As I gaze at the map to see all of the pins representing my travels with Cinzia, what might appear as random was totally intentional! My travel through Italy always entailed work and as a consequence(for my business at least),I never went South of Rome!
I was thrilled to go to Florence (Firenze) to attend the twice yearly Menswear show Pitti Uomo, a must see for the BEST OF Menswear trade fairs in the ready to wear sector. It was always hotter than hell in June, so Cinzia suggested I join the family vacation on the mediterranean for a day more two-who was I to refuse?!? We took a train from Firenze to the coast, stopping in Pisa to take the requisite leaning tower photo and we were off again toward the mediterranean. There was no a/c on the train so we lowered the old school windows and poked our heads out for a bit of relief. It was then that I saw what would be a lifetime memory….field after field of sunflowers-amazing! That night we went to Massa Maritemma-an ancient town seemingly built into the top of a mountaintop(maybe it was!),such a sight to behold both as we approached and once we arrived. There we had pizza on the thinnest crust(like a cracker), with freshly cut tomatoes, mounds of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, olive oil salt and pepper-I was in heaven. Oh, and across this stunning and ancient piazza was the church in which Cinzia and her Husband Lorenzo had been married, it dates back to 400AD!! The next day we visited the amazing Sassicaia Vineyard in Maremma-they had just been awarded a very big award that year(Lorenzo keeps up on these important matters😉),I was simply amazed to be there drinking that very wine-LIFE!
Home base was always Milano and when we first met, Cinzia worked in the tiny town of Albiate. On my very first trip to Italy , Cinzia took me to Bergamo-an absolutely stunning town northeast of Milano. It has so much to offer, elegance, history, architecture and outstanding cuisine-the first time I went I enjoyed Polenta, a regional dish for which it’s very well known-YUM! Another nearby town nearby was Monza, known for the formula one Italian Grand Prix. I had no expectations about the town, there were no races going on, but I was captivated once again by the history, the architecture, the cathedral. Seriously-here was a town seemingly in the middle of nowhere and it was home to this cathedral that rivaled St. Patrick’s-couldn’t believe it!
It’s always great to be just a hop, skip and a jump away from iconic destinations and Italians are so indulgent-happy and proud to show off these treasures! Como is about 30 miles from Milano-how can one miss it?!? What a jewel, but if you stay in the city of Como(and I do love Como!), you are missing a lot! So naturally Cinzia has toured me on both sides of the lake(actually on the outer shores on both legs to be exact!). On the western leg-we went to Lenno and on a grey, rainy day as we walked along a small park, the clouds parted, the sun illuminated the Matterhorn in brilliant sunshine, church bells rang….and I cried. On the other side of the lake across from Bellagio-we visited Varenna-WOW! We were there in a virtually perfect setting for an afternoon before ascending a crazy steep, curvy road(sorry Rory!!) to the most perfect place to eat diner and admire the view as the sun set on Como….ahhhhh.
There are a couple of pins that merit stories for another day! One in particular is what has become an iconic travel story in hindsight(like I say-if you don’t have a story-have you even travelled!)but wasn’t exactly fun or enjoyable at the time. Though I typically try to find humor in everything, sometimes it appears in the rearview😉.
Stay tuned😉!
