangelo. Luggage unloaded, we were about to bid our guide good-bye when Ron began to question the location. As it turns out, there are two Michelangelo Hotels in Florence, spelled slightly different. Another half hour or so and we ended up in the correct hotel -- the Residenz Michelangielo. Located on the edge of town in an upscale neighborhood, the Hotel Michelangielo was another pleasant surprise. We had a spacious suite of two rooms, two baths, a tiny kitchen hidden away in a cabinet.

The next morning we took a cab to the train station to catch the train to Venice. Italian train stations are easy to maneuver, very clean and a good place to buy any last minute gifts you might need. There are also plenty of opportunities to buy English-language books and periodicals. Contrary to the stereotype about Italian trains not running on time, our train was exactly on time. No lines, no security, a little help in getting a heavy bag up to steps and we were on the train and settled into our comfortable seats. The trip from Florence to Venice is about two and one half hours. There are short stops in Bologna and Padua (of Romeo and Juliet fame). Once past the beautiful green hills of Tuscany, there's not much to see from the train so we read our books and listened to our IPods.

In Venice, we walked through the train station and were immediately on the Grand Canal with our first view of the fabled city. Brother Ron thought the hotel was a 15 minute walk, so we passed up the opportunity to take a water bus or tax and began walking along the Grand Canal towards the hotel. It quickly became apparent that we had made a major mistake. Not only was the hotel more than 15 minutes away, there were at least 7 bridges to cross with a dozen or more steps up and down.

Ron has a GPS system on his phone so we were never lost anywhere. In fact with the right computer program. you can track Ron anywhere in the world -- assuming you had such an interest. After a few checks on the GPS, we found the Palazzo Ca Segrado.

It seems like all small hotels in Venice are called "Palazzo," so I wasn't really expecting a palace but the Ca Sagredo was certainly the beautiful combination of East and West for which Venice is famous. It had marble floors, fabulous oriental carpets, a double staircase leading to a beautiful room on the Grand Canal. Venetian glass chandeliers and lamps light the dark corners. Our suite was luxurious with the most comfortable bed and the softest, smoothest sheets I have ever experienced.

A quick lesson on how things worked in the room and we set off to explore Venice. This was the second hotel where all light fixtures were controlled with by a key at the door. Without the key, there are no lights. As soon as you remove the key, all lights go out. This is a great energy saving device that American hotels should check out.

We found a charming restaurant with seating right on a secondary canal and sat down to enjoy a late leisurely lunch of pasta and wine. Millions of words have been written about Venice and we have all seen pictures and films of its famous sites. I won't try to compete with Thomas Mann, Forster and others trying to describe Venice. Suffice it to say, it truly is a fairy tale city astounding in the beauty and visual power of its architecture and the network of canals and bridges.

We had bad luck with the weather in Venice. The first day it was cool, overcast with light drizzle. On the second day, we had torrential rain which refused to let up. Even though it was only March, weeks before the real tourist season, the narrow streets were packed with people. Venice also seems over-the-top commercial with shops everywhere selling everything from cheap tourist junk to exquisite pieces of glass and jewelry. There must be hundreds of shops selling Venetian glass with everything from fabulous chandeliers and tall lamps selling for thousands of Euros to little pieces of Merano glass for 1€. We picked up a lot of glass jewelry as gifts for friends and family.

During our afternoon tour, we came across a theater advertising a performance of opera selections for that evening. Even though I was dead tired, Ron and I bought tickets and returned at 8:30 that evening for a delightful selection of opera hits. The small orchestra, the soprano, tenor and baritone were all dressed in elaborate 18th century clothes and white wigs which added to the delight of the evening. Elda opted out of opera and tested McDonald's in Venice which was a few steps from our hotel. She gave it a good review, but like everything in Venice, it was expensive. A hamburger was 8€ (about $11), more expensive than most bottles of wine you can buy in Italy.

