It’s been a while – since I last wrote the update that is. Jill has written the last two and they have been fantastic! It will be tough for me to follow those. Well, I had a flight scheduled to the U.S. just days after the terrorist plot to blow up planes from London to the U.S. was foiled. As much as I hated to do it, I had to cancel my flight and just stay put. I really missed seeing my family and friends, especially my Fantasy Football golf fest weekend with the boys (I was able to draft live online though – thanks for making it work guys!)

The original plan was for me to be in the U.S. for three weeks while Jill did her Italy trips with her parents. Since I didn’t go home, I was stuck in London by myself for a couple of weeks. I kept myself busy catching up on work, but I sure did miss my wife – and good cooking, and it wasn’t too fun doing all of the chores! Thanks to Justin and Rachel for cooking me some fajitas while Jill was gone – delicious! Since Jill was already in Italy, we decided that I’d just head on over after her family left and we’d do some more traveling in Italy – Pompeii, Amalfi Coast (Sorrento and Positano), Isle of Capri, Tuscany (wine-tasting tour), and Lake Como.

Keep in mind that Jill is the one who always plans our trips – so with her being gone, it was all up to me. I already understood that she spent lots of time and worked really hard planning our trips – and they have all been fantastic – but now that I had to plan one myself, I have a new found respect for her. Planning multiple destination trips over here is NOT easy (so many pieces have to be just perfect) – I wanted to throw in the towel a few times, but I just HAD to make this work – I really wanted to plan a great trip for Jill and have her coast along and not worry about anything for once. Thankfully, it all worked out – let’s jump right to it!

Pompeii / Mt. Vesuvius:
Pompeii is a ruined ancient city founded in the 6th century B.C. that was destroyed by a surprise volcanic eruption from Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The people living in the city at the time didn’t even know it was a volcano – they just thought it was a mountain. It totally caught them by surprise, and the entire city was buried by 18 feet of volcanic ash within two hours preserving the ancient culture. Pompeii had vanished from the face of the earth and was not discovered for almost 2,000 years; it was like a time capsule. Casts were made by filling in the empties from the decomposition of the bodies, and the last moments of the victims were forever captured.

We’ve seen lots of ruins from our travels, but nothing has been like Pompeii. It’s amazing how intact the entire city still is – there are streets lined with ruins of buildings and houses that are in decent shape considering they are 2,000 years old. We could definitely tell it was a city as opposed to most ruins which are just bits and pieces lying around. It was what I would think a ghost town would be like. Pompeii was much larger than we expected.

We took a bus ride up to Mt. Vesuvius, and then climbed the rest of the way to the top. The climb from the bus drop-off was less than an hour, so it wasn’t too bad. The crater is massive, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. I wasn’t expecting to see lava flowing or anything, but this just looked like a huge hole that has never erupted – I couldn’t even tell it was a volcano. We saw an old stream of ash that ran down the side of the mountain, and that was pretty neat. This volcano is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. It's regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people now living close to it and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. We enjoyed some nice views of Naples, Sorrento, and Capri from the top.

The bus ride down was pretty scary – we were on a large charter bus, and the roads were very narrow, steep, and windy. The driver went way too fast and there were steep cliffs on the side of us the entire way down. We could barely get by cars coming up the road, much less other buses. We were relieved when we finally got caught up behind a slower bus in front of us…that is, until our driver PASSED HIM! Are you kidding me? If you would have seen how narrow this road was and how dangerous this ride was, you’d understand – there were times when I thought we were going to end up in the news – “Tour bus rolls down Mt. Vesuvius”.

Amalfi Coast (Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Positano):
The Amalfi Coast is on the western side of southern Italy, and it’s very steep and cliffy. Talk about a beautiful coastline – what an amazing place to see! We stayed in a great hotel on a cliff in the town of Sorrento, and we enjoyed some nice views of Mt. Vesuvius and Naples from our balcony. We had a bottle of champagne waiting on us when we arrived, so we took it out by the pool and took in the views as we quenched our thirst. Sorrento is a great town with some really nice shops and restaurants throughout – we had a lot of fun wandering around this city soaking in the views from the cliff tops.

The next day, we took a hydrofoil (fast boat) to the Isle of Capri, a big rock island off the coast of Italy in the bay of Naples. I think the best way to see the Amalfi Coast is from the Mediterranean – this boat ride provided awesome views of both Sorrento and Capri.

We arrived in Marina Grande and shopped around the little shops in Capri Town before taking a boat ride around the entire island. Once again, the views from the water were really good – this island is one big rock, so there were different parts to see all the way around – some extremely steep cliffs and some really cool caves. There were all kinds of really neat natural rocky formations.

The Blue Grotto is the island’s most famous attraction – a tiny cave that can only be entered by lying down in a small rowboat to get through the small mouth of the cave. As we pulled up, we had about an hour wait before we could transfer to the rowboats. This is when Jill started getting seasick - sitting still with the boat rocking back and forth from the waves made her feel dizzy. Thankfully, just before she really got sick, we got in the rowboat.

