Italy…..and most of Europe….just amazes me. After all these years so many of the same hotels, restaurants and cafes still exist, most with the same owners and menus! Over the years somethings have changed of course (usually prices!) but in reality almost 20 years later and many trips since our first I can still rely on some favorite spots still being around.

Sept 1 Fri

Another great breakfast put on my Enrico. He is just charming and makes a great cup of drip coffee!

Heard music coming from the road above……a funeral procession was coming along. No cars, other than the hearse. Lots of people walking behind it, a small band playing what sound like rather happy songs, not mournful at all. Went on for about 10 minutes so no hurry to leave as all traffic had stopped for it.

Enrico helped us down the steps with our bags and wished us well. I would stay there again in a second. We left around 9, thinking we’d make it to Florence by noon (hahaha…..)

Traffic has cleared and was a nice, if not nail biting, drive back down towards La Spezia. Considered stopping in Lucca but didn’t think we’d have time to see too much, or enough of it so decided we have to pass and just get on the autostrada direct to Florence.

Getting on the autostrada today was exciting! B was driving. We went thru the correct booth this time, grabbed the ticket which promptly flew out of his hand and started blowing across the road. The gate went up, he flew out of the car trying to catch the ticket, cars were lined up behind us of course….people were just looking at us shaking their heads….luckily most were laughing! It was really quite funny in hindsight. Managed to recover the ticket and get back in the car while the gate was still open and off we went! We did laugh after but lesson learned…..make sure you have a good grip on that ticket. Got glimpses of the Carrara marble mountains from the highway.

Stopped at an autogrill somewhere between the Livorno turnoff and Florence. This was the most impressive one yet! It had an actual restaurant, two really, groceries and wine, clothes and pretty well anything else you could think of. Grabbed some coffees, re-checked the maps for the route into Florence and prepped for a potential stress filled adventure. Was around 10:30 so still making good time.

Back onto the autostrada with no problems. Exited where we thought according to the map but somehow we crossed the Arno and were heading south….not good! Pulled off the highway and found a spot to park while we checked the maps AGAIN. A guy was standing beside his car so I took the map over, along with my Italian phrase book, hoping he’d be able to get us heading in the right direction. Between our limited knowledge of each others language and with the phrase book we got everything sorted out and that we should follow him…..BUT…..he had ran out of gas and was waiting for someone (brother I think) to bring some for him. He’d be there in a few minutes and we could then follow him because he was going to just about where we were. The guy came along with the gas and off we went. He was great, slowing down to make sure we were right behind him all the way. Got us all the way to Viale Fratelli Roselli and waved us on our way. Great. We promptly took the wrong exit at a roundabout. After many more roundabouts trying to not go the wrong way down one way streets and avoiding the streets where vehicles needed permits to drive, we finally made it to the Viva Hotel Laurus al Duomo. Stopped the car right out front, literally threw the keys at the desk guy and told him to take it away. He laughed and said he thought we were insane for even attempting to drive in Florence……he was right! Surprisingly it was just after 1 so not that much later than we thought.

The hotel is in just the greatest spot. You can see the Duomo from the street, it’s only a block away. Got our rooms and met down in the lobby to start exploring. We’re only here one night on the assumption that we’ll get back here for another full day but just in case that doesn’t work out we planned to cram in as much as is humanly possible today. 2PM and we were off. S and B decided to not venture off too far, they were going to have an early dinner. Ken and I headed straight for the duomo. Santa Maria del Fiore, what a magnificent building! We just walked right in. Just amazing. Brunelleschi’s dome is a piece of architectural history. The cupola painting is beautiful (Vasari, either scenes from the Last Judgement or the whole thing!) The marble…..floors, columns everything is fantastic….and huge. Not many people inside to could stand back and admire everything. Could easily have spent another hour in there but had to move on. Back outside tried desperately from every angle to get a good picture but virtually impossible. Got as much of the duomo, the campanile and baptistry into one picture as I could. There was scaffolding but still beautiful.

To Piazza della Signoria, A quick stop at Cafe Rivoire for a snack and a glass of wine. Great spot to take in everything….horsedrawn carriages, pigeons, statues, people!! Palazzo Vecchio is a gorgeous building, the spiral staircase on top is quite something. On to the Uffizi, which is pretty impressive from the outside. Still quite a line up to get in. Was familiar with some of the artwork but not art aficionados by a long shot so better to spend the time elsewhere.

Lots of vendors set up on the way to Ponte Vecchio. Wandered across the bridge and window shopped. Some really nice stuff but way over our budget. Supposed to be high quality but I don’t wear enough jewelry to know good from bad. Got some great pictures from both sides and up and down the river. Was the only really crowded place that we came to all day.

