Tuscan Adventures

Tuscany- Thursday, May 22nd

We left Sorrento at 9:30 a.m. on our way to Tuscany, which the GPS (GPS Kate) says is about a five hour drive. We stopped a little past Rome for gas which cost 1.489 euros per liter (60 euros to fill the tank) for diesel (which is what we are using). This is the equivalent of 5.63 euros or US$8.83 per gallon!!!! ( ...and we are whining in the states when it hit $4)

We started to notice many locals entering the Piazzo del Campo and strolling about. The older people seemed to be dressed in their “Sunday best”.

We stopped for lunch at Orvieto, a place we enjoyed a lot on our last trip and hoped to share with D & L. We followed GPS Kate’s instructions and ended up right in the Piazza where the Duomo is located and found a close parking spot. When we were here last, we had parked in the large parking lot and walked a long ways up the hill in the heat.

The Duomo was closed when we arrived so we had lunch in a small outdoor ristorante. It poured for a few minutes and I used my umbrella at the table (with an overhead umbrella also) to try to stay dry. Shortly after we finished, the Duomo opened again and we headed inside to view it. It was as spectacular as we remembered it. We checked out the unique Cappella Nuova (aka Chapel of St Brizo) with it’s frescoes by Signorelli again and I was sorry that I forgot to bring my travel binoculars to see the higher frescoes better. It also would have been a good idea to bring the little book explaining these frescoes that I bought here last time.

We arrived at our reserved agriturismo, Fagiolari around 5:30 and settled into our rooms. Gary and I are staying in the little cottage that is separate from the main building. Giulietta, the owner, was busy giving a cooking class (we will take one on Saturday).

We drove for dinner to Lamole, a tiny town in the Chianti area and only a short drive from Greve in Chianti. The drive up the Chianti hills is beautiful and on a very small and curvy Tuscan road. We ate here in July 2004 at Ristoro Di Lamole and were very impressed with the fresh local Tuscan dishes and the wonderful view. Though we had hoped to be there for sunset, we did enjoy seeing it on our drive up for our 8:30 reservation. Jonas was a very attentive waiter. He recommended the local Lamole chianti classico, year 2000 and it turned out to be a great year, indeed!!

My choices for dinner were: flan di ricotta e funghi avvolto nella bietola (warm ricotta cheese & mushroom pudding), crespelle casalinghe di zucchine gratinate in forno con pomodoro fresca e parmigiano (Homemade roasted crepes stuffed with Zucchini) & Filetto di Maiale con leggaro panatura croccante e punte di spinaci saltati (Grilled pork fillet with light bread crumbs and fresh spinach in garlic). It was all very delicious and a meal to remember......

Tuscany- Florence, Friday, May 23rd

We got an early start leaving Fagiolari at 7am headed towards Florence. We were lucky to find a parking spot right along the Arno River. We grabbed a cappuccino and a roll on our way to our reserved entrance time of 9:45am to the world famous Uffizi Gallery.

TIP: I had ordered and prepaid for tickets online at tickitaly.com and had just printed out our voucher at home in the US and then we just picked the tickets up 15 minutes before our reserved time and we were able to bypass the other lines.

We purchased audio guides and followed their suggestion through the vast gallery. I had also downloaded free from ITunes a Rick Steves Audio Tour of the Uffizi and listened to that on my IPod during the drive on Thursday. We spent 2 1/2 hours there and then walked over to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens via the Ponte Vecchio to purchase tickets for entrance to the gardens. I was surprised that they were now charging 10 euros. We realized that we needed to walk the 1 1/2 - 2 miles or so back to the car to get another parking ticket (the first one was only good until 2 p.m.) so we decided to see the Boboli Gardens later.

After returning to the car, we headed towards the Duomo and stopped at a little restaurant next to the Duomo and had pizza for lunch. Our tickitaly.com ticket reservations for the Accademia Gallery were at 3 p.m. This time the line we got to bypass was really long so I was very happy that we had reserved ahead.

Once inside, we headed immediately to see Michelangelo’s David. As this is a smaller gallery, we were not inside much more than an hour. We greatly enjoyed an exhibition they were having entitled “At the Origins of Sound” which had many very old (1600-1700) musical instruments including two hurdy gurdys. ( wasn’t it Donovan that sang “The Hurdy Gurdy Man”?) They also had the oldest known upright piano.... a very unusual shape.... wish I had taken a picture.

From there we walked back to the Boboli Gardens and walked the vast grounds, up to the Garden of the Cavalier (next to the Porcelain Museum) with it’s great views and then over and down the Viottolone to the reflecting pools at the Isolotto. Once there, we took many pictures and then headed back to the other side of the gardens to view the very strange Buontalenti Grotto and the famous Bacchus Fountain before we left. It is said that these gardens became the model for all European Royal gardens, including those at Versailles. (Yes, we walked miles today and since L was wearing her pedometer, we know that we walked close to 12 miles today most of which was on cobblestone!)

