A Heeling Experience

Brad and I have been waiting for this weekend since we heard we were moving to Germany. What's more German than Oktoberfest in Munich? I can't think of anything. Bags were packed, room was booked. A weekend full of men in lederhosen, giant beers, and oompah bands. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards for us this year. I traded it for men in white coats, giant amounts of pain medicine and a foot that looks like an oompah loompa (thank you iodine).

So, what happened?

Here goes:

Thursday evening Melissa stopped by to return some dishes I had left at their place. She had had a rough couple of days so I told her to go get comfy and we'd have a glass of wine and watch Dancing with the Stars. Brad had a flag football game so it worked out quite perfectly. Stella's timing is impecable and decided in the middle of the show she needed to go outside. She did her business and I was headed for the "doggie bag" dispenser on the other side of the street. And like I've done a thousand times, I hopped up on the ledge that separates the yard from the sidewalk and as I did the ledge gave way and ended up landing on the back of my heel. Fifty pounds of concrete....boom.

I thought at first maybe it just landed funny and I had a sprained ankle so I told myself to just "walk it off, walk it off." But I couldn't walk. So I hobbled over to the parking lot and leaned up against a neighbors car then made the mistake of looking down. Lots of blood. Crap.

I knew our windows were open so I started yelling for Melissa. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I made it to the front of the apartment and started buzzing our door. By then a neighbor across the street came running over. Turns out her son saw the whole thing happen from his bedroom window and he got his mom out of the shower to come help me. The rest happened pretty fast and is a bit blurry. Brad was just around the corner and he rushed me to the hospital in Wiesbaden. We had no idea where to go and couldn't read any of the signs around the hospital so he followed an ambulance in and fortunately that worked.

I sat in a wheelchair in the emergency room waiting for Brad to park the car and a doctor that could speak English. Until then, I just sat in a hallway cursing myself for not learning German.

I was moved into a room where I managed to get up on one of those chair/bed things that they cover in butcher paper. I'm laying on my stomach and a nurse comes in to clean the wound. She removes the bandage that was there to stop the bleeding and as she does my darling husband goes "eeeoooohhhh!!!" That helped.

You know what's really funny? I was still thinking at this point that if they could just stitch me up real quick we could get home and still leave for Munich in the morning. Wrong. Several doctors came in to take a look. One told me I was very lucky that it missed my achilles tendon but the fact that he was looking at it was not good. My achilles and interior tendon were visable and it was not going to be possible to stitch it up like normal. It would need...dum dum dum....surgery. Lovely.

Then we played the waiting game. I stayed on the butcher paper table for 3 1/2 hours before they finally took me to the operating room (with zero pain medicine). And lucky me, operations on the foot are a tricky matter and local anesthesia wouldn't do the trick. The anesthesiologist told me to look on the bright side, I would know what it would feel like to have an epidural for down the road when I had a baby.

They had to give me a spinal block paralyzing the bottom half of my body before getting started. It took four attempts to find the right spot in my back. After he was finished I let him know that I would not be having children, thanks to him. Kidding, of course, but I wasn't at the time.

The surgery only took about 20 minutes and while I was awake for all of it, I didn't feel a thing. Being numb from your belly button down is a very bizarre feeling. The doctors moved me from the operating table to a bed and I didn't feel any of it. It was as if I was floating.

They had to keep an eye on me until the anesthesia started to wear off at which point I was moved into a room with another woman. I finally got to see Brad but only for a minute. By this point at had been 7 hours since we arrived and was now 4 am. I sent him home to take care of Stella and get some sleep. And that was that.

Morning came and I woke up to the most beautiful view of Wiesbaden. The room had big windows all the way across that opened up to a big balcony overlooking the city. I had breakfast in bed and someone else brought by newspapers. I wan't aware that I was staying at the W. Shnazzy.

Unfortunately, the pain medicine wore off and it was all downhill from there. I would have taken the epidural again if they'd let me. The main doctor came in to change the bandages and I don't think he realized where the wound was because he scooped up my foot grabbing my heel. I would have slapped him if I could have reached him. The pain medicine they were giving me was doing nothing. Brad finally had had enough and told them to give me something stronger. Needless to say, they decided to keep me for another night.

I woke up to much less pain and anxious to get home. They set me up with some crutches (which are much different than what we use in the States) and I was on my way.

I still can't put an ounce of pressure on it and there's the occasional bit of pain but it's so nice to be home. Brad made me blueberry pancakes for dinner and Stella is doing her part to keep me entertained.

So we may have missed out on Oktoberfest this year but that only means next year will be TWICE as fun!

Under the Tuscan Sun: La Parte Tre

"Buon giorno, Principessa!"