The name of this cave makes sense once you’re inside – the sun shines through the mouth of the cave and it makes the water a very shiny beautiful blue color – it’s hard to describe, but it’s a sight to see. We saw the Green Grotto on the other side of the island, but we didn’t have to go into a cave to see the emerald green water.

After the boat tour, we had a nice Italian pizza in the town before taking another hydrofoil, but this time it was to Positano. As you know, we’ve seen some spectacular sights by now – but we were just getting started. Positano is one of the coolest towns we’ve ever seen – it’s a vertical pastel-colored town built directly into the cliff.

It’s been known for decades as a playground for the rich and famous, and only one street winds its way up and down – the rest are stairs. We got our exercise walking up the street and stairs going to all of the shops that lined both sides, enjoying some incredible views all the while. Jill bought me a nice hand-made shirt from one of the local shops for my birthday – thank you baby!

Tuscany (wine-tasting tour):
I had a private wine-tasting tour of the Chianti region set up in Tuscany, so we took a train from Sorrento. Wine was invented in Tuscany around 900 B.C., and Chianti is Italy’s most famous red wine (made mostly of the famous Sangiovese grapes). In 1960, Chianti became the first Italian “DOCG” – the highest mark of quality. There are over 17,000 acres strung with grapes that make Chianti Classico. There are seven Chianti-producing regions, but only wines produced in the Classico hills may be called Classico and carry the seal of the Black Cockerel (rooster). Our tour consisted of this Classico region.

As this was our first wine-tasting tour, we were able to learn how the wine from the Chianti Classico region is made – so for those interested, I will explain it here. The first phase is the “Vendemmia”, or the harvest. All grapes are hand-picked during the harvest (around the second week of October, depending on the amount of rainfall, heat, etc.) and carried in boxes holding no more than 15 to 20 kilos to ensure they reach the cellars in perfect condition. You know the grapes are ready to be picked when the proportion between sugar and acidity is constant for three to four days.

The “Vinification” process is next. When the grapes arrive at the cellars, they are destalked and lightly squeezed to get the “must”. The must is immediately transferred into steel containers, holding between 60 and 120 hectoliters for fermentation. The grapes ferment in their own yeast for 14 days to allow the must to turn into wine. The wine is left to rest for about 10 more days on the grapes’ skins which enrich the wine.

During the aging process, the wine is filtered out and put into oak barrels for aging. These barrels, which can hold up to 30 hectoliters, are stored in underground cellars guaranteeing the perfect temperatures and humidity levels that allow the wine to evolve from something quite rough to a product of great elegance and complexity. The wine stays in the barrels for a minimum of 12 months; if it stays in for at least two years, it’s considered “reserve”.

The last phase is the “refinement” process in which the wine is bottled. Before it’s put on the market, the bottles are left to rest on their sides in the cellars (in the dark at controlled temperatures) so that the wine blends and develops its unique characteristics. So if the label doesn’t say “Reserve”, the wine has been in the barrel between one and two years. If it does say “Reserve”, it has been in the barrel for at least two years.

During our tour, we went to three different vineyards to taste their local wine. The drive through the Tuscan countryside is absolutely amazing – rolling hills with vineyards as far as the eye could see. We visited the Rocca delle Macie vineyard (consisting of about 85 hectares) first, and we learned how to taste wine properly during our visit. First, swirl it around in your glass to allow it to breathe. Next, smell the wine to make sure it doesn’t have a sour smell. Finally, take a sip and swish it around in your mouth to allow it to get to all of your taste buds.

So once we learned how to be professional wine tasters, we tasted Galestro (a very good dry white with a fruity aroma), Rubizzo (a young wine that never aged in barrels as it gets worse with age - 95 percent normal grapes, 5 percent Merlot), Chianti Classico (the most popular wine and our favorite), Chianti Classico Reserve (even better), Primo Volo (a very good experimental wine made from Sangiovese, Merlot, and Barbera grapes), and Vin Santo (a delicious dessert wine).

At the Castello d' Albola vineyard, we tasted Chardonnay (very good white), Le Fagge (an even better white), Chianti Classico Le Ellere (best so far), Chianti Classico Reserve, and Grapa (VERY strong - made from grape skins).

We also took a tour of the wine cellars at this vineyard. The Slovenian oak barrels are massive as they can hold up to 30 hectoliters of wine. There were lots of smaller French barrels lining the cellar as well. One room was full of barrels that held the sweet-smelling dessert wine, and that cellar smelled awesome – you know me and my sweet tooth! It was really neat to be able to tour these wine cellars – we had a great time there!

The Barone Ricasoli vineyard is located on a hill with a castle at the top – some really nice views from up there. We walked around in one of the vineyards and tasted some grapes right off of the vine. We tasted Chardonnay, Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Reserve, Castello di Brolio, and Casalferro (Super Tuscan).

Between our vineyard tours, we stopped at several Chianti towns including Castellina in Chianti (nice small village), Radda in Chianti (we had lunch along with some Chianti Classico from the second vineyard we visited), Greve (we walked around the main square and shops), and Monte Fioralle (a very small medieval town).

