Family weekend

I am so fortunate to have neighbors in Italy with whom I have spent many wonderful days. Last night I was invited to Pier Paolo and Claudia's house for dinner. Their adorable two-year-old Pietro spent a lot of time trying to get my attention and I had fun playing "Vigili di Fuoco" with him while Claudia made dinner. Claudia's dad, Silvio was at the house for dinner too. What a delightful man. It was his birthday the day before (68) and he was celebrating that and the fact he was the guy who bagged the 150 kilo wild boar that day. In Tuscany, this is about as good as it gets.

Dinner was very simple, but entirely Tuscan. A wheel of two-day old, runny pecorino as fresh as it can be and be able to form a wheel. It was purchased from a family down the street who make and sell cheese, but have no sign and do not advertise in any way. You just have to know that the Sodelli family makes very good cheese and go knock on the door. Then Claudia grilled Chianina steaks in the fireplace and served them drizzled with olive oil made from olives on his Pier Paolo's parents' property. Roasted potatoes and a green salad made up the sides. What a feast. Great wine too!

When I was leaving last night, Pier Paolo insisted that I come back for lunch today as his mother was bringing her homemade lasagne. How could I refuse? So at 12:30 I headed downstairs for my long (!) walk to see my vicini. Antonella and Gian-Giacomo, Pier Paolo's parents, were outside in the yard fawning over their only grandson so Claudia and I had a nice time to catch up and have a quiet Aperol Spritz together before everybody came back in for lunch. Pier Paolo was out hunting and eventually showed up in his camo and fluorescent clothes. I was delighted to see that Claudia had taken the cute holiday gifts I gave her yesterday--a set of holiday charms to decorate wine glasses, some funny Xmas cocktail napkins and a cute sweater and hat set to put on a wine bottle, and she had them all out and was using them for lunch. Antonella gushed over the wine charms, saying that she had never seen them before. I told them I would bring more next time I come to Italy.

Antonella's lunch was outstanding! Not only did she make the lasagne, she also made the pasta sheets. It was delicious! Then we had more of the young pecorino from the night before, a platter of excellent wild boar prosciutto, and a salad of avocado, apples, carrots, mangoes and celery in a citrus dressing. Antonella, who is a total trip--lots of fun--said she invented it.

I thought we were done, but then out came the brasato of beef with a side of cardoons roasted with tomatoes. Very nice.

After a meal of that size, I really wanted only to take a nap, but instead I drove to Rome and checked into my airport hotel. At this moment I am at the hotel bar having a nice glass of Chardonnay from Lazio with a bowl of cocktail peanuts. I have my ipad tuned to my URI basketball game and I have my headphones on.

I feel so honored to have been included in all the family activities this weekend. It's a very special thing to be welcomed happily (and fed very well) by my neighbors. They keep threatening to visit us in the States and I look forward to the chance to entertain them someday.

So another trip to Italy is in the books. Next stop Jamestown.

Ahhhh, a day at the spa

Me, dressed and ready for the baths: 

I decided to treat myself to a day at the Albergo le Terme Spa in Bagno Vignoni. Yesterday afternoon, on a whim, I walked into the spa to see if they had any free appointments on Saturday for "something, anything . . .full body . . . Whatever." The charming woman at the desk said there was an open spot at noon, then opened the spa services menu so I could select something. "What's your favorite?" I asked her and she steered me to the hour-long Relaxation Massage. Okay, I booked it.

Today I showed up at 10 and was given my locker key along with a complete kit of robe, towel, flip-flops and a striped bathing cap. I put on my swimsuit and proceeded to the thermal baths where I alternated between the cooler hydromassage jetted pool and the hot water baths. After an hour and a half I was very relaxed and "pruny."

I went upstairs to the treatment suites and was greeted by a perky, young Katarina, looking efficient and antiseptic in her white uniform. She led me to a two room suite where I was given a towel and a packet about the size of a tea bag. "Put on the underpants," she told me, motioning to the tea bag. Then left the suite while I prepared myself for the treatment.

I opened the packet and found what looked like a Kleenex, then I unfurled it further and discovered a paper thong. I studied it for a minute, not knowing which way it went on, then figured since it wasn't going to cover enough anyway, it didn't matter if it was on backwards. I'm glad I didn't have to blow my nose!

