Tuesday morning, 5am
Our day began bright and early. We made our way to the airport for our flight to Frankfurt (again), then home to Boston. All went smoothly until a goof right at the end of our trip. Our friend Susan Iuliano was going to pick us up, either at Logan or Logan Express. We wanted to make it easier for her, so hopped on the Logan Express bus to Framingham. But, because my phone still had its international card in it, I didn't get her message that she was waiting for us at Logan. We did connect by phone, but not in time for us to hop off the bus! Susan was a peach, and acted like it was no big deal to drive back to Framingham to pick us up and drive us home. (She's always a peach, actually!)
So, home we are, fuzzy-headed from jet lag. As of this final writing on Thursday morning, it's getting better. We stayed awake til 9pm last night and didn't wake up til 5-something. Almost normal. We are transitioning as slowly as possible, munching on "chocolate digestive biscuits" for those of you familiar with this British nicety. And, last night I made homemade pasta, so we could enjoy a little bit of Italian culture at home.
Thanks for reading. Signing off, Fran and Philip
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| fresh fettucini drying for dinner |
We began our last day by packing up and switching hotels to one closer to the airport for our early flight Tuesday morning. We arrived at the hotel at 10:30, expecting to just leave our bags, then take a bus back to the city center for the day, tho it was raining and we didn't have a day's worth of activities planned. The hotel desk employee was extremely helpful and told us that if we waited half an hour, she could arrange to have a room ready for us. That was nice, as it gave us a chance to regroup (and take a quick morning nap!) and then go back into Florence.
We spent a little time at the Central Market, a wonderful place (carts with leather goods, clothing, jewelry) outside, but inside a full marketplace with lots of fresh produce, grocery items (like olive oil, mozzarella, other cheeses), fresh fish and of course, pastas. That's where Robyn shops, as it is close to her apartment and classrooms/studios. She said that people just go every day to pick up what they need for dinner. What a life!
We spent part of the afternoon at the Museo Nove Cento, a contemporary art museum. Very interesting and pretty extensive. We wandered around a bit and went back to the Central Market to meet Robyn for dinner. The upstairs at the marketplace is like the best food court ever. There are restaurant options and then places that will prepare your food and you take it to sit in the communal area to eat. Also wine bars, gelato, etc.
Then it was time to say goodbye to Robyn and head up to our hotel.
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| upstairs at Il Mercato Centrale |
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| Philip waiting for Robyn at the market |
Sunday in Siena
Went back to Florence for dinner and stopped at a tiny restaurant, again with good food. We left Robyn and took the bus back up to Fiesole.
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| free potable water in Siena |
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| one of the mechanical fish at art exhibit |
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| tile floor in the Duomo in Siena |
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| appetizer at dinner in Florence (notice the mozzarella art!) |
Saturday in Florence
Sorry to have let the days slip away without blogging. I am pecking away on Philip's iPad, which isn't like using a laptop!
It was Wednesday when we climbed Ben Rinnes and we are still groaning and grunting a little when our legs are called on to use those fatigued joints and muscles. The good news is that we are using them a LOT In Italy, so should come home ready for fall hiking.
Thursday in Scotland was a fun day despite particularly nasty weather--a driving cold rain. But, fun touring the Ardmore whiskey distillery near Insch, not far from Meikle Wartle. For this non-whiskey-drinker it was surprisingly interesting! We saw the series of 60,000 liter vats with mash at different stages of fermentation--bubbling away ever more energetically from the 7 hrs since yeast was added to 49 hrs post-yeast. Bubble bubble, toil and trouble! The chap who gave us the tour, Ronnie Mennie, was a delightful Scotsman, a former manager at Ardmore who checked to be sure we could understand what he was saying. (I could listen to him speak in that accent all day!) He now gives tours just for the enjoyment of it. Yes, we did get to taste a "wee dram" at the end of the tour. As I wrote, I'm not a whiskey lover, but I did rather enjoy the 12 year old sample he shared with us that had been made under his management. Guess I'm just partial to the good stuff.
After coffee and a scone, and a bowl of Cullen Skink for some (a smoked haddock and potato stew) we headed home to pack. The time flew by in spite of great times with our family. As my mom would have noted "we made some great memories."
Dot and Roger took us to the airport late in the afternoon. Our flights were right on time, through Frankfurt and onto Florence. Took a cab to the Pension Bencista in Fiesole north of Florence.
On Friday morning we took the bus down the hill into Florence and met up with Robyn, who from across the plaza where we met her, looked very much the European student. Guess she always has, come to think of it. She gave us the walking tour of the city including the Duomo, a couple of blocks from her apartment.