A quote from one of my all time favorite movies, Life is Beautiful. Or La vita è bella which is just ten times prettier to say. If you haven't seen it, watch it! And watch it in Italian with the English subtitles; it's just not the same dubbed over in English.

Every once in a while my husband starts my day off with a good "buon giorno, Principessa!" Our last day in Tuscany was one of those days.

We were up bright and early as we had a taxi picking us up at the hotel at 7:45 am. The train station is at the bottom of Cortona in Camucia and isn't all that far but we weren't about to haul our luggage along those ridiculously steep roads. Our driver was this sweet old man that pointed out every detail along the way. "Here they grow corn. Here they grow sunflowers. Here they grow tobacco...which is bad." And so on and so on. He actually stopped the car on the way down the hill and backed up just to rescue a small bird that was on the other side of the road. It was quite adorable. He even came inside the train station with us to make certain we got on the right train. Awwww.

So by now you've got to be wondering where we were headed. Lucky for us, Florence was only an hour away by train! And it was so easy. Hop on the train, hop off the train, store our luggage with the bag deposit place and we were off. Easy as pie.

Unfortunately, our map reading skills aren't quite up to par and we left the train station heading in the wrong direction. It should have tipped us off that EVERYone else was walking in the other direction but we'll chalk it up to it being early and that our espresso hadn't set in. We figured it out after a few blocks later and turned around.

We spent the morning sight-seeing and taking pictures....but after a few shots the camera battery died. That's right, I didn't charge the battery before I left. I can almost guarantee you that it won't happen again. Silly me. But here's what we got before the battery crashed:

We hadn't been in Florence all that long before the battery died and I was afraid we might miss something worth taking a picture of so we went in search of a disposable. Let me tell you something - disposable cameras were only cool when I was in high school and digital cameras were still too expensive. These days you just don't see people sporting the disposable camera because you look silly. And I did. The camera we found didn't even have a flash on it. Wind and click. Wind and click. That was it. It was honestly embarrassing and you can forget about having someone else taking a picture of the both of us. They would have laughed us right off that old bridge. So, like I said, I can guarantee that I will NEVER forget to charge the battery again.

We had lunch in a little trattoria. Pizza and a glass of wine. Perfection. Then spent the afternoon walking around. I bought the cutest little vintage looking shirt that says "Ciao bella" on it and another Christmas ornament. We just had to have gelato one last time....and I quickly discovered that was a bad idea. The place we picked piled a fist full of gelato onto a cone about the size of your thumb. It was sunny and windy which was the perfect storm for a complete mess. Note to self - creamy gelato belongs in a cup, not a cone.

By then our trip was just about over. We collected our luggage from the train station then boarded a bus to Pisa. Our flight left right on time which was great because we were VERY anxious to get home. Not because we were tired. Not even to see our sweet puppy, who wasn't getting picked up until the next morning. No, we were anxious to get back because we had missed the Oklahoma State / Georgia game and couldn't wait one second longer to see it! And boy was it worth it! Way to go Cowboys!!! It was the perfect end to a perfect vacation!

Ahhhh, la vita è bella.

Under the Tuscan Sun: La Parte Due

Sunday kicked off with another lovely breakfast at the hotel followed by a nice walk around town. We bought a few postcards and popped our heads in several little shops that sold interesting art, jewelry, antiques, etc. If we hadn't packed our little carry-ons to the brim, we might have considered buying something. Instead we settled for window shopping and our few postcards.

Giancarlo and Rita met us in the main piazza at 10:00 and we went straight to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the lunch Rita wanted to make us. We spent a few hours by the pool napping and soaking in a few more of those Tuscan rays.

We stuffed ourselves at lunch. Rita made gorgonzolla and spinach quesadillas that were to die for. I could have, rather SHOULD have stopped there but she also made pasta carbonara liked I'd never tasted. Whew! Makes me hungry just thinking about it. And what meal isn't complete without a little homemade limoncello?

Unfortunately, we had to say our goodbyes as they had plans for that evening. Giancarlo took us back to the hotel where we napped for about an hour (you know, because the day had been so strenuous and all). Most of the shops opened back up at 4:00 anyway so it worked out perfectly. Our first stop was into a wine shop to pick out a few wines to have shipped back to Germany. Brad and I are trying to build up our wine collection so we tasted several and picked out a couple of cases worth to have shipped home. Mmmmmmm, tasty! Brunello di Montalcino anyone?

Giancarlo had recommended Il Loggiato, a beautiful restaurant overlooking the main piazza, for dinner that evening. The owner of the wine shop, Marco, was a friend of Giancarlo's and called in a reservation for us which really paid off and you'll see why later. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the tiny streets and on a hunt for a Christmas ornament (that's what we've started collecting from each destination). Brad finally got to experience gelato the way it was meant to be. Sorry Germany, you can call it "gelato" but it's just not the same. We sat on the steps of the clock tower people watching and writing postcards for a bit. I wrote a few up on the terrace where Diane Lane sat in "Under the Tuscan Sun" just to say that I did it. I'm a nerd, I know this.

