LAST BLOG THIS TRIP

TUSCANY:  On Sunday we docked at Livorno and were met at the end of the gangplank by our driver.  Seven of us piled into the van for a long, but pleasant, drive to the beautiful city of Siena.  We had planned on a visit to the Duomo, but were told at the ticket booth that we would not be able to enter until 1:30.  Since we were being picked up at 12:30 we wandered around and Betty did some Christmas shopping.

When we got back in the van our driver told us that because it was so late in the tourist season he had been able to get a reservation at Sant’Agnese Farm where we would stop for two hours for lunch.  We were met with great warmth by the owner and by the chef and we sat down for a four-course lunch with 6 flights of wine, as well as multiple oils and balsamic vinegars for tasting.

The first course had several antipasti items (paired with two different Chiantis) and we were given specific instructions on the order of eating.  Each item was drizzled with a different olive oil and therefore everything had to go in exact order.  Of the seven of us three were wine enthusiasts and two didn’t drink at all.  One woman complained that wine gave her headaches.  At this point the owner appeared very distressed and was clearly insulted that someone would suggest that his wines would cause headaches.  Betty and I calmed him somewhat (Italians can be emotional )by sincerely extolling the virtues of his wines .  The hypochondriacal woman eventually clued in and passed her glasses my way, and I made certain they stayed empty.  As an aside, I don’t understand why a non-drinker would visit Tuscany.  Perhaps there should be two lines at airports with happy people going directly onboard planes to Italy, France or South America.  Those who go through life without much pleasure would get in line for the direct bus to Iowa.

Our second course was a very tasty lasagna, matched with a Super-Tuscan.  The third course was pork served with fresh tomatoes and perhaps the most magnificent Merlot I have ever had (unusually tannic for a Merlot).  With this course we began tasting the balsamic vinegars.  The tomatoes were drizzled with an 8-year old vinegar and the pork served with a 16-year old vinegar.  Finally, we were served ice cream with honey and a 30 year-old balsamic vinegar that had the texture of a heavy cream.

After lunch we stopped at the very picturesque village of San Gimignano where I came to an ice cream shop that claimed to have won the world championship gelato competition in both 2006 and 2009.  I was so satiated from lunch that I sadly walked on by and accompanied Betty on a little more Christmas shopping.

MONACO:  We were supposed to anchor off Monaco and then be tendered.  However, the seas are too rough and we have skipped that stop and sailed directly to Marseilles.

MARSEILLES/AIX-EN-PROVENCE:  This morning Gerard and Marie-Claude picked us up at the pier and we spent a wonderful day, first in Marseilles and then at their home in Aix.  Marie-Claude prepared a magnificent lunch and Gerard matched that with first a bottle of his fine Champagne, then a very good Bourgogne, and then topped it off with an absolutely superb 2006 Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  We are now back on board and will soon have to go to dinner, where I still have one more California Cab which must be drunk tonight as we disembark at 8:00 a.m.  Hope we don’t fall overboard on the way back to our stateroom.

SHIPBOARD CREDITS:  On board one carries neither cash nor credit cards.  Everything (wine, stuff at the shops, gratuities) is charged to one’s account and then you either pay as you get off or spend the rest of your life in the ship’s brig.  However, as incentives to repeat customers the cruise lines (and also the better travel agents) offer on board credits which cover the previously mentioned.  Because we have been using the same cruise line and the same travel agent we ended up on this cruise with more credits than we could spend.  Despite my wine-ordering habit and Betty’s clothes buying need we were given an envelope with 245 American dollars in cash as we did our final check-out.  First time I have ever been paid to leave a hotel (albeit a floating one).

LAST BLOG:  I hope I haven’t overly cluttered your inbox with my musings.  My next Travel Whine should be posted in February.  In the meantime I look forward to seeing some of you and hearing from others.  And, if you need travel companions to anywhere interesting, Betty and I are available.