Started back up towards the Uffizi planning to go to Santa Croce but when we walked by there was no line up!! It was almost 5:30 and it closes at 6:30 so we paid and immediately went to see the Botticelli’s, Primavera and the Birth of Venus. There was no one else in the room except us!! What spectacular paintings they are and huge! Next was da Vinci’s Adoration of the Magi, Michelangelo’s Holy Family, Titians, Raphaels etc. There were 5 or 6 people at most in any of the rooms….truly a once in a lifetime moment to experience these masterpieces without crowds. Finally at 6:30 they started locking the the door to rooms as the last person left. On the way out there was a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, “The Mind of Leonardo da Vinci, the Universal Genius at Work”. It had many original drawings, working models and machines…..just amazing. The poor man was born about 500 years too early!! It was after 7 by the time we got out. So in future hitting the galleries late in the day is something we’ll keep in mind. Not enough time to see it all of course but better to see the specific things you want than not at all.

Just wandered around a bit trying to figure out where we were since the exit is on the other side of the building. Dug out the map and found that we were close to a restaurant recommended by people we chatted with on the Cinque Terre trail, La Giostra. Too bad they were booked until 10, which was a little too late for us. Found an internet cafe so stopped to check emails and update everybody on our travels. Ended up just having dinner at a place across from the duomo. Don’t think I even caught the name of it. Prices were good, food and wine was good. Had a couple glasses of wine, veal ravioli in a light creamy tomato sauce. Bill was 24E for both of us! It was a bit noisy because we were just about on the road but a good food and great location.

It was 9:30 so still had time to wander….the city is still very much alive at that time of night. Checked out Piazza della Repubblica, up and Via de Tornabuoni window shopping. Stopped for coffee at a little cafe down a busy side street. Over to Santa Maria Novella. A bit different around there. Some real ritzy looking hotels and restaurants and some pretty shady looking people hanging out in the piazza.

Just headed back to the hotel….did think about going up to the rooftop bar for a nightcap but we were done. I think we did pretty good for having only a few hours in Florence. Hope we do manage to get back here on a day trip next week. Still a lot to see. But at least we saw the Botticelli’s, so I’m a happy camper tonight.

Sept 2 Sat

Slept very well last night! I think we were pretty tired. Too much excitement, driving in Florence, the Uffizi and seeing all the things that I’d read about here.

Another beautiful day. Breakfast was served on the roof. A lovely little bar/breakfast room with a fantastic view of the duomo and campanile. The best hotel breakfast yet. Delicious coffee and a toaster……which made Ken very happy. Lots of different breads, buns, pastries, scrambled eggs, salami and cheeses and Belgian waffles. A variety of juices too. I think we ,between all of us, must have tried a little bit of everything. All was delicious and all with a view to die for! At 9ish every church bell in Florence started ringing (they do not have their clocks synchronized)……I think I just about cried with happiness….definitely a goosebump moment.

Had some time after breakfast before checking out so went to San Lorenzo and Medici Chapels. Shopped in the market……shoes, belt and a wallet. Found a great little ceramic store so bought a beautiful hand painted Christmas ornament.

Back to check out and have them bring the car around. The desk guy assured us that we couldn’t possibly get lost leaving. I’m pretty good with maps but it’s the one way streets here that throw you off. At least we now know to stay in a roundabout until we’re sure which exit to take….most of them have all the signage in the centre so you have to try and read it fast! Ken drove today, B was just to stressed yesterday and said he’s not driving again!

Actually did make it out of Florence, across the Arno and onto the Chiantigiana highway without any incidents. Lamole is only supposed to be an hour drive so lots of stops along the way to take pictures. We are in the heart of Chianti! It is just breathtakingly beautiful. I couldn’t believe it could get any better.

Arrived in Greve in Chianti around noon so lots of time to kill before heading to the house. Saturday is market day here. Stocked up on some essentials for our first couple of days at Casa al Prato. The market is really fun. A roast chicken guy……they cook the potatoes under the rotissierie, they smelled amazing, a porchetta truck, lots of veg stands. Everything was so bright and colourful. The macelleria Forlani had the most wonderful displays in their window and inside, lots of salumi, olive oils, balsamico and everything else you could possibly need. We picked up salad goodies, gorgeous fresh porcini mushrooms, meat, cheese (big balls of buffalo mozza!). B wanted steak so checked out the Coop. Also a great selection of produce, meats and deli goodies.

Called Marina to tell her we had arrived. She was still having lunch and asked to meet at the church in Lamole at 2:30. Had a drink and snack at one of the cafes and just had fun watching the market winding down for the day.

Lamole is about a 20 minute drive up a very windy and in some places very narrow, road from Greve. The views on the way up there are nothing short of spectacular…..breathtaking! So Tuscany! Once up at the top it was incredible. We can see Panzano on the hill across the valley. There are vineyards and olive groves in every direction. It was just like all the pictures you ever see.

