Guess Who Came To Dinner

It's our anniversary! And per tradition it rained! We did some wandering, bought some tooth paste and had the most amazing picnic (albeit in our room ...see above) with wine we purchased on yesterday's wine tour and cheese and prosciutto from the local farmers. I have such a romantic husband. We spend the afternoon wandering in our town. We were browsing in a tiny ceramic shop and found a Christmas ornament with our town hall painted on it. We explained why we were so excited to the owner who wished us "Auguri per un' altro anno!" Everyone here is pleased that we love the town as much as they do.

At 8 we met the women from the hotel, Lisa and Giuseppina; Annie, Francesco, Sophia, little Diego and Annie's father, Bill and step mother Kate for dinner at Del Duca. We sat at the same table where we had sat for our wedding dinner. In the center of the table was...a tall naked man( see picture)....as Jim always says, nothing whets your appetite like a tall naked man! We had an amazing dinner full of friends and talking and laughter. We got to see Claudia again. She is the daughter of Genuino, the owner of Del Duca and was one of the witness' for our wedding. After we finished eating the lights in the restaurant went out and Jim and I naturally assumed some type of electrical malfunction. But instead the waiter came out of the kitchen and presented us with beautiful cake complete with a Roman candle blazing from the middle of it and a chocolate "auguri!" message. The ladies had ordered it specially for the occasion from the renowned pastry master Giancarlo (his name is spoken with reverence throughout Volterra) It was beautiful and tasty too! We ended the evening sitting with Genuino and his wife/chef drinking his homemade limocello and grappa. It was the perfect night, the perfect celebration.

Happy Anniversary to Us!