Italy Part 1 - Orbetello, Tuscany countryside, & Greve in Chianti

We just returned from 10 days in Italy.  I love Italy!  If I could afford to buy (and more importantly, renovate) an old farmhouse in Tuscany & retire there, I would in a second!

We flew into Rome, rented a car, and drove up the western coast of Italy.  We were surprised how easy the drive actually was.  The roads are in very good shape, and everything was well marked.  Our 1st stop was a seaside town called Orbetello.  It's an old port city, which came under Roman power in 300 BC.  There were still remnants of the old etruscan walls.  In the 16th century, it came under control of the Spanish, which was very apparent in the architectural styles throughout the town

This windmill in the Orbetello Lagoon is the only one remaining of 9 original windmills built by the Spanish to grind grain for the town

Pat & I always have to find & stop at a local market.  Orbetello had a small one on Saturday morning, with a great fish, cheese, and meat stand



Slicing up porchetta, which is a specialty in central Italy (basically a whole roast pig stuffed with garlic & spices, served on great bread).




Caught that morning

 After an afternoon in Orbetello, we headed to our hotel in a town called Buonconvento, located in southern Tuscany.  We stayed at Villa Armena, which was up in the hills.  Beautiful & I highly recommend it if you're ever wanting to travel around the southern part of Tuscany

Of course, they had a cat.  And a beautiful English bulldog named Franco, who's picture I didn't get :(

The Tuscan hills..... It was so nice to just drive around here all day, stopping in small villages or on the side of the road.  So peaceful & so green

One day, we took a LONG drive to Greve in Chianti.  Greve is just south of Florence.  Technically, only a 60 km drive.  But on the winding Italian roads, it took almost 3 hours.

I had to stop at this church on the way to take a picture. 

Greve is very popular, with day-trippers from Florence.  They have a great square in the city, with lots of  shops.  There was a flower market on the day we were there.

Greve also has a great meat market.  If it was later in our trip, I definitely would have bought some







What else do you need?




Greve kitty

Finally, a infamous statue in Greve's square.  I'm sure every female tourist takes a picture. 

More Tuscany towns to come................................................

Home from Italy

Just a quick post & hello.  We just returned from a vacation in Southern Tuscany & Venice.  I'll post some pictures later this week.  But this was pretty much our view while in Tuscany..... just beautiful & so green

  
Venice was also pretty amazing.  Unlike any other city in the world.  If you ever get the chance to see it, I recommend going before it disappears.

We didn't only eat & drink wine.  There was some beer as well :)

More pictures to come..............................................

May Day

We are on holiday.  A 5 day holiday, if you can believe that! 

May 1st was May Day, and it's an official national holiday in 66 countries (I didn't know that).  What else didn't know about May Day?

1.)  It's a celebration of Spring, and has it's origins in ancient pagan festivals.  It started in pre-Christian times:  the Roman Festival of Flora (Roman goddess of flowers), the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries, and the Gaelic Beltane Festival are just a few examples. summer. 

And in the Roman Catholic church, May is observed as Mary's month, so May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  

2.) May 1st is also known as International Labor Day, and was created in commemoration of the 1886 "Haymarket Massacre" in Chicago.  The Haymarket Massacre started with a demonstration for an eight-hour day at a plant on Chicago's southwest side on May 3, 1886.  Several of the demonstrators were killed, and workers planned a rally in Haymarket Square for the following night.  During this rally, someone threw a bomb into the crowd.  In the end, seven policemen and four of the demonstrators were dead, with around 60 police & dozens of others wounded. 

May Day became formally recognized the following year.  Many countries made it a national holiday.  Today, it's considered a popular day for parades, demonstrations & protests by various socialist, communist and anarchist groups. May Day celebrations also typically feature military parades.

In The Soviet Union, May 1st was celebrated for years as the "Day of International Solidarity of Workers".  It was a big holiday with massive Communist rallies, military parades & obligatory worker marches.  Today, it is called the Day of Spring & Labour, with the focus back on the welcoming of Spring.  There are still a few parades, but many people use the holiday to go to their dacha & plant for the summer.  Or take a trip.  Because the official Russian Holiday is Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!  A much nicer holiday if you ask me.....

We leave Friday for Italy (YEA!!!), but spent May Day in St. Petersburg.  And I do have to say that it's starting to look & feel like Spring.

