86. Monte San Michele

We’re well into our summer courses, only working mornings and having Saturdays off

After our mammoth trip last weekend, this weekend we’re staying ‘local’. One of my students has told me about this park up Mont San Michele, which is the highest mountain in Chianti, at 2,700 feet. So this afternoon we decide to explore...

We take a ‘strada bianca’ (off-road) track from Greve and drive up, up, up! Stopping halfway to go for a stroll. We stumble across an old tower with some spectacular views, then drive on up to the top. Wow! It’s like being on top of the world...

There is a bar where we enjoy some drinks and an ice cream and then we stretch out on the rug for some relaxation. The park is great and there are lots of nice walks that you can take and all less than half an hour from home.

85. The Maremma, Cala Violina, Argentario, Pittigliano and Lake Bolsena!

This week we have an extra long 4-day weekend thanks to San Giovanni, which this year falls on a Tuesday, meaning Monday we have a 'Ponte' or bridge day... Whoopee! So we've booked a couple of nights away at an Agriturismo, farmhouse in the Maremma, which is in the south of Tuscany.

Saturday and we pay the local Greve market a visit to stock up on summer linen clothes, essential for this kind of heat and spend the afternoon relaxing and packing for our trip.

Sunday and we leave nice and early for our 2 1/2 hour drive towards Grosetto. The traffic is ok, but the heat  (38°C) is unbearable, especially in our old air condition-less Nissan Sunny! The idea is to spend some time at the beach before checking in to our Agriturismo...

Cala Violina


Annette has been told about this very special 'secret beach' called Cala Violina. (Violin Cove) So called because  of the fine white powdery sand that squeaks like a violin under your feet...

We drive round for a while trying to find it and after asking a few locals we spot a hand written sign and proceed down a tiny, dusty lane. Eventually  we come to a sign that says 'Car park full'... but after living in Italy for nearly two years one thing I've learned is to ignore all instructions and see what happens! So we drive up to the car park entrance and lo and behold, plenty of spaces. We pay the 2 euro entry and follow the other people, presumably heading for the beach? After a half hour trek through some wonderful Mediterranean scrub and pine woods we arrive at what can only be described as Paradise! A secluded bay of the whitest sand and crystal clear turquoise and emerald sea... WOW

We spend about four or five hours sunbathing and swimming... Heaven!

Our agriturismo is about 20 miles away in Albarese. We arrive at about 6.30 pm and meet our hosts Assunta and her husband. They are very friendly and have a great farmhouse. We unpack and shower and after a small nap head out to look for somewhere to eat... We agree on a buzzy little restaurant, Carpe Diem. Seafood is the order of the day for this holiday, Annette has a seafood pasta dish, I have a seafood antipasti and we share a swordfish main course, all washed down with a nice crisp white wine from Pitigliano.

Upon returning to our farmhouse we discover that we have both turned a lobster red from our earlier stint at the beach... obviously not enough suncream!

Argentario

A very pleasant 2-hour breakfast on the lawn and we browse our map. We are still a little sore after yesterday's suncream-less activities so decide some exploring is in order... Today's destination is Monte Argentario, a small promontary at the most south-westerly tip of Tuscany that was once an island, but has been joined to the mainland by two 'tomboli' or stetches of land,Gianella and Feniglia.

We leave at 12ish and drive through the Parco Ucellina and field upon field of sunflowers... it's our first real sight of sunflowers as last year we were back in England at this time and so missed out on this glorious sight only really available here in the Maremma.

We drive clockwise around Argentario from Gianella toward the capital Porto Santo Stefano. The coastline is high and rugged, somewhat reminiscent of Liguria or the Amalfi coast. We take the 'strada panoramica' and drive as far as possible before the main tarmacced road stops and the there is only a dirt track leading to Cala Grande, Cala Moresca and Cala Piccola. I think the best way to explore these coves would be by boat!

On the road back we spot this little gem of a restaurant with a gorgeous view of the bay, so we stop for lunch... A very long and lazy two hours is spent munching on lobster linguine, salad, washed down with a cool crisp white wine, gazing out to the endless horizon... does it get any better than this?

http://www.ristoranteilbottegone.it/terrazza-panoramica-argentario.asp

http://www.tripadvisor.it/Restaurant_Review-g194778-d1645559-Reviews-Ristorante_Il_Bottegone-Grosseto_Province_of_Grosseto_Tuscany.html


After we manage to tear ourselves away we drive round to Porto Ercole on the other side of the 'island'
and we spot a little cafe with another spectacular view and so stop for some drinks and a read while gawping at the amazing view, turquoise/emerald sea, tiny coves of powder white sand, small islands and boats dotted in the bay.

Unfortunately it's getting late, so we head back to the farmhouse, shower, change and after looking for somewhere diferent to eat, end up back at 'Carpe Diem'. Tonight it's seafood pizza and a special tortellini with gorgonzola, walnuts, peppers and cream.

Pittigliano

Day 3 of our short holiday and we pack about as much as is humanly possible into 1 day! Breakfast is at 9.30 am and we pack up and bid our sad farewells to our host Assunta and her lovely home. We decide to take an 'over-land' route home via Pittigliano and Lake Bolsena. The plan is to reach Florence by 10.00 pm for the annual fireworks...Will we make it?