Lamole is not very big…..there is the Lamole di Lamole winery, Ristoro di Lamole and a few clusters of houses spread out all over the place. The church is in the square, which is pretty small, just a parking lot really. Ristoro di Lamole was right across the street. This is where the Lamole Ring Road starts…..and upper and lower road. And the views!!!

Marina arrived at 2:30 on the dot with husband Marcello (I think??). We followed them down the lower road past the winery. Our house, Casa al Prato*, is in the first little house cluster, about 20 feet up an alley. It was exactly like is was pictured on the internet. Four bedrooms, three bathrooms. The kitchen upstairs is a good size with a nice big table and a huge fireplace. The living room has a couple of seating areas and a nice dining table too. A front yard and a backyard, a separate covered area with a wood-burning pizza over and also another covered are under the living room. I think he said it was originally built in the 15th century.

*it doesn’t look like this property is available anymore……too bad because it was a great space for 4 couples.

She showed us around and how everything worked…..her English is as good as my Italian so lots of sign language and pointing and hmmm’s and lots of laughing. While she was showing us around her husband opened a bottle of wine and made a lovely platter of salalmi, cheese and bread. We sat in the kitchen and ate and drank and laughed a lot for close to an hour. We used my Italian phrase book a lot! But was so much fun. He told us about another small winery just up the road. What lovely people they are!!

Off they went and we put our groceries away. Decided we’d wait until Rae and Glen got here to pick rooms. There isn’t really any view from the house or yard unfortunately but about 20ft down the alley to little road the view was awesome.

R and G arrived today from London via Pisa. Their flight was supposed to arrive at 1PM so we figured allowing an hour to get their luggage and rental car, an hour to be lost somewhere and the 1-2 hours it should actually take to get here, they would arrive around 5.

Decided that the best place to wait for them was at Ristoro di Lamole because it’s at the fork for the upper/lower road. It was the best place!! Now I know why people drive all the way up here, it’s absolutely beautiful. We were too late for lunch but no problem getting a drink or a glass (or 2!) of wine, which they served with a yummy little taste of cheese with truffle honey! Had our first local chianti, which was very good. S & B only stayed for one glass, Ken and I ordered another and waited. They also have a very tiny little shop with local produce and a few bottles of milk…..and that is it for shopping in Lamole!

They arrived just after 5. They’d stopped at the fork in the road in front of the restaurant, so I yelled and waved. Parked their car and came up to join us for yet another glass. We were very happy to see them! Got caught up on all our separate travel adventures over the last week. What fun sitting there…..having a glass of great wine, with great friends and views to die for! We’d made it to Tuscany. Before we left we made a dinner reservation for Monday night. Jill and Larry arrive tomorrow from Venice……more fun!

Drove down the road to home, did a draw for the rooms and got settled in. Ken and I got the basement room, which is really almost a separate unit with a small sitting area and kitchen. The rooms are all colour coordinated. Ours was the blue room……each one had different coloured checked comforters, cute! Sat outside under the grapevine covered pergola for some antipasto appies, which would have made a great dinner I think. Thought we should start dinner before we cracked open yet another bottle.

It was not long after starting dinner that we discovered our phones didn’t work in the house. The walls are 30cm thick so I guess the signal can’t get through. We needed our phones because we had managed to blow the fuses in the house!! Luckily we had a flashlight and there was another on the counter in the kitchen (handy as likely this happens a lot!). The lights were still on downstairs and the fuse box that we did find seemed to only turn those on and off. So we finally had to phone Marina. She just laughed and said she’d be up in about 15 minutes…..I did try to get her to just explain where it was and we’d could flip it ourselves so she wouldn’t have to drive all the way up here but she said, “no, no….I come”!

The upstairs electrical box was in a little alcove in the living room behind some curtains…..if we’d had a bit more light we probably would have eventually found it AND I know that is something we should have asked about when they were showing us the place.

Once the power was back on we finished cooking and eating……pasta and fresh veg and more wine! Way too much excitement and fun for one day. Pretty tired and everyone ended up going to bed pretty early for us, around 10:30. The earliest night we’ve had yet!

Sept 3 Sun

Up very early today, 5:30!! Not even bright out but just could not lay there anymore. Went up and made some coffee……french press. Was very pleasant outside so went and sat out there with my coffee and book. Read for a good hour or so before the next body was up and about.

It seems we have a cat!! We’ve called him Arnaldo…..a very friendly little tabby that just came and went, in and out, as he pleased. Luckily we all like kitties. There are a few others around but more timid and wouldn’t get to close to anybody.

Jill and Larry arrive in Florence by train today. R and G were going to go pick them up but after telling them about our driving in Florence experience J and L will take the bus from there to Greve.