   



A bike race on Hermitage Square





They were working like mad to get the flowers ready for next week's big Victory Day celebration





The canal tour boats are getting set up



Peter & Catherine the Great are everywhere.  In front of the Hermitage



AND on one of the canals.  They get around!



The police are everywhere, looking for trouble



One of my favorite things about Spring/Summer in the city:   Pop-Up Beer Stands!!!





The corn-on-the-cob carts are also really popular.  But after growing up on PA corn, it's pretty bad



My new favorite vendor.  He's selling licorice ropes in all different flavors



me

 I found a quote about Spring by Alexander Pushkin, who's considered Russia's greatest poet & lived much of his life in St. Petersburg.  His statue is just down the street from the Grand Hotel Europe.

“In alien lands I keep the body

Of ancient native rites and things:

I gladly free a little birdie

At celebration of the spring.

I'm now free for consolation,

And thankful to almighty Lord:

At least, to one of his creations

I've given freedom in this world!”

― Alexander Pushkin, Collected Narrative and Lyrical Poetry

Koryazhma

I travel to Koryazhma Russia for work fairly frequently.  It's a very Russian town, centered around a plant (a paper mill in this case).  The town has around 40,000 residents, and the paper mill  employs over 1/2 of the local population.  Once you subtract the children & seniors, you realize that almost everyone works for the mill.  You see a lot of that in Russia.  During Soviet times, towns were developed around new industry as the country worked to develop their economy independent of the rest of the world.  Entire villages were then relocated from their homes to live & work at the plants.  

Like anywhere in Russia, Koryazhma is not easy to get to.  It's a big country, but also the roads & infrastructure are just not well developed.  Koryazhma is approximately 1000 km east of St. Petersburg.  So you can take a very slow train (24 hour trip), or you can fly to a nearby city & drive on mud roads for 4+ hours. 

But luckily, I am usually able to time my trips & use a company charter, making it a 2 1/2 hour flight.  But before you think this is "luxury travel", think again!  We travel on a old Yak-40.  Are you familiar with this marvel of aerodynamics?  It's an old Russian regional jet, produced between the late 1960's until 1981.   On Wikipedia, I see that there are around 70 old Yak's still in service throughout the world.  Here's a picture of one of them.  It's like flying a brick - not exactly a smooth ride.  As Pat reminds me every time we fly on the Yak together, it's a great example of Bernoulli's Principle:  if you put enough force (thrust & lift) into anything, it can fly.  And yes, we do talk about things like Bernoulli........

We land in a town called Kotlas.  I got a good aerial shot as we landed.  You can see that this part of the river is still frozen

Kotlas airport....definitely minimal service!



The terminal




The runway


I took some pictures as we drove through the town.  A lot of people ask me what "Real Russia" looks like (vs. the big cities).  I think this is a good example. 

Some of the pictures are a little blurry, because I was in a car with tinted windows.  The next 5 pictures are in the town.  Apartment buildings, a hotel, and a few local shops.  I took these pictures during the day, but there weren't many people out & about. 

There are rows & rows of these Soviet-era apartments



центральный or "central" store




мясо or "meat" store



THE hotel in town, Hotel Vikonda, with a disco on the main floor (open until 5am!) 

We then drove outside the city.  It was difficult to get many good pictures, but I was able to take a few photos of the dachas & countryside
 

Dachas are small, seasonal homes in the Russian countryside.  Originally, they were owned by the government & it was considered a privilege to have access to one - mostly politicians, scientists, etc.  But your rights to the dacha could be revoked at any time if you did something considered "against the state".  By the 1960's, anyone could have a dacha.  All you needed to do was apply for a free plot of land, and then be responsible for everything else.  So people started to build these small cottages all throughout the countryside.  They often do not have electricity or running water, and they are tiny.  But the huge benefit was that you could legally grow your own fruits & vegetables for your family's consumption.  This was a big deal, and kept many families from starving during some tough years.

Many Russians still own dachas today.  On this trip, we were lucky to be able to stay at a dacha owned by our JV business partner. As I mentioned, most dachas are very small, so this one is a mansion in comparision. 10 bedrooms, located on the river, with a sauna & billiards room.

It was a quick trip, and we were home by Friday evening.  I'll be back in July, just in time for the monster black fly season!

As we were landing, I took these pictures of the outskirts of St. Petersburg.  Far from the palaces and museums of the city, and a great example of ugly urban sprawl.