Then, it was finally time for dinner. There was only one table left outside that overlooked the square. Dang it! And wouldn't you know they didn't even have our names on the list. Grrrrr. Well that was because they had taken Marco's name by accident! Wooohoo for us! That last table belonged to the Binghams! So we had the perfect table with the perfect view. Now for the food and wine. We recognized several of the wines on the list from ones we had tasted in Marco's shop earlier that afternoon. Now here's something I love about Italy - the restaurants (at least the one's I've been to) don't overcharge on their wine. Wines we had picked out in the shop sold at the restaurant for only 3 or 4 euro more. Gotta love that. We started off with an antipasta of bruschetta. We didn't want to ruin our main course so we split the first course and had ravioli. Delish! Last but certainly not least, the main course - we both ordered steaks. Mine had a wonderful mushroom cream sauce and Brad's was topped with black truffles. Let me tell you, this place gives Bob's Steak and Chop House a run for their money. I'm talking "WOW!" You almost didn't even need a knife, it was so tender. Yum yum yum. Since we ate our ENTIRE steaks we could hardly think about dessert so we settled for some coffee and called it a night.

And that was the end of Sunday. Well, I'm tired and now hungry so I'll be back for the rest of the trip's details later.

Ciao!

Under the Tuscan Sun

Katherine: It's a nice little villa. Are you going to buy it?
Frances: The way my life is currently going, that would be a terrible idea.
Katherine: Terrible idea... Don't you just love those?
*From the movie Under the Tuscan Sun

I don't know what orginally attracted my Grandparents to visit Cortona. Maybe the book, maybe the movie but it's easy to understand why once they had experienced it, they wanted the family to experience it, as well. There's just something about that city that sets it apart from any other destination I've been. Since we stepped foot in Germany, I've been just itching to get Brad to Italy, especially Cortona.

We try to take advantage of every 3 day weekend we have so we knew that Labor Day would have to be something great. It was a long shot but I emailed our friend, Giancarlo, who lives in Cortona to see if he was busy that weekend and lucky for us, he was not. Giancarlo does tours all over Italy and is typically very busy doing trips with families, students, etc. so we were eccstatic we would have a chance to spend some time together.

We flew RyanAir (a super cheap airline, no frills, no fuss, just gets you from point A to point B) into Pisa and Giancarlo picked us up at the airport. Pisa is approximately a 2 hour drive to Cortona with weekend traffic. And we were in a hurry. A friend of Giancarlo's was hosting a dinner and showcasing 6 types of wine that evening. It was being held in the courtyard of an Etruscan museum just off the main piazza. And there were 2 seats left just for us. We knew we were going to be just a little late so we literally drove up to the hotel, put our bags in the lobby, checked in and we were off. No freshening up which I'm sure the people at our table really appreciated. So we were a little under-dressed and disheveled but that's not uncommon when you put American tourists up against well-to-do Italians. Fortunately, the people at our table were extremely nice! There was a couple from New Jersey and another from Chicago and both couples had bought homes in Cortona. Must be rough. The wine was fabulous! The setting was fabulous! Oh, forgot to mention there was a FULL moon that Giancarlo said he had arranged for our visit. The live band was fabulous! The food....well it was just meh (picture me shrugging my shoulders and tilting my head).

After dinner we took a tour of the Museum of Etruscan Acadamy. In the past few years, multiple Etruscan tombs have been uncovered (mostly by farmers) right there in Cortona so it's an exciting time for this region. The museum truly was fascinating but after several glasses of wine and the fact that it was almost midnight, we were anxious to get back to our hotel. We were staying at the same hotel my family stayed when we were there a few years ago. The Hotel San Michele is literally located right in the heart of Cortona and is simply beautiful. The building itself was built in the 15th century....now that's just cool. We got hosed a little when it came to the view but I guess that's what we get from booking on Hotels.com and paying a lot less than what we would have if we'd gone through the hotel. Ho hum.

But the story is just getting started. After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a beautiful Tuscan morning. I could tell it was beautiful from the itty bitty window above the toilet. Lovely. We ate our breakfast in the courtyard, went for a little walk and Giancarlo met us at 10:00 in the main piazza. We started off by going to the very top of the hill to see The Fortress. From here we had an incredible view of the city and the valley.

Next stop was the Church of Santa Margherita where you can view the body of Santa Margherita herself.

Then we drove to the Franciscan Convent where nuns and priests still live. Again, I've been here before but there really is something very spiritual about this place and I was happy to be back. Peaceful would be an understatement.