I followed directions to begin face down and covered some of my behind with the tea towel that came with the tea bag. I saw that I was laying on a sheet of plastic. When Katarina returned she began to "peel" me with a gritty, olive oil based scrub, which she rubbed on nearly every square inch of skin on my body--everything under the thong was off limits, but everything else was fair game--butt and breasts included. When she was done scrubbing, she told me to go into the adjoining bathroom to take a shower and remove the scrub. The oily scrub left my skin pink and glowing. I was given a new paper thong and told to head back to the table for part two. Part two was a thick, luxurious cream, that was spread and rubbed in everywhere. It was quite relaxing, once I got over the giggles about the thong. 

Here I am after:

After three hours of bathing, detox tea, and a fantastic exfoliating massage,  I am moister than I have ever been and free from joint pain and quite satisfied with my spa day.

Castiglione d'Orcia

Before we make any decisions, I decided to spend a few hours in CdO to check out the amenities. 

I took inventory of all the shops, restaurants and services and came up with the following list:

Two restaurants

pizzeria/bar

bakery

pharmacy

Tobacco/lottery/newspapers

Two small grocery shops

Coop supermarket

Two banks

Two churches

Post office

Barber

Hairdresser

Shoes

Women's clothing

Antiques

Auto repair

I had lunch at Osteria il Retrovino, one of the restaurants, which was quite good. The other, Trattoria il Cassero, Joe and I ate there a few years ago and really enjoyed the jovial owner/waiter. I walked through the Coop to check it out, then made a loop through the bakery because Joe insists that anyplace worth living in MUST have a cookie shop. I think he'll be quite pleased with this one.

Every half hour or so I went back to the house to see what path the sun was taking across the garden. I determined that the sun comes over the top of the Rocca ( oh, did I mention that the house backs up to the old fortress?) about 12:30 at this time of year, which means that it will arrive earlier in the summer. Looks like we'll have sun from late morning to late afternoon, which is great news.

So, I've done my scouting, filed my reports, and now . . . 

Shopping, day two

Linda, the agent who's been showing me around the Val d'Orcia for two days, is a gem. Efficient, on time, good driver, cheerful--everything one would want in a RE agent or a friend. I have enjoyed my time with her.

Yesterday we looked at six more houses, starting in Pienza with a townhouse owned by an American restaurant and hotel owner. The house had one nice feature--a great rooftop terrace, but the rest was a charmless pile of boxes.

Then in Montepulciano we looked at two more. One was very interesting and located on a relatively flat residential street and the other was actually two small apartments, next to each other, with a common entrance. They were both cute, but it was hard to visualize how one would live with two kitchens, and neither one was big enough to live in without the other. There was no outdoor space at all at either location. This has been the hardest thing to find.

After lunch we saw a small free-standing house in Montecchiello--too small and the town doesn't have any regular grocery shops. Then a very unattractive apartment with a large and beautiful garden in San Giovanni d'Asso. The garden had an olive grove that overlooked the castle on one end of the town, but the apartment was up four flights of stairs. Just not for us.

And then there was a cute house with a garden in Castiglione d'Orcia, which is the town just to the south of Bagno Vignoni. This place needs a little renovation, but it has a lot of potential and the town is extremely charming.

Here's a pic of the medeival piazza in Castiglione d'Orcia:

Here's the entrance to the house, under a grape-covered pergola:

Here's a view of the ground floor, which is kitchen/dining/sitting area:

This is the garden, which has nine olive trees, some grapes and roses:

Now Joe and I have to decide if this is "the one," or do we keep looking???

Stay tuned . . . .

Worn out from shopping

House shopping, that is.

In Tuscany, house hunting is a lot like mountain climbing. You park the car, climb three flights of stairs up to the street level,  then climb up a long hill, then climb four flights to get into the apartment. Then you reverse the process. Then repeat. Seven times.

I'm now sitting on my couch taking inventory of my body parts to see if there's anything that doesn't hurt. Okay, done. Nope. Everything hurts.

So today I saw two places in Montepulciano. One great and the other no so much. The link for the very nice place is here:

http://www.tuscanitas.com/en/townhouses/townhouses-in-montepulciano/1352-a522-apartment-for-sale-in-the-historical-centre-of-montepulciano.html

Then I saw two places in Pienza, both were rather sad looking--like someone's ancient grandmother lived there till she died and then the place was left unoccupied for several years. 

