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THE RADICAL SABATICAL TRIP TO ITALY
THE GIANNINO/RACINES/RICCIOTTIS DO EUROPE
AUGUST 2003

A little background information to help this review make sense. My ex-husband Brian teaches and runs the science department at a private school in Concord, MA. This previous year he finished teaching his seventh year of school there and took advantage of their ???????summer sabbatical??????? program. This program allowed him to spend an all expense paid summer in Florence, Italy learning Italian. Because our son Connor is too young to fly internationally by himself, Brian suggested that the three of us meet up with him and his domestic partner, Bob, in Italy for a fantastic family vacation. The five of us spent an enormous amount of time planning out what proved to be a trip of a lifetime.

08/01/2003 LEAVING And we’re off!!! And we????????re stopped???????for the first time in 12 years, a cop cared about people pushing a yellow light, and now we have a $50 ticket to pay when we get home. No problems getting to the airport, however, there are rain delays everywhere???????including Air France (1/2 hour behind) and Cape Air (Cape Cod). These people have been sitting waiting here FOREVER. I hope we????????ll still have plenty of time for our Paris trip since we????????re going to need to stand in line again to get boarding passes. I guess we????????ll have to wait and see.

08/02/2003 ARRIVING Had a good flight. We left about 35 minutes late. Was a very large plane. Each seat had a TV in its back with movies, games, music, etc. Tony slept for almost the entire flight and Connor and I slept for about four hours. They served supper and breakfast on the plane. We were late arriving due to the delay and there was a LONG wait at customs. But we found our driver and were off!! Only problem???????NO ENGLISH. Luckily, our guide, Ann, spoke very good English. We went to Surrey Mansion and walked the gardens, Hotel D’Invalides, Notre Dame, Champs Elysee, Arc D????????Triomph and the Eiffel Tower. We were too tired to do the boat ride. So after Ann left we grabbed lunch at ???????Le Buffet??????? at the Eiffel Tower and picnicked. The driver (never did catch his name) drove us around some more, but we kept dozing off in the car, so he brought us back to the airport. All in all, we had a nice day, bought a few souvenirs and saw some amazing sights. Was it worth 640 euro? Probably not, but with the boat ride; I????????d say it was easily worth 400 euros. Ann was very knowledgeable and it was just the three of us. It was nice to be able to change the itinerary as we wanted to. So now???????we sit a CDG waiting for our 6:25 p.m. flight to Pisa. I????????m more tired than I can ever remember being. I keep falling asleep anytime I stop moving.

08/03/2003 THE VILLA Made it to I Cipressi in La Strata/A Signa last night. The flight from CDG to Pisa was uneventful. The Pisa airport was small but nice. Brian picked us up and drove us to the villa with no problem. The villa is Tuscan amazing!!! I can????????t get over how beautiful everything is!! We ate a light supper of cheese, tomatoes, wine, bread and meat then hit the pool. Also, the pool doesn????????t suck!! Went to bed and slept like the dead. Got up this a.m. and went to get the Robster at Florence airport. It????????s a real hoot driving around here, but Brian????????s doing an excellent job! Had some yummy cappuccino at the airport and hung out waiting for Bob. Came home, unpacked, and had another European lunch. Melons, bread, olives, cheese, meats, and of course, Chianti. Spent some time hanging out by the pool. Paola (the owner) and her husband, Fabrizio, are very nice. Came in and took a nap while Tony and Bob played cribbage. Went back out to the pool and Paola made coffee. Forgot that we drove around to find the train station and just explore. Found a nice little church with great views of Florence. Tonight we ate a nice little restaurant in Signa where we had pizza, etc. I am definitely addicted to Italian coffee!! Came home and headed to bed.