After a drenching day of sightseeing - if you're in Venice for only two days and it rains, your have to suck it up and prepare to get drenched - Ron and I invited Elda to a 60th birthday dinner at the Palazzo Restaurante. An exquiset small dining room with a view of the Grand Canal, unmatched service and food that was pretty good entertained us for the evening. The next day, we had to catch the train back to Florence for a flight back to Frankfurt. Having learned our lesson on Day One, we ordered a water taxi for 60€ to take us to the train station. No one who is old, feeble or handicapped should try to do Venice. It is impossible. Even for those still fairly abled-body will be challenged by the water taxi, which requires stepping over open water and down 2 to 3 steps into a bobbing boat --- and back up onto dry land is even worse. Two Italians and brother Ron had to help me into the boat and out.

The train back to Florence was uneventful but at the airport our bad luck of total rain in Venice followed us and our plane was delayed more than two hours. This got us back to Frankfurt about midnight and back to Treis about 1:30 A.M. Overall I think we would all say that our time in Italy was a truly wonderful experience. We might not do Venice again, but if you have never been there as Elda had it is a magical place that must be seen.

Day Five - Thursday

It was not planned or included in the tour, but I wanted another look at the Renaissance paintings in the Uffizi. More than thirty years since my first tour of the Uffizi, I wanted to know if they would make the same impression on me. Fortunately, Michelangelo's wife, Francesco was licensed to give Uffizi tours. Michelangelo delivered us to her about 10 A.M. and we made our way to the crowded narrow streets to the Uffizi. With tickets in hand, Francesco took us right around the crowds and in less than 5 minutes we were inside the long hall holding lined with Roman busts and statues. These were the same busts and statues, whose discovery led to the end of the middle ages and beginning of the Renaissance. In their number and perfection, they are awesome. Our main objective, however, was to see the great paintings of the Renaissance in Italy. The Uffizi has arranged its collection so that visitors move from one room to another and one period to another, able to see how one generation learned from the previous and how the science of perspective grew gradually in its perfection. The first room we entered had a giant portrait of Giotto's virgin and child (seen at right). With lesser but equally impressive examples from other early Renaissance artists on the side. Here Mary is not the grieving mother but the triumphant queen holding the chubby baby Jesus with its wise old face. Enough about the Uffizi. We couldn't take pictures, of course, But there are plenty of pictures of the treasurers on the Uffizi in books and on the internet.

Another long lunch in the heart of Florence and then off to Fiesole, the "mother" of Florenze. High on on the sunny side of the hill, Fiesole was once the Etruscan town which gave birth to Florence. Now it looks like a series of villas and homes for the very wealthy very much like something you might see in a prosperous part of California. In the center of Fiesole, Garibaldi and King Leopold II on horseback congratulate each other for having conquered and unified the scrapping Italian republics into the country of Italy - 1861.

Back at the Villa that night we prepared what Ron thinks was our most enjoyable meal. This was due in large part to making fresh Tagliatelle (pasta). That night the menu would include Crostini with Gorgonzola cheese and lardo (don't ask what it is). Tagliatelle (a thick form of spaghetti) with artichokes and leek sauce, Pork loin with Marsala and milk sauce served with potatoes roasted with rosemary (from the garden of course). The dessert that night was Ricotta tart with chocolate ganache. We all got involved in making the pasta and handed the camera duties over to Costanza who was happy to sit back and watch. The Crostini were wonderful as you can see.

Day Four - Wednesday

We had a leisurely breakfast with plenty of strong coffee and set off about 11 AM for a tour of Chianti, the fabled region of wonderfully smooth red wines, not the same stuff we know as Chianti but really excellent. I never had a bad wine in Italy. First stop in Chianti was a charming small village on top of the hill with parts of an old Etruscan wall, narrow streets (no cars allowed) and lots of charming little flower gardens created on postage size plots of earth or big ceramic pots. There are apartments for rent in Montefioralle for anywhere from 400E to 700E. If you want an Italian get-away, far from the madding crowds and with a beautiful view and charm galore, Montefioralle is the village for you. There are not many amenities but a quick ride or longer walk down hill to Greve will provide any essentials you might need. We partly drove and partly walked down to Greve where we got to do some more shopping and had a great lunch soaking in a warm Tuscan sun, especially delightful after the cold, rainy day before. It seems all Tuscan villages have a famous favored son - a writer, philosopher, explorer, warrior, or artist. In Greve, a statue in the central part of the town, lets people know that Giovanni da Verrazzano, the famous explorer was born there.