One other thing to mention – there were also lots of olive trees growing throughout the vineyards, and they made some incredible olive oil. Jill really liked this (her favorite was from the Rocca delle Macie vineyard), and she even picked and tasted an olive straight off of a tree – it was very sour! Unfortunately, we weren’t able buy any wine or olive oil at the vineyards because liquids were still banned from planes as carry-on luggage due to the recent terrorist plot in London.

This trip was one of my favorites – from the beautiful Tuscan countryside to learning about wine and tasting some of the best in the world – it was the total package. Angela was our guide for the day, and we certainly recommend her for anyone that takes this trip. Thank you so much Angela, for making our day such an incredible memory!

Lake Como:
We took a late train to Lake Como, and it was late arriving in Milan where we had to change, so we missed our connection. We ended up taking another one an hour and a half later, but that was at 1:30am. We passed the time having snacks and drinks in the lobby of Le Meridian where we met some nice FedEx pilots – we had some interesting conversations there!

Lake Como is referred to as the “beauty queen” of the Italian lakes. It has three arms of turquoise and sapphire waters 30 miles long (but rarely wider than one mile) backed by the snow-capped mountains of the Alps. We stayed in the town of Como, which is a Roman town that has a huge silk industry.

There are lots of small towns lining both sides of the lake, and this along with it being surrounded by mountains makes it a very beautiful place. We took a boat ride down the lake and stopped off at Bellagio – have you ever been to the casino in Las Vegas that’s named after this town? Bellagio is a small café-lined harbor town with medieval alleys winding all around. There are a few sets of stairs that go up into the side of the mountain with nice shops and restaurants throughout. There is one main street at the top, so you walk up one set of stairs, follow this road, and then walk down the other side – very neat place!

We took a slower scenic boat back to Como, enjoying the surrounding views of towns, mountains, sky, water, and even one of George Clooney’s houses. We walked around Como and checked out some churches and shops, and we had some drinks at an outside café by the harbor. We finished up by having an excellent dinner with some Tuscan wine, and then we had more drinks on our rooftop hotel bar. This was a great way to end our vacation – nice and relaxing!

Other:
Roll tide! Football season is finally here! We listened to the first four Bama games on the internet, and we actually got to watch the last one. There’s a great American BBQ restaurant called Bodean’s (outstanding ribs – I took down an entire slab on my own) that played the Bama/FL game, so we went and watched it with Ed, Aileen, and some of their friends. It was great to see Tide play, but the atmosphere was horrible – Jill and I were the only people wearing Crimson, we were the only football fans in the room, and we were the only people that even knew how to play football. Picture this – you’re in a restaurant watching the Alabama game – they score, and you and your wife are the only people to cheer – this place is packed mind you – all eight TVs were showing the game and not one single person in that room was even watching it – that’s just not right. God bless America! Speaking of football, I’m tied for first place in my Fantasy Football division with Carter at 3-1. It’s going to be a tight race – most teams look very good, so there is lots of competition.

I turned another year older last month – time sure does fly once you pass 21! Jill was extremely good to me, showering me with gifts and two plates of cupcakes! We also had dinner at my favorite restaurant in the world (steak), and went to the West End show “We Will Rock You”. If you like Queen, you would have loved this show – Jill and I both think it was one of the best we’ve seen, and we’ve seen quite a few. We finished the evening with a bottle of Chianti wine at a nice Creperie in central London.

My friends from India wished me “Many Happy Returns of the Day” instead of “Happy Birthday” – I found out that this is a wish of a long happy life – many happy returns of your birthday. Thanks to Jill, my parents, Jackie, and Mike for my gifts and to all of my family and friends who emailed and called me on my birthday!

We’ve been able to spend lots of time with our friends lately – Justin, Rachel, Ed, Aileen, Jimmy, and Annie. It’s always nice to get together – we need to keep it up before we move back to the States! Jill’s been a little chef lately – she cooked her famous chicken nuggets (which were outstanding) as well as chicken casserole, pineapple casserole, and potato salad. It’s all delicious – can you keep this up too?

We just got back from dinner at GBK and drinks at the Marlborough pub with Justin, Rachel, and Rachel’s Mum and Nan. We had a very nice time and it was great seeing you again! Speaking of fun times, we’d like to thank Ed and Aileen for having us over for drinks and snacks before the Bama game!

We’d like to extend our congratulations to Charlie and Lauren (Charles Ford was born on August 17th - 6lbs 12 oz. and 18 3/4 inches long) and to Scott and Kim (Landon Scott was born on September 28th - 8 lbs. 3.75 oz. and 21 inches long). We are very excited for you guys and we can’t wait to see these new babies!

It just started getting cold over here – we had our heater on for about 30 minutes today, and we were cold walking home tonight even with long pants and long sleeves. Please check out our updated pictures (Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Isle of Capri, Tuscany Wine Tour, Lake Como, and London). Until next time, we love and miss you all! Take care and God bless!