RxSw-Part Three - By Guest Blogger E.O.

 "Buon giorno!" I yelled out the window of our Roman apartment in the Trastavere down to Tess who was helping Hannes navigate his parking spot. "Buon giorno!" Tess finally yelled back after she had realized it was me doing the yelling.  I ran down the stairs to greet both of them with big hugs. We were all so excited this moment was finally occurring!
It had been a long day...I had awoken at 3:30am in the Travel Lodge in Phoenix to catch my flight to Rome. There had also been a 5 hour layover in New York. Juliano, who is a friend Tess and Hannes knew from the Camino had met up with me prior to their arrival and even with an espresso, I was fading fast and felt so bad for not being the best company. Luckily, once they had settled in a bit we all realized we were famished and very much looking forward to our first Roman meal; which of course did not disappoint. After that, we settled in for a quick nap and a shower. Past that point, the energy of this beautiful city easily kept me awake.
On our second night there, we met up with a local friend of a friend. He treated us to espresso, then took us out to a cozy wine bar. After that, we popped into an awe inspiring church for a second and then he invited us to small club where his friend's band was playing classic Italian songs from the 50's. It was somewhere between the church and the club that I came to the realization that my faith in humanity was beginning to grow stronger with every step.

I'm presently writing this from the most beautiful B&B tucked within the rolling hills of the Umbrian country-side. The view from my window is that of vineyards and cypress trees and it is absolute and obvious perfection. To find beauty in a place that is man-made on the other hand can be a bit more daunting. The streets of Rome are narrow and roughly cobble-stoned, the ochre colored city lights cling onto the buildings on which their attached as if to only confirm that neither is interested in moving out of the century from when they were originally built. The marble fountains of water you'll find coming from a building on random street corner, the frescoes on the ceiling of a building that is not on any tourist map, the way bicyclists ring the bell on their Peugeot's before passing you by...all these examples happen to be things that I found to be just as incredible as the natural vista from my window. The fact that they still exist brought me to a place mentally that felt a lot like being in love. It's interesting to think of how love and faith are so connected.
Which brings me to my final thought on my time in Rome. Out of all the man-made sights I was able to appreciate; I will have to say that the most awe-inspiring scene was the way Tess and Hannes looked and acted around each other. Just like a city, they could be a bit gross at times (with all the making-out they did) but what was most noticeable was the love they both have in each other and how with that, perhaps faith in everything you see all around you becomes a bit easier to find.

Thanks to both of them for allowing me to crash their honey-loon for a few days and I wish nothing but the best for you both on your amazing new life together!

A Room With A View

When you're in a Campervan tootling around the Umbrian Italian countryside, something begins to transform in you... mainly, your faith in hotels. Why would you want to deal with snotty receptionists, views of dirty back alleys, overpriced rooms and cramped showers, when you can pull up in your little van to Lago Trasimeno and for just 25 Euros, get all this...?



A VIP parking lot...


An expansive balcony...


A room with a view...


A delux entertainment center...


Fresh local flowers in your room...



An authentic home-cooked pasta dinner...


Picture perfect sunsets...


And a 24-hour fitness center.

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Location:Orvieto, Italy

Tuscan Green Acres

Podere Il Casale. Remember that name, amici, should you ever desire some peace and solitude away from the tourist centric hill towns of Tuscany. First, however, come to me for detailed instructions on how to get there, as we found it simply on instinct and the help of a very tan Senora who pulled up to us in her tiny red Peugoet and in a cloud of dust nodded her head 'si' when we asked for directions. I'm not sure exactly what she said, but her hands told us to take a left after we went down the next hill.

Podere Il Casale is an organic agriturismo farm run by a Swiss family for the last twenty-five years. Having once thought I would pick strawberries for a summer outside Sacramento - a dream, inspired by my first reading of "On The Road" at age ten, that has been left hanging in the valley breeze - the chance to stay on a working Tuscan farm was a dangling carrot. Granted I wouldn't be getting my hands dirty, unless you count our clothes washing expedition that day to Montepulciano, but I could soak in the spirit of the place nonetheless.

On this farm in particular you will find the following: a teenage peacock gang and their quarter of a century old patriach (bring earplugs for their bone chilling screams into the misty night air), fresh ricotta and pecorino cheese from their own sheep and goats, prosciutto of many varieties from their free range pigs (who have a million dollar hillside view), hee-hawing donkeys, crystalline artisan flower honey, friendly barn cats and giant dogs who show you their belly before they even get your name, an international crew of volunteers both young and old, places to park your Campervan as well as B&B rooms overlooking the olive tree carpeted countryside, and most deliciously, Sandra's homemade (and home harvested) dinner of penne pasta, spelt grain salad and bread, Casale wine and cheese with a rich, deep purple fig jam.

