Wine harvest time in Italia

The past couple of weeks here in Italy have been all about wine. The top 2 pictures were taken at a vineyard in Frascole, where the winemaker, Marzio, makes Chianti and a real nice Pinot Nero. We met Marzio at the Festa di Gusto, in Borgo San Lorenzo a few weeks ago and we bought 42 bottles of his 2008 Chianti for 100 Euros. A good deal indeeed! When we went to his vineyard, he let us taste wine right from the fermenters and from the oak barrels. His Pinot Nero is very nice and he also makes a Chianti with 85% Sangiovese and 15% Pinot Nero.

The next picture was taken right across our driveway the day our local farmers were harvesting their 2012 vintage and the last picture was taken at Gnam Wine Bar, in Vicchio, which is now our favorite local wine bar.

We've been in Italia for 5 weeks!

I golfed for the 2nd time since we arrived in Italy 5 weeks ago. We've been very busy taking care of Italian document issues, but we have our Carta d' Identitas and our Promesso di Soggiornos are on their way.

We're starting to settle in with our new Italian lifestyles and getting more and more comfortable with being in Italy full-time. I'm understanding a lot more Italian and speaking a bit more and I'm encouraged that I'll be getting much better as time goes by. It's been hard to blog with everything going on for us, but our V.W. Jetta diesel and household possessions will arrive soon and that will make it feel more like home. Italians invented red-tape, so we're going along for the ride and doing what we've been asked to do and paying our taxes and other bills as they come due associated with becoming legal guests of Italia!

I want to return to the Tuscan Forest

These are photos from last year's visit to a Monastery high up in the Tuscan forest. It's almost 1,000 years old and truly remarkable. We look forward to a return visit!

We're on our way to Tuscany!

  Well, the time has come to start preparing for our move to Italia! I recently achieved the 60,000 hours plateau as my last requirement to retire with a full-pension. It took 32 years to get here, 28 at Warner Bros. and I plan to retire on August 3rd.  Linda's last day as legal secretary (after 34 years) is on July 27th.

  Now it's time for us to start living "La Dolce Vita" in Italia!

  Ciao!

David

Porcini Festival in Ronta

Last year we tried to attend the Ronta Porcini Funghi Feste, but we couldn't find the location thinking it would be easy to find since Ronta is a small town. This year we asked a couple of questions and found the location was just off the main road. We got there early and I wondered how many people would attend, but after an hour or so, the place was packed and a nice gathering for the beautiful Tuscan evening. We had everything with Porcini except Gelato! We will go back again!

Lago di Bilancino 2011!

This is a picture of Lago di Bilancino taken yesterday, August 16th, the day after Ferragosto. It's our first swim in the lake and we hope to come a couple of more times before we have to go back to L.A. The swim was wonderful!

Romagna and Mussolini

This was the 2nd half of our drive with Roberto and Giovanna. We got to the top of the Braccina pass and then on to Mussolini's home town to see his family crypt. His tomba is very plain without his name or dates of his birth and death because afterall he wasn't an Italian hero, but rather a dictator who led Italy down the wrong road. An Italian man put it this way " If not for the Americans, I would be speaking German right now!"