Tuscany, Italy (April 14-25)

Tuscany, Italy
Mark

From Rome we rented a car and headed north, to a tiny village in Tuscany called Secchiano, right in Chianti country. We had no idea what the place looked like, as it was recommended by a woman whose place we tried to rent, but was unavailable. She recommended this place in Secchiano to us, a friend of hers. It was a complete house, two bedrooms, small private patio with view, kitchen living room and dining room, 65 Euros a night. We took it sight unseen and crossed our fingers. Little did we know what we were in for....

Vineyards of Tuscany

We exited the highway and stopped at the large Ippercoop, which is Italy's version of Superstore. This means more types of mozzarella than you can conceive of; huge loaves of fresh bread sold by the kilo; fresh local produce; local proscuito and sausage and cheeses; freshly made pizzas and chickens and rabbit (which we ate whenever we could, as it is delicious); mortadella rolls as large as a tree trunk; and of course fresh pastas in every shape and size. Unable to make up my mind as to which pasta to buy, I asked the woman next to me which one was good. Without hesitation she blurted out "All of them!" The same thing would happen when asking a local which restaurant was good. And they were right.

Approach to Secianno

View of Secciano from a distance

We got lost on the way to Secchiano, and luckily we had a cell phone and got exact directions again from the woman, as the people who owned our rental did not speak English. We've had a cellphone since Borneo, where we purchased a cheap Nokia for 30 bucks CDN. After that we would buy new simms for each country, usually about 25 bucks, and you're off and running. Quite handy at times. We finally found the turn we had missed three or four times and headed up up up as the woman on the phone said. Just keep going up, which we did, passing through very modern and not very pretty small neighbourhoods, wondering if this is where we were going to be staying. Not very romantic we thought. Up up up we went, and as we climbed the neighbourhoods gave way to small farms and old villages. We were on the crest of a hill, with slopes falling off on either side of us. We could see olive trees and grape vines and old stone buildings. Up up up we went until there was no where left to go, and standing there was Gianna, the woman who owned our villa. "Finalamente!" she called as we drove up.

Road up to our Villa in Secciano

Welcome to our Tuscany Villa

Entrance to Villa - previous one a shack nearby

We were on the top of the crest with panoramic vistas all around us. Gianna led us into the small private garden area, which contained a pic-nik table and covered swinging chair, potted flowers, some grass and some tile for patio, all very pretty. Through the glass front door to the inside we were all enchanted by our new abode: beautifully painted plaster and stone walls; varnished wooden ceiling beams; stone and tile floors all impeccably finished and complemented by wooden furniture. In the dining room was a large wood burning stove (which we used daily); the kitchen was tiny with a gas stove and fridge and well equipped for cooking. On the side board in the dining room was a bottle of homemade wine and olive oil, gifts for us from Gianna and Sandro (the wine was gone by morning and the olive oil by week's end). A small living room off the dining room, and then up the slate stairs to the top floor, with two bedrooms with wooden windows so clean we wondered if they were open and a bathroom with all the necessities, including bidet and washer.

View from Bathroom of Villa

Eating in the Villa

Artemis trying wine in Tuscany villa

From the bathroom window in the mornings we could see the horses in the field and the olive trees dropping off down the slope. We were there for 11 short days, during which time we drove around the gorgeous countryside up and down the winding hilly roads. We stopped at vineyards and tasted wine (for free); went to local grocery stores for fresh beautiful food; went through 15 or so bottles of local wine while playing cards or watching the Godfather or the Big Labowski well into the wee hours of the night. We ate amazing homemade pasta and pizza. We snooped around fields and backroads looking for firewood, as we burned quite a bit of it, and despite getting daily supplies from Gianna, seemed to go through it all too quickly.

Hiking through the countryside

Our bottles of Wine over the 12 days

Florence was a short train ride away, and we went there twice; we visited Sienna, St. Gimignano, San Giovani, Tivoli, Rada - where we ate wild boar stew and fresh sausage and pasta. We took walks in the woods, spotting wild boar tracks and deer tracks and empty shotgun shells, as this is a prime wild boar area. It is common to find entire wild boar legs, hoof and hair still attached at the lower part, sitting in perfect display holders in shops. These holders allow the whole leg to be seen and make it easy to slice the meat, which does not need refrigeration as it is cured to a deep red colour.

Door knockers in Florence

Special coffee in Florence

Fountain in Florence

Walking up to the Pitti Palace in Florence

View from gardens in Tivoli

Fountains in Tivoli

Best Gelato in Italy in San Gimignano

Streets of San Gimignano

View from San Gimignano

Next onwards to Venice by car.
Mark