WORLD SERIOUS 2012

  After the big pennant  winning victory Monday night, pundits expected the Giants to receive a dose of reality from the Detroit Tigers with their all-everything ace Justin Verlander expected to put the Giants and lefty Barry Zito away easily.  But Barry and his wrecking crew had other ideas.  With Pablo Sandoval putting on a hitting clinic, hitting 3 round trippers and another base hit to cap a night for the record books.  Zito was masterful: mixing speeds and location as he baffled Detroit's hitters from the first inning until he left in the 6th.  He was followed by Tim Lincecum who struck out five while collecting 7 outs before turning the ball over to Kontos.  Affeldt finished as the Giants stunned the Tigers 8-3.  The sell out crowd went home happy for the second time in 3 days.
     More tomorrow night as Madison Bumgardner goes for the Giants.  Manager Bruce Bochy will sleep well tonight, perhaps for the first time since the season ended weeks ago.
October: the World Series at home!  This is the 3rd Series at AT&T since it opened in 2000.  The Gigantes are 1-1.  And on their way to 2-1.

Wild weather on the move

    So, sports fans, ready for the white stuff?  Here 'tis.  29" of snow forecast for Kingvale on 80.  5000' level with +12 inches lakeside- and it's only October!  Could be the beginning of a white winter.
GO GIANTS!
    The Giants, local faves, beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-0 tonight in San Francisco.  This victory capped 6 do -or-die games, beginning with the division series in Cincinnati.  They won 3 in a row with victories by Barry Zito in game 5; Ryan Vogelsong in Game 6,; and matt cain in Game 7, the first Game 7 played in SF since 1962, 50 years ago when they lost that game to the Yankees.  The final out came during a drenching downpour as the skies opened up on the victory dance after Marco Scudaro caught his nemesis ,Matt Holliday's pop fly to 2nd base.
    It was fun to be in the City during the game, even if it was only a mile up 3rd St.  We had a nice meal at Serpentine on 3rd @ 22nd St.  No TV!  Too bad.  Still good, though.
   Watch your driving, be prepared for more snow.
Tornadoes in the Valley
   Four tornadoes touched down around Chico this afternoon, doing little damage.  Funny how they've become a local phenom around seasonal changes.
Later

Harvest time in Sonoma County

       Look out for trucks on 101, 116, 128, Highway 12, and all their connectors- the grapes are coming, the grapes are coming!  It's harvest time in the wine country.  With the first significant rain coming in on Monday, growers are scrambling to get their crop off the vine and into the crusher(s).  Heavily laden tractor trailers are everywhere, loaded with full bins of purple grapes.  Wine on wheels?  Exhausted workers are viewing the results of a years' worth of pruning, spraying, training, netting, plowing, de-leafing, trellising, fertilizing, testing and measuring brix, worrying about frost.  Soon the liquid results will be headed to the barrels for fermentation and aging and blending, according to the winemakers design.
      Sonoma county-home to one of the world's great wine making regions.  This vintage, 2012, could be the year of the negocient- that European import that seems to be popping up all over.  The negocient is the wine maker who owns no vineyards.  He buys from sources that provide the grape with the terroir that suits his "style' of wine design.  One of the more notable negocients is Christina Pallman of Santa Rosa.  With her extensive European training, she has developed her own style of wine design, using Sonoma County's vast variety to craft significant wines.  Another successful is Steven Vincent.
      Steve hailed from San Rafael where he was a wine salesman for many years.  He parlayed his knowledge of the industry into a successful business, marketing very drinkable product at $10/price points.  He has had his label added to Whole Food's shelves just to name one.  He's also at Andy's Local market in San Rafael.   Others are involved in this segment of the trade, and are known for buying boutique labels and consolidating product for their customers, both locally and nationally.  It could be a significant trend.
       Word on the 2012 vintage is spotty, but predictions include great potential because of below average rainfall throughout the state during winter 2011/2012.  With vines stressed because of the low moisture, flavors and sugars should be intense.  Time will tell.
Again, watch for trucks when driving to a tasting this weekend.

