For those of you who have not met Steve and Diane Linke, they are our good friends from San Diego. In fact, Anna and Diane are best friends and have been for over twenty years. This was their first trip to Italy and they brought along their three children (Ryan (5), Vanessa (3) and Gabriella (2)). This of course was a particular treat for Trey and Olivia who had been waiting patiently for many weeks for their arrival.
When the five kids are together, an interesting dynamic takes shape. Trey becomes not only the elder statesman of the group but also in many ways the leader, a role that he seldom assumes. Ryan is very much like Trey and looks up to him. You could lock the two of them in a room with a bucket of Legos and their DS video games for days and all that would be required is that you shove some food under the door once and a while! Ryan’s younger sister Vanessa (3) seems to have a crush on Trey and follows him around most everywhere. As Anna says “She’s smitten”! Olivia loves to mother little girls and adored having Gabriella around for the nine days that the Linkes visited us. It’s so cute to see Livy, taking care of “Gabs” as they call her. Its like she has her own personal little baby doll with her.
Getting adjusted to the time change is always difficult when coming to Europe. It takes me about five days personally to get into a normal sleeping pattern. For the Linkes it was just as difficult especially with three little children. This of course can cause you to get a slow start to your holiday. Once they settled in, they did some damage when it came to site seeing, visiting the Uffizi Gallery and seeing The David in Florence, while also visiting Sienna, San Gimignano, Pisa, Lucca and The Cinque Terra!
Steve shares with me the passion of photography as a hobby and he could not have come to Tuscany at a better time. Spring was at its peak and the weather was absolutely ideal for photo taking and he ate it up.
I have a feeling that Anna and Diane wished that they could have had a bit more one on one time together, but with so much to see and so little time, they settled for what they could get, taking advantage of the “Boys Night Out” when Trey, Steve and I went to the Fiorentina game by knocking down a bottle of wine after getting the kids to bed early!
Of course, as all of our guests will attest, the castle was one of the highlights for the Linkes as was the many great meals that we were able to enjoy together.
We managed to make our way up the coast to Carrara (Where we had visited with Anna’s folks as well) and this time were able to enter the caves for a tour of how the marble is mined in this region, a fascinating experience. One of my “Highlight moments” was when Steve and I zipped around on our motorinos for a photo shoot of the city. This included Steve convincing me to climb “Giotto’s Bell Tower” with him. I had not yet scoured the bell towers 417 steps and upon arrival at the top I was mesmerized by the awesome view of the city. The bell tower is a part of the Church of Santa Maria Di Fiori (What you may think of as the Duomo) and runs adjacent to the giant Cupola (Dome) that is so famous the world over. The photos tell it all!
The best time of all was the day before the Linkes left for Venice. We were invited by a friend of ours (Massimiliano, one of the guys that I ran in the half marathon with) to come to his villa in the countryside for lunch. Many Italians own country villas where they escape the heat and the crowd of the city during tourist season. It’s such an advantage to only be only 30 minutes from the rolling countryside where you can take advantage of your second home each weekend. Massimiliano is the owner of La Vecchia Bettola our favorite local restaurant, and where we had Anna’s surprise birthday party.
I know that the Linkes were a bit nervous as to what to expect, not having been to a country house in Italy before and not wanting to impose with their three children. As it turned out the situation could not have been better. We made the 30 minute drive through the Tuscan back roads to an area called San Cascano. San Cascano is a part of chianti and checkered with wineries through its rolling countryside.
The country house is on a large parcel of land that I would estimate spans three acres and is complete with five horses, a swimming pool, a small ATV for the kids to ride and a veranda coming off the main level of the house that boasts 180 degree views of the Tuscan hills. The view was our backdrop for what amounted to a four hour lunch in paradise. In total there were five families and about thirty people invited to the villa that day, making for one of the more memorable Sundays since we arrived. The kids had a blast playing with each other and us adults enjoyed taking in the views while drinking wine, eating fresh asparagus, prosciutto, grilled egg plant, raw shrimp and mussels in tomato broth. All this of course was in the company of good people which always makes the food taste even better!
The best part was that it was the highlight of the Linkes time with us. So many people come to Florence and Tuscany each year as tourists to see its sights, but so few ever get a chance to have a long meal in the countryside with Italian families while enjoying each others company. Its an experience that stays with you for ever, making you wonder why we don’t live life this way in America.
Following is an interview with Steve and Diane Linke…
An interview with Steve and Diane Linke –
Q1: Two words: The castle…
S&DA: “The castle was more than I expected and to your point, you can’t put into pictures or words what the castle is like. The surrounding and large properties around it make it so special. It has so much character. Ryan (My son) thinks that it’s really cool! It’s just so unbelievable, no words can describe it.”
Q2: You have managed to see a lot of Italy in the past nine days. What are some of the highlights?
S&DA: “The top of the list has to be yesterday (The villa in Tuscany for lunch with Italian people). The whole experience of going to a villa for lunch, relaxing and taking in the views of the countryside was indescribable. It all ties into our best dinner experience as well at La Vecchia Bettola, for the same reason, the warmth of the people. We loved the Cinque Terra, it was so beautiful taking the boat from village to village.”
Q3: Thus far what about Italy has surprised you the most?
S&DA: “The cost of gas! The geography really surprised me as well. It was so beautiful and everywhere you turn there is so much beauty. It’s so green and wooded.”
Q4: Diane, as Anna’s best friend, you have had a lot of discussions with her regarding her love for Italy and not wanting to go home. Now that you have been here, do you understand her sentiments?
DA: “Absolutely! I don’t want to leave! I’m just worried that she’s going to be really depressed and will have a tough time relating to people in the states.”
Q5: Steve, you have played soccer your whole life, including to this day. How was your experience going to an important Italian soccer match?
SA: “I think there is nothing like it in the US. The crowds and the enthusiasm for national pride was intense. I’ve never been at a sporting event that had so much emotion and enthusiasm behind one team. It even exceeded when the Chargers were in the Super Bowl. Even after they lost, the crowd applauded their team. The emotion was intense. One of the additional highlights was riding on the motorino through the city at night to and from the game. It was really cool.”
Q6: Do you think that you will return to Italy some day?
S&DA: “Next year when we come to visit you!”
Q7: Diane, describe your time with your best friend after not having seen her that much in the past year?
DA: “I feel like Anna is in her element here. She seems so happy and comfortable. She’s more open and welcoming to people here. I can’t believe how well she speaks Italian.”
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