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Italy 2007 Day One

I left for Italy from JFK Tuesday evening and landed in Milan on Wednesday morning. From there I was supposed to catch a short connecting flight to Pisa where I would be met by my parents. Because of technicalities with frequent flyer miles and work schedules, Scott and I did not take the same flight. As it turned out, my flight to Pisa was cancelled and I was booked on the next flight which was five hours later. So, I spent the bulk of day one in the Milan airport. When I finally arrived in Pisa, Scott, my parents and I all piled into the rented Renault and headed for Coreglia, my father’s hometown in Tuscany.

We’re staying at Villa La Penna, a three story house with breathtaking views, a beautiful garden and a pool. It’s like something out of a Merchant Ivory film. One could not ask for a more beautiful vacation setting. The place is owned and run by a gay couple, Leonardo and Leonardo, or gli Leonardi as we call them (The Leonardo’s) in Italian. My sister discovered the place last year and somehow managed to find the only two gay men in this hilltop village. They are of the Martha Stewart variety. The house has been painstakingly renovated, painted, furnished and landscaped mainly by one of gli Leonardi who is also a furniture restorer trained in Florence. The place is full of antiques typical of the region, some which have been in the house for a 100 years. Gli Leonardi are very friendly and happy to have people enjoying their beautiful villa. Unfortunately they don’t speak any English so communication without my father as interpreter is challenging. Nevertheless, they have been nothing but gracious and accommodating since our arrival last week.

Below are pictures of La Penna’s front door, the garden with its breathtaking view and pool just outside our bedroom window.

Labels: European Travel

posted by Michael @ 4:09 AM