Two Italian Tour Guides, ( Florence, 26th, & Rome, 28th ) Giovanni and Massimo, Last Week Of Oct. 2009 With My Daughter

I have lots to fill-in here and so little time. My daughter and I had marvelous three-hour walking tours of both Renaissance Florence first with Giovanni and then ancient Rome with Massimo.




They both know their subjects inside-out and we saw and quickly learned/heard many facts and short stories to get us so much more interested and involved with our beautiful surroundings. Thanks Giovanni ( Florence and Massimo ( Rome ) : you made these cities blossom for us right before our eyes.





I have lots still to add including the names and phone numbers ( email addresses of both Giovanni and Massimo ) in case anyone wants to contact them ) here really soon.




In the meantime enjoy these photos that I took of our walking tours/ some on a bus, too ) of both Florence and Rome the last week of October, 2009 : Tuesday, Oct. 26th, 2009 in Florence and Thursday, Oct. 28th in Rome ).





As you can glean from these photos we had unseasonably beautiful warm, blue-skied, sunny weather. We were so lucky on so many accounts.

It's Sunday, November 29th, 2009 ( 10:22 AM ) as I type this now. I'm back here at home in northern Virginia and my daughter is now in Paris, France with old friends of ours. I am sure that Italy is still very much on our minds a month later ... TONY

Staying @ TENUTA VALDIPIATTA In Their Guest House Below Their Home On Thurs. Oct. 29th, 2009 W/ My Daughter : Wow!

Yesterday I downloaded these pictures that I took the morning after sleeping at the guest house at TENUTA VALDIPIATTA. I wanted to have some of them so I walked outside and started snapping away.



I had this funny feeling that I often have that this would be the only time that I would have to do this. I was right. We were always on the move and if I wanted a memory for myself of this wonderful evening at TENUTA VALDIPIATTA in this really delightful guest house of theirs I would have to document it immediately if I planned to share them later with others and better recollect all the amazing details that were everywhere inside and out.




Thanks to owner Miriam Caporali my daughter and I stayed in their guest quarters under their own. It was so comfortable and spacious and roomy. We had so much room to spread out and relax and enjoy ourselves the evening before after returning from a memorable dinner with Tony the sommelier at CAFFE POLIZIANO. I took some pictures that evening as well. I will try and include a few more here as I have the time.




This was a beautiful time of the year to be here with all the changing colors of fall. On top of this it was an unseasonably beautiful, warm and sunny time with lots of baby blue skies and no rain anywhere to be found in Tuscany. My daughter and I felt blessed each and every morning that we awakened.

On this morning I felt especially blessed. As I walked around the grounds outside the house I happily composed and snapped away with my Canon camera. I think I captured some excellent split-seconds in time. It's a fabulous place nestled into the bosom of this wine/grape and olive tree valley dotted with rows of tall cypresses and accented with ponds and the occasional weeping willow, too.




Lots of dirt and small stone roads and it does get dark early here now. Best to be home early or to have someone that knows their way around to get you about. As it was except for one glaring misstep my daughter and I managed beautifully all on our own.




The marvelous thing is that any of you can rent this guest house and enjoy all that it has to offer with the excellent VALDIPIATTA wines and olive oil, too. For meals you can go to the grocery store and buy things and make them there in their spacious kitchen. Or you can drive five minutes and be in the town of Montepulciano where the movie " Twilight " has been recently filmed. It's striking and filled with interesting architecture, views, narrow passage ways, steep inclines and excellent restaurants , bars, shops, etcetera.

We will have to back and explore some more as we only saw the town at night with all the shadows and sharp contrasts of lamp light/moon and starlight and clear, crisp, cool darkness. I liked it very much and found it exhilarating and stimulating.






You can contact them at TENUTA VALDIPIATTA to find out more. You can certainly go to : info@valdipiatta.it immediately. Tomorrow I will include this information for you.

In the meantime enjoy these photos that I took inside and outside. Cheers, e caio , TONY

P.S. Here's the added info that you will need : TENUTA VALDIPIATTA is located at : Via Delle Ciarliana, 25/A 53040 just outside the town of Montepulciano. The phone number is : +39 0578 75 7930 and the fax is : +39 0578 717037. Go to both their web page at : www.tenutavaldipiatta.it and to their hospitality site at : www.agriturismovaldipiatta.it. You'll love it : these pictures here should help you decide to go just about immediately : when can you book the next flight there?!? Cheers ... have fun ...

Where The Wild Things Are ," No Child Left Inside ",Congressmen ( Maryland, Colorado ) Thurs. Evening, Oct. 15th, 2009 In Cleveland Park, N.W. Wash DC

I'm thrilled that Santos Rivera that works with me here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelelandparkwine.com ) aked me : " Why aren't you taking pictures across the street ". He says that he asked me this question more than once as I finally headed avross the street just past 6:30PM. I glanced up at the clock on our wall here in the office and saw that I was late for whatever was happening there. Santos did not know, I did not know either. I had heard nothing at all about this all day long.




