Italy 2024 log

9/9/24
On Condor A330 about 2 hours from Frankfurt. We have been in the air for around 7 hours

On both long flights Condor had us all sitting together

 now. Aircraft is very smooth and quiet, so it has not been a bad trip so far, although it is tiring. We were apprehensive about Condor (I had never heard of them) but, so far, I am quite satisfied.
5:00pm - Now on Lufthansa flight to Rome. Walked all the way to Gate A26, only to find out there was a change to A52. It was a LOT of walking! At A52 we ran into Moreno, Chiara, and Isotta! They are on their way home from Orlando and will be on the same flight as us. What a coincidence and pleasant surprise! We also got to meet Isotta's husband, Federico, and her son, Umberto.  Isotta is all grown up now and I didn't even recognize her at first.  We are all pretty whipped, but there is more to come before we're done. Customs, baggage, rental car, etc. It will be nice to settle in for the night before driving to Roccalbegna.
(note) It was interesting when we arrived in Rome.  No customs, no bag checks, no declarations - nothing.  Just grab your luggage and leave.  Bill and Max were disappointed they didn't get a stamp in their passport.

9/10/24
We had a nice breakfast at the Corsi and then drove to Roccalbegna via Scansano, as I thought that might make for a scenic drive.  It was a narrow, rough road - big mistake! Andrea was

Max, Bill, and I at the site.  3 generations honoring the 4th.

waiting for us outside his house when we arrived! I introduced Bill and Max to Andrea, Mario, Massimo, Eugenia and Rosy. Nice lunch with Andrea and Rosy. Now getting ready to head to the crash site. Bill and Max are doing well, although Bill's shoulder is hurting a lot for unknown reasons.
Maddalena - granddaughter of crash witness.  She was waiting for us when we arrived at the little road to the crash site.  Apparently she and Andrea pre-arranged this so she could translate for us.
7:30pm - Andrea took Bill, Max, and me to the crash site where we

Andrea, Rosy, and Maddalena

 discussed what we are going to do. Bill then used Andrea's metal detector and found a few fragments. We then went to Andrea's property way up in the hills where we now plan to put the original monument one day. Then we stopped and bought 2 bags of cement and finally headed over to our little property. Now we are back at the house and soon will all go to LaGrotta for dinner at 8pm. Busy day - still tired and a bit jet-lagged.

9/11/24
Another busy day! We got up at 7:00am, met Andrea at 8:00am and drove to the crash site where we met Maddalena again. I forgot to bring the new plaque, so I drove back to the apartment while Bill broke up the old monument and Andrea dug a new hole. Then Bill cemented it all

Bill and Max prepare to install the new monument

together. We later went to Moreno's for lunch at 1:00pm. It was a great lunch and a nice time to see Moreno and Chiara again. They have renovated their house and grounds and it is beautiful! So much stone work.

(forgot) After morning work at the monument we drove up to the fort. Bill, Max, and Andrea walked back on the short trail while I returned the car to the back parking lot.
After Moreno's we came back to the apartment and rested a bit. Then, at Max's insistence, we returned to the crash site and cleaned things up. The monument looks good now and we hope it remains there for a long time.
Beatrice just came by the apartment for a visit! It was really great seeing her again and she said she will be back on Saturday.
It's now 7:00pm and we are planning dinner with Rosy and Andrea at 8:00. Bill and Max are upstairs resting.
10:00pm Went walking with Rosy and Andrea. Went to chapel on the hill and down a few alleys. Came across some guys at Cantina. Nice bunch. They offered us food and drink. Now we are back at the apartment and ready to shower and go to bed.

