Not to be deterred by yesterday’s rain delay, Steph and I headed south again this morning and were in our seats by show time at 1:00. Great seats that were high enough that we could see both sides of the track. A 13 year old sang God Bless America; the Army band from nearby Fort Lee played the national anthem; we all stood for the pledge of allegiance; a prayer was offered for the safety of the drivers and in gratitude of the service of our military and law enforcement; and then there was a three plane fly-over. It all made for a dramatic start. Once the opening formalities ended, the famous words came over the loudspeaker: Lady and gentlemen, please start your engines.

There were 43 cars and hearing them all start up at once added an exciting vibe. There were a couple of warm up laps and then the race began. To say NASCAR is the loudest sport ever is an understatement. Oh wow! I brought ear plugs and, thank goodness, Steph had an extra headset. Around and around they went for 400 laps. My favorite part was when there was a delay and they all had to line up again and zoom off together. It was an exciting combination of color and Roar!

Steph had a small receiver that connected to our headsets, so we could hear the commentary as well as dial into individual driver’s teams. It made it more interesting and focused our attention. I brought opera glasses, so I could get up close and personal when I wanted to. Because it was literally too loud to hear cheering, plus everyone was rooting for a different driver, there was no collective clapping, yelling, hooting, or hollering per other sports events. The crowd just listened and watched and had small gestures of support like waving hats or slapping a neighbor on the back. Soft coolers were allowed, so our seatmates snacked and sipped. We bought food at the kiosks. I chose a delicious BBQ sundae that was a plastic cup layered with barbecued pork, baked beans, and coleslaw. Ball caps with the names and numbers of favored drivers were the order of the day for this fan-friendly, family-friendly sport. There were also loads of jackets with names and numbers on them. The best I could do was my ‘I’m a Rookie’ pin and Toyota Racing hat.

Coincidence of the day: We took one break to get food and use the restroom and who did we run into in this crowd of tens of thousands? The National Guardsman we met yesterday and shared lunch with. What are those odds?

Winner: Kurt Busch, driving #41. He is apparently getting his bad boy reputation under control and was cheered at the end.

The race ended three and a half hours after it started and we headed home. The drive back was the only down side to the day…it took just under four hours. We had each other for company, so it actually passed pretty quickly.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. is responsible for adventure #6. Well, NASCAR and my personal docent (and friend) Stephanie, a huge fan. Once Steph’s invitation was out there, I couldn’t resist checking out America’s premier spectator sport and the number two rated regular-season sport on U.S. television Who knew that more Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR, family owned and operated, than any other sport because of the rabid brand loyalty of NASCAR fans?

Destination: Richmond International Raceway
Race time: Saturday, 7 pm
Weather forecast: 90% chance of rain
Who are we rooting for: #88, Dale Earnhardt Jr., or as Steph calls him, Dale Jr.

Steph picked me up just after noon for the 100 mile drive south to Richmond. Half way there it started to sprinkle and by the time we got there until the race was called around 6:30 it rained nonstop. We came prepared with ponchos (umbrellas are not allowed) and I had on my trusty waterproof boots and winter coat, so we took advantage of our passes to the Military Appreciation Hospitality Tent for lunch and each got a Toyota Racing ball cap. I had an extra ticket (Dan’s … he went to Kuwait at the last minute) to the tent and shared it with a National Guardsman from South Dakota who we met and chatted up on the ride from where we parked to the track. After lunch we used our pit passes and Steph toured me around inside the track. She explained how it all works. Three drivers, Dale Jr. for one, strolled by Right In Front of Us. I didn’t know it, of course, so the thrill was vicarious. We got up close and personal with the haulers, pit stations, and victory box. We checked out a tent that was closed on all sides but was clearly the venue for something. We got friendly with a security guy who explained that a church service was going one. He indicated that a service is held for the drivers, their families, and others of influence in the race community every race day.

Steph explained that races are only run on dry tracks and according to our new security friend, it would take at least two hours to dry the track IF the rain stopped. That news coupled with the fact that the pit stations were completely tented cemented the idea that the race was probably not going to happen. Sure enough, it was called around 6:30, so we made our way back to the car and drove home in pounding rain.

It was a great day in spite of the weather and the lack of an actual race. The crowds were really light, go figure, so we got to see so much more than we would have otherwise. Sad part is so many people had flown and driven in from all parts of the country for a Saturday race that didn’t take place. Plus all the vendors counting on revenue had a lackluster day.