Today we went to market day in Panzano. Yesterday we only paid Marina for half of our rental (arranged this ahead of time as she wanted cash….), she has a shop in Panzano so we went to pay her the balance and stock up on goodies at the market. Her shop is lovely……small houseware decor type place selling candles, soaps etc. Her brother is “Dario the singing butcher” who’s shop is right next door. Was going to pop into his shop but was packed solid….and yes he was singing!! Maybe we’ll try another day.

Panzano was sort of an odd town. It’s very small with a newer part and an older part. Up the hill was a beautiful church with gorgeous planters up the stairs. The views from up there are unbelievable. The market is kind of right in the middle of town on the main highway (SR222) that goes right thru the centre of it. Very crowded and kind of hard to maneuver around and of course parking was way down the hill. A great market though….lots of fun picking out veggies and fruit. A roast chicken truck (with the potatoes on the bottom), the porchetta guy, a deep fried everything truck, all of which you have to take a number for service. We were number 57 and they were serving 32 so Ken hung around there while I checked out some of the other non food stalls. You can buy anything and everything at these markets, all at what seem like reasonable prices too. Shirts, pants, shoes, underwear (polka dot bras!!), pots, pans, towels, tools etc. Some very pretty bed throws. There was also a flea market with some interesting things.

Our number finally came up….Porchetta panini and some battered, deep fried veg (verdure frite) and deep fried polenta. Delicious! Artichokes were the best and it’s the only way to eat polenta!

Stopped in Greve on the way back for lunch. It’s really quite lovely with the market stuff gone. The Piazza Matteotti is big, wide open with a lovely church at the south end. There are some great little restaurants, a wonderful bakery that sells the best cantucci and a wine store with tons of variety. There is Le Cantine for wine and wine tasting, which we didn’t get to today, there’s a corkscrew museum too! All kinds of shops all the way around the piazza under a covered walkway. Beautiful linens and ceramics. Lunch was at Ristorante Il Portico. Very good. Bruschetta, the meat antipasti and cannelini beans done with just some onion and olive oil. A couple of birra and some vino, Ken had dessert and the total for 4 of us was 48E.

There is an odd statue in the piazza…..it’s a bronze of just the torso part of maybe David? Will check to see if there is something about it.

Picked up more bread. Have to say I’m not a fan of Tuscan bread. It’s very crusty and chewy and kind of tasteless…..maybe its because there is no salt??

A quick stop on the way up the hill at Vignamaggio to check out their restaurant. Mona Lisa was part of the family that originally owned the villa…..so she may have walked the same path thru the garden!! The grounds are very nice…….lovely gardens. The villa dates back to the 1100’s…some interesting history about it and the “black rooster”. Restaurant looks good, its an organic farm now and they apparently have a fantastic wine cellar too. Would be worth trying out I think.

Jill and Larry arrived as planned. R & G picked them up at the bus stop in Greve around 7:30.

Dinner tonight was tagliatelli with pork sausage, zucchini, yellow peppers and porcini mushrooms. Made a great salad with tomatoes, small white onions and the creamiest ever little bocconcini, which when we bought it at the market they put them in a bag and then added some of the oil that they’d been in. Managed to polish off four or five bottles of wine, but there are eight of us now so…..not bad I guess. We have lined up the empties on the hearth on the big fireplace in the kitchen!!

Lots more to catch up on. J and L are so funny!! They tell the best stories of their traveling trials and tribulations. Honestly if we didn’t know them and the messes they get themselves in you wouldn’t think this stuff could really happen…..but we know them and it does! Most people would get upset or mad but they somehow find the humorous side to everything. We laughed and laughed and as we drank more wine we got louder…..I hope the neighbours didn’t mind.

Was just a beautiful day, hot and sunny and lots of fun.

Siena tomorrow.

Sept 4 Mon.

Another glorious morning. Not up as early this morning but was first as usual….too much wine maybe!?

Was sitting outside having my coffee and decided to take a little walk further up the lane past the house next door. Beautiful little vineyard and at least a dozen olive trees. As I was coming back down past the house the bottom door opened and an elderly lady came out and waved. I said buon giorno and she started speaking Italian so I had to say “dispiace, parlo un po” to which she laughed and said “No english” so we both laughed. I tried to ask if the olive trees were hers but couldn’t remember the word for tree so just said “tu oliva” and pointed. “Si, si”, I said “bello”. I then tried to say sorry for all the noise, ” dispiace forte rumore”. She said “no, no” and made signs like happy. She then waved for me to come with her into her basement, or bottom floor. The shelves were lined with bottles and jars of all sorts of things. She handed me a small bottle of oil. I made motions of her pressing it….”si, si”!! I went to hand it back and she said no and said “tu”. Many mille grazies!! What an absolutely wonderful experience it was. And a great way to start the day.

