Hotel Villa Steno, Monterosso al Mare, and Racing the Clock

I think I may have just made it to do this show before we close the studio for an indefinite amount of time. We have been notified that the process of moving the equipment from the studio into a smaller trailer would begin shortly. There would be at least a one month hiatus to do another broadcast, and then perhaps a year when we would be able to get back into the studio. Assuming that is true, I will not be missing anything more than perhaps one broadcast. However, when it comes to contractors, schedules, deadlines, and promises, I have become very jaded, so it was with great relief that we finally got this show completed, although there was the some difficulty that occurred during the early part of the show.

People always ask me how it is possible to perform a show on Italy for so many broadcasts. I respond by saying that I simply relate the story as it happened while we were at a particular place, whether it were an attraction, hotel, restaurant, or whether I was taking a car, train, or ferry. Accompanied by videos and photos, the process happens almost by itself. Nothing was more true than our stay at the Hotel Villa Steno in the Cinque Terre town of Monterosso al Mare. For the hotel, I went through the entire process of choosing a place to stay using a variety of criteria such as location, convenience, quality of room, and responsive characteristics of the people at the hotel during the e mail phase of the selection. To me the place we decide to stay is more important than anything else. Being 4,000 miles from home, we want to be in a hotel which offers a down-home experience with as much charm and beauty as possible. Price is considered, but within certain parameters, I do not spare our budget while traveling. I wanted also a nice view, and of course, a town or city that held great promise for the length of our stay.

The Hotel Villa Steno was not only the highlight of our three day visit to Monterosso, but perhaps the best part of our two week vacation, excluding the time we spent with our three closest friends, Luca, Lidia, and Franco and their families which is always pure joy. In fact, as I indicate in the show, it had been our dream since 2009 when we were in Monterosso for the first time, to stay in a hotel on or near the beach. However, reading about the Hotel Villa Steno on Trip Advisor as reviewed by the actual guests who have stayed there made me want to see what this excitement was all about. When a hotel is rated number 1 out of 20 hotels, then it is indeed special. Not only were we not disappointed, but the hotel surpassed our expectations by virtue of the kindness and graciousness of our hosts, owners Matteo and Carla Pasini. Alan's Italy Show # 103 focused on our experiences at the Hotel Villa Steno and also our visit to the Old Town of Monterosso al Mare. The intention is to concentrate on the New Town on the next show, # 104.

The interview had been set up by Matteo and me through e mails. I knew that would be the central point of this show. Taken together with video of our room, and photos of everything else in the hotel, and the Old Town of Monterosso, this would constitute an entire show. The charming, informative, and intelligent demeanor of Matteo, to me, was the highlight of the presentation. Surrounded by the overall experience of staying in a superlative hotel with extraordinary features made for one of the best shows of my series which began three years ago. The views from our balcony, of course, were amazing, the same views basically that one gets from their breakfast terrace. The surrounding area was extremely evocative, a perfect Italian town.

I told Matteo beforehand that I would have to speak on the air about the two negative aspects of the hotel and Monterosso. As might have been expected, he understood. The trip to this marvelous town by car was difficult, but could have easily been overcome by traveling there by train, as I explained on the show. And the fact that the hotel was at a very high point in the town (providing stunning views) would necessitate climbing a lot of steps. That problem also was solved by taking a taxi to the front door; however, if one has the mobility to climb, gorgeous gardens awaited the journey to the top. Laura and I plan to return, possibly in two years, and will certainly not let these two problems get in our way.

Anyway, the result of this show was a marvelous portrait of a charming and gracious family and their equally wonderful hotel placed amid the extraordinary town of Monterosso al Mare. It is my hope that Alan's Italy Show # 103 was appropriate in conveying our profound appreciation for one of the best three days stay at a location in Italy during our past thirteen years of Italian travel.

Show # 103 - Monterosso al Mare, Part 1: Old Town Postponed Until Next Week

I spent a lot of time working through this very important show for tonight's broadcast. Laura and I even spent about an hour this morning honing and rearranging and adding additional photos. I was ready, but unfortunately as sometimes happens, Ellen just could not get the studio's computer to work effectively. She told me that she could have put it through on an alternative system, but I insisted on the perfection to which we have become accustomed recently. My now friend, Matteo Pasini, in Monterosso whose ten minute interview was to be the highlight of the show and the basis for the first half of the broadcast which was to have focussed on the amazing time we had at his very special hotel, was my prime reason for my intense disappointment. Otherwise, next week this week, who really cares that much, but I just do not like to disappoint people who deserve better. I just sent him an email indicating the postponement, and felt terrible doing that. I am not sure he understands that when trying to produce a show on public access TV, things can get pretty strange. This is what we have generally come to expect over the years, but not for a while have we had such a malfunction. We will try again next Friday, November 14.