By this point Giancarlo was craving his daily cappuchino so we literally flew down the hill (you'd think that man drove a Ferrari and not a Dodge Caravan the way he drives) to the small town of Camucia at the bottom of Cortona. You can't even have a cup of coffee without it being a work of art... We also stopped off in a little shop to buy lottery tickets. Let me tell you, we had some pretty grand ideas on what to do with our 45 million euros when we won....starting with buying Giancarlo's house. :)

Next stop was Il Falconiere. I don't really know where to start with this place. The last time I was here, I spent a magical night with my family over great wine and great food. But I never thought I'd get to step foot there again. It's a little, well, out of our league. I'm pretty sure I saw George Clooney sitting by the pool. Ok, not really but I kid you not - he very well could have been.

We met the "mascot" of the place, Lila, the falcon that hangs out near the entrance. Had a nice tour of the brand new spa. Ummmm, wow. And said a quick hello to Silvia (one of the owners) before sitting down to a nice glass of wine with some delicious olives and capers. On our way out we ran into Ricardo, the other owner and husband to Silvia. He had a woman from Las Vegas with him who imports a bunch of their wine to one of the casinos there. I want her job.

We went a little off the beaten path and Giancarlo showed us where they are uncovering many Etruscan tombs. In this picture, you can see one tomb to the right of the stairs and two to the left. Absolutely fascinating! Twenty-four more were just found in the past few months not far from these. Maybe I should become an archeologist.

From here we made a quick stop by the grocery store for some fresh mozzarella, melon, and procuitto. The perfect lunch before spending the afternoon by the pool. However, I must say that I've turned into a snob when it comes to mozzarella and olive oil now. That cheap stuff I've been getting from the Commissary just won't cut it anymore.

We stayed by the pool for several hours soaking up all the sun we could get. Rita, Giancarlo's girlfriend, joined us late that afternoon and it was so nice to finally meet her. What a sweetheart!

The drive to Giancarlo's house

We decided we would all go to dinner at a new little restaurant in town. We didn't really want to go all the way back to our hotel so I turned my swimsuit coverup into a dress, borrowed a pashmina, and off we went. (Gotta love being under-dressed EVERY place we went.) We all ordered pizza and finished it off with one of the most fantastic desserts I've ever had. A chocolate truffle sitting in espresso. Woweee! The boys had a glass of Grappa to top it all off....makes my stomach turn just thinking about it.

And that was the end of the day. For your sanity and mine, I'm going to split the rest of the trip up into several posts. Stay tuned.

Ciao!

Wine Fest....Round 2

What's better than a Wine Festival? TWO Wine Festivals! And what's better than two wine festivals? Getting to enjoy it with my dear friend, Bethany!

Bethany came in town for a site inspection for an upcoming meeting in Frankfurt and it just worked out perfectly that she was able to spend a couple of days with us. Plus it finally gave us the motivation to get the guest bedroom completed (which it is so come visit us).

Brad, Tommy, and Melissa checked out the wine festivities on Saturday. I've turned into my mother (and Grandma, for that matter) and spent the evening ironing sheets, pillowcases, etc. and making sure our little guest room was comfy enough. Plus I only had a couple of days to spend with Bethany and her flight was scheduled to land at 6:00 am on Sunday morning....I needed my sleep.

Sunday was just beautiful. After breakfast we drove Bethany around Mainz (where we live) and Weisbaden (where we'd like to live). We stopped by a neighbor's barbecue for a bit before hopping on the trolley to head to the Wine Festival. Having experienced the Weisbaden Wine Festival the week before, I expected much of the same. To my surprise, the Mainz Festival blew the Weisbaden Festival out of the water! It was about 10 times as big!! Ok, so the wine didn't change much and left a little to be desired but we still managed to have a great time!

We were taken back in time when we went to order a pizza type dish from a woman who had just stepped out of the Medieval era. She was wearing a leather skirt that looked like she may have killed the cow herself to make it. From a distance I thought maybe she was just playing the part with her get-up. No, no. As we got closer I noticed her leg hair was a "tad" long and she had a bit of a dark mustache going. But that wasn't all. Almost in slow motion, she turned around to take a tray out of the wood burning oven and as she raised her arms.....well, I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

After enjoying a crepe with Nutella we called it a day. (I'm sure by now you're noticing a trend here.....I can't attend anything that ends with "Fest" without having a crepe with Nutella. I have zero self-control.)

Bethany and I spent Monday morning relaxing and being lazy. We took Stella for a long walk through the orchard and helped ourselves to some pears. We made the seviche style shrimp tacos for lunch and spent the afternoon chatting and relaxing. We finished the day at our favorite pub, Eva's. She couldn't come to our neck of the woods and not enjoy some schnitzel.

We dropped her off at her hotel in Frankfurt and said our goodbyes. Knowing I will see her again in about a month is a good feeling. I love always having something to look forward to!