NANCY'S NOTES & JUDI'S JOTS www.chicktrips.net/nancy

Nancy's Notes & Judi's Jots


		Nancy's Notes...
		"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a trip that I will never forget. It was the best thing I have done for myself in such a long time. There were no ordinary women on this trip, and when you added that to everything else, it made it so incredible. Ah, the villa - so beautiful, quaint, old, comfy and inviting. It was like what you see in the movies or a magazine, but in your lifetime you never expect to experience it firsthand, let alone stay overnight! The countryside is so incredibly beautiful. The soft, gentle rolling hills that actually look landscaped - they don't look real. It blew me away. I just kept taking more and more pictures of it. Food and wine - it's the best, just like everyone says! The trains and schedules were hard to figure out - everyone would tell me something different. I began to realize that no matter where I was going, I was really headed for somewhere else! I have gotten into the daily habit of eating vanilla ice cream topped with Vin Santo wine - to die for! I feel like I'm back in Italy! I have one serving after dinner every night. Then after that serving, I have another. I'm hoping to run out of the Vin Santo because I know I can't get it in this town, and that will be the end of that little habit!! Oh, but it's so wonderful..." Judi's Jots... "The villa is nice, the grounds are lovely, and the landscape is breathtaking, but the real essence of the week was the accumulation of little experiences... ...shopping in the tiny Italian 'Stop 'N Go' and pantomiming what we needed; ...going to the house of an elderly woman with gallon jugs in our hands to fill up on vino rosso; ...having art lessons from Liz, the young English woman who lives in Montisi; ...or just hanging out by the pool reading, relaxing or chatting with new friends. And I can't leave out the great dinners around the large table with a lot of conversation and laughter. The second day we were there Liz and Gail arranged for us to attend a contrada lunch in Montisi. It was certainly one of the most memorable days of my many European trips. After that day, if we would happen to see anyone from that contrada in Montisi we would get a big smile and a hearty, 'Buon giorno!' Montisi is not a tourist town so we were a bit of a novelty. Of course they all knew that we were so thrilled to be a part of their celebration on that Sunday and were happy to be in their little village..." Click to return to Tids & Bits