We got lunch-to-go from Robyn's favorite sandwich shop. She has learned that the best thing is to let them show you the best they can do by saying "make me what you want that's vegetarian". She and I ended up with a panini with fresh mozzarella and a variety of roasted vegetables drizzled with olive oil. I had read in our travel book that you can't go wrong with meals in Florence, and that is
proving to be true.
We went off to the Uffizi Gallery to see classics of the Renaissance. Robyn peeled off after awhile to go back to her apartment, where we met up with her later.
We went for a nice dinner at a pasta restaurant called Tamero with thanks to Susan and Harry. Really good food and wine, then we stopped for gelato on the way back from "across the river".
Today, Saturday, Philip and I took the bus further north into the town of Fiesole. (fee-uh-ZO-lay) We were so glad we went, as it was the charming small town experience we love--complete with a little fair and market, fun shops, and a nice little bistro for lunch. Lots of good photo ops. I even have 2+quilt ideas in my head--more ideas than time!
We went into Florence in the afternoon, but didn't see Robyn, who had plans with friends. We came back for a lovely dinner at our hotel--a great four-course meal that didn't leave us stuffed! Wonderful fresh ingredients prepared to let the natural flavors shine.
We are off tomorrow with Robyn by bus to see Siena.
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| Ardmore Distillery |
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| Samples at the Ardmore Distillery with Ronnie |
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| Ponte Vecchio, a Medieval stone arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence |
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| at the Uffizi Gallery |
dinner at Tamero in Florence
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| lunch in Fiesole |
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| painted utility cover on house in Fiesole (very common) |
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| teatime at our Pensione Bencista patio |
Wednesday, Nov 5
Happy Guy Fawkes Day to you all! If you don't know about this, please google it. It's a fun bit of British history.
Today we did indeed go on a hike up Ben Rinnes, the highest mountain (we think) in the county of Moray. It was a hike unlike any I've been on. We encountered the following weather conditions during our hike: sun, fog, rain, wind, snow, sleet, drizzle. Good thing we were prepared thanks to Dot and Roger who know how the weather can change in a flash. We did manage to have a cup of hot coffee up at the top, protected by boulders, but it was pretty cold and windy and snowy by then, so we decided to head back down.
Unfortunately for me, the others were in better shape than I, and my knees and hips protested loudly
on the way down. I had to take it pretty slowly, but did stay on my feet, which is not always the case when Philip and I hike down mountains. :-)
Tonight we are carrying in good and proper fish&chips for dinner. I think we earned it today!
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| Ellie, Dot, Fran, Roger |
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| Dot and Roger at summit of Ben Rinnes |
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| Near the top of Ben Rinnes: Dot, Roger, Philip |
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| The Ralli Brothers: Philip and Roger |
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| interesting flora on Ben Rinnes |
Tuesday, Nov 4
We've been having some internet issues here, so no post yesterday and no pics today. We have been staying pretty local the last couple of days. Yesterday we saw Cat, Chris, Jacob and Alex off, with all returning to their homes safely.
Today Philip, Dot, Roger and I did a little shopping in a nearby town, one with the Walker's Shortbread store. Then we went to the Glenfiddich distillery, not for the tour but for lunch at the cafe. It had began raining hard, so we headed home for tea and naps (and Dot and Roger tending to all that has to be done on the farm...it seems never-ending and I admire their stamina)
Philip and I are on for dinner--prawns and stir-fried veggies on linguine with roasted brussell sprouts on the side.
Tomorrow we are hiking up Ben Rinnes or Tap o' Noth (tap of the north, I think). We will take Ellie, the energetic dog, with us, but not the two old-timers who can manage a walk up the hill here, but not a longer one.
Sunday, Nov 2
Today had a very light breakfast and all went out to lunch at Eat on the Green in Ellon not far from Dot and Roger. I do believe it was the best restaurant meal I've had in a very long time! Lovely little complementary nibbles--some meaty and some vegetarian. Some of us had starters. Can't remember the choices. For my main course I had a sea bass with a couple of scallops, potatoes and sautéed greens. Robyn had a parmesan risotto. The desserts were exquisite, mine being a "taster" of sticky toffee pudding, lemon mousse, a teeny raspberry pavlova and can't remember the fourth. Tiny complementary pieces of fudge after the dessert. Wonderful, but nice medium sized portions so I didn't leave feeling stuffed.
Now Philip is taking Robyn to catch her flight, and then go return our rental car. Cat, Chris, Jacob and Alex will be with us til tomorrow, then catching their flights late tomorrow afternoon.
So, does anyone mind if we just stay here? It's a wonderful life here on the family farm.
Love to all. Hope your lives are wonderful, too.