By the time I got home an email was waiting for me saying the race would be run Sunday at 1:00, weather permitting. :-}

Murphy and Josie had a 6:30 am flight, so they and three other ladies left the hotel around 4:30 for the very short ride to the airport. Matt and Emily flew at 9:30 and Dan and I flew at 1:30. It felt like such a luxury to sleep as long as we wanted and start the day slowly. Traffic was ramped up by the time we needed to go, so we allowed a half hour and needed it all. Because of the mountains surrounding the city, Florence accomodates commuter flights mainly since the big dogs don’t have enough runway. The small airport was buzzing mid-day.

Yesterday was cold and windy and today is beautiful with clear skies allowing us to see the surrounding hills and wonder what treasures are hiding in them thar hills. Half of our tired tourmates are going on from here, but for the most part our band of six is ready to go home.

Forgot to mentions:
a) A liter of bottled water is essentially the same price as a liter of house wine.
b) The fizzy water is less fizzy (and more to our taste) than in the U.S.
c) Italians in general are very stylish and look very similar to each other in terms of the way the dress. Everyone wears a scarf.
d) Pizza is amazing with paper thin crust.
e) Pedestrians have the right of way with or without a crosswalk except at intersections with lights. Just take a breath, make eye contact with the oncoming drivers, and step on out!
f) Trains and buses are clean and efficient.
g) The pasta is chewier than ours and delicious. Sauces are thinner and just barely coat the pasta unlike our habit of overwheming the pasta in a heavy sauce.
h) Quality olive oil is as important as good wine.
i) The bread and rolls are white, dry, and uninteresting to us except for sopping up sauces and soup.
j) Limoncello is served ice cold in chilled glasses.
k) A twin bed here is narrower than a twin bed in the U.S.
l) Hotel pillows and pancakes have a lot in common
m) Murphy and the map app on his iPhone made life easy. We followed like puppies.
n) Josie’s on-the-spot research on cool stuff to see/do made us the envy of the group.
o) Emily has an amazing sense of direction. Once Murf got us wherever we were going, Emily could pretty much get us  back without looking at the map.

Our favorites:
Murphy and Matt ~ Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican
Josie ~ the tour of Rome’s colosseum
Emily ~ biking the wall around Lucca
Dan ~ seeing the Pope
Me ~ Volterra

All told, we had a wonderful, fun, educational, funny, relaxing, and exhausting Italian adventure!

No lie-in this, our last, morning. We had to be fed and ready to go at 8:00. Ouch! It was actually a terrific strategy since it got us to the Uffizi Gallery before the hoards arrived. The streets were empty on the walk to the gallery which gave us a different views of the beautiful buildings. We had a terrific guide (and headsets) who talked us through painting in the Renaissance and then showed us major pieces. When we saw Madonna and Child, the guide explained that she was portrayed, per the fashion of the day, with blond hair. Florentine women wanting to follow the trend bleached their hair with horse urine. No mention of how the urine was collected. We also learned that a major philosophical shift was toward free thinking, self actualization, and building a personal legacy … so portraiture was suddenly an OK thing to do. We saw portraits of women with very light skin, a sign of status showing they had no need to be in the sun, and high foreheads as the fashion was to shave if your forehead was not substantial enough. Art became collectable, so paintings began to be painted on canvas (from old sails sometimes) rather than wood, so they could be shipped to out of town customers. It was a great time to be an artist or pretty much anyone who wanted to take an out-of-the-box approach to just about anything.

We were on our own from the time the tour broke until 7:20 when we met for our last supper as a group. We six had a wonderful lunch, walked the streets, popped in and out of shops, and then headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. I use the term lightly since no one could pull off a new, fresh look if they tried; we are Way passed that by the last day. Dinner was loads of fun and delicious. The lady next to me told me that the group referred to us as ‘the family.’ We were told by other couples that it was fun to see us having such a good time. Dan and Emily (Shot Daughter) ended the evening with limoncello shots Again. I don’t know what we are going to do about that. ;~} Rose, a lady who needed help with her luggage due to a knee problem, gave Matt a bottle of wine since he was always making sure to help when she couldn’t manage for herself. The evening ended with Italian farewells which amount to a kiss on each cheek … men and  women alike … and lots of laughs.

Health updates:
a) Josie cut a wisdom tooth.
b) Matt has had a bladder infection and is seeing good results from medication he got from the pharmacist. Standard protocol here is to go to the pharmacist first and the doc second.
c) Tour guide twisted his ankle.
d) Emily has had some allergy issues.

We had what the Brits call a lie-in meaning a late start. We woke to rain, grabbed breakfast @ the hotel, and walked to a place in the road wide enough for the bus to pick us up. Maybe a five minute walk. Off we headed to Florence. We traveled the same narrow switchbacks we came in on until we could get on the highway. We passed thousands of small terraced fields and gardens, and pastel farm houses. All shrouded in low lying clouds, fog, mist, and rain.

