2009/08 – UPS – Day One

24 Aug

UPS – United (Nations) Pharmacy Smoke

Day One

Gino & Anna at Untermühle

19 August 2009

Gino and his lovely wife Anna were first to arrive.

After picking them up at Frankfurt airport we toured the Rhine river on the way home and stopped in Nierstein where we had a small bite at Villa Mouton, before stopping for a capuccino ( ha ha ha – I made Gino’s day by ordering one in the afternoon, an absolutely no-no in Italy, this would be our running gag the time he was here ) at the Untermühle in Köngernheim.

From there we continued to the village, an introduction to Andreas and a quick tour of the pharmacy and the grounds.

There Gino left a whole suitcase full of presents for all the UPS participants, ranging from Fiano di Avellino white wine, a 4 liter bottle of excellent red for the BBQ, local Avellino Cheese, a whole box of Buffalo mozzarella, an AmiCigar ashtray for Andreas, a AmiCigar wall-clock for me, a nice vase for Inge and brochures with Magali de le Cruz’ poems for all.

We then drove up the Wißberg, our local hill, stopping at the Roman chapel in the vineyards before going up to the Golf course that saddles the hilltop.

Dinner was at Massimo’s in the village where I offered Gino a RyJ 130 Aniv. that he liked before the dinner, considering it to be light but spicy and well rounded for the Antipasti.

I bought these cigars at Duske & Duske, a very respected Hamburg merchant who proves that you don’t need a big name, a big store or a big mouth to provide first rate service and cigars to loyal customers as well as to gain and enjoy a sterling reputation for decades.

After dinner cigars were Yolanda Diademas from 2008 that I brought back from Havana – a good cigar choice as Massimo joined us and was the happiest man on earth talking until midnight to Anna and Gino, his compatriots, and we shared an insight into our respective lives and backgrounds.

Gino presented me with an Elegantes Nr 2 ER Alemania and a pre-release Bolivar Quinta Avenida 109 ER Alemania as well as a Partagas 160 Aniv. Pyramide. Grazie Gino.

A very fine and sunny day with enormously friendly and engaging friends that we felt we had known for ages and look forward to meet again – here, there or anywhere.

Nino

Links to places mentioned in this report :

www.villa-mouton.de/index.php?id=der-hofgarten#top

www.jordans-untermuehle.de/flashindex.html

www.gc-rheinhessen.de/

www.duskeundduske.de/

www.duskeundduske.de/index2.html

Adiitional pictures to this report :