I do wish I’d learned a bit more Italian…..pretty sure I sound like a two year old learning how to talk but it is fun to try and someone is always willing to correct you! We are so lucky that so many people speak English, or at least some.

Finally on the road by 10:30 thinking it would take an hour to get to Siena. We managed to keep our cars together just outside of Siena where a traffic circle got the better of the other car and off they went somewhere. We’d made arrangements to meetin Il Camp if we got lost enroute. Tried following the parking signs for the Stadio parking lot but sometimes they were there and sometimes not…..argh. Poor B was driving again and getting stressed out, very frustrating I know but he was ready to turn around and head back home…..just no! Finally found metered street parking near the Stadio so paid for the max of 4 hours and could always add more if we needed too.

First stop on the way to the Campo was the Basilica San Domenico. It is very austere inside, almost empty as in people or anything. A few pews some small pieces of artwork, lovely stained glass windows. There are bits and pieces of St Catherine inside, her head and possibly a finger I think, but didn’t see where they would be. Susan lit a couple of candles and on to the Campo to find the others.

Il Campo is huge! I’d seen pictures but wasn’t quite expecting this. You come around the corner and there it is!!

Quite a few people but didn’t seem crowded because it is so big. Found the others getting gelato. Lots of great cafes and restaurants and bakeries…….bought a piece of “panforte di Siena”, which was incredibly dense and absolutely delicious!

Wandered up and down lots of great streets…..many shops and cafes. The different contrade still had their banners up from the palio that was run a few weeks ago. Must be pretty exciting to be here when it happens. Found a fun place for lunch….pizza and birra! They were huge and I guess we really should have just split a couple but at least this way we got to try eight different kinds…..all very good.

The duomo in Siena is just the best….so far. The floors are uncovered for only one month each year, luckily September, and they are superb. We got the audio guides, which were OK but a bit hard to follow. Lots of interesting bits of info like the statue of St Catherine being the only female one in there. There were some really interesting paintings but the guide didn’t reference them, nor did the brochure that we’d picked up on the way in. The ceiling is beautiful. Unfortunately the outside was covered in scaffolding but saw enough of the gorgeous marble. The scaffolding is great because it is actually a picture of the outside, so even though you don’t see it….you do, sort of. It’s just a beautiiful building inside and out and I think I could have spent another hour in there just admiring everything, especially the floor.

Would definitely come back to Siena. I think it would be a great place to stay for a few days and enjoy the evenings without the daytime tourist crowds.

Worked our way back to our cars and headed for home. Getting out of Siena proved to be just as complicated as getting in…..we can now say we’ve driven thru the gates!! Just followed the cars in front of us and realized too late that we shouldn’t have gone that way. Saw the signs and cameras all over the place but just kept following the guy ahead of us. Came to a lady holding a sign, waving it like crazy and pointing to a very narrow archway that we needed to go down….we had to fold in the mirrors! She did not look too happy……going to assume that she had been posted there to re-direct all us tourists back out. I wonder if we’ll have a fine to pay. No sign of R & G in their car???? We were just about to Castellina when Rae phoned to see where we were…..said they’d taken a wrong turn somewhere and thought they were probably nearing the east coast…..too funny.

Everybody eventually made it home safe and somewhat sound. We have four maps and still manage to get lost!! The best one is the one I ordered from Chianti Tourism. It shows the “white” roads and has all the little towns, hamlets, villages etc. within the Chianti area, so great for exploring close to home.

Dinner at Ristoro de Lamole tonight. With the view and the great food this might just be the best restaurant in Tuscany. Haven’t really been to any others but this place will be pretty hard to beat. The service was wonderful. Everyone ordered something different so was fun to see the different dishes and have little samples. Bruschetta, tagliatelli with porcini sauce (they are in season), rabbit, duck with incredibly delicious crispy skin, beef steak that comes sliced and done to perfection, gnocchi with spinach and ricotta in a truffle sauce. Two bottles of Lamole de Lamole 2004 and a bottle of local trebbiano, white chocolate mousse for dessert. All was fantastic! Out comes the bottle of limoncello……apparently it is very bad manners to NOT finish the bottle so we of course obliged.

We had made the reservation for 7:30 to catch the sunset and it was a good thing we did because by 8 the place was packed. Not a lot of parking so cars were just parked wherever….in the little lot, on the road, double parked, some on the grassy area in front…..just like anywhere on market days! We left around 10 and people were still arriving. What a gem this place is and had we not been staying there we probably wouldn’t have attempted the drive up or down at night.

Back home to find we don’t have any hot water??? Except downstairs. Not sure what the problem is but will call Marina in the morning.