Three hours, one ancient aqueduct, and many tunnels later, we arrived in Florence, checked into our rooms, and had almost three hours to ourselves. Murphy, Josie, and I went to a couple of cute shops and visited the Gucci Museum. Dan, M & Em took off in the other direction and pretended to have a more interesting three hours than we did…but that is highly suspect. We all met back at the hotel at three for a 2.5 hour walking tour of the old part of the city. The highlight was seeing Michelangelo’s David as well as his Prisoners, but we were also dumbstruck by the sheer size and color (pink, green, and white marble) of the Duomo which boasts the first dome built since Roman times. The major sites are packed, just like in Rome, so we feel lucky to be here this early in the season.

Our guide, Jamie, had prepped us for all the Renaissance splendor during the bus ride. Seems Florence was the driving force and center of this very important era. In the span of 125 years, it went from a thriving city of 10,000,  mostly working in the cloth industry, to a booming 125,000. To oversimplify by lightyears, rich merchants (with excess $) from Florence encouraged and sponsored scholarly study of ancient texts that described the sophistication of life in Etruscan and Roman times. Over time, Greek wisdom and philosophy was reexamined also and even later Jews expelled from France needed a place to go, so they moved to the city known for its open mindedness and free thinkers. Slowly it became The Place to Be for an enlightened approach to medicine, art, science, philosophy, sculpture, etc. Out crept the Middle Ages and in snuck the Renaissance. Don’t quote me on any of this.

Remember the hotel sign attached to our balcony? Sure enough, it is lit up like a football stadium at night. We came back from dinner last night and just laughed! Here we are lit up like Xmas in this sleepy, small coastal town. We shut the roll-down shutter which we are so grateful to have.

WE WOKE UP TO GRAY SKIES…and drizzle. Not the weather we have grown to expect. We were on our own all day today. The Big Deal here is to visit some or all of five fishing villages (collectively called the Cinque Terre) along the coast. They are connected by trails but are also served by a train and a boat. Our plan was to take the boat two towns down, but due to the weather the boat was closed today, so we walked to the train station for the 15 minute ride south along the coast. A first for us: the train was longer than the station, so we got off in the tunnel and walked the few yards to the station to exit.

Vernazza is a very quaint and cute fishing village that is a favorite with tourists. We explored the narrow lanes being careful of our footing since it was raining pretty hard. Nothing is on level ground so it’s all up or down … a lot of which involves  stairs and then more stairs. Very picturesque with the beach, small harbor, and hundreds of terraced fields on the hills. We ate out under umbrellas at a restaurant Josie found online. We all loved what we chose. When I asked for grated cheese for my pasta (penne with shrimp) the waiter said no, no, no (silly American woman), sea food is not served with cheese. Got it; lesson learned.

Trails link the five towns of Cinque Terre and hiking these trails is the main reason lots of people come. Landslides and rain can cause the trails to be closed from time to time. Right now only one trail is open, the one between Vernassa and Monterosso. The hike is recommended if you Love stone stairs, unlevel rocky trails, and don’t get nervous if there are far too few guard rails. We decided we fit the bill but only if it stopped raining since slippery, uneven, rocky trail with hundreds of steps might make us nervous.  Walk…don’t walk…walk…don’t walk? The sun peeked from behind the clouds and we decided now or never. We took off like a pack of rabbits stopping at the ticket station to pay a handsome fee of something like eight Euro per person for the walk. It took an hour and a half and delivered on all the promises + the added one of Quite Narrow in places. As in room for one if you are careful. Shot Daughter, Josie, and Dan lead the way and the boys and I brought up the rear. I really hold that honor, but they were sweet to linger over pictures and chit chat as I plodded along. We had beautiful views of the sea, crossed a couple of streams, saw close up the nets that are used to catch olives when they fall off the trees, hundreds of terraces, and a few homes/farms.

Monterosso was just as cute as Vernassa. We found an old WW II bunker, walked the town center, had coffee and gelato, and explored two churches. One had …wait for it… a skull and crossbones above the door on the outside and ceramic skulls and skeletons incorporated into the ceiling right along with cherubs. The other one had a black and white checkered floor and columns that were one layer white marble and one layer back marble and then white then black and then white. It shouted gondola. When we had our fill of charm, we took the train back to Levanto for the night.

Speaking of lemons, they are huge here and a bit rough on the outside. The not so secret ingredient in lemoncello.

The desk recommend a pizza place for dinner and Josie confirmed from reviews on the Internet that it is highly rated. So we met in the lobby at seven for the 2 minute stroll to the pizzaria. We Loved the pizza. For dessert we tried Nutella pizza which was amazing. Dan and Murphy each did a Limoncello shot. Free with the meal. A quick stroll along the water ended the day.