It's been a constant slow drizzle day here in Cleveland Park N.W. Washington D.C. all this Thursday and we have been busy putting away many cases and assorted bottles of wine that arrived early from the Country Vintners wholesalers. I was still doing this as I walked out to go home and to have dinner with my son that has been sick and not feeling well. My wife would be joining us after a long day at school and later at her class. I planned to make something for us as soon as I got home. So many things on my mind as I passed the man doing out CHANG beer tasting. He was nice enough to go over to Firehook Bakery and buy us coffee and something to eat. I thanked him and he smiled saying I was the only one to say thanks. He also said that Jessica over there had made a big point to tell him to say hello to me. Thanks Jessica, I saw you a bit later when I bought our two favorite baguettes to take home for dinner : one with all the seeds on it, one plain. You sure have a nice smile and a very pleasant demeanor Jessica.




I got across the street late and immediately realized what all the buzz was about. Everyone was packing up and going home and all the children were already inside watching this new movie based on Maurice Sendak's stories of " Where The Wild Things Are ". I knew all about this thanks to my son and I immediately thought of him as I navigated my way carefully through the traffic across the street with my trusty Canon Power Shot SD&() IS to take my pictures and preserve the moment and share ith with our neighborhood as well as my family - and you all, of course that will see this blog.




I was disappointed of course to see everything being packed up and I immediately started snapping away to catch some of these last scenes. I did see a few children gathered around the big posters and so I took their pictures. I also spotted a woman by my right side and I started chatting with her. She was very nice and also willing to catch me up to speed on all of this. I asked her if any of the stars in the movie had come? She said that the little boy was scheduled to come but she did not think that he had made it. Too bad. She did say that some conressman had come to speak and so when I collected together enough of my thoughts I asked her which ones and why?




She told me that they had come to speak to the kids and to encourage children to get out from behind all the screens that they now look at from the t.v. to the ipod to computers, phones etcetera and to get them outside. She mentioned the idea of " no child left inside ". That phrase caught my attention immediately and I brightened up immediately and added all of my quick comments on this subject. I'm in total agreement : I want to get more children outside to discover the pure joys of the outside and not always those scripted by parents. Let them just be outside some and enjoy Nature.

I love that phrase " " No Child Left Inside ". I had never heard it before this moment. The congressmen that spoke were from Maryland and Colorado according to this lovely brunette lady who's name I wrote down and must add later as I find the piece of paper at home.




I asked her if she was going to the movie? She said " no ", that she was too tired and I empathized with her predicament. She obviously had worked really hard on this all day. We had a nice steady dialogue the two of us as I snapped a few pictures.




She said that she had come to the Uptown before to open movies and she mentioned the one called " Hoot " that I had never heard about. I asked her some questions about it and she filled in the blanks for me.




I knew all about the opening of this movie " Where The Wild Things Are " because of the excellent t.V. trailers that have been playing for the last week or so. Each and every time that they played my son would light up with a big, broad smile and tons of animation and launch completely into how excited about this he was and how much he wanted to see it when it comes out! I love seeing him so animated and happy about something. It's great to see pure, unvarnished, unrehearsed joy in someone's, especially one's child.




I got home safely navigating this drizzly dark night and all the traffic at 6:30-7:30 PM with my two baguettes and when I greeted my son and told me about this opening at the Uptown he immediately said that he hoped he felt well enough to go see it the next day, Friday.

I told him I was going to make some dinner but he said that he was still not feeling well. However, he did take some of the fresh FIREHOOK baguette and I was pleased for this.




I hope that you feel well enough son to see the movie tomorrow. You may have to take me , too son as I was also impressed with the movie trailer and it has caught my curiosity. Would you mind going twice?

Enjoy these pictures, cheers,  TONY

I JUST ADDED THIS :  3/20/2014  was foggy, now the sun is out and I hear the birds chirping, sounds of our ' wild things ' outside a few feet away at the most, I like that! Spring's now on the way ...  TONY

We had this marvelous opening of the movie at the Uptown Theater across the street from Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits and I was lucky enough to go over and meet one of the ladies involved and post this quick note with some pictures I took. I remember being invited by my daughter a couple of years ago to go read Maurice's story in French to her 2nd grade class of students. I would first read a page in French and then she would read the same page in English. It was quite a tongue-teaser-, and it tied my tongue and mouth as I struggled to get - to make the right sounds and get the same feeling and emotion of the words. It was no easy feat. We should have had a trial run. I should have read it a couple of times out loud by myself and then read it to her class. It went amazingly well anyway. We all had fun, many questions were asked of me. I enjoyed it, too. Some of the parents of the children were there and listened to me do this. I'd do it again. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn  3/20/2014