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texasdago

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Posts posted by texasdago

  1. Found a small agriturismo in the hills past Riolo Terme in Emilia Romagna... 2 bedroom apartment (they had 10 apartments total) with an exceptional restaurant, a pool, hot tub and this view.  Was about 180 Euro a night for four of us.  Set in the middle of a Regional Park (akin to a state park) with lots of hiking and easy access to wineries and views for miles... ahem... kilometers.

    PD6VQVXFTzjf7D28Kkmuerc-RS7uASJM_MJb8xXSBBCVWLPyfCt7NNnzgaPjqeS38dV24XQuEzchiEXIG9ecZRX88pjlD7POAcvlsOY66qOsCZ9v2PVpo8Hqe0JLUfmVlmRwHcULZYrggjaaOZxFWPL_OXzXlT3zanfyR0TB9yzF7i6jg7Qx0RhLj75zL8bWcs0b5f38g3wSEEr_s3qbUVpVyfFEtsgxjjfapgOjm1dffVkHOlJmblrE4a-ZxQ5xI8iZRDIQVe2jvZJ3IeQzwUuvTn4Oj-RWSoZGhVOu1JodN8Mpu_07L7W_HRhVXhLnVB3ck9H2828qeFmWuqQo18o8mULsO0q3HS7KjNGO8o8yPKbS5gR4_vxcua1jd1c5TKG3G2KnblEUASNCpIwQe3-LxWd200B5ZstO2YOE0qq5ajqE1P3t_t25RVftZcMtbmqSQUZg_OJ2FKbu-yOobgMRgUBiHZeSeG1Su7T3M0qQEykYgk4TokheApX5-ZcHmPyxXDjs7KutFXpuVhoVnNYrjpDXtWV8wAV90JU-JCge2GvXmg9R_XY8-j3shoShxU3fMm-w-NfJ-Tm7M1xl1NyBzxtvMEwV9AwksiTyqYknuKNqahyCQ-Tnho3D6BwZIOWNJ3tkV9sd57xw6jpdu_NKiWkFzyAdqKokT0Tj0RfiYsjKFiSvQ8k4oszvalPs4efsNjDZgdbVtN_uF8KUeaF-hTURfq_sdHp3vtgsZLLG9qEwXRbSvZ4HxjIxN-Q=w1605-h903-no?authuser=0

    mrJBLALfs5nG1JKRHLmA1ZsaEaUlI0yGE4BRyhqbkkCsMouoVrl8Vo1yI2MhfGeTVdM7QV1Om2NaJlu2jA_r32v__7wrWegpIRCNVVpqh_J_q9mX1QoCudfokxwAavkDIVDQIaEFOKOyVGS3iQ2NBjTAm2sdUDCVlat6xF_a3QKQ_716oMrKthan-_96yGLXP0ZiMylk6c_9AuP524Xb-ofwQOnRhg1JHn03aRL1e7lOfZbtoyzT6LREq6seWgPH1uNGPjhwc7blMOq5WHdavj9EInmVeadEGedt5zYgJmaEbWX6lqk_NnHRmCTGD-jFbXkEtCew2pMhN-9o53dxkpCN-25IJG_xS3djxrA6vez_73XwiNQpXYZ6VvukKczYA8apRqq-z8mIoNSfbb7yApRuN5aZ6qldwZ98rIu7-TtoC9di6rnuMMr5e065Vdr3Vlfy8n_DnpA74oHeHOqbVjabGQp8YYtH3TgzpXklfOwurQjSRxd8v6I1pIM6cenW3ubzT3hsSKA8On2Mw9UR1wwOzBF_guwO9joKxEs30gVMalWK6zk3t92m0xr_tztE6rR6Edms6REKqvzJbiLNza7R5KL7UaUaTw3unVwj3w6vLTT6lK9fAXgKrohOlpCN9Ww1PbBoO8uDRL6dNPWFl9Q7SOS8thbKiX3x6MRlvk8VcOI03PZ-9HzPqRGI0OpaSqdkGcrnTXYiUVv6guJyD4dXtzdgPyxQWBaMAGNO9F9nHA1v9ZfbROJUGN7Wjyk=w1605-h903-no?authuser=0

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  2. 42 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

    I keep hearing mention of "heat wave" here. This isn't a wave. Waves come and go. It's just been a +10 degree hotter summer. 

    Yup - this is historically unprecedented at least since we've been able to use modern instrumentation to record the temperature.  Its really screwed up.

  3. Came back from Italy with 8 bottles of wine... nothing mind-bottilng or expensive per se but all from small wineries in Romagna so wines that would be hard to find here.  Lots of good Rebola, Sangiovese, Famoso and other local wines being made in the hills in the province of Rimini plus we also stopped by a couple in the hills outside of Castel Bolognese.  

    A sample of some of the wineries we visited...

    https://en.aziendalacasetta.it/ 

    https://vinidellangelo.it/

    https://www.sangiovesa.it/lazienda-agricola/

    Also have gotten to know this winemaker https://www.santaluciavinery.it/ and we had a long conversation with some of the great wines from https://www.instagram.com/agricolaimuretti/?hl=it

    We also had a chance to go to a local wine festival where tasting were 3 Euro a taste but each taste was basically a glass of wine.  There were 26 wineries and each one would have 3-5 wines available to try.  This was the fourth year we had attended the event and it keeps growing.

    https://www.romagnaatavola.it/it/eventi/p-assaggi-di-vino-rimini-ponte-di-tiberio/

     

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  4. 17 hours ago, elfenix said:

    a tourist fell into vesuvius, sorrento banned topless tourists, and draghi tried to resign.  not sure which is more important.  tourist lived. 

