Inferno for Dummies

The cast:
Richard as Dr. Robert Langdon

Renata as Dr. Sienna Brooks

Due to lack of actors all other characters in the book have been left out

Wanda as Dan Brown 

(For those of you who read the book - Sorry, but play along, you know deep down this book wasn't The DaVinci Code - hence...)







The story is set in Florence and Venice Italy

Robert is trying to figure out what he is doing in Florence and Sienna found out her colleague at the hospital just got shot and the assassin is somewhere behind them - better get moving!

The two of them need to get to the Old City but the bridges are closed and the police are looking for them or could it be the assassin they are trying to find?  It's all a blur...

....They run into Boboli Gardens.  Hopefully, they can manage their way through 11 acres of this outdoor museum and into the heart of Florence without being seen...

The maze of trees should give them some protection  - oh no!  The police are right behind them and it sounds like they have drones looking for them.

Robert and Sienna both pretend they are statues and the Polizia pass by.  That was a narrow escape.

Robert is still trying to figure out why they are being chased by an assassin and the police.  He finds a cylinder in his pocket that he thinks may be what the assassin wants from him.


They continue toward Pitti Palace.

This Renaissance palace was bought by the Medici family from Luca Pitti in 1549.  This art gallery is full of treasures - too bad there is no time to wander through it.....

...and this bathtub!! Robert shakes his head wondering why the heck would an old bathtub be put in these beautiful gardens....

Wake up Robert!  Who cares about the tub.....there are more search teams with drones looking for them. They scurry into a great hiding place - in the dark Grotto of Buontalenti off of the Pitti Palace...

As the Polizia continue to search for Robert and Sienna, they remain hidden in the grotto and move deeper into the 3rd chamber where they stay hidden until the Polizia have passed by.

Robert remembers there is a way into the city through the "Vasari Corridor" - there is a secret door that he hopes he can open.  He finds the small door hidden to the left of the grotto, after a couple of pushes they find themselves in the empty Corridor....

......empty of people, but the Corridor is full of paintings that few people are able to see.

Of course Robert forgets he is being chased and puts on his professor cap and points out to Sienna  the great works of art lining the walls.  
The corridor is not open to the public (except for a price!)  -Look behind you it's a Reubens' selfie!

"Really Dr. Langdon, I think we need to go.............."

They pass the church of Santa Felicita that Vasari had to build the Corridor around

The Arno River can be seen from the Vasari Corridor as Robert and Sienna hurry across

Robert and Sienna are able to cross the Ponte Vecchio Bridge from above unbeknownst to the assassin and police looking for them below.

They still need to find their way into Palazzo Vecchio where there should be a clue as to why the police are chasing them.

 Robert and Sienna find their way through the corridor from the Uffizi Palace into the Palazio Vechhio, once inside they hope to get lost in the crowds...

....Robert and Sienna come out of the hidden secret door in the PalazzoVecchio  unnoticed...

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio,  Robert forgets his imminent danger, as he stands in awe in the Salone dei Cinquecento.  (The Room of 500).  The large frescoes are battles and victories by Florence over Pisa and Sienna, not to mention the ceiling panels depicting the life of the Medicis, a Michelangelo statue, and on and on - such an imposing room.... 

The magnificent room was enlarged by Giorgio Vasari so that Grand Duke Cosimo I could hold court.

Robert is trying to get Sienna's attention....

Robert found Dante's death mask thinking there might be a clue that makes sense of  the craziness

The clue has to be behind the mask....while no one was looking he pulled the mask from the case in search of a clue.  Oh no - the police are on to them!  Robert hides the mask in his shirt and...

.....he and Sienna are able to escape again by climbing the walls of the palace...where will this lead?

They stay hidden in the top of the tower. The Dante mask holds no clue and Robert and Sienna have no clue as to what to do next...

There has to be a clue in this somewhere - if not the mask, is it hidden in Michelino's fresco?  Or does Robert need to find a copy of Dante's Divine Comedy to figure things out...

The book is way too long - so we will skip forward and head to Venice where Robert and Sienna find help.

Robert and Sienna took a fast train to Venice got there in less than 2 hours and jump on a Vaporetto and head to St Mark's square.

Somehow the Poliza find out Robert and Sienna are in Venice and are out in force looking for both of them.  Sienna came up with disguises....

