May 27, 2016
Jacqueline and I got an early start today. We've been a bit behind the pack lately and we wanted to arrive for lunch on time. Or at least in the first wave.
This morning, we head north west through the wilder parts of Tuscany, skirting the more extreme parts of the Apennines, driving through Barolo wine country, which is spectacular. Terraced vineyards, orchards and hay fields formed a beautifully textured patchwork quilt design on the hillsides. There was an occasional castle clinging to the side of a mountain, some of which were crumbling away from disrepair and neglect. As we rounded tight switchback curves, tiny villages appeared, usually always circling a high church steeple in the center. Wild poppies grew alongside the roadway, adding an element of color and beauty. At many points, the narrow road was covered with a canopy of trees and even at high speed, the fragrance of jasmine filled the air.
We arrived for lunch with the first group of folks at Marc Lanteri Alcastello, a castle atop the vineyard, to quite a welcome. A group of colorfully uniformed flag corpsmen welcomed us with drums pounding and flags waving.
Bruce and Gail made lunch today ... for the first time. They have had terrible GPS guidance problems. I was happy to see them. We headed up to the top of the castle for a fabulous lunch.
Jacqueline and I have a wonderful arrangement. She drives in the mornings. We have lunch. She has wine. I have none. Then I drive in the afternoon. It seems to work well for both of us. Since this castle is located on a vineyard, the tables were lined with plenty of wine glasses for three different wine tastings. My Perrier was a particularly good year. The plan was to eat and leave quickly, as we had another 4 hours to drive before reaching Monaco. But the plan to leave early was foiled, as the servers took so long to deliver our food. In the end, we were the last to leave the castle. We had a four hour drive ahead of us, but I was excited to get behind the wheel. We were on the road again by 3:30, this time heading to Monaco.
Our drive took us up narrow mountain roads. Many times, we thought we were on the wrong road, as I would NEVER have driven MY Ferrari on roads like this. We were dodging potholes and uneven pavement. We stopped at a scenic overlook and heard the distant ring of cow bells. We assumed they were on the surrounding hills as we had passed a small farmhouse a few turns back. We took in the view and set off again.
As I rounded a tight turn, standing in the middle of the road, was a rather large bull glaring at us. I was happy to be driving a yellow car, as he looked like he was ready to charge.
The car horn didn't faze him at all. After the stare down, we just waited for him to move on only to find the rest of the herd around the next turn. The cows didn't seem to be bothered by us at all. In fact, they seemed curious. They all wore huge cow bells that clanged harmoniously as they finally moved to the side of the road.
After the cow incident, the rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. I stopped just outside of Monaco for Jacqueline to drive us the rest of the way to the finish line. From one coast to the other across the boot of Italy, we did every amazing kilometer. Christo told me, we were the first all lady team ever and couldn't believe we drove every single kilometer of the Run To Monaco. Most of the ladies on this trip have been a bit whiney in the evenings, preferring shopping, sight seeing or spa visits. Jac and I just want to be behind the wheel of that machine!! What fun!!
We made it to the finish line at the Royal Riviera Hotel and were immediately greeted by the rental agency. I pointed out the wheel situation where I scraped them against the curb. They pointed out a scratch along side the drivers side that must have happened in a parking lot! Dammit. As well as some damage to the rear fins under the car that we took out on a speed bump coming in to Monaco. Oops! The rental car just became more expensive! But so worth it!!
Dinner tonight in Monaco was a beach party at the famous Anjuna Plage restaurant right on the beach. Best described as loud, chaotic, crowded and SLOW, which made for a very long evening! There were women walking around with snakes around their necks. Amazing, since they don't allow dogs.
The one and only wine they served was Rose. Around 10:00, food started coming to the table in waves, first a box filled with raw, uncut vegetables, like whole carrots, cucumbers, whole tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, peppers and fennel. It was a beautiful display. I was so hungry, I jumped right in. The next course was a salad, followed by a second salad of buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes. The next course, chicken, was served at 11:30 at night. Things kind of fell apart after the chicken course. The waiter brought whole bottles of vodka to the table with bowls of ice and mixers. That's when things got a little crazy. We finally left the restaurant around 2:00 a.m.
We spent the evening with some interesting folks. Brad and his Brazilian wife, Kenya joined our table. They live in Panama and the way Brad described his business, he must be a money launder. Then Martin joined us, the 22 year old son of someone important ... whom I didn't know. He was dressed in a cheap suit with slicked back hair, wearing a "Panama" hat, which Brad was quick to point out was not actually from Panama, rather Ecuador. On the other side of the table, we had Sybil and her husband, Matthew. Sybil is one of the Walton family heirs ... as in Sam Walton of Walmart. She and her husband own a production company in LA. She couldn't have been nicer. In fact, when the party was ending, Sybil began gathering the leftover Vodka bottles and stashing them in her purse. A brilliant idea. To round out our table, we had Carmella and Katie. Carmella is a United Nations Ambassador. She lives in the UK, but is working on a movement in Australia to "save the reef." Her speciality is water management. She was incredibly interesting and had personality plus. Katie was her assistant, who ordered an interesting "smoke" to the table.
