Tuscany

The highlight of the trip for Oliver was BY FAR the train trip from Rome to Florence. He is obsessed with trains, buses and pigeons, so, needless to say, the train station was little boy nirvana. The fact that we actually got to ride on the train, and then that the train went through tunnels... well, it just doesn't get much better than that. Everybody on the train was laughing because he was so excited.

Dad met us at the train station in Florence and we stashed our luggage in the car and took off on foot to explore the city. It was very cold and sort of sputtering rain, so it wasn't that terrific a sight-seeing expedition. We visited the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio but then took shelter at a coffee house and had panforte and hot chocolate that was so rich it was like warm pudding.

We had dinner in Florence and then drove out to the villa in the Florentine Hills, near a tiny town called Magnavilla. The drive was pretty exciting in the dark since the roads are very narrow and winding. The villa was an old farmhouse or hunting lodge from the 15th century. It was surrounded by olive groves and had the most gorgeous views of the countryside and the city in the distance. It was quite cold, though, so Oliver slept with us each night under our down comforter. Oliver is midnight party animal. Ryan and I would be exhausted and Oliver just wanted to play. The sleeping arrangements made for some pretty fitful nights for me and Ryan.

Day 5 After breakfast we drove to San Gimignano, a totally picturesque city with many of its medieval towers remaining. We had a terrific lunch at a Italian charcuterie (I forget what the word is in Italian). They didn't have pasta or pizza, which was actually a nice change. I had ribolitta, a tuscan soup with bread, white beans and kale, it was delicious. Oliver enjoyed chasing the pigeons in the square. In the afternoon we drove on to Sienna, where we walked through the old city streets and saw the Campo where they have mad, anything-goes horse races in the summer. We decided after our huge lunch that we would just make a simple dinner at home.

But...along the way home, Dad brings up this Michelin 2-star restaurant that he knows is in the vicinity of our villa...or at least he thinks it is...the thing is, he doesn't remember the name of the restaurant, or the town that it is in, but hey, it's a 2-star restaurant, we can find it, right!? (The Michelin guide rating system only goes to 3, and it is extremely difficult to get even one star. In the entire USA there are only five 3-star restaurants.) Anyway, we end up driving all over creation looking for this restaurant. We finally find La Tenda Rossa at about 10:00 pm. The plan was that we would try to make reservations for the next night but we all decided that since we were there, we might as well eat tonight than come back again the next day. I was mortified because we were all in jeans and fleece, not exactly fancy-restaurant attire. But the staff was so gracious and totally made us feel welcome and at ease even though we looked like rif-raf. They brought out a throne (no joke) for Oliver and when he had had quite enough of sitting still at dinner they took him back to the kitchen where he was ohhed and ahhed over by the women in the kitchen. Apparently blonde haired, blue-eyed babies make Italian grandmas swoon. Anyway, we had a absolutely exquisite meal. And, in a Halverson family first, Ryan ate something that I wouldn't touch. He thinks I'll eat anything but when they brought out an "amuse bouche" appetizer of tripe (intestine??) I balked.

Day 6 - It was raining and cold but after a hearty breakfast we headed out to see Lucca and Pisa. We made it to Lucca just in time for the whole city to close up for lunch/siesta. It was pouring, so it was pretty much a bust. We huddled under our umbrellas and did some sightseeing but the collective mood was pretty dreary. We decided to punt Pisa and headed home for a nice dinner prepared by Abby. We had tuscan bean soup, fresh peas, pasta with pesto and cherry tomatoes and blueberry tarts for dessert.

Day 7 We flew down to Puglia in the afternoon to meet up with the greater Ford/Knapp clan who had gathered from the far reaches of the globe (New Haven, CT; Port Washington, NY; San Francisco, CA; London; Paris; Stockholm; Bangkok).