I ain’t no Eric Heiden, but…

My week long trip to Kaiserslautern, Germany has not been without its challenges, not the least of which is that my rental car’s window washer fluid mechanism doesn’t work. That is actually a pretty big challenge when you are driving over the Alps in the snow, or at night on foreign roads in the snow, or pretty much anywhere in this kind of weather.

But...but….one entire wall of my hotel room is a big window and glass door that looks out over a beautiful lake adjacent to the hotel. And when I arrived here, I could see people go out on that lake to walk around on the frozen ice, or ice skate, or attempt to ride their bikes. Also, there so happens to be a full moon this week, which is big and bright and beautiful, at least when it’s not snowing. So I ask you: was I going to stay in this hotel all week long watching these other people enjoy this beautiful frozen lake and not be out there myself?

Oh please, that dog just ain’t gonna hunt!

Of course I was going to go ice skating!...even if it meant driving all over God’s creation trying to find a pair of ice skates, even if it meant buying a new pair of ice skates when I have a perfectly good pair back home (or at least in some storage container somewhere), even if it meant embarrassing myself because it’s been so long since I’ve gone ice skating, and even if it meant going ice skating when it’s like 1F outside with a blowing, driving snow. I have been out ice skating every night since, taking big long loops around the perimeter of this lake, skating a little harder and faster with gaining confidence. And if anyone is wondering, yes, my legs and back have been so sore the following mornings I could barely walk. But it’s all good.

I mean, come on, anyone who knows me saw that coming a mile away, right? It’s like when we took our dog, Enzo, to the park and he would see a puddle of water off in the distance – you can predict the next half dozen series of events as sure the sun will come up tomorrow.

The funny thing about my time ice skating though is that I cannot seem to go ice skating without being constantly reminded of the days going ice skating as kids - specifically, going ice skating as a family, and more specifically witnessing the EPIC falls my Dad used to take on the ice. I might have to admit that part of the excitement of ice skating as a kid was the knowledge and expectation that as surely as the sun will come up tomorrow, my Dad was going to take a fall that would put the old “Agony of Defeat” video to shame. Rarely in any other time of my life have I seen bruising on the scale of size and color as the bruises my Dad would get from ice skating. And so if life has a tendency to repeat itself, I feel like I have gotten away with something if I can make it off the ice without repeating the carnage and subsequent cursing that my Dad used to wage on the frozen rivers and creeks of my youth.

ct

My Serbian Brother

Kaiserslautern, Germany. It's been a pretty long weekend. But I'm here and I even had a chance to Skype Suzanne and the kids earlier. It's weird, just one or two days away and I am already missing them all a ton, especially when I see them on the video. Suzanne looked great and I swear the kids have aged 6 months since I left a day ago.

My hotel room has a ginormous picture window making up most of the wall, where I can look out over the adjacent lake. The lake is frozen solid and there are a few people out there skating around. It's cool because you can see whole regions of the lake that are crystalline ice except for the scratches of one lone ice skater who apparently enjoyed skating on pristine ice. I brought my running shoes with me, and had designs on doing some biking before I had to leave my bike behind when my car broke down, but now I'm thinking that my morning exercise could be some skating around the lake. I did not bring my skates with me, but I'm wondering if I could rent a pair for the week and maybe try to get out a few times for some exercise. It's REALLY cold right now though. I'm not sure I packed for ice skating in this kind of cold.

I had dinner tonight at a Balkan restaraunt in Ktown (Kaiserslautern). Yup, an American eating at a Balkan restaraunt in Germany, with an Italian couple eating in the booth next to me. The gentlemen who served me did not know a word of English, except for when he referred to me as "chef". I ordered an entire meal, including a soup, an entree, and a wine, based on his suggestions. He pointed to a couple of things on the menu and I said Ja, Sehr Gut. It was all really good. I am pretty sure he comp'ed me the first glass of wine because I smiled a lot and was as friendly as I good be with him. I'm pretty sure I ordered a kleine (small) dessert, but it was pretty substantial nonetheless, and then the dude brought me some kind of shooter that must have taken a layer of enamel off my teeth. If I'm not mistaken, there were actual fumes emanating from this shooter, and I quickly moved it away from the candle on the table. You may notice that I preceed everything with "I'm pretty sure", which is to say that I am really not completely sure of anything, and I'm just taking my best guess as to where I am going, what I am doing, and what is happening around me.