I suppose it was a fruity version of a bong with tobacco instead of marijuana. She passed it around the table for everyone to try. I passed for two reasons. One, I don't smoke. Two, I had a sore throat and didn't want to spread the love. Anyway, Carmella and Katie drove a BMW four seater to pick up members of our group who may have had trouble on the road with their cars. They also were prepared with a list of attorneys and doctors in various regions ... just in case. We had a great group of folks with us. Unfortunately, it was so loud, conversation was not impossible, but difficult.
We finally made our way back to the Royal Riviera Hotel around 2:30 a.m. Thank goodness we don't have an early wake up call tomorrow morning! Nite nite.
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| Lunch stop at Marc Lanteri Alcastello. |
Jacqueline and I got an early start today. We've been a bit behind the pack lately and we wanted to arrive for lunch on time. Or at least in the first wave.
This morning, we head north west through the wilder parts of Tuscany, skirting the more extreme parts of the Apennines, driving through Barolo wine country, which is spectacular. Terraced vineyards, orchards and hay fields formed a beautifully textured patchwork quilt design on the hillsides. There was an occasional castle clinging to the side of a mountain, some of which were crumbling away from disrepair and neglect. As we rounded tight switchback curves, tiny villages appeared, usually always circling a high church steeple in the center. Wild poppies grew alongside the roadway, adding an element of color and beauty. At many points, the narrow road was covered with a canopy of trees and even at high speed, the fragrance of jasmine filled the air.
 |
| The wilds of Tuscany looked like a patchwork quilt. |
We arrived for lunch with the first group of folks at Marc Lanteri Alcastello, a castle atop the vineyard, to quite a welcome. A group of colorfully uniformed flag corpsmen welcomed us with drums pounding and flags waving.
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| Our Flag Corpsmen Welcome to the Castle for lunch. |
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| Bruce and Gail made it to lunch today. You can see them in the distance taking photos of the Flag Corpsmen welcome show. |
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| Jacqueline drives in the mornings. She pays close attention to the curvy road. Amazing job, Jac!! |
Jacqueline and I have a wonderful arrangement. She drives in the mornings. We have lunch. She has wine. I have none. Then I drive in the afternoon. It seems to work well for both of us. Since this castle is located on a vineyard, the tables were lined with plenty of wine glasses for three different wine tastings. My Perrier was a particularly good year. The plan was to eat and leave quickly, as we had another 4 hours to drive before reaching Monaco. But the plan to leave early was foiled, as the servers took so long to deliver our food. In the end, we were the last to leave the castle. We had a four hour drive ahead of us, but I was excited to get behind the wheel. We were on the road again by 3:30, this time heading to Monaco.
Our drive took us up narrow mountain roads. Many times, we thought we were on the wrong road, as I would NEVER have driven MY Ferrari on roads like this. We were dodging potholes and uneven pavement. We stopped at a scenic overlook and heard the distant ring of cow bells. We assumed they were on the surrounding hills as we had passed a small farmhouse a few turns back. We took in the view and set off again.
 |
| Our first glimpse of The Alps in the distance. |
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| Burgers on the hoof. They did not want to move! |
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| This fellow had no interest in moving. In fact, he was a bit menacing looking and we thought for a moment he may charge the car. |
After the cow incident, the rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. I stopped just outside of Monaco for Jacqueline to drive us the rest of the way to the finish line. From one coast to the other across the boot of Italy, we did every amazing kilometer. Christo told me, we were the first all lady team ever and couldn't believe we drove every single kilometer of the Run To Monaco. Most of the ladies on this trip have been a bit whiney in the evenings, preferring shopping, sight seeing or spa visits. Jac and I just want to be behind the wheel of that machine!! What fun!!
We made it to the finish line at the Royal Riviera Hotel and were immediately greeted by the rental agency. I pointed out the wheel situation where I scraped them against the curb. They pointed out a scratch along side the drivers side that must have happened in a parking lot! Dammit. As well as some damage to the rear fins under the car that we took out on a speed bump coming in to Monaco. Oops! The rental car just became more expensive! But so worth it!!
Dinner tonight in Monaco was a beach party at the famous Anjuna Plage restaurant right on the beach. Best described as loud, chaotic, crowded and SLOW, which made for a very long evening! There were women walking around with snakes around their necks. Amazing, since they don't allow dogs.
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| Beach party at Anjuna Plage. |
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| The Beach Party. |
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| The Fruit Bong. |
I suppose it was a fruity version of a bong with tobacco instead of marijuana. She passed it around the table for everyone to try. I passed for two reasons. One, I don't smoke. Two, I had a sore throat and didn't want to spread the love. Anyway, Carmella and Katie drove a BMW four seater to pick up members of our group who may have had trouble on the road with their cars. They also were prepared with a list of attorneys and doctors in various regions ... just in case. We had a great group of folks with us. Unfortunately, it was so loud, conversation was not impossible, but difficult.
 |
| Royal Riviera Hotel. |
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