whirlwind tour with Gpa and Gma, part 1 (of 2)

My head goes bonkers when I try to remember all the things we did, places we went, food we ate, statues we saw, domes we climbed, museums we visited, trains we caught... with grandpa and grandma during their two week visit (for a photo album of their stay---click here).

To be fair, we didn't go to each exhibit with them---some museums we have frequented; so we would drop them on the appropriate doorstep and leave them to their devices. Fortunately, our residence is only ever a few blocks from the nearest tourist attraction.

I already wrote a post on Certaldo and San Gimignano, Cortona and Greve in Chianti---4 cities we visited with grandpa and grandma near the beginning of their stay with us (no time for jet lag... time to go!). In addition to those cities, we scurried through Castellina in Chianta, watched Anthony play a [very foggy] soccer game in Chiusi, spent 4 days in Rome and soaked up impressive amounts of Florence.

They left two days ago. And for their sake and ours, I decided I better make a list of our/their feats of tourism:

In Florence:

1. The Uffizi Gallery (they loved the Dutch painters, Michelangelo's tondo and I couldn't get enough Boticelli...)
2. The Bargello (filled with famous sculptures)
3. The Duomo
4. The Duomo Museum (sometimes overlooked by tourists, but in my opinion one of the most impressive museums in town!)
5. The Baptistry (worth the sore neck from looking up and looking up some more)
6. Le Academia (houses Michelangelo's DAVID)
7. Palazzo Vecchio aka Palazzo Signoria
8. San Lorenzo Church
9. Medici Chapel/Sacristy
10. Ponte Vecchio (we walked over the bridge to have a lovely lunch in the Oltrarno; plus mom and I grabbed wine another afternoon---with a window view of this infamous bridge!)
11. Favorite Street: SS Apostoli is one of my favorite streets. An afternoon walk included a visit to a fabulous olive oil store, and a peek inside Santi Apostoli Church (which has a Robbia ceramic often overlooked but worth the find!)
12. Watching Caleb play soccer at his Firenze Club
13. Santa Croce (mom went with her college roommate---an unexpected treat!)
14. Food out: stand-up sandwich/wine lunch, trying ribollita, cerci cookies, gelato run with grandkids, regular espressi/capuccini/macchiati...
15. Food in: sangria, Cinghiali ragu on soft polenta, foccacia, mushroom risotto, pork chops with peppers (Mario), devils chicken (Mario), tuna/bean arugula salad, pasta with sausage/cream sauce, 1-2-3 chicken, homemade pizza with basic tomato sauce, pancetta wrapped raddicchio, lots of cheese/proscuitto/vino/chocolate/sambuca... we ate in a lot!

Grandpa/grandma: am I missing anything?

And then there was Rome... (next post!)

Cortona, Greve in Chianti

One of the things we love about the boys having soccer games around Tuscany, is that it forces us to rent cars and get better acquainted with Italy. Even while staying in Florence, there are times that we just feel like curling up and contributing to the concept of home-bodies. But alas games are scheduled and inevitably we rent a car, make plans and end up with more photos, stories and experiences. Even if it is cold and rainy and mishaps occur... we still never regret getting out and about.

This Sunday Anthony had a game just outside of Montepulciano. (I say this simply, but in reality stating the location of a game involves renting a car, retrieving the car via bike, phone calls in Italian, meeting up with team, going to the wrong field, depending on GPS, forgetting umbrellas, secretly venerating REI for selling Smartwool socks and undergarments, finding nearby espresso... and watching good soccer).

This past Sunday was bone-chilling cold, and impressively foggy. Which... keeps most wise tourists away. Actually, the cold and time of year means we often have tourist-laden cities to ourselves. Our visit to Cortona was nearly uncanny. It was so foggy, devoid people milling about, many shops were closed and parking was easy. We still got a great sense of the city, found soul-warming coffee and enjoyed a fabulous, cozy lunch. We visited one of the churches, found ceramic shops and walked up and down a number of streets. We saw about a third of the city, and hope to return again someday.

Greve in Chianti is a treat. It is the icon city of the Chianti Classico region of Tuscany (Chianti has 8 different regions, and the Chianti Classico region is the best-known, not only because they have fabulously marketed their wines, but they are the only region allowed to boast that fabulous black rooster motif). And Greve is tourist-ready: full of impressive shops, piled with souvenirs of the Chianti region, a world-class butcher shop (macellaria) and a line-up of restaurants worthy of a visit. We arrived a bit late to the city, but had just enough time to poke into the butcher, peek into some wine and clothing shops and get a sense of the city.

Oh, and did I mention we almost ran into a small group of wild boar? My favorite new animal to eat and adore are cinghiale. Our new family favorite animal is easily the infamous, Tuscan wild boar. They make the best salami, prosciutto, sausage, ragu, sauce... and entertainment. It was awesome to see 4 of them jet across the road in front of our little car.

frolicking fridays, round 10

We had guests for round 10 of frolicking: grandpa and grandma (Janelle's folks). They arrived a few days ago, are pushing through jet lag and already absorbing piles of art, Chianti countryside, tower-filled cities and multiple views of the Duomo.

Friday promised snow but delivered sun---perfect for a car-delivered tour of nearby cities. Friday morning we made a quick stop at the boys' school, made another quick stop to snap some photos of the Duomo and drove on to the US Memorial (WW2). Dedicated to US soldiers, this breathtaking memorial is an eternal thank you to those Americans who gave their lives to help liberate Italy. There are stunning, inlaid maps of Italy, showcasing the battle and how Italy was finally recovered---with the concerted efforts of US and British troops.

After spending some quality time at the Memorial, we drove to Certaldo. James and I had read about this little hill-topped town. We took the tram up the hill, to visit the original center of Certaldo. It was quaint, small and well-kept. This city claims Boccaccio as its own; the one main street is named for him, we parked by his statue---and in the church are his remains. Boccaccio was a famous scholar and poet.

Although most shops and museums were closed when we were there, we happened upon a ceramic shop that was full of beautiful pieces (Ceramic Artesia). Although closed, there are two delightful cafes and an impressive Palazzo---original to the Ridolfi family. This city isn't normally trounced with tourists, because visitors tend to jettison toward nearby San Gimignano. (Certaldo is so pleasant and quaint---a worthy visit if you are in the neighborhood).

And being the good tourists that we are, next we went to San Gimignano. And because it is January and just after the holidays, we practically had the place to ourselves. We toured the church and took in the vast frescoes (some by Ghirlandaio)---we were the only people in the whole church. We climbed stairs in the fortress to take in views of the towers, toured the many piazzas, enjoyed a sit-down panini lunch in the main square (with city-famed Vernaccia wine) and poked our heads into souvenir and wine shops.

Friday afternoon, we drove on super curvy roads toward Castellina in Chianti and Greve in Chianti. It was too late to soak up the cities, so we vowed to return to Greve in a few days.

We made it home---with a crate of oranges purchased from a roadside truck---ate dinner and played cards. All in all, a fabulous frolicking Friday!

For more photos, visit our photo album on our familyfrolics facebook page.