After dinner, I go to the bar to pay and start chatting with a younger fellow who had recently arrived and who the other employees seemed to defer to. "I'm pretty sure" that he was the son of the guy who was serving me dinner, and I'm pretty sure he owned the place. His dad, my waiter, had already told me he was from Serbia, which is kind of weird in and of itself considering my experiences going into Bosnia in the 90s, keeping ever vigilant for Serbian minefields and IEDs, seeing the devastation of the Bosnian-Serbian war and all. But tonight, my biggest concern was the loss of tooth enamel from the shooter I just slurped down. The son, the apparent owner, had just gotten back from a soccer match between Kaiserslautern and Cologne. Kaiserslauthern lost in an upset. What I couldn't figure out was whether this dude was "just" an extremely avid fan, or whether he actually played for the team. He was pale-pastey-grey like he was either frozen cold (it's brutally cold up here these days) or if he was stone-drunk. I didn't mean to get into a whole friendly chat with the guy, and his dad, and the other guys, but it just turned out that way. Before you knows it, he is insisting that we all drink shots of some clear'ish looking liquor that I swear should have had a skull and crossbones on its label. It couldn't have been that costly either, because he was spilling this crap all over the joint as he poured us all another round of shots. In his words, it would make us all warm, and it was a drink that men should drink, not like that sweet pretty stuff that women drink! ....Sweet James, I had no business drinking that stuff. But what is worse, offending an entire family of Serbians who have just fed you dinner and comp'ed you wine, or brave the wrath of one little shot of clear liquor? (well,maybe it wasn't so little...) So in the spirit of US Diplomacy, I drank it. And then I paid my tab and got out of there before anything else could be shoved my way. You know when you've had something so strong that you feel an urge to rub your tongue across your teeth? Yeah..... I'm pretty sure if I had stayed any longer, we all would have been locked arm and arm, dancing in a circle, signing some Serbian folk song, lamenting the loss of our favorite soccer team, spilling grain alcohol (or whatever we were drinking) everywhere, while the temperature outside continued to plummet to artic levels.

Enjoy the Super Bowl everybody! Tschuss!

ct

Just a little Craziness

I write now from Fussen, Germany. The snow has stopped for now. It is -1 degrees F outside. I have stopped here enroute to Kaiserslautern, Germany for a week-long training class. It's a 500+ mile drive from Vicenza to Kaiserslautern and I would have gotten much further were it not for the fact that the "Millenium Falcon" (our newly purchased 1997 BMW "autostrada car") took a big dump on me. What I mean by that is that when I stopped to cap-off with fuel in Bolzano, before crossing into Austria and Germany, I noticed at that gas station that there was smoke coming from under the car. Upon further inspection, one could see all of the oil dripping freely from the entire undercarriage of the car. Not good. It's been an interesting last few hours.

The Italian gas station attendant called the tow truck. The tow druck arrived 45 minutes later and hauled me and the MF away. Of course, we had to drive 10km further North on the Autostrada in order to exit, do a U-turn, and drive 30 km back South to an mechanic's shop in Bolzano. But, of course, it's Saturday, and no Italian mechanics work on Saturday afternoon, much less Sunday. So Plan B was to hitch a ride with the tow truck driver, Domenica, to a rental car agency that so thankfully was open. Domenica, the tow truck driver, should be a stockcar racer. That guy has been playing way too many video games and clearly is not separating fiction from reality. That was the most nerve-racking car ride I can ever recall being on, including the relatively placid test drive we took when we were buying the Millenium Falcon. I don't know how many G's Domenica was pulling going around those rotunda, and I don't know how often he checks or replaces his brakes, but I do know that I heard some Italian words that are NOT taught in most classrooms and I do know that I wish I had taken some Dramamine before that car ride.

In all the haste and confusion, I left the GPS, road maps, and all of my CDs in the BMW. I was now driving an Italian rental car, across the Austrian/German Alps, in the dark, with snow falling, with what I assume were sheer cliffs on all sides even though I couldn't really see too well and kind of just pretended the dropoffs weren't there, with no maps or GPS, driving along the switchbacks and very steep up/down slopes, passing more than one car accidents that had happened within the hour, can't even remember the last time I have driven a manual transmission car, with nonfunctional window washers, not really even knowing where I was or where I was going....I was driving on Faith I tell you. "Use the Force, Luke!" Turn off the infared visor, close the eyes, and use the force I did.

