The day has finally arrived! All the preparations have been made. i.e. shopping, cleaning and a selection of Chianti's finest wine bought from various locations. We drive to Pisa to meet Annette's brother Phil (Cambridge professor and wine connoisseur) and his very sweet 5-year-old daughter Leonie, from the airport. Unfortunately the Jaguar XK8 hire car he ordered from Hertz has failed to turn up and he's offered a Peugeot people carrier instead? Hardly a fair exchange, but he doesn't let this spoil his trip...
Day 1
1st stop is the Campo dei miracoli and a look at Pisa's famous tower with the dodgy foundations! The sun is out and we enjoy ice-creams and catch up on what's been happening in the UK. We drive back to Florence and on to Chianti, where we enjoy a late lunch outside in our woods with a creamy pesto salad and one of my many Chianti Classicos courtesy of Sant' Andrea (1998 riserva)
After a relaxing afternoon we go with them to check into the nearby villaVignamaggio, just down the road from Greve. They've booked one of the refurbished barns, which is very swish and has a whirlpool bath. They have a restaurant at the villa and Phil invites us to dinner. A quick trip home to freshen up and change and we meet back at Villa Vignamaggio for a delightful meal served of course with their own wine, made on the farm.
Day 2
Barberino val d'Elsa, San Gimignano and Osteria di Passigano
A 10.30 am start as we meet up at the villa and set off for San Gimignano. Phil has decided to pack a lot in for his 4 days and of course we want to show him some of our favourite spots. We take the high road up to Montefioralle only to find the road to reach the superstrada turns out to be a dirt track! Undaunted we carry on and discover a tiny hamlet called Passignano. There is a large Abbey and restaurant which is apparently part of the Antinori Estate. We have a peek inside the enoteca and Phil notices that they serve Krug champagne by the glass, so the restaurant must be good! So we book a table for later and continue on our journey.
And so on to the Via Francigena, one of my favourite stretches of road in Tuscany, especially the part between Tavernelle and Poggibonsi. We stop at the tiny village of Barberino where we all buy some olive wood chopping boards. It's nearing lunch time and we find our favourite picnic spot in an olive grove and with wild poppies flowering around us... paradise!
Finally we arrive in San Gimignano and have a wander through the narrow cobbled streets. We browse in the enotecas selling the famous Vernaccia white wine that is made only in this region. Phil buys a rather nice hand made siver and gold bracelet and as the weather is gorgeous again we stop for ice cream at Tony Blair's favourite gelateria!
Eventually we tear ourselves away and make our way home, as we have a very special evening appointment back at the Osteria di Passignano.
We arrive a bit late, but no matter. The restaurant is very elegant and there are some nice touches, like amuse bouches to start and choc-ices and biscuits with our coffee. I manage to persuade Phil to try the bistecca alla Fiorentina and order the 'house' wine... Badia a Passignano riserva, a snip at 46 euro a bottle! Leonie is tired out and falls asleep... The cheese board looks incredible, but there's no room for it, what a find!
Day 3
Castellina and swimming!
Day 3 of Phil and Leonie's visit starts at the villa. We arrive and enjoy a leisurely stroll around the gardens and a peek inside the villa. Leonie discovers the playground and we all take turns in keeping her enterained! After a coffee on the terrace we drive into Castellina for lunch. It's a little late, but we manage to squeeze into a fabulous restaurant, the Antica Torre. It's jam-packed with locals and buzzing with life... Phil tries the papardelle with wild boar and I have a great osso buco. I get to choose the wine again, this time I opt for a fruity Vino Nobile di Montepulciano courtesy of Poliziano. We finish with lemon sorbets at around 4.00pm! After lunch we have a wander and Phil buys three bottles of wine, including a 34 euro Chianti Classico that he had in England, it's from Castello di Fonterutoli.
The weather has heated up sufficiently for us to try and have a dip in the outside pool back at the villa... it's only the 26th of April!!! The English in us to hard to fiight back... and so my May 1st record is broken!
We decide to have dinner back at ours and so dash back to knock something up. Phil brings Leonie back with him and one of those bottles of wine he bought earlier! We have a nice relaxing evening, so much so that Leonie falls asleep again and they sleep the night at ours and we shack down on the sofa bed.
Day 4
Fonterutoli and Siena
Understanderbly a very late start to their last day. We meet up again at the villa for mid-morning coffee on the terrace and more fun in the playground! We pop into nearby Greve for a light lunch in Cafe la Logge. Big slices of truffle and Pecorino topped bruschetta (and a glass of 50 euro Brunello for me!) Today's destination is Siena and we decide to take the very picturesque 'Chiantigiana' road there... We pass by the tiny hamlet of Fonterutoli, which proves too much for Phil to pass by without stopping. It's very pretty and we have a brief stroll. On to Siena. Phil came to Florence 20 years ago, but has never been here, so it's a visit long overdue...
After skirting the old city walls, we park up near the fortezza and enter near the small football stadium, by the giant San Domenico church. The streets are narrow and foreboding in their dark burnt Siena brick and then the streets start to go in concentric circles to the centre. We fall upon the magnificent Piazza del Campo, shaped like a huge clam shell and enter opposite the Palazzo Publicco and very tall Torre del Mangia, so called because one of the old bell ringers used to eat all his wages away!
Leonie likes the Gaia fountain complete with pigeons. The day started cloudy, but now we are bathed in gloriuos sunshine and we soak up the buzzy atmosphere of Siena's hub in the Piazza del Campo.
We check out the main cathedral and even have time fror a peek inside, it's much more impressive inside than Florence's Duomo! The marvelous pulpit by Pisano and some Michelangelo, Donatello and Bernini sculptures. We relax on the white marble steps before heading back to the Campo for a farewell pizza in a great outside restaurant. A wonderful setting to sit and watch the world go by... the perfect finale comes by way of a dress rehearsal for July's Palio. Today it's the turn of the Ram Contrada. All flag waving and drums! We couldn't have timed our visit better...
And so it's goodbye to Siena and goodbye to Phil and Leonie, we bid our sad frewells as they head back to Cambridge and we to Olmastrino...
(Original journal entry - 24-27 April 2003)