After Greve, we drove up a long and treacherous road to the top of one of the highest hills where Michelangelo introduced us to owners of Lamole a splendid little winery. We tasted the Chianti and talked about it, checked out the wine-making process and had a quick conversation with the owners, an Italian couple who had inherited the farm and worked it pretty much by themselves. It looked like pretty hard work with little rest or relaxation. I asked them why they did this work and the man replied it was for the love of nature and the love of living in the place, and the annual goal, to make the perfect Chianti. Always willing to take advantage of the moment Ron had a case shipped home to share with Dorothy and friends.
Information copied from Wikipedia
Giovanni di Verrazano

He is renowned as the first European since the Norse colonization of the Americas around AD 1000 to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between South Carolina and Newfoundland, including New York Harbor and Narragansett Bay in 1524. This statue is located just out of the picture over Elda's left shoulder above.

Tuscany Day 3

We cooked on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and ate dinner out the other two nights. It was a cooking AND walking tour, so back to the walking. The weather was pretty nice, sunny and cool on all the days except day 3. On that day, it was very cold and rainy. Michelangelo picked us up about 10 AM and we headed out of Florence to San Gimignano, a walled medieval town high on a hill in Tuscany, looking much like it did in the middle ages except for the noise, dirt and smell.

There are many medieval towns in Tuscany but San Gimignano is one of the most important. Founded more than 2,700 years ago by the Etruscans it became important in Roman times and medieval times as the main town on the road from southern Italy to France. The pilgrims from northern Europe who wanted to do their homage to the Pope traveled through San Gimignano. In the middle ages, about 12,000 to 13,000 people lived there but today it has at most a population of about 2,000.

Because it was cold and raining and early spring, San Gimignano seemed desolate to me. Stone streets, walls and towers all around with rarely a sight of anything green or friendly. I know it is an important tourist destination with its imposing towers reminding visitors of the Italian tradition of feuding families. We did find several shops selling beautiful Tuscan ceramics. I bought one piece for 50€. It was one of the cheaper pieces. Yeow! Ceramics are an important tradition in Tuscany. More than 3,000 years ago, the Etruscan people who inhabited the hills and valleys became expert makers if pottery. The popularity of painted ceramics among Americans has made it a thriving industry.

Even though it was miserably cold, we enjoyed a gelato at the Galeteria di Piazzi owned by Sergio Dondolei, winner of the world cup of gelato-making in the last two competitions. According to expert taster and Gelato fan, Elda Morris, the award was well-deserved.

The medieval starkness of the stone in San Gimignano hides an amazing treasure in the church of Santa Maria Asunta. If you go to San Gimignano, don’t miss this church with frescoes from the 14th century recently (10 years ago) restored. The church is filled with the frescoes from top to bottom and beginning to end, for the most part, beautifully restored to their original color. The frescoes tell the story of the Life of Jesus as well as the creation.

The church is also home of the chapel of Santa Fina, a local saint, who engaged the medieval towns with visions telling them how they should live. There is a glass coffin supposedly with the remains of Santa Fina but she looked more like a wax doll tome. Maybe the wax covered the bones. I couldn’t get a clear answer on that.

Ron was asked to remove his hat in the church. But other than that, nothing embarrassing happened.