Here's one of the sad bathrooms:

Then we went to Radicofani and looked at three places--all of which needed a lot of work to make them presentable. I'm not sure I'm really up for a construction project.

It's amazing how often the most beautiful features of Tuscan homes--like chestnut-beamed ceilings, terracotta floors and bricked archways are covered up in some way. It's not unusual to go into a place with boxy, charmless spaces and hear: "Well, if you remove the ceiling you will find the beams," or "If you strip off the plaster, there's a stone wall underneath." Today I even encountered terracotta floors that had been painted--in red gloss! 

So while I did not hit the house hunting jackpot yet, I am not finished. There's another full day of shopping ahead and I am staying optimistic that I will find that pot of gold (with chestnut beams and terracotta floors) at some point.

Another holiday for the Montepulcinese and me

Today was a lovely sunny day in Montepulciano. Temps in the mid-50s and almost a spring-like feel in the air. Again the streets were crowded with families and revelers. At lunch time every restaurant had to put out the "Siamo Completa" (we are all booked up) sign after a while. I waited till late in the lunch period and then headed up the hill to one of my favorite places Gattavecchi Cantina. 

The place was still full when I sat down around 3 o'clock, but by the time I finished my delicious lunch of rare tagliata, salad and two delicious glasses of their riserva vino nobile, I was the last customer of the day.

I went home for a bit to recharge my batteries, but got excited when I heard drumming nearby. I put on my coat and headed back up the hill to see what was going on. 

Costumed revelers from the Gracciano  Contrada were tossing colorful flags in the Piazza delle Erbe. I had seen a poster earlier in the day that the contrada was having a medeival parade, a Mass at their contrada church, then a big communal supper at a nearby hall. 

The flag bearers continued their display, then all the costumed actors: the contrada king and queen and their court, all processed up the hill to the church for the mass. Everybody watching the spettacolo formed up behind them--me too-- and followed the beat of war drums and the waving of the flags. I felt like a local. It was fun!

At the piazza, the Christmas Market was in full swing. I saw my reflection in a window earlier today and decided that my gray coat and black beret looked drab so I planned to find myself a bright, Christmasy red scarf to add some color. Do you think I could find one? Not one red scarf in all the stalls. Sheesh!

While heading down the hill on Via Ricci, I came across a sign for a jazz concert at six o'clock. It was 6:10 but I went in and saw that the performance hadn't started yet. I bought a ticket and listened to the quartet play for an hour or so. They played some classic American jazz by Charlie Parker and Ornett Coleman, also a piece called "Bol Weevil Blues." It was funny to hear the Italian drummer try to explain to the audience what a bol weevil is. Most of the music was of the "fusion" variety that sounds to me like pigs being slaughtered. Not really my favorite and I'm glad the show only lasted an hour.

Holiday cheer

Unless you come to Europe in December, it's hard to imagine how much they like Christmas festivities. Sunday was Babbo Natale day here, then Monday was "Il Ponte," a bridge to the actual religious holiday of Immaculate Conception, which is Tuesday. So Italians are on a long-weekend holiday, and out in force shopping and taking the kids ( and dogs) to see the lights and activities.

When I arrived in Montepulciano I was shocked to see how many tourists were in town. I had to drive around several times before realizing that there were no available parking spaces to be had. None! Finally, I gave up and drove down to San Biagio where there were several spaces just outside the church. The steep walk back up the hill was grueling. I had to stop and rest twice as I thought I would have a heart attack before I made it back into the centro. I lived to write about it.

Montepulciano really puts on a great show with a full-blown Christmas Market up in the Piazza Grande. There are perhaps 40-50 gift stalls ranging from cured meats to jewelry and hand-knit hats. The Town Hall is lit up with dancing snowflakes and holiday music is plaing over speakers. Behind the Municipio, there's a food court with all manner of pastas, burgers, pizza--geared toward family and kids. I got a good laugh out of this sign translated into "English": 

The Fortezza is all decked out in holiday lights and you must buy a ticket to enter the Castello di Babbo Natale, which is decorated and set up for children. 

Outside the fortezza is a skating rink, complete with skate rental shop and hot chocolate booth. It was fun to watch folks attempt to skate on the slippery rink--clearly for the first time in many cases.

