This is it. The last time ever. TuscanDoIt Part 4: The Final Chapter. The Edstroms long since departed, the remaining Famici reunite one last time for a no-holds-barred, all-out, super-sized Tuscany Thanksgiving. After almost disintegrating as a unit after the fiasco of picking a house, Megan found this amazing place called Villa Scoptello near Montepulciano. Charlotte finished making the arrangements and we were all set for our last Thanksgiving together.
Each family straggled in at various times on Wednesday and we were the last to arrive besides the Cathy and Ives Ebneter, Ben's sister and Swiss brother-in-law, who came by train (they don't own a car - so European!). That night I was not feeling well so I retired early. The next morning I was feeling better but had the chills. Being quite cold for this time of year anyway, I dressed in many, many layers that morning so as to not miss out on the epic yard games.
Several of us stood in a huge circle on the lawn while we threw the frisbee, kicked the soccer ball, and threw a football to each other. The object was to get one person with all three of them at the same time. The yard was great, best open play space we have had yet.
The place was leased by a German woman and British man, who had a lawnmower but preferred to keep the grass clipped by allowing their pony to graze freely. Apparently he starts sneezing uncontrollably if he eats hay so he prefers grass which Jubie tried desperately to feed him out of her hand.
"Look at the size of that fireplace!" It was huge! And good thing because the radiators did not work all weekend. It was COLD in that house! We kept a massive fire burning the whole time and used up almost their entire supply of firewood, but thankfully they didn't charge us for it since the heat was out. The mantel was also enormous with lots of cool bric-a-brac.
The hosts cooked for us for Thanksgiving dinner, which started shortly after two o'clock. These were some of the antipasti, which could have been a full meal by themselves. They were amazing!
The table set with the other antipasti. From R to L: Isaac, Georgie, Me, Gina, Tim, Mercedes (Gina's mom), Ives, Cathy, Ben, Charlotte, Greg, Griffin, Megan, Leah (Megan's cousin/Griffin's nanny), Trinity, Ashley, Juliet. Not pictured: Luca, Jessica, and Tristan. 11 adults and nine kids. And we all fit very comfortably in the house with room to spare. The primi consisted of penne arrabiate, tagliatelle al ragu, and gnocchi. The secondi were roasted chicken, pork filets, and venison filets. Dessert was tiramisu, panna cotta, and chocolate cake. The meal lasted about 4-5 hours and we would break in between courses for games, wall-sit competitions, and guitar sing-a-longs. Best part was: no cooking and no dishes! Total cost: 30 euro per adult, 10 euro per child. Worth every penny!
Greg celebrating his decapitation of a Prosecco bottle with my machete from Honduras. You put the bottle in the freezer for about 30 min. Then you take the machete with the flat side towards the top of the bottle and run it along the seam in the bottle so you hit the lip firmly. This causes the glass to break and it takes the cork with it out into the yard. This became one of our favorite pastimes after the Baileys introduced it to us.
We had a white elephant gift exchange that night. Ashley is showing off the "cleavage cover" that she won.
The evening was completed with two rousing rounds of our favorite game ever, the Envelope Game! L to R: Ben, Charlotte, Gina, and Tim.
The next morning the families all split up to pursue our varied interests and get some needed time apart to make us appreciate each other more. The Crandalls, Ebneters, and McDowells went to Montepulcian, the Trifilos to Volterra, and we went to a hot springs about 40 min south.
It is known as "Fosso Bianco" because of the white calcium deposits that form the backdrop along the small valley where the hot springs bubble up.
Dams had been built to form pools where the water bubbled up and they were just the right temperature: slightly over 40 degrees C or so. How does nature know to make it that perfect?
Juliet and I were the bravest and got in first.
In a throwback to the original TuscanDoIt trip, I got myself a mud facial and then decided to go full Homer Simpson being mistaken for Big Foot.
The only selfie I have ever approved of.
Ashley was the last to enter, of course, but even she enjoyed it.
More calcium deposits on the way out. Being a Friday in late November there were hardly any other people there. This is my ideal way to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving - no materialism.
We returned to find Luca just waking up from his nap with Trinity babysitting. He started crying for this mom and dad then hid his face with his stuffed animal dog. He stood like that for about an hour, no joke.
Georgie holding baby Jessica, named after her young aunt who died from breast cancer in March 2015. Baby JJ was a little high maintenance but so adorable, whereas Tristan is not much to look at but the chillest baby ever.
On Saturday we played more yard games. They have an artificial turf tennis court with small soccer goals at one end so we took turns playing tennis and small soccer games. Proud to say that I dominated soccer, even when it was Isaac and I against four adults.
That night we went to Cordella winery near Montalcino, home of the famous Brunello. It was a lovely Tuscan evening and I was feeling especially close to my lovely wife.
Maddalena, the owner and hostess, gave us a tour and entertained us with stories about how her family was able to purchase the property, the hurdles she faces being a female in a traditionally male enterprise, and how she is able to keep her grapes organic and all natural.
I love the gesture she is making with her hand here. So very Italian.
In the cantina where her wines are aged in their oak casks. The glass contraption on top was invented by Leonardo da Vinci and it allows outgassing without allowing any outside air to enter and contaminate the wine.
Love these Famici!
We exited the cantina to this, sunset over Montalcino. Are you kidding me?!
We were happy that night, for sure.
Another view of the sunset. Ahh, Tuscany!
