Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   Back from Tuscany.... Date:   9/22/2019 2:45:10 PM

Spent two glorious weeks in Tuscany with two of my daughters and some friends and I didn't think about the Forum at all.  Perfect weather (warm sunny days and cool nights), the Sangiovese grapes were almost ready to be picked and the food was excellent as always. Spent two days in an area called Cinque Terra on the west coast which was amazingly beautiful.....not to mention the lovely topless sunbathers......and yes, I had to look and my wife was amused.  We rented a villa near Monte San Savino which was perfect and included this amazing outdoor wood fired pizza oven that we put to very good use,.  Only downside was we did a cooking class one day and one of the ladies there brought her son who works for Ernst & Young and he took a liking to my daughter and asked her out the next night.  Since we were having a pizza party that night she invlited him over and darned if he didn't show up.  She went back after a week and they have been communicating on a daily basis ever since.

Renting from Avis not so much.  First car developed a coolant leak and had to be replaced which was a pain.  Second car had some wheel damage that we did not do but wasn't listed on the form and we didn't see that they are now trying to charge me for.  Will see how that battle goes.  One thing I know for sure, the Italian people are so warm and friendly except on the roads where they become like demons.  They have all these speed trap cameras and send charges six months later that are not cheap so I drive the speed limit.  Italian drivers do not appreciate that any more than Atlanta drivers.  For them, tailgating is almost a contact sport.  Otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite having to do some conference calls and other work related stuff.  

I will say this about Europe, as much as I love visiting there I cannot understand why any American thinks we need to be more like them.  VAT taxes are crazy expensive, you have to pay to use a toilet, there is very little free parking anywhere and the grocery stores are not even close to what we have here in the U.S.  Also, I got stung by a wasp on my foot that swelled up to my calf and had a nasty rash and went to an urgent care place that was a disaster.  No receptionist and I got there when it opened and the waiting area was already filled with people with no apparent queue.  I finally gave up and went to a pharmacy, explained what happened and the pharmacist looked at my foot, said "Ah, OK" and immediately went and got me some cortisone/antibiotic cream and off I went.  Let's just say I wouldn't want to have anything worse while I'm there.

If any of you ever go there let me know and I'll tell you everything you need to know to have an amazing time.  Stay away from the big wineries and you will be so much better off for tours and tastings.  We went to Florence, Cortona, Arezzo, Pisa, Montepulicano and several other smaller towns.  Chianti region is also very nice and we had an amazing lunch there at a restaurant with an incredible view.  It was run by a Scottish woman who was very fun and entertaining to talk to.