Pisa tomorrow for Ken and I. Rae, Glen, Jill and Larry are taking the bus to Florence for the day. S and B are having a quiet in day at home.

Sept 5 Tues

Another beautiful day.

The hot water dilemma was sort of funny….in hindsight. Everyone was up early and managed to get showers in downstairs. The Florence people had bought their tickets aready so had to leave by 8. B & S would be hopeless trying to communicate with Marina, so that left me. Her shop doesn’t open until 10 so we got off to a slow start.

In my best Italian I tried to explain “no acqua calda”. She tried to tell me something about “zero and one” but I had no clue what she meant. Luckily she had a friend with her that spoke a bit more English and we sorted it out. Someone in our group had flipped one of the switches (there are three!!) in the bathroom upstairs, probably thinking it was the light. On the switch 0 = Off and the I = On, which is what Marina was trying to tell me. We had a similar thing happen in the kitchen yesterday so should have had a look around before calling her I guess but who knew. As soon as I pushed the “one” I heard the water heater unit come on.

Finally off on our day trip to Pisa. Took the scenic route because we’d likely end up on it anyway. And scenic it was……just spectacular in every direction!! Drove thru Poggibonsi and Certaldo and then……I’m not really sure. More signs for roads and towns that weren’t on our maps. Came to Highway 67 which the map said would take us right to Pisa and it did! Ended up on Via Bonanno Pisano only a couple of blocks from the duomo and tower. Metered street parking, buy ticket and leave in car.

Campo dei Miracoli is quite spectacular. It is really beautiful with the baptistry, duomo and tower all right there…..lovely big very well maintained grassy area around it. There are a ton of souvenir stands across the walkway in. The duomo has to be one of the nicest ones so far. Not terribly crowded which was nice. Wandered around just enjoying the view. Did not go up the tower (had to pre-buy tickets and the time would have been too late). I think it’s just impressive to look at. Had a coffee and pastry break at a cafe with a great view of it all. Pisa is a big city but the campo, even with tourists, is a prize in the middle of it.

Drove through many nice little places on the way there that all seemed to have great restaurants and did think about trying to find one on the way home but just ended up stopping at the best ever autogrille. A buffet!!! Four or five different kinds of perfectly cooked pasta (in a buffet!!), and equal number of different sauces. Including bread 5.50E….amazing. I had the orecchiette with mushrooms in a fresh tomato sauce….was absolutely delicious, and of course one of the 1/2 litre bottles of wine to go with it. Ken saw they had burgers so got quite excited but unfortunately for him they’d ran out so he had the bistecca instead for 8E. One of the best and cheapest meals so far. Someone had told me that the food was terrible at the autogrilles, so either we have no taste, or they just didn’t hit the right ones.

Drive back was good…..no unexpected detours! Stayed on the A11 all the way to Scandicci and then on to the SS222. Home by 7:30. The others had just arrived home a bit before us so dinner was pretty much salani, cheese, bread and whatever leftovers we had. S & B did the Lamole Ring Road today and said it was good, so will give that a try.

Tomorrow is San Gimignano and Volterra! So much to see……a week isn’t going to do it so we’ll just have to come back!!

Sept 6 Wed

Another gorgeous day! Up early and our two car caravan was on the road by 9.

Just past Poggibonsi you can see San Gimignano off in the distance and it does look like a mini Manhattan!

Parked in a big gravel lot just below the town. Up and up we went…..lots of steps to get up to town from the parking lot.

Just before the last set of stairs to get up to town Susan got to experience one of the self-cleaning public bathrooms. Quite the contraption really. You have to put money in and the metal door slides open….like out of a Star Wars movie!! She walked in an all of a sudden the door whipped shut. We could hear her inside “oh just lovely” and “its rather dark in here” and “I hope the door opens”. We’re outside laughing but she wasn’t too impressed with the whole thing. “How does this door open?” We could hear a bit of panic in her voice and started bugging B about putting more coins in to get here out (he’s really cheap!!). Finally the door opened and she just walked right past all of us who were laughing. All of a sudden we hear a whoosh and the door slides shut and it sounded like a washing machine……these are self-cleaning bathrooms apparently!!! She did come around a bit later and even laughed about it.

San Gim is very, very pretty! Narrow alleys with flowers tumbing out of window boxes, extremely neat and tidy. And of course the towers…..there used to be 70+ of them. So much the typical hill town one hopes to see when here. It was very busy though, just tons of people. We all went off on our own to explore and then meet back at the Cisterna in a couple hours.

The line up to go up the Torre Grossa was just too long and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to climb up more stairs. I’m sure the view would have been spectacular. You have to go through the Civic Museum to get to the tower but could bypass the climber line up for a quick look in there. Wandered up through Piazza Duomo, up to the Ancient Protected Trees and the fortress. Walked along the city walls for a while admiring the beautiful views in all directions. Back in the piazza there are tons of great little shops selling products made by local artisans. Ran into Rae and Glen in a pottery shop, Ceramica Balducci, buying a unique drip-less olive oil jug that he designed.