The replacement monument

9/12/24
Bill, Max, and I went to the bar for coffee. The attendant seemed a little bit impatient, but we finally got the order done. Then we came back to the apartment for a bit. Now Bill and Max have gone on a hike with Andrea. Teddie and I are going to do some food shopping.
Saw Pierpaolo at store - nice fellow and he remembered us.
When Bill and Max returned we went for a walk around the village.
(later) Andrea and Maddalena took us on a walk below Roccalbegna where Germans attacked the villagers in June, 1944. The areas down by the river were beautiful, but the memories were painful. It was a difficult walk for me but I'm very glad I went. Bill and Max said this walk was much easier than the one they went on this morning.
Soon we leave for Murci for pizza with Rosy and Andrea. For sure, I will have to go on a diet when I get home!
 

Great time with great friends!

10:20pm Just returned from Murci Pizza. Very nice time. Francesca is in town and it was good to see her again. She and Max got along well - same age group. Bill drove back and did well, as Teddie had no complaints. Teddie and I are getting ready for bed while Bill and Max have gone to LaGrotta to watch the band practice.

9/13/24
Went to Moreno's at 9:00am to take a group picture before they left for Rome. Was good to see them again, but we don't know when/if we will see them again. Then we drove to Montalcino and wandered around for a while and had lunch at the place we usually do. Eventually we left and Bill drove us home. Right now Teddie is napping and I'm not sure if Bill and Max are upstairs or outside. At 7:30pm we will meet Massimo and Violetta at the restaurant down the street.
10:00pm Just returned from dinner - a very good time! Bill and Violetta chatted via Google Translate while Massimo and I did pretty much the same. I tried to pay the bill but Violetta would not have it.
Tomorrow - busy day! We start by meeting Zoe at the bar at 10:00am.

9/14/24
Festival tonight! Bill, Max, and I went to the bar this morning for coffee. Bill had his usual - 3 expressos! Now (9:00am) they have left for Arcidosso to see if

Rosy, Beatrice, Zoe, Max, Bill, Francesca, Linda

 they can buy some clothes. They will miss Zoe at 10:00am but will see her later.
Weather today (so far) is cool with blue skies.
Saw Anna at the bar this morning - she is always friendly to us.
10:30am Zoe was here and it was great seeing her again! She looks healthy and happy and is keeping busy, as usual. She offered to translate at the ceremony today, but does not know if she will be needed.
Less than 4 hours to go before the ceremony and I have only a vague idea of what I will say. Best to just go with the moment and speak from the heart.
1:30pm Bill and Max made it back OK. They had a good time exploring Arcidosso and each returned wearing an "ITALY" hat. Now Bill is taking a nap and Max has left to walk around the village.
10:30pm I'm back from the festival at the piazza, but Teddie and Max are still there. I think Bill is upstairs in bed. We saw a lot of people we know and it was enjoyable. The difficult part was saying our good-byes as some we will never see again.
 

After the City Hall ceremony

(late) The ceremony went well. It was held in the City Council chamber which was packed. The mayor gave a long talk and then they had me speak. Zoe translated - I just expressed my gratitude and talked briefly about the three generations placing the monument and how well everyone has treated us and that seemed to suffice.
Zoe's sister, Linda, came by the piazza and we enjoyed chatting with her. It has been a long time since we last saw her.
Bill, Max, Teddie and I joined the procession at the end. Then the band played. This is such a great place to be!

9/15/24
The festival was great, as usual. The balloons went well and the band played on. Later the hired band played, people danced, and wine, soda, sandwiches, and treats flowed freely. Ariberto called me over when they were launching the balloons to show me that they had created an American flag on one of them! We

Teddie greets Luciano while Maddalena looks on

 saw Vito at the festival, but I couldn't find him again when I wanted to introduce him to Bill and Max. Bill wound up turning in early, but Teddie and I stayed for a while and Max was the last one home.
This morning Bill and I went to the bar for coffee. We met a gentleman who is buying a house in Roccalbegna and some property over near Mt. Labbro.
Yesterday Bill and Max went to the top of Mt. Labbro. This morning they have gone to Arcidoso again. This afternoon we all plan to drop by the crash site and then the property. This evening we are having dinner in Santa Caterina with Andrea and Rosy.
 

They even made an American flag for us on one of the balloons!

