Tuscany Italy what a beautiful spot in the world, actually twenty eight on the list according to Conde Nast! The winter if you can call it that, kept everything so fresh and crisp and most importantly ( DEAD ) ! . Now this may sound severe but really its not, when I arrived in Italy and to my country house I wondered what nature had in store for me, The first tiny creature was a brown beetle which when I first saw it moving so slowly I felt a little guilty then it started flying, I had to send it, as my mother would say “ to the next level.” Our home in Chicago there was one of my most feared creatures, it was a Sliver back centipede or million leggers, they creep me out and of course some must have come with me in my luggage because I get a visit almost every night, They are one of my most feared bugs. Over the last several months I have been trying to live with nature and I think I have been doing a decent job, my wife tells me not to kill the Daddy long legs because they eat the other bugs, I have yet to see anything in there webs. I really think the Daddy long leg story is an old wives tale, I have lived with Bees doing the pollination thing and the Lizards doing whatever they do and the local cats fighting each other along with the morning dove waking me at 6am and of course the Cuckoo bird , which I cant even spell but its out there in the vines. We also have our share of Hawks that are trying to eat the cats which are trying to eat the mice and the huge monster rabbits that our avoiding the Wild Boar. Folks I live in Tuscany, I know it sounds like Africa but its not. As the story goes I have been enjoying living with nature, I guess? then the most evil bug of them all, the Mosquito, they are such and I cant say this long or loud enough “THE MOSQUITO” arrived a few weeks ago, they are like Stealth Bombers, you can see them and you cant feel them but when the lights are turned off you sure can hear them. They have turned my body into a war zone and I’m to this very moment I am trying to combat this tiniest of all but the most deadly creature. This story has no ending I am knee deep in this situation, my sister is coming soon and she said she is bringing in the heavy equipment for this challenge, I sure hope so! I need all the help I can get . So good night and have a pleasant tomorrow!
Can someone tell me how to get rid of the all these tiny creatures?
July 7, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiThe American and his Red Bull!
July 2, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiMy days in Chicago started out with a very strict routine, get up, take a shower and the most important, 2 cans of Starbucks double expresso and cream, I truly believe it is the best way to get that caffine charge, you know the one, you break out in a sweat and the hair on your back stands straight up on end! God, I loved it. In the beginning it was great to go across the street and have an expresso, then 2 and 3 and it started reaking havoc on my body. My days are switched I work in the evening to stay on American time, so the mornings I run to the office open my computer, send some emails handle some business at the winery and then Im off until 5pm, then my real day starts! I have tried every form of caffine and nothing worked, until I had my first Red Bull. Wow, I found it, my heart started pumping and I broke out in that familar sweat, I was in heaven! Then the other shoe dropped, I started having some Red Bull moments, if something was not happening at the winery fast enough ( I forgot that I was in Italy) I would have a major charge and and I became a bull in the china shop, Luckily I only put my foot in my mouth once or twice and then I realized the power Red Bull was having over me. I started drinking it in the bathroom or hidden in my office or in the car I felt that I was hiding a drug addiction it was crazy some how I had to learn how to controll this new energy drink. I started by only having one in the morning and then one after my afternoon power nap just to get me started for the night shift and then one in the middle of the night shift. I slowly started to ween myself off of this powerfull new drink, several weeks have past and I have cut back to 4 a day, I googled the sight and I asked ” how many Red Bulls is to much in a day” I was hoping to get a medical answer but my hopes were quickly doused, they said I can have as many as I want, NO this is not the answer! The story ends that if Red Bull was not a privately held company I would be a major share holder and now Vettle is my favorite Formula One driver, He drives for for RED BULL!
What a difference a day makes in Tuscany!
April 17, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiOne thing about building a life in Tuscany is that everyday it is a moving target, you just don’t know what you will learn at the end of it, This it is OK as along as its a good thing. I am not saying that everyday has to end on a high note, sometimes I learn more on the challenging days. I will say that I am starting to understand the psyche of the Tuscans, I am here in there territory, it is sometimes hard for me to believe that the will to progress as an individual and as a people is a daunting task. I do believe they want too. America looks so big and complex I can see why the Italian people are afraid of it and us. If they only went and visited the U.S, they would see we how much in common we have and the 2 biggest things we share are food and wine. I will say that I have embraced this country and I love living here, it also helps that we have in such a short time developed a close circle of friends, the universe is responsible for making this happen in our lives. I am slowly understanding how to maneuver myself within this mentality and maintain my focus and drive to accomplish my mission, I will say that for the first time I landed in Chicago I felt I did not belong there and when I returned to Florence, I touched down and said ” Thank god I’m Home” !
Looking from the other side!