.....A hat for Robert will make him look like George Clooney (or Merle Haggard) and a backpack, hair long, and drawing pad will make Sienna look like a very young art student......

....OK, that works... Paparazzi think Robert is George Clooney...

...and the real George Clooney has to be happy  he got away from the paparazzi...

Back to the story.....

The best way to get in to St. Mark's Cathedral is through the side door,... "come on Robert, while the polizia are busy staring at George Cloony's new finance, we should be able to get into the church without notice."

The stunning interior with beautiful mosaic colors of gold and bronze and the Byzantine architecture makes St. Mark's one of the most visited sites in Venice.  The Basilica was crowded with people and once Robert  figured Venice was not the city they should be in...

...Sienna hurries off and leaves Robert alone in the Cathedral ....

... Sienna jumps on a Vaporatto and disappears down the canals....

When Robert finds Sienna missing - he put two and two together and felt betrayed by her.
He knows where she is heading and he will beat her there, he may look old, but he can still run.  He jumps on a speed boat....

 .... leaves Venice behind him and heads to the airport.  

He knows now what the cylinder is, where he must go and what he must do next....

Are you wondering what happens next???

.....Well, get the book, because if Dan Brown ever reads this I am in trouble!

CINQUE TERRE AMORE

Rich:

In picking places to travel on our journey, we wanted to
1. Dig deeper into places we had been before, and
2. Visit places that had been on our wish list for years.

The Cinque Terre (pronounced CHEEN|kweh TEHR|reh) is one we had been waiting years to visit, it translates to Five Lands.  Each of the five towns are little gems and when seeing each village up close or from the hillsides or from the water they are like nothing we had ever seen before.  A vigorous hike for about 4 miles up and down the stunning hills, a beautiful lunch overlooking the Mediterranean and finishing with some local vino before a bus ride back home. Italy is growing stronger in its pull on us and unlike some countries where you start to become less enamored with local habits, (see Random Notes) Italy gives you more reasons to stay. Amorevole Italia!!!


Wanda:

Note to self:  Do not drink 3 cups of coffee before a 2 1/2 hour bumpy bus trip.

A view of the city La Spezia, an historical Naval port and the entrance to the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre

We were dropped off close to the city of Manarola, the smallest of the 5 villages.  

Since there is virtually no flat ground, you can see in the background the land is terraced so it can be farmed.  The Bell Tower stands in front of San Lorenzo church which dates back to 1338.

The primary industries are fishing, wine-making and of course, tourism.  The local wine is called "Sciacchetra" (pronounced "shack-eh-tra) - it is an ancient and legendary sweet wine made from naturally dried grapes.  Pictured are the cones of a variety of fish you can eat as you stroll the town (almost better than a gelato cone!).  I think we should start hiking....

Time to leave Manarola and head to Corniglia - our lunch stop!  Corniglia is the village above a cliff - we had to climb 365+ steps to get to it (one step for each day of the year).  
Whew.....really, I think it was more than 365 steps. 

Lunch was at Ristorante Cecio Camere.  We had a fish antipasti plate and linguini with a pesto sauce they are famous for (so we were told).  The pesto sauce had secret ingredients of potato and green beans.  It was delicious!!  
The region of Liguria is renowned for it's Pesto (where it is said to have originated) all over Italy.  Basil, the key ingredient of Pesto loves the climate of Cinque Terre.  
After the long walk, we were so hungry I forgot the picture of our fabulous meal or maybe we were just captivated by the view.....

View from our restaurant.  The village of Corniglia is 100 meters above the sea.  It is the highest and steepest of the 5 towns and the toughest to get to, hence not as many tourists.

Time to head out again to the village of Vernazza.  The hike is about 4 kilometers, so I will be ready for a gelato when we get there!

We are walking the trail and you can see Corniglia in the background - I'm in awe at this point... 

The view in front of us as we were heading towards the 4th village of Vernazza.  Normally 4 kilometers is a piece of cake - but the trail was like a black diamond if you are a skier.

Yay!!!......we finally reach Vernazza.  See that beach down there - that is where I am heading....

Happy Feet!!  Soaking your tired feet in the Ligurian Sea is refreshing!  The next leg of the walk will be much easier.

 Vernazza is the most picturesque of the 5 villages.  It has a town square that overlooks the sea - I didn't want to leave, but we knew there was one more city we needed to see.  We were done hiking for the day because the trail to Monterosso al Mare was closed due to extensive flooding and damage to the trails and village from a torrential downpour a few years back.  
We jumped on a train and one stop later we were at this magnificent beach.....