After wearing us out in San Gimignano, Michelangelo, our guide insisted we go to Volterre, known for its silver, gold and alabaster. I put my foot down and refused to leave the car in hurricane-force winds and rain. Ron, Elda and Michelangelo, however, trudged up the hill to the village of Volterre, meaning “high land.” Elda bought a lovely small alabaster vase which was made in front of her. She was happy to find such a treasure and it made her forget about the wind and rain. I was sorry not to see the making of the alabaster vase but “what the hey.” Later I learned that Volterre was one of the most important sites for Etruscan tombs and artifacts and regretted giving up on the face of gale force winds. Not.

Dinner was at a great Pizzeria close to the Villa Il Paradisino. Cold, wet and tired we fell into bed about midnight.

Tuscany Day 2

A bountiful breakfast of scrambled eggs, home made fig jam , a variety of yummy baked goods and a potato strada greeted us in the dining room of the main house of the Villa Il Paradisino. Cooked by our hostess, Costanza Belloni Filippi ,everything was fresh and tasty. Much of the food we would eat for the next few days was grown on the fourteen acres of the Villa Il Paradisino. The olive oil, the main ingredient in every meal came from the Olive trees on the grounds; jams were all made from the many fruit trees; most vegetables are grown at the Villa and a few dozen chickens and ducks provide both eggs and meat.

Off to Florence. Speeding through streets lined with cypress trees and tall adobe walls hiding secret gardens, we got our first close up view of Florence from the Piazza Michelangelo. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore and its famous dome designed by Felippo Brunelleschi tower over the Florentine skyline. Later we would see a statue of the famous architect siting on a pedestal to the far right of the Duomo keeping an eternal eye on the crowds and his famous creation.

Florentines are crazy about Michelangelo and the statue of the David. The real David is on display in theAccademia Gallery in Florence. But a copy dominates the Piazza Michelangelo and there are others around town including one now covered for restoration near the Uffizi Galleria. The Italians seem especially fascinated with David’s private parts and you can buy everything from aprons to underwear to salt shakers and key chains displaying only the admirable privates. I imagine that sociological dissertations have been written on this phenomenon, but if not it would surely make for good commentary on the character and obsessions of the Italians.

Climbing up from the Piazza we came to the Basilica of San Miniato Al Monte. The best example of Romanesque architecture in Florence, the Basilica was consecrated as early as 1018 and the current basilica was built at the beginning of the 14th century by Florence’s Wool Guild. The symbol of the Guild, an eagle clutching balls of yarn can be seen everywhere in the Basilica. As with almost every church in Tuscany, the beauty of the art and the palpable feeling of hundreds of years of culture seep through the marble and hold the visitor in awe. .

A little shopping, a visit to the Cathredal Santa Mario Del Fiore also known as the Duomo, a quick look at the fabulous doors of the Baptistry, a light lunch and a tour of Florence’s narrow back streets, we crossed the Ponte Vecchio and back to our car. The Ponte Vecchio is more charming from a distance. Packed with jewelry shops and tourists, the Ponte Vecchio seemed a crass display of commercialism. Unless you can find a time to cross the bridge with fewer tourists, it almost isn’t worth effort. Instead consider its charms from a distance and imagine its use in the 15th and 16th centuries when the rich and famous used it to walk from the Medici palace in the heart of Florence to another palace on the edge of town. Originally a market for selling meats, grains and other produce, Lorenzo the Magnificant, decreed the markets closed because he was so offended by the smells. In keeping with his love of beauty and decoration, Lorenzo decreed that only jewelry could be sold on the Ponte Vecchio and so it has been ever since.

Back at the Villa Paradisino, we hardly had time to catch our breath when we were called to the big house for our first cooking lesson. Cooking lessons were in a big room with a kitchen on one end, a sitting space with TV in the middle and a table, an antique scale on the far end. Our teacher was 33 year old Costanza Belloni Filippi. Costanza’s family includes a mother, father and younger sister plus several helpers. There is also a grandmother somewhere but we never met her. Costanza is clearly the energy behind the Villa Il Paradisino enterprise. Full of bubble and sizzle, Costanza radiates Italian charm. She presides over the preparation of traditional five course meals with great authority. From Costanza, we would learn the right way to chop, stir, brown and season. The recipes we prepared all came from the family recipe book. Cooking started at 5 by selecting greens and herbs in the garden and finished usually about 8 to 8:30. Dinner itself would last about three hours from about 9 to midnight.