Fussen appears to be a wonderful town - classic oldtown Bavarian type deal. It kind of reminds me of Kitzbuhl, or even Villach (where we went on our way to Salzburg this Christmas). I think it would be even nicer if there were more people around, walking the streets and such. But being that it is colder than a witch's {milkshake} right now, there aren't many people out and about. I may try to see a little during the daylight tomorrow, because it is supposed to warm up to a high of 15 F here tomorrow.

It may be a bit sacrilege, but I ate at an Asian restaraunt tonight. And oh my Good Golly was it good. After a challenging day, and I've really only written about half of it, I am very thankful to have found a good hotel room and to have had such a good dinner. Hot, hot, hot lemon grass and shrimp soup, and a crispy duck deal served with rice and fantastic vegetables, with this coconut cream sauce deal. Bam! Couple of glasses of good red wine, a little baked bananas with honey and ice cream for dessert - I'm feeling better, fo so'!

Cinque Terre

I think we may have found a good tradition for the MLK three day weekend in January. As Chris and I were both in a state of being ill (looks like we both had pneumonia), and the days were dark, foggy and cold, and we were getting a bit tired of the army post and hotel, I decided it was time to make the trek to see the water. It was time to go back to Cinque Terre, one of the most wonderful places on earth.

Normally in the winter we would trek to the mountains, but right now we have no snow gear and no snow tires, so off to the seashore we go. The drive was uneventful as we made our way through the dense cold fog that seems to blanket the interior of Northern Italy in the winter. We eventually came out of it as we crossed a steep mountain range and then descended into sunny La Spezia. The first time we really knew this trip was a good idea was when we passed La Spezia, traveled over more hills, and suddenly came out on a road that hangs off a steep hillside and all that is before you is a vast, blue sea. It's beautiful!

We then continued to the first town in the cinque terre, and the town in which we were staying, Riomaggiore. Our hotel was located at the uppermost part of the town and the room had a terrace where we could look over the town and the sea.

All five towns are old fishing villages that are now mostly supported by tourism. There are wonderful hiking trails between the towns and a convenient train that runs frequently. Each town is distinctly different, from it's setting, the type of people it attracts, the view, the atmosphere, and locals would add the dialects and homemade wines are distinctly different between the towns. These towns are packed with tourists in the summer months, but during the winter months the towns are sleepy and many restaurants and stores shut down and resume business when the weather warms.

A friendly local fisherman gave the kids a close-up of the octopus he just caught. (il Polpo)

We were hitting the towns at one of the sleepiest times, but it was a tranquility we enjoyed. The air was cold but the sun was warm and bright. On our first afternoon, we found an isolated rocky beach which the kids loved. They explored every corner of it and climbed all the rocks. Chris and I caught a few minutes rest stretched out on the warm rocks, listening to the waves, soaking up the sun, and making a little vitamin D.

The next day, we headed out early and started a steep descent through the town and made our way to the via dell amore, the first hiking trail that connects Riomaggiore with Manarola. This path is the shortest of the town connectors, and historically, was a way for lovers from the two towns to meet. This history gives the path its namesake and also explains the love graffiti found along the path and the many locks. Apparently, closing a padlock with your lover in a special spot is a common ritual in Italy. Now we also know why there were many padlocks on another bridge in Saltzburg. They say the ritual was re-popularized by a teen novel a few years ago.

Via dell' Amore

Some of the many locks and some graffiti.

The Via dell' Amore was a perfect hike for the kids both in length and its smooth, mostly paved flat surface.

At the end of the trail we entered Manarola. This is another enchanting town. We climbed the steep walk up the main street to a small piazza, a bell tower (which served as a watch tower when pirates attacked in the past), and a church that dates back to 1338. We then walked a path which wound along the hill, always with a beautiful view of the sea. The path is called a vineyard walk. You pass through a large vineyard that covers the steep hill and is sprinkled with simple wooden, life-size, biblical figures and animals that are still standing from Christmas. The owner of the vineyard apparently does this as an homage to his late father. At night they are lit up, but we missed that part.

The nativity figures in the vineyard.

The vineyard trail also took us past blooming flowers, a bountiful kiwi vine, and many lemon trees full of beautiful lemons. We eventually came down to a point that hung out over the sea as a natural scenic overlook. On this point was a small park, and wonderful bonus......a playground! The kids loved it and it gave Chris and I a chance to relax in the sun and explore the point. We enjoyed the flowers, the view, and it was fun hanging over the fence watching a couple fisherman in their small wooden boat pull in their long fishing net. Every few feet of net pulled in would provide a fish that one man would scoop into a hand net.

