NOVEMBER 2019
Hi Pia,
Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you. I went right back to work two days after we got home. Crazy week!
I cannot express enough the wonderful vacation that you put together for Eddie and myself! We had the best time exploring, drinking good Italian wine, eating the amazing food, and meeting such fun people along the way. After all my talk about going to Cosenza, it was the only disappointed stop we made. My cousin had said that he was disappointed with the city, but I thought, “oh it cannot be that bad.” Well, we were very disappointed. The best part of our short stay was a delicious dinner that we had. We had to wait outside for the restaurant to open, but when the owner saw us sitting outside, he brought us a glass of prosecco. He and the staff were great! We could never get anyone to direct us to the historic section of the city. But, the rest of our time was so wonderful.
Tropea was gorgeous! We loved the town and our hotel was unbelievable with it’s beautiful ocean views! Positano was a dream! Again, the B&B was great,as well as the owner herself. It was like staying with family.
On to Chianti and Siena. Loved the winery, and leaning about their wine making process. It was so beautiful to sit outside enjoying the wine and food overlooking vineyards. Siena was like being in a storybook. Our guide was fantastic. She really explained the city history, with it’s 17 districts and the famous horse race. We had a great time in the cooking class. One of the couples in our class from Chicago, his sister lives here in Gilroy. Small world! Just this Sunday, I recreated our meal for our family. It turned out great! We loved just walking around the city.
I’m so glad that we went to Florence again. Such a nice city to walk around admiring everything. We took a carriage ride around the city that was fun. I guess that we should of gone to see the “real” David. Everyone tells us that we missed an amazing piece of art. Oh well! Pinocchio is everywhere in the city, that’s the museum that I wanted to go to. I didn’t realize the story was created right outside of Florence.
Portofino was shockingly disppointing. There is really nothing there. Now we know. I liked the city right before it, Santa Margarita. Oh my god, Cinque Terre was amazingly beautiful! We loved all the towns. Marco our guide, was fantastic! We would of never learned what we learned about the history without him. He was just so good. Our B&B was so comfortable. The owners Fausto and MariaPia were so gracious. Our room, the breakfast garden, and just the experience was so wonderful.
I think the best part of Milan was the Duomo, OMG! it is breath taking to think that it was built so long ago. The intricate details are something to see.
I’m happy that we went to Lake Como, but we should of asked you to arrange it, because it was the only glitch we had. At one point we got on the wrong ferry, and then the wrong train back to Milan! We said, “it’s a Pollock” thing:) It all worked out but nerve racking for a bit.
Pia, all of our accommodations were perfect and the transfers were right on! The only problem was in Cosenza. We waited over 45 min. for our taxi, but we had to call the hotel. At first, they said that they don’t send taxis, but when Eddie gave them the name of whoever you arranged things with, they then sent the taxi. It all worked out.
We really had memorable time together and I cannot thank you enough for all your time and effort making it possible for us. We so look forward to meeting you someday in San Diego. Please let us know when you return and maybe we can drive down. Or better yet, you can come up our way and spend some time with us.
Our next big adventure will be to Spain in about a year. We will for sure contact Zicasso!
Ciao,
Gloria