Off to a bad start, as usual

Have you ever wondered what happens when you miss the A1-Firenze exit off the GRA around Rome? Well, first you travel another few kilometers until you see the signs saying that the highway is ending. Then you find yourself on the gritty potholed outskirts of Rome--complete with strip joints, hookers and auto salvage yards. Then you notice the big dome in front of you and realize you are driving behind St. Peter's Basilica. Then you wonder (briefly) why the Pope lives so close to strip joints. Then your chest gets tight, you fight off tears and yell FUCK a few times as the lanes mysteriously change from one to two to one again. Scooters are weaving in and out. Pedestrians with baby strollers and cell phones and cigarettes are jumping in front of you. Then you pull off the road quickly and get the GPS fired up. Signore GPS seems confused too and proceeds to take you on a magical mystery tour of Roma. We went all the way around the ancient walls, even under some crumbling 2,000 year old aqueducts. After an hour of driving in hell you finally see a green sign pointing toward the autostrada. You scream YAAAYYYY!!! and follow the signs until you get to the southernmost point in the Rome city limits and you get on the bleeping highway where you should have been 1.5 hours ago. That's what happens when you miss the A-1-Firenze exit. The end.

Creatures of comfort

I

On tonight's flight from Philly to Rome the seats are only about one-third full. As I look around, I see that everyone in my area has an entire row to themselves. Here in 11H, I am also squatting on 11G, creating a rather pleasant loveseat-esque pod in which to while away the coming eight hours.

Directly across from me, there's a little old Italian guy who's commandeered his row of four seats, even though--fully reclined--he is barely three seats long. The married couple two rows ahead decided to split up into two rows so they could each have their own space. The guy in front of the old Italian gentleman--also with four seats to himself--is a do-gooder. He asked everyone in earshot if they'd like one of his extra pillows, and when everyone declined as they had their own stockpile, he happily fluffed up the whole lot of them to create a cozy nest. 

I am reminded of Stella, who spends countless hours a day fluffing up her personal space to maximize comfort. Whether it's a rug that's too scratchy, a stone floor that's too hard, or a lumpy spot in her bed, Stella will push, pull and kick at it until it's just right.  My in-flight neighbors are all in the process of doing the exact same thing. 

There's an interesting collection of stripes, argyle and solid socks to be seen as all shoes are off and neatly stowed under the seat in front of us. The faint aromas of sweat, leather and gym mingle with tonight's pasta or chicken menu selections. My black compression stockings are dull and make me feel old, but my toes are happy to be liberated.

We may not be fortunate enough to have a seat in business class, but here in "resourceful class," we are all happily making the very best of a long night and the lovely gift of a little extra space in which to feel "at home."

Sure, I'm a snob. So what??

First observation of the trip:

In civilized countries they don't serve cheese in cubes.

Second observation of the trip:

When you're hungry, the cubes will do.

Third observation of the trip:

I have been to this Admiral's Club at PHL so many times that I get pissed when someone is sitting in "my seat."

The mosaics of Ravenna--looking down

Some of the mosaics in Ravenna are on the floors of the various UNESCO heritage sites they were created in. I especially liked some of the border patterns and the occasional duck or bird sprinkled throughout. The amazing thing about these works of art and antiquity is that they let you WALK on them. 

Rainy day reward

We had a miserable morning on Wednesday. So wet and windy we waited until all was clear before venturing out for the day. Of course we muttered about the weather. Muttered about lost time and experiences that could have been.

But our muttering was rewarded with the best of all possible prizes: 

The rainbow ended in our yard in Radicofani. I felt like I should go out to see if the pot of gold was to be found someplace. The rainbow hung around for a long time, then faded away. Ten minutes later we were putting on our coats and getting ready to head out. 

There was another one, now further up the hill: 

The mosaics of Ravenna--looking up

Ravenna, back in the day, was the Byzantine capital of Europe. During the 5th and 6th centuries many sacred structures were created and filled with art rendered in tiny shards of colored glass. To see the work and to imagine its creation with primitive hand tools is mind-blowing. The color is as vibrant as the day it was executed and the patterns are full of complex mathematical calculations. Lucky for us modern-day travelers much of the mosaic work still exists more than a dozen centuries after the artists walked on the earth. The churches, baptistries and mausaleums are all open to the public for the cost if a cheap ticket. think I will just let the work speak for itself.