When cooking was finished, we took a 15 minute break to morphe from workers to honored guests. Dinner was served in a beautiful dining room and lavish plates and other serving pieces. An open fire prepared every evening by Papa Belloni Felippi gave the room warmth and cozyness, which along with the plentiful wine, soon dispelled any feelings of fatigue from the strenuous day. Wine began being poured about half way into the cooking session and continued to the end of the evening. The wine came from grapes grown at the Villa and pressed by Papa. It was that light wonderful kind of Italian wine that you can drink forever without getting even a little bit drunk.

We cooked three five course dinners during our stay at the Villa. Dinner always started with an appetizer. We chose Crostini di fegatini (Chicken and rabbit liver crostini); Torta salata ai porri ( Leek Flan); Crostini con gorgonzola e lardo (Crostini with gorgonzola cheese and thinly sliced pig belly). Every appetizer was scrumptious and I really can’t say which is my favorite.

The first course is always a pasta or rice dish. We chose a tagliatelle with artichokes, pumpkin lasagna and a mushroom risotto. The fresh pasta for lasagna came from a local market, but we made the tagliatelle ourselves, a wide thin Italian pasta, ourselves. Costanza started the process with two types of flour and eggs. Ron and I ran the pasta machine producing perfect very flat wide tagliatelle. The artichokes came from the Villa gardens. Italian artichokes are smaller than ours and have a beautiful reddish sheen. We tore the leaves off the artichoke and saved only the heart which was cut into pieces and put in the pan for cooking. Another day we made Lasagne alle zucca gialla (Lasagne with pumpkin). We chose this dish because we had never heard of pumpkin lasagna and were curious about the taste. It was made with fresh pumpkin and was delicious. We are not sure, however, that we can reproduce this recipe with American pumpkins. It seemed that the Italian pumpkin was somewhat smaller and had a more dark orange color. The raw pumpkin was very tasty. We also made a Risotto with mushrooms. We learned that Risotto cannot be made ahead of time but must be served immediately when the rice is soft.

The traditional second course in Tuscan cooking is always a meat dish with a vegetable on the side. We chose rabbit, pork and lamb. We were shocked to see that the rabbit came skinned but with everything else intact - head, eyes, feet. Elda and I had a little trouble looking at the poor little flayed, skinned rabbit and agreed that it was probably not something we could fix at home. Nevertheless, rabbit is a delicious meat, very tender with a light, smooth taste. We also had Arista al latte (Pork loin with marsala and milk sauce). A third meat dish was Spezzatino alla cipolla (Veal Stew with onions - you could also use beef for the same recipe). Vegetable side dishes included Cavalo saltato (savoy cabbage), Patate croccanti al rosmarino (baked potatoes with rosemary); and Piselli alla fiorentina ( green peas Florentine style). The potatoes were my favorite but the other vegetables were delicious too. All the main dishes and vegetables are made with plenty of olive oil (I mean PLENTY), red onions, garlic, lemon rind and other spices. Fresh spices included rosemary, bay leaves, sage, and an Italian herb I have never heard of.

Costanze uses aluminum pans in all her cooking (No Teflon coating) and swears by them. Other cooking rules from Costanze:

• Never preheat the oil except when searing certain meats for stew which you want to fast-cook to seal in the juices.
• The pan must fit the food; never use a pan too big for the food or the oil will burn.
• An aluminum pan for roasted potatoes is better than using glass or anything else.
• Use confectioner’s sugar for all pastries to mix with dough more quickly and avoid too much handling of dough.
• A half-moon chopping instrument is better than a chopping machine for the herbs because it keeps the juices in the herbs.