Great place for a playground, huh?

One of the many lemon trees.

After Manarola, we traveled by train to the town furthest North in the cinque terre called Monterosso al Mare. Unfortunately, this town as well as the jewel of the cinque terre, Vernazza, suffered much damage and destruction during some heavy rains, flooding, and landslides that occurred this past fall. We were shocked that the majority of the stores and restaurants in Monterosso, normally the more resort-like town, were boarded up and under construction. The floods came directly down the main street of town. Only a few restaurants on the side streets were spared. We were lucky to find one of these for lunch and it was very crowded. Although Monterosso was hit badly, Vernazza is essentially vacant and the train does not even stop there at this time.

One of the best parts of Monterosso, and one that was spared by the storms, is their beach which is pebbly, but softer than any other in the cinque terre and it is relatively large. As we walked along the beach, we looked up and saw that paragliders filled the sky softly floating down from the hills above town. It was a beautiful site and it was fun to watch them land on the beach. I don't think there was any time during our afternoon in Monterosso when there were not at least 10 or so floating around in the sky. They would land, pack up their parachutes and get into a van heading back to the top.

Paraglider coming down.

After lunch, and a great climb on a large rock that hangs over the beach...

We took the next train back to Riomaggiore where we picked up some foccacia pizza take-out. This region is where foccacia bread originated. I love it! One morning I had foccacia bread with fresh lemon jam....delizioso!

The next morning we took one more trip down to the rocky beach for some final climbing and then it was time to travel home. We will definitely be back. It will be fun to visit this place in the warm weather when we can swim in the water and do some more basking in the sun. I'm sure we will miss the tranquility we experienced on this trip, as the crowds can be a bit overwhelming in the summer. Until then, we bid arrivaderci a Cinque Terre!

A Little Bureaucracy

I was contemplating our blog a bit and it dawned on me that a lot of our blog posts seem to come when we have taken a nice trip or at the more important moments of our journey. However, as you may imagine, in between all of those occasions, there are lots of little moments that fill in the gaps and provide some context for our experience here. I'm sure most of those little anecdotes are going to be more interesting to us than for a wider audience - something more akin to an "inside joke" - but I thought maybe I would try and sprinkle a few of those little ditties into our blog now and then anyway.

The following story is an excerpt from an email I wrote recently to a friend of mine, clearly venting about one small aspect of the bureaucracy that we often encounter. We all have our little life-dramas that are often happening in the background of all of the more visible things happening in our lives, and I certainly don't think we are so unusual in that regard, but I think I will look back on this little gem and laugh a little.......

We're doing well here. I would say we're still getting settled, but I really think that "getting settled" is going to take at least a year, maybe longer, so it may be more accurate to say that we're still getting "in-processed". I mean, we've been here 6 weeks and really, we are still trying to get basic in-processing things done. I am supposed to have an actual office here, but it's being used as swing space for someone else, so I'm kind of in the "bullpen" area with a bunch of Italian architect/engineer technicians. Yesterday, they got a very mild dose of how I can get at times, when I got a call from the School telling me not to bring our kids to school tomorrow morning. They (the kids) haven't had their local "health assessments" done and so their pass (to get into the school) has been revoked! I kept my cool, relatively speaking, but I very calmly and sternly asked who I needed to talk to in order to make an exception since it was obvious that the person I was speaking to was not in a position to do anything for me. I got the name and number for the head of the "Parent Central Services" Dept (what a great government name, right?) who I called immediately. She explained that the only exception she could make is if we could send her documentation-proof that we have an appointment scheduled for getting these assessments done. Raising my voice, I told her that I contacted the Army benefits people THREE weeks BEFORE I got here because our family's health insurance was with my wife's work, and she was ending her employment, so I needed health insurance for my family. I explained that the Navy wouldn't help me because by the time the Navy's health insurance policy would become effective - the start of the next pay period - I would no longer be a Navy employee. The Army told me that I had to wait until the day I was an official Army employee (meaning the day we arrived in Italy) in order for the Army to give my family healthcare coverage. So, the day we arrived here, that was the first call I made, but then they told me that I would have to wait a few days so that we could be entered into DEERS. A week later, I was officially entered into DEERS, and I called to obtain family heath insurance .......but it would not become effective until the start of the next pay period. Once it became effective, it would take up to FOUR weeks to get a card with our policy number. I spent HOURS on the phone with Army Benefits, and then with Blue Cross/Blue Shield (including a few overseas calls), trying to find someone who could give us our policy number, without success. See, the local clinic wouldn't agree to even make an appointment for us until we were enrolled into their medical records department, but they wouldn't enroll us without our insurance policy number. Weeks later, our cards got here. So I told this woman at Parental Central Services that as soon as we got our healthcare cards, I went the next day to enroll in with the clinic's medical records dept (which took like an hour), and now, finally, we were able to schedule appointments. As far as I knew at this very moment, my wife has probably already made appointments to get this screening done - after all, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS ALL DONE FOR OVER TWO MONTHS NOW!!! And being that it was now 3:45pm and this woman from "PARENTAL CENTRAL SERVICES" was probably about to leave, how absurd was it that if I was not able to get in touch with my wife to have "documented proof" that she has an appointment, THAT OUR KIDS WERE GOING TO BE DENIED ACCESS TO THEIR SCHOOL IN THE MORNING!!!!!!!!