Foods of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna

So after our week in Tuscany, we drove about three hours to the town of Ravenna, which is known throughout the world for its Byzantine-era mosaics--most of which are UNESCO heritage sites.  More about that in another post.

The region of E-R is also known for some wonderful foods that are particular to the region, which also includes Bologna, Parma and Modena.

Our first stop in Ravenna was at the bustling enoteca Ca de Ven, which must hold several hundred people at once. We had table number 161! Many of the tables held 20 or more and most folks were sitting at communal tables of 10. We were happy to have our own end of a long table without anyone sitting right next to us.

The atmosphere is classic with dark paneled walls, frescoed ceilings and a Beaux Arts vibe.

My favorite meal when we visited Bologna last year was tortellini in brodo so I ordered it again. Delicious! Joe had saffron ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach topped with a duck ragu. Yum!

We also ordered a piadina, which is the local favorite late-night or afternoon snack. Its a fried flatbread, opened up and filled with any one of dozens of options. We tried the spinach and parmesan and it was served warm and gooey--comfort food!

Later that night we tried La Gardela an old-timey restaurant with a local crowd and a professional waitstaff of people who have likely been there for upwards of 50 years in some cases.

I loved the swordfish carpaccio, and for dessert I had an affogato, which is a cup of espresso with a ball of vanilla gelato floating in it. Is that a great idea or what?!

The next day we stopped for wine and bar snacks at I Capelli Enoteca, a great corner to sit outdoors and watch the busy people traffic. Then we finished our night at Osteria Boaria, where we consumed some fabulous crostini topped with sauteed veggies.

We couldn't stop and eat all of the wonderful things that were there to be consumed, but it was fun to enjoy all the smells and the window eye candy during our short visit.

Arrrrggghhhhh! A tangled mess of technology

Four days without Wi-Fi does not make me a happy camper. Joe and I tried to fix it, but it was a multi-national effort and doomed to fail. Here's what we had to do as the wi-fi is shared with our neighbors and the modem is in their apartment:

We ( in Italy on US phone) texted Ale (Netherlands) to tell him of the problem. Ale (Netherlands) spent two days trying to call satellite company (Italy). When he finally got through, he relayed the instructions to us via text and we sent back questions and comments via text to Ale, who asked and got info from the Italian company and relayed it back to us. Since we have lousy phone coverage in Italy, all of the texts took about two minutes to send/receive, which was frustrating to say the least.

With no success on the first try, we gave up, then left Tuscany for our weekend in Ravenna.

Chiusi

Joe and I haven't been to Chiusi in at least five years. As much as we like this town, we never seem to remember it when we are planning our itinerary. Today we headed there for a pleasant stroll and a great lunch.

There's plenty do do to fill a half day including the excellent Etruscan Museum and the Museo Civico which descends down into the limestone caves below the piazza to see an ancient well and other artifacts. There is also a tour, starting from the Etruscan Museum, that goes underground to see a network of caves and tombs below the city streets. I can't do stuff like that, but I'm sure it's fascinating. We have already been to the museums so skipped them today.

Chiusi has several restaurants, two of which we have been to and can recommend heartily. One is Zaira, and the other is La Solita Zuppa, which means "the crazy soup." It was a gray day--perfect weather for soup--so we headed to La Solita Zuppa for lunch.

The cute and cozy restaurant has so many quaint, homey touches like lace doilies under plates and custom dishes like coffee cups with tiny lids.

The soup menu changes with the seasons and offers at least five choices per day. I had the cauliflower and orange zest with parmesan; Joe tried the chick pea with porcini mushrooms--both delicious!

For the main course, I tried the rabbit stewed in a fresh ginger and lemon sauce and Joe had guinea hen in an orange sauce. Yum!

The family business: part 2

We left Montalcino on the Grosetto side so took the road through Monte Amiata to get back home. It's a long ride that way, but with some stunning scenery you really don't notice the time.

After a bit I remembered the Frantoio Franci and thought it was pretty close by.  As we had just finished the final drops of our April oil purchases, the timing was perfect to pay them a visit. We headed to Montenero.

The small frantoio has an international reputation as they have won the competition for best olive oil in the world several years in a row.