    At least the tourist was taking a selfie so that should be moved over to the "positive news" column.

    On a fun note, RyanAir on strike on Sunday, the 17th:

     

    https://www.ecodibergamo.it/stories/Cronaca/confermato-lo-sciopero-di-ryanair-in-italia-per-domenica-17-luglio-i-consumator_1433683_11/

    Taxi strikes also spreading in Italy although we didn't see any issues as recently as the 13th while in Bologna.  Not sure how this evolves.  In part, taxis are pissed about Uber but aren't they always?

    https://www.today.it/attualita/sciopero-estremo-dei-taxi-ormai-sono-introvabili-in-tutta-italia.html

  5. 26 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

    So uh, the Italian government is freaking out right now.  Hope that isn't a long term issue.

    Yeah, they do that every-once-in-a-while.  It's an "always" issue.  Are you worried about it impacting part of your trip?

  6. Just posted this on the Vacationing in Times of Covid thread.  Ask any Italy questions and I'll answer what I can...

     

    Flew Air Dolomiti yesterday which is owned by Lufthansa and they required masks.  Part of the rule has to do with German law and I believe Italian law requires it on public transportation.  I wore a KN95... honestly didn't bother me much.  I was more bothered by the guy sitting diagonally from my wife who coughed most of the 11 hour flight from Munich while wearing his mask on his chin.

    So... based on very recent experience...

    Italian airports handling things relatively well right now since the govt propped them up and they didn't lose as much airport staff

    Munich apparently runs better than Frankfurt.  We didn't have many issues other than some reasonable delays and the upside of Munich is they don't make you go back through security if you connect through.  Frankfurt makes you go through another security check and is generally not as well laid out.

    Smaller airports seems to be weathering the storm.  Bologna, where we fly in and out, has 14 gates... while the airport is in general a cluster, it was not the same kind of cluster as most other European airports.  Friend who is a pilot with RyanAir in Poland told me that smaller airports are doing OK.  Its big massive hubs that are taking a beating with LHR and AMS leading the charge.

    We got lucky - not lost bags.  We only checked one on the way there (packed all of our clothes in roller bags) and then checked four on the way back since we had a bunch of wine and we just didn't care as much.  Had a Tile on one bag and it allowed us to see where the bags were located.  United's app is also good about showing you where the bags are in the journey.  

    Our rental car was expensive but it was there so I can't complain.  We drove a lot but maybe used up just barely over a tank of gas.  At $8.00/gallon of diesel, having a car that sipped rather than glugged was helpful.  

    We were in areas frequented primarily by Italians and heard maybe a dozen Americans total... otherwise some Germans and other northern Europeans.  We were outside 95% of the time so I think we missed Covid but we have plenty of friends who caught it in the past few weeks while in Europe.

    All in all, we were super lucky and I should go play the lottery.

  7. Flew Air Dolomiti yesterday which is owned by Lufthansa and they required masks.  Part of the rule has to do with German law and I believe Italian law requires it on public transportation.  I wore a KN95... honestly didn't bother me much.  I was more bothered by the guy sitting diagonally from my wife who coughed most of the 11 hour flight from Munich while wearing his mask on his chin.

    So... based on very recent experience...

    Italian airports handling things relatively well right now since the govt propped them up and they didn't lose as much airport staff

    Munich apparently runs better than Frankfurt.  We didn't have many issues other than some reasonable delays and the upside of Munich is they don't make you go back through security if you connect through.  Frankfurt makes you go through another security check and is generally not as well laid out.

    Smaller airports seems to be weathering the storm.  Bologna, where we fly in and out, has 14 gates... while the airport is in general a cluster, it was not the same kind of cluster as most other European airports.  Friend who is a pilot with RyanAir in Poland told me that smaller airports are doing OK.  Its big massive hubs that are taking a beating with LHR and AMS leading the charge.

    We got lucky - not lost bags.  We only checked one on the way there (packed all of our clothes in roller bags) and then checked four on the way back since we had a bunch of wine and we just didn't care as much.  Had a Tile on one bag and it allowed us to see where the bags were located.  United's app is also good about showing you where the bags are in the journey.  

    Our rental car was expensive but it was there so I can't complain.  We drove a lot but maybe used up just barely over a tank of gas.  At $8.00/gallon of diesel, having a car that sipped rather than glugged was helpful.  

    We were in areas frequented primarily by Italians and heard maybe a dozen Americans total... otherwise some Germans and other northern Europeans.  We were outside 95% of the time so I think we missed Covid but we have plenty of friends who caught it in the past few weeks while in Europe.

    All in all, we were super lucky and I should go play the lottery.

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  8. 8 minutes ago, kevwun said:

    Do yourself a favor and don't look at the forecast for next weekend.  We are all going to melt by August.

    I can guess what it says.  The good news is my sprinkler system decided to not work so I got that going for me.  

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