One more thing. The people whom I have the opportunity to interview in Italy think of Alan's Italy as a professional operation, even though I try to explain to them the concept of public access television. I even go so far as to say something like, "ya know we are not CNN or NBC. We are a local TV station and of yes, the videos of the shows do go on Youtube." The expectations they have bring me up to the point where I also start developing an expectation beyond what they should be, setting standards for myself and Ellen as well that are probably too demanding. Early on my expectations were much less than they have morphed into over these three years. It takes something like what happened this evening to remind me of the crude manner with which we have been working under since 2011. A large dose of reality is what I came home with this evening.

Mostly Unrelated to Italian Travel (But not totally)

I just bought a lottery ticket whose payout would be 321,000,000 before taxes. I said to myself that if God exists surely he would know (because he would certainly read minds) that I intend to give a lot of that to charity. Since I have played the lottery many times, I came to the conclusion that in all probability God doesn't exist.

This reminded me of a story I heard on the West Wing TV series (for which I recently started to blog). A guy is living in a house in a town where there is going to be devastating flood. He hears on the radio: "Get out of town fast. there is a flood coming." He says, "Nah, I don't have to worry. God will protect me." The town floods, and he climbs to the roof of his house. A rowboat passes by with some rescue workers inside, one of whom screams at the guy, "Get in this row boat or you will die in the flood!" "Nah," screams our guy, "God will protect me." Then a helicopter passes by and screams down at him with the water almost on top of him, "Hey, we will lower a ladder. Climb up the ladder to our helicopter." "No," again our guy screams, "I have faith that God will protect me!!!"

Well the guy drowns and when he gets to Heaven, he asks to see God. "God," he whispers softly, "I have always been a loyal believer. I was certain you would have protected me from the horrible flood waters. What happened?" God replies: "I sent you a radio broadcast, a rowboat, and a helicopter. What the Hell are you doing here?"

Well I have been blessed with good health, a wonderful family (many of them anyway), great friends (some), a great career, love for Italy, and many other wonderful things. So what is my problem believing in God?

Putting together Alan's Italy Episode # 103 this weekend. Cannot wait. It is featuring one of the great gifts I have received from............ Matteo Pasini, the owner of Hotel Villa Steno in Monterosso al Mare granted me an interview when we were there last May. I will also begin talking about oner of the most beautiful towns in Italy, starting with Old Town and continuing the next show with New Town.

An Unexpected Boat Ride Becomes a Show

Being the type of person who likes to plan ahead, once we embarked upon the boat trip to Portovenere from where we were staying in Monterosso al Mare last May, I was delighted to find that we could most likely develop this into a broadcast. My intent, as I indicated on last evening's show, was to take the train to Levanto which would have been perhaps a twenty minute trip by train. This would doubtless have been a show anyway, but when the train strike derailed (pardon the pun) that attempt, I realized that we had something even better. Most people get to see the amazing villages that make up Cinque Terre from the land, mainly because the boats do not run for most of the year. However, in nice weather, we lucked out and had a fabulous view of the Ligurian Coast, completely unexpected. Also at the end of the ride was our main destination, Portovenere, also a future show. But how can we simply show the coast for a entire broadcast? I decided that we needed another show about Cinque Terre. After all the last one had been over 2 1/2 years ago, # 10, and this would be more complete with the view from the sea, and adding the previously unvisited town of Corniglia which we skipped the last time we were there back in 2009. Actually I was going to develop the photos of Corniglia into a separate show, but then thought better of it and decided to weave those pictures in a larger show about the entire region. Thus what was presented was a really wonderful travel summary of one of the great areas in Italy, Cinque Terre, which in English means Five Lands. So I combined land and sea photos, threw in a couple of fun videos from the boat, gave a more detailed description of where this area was in relation to the entire country, and created a really fine broadcast, and very helpful to anyone about to visit the region, complete with advice on how to travel to this remote location and once there how to get around.