We had already been there, but they took us up to the tasting room where we sampled again to see which oils we wanted to procure this time. We didn't taste the lower priced oils last time, the ones best for cooking. Even though it's priced about the same as the big name US brands, the Franci Fiore was far better in taste and freshness than anything available at home.

We chose two of the high end oils for drizzling on salads as well as some of the cooking oil and put together a mixed case to ship home.

While we were waiting for the office staff to calculate the costs and shipping, the owner Federico Franci came over to meet us. At 87 he still looks great. We talked about oil. I asked him if he drank it. He said he has a cucchiaio every morning, then drizzles it on his pasta and chick peas for lunch.

He said he wished he had learned to speak English, and never got to America because working was too much fun and he didn't want to leave the company. So, while it may not be THE secret to long life, I think loving and believing in your work coupled with a healthy diet certainly can't hurt.

When our complicated transaction was finally complete, the entire office staff came out to shake our hands and wish us well.

When does that ever happen in America??

The family business

Sometimes we make appointments to visit high end wineries with stellar reputations selling products that appear in the pages of esteemed magazines. And that's a good thing to do occasionally. Then there are times when the thing to do is to visit the little farmers to see what plain folks are doing in their garages with little money and little help. That's what we did today. 

To say that Podere Il Cocco is off the beaten track would be like saying the moon is just down the street. The white road rambles miles through the woods and just when you can't imagine anyone in their right mind living in such a place, the road opens up to fields of grasses and waving wild flowers. The views in every direction compete for attention and then after another distance, a tiny sign points the way.

Let me back up a bit to say that we read about Il Cocco and were curious enough about Giacomo Bindi, winemaker, and one man show. He personally responded with tour options, apologizing for having to charge us for a tour, but he couldn't afford to lose the work time. He said his brother ran the restsurant, which seats twelve at one table, and wondered if we might like to have lunch too.

So we made a date for a tour, tasting and lunch.

Il Cocco is an agriturismo, a camping site and a stopping off point for hikers on their way from Montalcino to San Antimo Abbey, which is about 18 km round trip. We saw campers coming into the bathrooms for a shower. We saw hikers with their ridiculous walking sticks (????) stop in for a coffee and a grappa. There were dogs--Ballou and Cookie--milling about. 

Giacomo was a half hour late to greet us for our appt, but Paola explained he was chest deep in grapes picked just yesterday and trying to get them in the tanks before giving us our tour. He sent his younger brother Stefano to chat with us and gave us a glass of cloudy cabernet sauvignon juice that was pressed this morning. It was sweet, fruity and life-giving. Stefano, who was in his early 20s, was clearly bored and preferred to live in the family's winter home in Siena. He said he liked to work in a lively local pub there, but still he was polite and told us some family history including that his father is an oncology surgeon in Siena, also a Buddhist and a vegan, which I thought was interesting for the owner of a winery.

Paola, the chef, popped out to ask what we wanted for lunch. There was no menu so she gave us a list of the ingredients she had on hand and let us say what form they would take. We decided on a salumi and bruschetta plate to share, a dish of tagliatelle with fresh porcini for Joe, then we each had a piece of chicken grilled under a brick with grilled radicchio on the side. She took our requests then went back to the kitchen to make them.

When we finally met Giacomo he was smiling, but slightly ruffled from the immediate nature of the work. He half grumbled to himself about being foolish to make tour appointments on harvest days.

But, he grabbed three unopened bottles and some glasses and led us into the cellar where all the magic happens.

We had full glasses of the wines for the tasting and walked through different parts of the small production facility learning about each phase as we drank.

We had lots of questions and he patiently and passionately answered them all. It was very clear that  this young man, all of 34, who had been in the winery since he was 19, was curious and open to learning more about the business with every harvest. He was primarily making wines from Sangiovese grapes, but also used cabernet to make an IGT blend. He was experimenting with using red grapes in Vin Santo, which is traditionally made with only Malvasia and Trebbiano--both white.

After more than an hour with him, Giacomo led us back to the dining room where Paola's delicious feast was waiting for us. Stefano poured wine and attended to every need. By the time we left, they were all friends.

The wines of Il Cocco may never make it into the 90 point realm of Wine Spectator, but today's experience wasn't about that. At his remote vinyard, in the middle of noplace, Giacomo Bindi is churning out fine wines with his hands and his heart.