Nothing is thrown away at the Villa Paradisino. All the scraps from cooking went into a bucket which was delivered to the ducks and chickens. The chicken manure was later scraped and placed around newly planted vegetables - a wonderful sustainable system.

If you like to cook or even if you just like to eat, plan a vacation at the Villa Il Paradisino. If there are enough people, you can enjoy the wine and conversation and let the others do the chopping, boiling, roasting and broiling. Ron will probably try to do a 5 course dinner, but I don’t see how I could reproduce these dinners by myself. In addition to her student helpers, Costanze always had her Mamma near by. With her hands in dough or vegetables, Costanze would call her “Mammi,” to bring this or that utensil or ingredient about once every ten minutes. Mammi was always smiling and obliging. Take note Mammi Henricksen. Elda will be making the Tortes, I am sure of it and will be calling for help from her Mammi.

For our fifth, dessert course, we chose Frutti di bosco con panna montata e salsa al vino (berries with wine sauce and whipped cream). This was definitely my favorite. It was made with a combination of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries and brown sugar, vanilla, dark chocolate, lemon juice, mint, red wine and lady finger cookies on top. Oh Yum! We also had Torta della nonna (Grandma’s cake) with a genauche sauce, and Fondente al cioccolato (Costanze’s chocolate cake). I’m not much of a fan of chocolate cakes but I would definitely want to make this one. The cake came with raspberries and whip cream on the side.

Our trip to Italy

Buon Giorno,

This text was graciously provided by my sister Renate. I will try to post each day of the trip over the next few days. I certainly hope you enjoy it. I know that we absolutely did.

On Sunday, March 22, 2009, after a short flight from Frankfurt we landed in Florence to bright spring sunshine. Our guide, Michelaangelo met us at the airport to drive us to the Villa Il Paradisino, where we would spend the next five days. Michelangelo is the Italian you want to meet -- cute, young, energetic, speaks good English and knows everything about everything in Tuscany. He would drive us around Tuscany in his roomy Fiat for the next five days. As an energy conscious Italian, his Fiat is a hybrid which uses methane and takes him 13 miles for 1€.

Day One - Sunday: Arrival at Villa Il Paradisino.

After a short drive, we arrived at the Villa Il Paradisino,a 14 acre oasis in the middle of a busy suburb of Florence. An electric gate opened and we drove on a short blue Iris lined driveway to the guest quarters. The guesthouse was right out of your favorite Italian movie. Built at the end of the 14th century, the house was beautifully restored with all of its ancient charms and all the modern conveniences including two roomy baths with great showers.

Our spacious common room was graced by a 14th century fireplace, tile floors and wooden ceilings. Antique furnishings as well as a comfortable couch completed a first impression of

what was to be our home for the next five days. Two spacious bedrooms and a small kitchen served us well for the hours we spent there.

A quick trip to the bathroom and we were off with Michelangelo for a tour of

the Mugello Valley, famous as the ancestral homeland of the Medici family and the cross roads between Bologna and Florence. The first stop was an abandoned village with a picture-perfect view of Trebbi

o, one of the many country fortresses of the Medici. The Medici family made their first fortune producing charcoal from the expansive hills and valleys of Trebbio. Later they founded the first bank in Florence and became the great patrons of the arts, which made Florence the birthplace and center of the Renaissance.

Today Trebbio is owned by a private family. Italy’s system of not taxing the property, which is also the primary residence of a family residence helps those who inherit the grand villas and castles or bought them years ago hold onto them.

We were starving by 6:00 but Italian restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7:30. We killed time touring our guide’s resident village, Scarperia. He showed us the 15th century house he is renovating and invited us for a glass of wine at his modest apartment. Wife Francesco was surprised but good humored about having three foreigners show up on her doorstep on Sunday night. Finally it was 7:30 and we set off for dinner. A very late Italian dinner of pasta, rabbit and salad completed our day, and we were grateful to fall into a deep sleep in our romantic villa.