My Italy Diary: Tuscany, Part 4

After dinner last night we took a walk and met up with Liz and Ron Koontz, fellow Americans from California. We shared some wine and conversation, and made plans to have dinner together tonight. Carmelina followed us back to the room and came in for a treat, the leftover procuitto from our meal, and promptly went to bed. We stopped at the tavern for cappucino before heading out this morning and discovered that they are not open for dinner tonight. We are disappointed as the meals here have been the best we’ve had in Italy and we depart tomorrow.

Our first stop today was San Gimignano, a small medieval town which once upon a time had 72 towers. Today only 14 remain and only one, Torre Grosse, is open to the public. We climbed to the top to get the panoramic view, which was not disappointing. There was a lot of fog so the opportunity for photography was somewhat limited. The most charming aspect of the city is its ancient stone walls and numerous small alleyways. We grabbed a pizza sandwich, the most delicious flavor, and walked around shopping for local treasure and wine.

Next we drove to Volterra, where we visited a palace of a local family (who still live in part of it) which they have opened to the public. Again, we spent most of the time just wandering around. Volterra is known for its alabaster so we picked up a couple of small pieces. The best part of the day was the scenery. I would tell Mr. Man to pull over when there was a particularly beautiful vista, as he was driving an unable to really appreciate it. We arrived back to Romitorio de Serelle, then checked in with Liz and Ron and met up for dinner around 7:30pm. We dined in a little restaurant in Castellina in Chianti. The meal (antipasta, Ravioli, and roast chicken) and company was good. Today was my 44th birthday and I couldn’t have dreamed of a better way to spend it.

My Italy Diary: Tuscany, Part 3

We had cappucino in the room this morning and then headed for Siena. We walked around after having a plate of nondescript pasta. The Duomo and Basilica are amazing with layers of green and creamy white, sometimes almost pink, marble alternating. Unfortunately, the front is under restoration so we were unable to see it. They erect a “life-size” facade in front with a picture of how it looks. We did a little shopping and purchased some gifts for friends and family. We tried to head south to visit a few of the smaller towns, but it was too difficult finding the correct routes, so we headed for Castillina in Chianti instead. Not much was going on there as it is Sunday and everything closed early. On the way back we returned to San Donato in the hopes that one of the markets might still be open, but all were closed.

My Italy Diary: Tuscany, Part 2

We woke this morning early to the sounds of gun fire off in the distance, the shots echoing across the valley. Sitting in the window I watched a hot air ballon way off in the distance travel across the valley as the sun rose higher in the sky. We headed for Fienza as we had made reservations for the Uffizi at 12:45pm. You cannot drive a car into the city center, so we easily found a parking space and walked the few blocks, stopping for cappucino on the way. Interestingly, the cost to enjoy your coffee outside at one of the cafe’s tables is double the price of drinking while standing at the counter inside. There are a lot of shops lining the streets with beautiful jewelry and the softest leather.

There are many wonderful paintings in the muesum and you cannot take photos. I think my favorite was seeing Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus,” probably one of the most famous, and favorite, paintings in the museum. There are rooms dedicated to Leonardo Di Vinci, Raffello, yet only one painting by Michelanglo, the “Holy Family with the Infant St. John the Baptist,”(the Doni Tondo), and is the only painting by the artist in Florence. After the muesum, we walked to the Duomo, a truly magnificent structure, and the Baptstry with its different colored marble—breathtaking. Florence is different from Rome, quieter and less hectic, although there are people everywhere and many tourists. We bought a few watercolors from a sidewalk artist of Tuscan landscapes. There are a lot of talented artists with their works to choose from, but these appealed to us most for their subject matter, color palatte, and execution.
We had a non-eventful trip back to Chianti, stopping in San Donato to buy some supplies for breakfast tomorrow. Such a quaint little town. We visited a couple small stores, buying procuitto parma, cheese, fresh bread, olive oil, pears, coke (I know), water, etc. We purchased a bottle of wine from Roberto here at Romitorio di Serelle from Casa Emma just down the road and enjoyed it while sitting outside our apartment soaking in the view.

We chose to eat dinner here again tonight and it was, again, amazing. It started with a traditional antipasta plate, followed by a penne paste with marinara sauce and fresh grated parmignano cheese. Afterwards we had veal (a first for me) with some sort of root vegetable, both delicious, and for dessert a tiramisu and cappucino. I had asked Roberto earlier in the day the names of the cats: Carmelina, the large tourtiseshell tabby, and Bilbo, a small cream color. Carmelina followed us home again and came inside with us, and I gave her a bit of procuitto. Mr. Man and I then curled up on the couch and watched a little TV. Later, when I went to bed, Carmelina was asleep on the bed.

My Italy Diary: Tuscany

Today was spent mostly in traveling from Capri to Chianti. We took the 8:30am ferry to Napoli and from there traveled by train to Fienza. The train was an hour late in arriving and then lost another 20 minutes in route. The scenery was lovely though for the most part; quaint little hill towns, huge mountains, vast green spaces with a small village at the top of hills. I’m in love with it already. Once we arrived in Florence, we rented a car aqnd headed for Toscana. We recieved great directions from a woman at Auto Europe and Mr. Man very confidently navagated the streets of Florence as well as the autostrada.

Romitorio di Serelle is eveything I had imagined, and the view—we are surrounded by vineyards and olive groves and beautiful wooded areas, with other villas off in the near distance. Our apartment is in an old stone building and contains a small living/dining/kitchen area with a half bath and a beautiful marble and iron staircase with a bedroom and separae full bath upstairs. From our bedroom we have an incredible view over the valley and adjoining vineyards, and, at night, the lights of a distance town. It is truly amazing and it is hard to imagine there is anywhere more peaceful and lovely than this.

We dined in the small ristorante (for guests only) last night to a scrumptous meal. We began with a bottle of Chianti, Santa Dame, which is from the vineyard right outside our window, along with an antipasta plate of parma, bruchetta, cheese, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella. This was followed by the most delicious lasagna I have every eaten. The layers were filled with ricotta chesse and bechamel sauce with zuccini and tomatoes, and a small amount of meat (most likely a combination of ground beef, veal and pork) with mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses on the top, which was golden brown. The look of Mr. Man's face as he ate this... We ate all of it knowing we still had a second course to come as well as dessert. Our second course was a filet of beef cooked with tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions in individual crocks with a delicious broth. We managed to eat all of this as well. Our wine was the perfect accompliment: dry, full bodied, with a nutmeg finish. Dessert was a small apple tart, not particularly favorful, but we did not care as we were too full and satisfied to really appreciate it.

We came back to our apartment and went to bed, too full of good food and wine to think of anything other than sleep. On the way we met the villa’s cats who followed us, but didn’t want to be petted. They actually made their way inside when we opened the door and I had to throw them out.