Monterosso is probably the most visited by tourists because of its beaches, this is also the largest of the 5 villages and one that has cars. (boo!)....

....still, they are known for their many lemon trees, white wine grapes, and olives.   If only I had room for the lemon honey, the lemon vodka, the lemon soap, all the pesto sauces, and the wine.....

...only room was in our tummies, so we have to eat our souvenirs!  Eating this delicious "Pane fritto" or fried bread with cheese was  so yummy it makes you crazy - just look at the baker.

Our day is about done - we jump on a boat and head back to the first city Riomaggiore, where we will end the day with a glass of wine before heading back to Florence.

We docked in what is known as the first of the Cinque Terre towns - Riomaggiore.  A stunning village that is famous for the white wine produced by the town's vineyards.  Unfortunately, we did not have time to fully explore the town (we were bone tired) but we did make the time to taste all the wine Riomaggiore had to offer!  

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one we recommend to all friends who love incredible views and own a good pair of hiking shoes!  
Ci Torneremo!!!

Wanda's Birthday Week In Italy

Richard:

32 years ago the start of many family traditions began, including celebrating our May birthdays with as much gusto as possible. Swine and Dine International was also initiated and when you combine the two it creates a fantastic culinary month.  Buon compleanno!

Take out Food in Florence! 
Generous slices of porquetta, mushroom sauce (unbelievable sauce!), pomodoro and arugula with olive oil on a just-out-of-the oven foccaccia bread.  A much needed break after climbing the 400 steps of the Santa Maria del Fiore - Duomo!
 We read Calvin Trillin's book "Alice, Lets Eat" (a very good read) 32 years ago and live by many of its principles regarding eating while travelling, including when it is time to stop looking at monuments and start enjoying the local food. Thanks Mr.Trillin.

Wanda:

Yes, birthday celebrations for us are always longer than the day we were born - we usually stretch it out for the entire month of May since Richard's special day is in May as well. 

A visit to the Chianti region in Tuscany. 
 If the bottle of Chianti Classico you are drinking does not have the black rooster on it, it's not authentic.

Wine tasting in the Chianti Classico region.  
The longest established viticulture area in Italy marked out in 1716 by the Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici.  The bottles are marked by a Black Rooster logo which sets it apart from standard Chianti.
I'm not sure if this is true of every winery here - we shared 3 bottles among 4 people, so we got more than a taste!

Jenifer and Jacopo of Colorado are honeymooning through Italy - 
Jacopo's dad is from Venizia -  so he looks right at home here.
Salute to your new life together!

Richard leads us all into La Toppa to end our wine tasting tour with more wine and food

Our wine tasting group enjoyed a TipicoTuscan meal of 2 types of pasta - penne with meat sauce and tripolini with pomodoro, sausage and Tuscan beans, pork loin and potatoes, topped off by my birthday cake of the best Tiramisu.  (Sorry, pictures of this wonderful meal were too blurry to use- I wonder why?) 
 Fellow Oenophiles were from Canada, Sweden, Australia, and USA

Grazie mille, Suzette and Carl!
From the Land Down Under- this delightful couple celebrating 40 years together shared a very special bottle of wine with us.  Felice Anniversario!

We were not expecting (but very happy) to be invited to dinner with Elena and Harpert.
 Richard Messina, a founding member of  Swine and Dine, and whom you may remember from our earlier Amsterdam post, introduced us. Richard was always good with pairings.

The Tuscan meal Elena, prepared for us was a Panzenella Salad, Pear and Gorgonzola Pasta,  fresh artichoke Frittatta, and for dessert Panna Cotta topped with a homemade blackberry sauce! 
Welcome our newest member of Swine and Dine International, Italian Chapter.

Harpert, a wine connoisseur, was saving his extraordinary 2003 Chianti Classico Riserva for a special occasion - well when he opened it,  he sure made us feel special!
(How did he know it was my birthday? : )

After a wonderful meal from chef Elena, we were ready for our Grappa lesson from Harpert.
We were feeling europhic at the end of the evening or I mean wee hours of the morning!
Grazie Grazie mille!!!

Thanks Richard and Renata!
I have to say this was one of my best birthdays - it was a great week and the month just started!!