..... By the end of the call, I was standing at my desk, hot and bothered, speaking pretty loudly, perspiring a bit - NOT very happy!

Ultimately, this woman at Parental Central Services agreed to give us an extension so that our kids could show up to school tomorrow morning. THANK YOU VERY DAMN MUCH! right?

I hung up the phone (kind of loudly), looked up, and you could have heard a pin drop in the office! My Italian colleagues, normally quite chatty throughout the day, were suddenly SILENT and extremely intent at whatever they were doing on their computers. One guy glanced in my direction then quickly averted his eyes back to his computer screen before he made clear eye contact with me. I stood there for a moment in the quiet to collect myself, to wipe some of the perspiration off my brow, and let my blood pressure go down. It was kind of hysterical. You didn't hear ANYthing except the clickity-clack of keyboard typing - clickity-clack, tickity-tack - that's it! I may have scared the beJesus out of my colleagues.

I wonder if they talked about that later during their afternoon coffee break.....

Getting back to Blogging

It's been a while since an update. I guess we have been falling into a more daily living routine, even here still living in the hotel. The kids have been attending preschool in the morning and, now that the holidays are over, Chris has had a more regular work schedule. Our morning usually starts with the hotel's continental breakfast which is not the greatest, but the kids love the Fruit Loops and chocolate muffins (I try to keep the rest of the day more nutritious).

We have also been dealing with a bad round of flu/cold crud that seems to be lingering. We are anxious to get back to a healthy state. In the mean time, we did manage to see a couple houses and visit two castles, one in Soave and one in Valbona, two weekends ago and take a wonderful trip to Cinque Terre this past weekend. As we try to work around our health issues and also fit in time to see houses, we have mostly been doing close day trips.

Soave is between Vicenza and Verona. The town is known best for its white wine and its castle. The town is quaint and surrounded by vineyards that blanket the hills in all directions. Just above the town is a hill topped with a medieval castle.

The origins of the Soave Castle go back to the 10th century. It was an important fortress through to the 16th century when the improvement in ballistics made it obsolete. I guess the ole' bow and arrow and cavalry were the only things from which you could expect to be protected while hiding out in your castle. The kids loved it. They especially loved the grassy hill in the courtyard where they could log roll over and over again. I'm not sure if it's me, but the Italians all seem to have very well behaved children and I expect they were looking at us like we were some wild, cowboy Americans allowing their children to do such a thing. I justified this in my head with my usual, "try living in a two room hotel, in winter, with two preschoolers, and you might let your kids do it too."

After the castle, we found a nice enoteca in town where we sampled some Soave Classico and Soave Reccioto. Both were delicious and we added them to our growing collection of wines.

The day prior to this, we actually found another castle down around an area where we looked at a house. The house held promise of a quintessential Italian life. It was high on a hill that required driving up a winding road that was just wide enough to let our car pass (by the way, Italians love to zoom down roads like these in their little cars). The house had a large patio that overlooked a small town with a beautiful church and ever present bell tower, and you could see a couple children playing soccer in the square in front of the church. The view also gave a beautiful glimpse of the valley below the Berici hills. The land surrounding the house was planted with a vineyard, and the shed of the house came complete with wine making equipment. It was enchanting, but as with many houses, there were some fatal flaws; no place for any kind of storage, dated aging bathrooms and kitchen and flooring, and another bedroom would have been great.

