50 Shades of Delicious: 2 Chewsy for the Catwalk

We happened to be in Umbria during harvest season.  Le Velette Wine Estate  was our home for a week and happened to be in full swing harvest mode.  We witnessed winery employees bringing in the grapes from the fields and starting the wine making process.  It was pretty cool staying on the grounds of the estate while all this activity was happening.  We could literally walk into our backyard and taste the grapes.   The grounds of the estate were stunning and we had views from the main reception house out across the valley and of the town of Orvieto set atop the hill.   FloJo immediately fell in love with the winery dog who didn't really seem to have an assigned duty other than to entertain the winery guests.  He was so loveable and had a bunch of puppy energy.  FloJo was plotting how to get him home to America, however he was bigger than the suitcase.  He was a miniature version of the Shaggy D.A.  Maybe it was a lawyer, ...

During our week in the lustrous hillsides of Umbria, we decided to leave it for a day trip to the bustling metropolis of Florence or Firenze.  All 14 women woke up roughly at 6am, packed into the Van Dyke (nickname for our van rental) to catch a 7:30am train from Orvieto to Florence.  This was FloJo's first time riding a train in Europe and she was so excited that she fell asleep right away. We disembarked at the Firenze train station after a 2 1/2 hour ride and met up with our tour guide for the day, Antonia.  Prior to our meeting with Antonia, our hostess Cecilia (who is also a Rick Steve's tour guide) described her collegue as Mary Poppins and we think by the end of the trip most of us agreed with her type casting.  She was an older British woman with her silver hair neatly pulled up in a bun on top of her head.  She held an umbrella at the ready and a large satchel that may have had a floor lamp inside it.  Overall,...