Inside the main building we were seated for an amazing dinner. The antipasti were delicious, but the highlight of the evening was the risotto cooked in Brunello, an invention of Maddalena's fiancee who is a chef. She said she flipped out when she saw him cooking with her expensive wine but took it all back once she tasted it. Out of this world. Here lined up are her 2009, 2010 (best year recently), and 2011 bottles. 2011 cannot have a label until 2016.
This was one situation where my "waste not" ethic was challenged. She kept bringing out more bottles! For free! And this stuff is expensive! The 2010 bottle retails for 120 euro! Turns out we were able to take home what we didn't finish. Greg and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
As did Charlotte and Gina.
On the way home somebody asked Ives if he could sing the Swiss national anthem. He started it but forgot the words halfway through. We started booing him and he said, "I'll bet you don't even know the American national anthem!" Wrong thing to say to a bunch of Air Force officers and spouses after a night at a winery. We regaled him with a slightly off-key version while he repeated, "Nevermind! I take it back! That was one of the dumbest things I have ever said." over and over again
This picture is actually from a different event, but this was the theme of the weekend. Baby JJ would be crying and no one could calm her down, not even her parents. I would pick her up, hold her a certain way, and she would calm down easily. What can I say, I've got the touch.
Jubie was doing pretty well herself the next morning.
So cute! But being around JJ and Tristan absolutely convinced both of us that we are DONE having children. No question. I love where my kids are right now.
Georgie holding JJ outside as we all prepared to depart.
The little kids: Luca, Griffin, Jubie, and JJ.
Georgie and Juliet with their favorite babysitter, Leah. She went back to the US just a few days after this trip and is already very missed. In the background you can see the playground and zip line where the kids, especially Georgie, played for hours and hours.
Fellow theater aficionados.
And that's it! The last Famici Thanksgiving ever. Unless we decide to reunite in Tuscany when all of our kids are grown and out of the house. Next year we will probably be in Houston or Park City, and it will be great to be back with family, but after four years we are convinced that Tuscany is the place to celebrate Thanksgiving. TuscanDoIt and did!
A couple of months ago our friends the Crandalls told us about Osteria Ai Poppi, a restaurant with a human-powered amusement park out back. It is less than an hour from where we live. We looked up some videos online and could not wait to go. So we drove out on the Saturday of Columbus Day Weekend.
We started out simple enough, just a four person swing in a tree tunnel. About 30 seconds into this ride I was so nauseated I felt ready to give up for the day. Getting old.
Then we stepped it up a notch. This is a bicylcle loop-the-loop that is very fun but also very uncomfortable and a lot harder than it looks. I failed both by myself in the single cage and with Ashley in the double cage. I need to go back here with Tann Jones or Greg Trifilo. And some padding for my rear.
We then moved to the zip line, which wasn't the biggest we've ever seen but was still pretty fun.
Next up was the spinning swing. This was number one or two for the kids, they absolutely loved it. From my perspective, it was EXHAUSTING.
You can see the happiness on Jubie's face.
Isaac pulling a "superman" while I put some muscle into it. Not sure how much Jubie was helping, but the effort was appreciated.
One last pull.
And I'm spent.
Ready to get nauseated? Watch this next one:
Next up was the contender for best kids' ride, the roller coaster:
From there we moved to the gyro, which looks like it would cause havoc with a middle-aged vestibular system, but this was actually much better than that danged swing.
\Isaac was technically too you, and slipped out of the foot straps at one point, but there was no one around to enforce the rules. Until I showed up.
The contraption behind the gyro was my favorite of the day, a tilt-a-wheel with a 360 degree cage on each end. If you walked backwards and forwards the right way you could go all the way around, which Ashley and I were finally successful at.
It was fun, I promise.
The food at Ai Poppi was also excellent and very cheap. The whole family ate for 35 euro and the formaggio, salsiccia, polenta, and funghi were all delicious. Once we finally had our fill of food and fun we drove on to a town we had seen before but had never stopped at: Vidor.
The town is beautiful and nestled between two small hills. The main duomo is down below and another church is on top of the hill, reached via a road with the 12 stations of the cross on it (of course). Juliet was not happy to be here for some reason.
The fountain in front of the town hall. You can see the name of the town on the hill, Hollywood Sign style. The name is significant because Gaga grew up in east Texas near a town named Vidor.
The campanello had gouges in it that we are pretty sure were made by artillery shells during WWI, since this whole area is a big WWI site.
So that was enough of Vidor. We moved on to the Prosecco Road region where we had been last autumn with the Crandalls. It was a lovely late afternoon with the leaves still on the vines but the grapes already picked.
Jubie was in a better mood once we got her some grissini to eat at Ca' Salina, where we loaded up on Giorgia Prosecco (sulfite-free) and dry Moscato Rosato.
The whole area is terraced for grape vines and absolutely gorgeous.
Goof balls!
What a way to spend a Saturday.
And no day on Prosecco Road would be complete without a stop at L'Osteria Senza Oste, AKA L'Oste Che Non C'e', AKA the Inn Without An Innkeeper. A family keeps a fridge & pantry stocked with various sausages, cheeses, bread, and grissini. We sat outside and ate pork sausage with Prosecco, pork sausage with Refosco, and lamb sausage with Refosco.
We finished out the night at an amazing gelateria in the Centro Storico di Vittorio Veneto, which is one of the coolest towns we have ever visited anywhere. And it is only 30 minutes from our house. Why it took us over three years to get there I have no idea. We need to go back during the day to take pictures. The buildings there look like they were yanked from the Grand Canal in Venice and plopped into the gateway to the Dolomites.
We are definitely going back to Ai Poppi as well. We need to bring the Jones and Trifilo families. I will conquer that bicycle loop.