Thought about having lunch but everywhere was just too crowded. I’m pretty sure there are bus tour groups today, probably every day! We all caught up at the cisterna and worked our way back to the cars. Got a bit twisted around heading to the parking but discovered the Chiesa San Jacopo al Tiempo…..what a little gem it is! Very simple church possibly from the 11th/12th century with some connection to the Templars but that’s questionable apparently, regardless is looks ancient. There is their cross above the door. It is attached to the old, or one set of walls. Small but very pretty rose window some frescos from the 13th or 14th century. And the original bell hanging on a stand at the side of the little piazza. The inside columns are quite plain but the capitals (?) on top have some very intricate carvings.

On to Volterra. Another beautiful hilltown. More narrow alleys, arches, tons of planters full of gorgeous flowers and spectacular views of Tuscany in every direction. Had lunch in an alley, Trattoria Il Poggio. It was literally an alley, really quaint with only four tables (more out in the front). Ravioli, lasagna, pasta with with fresh peas, salad, water and really good red wine in a beautiful ceramic jug!

After lunch we all split up and went off to explore. So much to see in Volterra…..almost wish we’d given it more than half a day!! A beautiful duomo, the fortress, a tower you can climb, the Roman ruins, the Etruscan museum…..and just wandering around the beautiful medieval streets. Lots of restaurants and places to grab coffees and pastries. My fave place so far I think!

Came across an alabaster sculpture demo happening in Piazza San Giovanni, near the duomo and baptistry (just beautiful….dome by Brunelleschi??). I was on a mission to find alabaster grapes to go with my terra cotta fruit (from Mexico). Found some that are so pretty and hopefully the right size. Also picked up a nice little cheese knife/spreader.

Volterra was much less crowded that San Gim so was really pleasant to visit. I would love to stay there.

Stopped at the Coop in Greve on the way home to pick up a few things for dinner. They were out of everything!! No porcinis!! No bread, but that’s OK our teeth can use a bit of a break, no pun intended but that Tuscan bread is just not that great (maybe because no salt??). Some of the shelves were almost empty…..I guess lunch is the main meal here so most shop early. Managed to get some chicken, some great looking green beans, a couple small balls of mozza and more wine.

Made a great risotto (even without the porcinis!!). Getting dinner ready is really part of the fun of a trip like this. Wonderful fresh ingredients, lots of wine and chatting and laughing. S & B aren’t real keen on the long day trips. He loves to cook so tomorrow they are taking the car and heading off to markets and making us a surprise dinner! The plan is to do the Lamole Ring Road walk…..we got the name of a small local winery to stop at for tastings. Lamole di Lamole is not open to the public unfortunately so can’t stop there.

What a great day!! I only wish we had more time……I can’t believe this week has gone so fast!

Sept 7 Thurs

Just another beautiful day. Can this weather last another 2.5 weeks for us??

Very slow start today. Everybody just sort of lounged around until 10-ish. S and B took off early for their shopping day. The rest of us finally got going on our Lamole Ring Road walk and what a great time we had!!

There isn’t much on the ring road but the views are to just die for! The hills up behind Lamole are covered in vineyards and olive trees with little clusters of houses, all of which have glorious window boxes and pots with flowers tumbling out of them, many of the houses are half covered in ivy and other climbing plants. Looking down into the valley is just the same……all vineyards with olive groves and little hamlets……just like the pictures of Tuscany. Must admit we did not do the whole thing…..was pretty hot by the time we hit the road. Found a secondary path/trail that took us back down to the upper Lamole road.

Found the winery, Le Masse di Lamole. Followed the signs up quite a steep dirt road in another little house cluster. Very small tasting room that already had people in there buying by the case so we figured it had to be pretty good. We just sat outside and “chatted” with an old guy that came along from one of the houses. He spoke no English, so the phrase book got a workout. Whatever he said or we said, we had fun and laughed a lot. Once the customers left the lady came out and we asked about tasting.

Her English was like my my Italian but she knew what we wanted. She explained (at least this is what we think she meant) how the Chianti now has to be 100% sangiovese grapes and how they can’t release last years until this years harvest is finished…..which is in the process now, some completed depending on the type of grape. We tasted two of their Chianti, one quite light and easy to drink and one really robust one that made your lips pucker. Two white wines made with local trebbiano grapes, one a bit sweet the other very dry and very good. And of course we tried with vin santo……everyone (except me) really liked it. The old guy outside was her Dad so he had joined us…..he’s quite the character and was lots of fun. We left with a bottle of everything that that we tasted.