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Starter Tasting |
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risotto main course |
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roast beef and Yorkshire pudding |
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sea bass, scallops and greens |
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whole family (missing you, Peter Ralli!) |
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Fran gets hug from Craig the chef/owner after telling him "best restaurant meal in ages!" |
Saturday, Nov 1
(oops, I have no idea what was deleted here)
at time with Dot, Roger, Alex, Cat(riona), Chris and Jacob. Jacob is a sweetie, though is "poorly" with a cold and possible ear infection. He's taking it in stride, but didn't sleep much at all last night.
Today we went to Haddo House for a Christmas Fair and coffee and cakes. Yummy cakes and scones, slowest coffee service ever with Roger and Philip waiting patiently while we had a picnic outside. No, it wasn't really warm enough for a picnic, but these British/Scottish folks are intrepid and not put off by mere cold and wind! It seems Robyn has that blood in her, too, but not Fran who was a wimp and sat in the car while the others went to the playground.
Here are a few pictures.
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Veggie at the market in Inverurie. What is it? Your guess is as good as mine.Nice fractal patterns, eh? |
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Roast dinner last night. L to R: Philip, Robyn, Chris, Jacob, Cat, Alex, Roger, Dot |
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Cat, Jacob and Robyn keeping warm at Haddo House. |
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Chris, Cat, Jacob today. (Strangers in the background.) |
Thursday, Oct. 30
Hi again,
We are back from Edinburgh after a too-short but very fun visit with our nephew-niece Andy and Halle and our great-nephew Hank. This first shot is of Hank's playground which is in the former moat of the castle. Kudos to Philip for this great shot. We were working off some steam after picking Hank up from daycare, before heading off to our restaurant.
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Hank's Under-the-Castle Playground |
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Edinburgh Castle and Crescent Moon Oct 29, 2014 |
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Henderson's Vegetarian Restaurant |
Cheers to Susan and Harry
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Cousins Halle, Robyn, Andy |
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JK Rowling's Writing Cafe |
Today, Thursday, we said goodbye to Halle and Andy who had a lunch meeting, and Philip, Robyn and I did a little shopping then had a good lunch at an Indian restaurant. Drove back to Dot and Roger's and got in just in time for supper and to see Alex.
Wednesday, Oct. 29
Hi everyone,
As they say, the best laid plans...
We just came to Edinburgh today rather than yesterday. Robyn's flight from Florence to Amsterdam was so late that she missed her connecting flight to Aberdeen. So she passed the time (6 hours!) in the Amsterdam airport until the next flight, which got her in at about 10:30pm. We went back to Dot and Roger's house for the night, had a yummy breakfast with scrambled eggs (chicken and duck), and set off for Edinburgh. Stopped for take away sandwiches at Tesco's in Dundee, then made our way to Andy and Halle's apartment. We got a chance to hang out with Andy a little, then we met up with Halle, took the bus to Hank's daycare to pick him up, and went to a playground just below the Edinburgh Castle. (see photo)
Hank was glad to see us and was a little excited but otherwise pretty comfortable with us. He is a good talker now, and we can understand most of what he says. We went to a restaurant "Henderson's" which had come highly recommended by folks on both sides of the pond. It is a vegetarian restaurant that has been in operation, and vegetarian, for 50 years! We had a great dinner including vegetarian haggis, crepes, a curry dish, and soup for Hank. Turned out it wasn't really something to eat, but to spoon "meatballs" (chunks of bread) into for about an hour.
Great dinner and great time together. Thanks, Susan and Harry for treating us!
Tomorrow we will get to spend the morning with Andy and Hank before Hank goes to school a bit late and Andy and Halle take off for an appointment they have. We will head back to Dot and Roger's in time for dinner with D, R and their son Alex who is flying in from Manchester for the weekend.
We are so lucky to have great families!
Hi F&F on Monday, Oct 27.
We made it safe and sound! We are in Scotland at the home of Philip's brother, Roger and wife, Dot. Just us "grown ups" for now, but pretty soon the fun (young-ins) will arrive.
We flew through Frankfurt and arrived in Aberdeen today. Even though we were renting a car, Dot and Roger surprised us at the airport for a proper welcome back to Scotland.
This afternoon, partly to beat the effects of lack of sleep on our flights, we went for a walk up the hill, which is more than a hill! Dot and Roger live at the Braeside of Rothmaise, the name for the big long hill//mountain. So, off we went hiking with the three dogs.
View from Braeside of Rothmaise
Philip, Dot, Roger, Echo
at the top: The Black Cairn
Dot and Roger's farm: house second white building from left
Chickens' Supper Time
A preview of tomorrow: we will pick up Robyn who is flying in, and then we will drive straight to Edinburgh to see my/our nephew, niece, great-nephew Andy, Halle and Hank.
xo, Fran
Hi Friends and Family,
I am going to experiment with using this blog for our travel journaling on our upcoming trip. Will it work? Hope so. :-)
When might you see a real post? Next Monday, Oct 27.
Bon voyage, but not just yet,
Fran and Philip
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