A Merry Christmas it was! We slept until 10am; had a light breakfast; and it was off to the villa on the farm. Romano, Lucia’s husband, is a home builder and has been working on this house for about 10 years. He’s done most of the work himself. As he put it, it’s been like therapy (well, not his word) for him. The land which has been in the family for a long, long, long, long time is beautiful (see photos). By the way, Chiara made the nativity scene with panatone and the people from marzipan. Neat, right?
http://picasaweb.google.com/rpjwalter/ChristmasDay
The house is awesome too. Four bedrooms, five baths (at least five as we stopped counting) in a traditional style from Tuscany. There is this HUGE room downstairs complete with a separate kitchen (Yes, even in Italy they have them). It stays warm enough here that broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce are always fresh. The meat we ate, chicken, beef and pork, were all fresh off the farm, quite literally. Well, except for the prosciutto (sp) and dried sausage which Argante had made previously along with the strawberry wine. It was good too, and by the way, when does he find time to go to work? I don't know.
We arrived around noon and the first round of eating commenced shortly after 1pm. The cast of characters extended to include Romano’s brother, Fabrizio and family, his sister, Natalina and his Mom, Nonna del Fina. We were 18 for early dinner and 24 for the later meal. That included the rest of Laura’s children Rosella and Frederico and there families, a long list of friends of Romano and Lucia.
Overall, it was a wonderful family day. We spoke to PJ’s parents and my family in GA. We miss this puppies, and I am afraid to say, a little home sick. It’s hard to be away for so long. Well, we have two full days left to go out and explore. We are going to make the most of it, so there’s more to come. Merry Christmas to everyone!
The house is awesome too. Four bedrooms, five baths (at least five as we stopped counting) in a traditional style from Tuscany. There is this HUGE room downstairs complete with a separate kitchen (Yes, even in Italy they have them). It stays warm enough here that broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce are always fresh. The meat we ate, chicken, beef and pork, were all fresh off the farm, quite literally. Well, except for the prosciutto (sp) and dried sausage which Argante had made previously along with the strawberry wine. It was good too, and by the way, when does he find time to go to work? I don't know.
We arrived around noon and the first round of eating commenced shortly after 1pm. The cast of characters extended to include Romano’s brother, Fabrizio and family, his sister, Natalina and his Mom, Nonna del Fina. We were 18 for early dinner and 24 for the later meal. That included the rest of Laura’s children Rosella and Frederico and there families, a long list of friends of Romano and Lucia.
Overall, it was a wonderful family day. We spoke to PJ’s parents and my family in GA. We miss this puppies, and I am afraid to say, a little home sick. It’s hard to be away for so long. Well, we have two full days left to go out and explore. We are going to make the most of it, so there’s more to come. Merry Christmas to everyone!
Posts
4 comments:
Glad to hear you are having a wonderful time. We loved Italy and everything about it except the driving!!! I know exactly what you mean. Look forward to hearing more road stories on your return. The pictures are beautiful. Look forward to guys when you get back.
Roxanne
that is the most amazing manger! so cute
What a beautiful place!!! The nativity cake was incredible- and so precious! Thanks so much for all the posts, I have had lots of fun catching up,
Elaine
Beautiful pictures! I will have wallpaper for quite some time. You guys are doing a great job sharing your trip.What a wonderful family to take in a couple of mutts like you guys. I thought our Chritmas dinner table was nice but it did seem to pale compared to y'alls. Quick Mom story, when I first saw a picture of Chiara I told Mom how pretty she was Mom stated that we were distant enough realtives that it would not be a scandal if we married. Jodi begged to differ. Great to talk to you Frank on Christmas. Travel Safe.
Post a Comment