The tastings were pretty generous so we were all feeling pretty darn good by the time we left. Sampled a few of the grapes on the vines along the road……thought it would be nice to have a bunch for our fruit bowl but didn’t think we should pick them

The upper road took us right to Ristoro di Lamole just in time for lunch! What a great time we had. Super lunch…I had the cipolle something with truffles that was just delicious, so garlicky and sort of like a mousse. Can’t remember what everyone else had…..think there were a couple salads and a lasagna. Had a couple bottles of prosecco and wine and then he brought out the limoncello!! Everybody that works there was so much fun so made our lunch even better! Made a dinner reservation for tomorrow night before we left……after 4PM!

All pretty tipsy on the walk back down the road. Guys walking way up the road ahead of us. We talked Rae into picking a small bunch of grapes (a little braver after all the beverages…..). A bit further down the road Rae tripped on something….maybe a rock or her own feet…..and down she went. Jill and I went to make sure she was OK and realized she was the one carrying the prized vin santo….grabbed the bag to make sure it wasn’t broken, it wasn’t, then asked her if she was OK….our priorities were a little skewed from the wine I think. The guys must have heard us so they stopped, turned around, had a look and just kept walking….. A bit of a nasty skinned knee but other than that she was all good. Asked the guys later why they didn’t come to see why she was laying in the middle of the road…..they saw us laughing so figured we had it all under control…..oh well, men!

Back home, Rae got her knee cleaned up and we opened yet another bottle of wine. S and B got back with bags of goodies and went in to get their surprise dinner started. We poured them some wine and then were banned from the kitchen until dinner!

What a terrific dinner!! Veal Parmigiano, stuffed zucchini flowers, roast potatoes and a beautiful big salad. All absolutely delicious. Pretty sure if we all didn’t like to cook he would have been making dinners like this every night…..really in his element.

Another fantastic day. The walk, the wine, lunch, dinner just everything.

I really think after dinner is one of the best times of day…….having a glass or two, chatting and laughing about what we did all day……just great!

Sept 8 Fri

Our last day here. How sad I am to be leaving Tuscany! So much more to see here.

This morning the girls went shopping and for lunch in Greve. Not food shopping and left the guys at home! They’re getting the piazza all set up for the wine festival that starts tomorrow (bad timing on our part!!) All the local wineries were setting up stalls for tasting. You buy a glass for 15E and you get to taste all the wines. Would have been fun.

Started with coffee and pastry at Bar Lepanto. Bought a couple of the Chianti rooster tee shirts for the kids, some beautiful linen tea towels, a little drawing of Greve and a few gifts to take home. Saw the guys wandering………said they too wanted to do some shopping but hadn’t made it any further than Le Cantine!

Back home to drop off our goodies and off to Volpaia and Radda via the white roads!! The map I ordered from the Chianti tourism people was the best. So much detail and it shows all the white roads too. They’re not always in the best of shape but definitely the shortest route to get to Volpaia from Lamole. It was a rather exciting drive……very rough road and very narrow in some places. Pretty sure we hit our heads on the roof a few times. BUT……talk about views!! We did not pass a single car on our way!

Volpaia is beautiful! Almost a little too beautiful and perfect. It’s been around since the 1100’s! The castello is now a hotel, there’s a couple of restaurants. Tons of restoration work has been done. It’s just a beautiful small town without a ton of tourists, which was nice. All the buildings have lots of plants and flowers. Great views too.

On to Radda…..thankfully the road became paved a little ways past Volpaia. Radda is another wonderful medieval village that probably hasn’t changed that much! A sign says that it has kept it’s “elliptical shape since the 14th century”. We found a wonderful enoteca down a passageway that was part of an ancient tunnel. Picked up a couple more bottles of wine and some balsamico that we could taste first. It wasn’t the real expensive stuff that’s aged for 12 years, but still very thick. It’s called “condimento” which I think means that something has been added to thicken it. There was a castle there at one time but only a tower is left today. Another great town to wander around, lots of shops, cafes, restaurants and just a very pretty place…..definitely would consider staying there. Not a ton of tourists and like all the other towns it was as neat as a pin!

Took a different road back that took us through Castellina in Chianti again but didn’t stop. It looks nice so I hope we didn’t miss anything.

Our last dinner in Chianti tonight. Ristoro di Lamole again. I really almost cried. It was as good as it was the first time and just as much fun. Sunset was beautiful. Out came the limoncello after dinner which we polished off with no problem.

Back to pack up, clean up and make plans for tomorrow. We’re first heading to Asciano for market day and since the drive to Casa Lucati, our home in Umbria for the next week, should only be a couple of hours we’ll hopefully get a chance to stop somewhere else on the way .

This has just been the best week ever!!! I’m not sure it can get any better!

Next up Umbria………..