Day 13: So good we pee our pants

Welcome to Day 13 - the day where all the excitement catches up to everyone and we all just want a chill day.  I don't really remember what that heck happened in the morning but I do know that this is the day we pretty much all pitched in and cooked an amazing little meal out of what we could find around the kitchens for lunch.  It was so much fun to be cooking side by side with my Dad and my brother and friends in Italy!  This was also when I re-affirmed that I want to start a little herb garden at home.  Having giant pots of fresh herbs outside the door made me down right giddy!  And Shannon cut up a bunch to make a scrumptious dipping sauce for the bread that disappeared in no time.  It was so fragrant.

The day was a bit drizzly and overcast which was sort of perfect for the mood everyone seemed to be in.  Dan and I wandered around and snapped a bunch of pictures of the villa and the grounds since we hadn't had a chance to yet.  At some point our friend Brian decided he wanted to stay at the villa one more night with us and he would catch the train in the morning to catch his flight the next day in Florence.  Shannon said she would travel with him becasue she would like to spend a day in Florence before heading home.  So they get on the computer to look at train times for the morning.  When it cleared up a bit Dan and I got back in our wedding "gear" and headed outside for a round of totally fun shots with Shannon!  I just love playing pretty princess dress up!  And, the villa grounds were so amazing that I was stoked to get some gorgeous photos there.  My Mom of course was all like "You'll ruin your dress in that wet grass" and I was totally like "Nuh UH!" and she was like "Whatevs, punk."  Really, that's how we talk to each other.

Later that day Ryan and Carrie wanted to head up to Montalcino becasue we were so close and Carrie hadn't been yet.  We hop in the car and make the now very familiar drive to town and we park near the fort at the top of the hill and make our way into the fort.  It was cold and windy and we were walking through the clouds which was cool!  It's interesting to get into a fort in one of these little towns and imagine the whole town crowding into there for protection.  It wasn't very big and it really is just a large open area inside the walls.  It must have been terrifying and really boring all at the same time.  How did they ever get through it without iPads???

After that we head up the streets to a church at the top of the town that has the most incredible view over Tuscany...when it's not cloudy that is.  When we were up there a little dog came running down the street into the little grassy area where we were hanging out.  He seemed a bit nervous and like he might like to bite one of all of us but he came over to me and let me scratch his back for quite a while until his owner called him to come home from down the street.  At that point we made a live installation of lawn art and then hiked down the crazy steep hill into the center of town.  We called our family and they were coming to meet us for dinner so we tried to cram some gelato down our face holes before they got there and then we weren't going to tell them and come back after dinner for more!  Mmmmmm...it failed tho.  I am the slowest ice cream eater ever and my family was way quicker than I gave them credit for.

Helena and Don had a recommendation for a restaurant so we headed over and were promptly seated.  The food was, of course, incredible!  I didn't take any pics though, sorry.  The conversation was crazy fun too - we told a lot of hysterical stories about my Grandparents who I wish more than anything were alive and able to make it to Italy with us!  I know I keep saying it but we have the most amazing friends and family.  All through dinner I'm a little worried about Brian and Shannon getting the train in the morning and I was probably annoying the shit out of everyone asking questions about it.  But at this point, there is nothing to do about it anyway so I have faith that it will work out and go back to having fun.  When dinner is done and the check comes we decide to leave a tip.  Just to clear up what we learned about tipping servers in Italy, here is the scoop as told to us by our guide - Servers in Italy are professional servers.  They get paid a regular wage and not a reduced rate like here in the States.  So, tipping is NOT necessary or expected.  As a matter of fact, if you pay and leave a tip in the billfold or on the credit card receipt that money will go to the house...not the server.  You want the server to get it, hand it directly to them out of site of the owners/managers.  Ok, back to it...we tip our server.  Next thing we know, out comes bottles of limoncello and herbal liquor, and grappa I think.  This is on the house.  We experience this sort of thing quite a bit when we tip servers in Italy.  If it wasn't booze, it was a small plate of assorted desserty foods.  Neat, huh?

Needless to say, between the wine and the booze some of us were feeling a bit tipsy.  There was a bit of funny, heated discussion on how to get back to the cars and a little getting lost but we eventually found the least offensive of the ridiculous hills to climb to get back to the cars...hopefully.  My cousin Helena was laughing hysterically at something and ended up peeing her pants at one point...literally.  Called ya out cuz'...sorry but I know Grandma P was pissing her pants in heaven at that moment too!  So she wraps her sweater like a diaper around her pants and we continue on to find the cars somehow.  Driving home we are all passed by some CRAZY PANTS drivers.  My brother and Ryan were going at a good clip on the very dark windy wet streets but these guys blew us away.  When we get home we hang out for a bit, a cozy fire is built but we hit the sack becasue we have to be up in the morning at 4am to get Brian and Shannon to the train station by 5:30am the next morning. 

Tune in next time kids because you will NOT BELIEVE the day we have.
Tons of photos from this day posted here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjA3MU4A