March 25, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiI was wondering what I would think when I landed here in Italy. I was of course full of anticipation and even a tad bit excited, for me it was a new way out, not in the sense that I was looking to escape but I was empty professionally and at a critical point in my life, I was running on fumes. I found solace here and a chance to grow, not only Sangiovese but as a person and a husband,( not that I’m not great at that already). I needed to fill this gap that is inside me and has been for a long time. Could the Winery be the answer? now the question is, can I get it done? I asked that question because the one block I see is the language barrier and the blending of philosophy’s, I think even if I was fluent in the language I still would be only half understood because its not so much the language but how our internal thought process is and how Americans see the glass, half empty or half full. I think we see it half full and some Italians see it as half of a glass. I think they are programmed through so many generations that there is no time, no rush and no urgency, It is the way I feel that the government controls the entire society, they make the people wait thus creates a people thinking that this is the norm and that’s how they live there everyday life, until they get behind the wheel and they throw caution to the wind and drive all there aggresions out, on the open road banging off your back bumper.
The Road to Heaven goes through Florence! or does it?
March 16, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiI was very happy about the response my clothes line received. I hope everyone realizes that even though we all may be caught up in our trials and tribulations that a simple thing like constructing a clothes line can make us stop and jump off the wheel for a moment and appreciate the simple things that makes us happy. My trip to Florence for my wife’s birthday could not of been more beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and the warm Tuscan sun shining all around us! We had a great lunch with our new friends Max and Eva and we spent a couple of hours getting to know each other while enjoying some Spumante. We all split up after lunch and Andrea my wife and I walked throughout the city, visiting Santa Maria del Fiore, Piazza Santa Croce and saw where Michelangelo and Dante, Galileo and DaVinci were entombed, it was a good moment. I have always heard people say how they ” love Florence” and as I was walking through the city I couldn’t help being a little uninspired, I think its a mare shell of what it used to be when all the great sculptors and painters and aristocrat’s use to live back in the day. I was a little let down, I couldn’t help notice all these beautiful ancient buildings covered in graffiti and you cant walk one step in the square without being approached to buy a fake Prada or Gucci or some second level leather, I hope every place I visit will not be a let down in Europe. Are people that live in these beautiful city’s rich in history, are they that jaded or bored or disinterested in there country’s history, do they have any idea the impact and influence they have around the world, just by being a part of such history! I don’t think they have a clue or even care, its to bad. when people come to visit me in Chicago or people I just happen to meet at my favorite spot PJ Clarkes, I feel its my duty because of the love of my city and I want to make sure my tourist know the love I have for it!
I drove back to my home in San Gimignano Tuscany and I appreciate it a little bit more then I did before I left, don’t get me wrong I love my spot in Tuscany but the difference is the Tuscan people really love this place and they will be the first ones to tell You!
I have found my Heaven!!
To be contiued.
Wine is like a clothes line of life!
March 12, 2009 by jamesfreveletti
Wine is like the clothes line of life!
Wine and its many colors!
March 10, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiI last left off with myself running into the office on a rainy day in Florence. I finally made it to Italy and I was ready for the work, it felt good to be a part of building a new company with a great winemaker and a wonderful family. I flew over by myself and left my wife in Chicago she was finishing many last minute details, I secured our new home that sits high atop a hill surrounded by Sangiovese and olive trees with the backdrop of San Gimignano it is really an awe inspiring view. The home sat on the hill it comes complete with a huge yard and a beautiful wine cellar and of course the view, I could not wait for my wife to arrive. The first night was tough, here I am an high strung American with A.D.D alone in a house in a beautiful country with no TV or Radio and all the movies in Italian, I quickly broke out into a cold sweat. I quickly ran and grabbed a bottle of wine and some Parmesan cheese and some bread I knew this will kill some time, ” OK that was 5 minutes”, after being slightly buzzed and the house laying dormant for several months I went on a killing rampage, I killed every Fly, Brown Beetle” which I still regret today” in the house, when they weren’t so easy to find anymore I concocted a scheme, turn on every light! I would bring them out of there hiding spot and bring them to there final destiny. Finally the carnage was over I was exhausted and out of breath and even worked up a little sweat, this took another 10 minutes so that was 15 so far, I immediately pick up the phone and called my partner and ordered satellite TV with 900 channels, I realized that I was going to need professional help to get through this transition!
to be continued.
The first days leaving America and moving to Tuscany, Italy.
March 7, 2009 by jamesfrevelettiThe journey started on a very cold and snowy Chicago winter day, Friday January 23rd of 2009 , I was worn out already with the snow and the cold and to go even further the people and the attitude, I wasn’t searching for spiritual meaning in my life , on the contrary, I am a very spiritual person, I have been selling wine for half my life and my new partner owns a 5 generation Tuscan Winery and asked ” would you like to move to San Gimignano and help me take this winery to the next level in America” it took me 5 minutes to consider, the wine is beautiful, the family is amazing and my wife and are both Italian and of course, it’s like living in a Norman Rockwell painting, if he was Italian. I found myself on a plane to Zurich and then on to Florence but was almost rerouted through Bologna and possibly a 2 hour bus ride to Fiorenze, I took this this in stride but I will be honest I was tired of smelling people and all there flavors but 1 hour in the air an announcement came on, ” we will be able to land in Florence the weather has cleared” it was really music to my ears, I decided before I left Chicago I would take a deep breath and stop to smell the roses and be patient, I landed went straight to the office and started working!
will be continued!