My only chores before packing are a) to shower in the, no kidding, 26″ square shower. That is the outside dimension, so subtract an inch or two and you’ll know it is quite snug inside. And b) lower the shutter to block out the lit-up-like-Xmas hotel sign on our balcony.

While I was blogging, unpacking, and just getting organized in general for our two-night stay here, the other five Mongeons went for a stroll. They ended up at a small bar on the beach and decided to have a beer. Without thinking, they ordered six beers even though a) I was not with them and b) I never drink beer. I guess they thought that was a riot so they got busy (and rowdy) toasting ME. A large plate of snacks came with the beer and then from out of nowhere, it seemed, a plate of pizza from a wood fired oven materialized. Sure enough, they came back complaining they would not be able to eat dinner.

We met in the dining room for the aforementioned pesto how-to. The chef here made it from scratch with a mortar and pastle and offered us each samples before a welcome cocktail was served. Then the dinner buffet was opened. Sure enough, the five beer drinkers lined up with the rest of us. Local wine, both red and white, with dinner and  profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce for dessert with limoncello to wash it down. That’s where the fun began! Emily challenged Dan to toss his back. If he would, she would. BAM. I offered mine and Josie offered hers as back ups, so Dan challenged Emily. If she would, he would. BOOM. We were suddenly the rowdy ones Again. Josie has given Emily the handle Shot Daughter. From nowhere, at the end of the meal, YMCA came blaring from the speakers and the whole group had their hands in the air singing along.

Did I mention the word villa is in the name of our hotel? The term in this case refers to a lovely country home that is now a B&B/hotel. It is quaint, efficient, cute, and situated ideally at the bottom of the hill I mentioned. The view from our window is charming and includes laundry on the line as well as a fountain and small courtyard. Other rooms have small balconies and a view of the picturesque valley. Our towels are not terry cloth, but cotton, like tea towels. No shower in our room, but we do have a tub with a diverter making it easy to rinse after a shampoo. The tub is skinny and slippery so almost dangerous to get in and out of. Don’t let me forget to mention the aqua tile on the bathroom floor. Bright and cheerful and repeated in the floral bed spread.

The day started with breakfast in the hotel…best bread of the trip so far. I had my usual: a ham and cheese sandwich with coffee. Every night as we head to bed we say, less Murphy, that we are going to pass on breakfast, but we manage to run into each other the next day in the breakfast room just ‘grabbing a bite’ presumably in case lunch is late. We opened our curtains to the sight of neighbors airing out their bedding by drapping it out the window. There are no screens, so it is not a problem.

As a group we walked to the central part of the walled town…all up hill… and met our guide, a native of Washington DC who moved here almost 17 years ago, married an Italian, and is now the mother of two and  immersed in Italian history. She gave us a wonderful overview of the town focusing mostly on its proud Etruscan history which dates back to the 4th century BC. At its height it had an unprecidented 40,000 people and an interior and exterior wall. Being farther north than the other main Etruscan cities and situated proudly on top of a hill, it was the last stonghold against the Romans. The tour gave us a wonderful overview and then we were on our own for the afternoon. We visited an Etruscan museum, climbed the 156 steps to the top of a bell tower, visited an alabaster workshop where we watched the owner  make a bowl, walked through a beautiful church and the city park, and enjoyed the perfect weather and amazing views from the walls.

Lunch was a highlight as most food events have been: three of us had chickpea soup and the others had boar pasta. Both were just amazing in spite of the way they sound.

Volterra is not a major tourist destination like other Tuscan hill towns  + we are ahead of the season,  so we are enjoying the quiet of the town as well as the total lack of traffic and not having to wait for our gelato.

At 7:00 we will rally in the town square to walk to a wine tasting hosted by none other than the husband of the tour guide. Between now and then Dan has a conference call, I’m blogging and washing my hair in the tub, and the children are on there own getting into no end of trouble no doubt. We rarely leave them unsupervised. ;~}

We were all so appreciative of the walk from the town center to our hotel after our amazing four course meal. The starter was comprised of a small bowl of an ancient grain with a cheese sauce and small slices of pear. Odd sounding but amazing. With that was a piece of toast with fried dark cabbage of some sort which, again, sounds odd but was the table’s favorite. Add to that some local meat and cheese. All of this before the to-die-for pasta course which had tiny bits of wonderful (read: from a special breed of cow) ground beef in it. We all Loved it but did not clean our plates, less Murphy, because we knew pork shank was coming. We intended to nibble but basically cleaned our plates it was so delicious. Greens and roasted potatoes were on the side. Dessert was a simple apple tart that I managed to resist. Throw in local wine and bottled water and we all left more than satisfied!

It’s 11 so time to floss and call it a day.