We had called for reservations at Solociccia in Panzano in Chianti. I had run across some information online about Dario Cecchini. He opened up his restaurant across the street from his butcher shop a couple of years ago. It is open three nights a week (Thursday, Friday & Saturday) for two seatings at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m and for lunch on Sunday. We were seated at 9:15 at a table of 18 people (there are only two tables in this restaurant). There were six courses, only meat (as in the name) and fagioli (Tuscan white beans) and a few “crudites” before the meal. Dinner was concluded with a cake made with olive oil, then espresso and after-dinner grappa. Dario stopped by the table to say hi to all of us.

Not only was the food an experience but so was the company of the other people at the table. There were a couple of guys from Austria and Switzerland, and a 26 year old guy from Dallas that is in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Naples and his wife and her sister. We had a really fun evening and would highly recommend this eatery to anyone visiting the area. This is one of the links that made us curious enough to check this place out & we are certainly glad that we did, it was a great adventure. http://www.solociccia.it/solocicciaing.htm also check out: http://www.divinacucina.blogspot.com/2006/09/solociccia.html

Saturday, May 24th

It was decided that today would be a relaxation day - no sightseeing.

After breakfast, it was time to wash clothes, which we did in the little kitchen sink in the cottage and then hung them on hangers from one of the olive trees.

We went into town (Greve in Chianti) for lunch at the internet cafe (believe it was called Cafe Sant’Anna) and ate on the pretty patio in back while the guys used the wireless internet. We then spent some time lounging and reading by the pool at Fagiolari before L, Gary and I presented ourselves in the kitchen for our Tuscan cooking lesson at 5 p.m. We had chosen our menu this morning and Giulietta had shopped for the freshest local ingredients in town. Stephania and Giulietta demonstrated and we were very involved in the making of a marmalade tart (for dessert), Pork Loin in Chianti & Onions and Ravioli stuffed with Spinach & Ricotta. We made the ravioli from scratch starting by putting a hole in a pile of flour and gently blending in two eggs. We used the pasta roller (press??) to make the ravioli pasta and then filled them. We also made Pepperonata ( a saute of sweet bell peppers and other veggies). We were able to pour & enjoy some of Giulietta’s own chianti (grown right here) as we cooked.

Giulietta was also preparing dinner for eight guests (who pay only 25 euros each for a fabulous meal) so we were able to help in the preparation of a risotta dish with artichokes. It was quite time consuming to get the risotta right but we were rewarded with a taste of that with our dinner also.... fabulous!!!

The meal was so spectacular that we asked Giulietta to do dinner for us on Monday... we will just shorten our sightseeing time then.

After our lesson, we each got to keep our nice Fagiolari aprons and a cookbook which had many recipes including the ones we made here. We all agreed that it was well worth the time and money to take the class.

Sunday, May 25th

Today was the day to see some of the walled cities of Tuscany.

We went to San Gimignano first and stopped for some lovely view pictures before our arrival. Upon entering the old city with the many towers, we did a lot of window shopping. We stopped for lunch at a little outdoor cafe on the Piazza della Cisterna. After more exploring, we stopped for some gelato at Pluripremiata Gelateria. This gelateria is a Gelato World Champion 2006/7 and 2008/9 as a member of the Italian team and organization. I had some coconut and some mixed berry gelato that was wonderful - the best I’ve had so far on this trip - creamy but still very light. Definitely recommended if you like gelato, and who doesn’t......

We drove next to Volterra which was a few minutes more on the rural beautiful Italian roads. Volterra is known for it’s alabaster and we were lucky to be here for the Alabastri a Volterra- Sculture di Luce 1780-1930 exhibition which is running from April 24th to November 3, 2008. The exhibition is hosted in the Palazzo de Priori, the earliest city hall built in Tuscany.

More than 100 works of art that were all executed in alabaster and all privately owned by Volterran families and institutions are on display for the very first time. Unfortunately, they would not allow cameras inside.

After stopping for a mid-afternoon doppio espresso ( double espresso), we got on the road again heading towards Sienna. GPS Kate said it would take a little over an hour to go the 35 miles. Once there, we parked in a public parking lot close to Puerto San Marco, something that is much more difficult to do in the summer tourist season. Walking toward the Campo from the south, we passed the hotel (Hotel Ravinna) where we stayed on our last trip here in 2006 during the July Palio. There were some men from the Pantera Contrada with their flags just outside... we must have just missed them practicing.

We continued on and stopped at our favorite ceramics place here. Tesori di Siena, and bought some more ceramics in the same pattern that we bought in 2006 (Gigliato). They will ship it to the U.S. for us and we should have it in about five weeks.

