In 2001, the cost was about $300 per bedroom for a full week. By this summer, when we visited again, it had gone up to $445 per bedroom -- still not bad given the soaring value of the euro against the dollar.
We have it down to a routine by now. The first day, we all drive to San Gimignano, the medieval city of more than 70 towers, many built by competing families to signal their greater wealth and power. Whatever our interests, we're all attracted to the old narrow streets with crafts and wine bars and art galleries. We save Florence to do together later in the week. And then we wander in separate smaller groups -- a mix-and-match on different days, depending on the destinations -- to the fine Etruscan museum and field of Roman ruins in Volterra or the friendly square full of flowers in Greve, the chief town of the Chianti Classico wine area, or Lucca, surrounded by walls that date back to the Roman era.
The author's D.C. neighbors gather at their Tuscan villa in Montespertoli.
(Robin Wright -- The Washington Post)
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Each trip, we've learned new tricks to facilitate our travels.
For Tuscany, Alan bought walkie-talkies to communicate when we were separated in villages or on the way home so the end car wouldn't get lost. Maryellen laid out an array of maps and tour books for people to figure out the options as well as information on local buses so we wouldn't have to drive. They also worked out group rates for made-to-order tours -- through local vineyards and villas with the author of "Too Much Tuscan Sun," about $120 per person including transportation and a meal, or with our own guide through Florence's Uffizi Gallery for about $42 per person, including ticket. Six of us took a special cooking class in Florence. Jerry still talks about the tiramisu, almond torte and cheesecake that the class specializing in desserts next door offered our group when it was finished.
In a big cost-saver, Maryellen found local chefs to come in at night and cook, which allowed us to sample good wines without having to worry about driving afterward. In Tuscany, we could eat a sinful five-course meal -- an antipasto selection, prosciutto and melon, lamb cutlets, assorted vegetables, salad, a pastry and fruit or cheese -- for about $24 per person.
Alan and Maryellen, who are retired, have become so good at organizing the Tuscan villa trips that they now rent the place for three weeks each summer and plan trips for family and other friends. They've also become such great friends with the villa's owner that this year, when 14 of us went back to Montespertoli, the owner invited us to a party, complete with a little band. All 14 of us danced together.
"Did you notice that the other party-goers applauded when we left? We're still not sure if it was because they liked our dancing or if they were happy we were leaving," Maryellen e-mailed me later.
After four years, most of us now travel with the neighborhood for the company as much as the surroundings. We've also branched out to shorter domestic trips. During the long Presidents' Day weekend, Evie has twice organized many of the women and some of the husbands in the neighborhood to go to a spa. As a group, we get lower rates and a package of spa treatments thrown in free.
We've bonded so deeply that some who've moved away, such as Alan and Maryellen, are still part of the travel club. After our time together, several of us make other stops before coming home. But we all get together again soon after we get back, usually on the stoop, to share and swap pictures -- and think about next year.
Robin Wright covers diplomacy for The Post.
