Blanchard Women in Reggio

The Blanchard women have come and gone from Reggio. They arrived three short weeks ago and departed one week ago. It was an amazing two weeks filled with a lot of comedy and adventures. Due to the numerous amounts of stories we accumulated while they were here, I am going to break their visit up in different entries. If I attempt to write it all in one, I will spend the rest of our time in Italy typing.

Nancy and Susie arrived in Reggio without any luggage. Somewhere between Seattle, Paris, and Milan their luggage did not make it on the plane. Despite the agitation of not having any clothes, toiletries, or medications, not having their luggage constructed a smooth train ride from Milan to Reggio...much easier to travel with a small purse than an 80 pound bag. Once arriving at Hotel Posta, their spirits were lifted and the lost luggage forgotten (for a little bit anyways). Hotel Posta is centrally located in the town square. My mom and Susie were fortunate to received a room with a balcony overlooking one of the town squares. After Lynnie unpacked and my mom debated with Air France on the delivery of their luggage I was ready to show off Reggio. While walking around admiring the city Susie and my mom ducked in a clothing store and bought a few essential garments, just in case their luggage took a couple of days to get to them. "Essential garments" in the Blanchard dictionary translates into- an entire new outfit,shoes, pajamas,socks, underwear, and toiletries. My tour of Reggio did not last long, after 16 hours of traveling the Blanchard sisters were in need of a drink, food, and rest. I knew of the perfect place where all three of their needs would be met. I lead them to a cafe located in a piazza bordered by a massive church that looks like it belongs on a Hollywood set. Two large lion statues perch by the entrance adding to the artistry of it. Two rounds of drinks and appetizers was all it took to restore the energy of the group. I was slightly caught off guard when Lynnie ordered her drinks in a foreign language. At first I thought she had secretly been taking Italian lessons, but after listening closely I realized she was speaking Spanish. Two thoughts went through my head "Lynnie must think she landed in Spain" and "My aunt is crazy" (sorry Lynnie). When the waiter returned with the exact drink Lynnie ordered my thoughts were proven wrong. Because Spanish is closer to Italian than English it, the waiter understood her. Bianca and Chelsea joined us at the cafe, where we stayed until Taber was done with practice and met up with us for dinner. By the time we ordered and finished dinner it was 11 o'clock. For those of you that know Susie Frank, 11 o'clock is way beyond her bedtime. She was a trooper for not only that night, but for the entire trip. With stomachs full of caprese salad and Italian pizza, Lynnie and Susie were ready to call it a night. They headed back to the hotel while my mom, Taber, Bianca, Chelsea and I made our way to meet the rest of the team. My mom's first day would not have been complete without gelato. On the way back to the hotel, and after hanging out with the team at Lord Nelson, we stopped for a cup of gelato. Perfect ending to a perfect first day in Reggio.
My mom and Susie had hoped they would wake up to the delivery of their luggage. To their disappointment, there was no delivery or message with an estimated time of arrival. So the first thing on the agenda was a call to Air France. Hoping it would speed up delivery time, my mom stretched the truth a smidgen by informing Air France that one of the suitcases contained vital medication (which was really only Susie's vitamins).Either out of concern of the vital medications or to get my mom off the phone, the operator assured her it would be delivered before midnight (eventually we found out it was the later). Putting on their newly acquired outfits, we set out to explore the open air market, parks, and charming streets. Their first day in Reggio remained low-key and even included an afternoon nap. While Taber was at practice, I met the three ladies at "Cafe Europa", which became our nightly ritual. Cafe Europa sits 30 yards from the door of Hotel Posta in one of the town piazzas. It offers easy access from the hotel while the surrounding mayors office, church, and clock tower create a certainly impressive surrounding. After 3 bowls of olives, 2 bowls of hazelnuts, a plate of bite size pizzas, and 2 rounds of spritzers, Taber joined us. Two more bowls of olives and a coke zero later, we were joined by Jake, Chelsea, Bianca, and Dusty. Before we knew it the clock had jumped to 11pm...time for dinner. The nine of us headed to a local restaurant for a relaxed, leisurely dinner. Taber and I escorted the Blanchard ladies back to the hotel where by brake less bike was locked up. Earlier in the day while riding to meet them at Cafe Europa I got in a very close encounter with a car...so close that the force with which I slammed my brakes on caused the brake wire to snap in half. The car had been pulling out of a parking lot and not noticed me on the bike path. Luckily before I became one with their car hood, I was able to slam my breaks on hard enough to stop. I survived the near accident, but my brakes did not. The brakes on my vintage bike could not withstand the force and snapped in half. I was sad to see my bike broken, but happy that my body was not.
The following day, my mom, Susie, Lynnie, Chelsea, and I traveled to Modena. The birth place of balsamic vinegar, Ferrari, and Maserati. From the train station Chelsea guided us to the address Google Maps gave for the balsamic vinegar plant. Unfortunately the Google Maps employee responsible for posting the address did not fact check very well. The given address lead us to an apartment/office building that, unless they were producing balsamic vinegar illegally in their bathrooms, was not a b.v. plant. Although we never found the balsamic vinegar plant, our day in Modena was very productive. Thanks in large part to the tourist book Lynnie purchased. Chelsea and I acted as tour guides and lead the group through the streets to a few churches, museums, and public gardens. Only one point during the tour did we threaten to ditch a member of the group...Lynnie. The heat must have gone to her head when after the one (and only) wrong turn she called her tour leader a "air head". After forcing her to verbally confirm I was her favorite niece, I forgave her and the tour proceeded. As always, the churches provided a grand view from the exterior and a more powerful impression from the interior. The few and widely spaced columns, semi-circular vaults, and detailed paintings will never fail to captivate my full attention. At least until a photo opportunity arises to take a picture of Chelsea praying in the confessions box (picture above). Is it a sin to take a picture of a confessions box? If so, I better go back and pray in the confessions box too. However, if it is considered a sin I would have to put up a debate. My mom, Susie, and Lynnie put enough change in the "offerings" box to fund a church renovation, so I assume the church would permit my picture taking.
While we were in Modena, Taber remained in Reggio for a day of "country clubbin'". Our gym, Fit Village, has a pool, spa, beach volleyball, basketball, and soccer field...Taber's paradise (minus a ping-pong table). Through its numerous amenities Fit Village has acquired the "country club" nickname. When Taber finished his day at the club and we arrived back in Reggio we met up at Cafe Europa before heading to dinner.
We enjoyed dinner at Scudo Di Francia, a restaurant owned by a former New York chef. How wonderful it was to have an English speaking chef decode the menu for us! He offered a mouth-watering selection of various bruschetta, fabulous pastas and meats. Taber and Lynnie opted for a ragu pasta, Susie and my mom ordered Pasta Pomodoro and duck garnished with hazelnuts and orange, I had shrimp with crazy water. All of our selections were out of this world delicious. Our taste buds were not ready for the flavor party to be over, so we headed over to "Pacifico 90" for some gelato. The gelateria we visited was overflowing with teenagers. As my mom put it "it seemed as though they were courting". In other words, they were all standing around in the typical prom pose while enjoying their gelato.
We have only just begun with the adventures we encountered with my mom, Susie, and Lynnies visit. As their trip proceeded so did the comedic level of the stories. More accounts of their Reggio visit to come shortly. Taber had the second week of their trip off so he is much more involved in the future postings.