The castle we saw after viewing the house was a suggestion from an Italian man who works in Chris' office. He and Chris apparently have conversations in the morning when they are the only ones there. During one of these conversations, he recommended the Valbona Castle. It was a picturesque castle that suddenly appeared on the horizon in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere.

We got out of the car to explore and found the castle actually held a little pizzeria/ bar/ cafe. The biggest surprise was a small...um, zoo? I don't know what to call it, but in the back were pens with llamas, donkeys, goats, all kinds of fowl from chicken, to geese, to peacocks. It was interesting, but most of all, the kids always love to see animals. There was also a bonus playground that was, as usual, filled with much more dangerous equipment than you would ever find at a playground in America. It's great! Chris got this particular thing spinning quite fast.

We finished our trip to Valbona with a hot chocolate in the castle cafe, taking in the sunset from the roof, and then we headed home.

 As I mentioned earlier, we also managed a wonderful trip to Cinque Terre this past weekend, but that deserves its own entry. It's an amazing place.

Happy New Year!

We are ending the year looking back on a 2011 that was very eventful for us. We started the year finding out about a potential job in Italy and by March it seemed to be a sure thing. Then, a week later all bets were off as the government went to hell and couldn't make any good financial decisions, and hiring freezes were enacted. With the Italy thing off the table, we dove into boat ownership. That was a fun start to the summer. We unfortunately learned a few of the pitfalls of boat ownership, but all in all, we love the boat. Of course, shortly afterwards, the Italy thing was back on the table, the boat was put into storage, and here we are! We ended this eventful year with a quiet day exploring some local wine making areas.

We explored an area near here called the Valpolicella region which is located just North of Verona. We sampled one of their wonderful wine creations called Amarone and another called Recioto. These are wines made from grapes which are first laid out to partially dry (and concentrate) before extracting the juice. These are wonderful wines.

Our first stop was to an address of a winery referred to us by a new friend. Luckily, I have navigation on my phone or we would never have found this place. It was on a very narrow, old street in the middle of a small, old town. This street is only wide enough for one car and when we got to the address, it was only a gated driveway with a small sign. Chris got out to inquire about the winery and he happened upon the wine maker's wife who told us to follow her. She jumped in her little Fiat and away we drove. We didn't go more than probably one half a mile by the way the crow flies, but it was full of turns, switchbacks, and we crossed a dry river bed which leaves me wondering how they get there in the Spring. We finally came to the actual winery (cantina as they call it) and met Ettore. He was the only person there and he gave us a wonderful personal tour of the whole place. We saw the grapes drying, the vats for pressing, and a long room full of oak barrels for aging.

The place is very new and beautiful. He also explained the meaning of the many large, mixed-media art pieces he has hanging on the walls. This place was part winery, part art gallery. Of course, we finished the tour with wonderful samples of their three wines, Valpolicello Classico, Amarone, and Recioto. Bravisimo! These samples were accompanied by some freshly carved speck and bread sticks. If not for our restless kids, we could have sat there all day drinking those heavenly creations.

It was time to move on to lunch. Ettore had an excellent suggestion for a restaurant in his town so he got in his car and led us there. He even walked us into the restaurant, presented us to the host as his American amici (friends), exchanged a few words with the other patrons having lunch, and bid us arrivaderci. The lunch was fantastic. It was some of the best food we have had so far. We combined it with another excellent wine and it was one of those moments when you really remember why people say the food in Italy is to die for. It was wonderful!

Our next mission was to find a winery suggested to us by the maintenance man at our hotel. He is apparently a resident expert in Veneto wines and he lives in the heart of the Valpolicello area. I plugged the address into my navigation and we were on our way. This place was in an area due North of Verona. We followed a few roundabouts through typical small, quaint towns until the navigation said our destination was on the left. Again, there was not much more than a driveway leading to a couple houses. There was a small sign with the winery name so we pulled in. We rang the door bell and an older woman stuck her head out of an upstairs window and pointed us to the other house where we found Lorenzo Manara, a fourth generation wine maker for the Manara winery. He took us to a garage where stainless steel vats stood tall in the background and he took us into a room and began to pour us some of his wine. They were great. I must say not as good as the first place, but still wonderful and they were reasonably priced, so we were able to start building our collection by bringing home a few bottles.

The night was topped off with a nice dinner with new friends who have a three year old boy well-matched with ours in his level of rambunctiousness and physicality. It was a nice way to end a year full of new, memorable experiences. We look forward to many more in 2012! Happy New Year!