Just before we arrived at the Campo, a group of about 60-70 men and boys dressed in the regalia of La Contrada del Drago (The Dragon Contrada) ( one of the 17 contradas of Sienna) marched up the street to drum beat-- obviously a celebration of some type. I was able to get a flyer from one of the ladies that explained:La Contrada del Drago nei giorno in cui ricorre la Festa Titolare in onore di S. Caterina da Sienna, sua venerato Patrona, OFFRE ai benemeriti Protettori ed agli Armici il seguente. Translated??? by “Babel Fish” (you can kind of get the idea)= The Contrada of Drago in the day in which it reruns the Titular Festivity in honor of S. Caterina from Sienna, its venerato Female saint, OFFERS meritorious the Protecting ones and to You arm the following one to us.

We were able to get an outside table at Il Palio Bar for pre-dinner bruschetta and wine. This was the same location where we had our bleacher seats for the Palio race on July 2, 2006. We started to notice many locals entering the Piazzo del Campo and strolling about. The older people seemed to be dressed in their “Sunday best”. We also noted above us in the building that there was an announcer with headphones and camera obviously doing a play by play on the action in the Campo. At 7 p.m. we heard drums and the full Campo (not as many people as the Palio but still very crowded) would cheer and sing in different areas. Then we noticed each contrada’s flag was being displayed on the Palazzo Pubblico (1289-1309) building in sequence. A very cool experience and we just happened to be there at the right time.... what timing!

Gary had called and got reservations at a little restaurant that had been highly recommended to us by a friend who had been here for a month. He said that the food was fantastic and the prices were very reasonable (turned out to be about half the cost of the norm and it was really excellent food). The name of the restaurant is Osteria la Chiacchera and is located on a steep street. There are four outside tables which have little wedges under the table and chair legs to keep you level. We were also lucky to have a great waitress, Leanne. We ended the meal with Vin Santo. They did not have espresso which is very unusual for Italy.

On our way to the car, we stopped again in the Campo (it was nearly 11 p.m.) and had doppio espresso. The Campo was much calmer now and it was a great way to end a wonderful day in Tuscany.

Monday, May 26th

We had planned to go to Cinque Terre and Pisa today but realized with a 2 1/2 hour drive each way to Cinque Terre that it would take all day and we wanted to take it easier and be back for Giulietta’s dinner tonight. She is an outstanding cook and her guests have the option of one of her fabulous meals with wine for only 25 euros each, a fabulous deal in Italy! One of the first rules to having a pleasant trip anytime is to be flexible and not have everything written in stone. It also leads to a more relaxing trip and stress on a vacation is not desired. D & L will certainly check out the beauty of Cinque Terra the next time they come to Italy, I’m sure.

After breakfast, we headed towards Pisa which took about two hours of driving from Fagiolari. We were able to find free parking near the university and walked a ways to the grassy walled area where the famous leaning tower, the baptistry and the basilica are located. Though it was just past noon, our tickets to climb the tower weren’t until 2:40 p.m. (Tickets are 15 euros each to do the climb) We stopped at a little risorante for caprese salad, split some pizza and wine and then did some shopping. When it was time, 24 people were allowed to climb the 407 (give or take a couple) steps to the top of the leaning tower. It feels odd as you climb because of the tilt and it is interesting to note how much of the marble steps have worn over the hundreds of years since this was built.

There is a restoration/cleaning project taking place on the tower now that should be completed in 2009. There is a huge difference between the bottom level which had already been completed and the levels above. This will be a problem for tourists who want nice pictures for a while.

After our return to Fagiolari, we hung out in front of our little cottage relaxing in the chairs, enjoying the bucolic scene and finishing the wine..... we don’t want to lug the wine to Venice tomorrow.

At 7:30 dinner was served and we were joined by a nice couple from Bakersfield, California. The meal was as awesome as expected, starting with a lasagne dish (& also some ravioli with spinach and ricotta from this evening’s cooking lesson - a couple from Alabama that we met this morning). Then we had Pork in Milk (tastes so much better than it sounds, I had made this dish when I took a cooking lesson from Giulietta when she was visiting California a few years ago) accompanied by white beans cooked in olive oil and garlic (simple and delicious). The meal was topped off by a version of Tiramisu where the lady fingers are soaked in Vin Santo rather than espresso. Wow!!! The dish also included some fresh strawberries.

We looked at a photo album of pictures of Fagiolari when Giulietta bought the place back in 1984 (she opened the B&B in 1996). It had a few walls standing on the property but not much else. She transformed the place with much hard work and planted gardens, olive trees and vineyards. She makes her own wine- which her guests get to enjoy- and her own olive oil from her 150 olive trees. http://www.fagiolari.it/eng_index.htm

I really hate to leave this little haven ( though I won’t miss the mile long dirt road on the way to her place) tomorrow morning but it’s time to head to Venezia (Venice)!