10:15am Beatrice and Peter dropped by to have me autograph a couple of books. Then they were off on their e-bikes. Always so difficult to say goodbye to dear friends!
3:15pm We have just returned from the crash site. We sat and relaxed while Bill worked the metal detector. He found a few small fragments plus a .50 bullet.
(earlier) Francesca and Rosy's brother, Gianpaolo, dropped by to say goodbye as they were leaving to drive home (4 hours). Frencesca is such a nice person and it was good seeing her and Max hang out together.
On the way back from the crash site we drove through Valerona.
Violetta came by and had a little present for each of us.  It was so nice of her to think of us and go to the trouble of preparing gifts. 

9/16/24
Dinner in Santa Caterina last night was nice. Teddie, Bill, Max, Maddalena,

More good times with good friends

Luciano, Andrea, Rosy, and I. Teddie wore the scarf that she received from Violetta.  When it was done I was stuffed. And, it was a good time!  Maddalena gave us a jar of honey and we will share that with Bill and Max when we get home.
This morning Bill, Max, and I went to the bar for our early coffee. We will go to the school at 11:00am and plan to leave here around 1:00pm. It will be a long drive to the Corsi and then some rest before going to Stefania's. Hard to believe we are leaving already, but despite the wonderful time here I think we are all looking forward to being home again.
10:05am Violetta came by to say goodbye. She and Teddie were quite emotional, as it is always difficult to leave good friends. Violetta even brought a sheet with English translations of what she wanted to say.  She is such a sweet person.

Now we are doing some cleaning and packing and will head to the school in 45 minutes.

The school experience was fantastic.  The Mayor was there, as was Andrea.  Two very nice women introduced us to the kids, and then the kids sang a song

Children of the school of Roccalbegna

 about my visit and my father's crash.  Following that we gave out memorial coins to each of the children.  Then they gave us copies of a small book they had published that had pictures drawn by the children explaining my reason for visiting.  Also, they gave us copies of a book that told the history of Roccalbegna from 1941 to 1944.  There was a chapter at the end explaining my visits and including several pictures of documents relating to the incident, along with a picture of my father and his mother.  It was

After the meeting at the school

a heartwarming experience, to say the least.  Following that we went outside for snacks and pictures.  The school of Roccalbegna is a very special place to me.

9/17/24
Going home! We are now at FCO awaiting our flight to Frankfurt. We arrived around 7:00am and have a 10:05am flight. The gate has not yet been assigned (08:45am). This airport is huge and modern.
After leaving Roccalbegna yesterday I drove us to the Corsi Hotel.  Then, later in the evening,  Bill drove us into Rome where we met Stefania and her husband, Andrea. They live in a very nice apartment and we enjoyed a great Italian dinner. Also, there were neighbors there as well. The road there and back was much more docile than I expected, and Bill did good with the driving.
11:00am Now on Condor flight to Seattle. It's a 10+ hour flight and we're about

Central courtyard of Stefania's apartment

 halfway there - looong flight! The plane change in Frankfurt was a little difficult. We had to walk down a very long tunnel area and take a couple of elevators to get to our gate. It's the fastest I've seen Teddie walk in a long time! They were starting boarding when we got there, and then we sat on the plane for about an hour before we took off. As expected, this is a long day!

Condor Airlines. Funny striped paint job. I had never heard of them and reviews were mixed, but they are fine. A330, great entertainment system, friendly folks, good price - I was quite satisfied.
We are anxious to get home and see Chico and Ginger, although they are going to need some "retraining". Apparently they have been having multiple "accidents" every day.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip.  We managed to replace the monument, meet with the school children, attend the festival, and, most importantly, visit our friends that we have not seen in five years.  Receiving Honorary Citizenship was an awesome bonus.  It was a relatively brief trip, but we had to get back so Bill could return to work and Max could attend his Coast Guard drill.  I am hoping we will be able to return one day, and that Bill and Max decide to go back some time in the future.

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