08/04/2003 FLORENCE Slept in this a.m. since all of us had a tough time sleeping because of the heat. Got ready and headed to the Ipercoop (grocery store) for some essentials (TP, etc.) and caught the train to Firenze. Had some yummy gelato while we waited for the train. Hit Florence with a vengeance. Shop, shop, and shopped some more. Had lunch at a nice little place although I accidentally ordered rice with tuna in it. It was VERY hot in the city. After lunch we did some more shopping and visited Santa Croce, the cathedral where Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and some other VIP????????s are buried. It was a very beautiful church. Ate at a restaurant that had awesome food!! I had homemade gnocchi and bruschetta. Connor got some ???????pepperoni??????? pizza, except they call it ???????spicy salami.??????? We caught the 8:55 p.m. train back to La Signa and hit the pool when we got home in an effort to cool down (it worked)!! I got eaten alive last night at dinner and of course my legs reacted badly, so right now I look like I have the pox. I think tomorrow we????????re going to do a driving tour???????to a location as yet unnamed. Tony and Bob re playing cribbage and Connor and Brian are reading. Today we bought: a purse, a necklace, prints, wine journal, some charms for my Ziponi bracelet (me); a belt, cigar holder, cigars (Tony); a nomination bracelet, a silver bracelet, a bookmark, sm. Deck of cards (Connor). Tomorrow????????s another long day???????so goodnight.

08/05/04 VOLTERRA AND SAN GIMIGNANO Slept great last night. Bought a Raid ???????plug-in??????? to keep the mosquitoes away and took Benadryl for my poor legs. Got up this a.m. and got ready to go. Headed out for our hill town tour. Drove to Volterra (approx. 2 hrs.) which is known for its Etruscan ruins and alabaster objects d????????art. Amazing views the entire way there. Stopped at a small villa and bought some wine and pesto and caponata. Walked around Volterra for about 4 ???? hours. Went to the museum and visited many alabaster shops. Had lunch at Web and Wine where we had great sandwiches. Next we drove to San Gimignano another hill town that????????s know for it????????s multitude of towers. What another amazing Medieval village. Walked around and took in the views and did some more shopping. So far we????????ve bought prints in Florence, Volterra, and San Gimignano. I think local art will be the theme of the Radical Sabbatical Tour. Had supper in San Gimignano at a ???????touristy??????? place where the food was probably the worst we????????ve had so far, and it was still good. Drove home???????Brian????????s doing a great job driving and getting around really isn????????t too bad. Came home and hit the pool again to get refreshed for bed. Tomorrow is another day, perhaps the beach. It????????s Connor????????s birthday and that????????s what he wants to do.

08/06/03 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNOR!! Got started late this a.m. Piled into the car and headed for Pisa. Had our most difficult time so far with navigating in Pisa. But when we found it, the ???????Field of Miracles??????? was awe inspiring. It contains the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery, and the Duomo, all in one spot. ???????The Field??????? however, was packed and it was incredibly hot. After sightseeing we grabbed a ???????baby yogurt??????? then hit McDonald????????s for lunch. That place was a zoo!! Then we headed back because we were all very hot, tired and grumpy. Stopped and picked up some essentials at the Ipercoop. Came home, swam, napped and cooked dinner at home. After dinner we had Connor????????s birthday cake and swam again and then it was time for bed!!

08/07/03 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB!!! Heading out this a.m. for Florence again. Our goals: the Uffizi, the Academy and Piazzale Michelangelo. Got into Florence and took a cab to the piazzale. Postcard views of the city???????buy VERY expensive. A bottle of water cost 4 euro. Then we took a cab back down to the Academy. Waited in line for 1 ???? hours to get in. They only let a certain number of people in at once. The statuary and paintings were spectacular with very good descriptions written in English with them. And the David???????what can you say???????breathtaking. Tony managed to get some ???????covert??????? pictures. After the Academy we ate lunch at a great place Bob picked out then stood in line at the Uffizi for about 1 ???? hours. We all got the ???????audio tours??????? headsets and had a fun time. I was glad we spent the money because there were no descriptions with anything!! Next, we headed home and stopped at the Ipercoop for dinner things and ate at the villa. Right after dinner I realized that I had lost my ???????Radical Sabbatical??????? folder somewhere in our travels. Luckily, I still had our plane tickets and passports in my blue bag, but our Eurorail passes and voucher for La Pace were gone???????.AAARRRGGHH!!! Called Eurorail and since I bought the insurance we????????ll be able to get reimbursed. I don????????t know what we????????ll do about La Pace. Paola and Fabrizio had a pizza party for all of their guests, but I was unable to enjoy it being too upset about the folder, so I came home and packed.

