Wine and Water and a Balcony
Here's a token picture of the Jazzman and me. I think this is one of only two photos I have of us together on this trip. I felt I needed to post it so you wouldn't think I was making up this whole account!
We departed Bologna this morning en route to Verona. Our first stop would be a winery. But this was not just any winery. This winery is owned by descendants of Dante Alighieri! Talk about roots!!
We arrived at the Serego Alighieri winery in the late morning and strolled in some of their fields until the appointed time for our tour. Dante's son purchased the property in 1353, and 21 generations of Alighieris have worked these vineyards. Once inside the estate, we were greeted by our tour guide: an exuberant young woman who spoke flawless English with a beautiful Italian accent. She showed us the room where the vats stood, some in cherry wood, some in oak, and some in stainless steel. The smell of the red wine was so strong I left the room to stand in the hallway and study the old photographs of the estate. (Photo on right: Outside the main gate to the estate, poppies stand by an ancient rock wall. I fell in love with poppies during my summer in France, and whenever I see them, I'm 21 again.)
Leaving the area, we walked through the gift shop, then out into the gardens of the villa. Can you say exquisitely beautiful?! The crisp temperatures, the blue skies—everything fit together to create picture-perfect day.
After enjoying the gardens and taking a tour group photo, we moved into the drying room where the grapes are brought from the harvest.
We saw old hand-crafted drying racks, old farm implements, old buildings—many signs of a business and lifestyle that has been around for ages. And we learned so much about the production of wine. In the right-hand photo below, you can just see a rose bush at the end of each row. The grapes are very temperamental and delicate. But the roses are more delicate. If a rose bush is failing, that means there's trouble in the soil beneath, and immediate care must be taken to protect the vines.
Another feature here that took me back to that long ago summer in France was the hedges of boxwood. The summer I lived and studied in Fontainebleau was my first introduction to boxwood, with its distinctive smell. Each time I smell it, I'm instantly transported back to France.
This estate was truly gorgeous. Despite the back-breaking work, one looks at the environment and thinks how lucky those vine-workers are to be there.
After our tour, we enjoyed lunch and wine tasting. And guess what—Serego Alighieri is also a Bed & Breakfast! Want an elegant, intimate destination wedding? Wow, would this be the place! There is just an air of serenity surrounding this lovely estate.
The visit to Serego Alighieri, for me, would have made the day complete, but we had miles to go and places to see. Although not on the tour's itinerary, a number of our tour companions had expressed to the tour director an interest in seeing Lake Garda, located in the lakes district of northern Italy. We would be passing not too far away from the lake, and our schedule had enough flexibility that day that we could fit in a side trip. While we were enjoying our lunch at Serego Alighieri, the tour director made some phone calls and arranged a visit to the town of Sirmione—"The first traces of human presence in the area of Sirmione dates from the 6th-5th millennia BCE"! Those in our group who wanted to take a boat ride out on the lake could do so for an extra fee of only 5€!
Sirmione is slightly touristy, but entirely charming. The Jazzman and I opted for the boat ride, and I loved every moment. The boat, a large wooden inboard that seated about eight passengers, reminded me of the boat we had when I was growing up on Lake Maitland in Florida. The views from the boat were charming. It was such a nice way to spend half an hour.
Back on land, we walked the small lanes of the town, window-shopping and then stopping for beer and gelato. All too soon it was time to reboard the bus to continue on to Verona.
In Verona, we stayed at Hotel Mastino, on Corso Porta Nuova, not far from the Teatro Romano. Where the previous hotels had been both adequate and nice (while the hotel in Santa Margherita was somewhat cramped), I would say that almost to a person the group didn't like this hotel. It was on a main street in the center of the tourist area of the city, and the Jazzman's and my window was directly over the local McDonald's. Can you say NOISE!? And "somewhat cramped" would have been luxurious compared to this! In the shower, one had to back out into the bathroom to turn around! While we would gladly have sacrificed convenience for a more spacious, quieter hotel, some disputes are just not worth the aggravation. So we vowed to spend as much time out of the hotel as possible. (Hey, maybe that was the tour company's or the hotel's objective when signing this contract!)
Once we had our bags and were settled into our rooms, our tour director took us on a short walking tour of the old town area to orient us and give us the knowledge to take off on our own walking tours. After an hour or so of walking and gawking, our group of fifteen ended up in one of the caffès with outdoor tables along the Piazza delle Erbe, where we ate and drank and ushered in our first evening in Verona in preparation for our last full day in Italy.
Oh, the balcony in today's title? Sorry, I lied. I never saw Juliet's balcony. But then, it's not the real balcony and has just been touristed up to bring in the Euros, so I guess I didn't miss anything. One of our friends took a picture of me leaning out our hotel room balcony as the Jazzman called up to me from the patio outside McDonald's. "Romeo, Romeo …"
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