Roma at dawn

Rome is a fascinating world class city.  During the day, the streets are wild with traffic of all sorts: scooters, motorcycles, buses, bicycles, cabs, pedestrians, tourists lost and looking sideways.  Needless to say, it's dificult to enjoy the environment with all its joys.   So, get out before all the craziness begins- get out before the day begins.  Ahhhh, the streets of Rome w/o the noise.  Pax e luce.  A cappucino by yourself, the newspaper in tranquillo, clean streets.  A fine experience.
     Granted, one can't visit the wonderful museums, churches, palazzos, etc, all closed,; but the strreet views are great and well worth the effort.   Unfortunately, the experience is short lived for the Romani are soon at it again: getting their day going, having their first espresso of the day, greeting the neighbor, planning the schedule, and thinking of living in style as only a Roman can do.
Biennale Antichita
Stopped at the Palazzo Venezia yesterday to attend the big antique show at the famous palazzo.   The palazzo itself is worth a visit- it is the palazzo that Mussolini used as his home during his reign over Italian government and politics.  It is quite a building.  The grand salons on the upper floors are breath taking in their size and decoration.  And to think it is hundreds of years old.  The antique dealers displayed museum quality objects that were worth the price of admission, from pre Christian marbles to Renaissance paintings to modern art.  It was all there.  A great show.
more later

Ahhhhhh, ROMA

What a great night: best night's sleep in a month!  Not easy some times on the road to score a good rest- hard beds, unfamiliar surroundings, skinny pillows,etc.  But our new hotel, the Adriano, had all the ingredients for a nice rest.
    We had a great meal in the 'hood, and walked around Piazza Navona for awhile, drinking in the atmosphere of our first night in the Eternal City.
More later

Magna Grecia, Policoro, and Metaponto

Took a ride around the neighborhood of Matera yesterday, covering about 50 miles in total.  We drove down the hill toward the coast, the Ionian Sea coast or the Golfo Taranto.  The adjacent plain has been formed over millenia by the drainage of 5 rivers, descending from the mountains to the north.  All 5 rivers were well known sources of water by early Mediterrnean navigators.
    Some of the first settlers came from Asia Minor, or Persia, or modern day Turkey.  They were followed by Greeks from across the Adriatic.  They created a thriving series of small cities taking advantage of good soil, abundant water, and very mild winters.  Metaponto and Policoro, two modern replacements, have built museums to house the many artifacts discovered over the years, many in just the last 20 years.  These local sites are home to national and world treasures from the time of the Greek culture in ascendancy.
   The examples of art, jewelry, pottery, ceramics, and personal effects are stunning.  The museums themselves are well situated and well maintained.  Using state of the art lighting, climate control, and security, the Italians have ensured that these priceless objects will be seen for many years to come.

The highway along the coast is in great shape: smooth running all the way, to and from.  At this time of year, not much traffic.  We hear that summer on the south coast is jampacked.  We did not see anything resembling a crowd.  Quite the contrary.
   Today, the Mayor and deputy mayor will visit Puglia, and Lecce, and stop in Alberobello, a small town noted for its Trulli, the conical shaped houses tha are common to Puglia.  It should prove intersting after spending 4 nights i a cave in the Sassi of Matera.
Buona Giornata 

Carlo Levi - in his memory

Briefly, the Mayor and the deputy mayor find themselves in the Mezzogiorno- that part of Italy that occupies the southern third of the peninsula.  It is the rocky, barren, moutainous region that Rome and the rest seem to have forgotten.  It was here that Carlo Levi, the famous writer, doctor, politician was exiled by Mussolini during WWII.  His description of the people and the landscape became an indelible mark on the Italian people/culture.  More of an indelible blot or scar that remains to this day as a reminder of what benign neglect can do to a people, region, or culture. 
   WE WILL BE EXPLORING THIS REGION FOR SEVERAL DAYS AND RECORDING OUR IMPRESSIONS FOR OUR FOLLOWERS.
cIAO.
more soon