While all acres in Tuscany are green, Podere Il Casale's was perhaps the greenest.



The road less traveled... because there aren't sufficient signs.


Our first greeter at the farm.





The view a few steps from our van.


We get harassed by the peacock gang. Notice twenty-five year old Big Pappa on the right showing the younger boys with smaller plumage how to really get the ladies' attention.





My dessert.

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Location:Assisi, Italy

RxSw-Part Two - By Guest Blogger E.O.

Does anyone remember Summer vacation? You know, when you had so much time off you ended up forgetting what day it was. Your hours were filled with swimming, riding bikes with friends and merely relaxing with not much else to do but enjoy watching the sun go down on another perfect, slow-paced kind of lazy day. I had thought these times were well behind me; and indeed I think they are. But, what I now realize is that the tides have turned. No longer do my peers get to enjoy much leisure time, but their parents and grand-parents are living it up!  Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Del Webb.
The last few days have been spent in Festival, Arizona which is on the outskirts of Phoenix and is largely made up of "active-adult" communities. This is also where E.F.'s Mom and grandparents live so we were able to enjoy the life of retiree's if only for a few days and let me tell you; it is fabulous. The feeling of perpetual summer abounds here with warm weather year-round, plenty of activities like photography classes or water aerobics and did I mention the massive salt-water pool that is about the size of a soccer field? This is also a community that prefers travel by golf cart instead of car. In fact, most of the houses have little golf cart garages which I found to be adorable.
I had decided to sleep in one morning and meet-up with Alex and E.F. on the putting green. As I walked over to meet them, I stopped into the snack bar where I purchased a coffee for $1.00. They were playing oldies at the perfect ambient volume. I found Alex chipping away and we both mentioned that we could easily get used to this. It was then that I realized that my brother and I had become adults. We were the ones working through the Summer months and our parents were now the ones on vacation; drinking at noon and taking up the ukulele. Who knows what retirement might look like when it is finally our time to do so but I can say based on this experience I think I'll be ready. I'll leave you with a few photos as well as a bit of dialogue between me and a random older gentlemen that occurred just this morning as I was walking to the pool:
Golf cart man: "Good morning! You're looking a little pale there."
Me: "Good morning! Yeah, I know."
Golf cart man: "Don't worry, it'll come."

I hope so golf cart man, I hope so.

Rollin' Deep with E.F.

Spring Training

Cactus in bloom 

Tuscan Roadside Attractions

A field of saffron and distant cypress lined roads turn into a photo op. Other Tuscan roadside attractions include wine, pecorino cheese, honey and olive oil tasting on family run agriturismo farms.










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Location:Lago Trasimeno

A Sunny Sienese Square

Cold Italian beer,
Sweet tarta of marzipan,
Kissed by Tuscan sun.



There seems to be nothing the people of Siena love more than congregating in the piazza to lounge, laugh, love and soak in some rays. The square is packed with tourists and locals alike laying like lizards on the cigarette butt dotted cement. As Hannes and I enjoyed our post lunch dessert, my head in his lap with my straw hat perfectly placed to shade my face, I watched two female college students cram for an exam with a full bottle of white wine nestled between them. It reminded me of when at UCSC my roommate and I would quiz each other on the beach by our house. Hardly felt like studying at all with warm sand between your toes. What is it about the sun that makes even the bleakest task feel... brighter? Thankfully for Hannes and I, though, the only thing we were studying that day was Rick Steve's guide to Siena, which led us to an amazing fresh pasta lunch (of which I'll linger over for you in a separate food blog) and a day of paying homage to a life lived under the Tuscan sun.


Me with my Sienese props.


The Duomo - every town's got one.


Another type of religion...


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Location:Lago Trasimeno

Vampires of Volterra

By Volterra moon,
Old mysteries unravel,
Lovers cloaked in night.

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Campervan picnic on the way to the blood sucking village of Volterra. On the menu: focaccia bread and roasted chicken from the market... and a blood orange muahahahaha.


Volterra vampires - Twihards embrace the village where "New Moon" was filmed.





Mysterious passages and doorways beckon...


What rituals go on behind these doors?...


We load up on garlic pizza to survive the night.


Our place of rest.


Volterra sunset, a.k.a. a vampire sunrise.


We retreat into a vampire bar, sipping local blood red wine with the bras of past Volterra victims hanging over our heads.


On our darkened walk home we become newlyweds for all eternity...

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Location:Pienza, Italy