08/08/03 VENICE Arrived in Venice after a three hour car ride. I can????????t believe we fit everything into that car!! After getting harassed by local ???????taxi-cab??????? drivers trying to scam you into taking a private taxi at exorbitant rates, we made it to the water bus. Venice is amazing!! The views, the layout???????all of it!! I absolutely LOVE Venice! Got off the waterbus at San Marco and walked a short distance to the Bauer Hotel. What can I say, it didn????????t earn five stars for nothing! After we checked in we headed out for lunch, exploring and shopping. Venice is a city made up of twisting little streets and alleyways that open into marvelous piazzas. After lunch we came back to the hotel for a siesta, then it was back into the city. Shopped some more then took an hour long gondola ride at twilight, it cost 170 euros but we all felt it was worth every penny. Then we wandered around until 9:30 looking for a place to eat that was off the beaten path. Had another great dinner and headed home to bed. Oh, called La Pace after checking in and everything is o.k. They have us in the computer system as paid. Also, our room has a patio that opens onto Campo San Moise.

08/09/03 VENICE Today Tony and I are headed to the train station to see about replacing our rail tickets while Brian, Bob and Connor do some sight-seeing on Murano. Tony and I got to the train station with no problems. Took the vaporetta which is a water bus. Waited in line at the travel agency there (probably could????????ve gone to one right near St. Mark????????s). Got the tickets easily and they were only $121 for the three of us. Took the water taxi back and got off way before St. Mark????????s and took a beautiful long walk. Never ate lunch because we ate such a hearty breakfast at the Bauer. After we got back to the hotel left Tony nursing a headache while I went to tour the Doge????????s Palace. There were very few people there so it was very nice even though it wasn????????t air conditioned. Even though there weren????????t many exhibits it was amazing to walk through the opulent halls and rooms where people lived and worked. The armory had a huge exhibit of weaponry and it was eerie to cross the Bridge of Sighs into the prisons. After touring I went back to the hotel to find that Tony had gone out for a walk so I was able to catch a nap. Everybody met back up at the hotel at about 6:00 p.m. and we headed out for dinner. By the way, Brian, Bob and Connor had a great time on Murano. Wandered a bit (seemed to be the theme for our time in Venice) and discovered this large piazza that seemed to be mostly locals with few tourists. Had a lovely dinner outside and headed back home for our last night at the Bauer.

08/10/03 PISA Time to head to Pisa! Got up and had another lovely breakfast on the terrace of the Bauer. Wandered around a little bit more (our last moments all together), and headed for the train station. Trip to Pisa was uneventful with the exception of the mad dash with luggage in the Florence station to make the train change to Pisa. The Eurostar to Florence was definitely styling!! First class all the way. Our hotel (La Pace) was only ???? block from the train station. It was o.k., but it was no Bauer. Tony called it the ???????Motel 6??????? of Pisa, although it was very clean. Altogether, I would say that Pisa is altogether unremarkable.

08/11/03 HEADING HOME Time to head home!! Got up and walked to the train station to grab a taxi. Got there and there were NO taxis. Waited awhile and then Tony went back to La Pace to ask them to call a taxi. Connor and I waited. Tony came back and said, ???????There are no taxis available!!??????? NONE in the entire city of Pisa???!!!??? About that time one pulls up to drop a fare off so we throw ourselves in front of it to grab it. Got to the airport no problems. Flight to Paris went well and then the nightmare began. Boarded the plane on time and sat and sat and sat. Finally, the pilot came on and said that the toilets were not working, but that they were being fixed. Waited some more and then finally began taxiing only to stop again. Suddenly, we all noticed it was getting hot on the plane, the A/C had quit!! After sitting on a sweltering plane for 1 ???? hours they returned us to the gate. Where they unloaded us into a “holding pen” for the next three hours???????with NO food and NO information.. Finally, they brought “machine-type” sandwiches, but only ONE per person. About 7:00 p.m. they told us they had found another plane for us and were moving us to a gate. BUT we had to go back to security even though we hadn????????t left the holding pen (we weren????????t allowed to). Finally got to the gate and thought we were going to start boarding at 8:00 p.m. only to be told to sit back down…it was going to be another hour???????they forgot to put food on the plane!!! Finally boarded at 9:00 p.m. only to sit for another 45 minutes because they forgot ice!!!! AAAARRRRGGGGGHHH!! Took off at about 10:15 p.m. and touched down at Logan at 12:00 a.m. Boston time. After today I have ZERO confidence in Air France!!

Finally, the trip was AMAZING!!! We loved Italy and I want to go back to Venice for AT LEAST a week!!!