The main problem I encountered was what to do about the two shows I have planned which will focus strictly on the town in which we stayed in May 2014, Monterosso al Mare, one of the five villages. In those shows I am using videos as a main basis for the broadcast, but also had a lot of newer photos of this wonderful place to stay. I decided that I would give a brief glimpse of that town, much shorter than the views I gave of the other four, especially Corniglia, and then do the more detailed analysis of Monterosso later. This we get to see the New Town and Old Town only for a short time. I will talk more about how I developed that concept in the blogs which focus on shows # 103 and # 104. In that creation I will do one show on the Old Town and one on the New Town, mainly because the two videos are so wonderful as I interview two really amazing people, the owner of the hotel in which we stayed Hotel Villa Steno, Matteo Pasini and the owner of the bar, Colpi di Timone, along the beach where we met that owner, Giancarlo Basso. As luck would have it the hotel is located in the Old Town and the bar in the New Town, thus perfectly placed for those two shows.

Meanwhile when I pulled up to the studio, there was a huge trailer that was parked right where we usually put our cars while we are inside the studio. I knew this meant that the studio renovation was nearing its commencement. So first all the studio equipment will be squeezed into the new location, then they will start the renovation. Ellen indicates that we will not be able to broadcast for a while as the inside of the trailer becomes the new, albeit temporary home of Woodstock Public Access Television. I told her a smaller studio does not bother me at all, since after all, what do I need, just a table, a camera, and some controls. Who cares how much space there is. The problem will be that the tech people will have to get the work done to move everything over. So there could be a hiatus when there is no Alan's Italy and no subsequent blog that usually accompanies that. I am a prisoner of whatever is going to occur!!!! I will keep you posted.

A New Blog

If you like the Alan's Italy Blog and my writing and the former TV show the West Wing, then please check out my new blog, Alan's West Wing Reflections at alanswestwing.blogspot.com.

Reasons for Cancellation

My apologies to my many readers of this blog for canceling Alan's Italy this week, and therefore forestalling the writing of the blog regarding the show. My engineer, Ellen, and I have come down with fierce colds that prevented us from going forward. I probably could have performed last evening, just as I actually went to work in the city the day before (a horrible experience under the circumstances), however, it may have been madness, so, what the heck, we just postponed a week. Therefore, those of you who either enjoy reading the blog or watching the show will have to wait until Friday, October 24 for Alan's Italy Show # 102, Cinque Terre Revisited. In fact I couldn't even do my usual last minute modifications in the presentation, because I was literally in bed yesterday all day. After setting up the album I was to use for the broadcast, I decided to add some things and change the presentation, which I couldn't do. Now I will have the time to work on honing the final product which could make for a better show overall. I hope you tune in.

Finally a Show About Bellagio

After two weeks of stewing in my juices about the major mistake I made on show # 100, I finally got a chance to correct the error. As you may remember, I indicated that the "eastern fork of Lake Como" was really the Western Fork. I was happy that is out of the way.

Meanwhile, I focused on Bellagio after three straight shows related to Varenna. I realized that I had hundreds of photos of Bellagio, but never really spent much air time showing too many and discussing my many visits. I actually had decided to break the idea into two parts, a show about Bellagio and then another just about the Villa Melzi which we just recently visited back in June. When Laura saw the breakdown, she indicated that I needed to combine the two. I also then came to the conclusion that I could not have sustained two 50 minutes shows, added the Villa Melzi photos to the Bellagio show which made more sense anyway, and off I went.

The show was perfectly engineered by Ellen, and after seeing the show myself realized that it was almost perfect on my end as well except for indicating that the sculpture at the Villa Melzi was neoclassical when in reality it could have been originals from ancient times. I should have looked that up.  A small error, but otherwise a nice smooth broadcast. I am now for the most part finished with Lake Como, four shows in total.

I now turn to Cinque Terre for what may turn out to be probably four shows, the coastal boat ride which will give me a chance to review the entire Cinque Terre experience, which I had produced early in 2012 as one of the first shows, two shows on Monterosso al Mare, and another on the stunning town of Portovenere which is just south of Cinque Terre. I have a lot of photos of the only town we did not visit in 2009 Corniglia, but not yet sure if that will be a separate show or rolled into the Cinque Terre Boat Ride Show.