ITALY TO PARIS

Other than the time we foolishly went to Germany in February not to ski, this has been the worst stretch of weather we have seen on vacation.  Lots of rain, but there were moments that we could get out and pick olives or site see, but not many.  We got cabin fever, and despite the forecast of more rain, we headed for Arezzo to walk around and if it rained duck into a shop.  We quickly learned that this plan may not work when we found the local grocery store, the Coop, in Monte San Savino closed and realized today was a holiday, all saints day,  and everything was closed.  We pressed on anyway and it ended up being a great day with just an occasional light shower. We went to some churches and a couple of art exhibits that were open, but mainly just walked.  It was nice to be out.

When we returned to Villa Ceppeto, Manuela was harvesting the olives trees next to the road and I joined in. We were getting these since we had to work in the road and today was a holiday and thus less traffic. Since I had such few opportunities to take pictures in the rain I forgot to get photographic evidence of the adventure. A neighbor stopped while driving by and informed us that olive oil from Monte San Savino and this area on the hill had taken 2nd place in a New York olive oil tasting event.

Daniel had returned from Switzerland and had honored my request to bring back some gold....almost. The next best thing.  Truffle chocolates!! An added bonus was Manuela also prepared tiramisu for us.

Today is our last day and it has dawned beautifully clear. With the moon over the villa and town sitting on the hill, the sun slowly brought in the fog and just as quickly reversed the process as it rose into the sky and melted the fog away.

slideshow

With such a beautiful day and the last one we decided to walk the loop to Monte San Savino.  This was up and down the hills for a couple of hours.

 first we had to leave spotty in the field or he would follow us into town

 they recently renamed all the streets. put this on your return address a few times and you will probably move.  ...and we did see a deer.

 olive harvest is starting in earnest in the whole area

 there are still wildflowers blooming

is she praying over my pork or about to slap the camera out of my hand.  actually she is as nice as she is beautiful.

 lunch

i survived the walk!!!

There is a strange thing here in rural Italy.  In all the tourist towns if the restaurant sign says "pizzeria"  you can probably get a pizza. But in this area if says "pizzeria" there is a good chance they only serve pizza at night and sometimes only on holidays or weekends. So for our last dinner we went out for pizza. We chose La Guglia a restaurant in town that we just discovered. It is hard to believe that as many times as we have been here and in such a small town we missed it.  The pizza and service were excellent.

ON TO PARIS
It is with great sadness that we said goodbye to Manuela, Daniel, Spotty and Villa Ceppeta.  For some reason I have started feeling guilty when we leave and the olive harvest is not finished. 

daniel and spotty wave goodbye

The drive to Florence on the autostrada was uneventful with light traffic. Then the fun began.  I have been to the Florence airport several times and getting to it has not been a challenge but not very direct either. It is a small airport and sits just off the road but with no grand entrance sign and hidden by a gas station and some bushes (I told you it was not big). The entrance is just a small road amongst several right before a stoplight, like 6 feet,with just a small sign saying "aeroporto". I missed it. Three miles down the road to the first turn around, an adventure in itself, we head back, do the wiferdel circling to get to the entrance and in we go. Well, it is under construction and all the rental cars have been moved off the airport. So, off we go. The rental car parking is really hidden. Signs are small thrown in with other signs and are mostly on the opposite side of the road where it means "turns right now, four lanes over". We miss the turn and do some adventure U turning. None of the U turns are direct. You have to wander through neighborhoods and feel your way like a blind man. We finally arrive at the lot and it is hidden under a bridge with a bunch of damn trolls. 

The Florence airport maybe small, but unlike Rome, the people are very nice. The very attractive agent had on her best Italian smile when she informed me that I would have to pay 60 euro/$79 !!!!!!! to check my second bag. They learned this extortion trick from the American airlines.  On top of that, the airport gets in on the deal and adds another 5 euro to the tab!! There is no way to consolidate down to one bag as it has my helmet and boots from the Cross Egypt Challenge.

The flight was uneventful but we did get free wine.  Vicki calls it the 60 euro bottle of wine. We land in Charles De Gaulle at one of their remote terminals in this huge airport.  They have a very nice underground tram system to get you to the main terminals and all the transportation options to downtown Paris, sort of.  If you are getting your bags here in terminal 2G you have to go outside in the weather and fight you and your luggage on to a overcrowded bus. And, it no longer goes to all the terminals, just to 2F and you have to find your own way to any of the many other terminals here. But that was ok as terminal F was where we wanted to go to catch the Air France bus downtown to the Arc de Triomphe and our apartment. Not so fast fat boy. Someone has left a bag unattended in terminal 2F, the idiot, and the terminal, a very large terminal, is closed and armed people are guarding the area.  With some head scratching and contemplating I figure out how to get to the bus terminal between the two air terminals. We found an elevator that was working, went downstairs, walked through a construction area, around a large group of police, into terminal 2E back out door 8, down the corridor to the bus terminal. Voila!

But things were not over yet. You buy your tickets from the bus driver. He has a computer thingy that issues and takes tickets. It is not working.  Several reboots, meaning shutting down the bus completely and restarting many times for several passengers to get the damn thing to work. "This thing is horse shit" he declares in english. By the last passenger, he gives up and tells her just to get on. The rest is uneventful.

It is a short walk to the apartment at 37 Avenue des Ternes from the bus stop at the Arc de Triomphe in a whole new area for us.  This is a "posh" area, as a Frenchman told me, and I believe it is as the Lamborghini dealership is just a few blocks away. We are met by David Miller of Cobblestone Paris (http://cobblestoneparis.com/) owner and manager of 17 apartments in Paris (not all his). We have rented many apartments in Paris, but never one with such professional handling. He meets us at the door and explains everything in a very organized manner. They have a notebook that explains clearly and methodically, just as David did, everything you need to know about the apartment and the area.  Many apartments come with one roll of toilet paper and nothing else. You have to go buy coffee, sugar, paper products, etc. but not so here. This one is complete with everything from spices to a bottle of wine, a candy bar, and fresh roses. The apartment is huge by Paris standards at 50 sq meters and redone to first class standards. It cost a little more but you get a lot more. In fact, it is a home for the price of a 3 star hotel in Paris. If you are renting an apartment for the first time this is the way to go. You are comfortable from the start and only have to worry about what to do all day.

Now don't go thinking I let go of some of that money. I, as usual, got a good deal. Discounts for last minute booking and off season. I only splurged on the car and driver.

Sunday was wet but we walked anyway.  We walked so long, four hours with only one stop for hot wine, the skies cleared and the sun came out. We are only a few blocks from the Arc de Triomphe so we  headed there and walked the Champs-Elysees to the Louvre. Paris is the most visited city in the world by foreigners but, to my surprise, the third most visited by domestic and international tourists. It is just a few visitors behind NY city. Want to know the number one most visited city in the world?  Yep, none other than home of Mickey Mouse, Orlando. 

 champs-elysees to the louvre

 the champs-elysees is the tourist avenue. we like to walk it and people look and visit all the car manufacturer show rooms. this is Citroen....

 so, how do they get those cars up there?

 wet and windy

 yes, $1.30 to pee and glad to pay it.

 the scooter and helmet are made of chocolate!

In St. Pete there is a watch repairman, Pete, and a clock repairman working out of Pete's garage. Pete had a jewelry store for years but retired from that and keeps busy working out of his garage.  They are fun guys to visit and really got me interested in the workings of antique clocks they repair.  They are engineering masterpieces.  I really want to see this one when the store opens tomorrow.