Some wonderful countryside greets us, still part of the Maremma and reach Pittigliano at around 1.30 pm. Pittigliano is an incredible medeival hiil-top town with its origins in the Etruscan age, built out of a type of soft yellowish rock called 'Tufa' rising up like some kind of fortress. The sun is scorchingly hot and we creep round the narrow crumbly alleyways huddled up to the tumbling walls. There are some great views through the buildings and some crafty looking shops which unfortunately are closed for lunch. Oh well if you can't beat 'em... We spot an interesting looking Osteria and decide to partake. We order a plate of cheese and salami, Panzanella salad and two different and very cheap small carafes of wine, a Rosso di Montalcino and local Morellino di Scansano, which together with coffees and 'Arancello' orange liquere comes to less than 6 euro each! Oh and the owner has some signed photos of one of my favourite actresses, Liv Tyler on the wall! What a guy and what a place!

Time is moving and we can’t wait for those cute shops to open, we must head on to lake Bolsena, which is actually just over the border, in Lazio.

We drive round to Capodimonte and then find a nice cool shady spot on one of the many beaches. After all that driving, a chance to Relax and enjoy a very refreshing swim in the cool clear lake... The weather for our four days couldn’t have been better, hot and not a cloud in sight!

We take our final stop in San Lorenzo Nuovo for ice cream, then it’s up the Via Cassia, through San Quirico and the Val d’Orcia, past ‘those’ trees, through Siena, arriving in Florence at 9.45 pm! Everyone is on their way to see the fireworks at Piazzale Michelangelo, we’ve just made it in time! Fifty minutes of oohs and aahs bringing our four day break to an ‘explosive’ finale!

(Original journal entry 25/6/03)

84. Pool, Party!

1st June

Well this could be something of a ritual. The outdoor pool in our local town at Greve-in-Chianti opened today and the day we've been waiting for since it closed at the end of last summer in September has arrived! Summer is officially here...

This year we can enjoy June at a more relaxing pace safe in the knowledge that we don't have to go back to England in July and August for work, hurrah! Our contracts at the British Institute mean we are being paid through the summer and so don't need that extra work.

The temperature has settled at around the 35°C mark, wisps of fluffy cloud, mostly sunny days and the odd light breeze bringing some light relief. None of those 15°C drizzly summer days we were used to in the Uk... Our regular annual courses have finished, exams nearly over... let the celebrations begin!

We have been invited to no less than 4 end of term parties and most importantly are only working mornings doing kids summer courses, leaving the afternoons free to go down the pool! I knew becoming a teacher was a good move!

Wed. 11th

My Wall St. boss, Luigi is treating us to a pizza at a local pizzeria near Piazza Ferrucci, called 'Affe di Bacco'. We meet a couple of English guys who are working at the Prato branch and one of Annette's DELTA colleagues, Mary is here to keep her company. The pizza is good and we have a nice evening.

Sat 14th

After another easy week of work in the morning and relaxing at the pool in the afternoon we are off to meal number 2. This is with one of Annette's profficiency students, Russian Julia. She's married to a Tuscan and they have a 12 year old daughter. They've invited us to a friend's restaurant in the city. We meet Julia for an aperitivo in Piazza Liberta and then on to the restaurant, which is a small, intimate place, with a very creative menu (which Annette helped translate). Julia's husband, Cesare, is an ex-Physicist, he used to work for the Eropean Space Programme and is a complete eccentric!
We enjoy a very philosophical evening and at around half midnight the chef comes out for a chat and I enjoy a wicked Grappa di Brunello! We stay chatting till about 2.30 in the morning... a great evening, but totally exhausting!

http://www.ilmicio.it/

Still... pool in the morning!

Wed. 18th

On to meal number three. This time it's with Annette's intermediate class and it is hosted by Silversmith, Donato at his very nice house, which is in the Pratolino hills to the north of Florence.

We meet up with two other students, Leonardo and Donata in Impruneta and follow them up to Pratolino meeting some of the others and host, Donato in a small square on the Via Bolognese with spectacular views... We follow him to his house which is a bit tricky to find. He takes us on a tour of the house, it is filled with lots of his handicrafts which he has made over the years. There are mirrors, candelabras and two magnificent bas relief carvings, one a scene from Greek Mythology and the other a scene from Dante's inferno! A true craftsman... All 13 (unlucky number for Italians) of us are seated outside on his terrace to begin a quite memorable evening... Annette is presented with a silver plaque engraved with 'To the best teacher in the world.' (I come a close second!) We begin with Prosecco and some very tasty, spicy antipasti that Donato has brought back from a recent trip to Puglia. There are some sweet pickled shallots, huge green olives, artichokes, peppers and home made bread with some mouth-watering toppings, rounded off with cantaloupe melon and Parma ham. From here it's staight on to the main course of 'Spezzatino' slow cooked steak, mushrooms and roast potatoes all washed down with four different kinds of wine, our San Andrea Chianti Classico riserva and the pick of the bunch, a 1993  Castello di San Polo. The coonversation and rude jokes are flowing...

In Need of a food break, Donato tries his magic trick out on Annette, with great success! And then we are treated to his daughter playing some Chopin on the piano, accompanied by elder statesman, Mario recing some poetry... leaving everyone speechless!

And so it's on to dessert. First we split a huge Provolone cheese that Donato has also brought back from Puglia, again with more red wine and then we continue with a sampling of the many cakes that people have brought along, of course accompanied by no less than 3 different bottles of Spumante! Including a 1983 Contessa Rosa, which has just been released and is quite sublime... Just when you thought you've finished, we have coffee, followed by Cantucci biscuits and Vin Santo and another bottle of Spumante is uncorked just to finish us off! How much can these guys drink without passing out???

We bid our parting farewells long after midnight and somehow manage to drive home... How we make it I'm
not quite sure?

After work the next day... pool of course!

Friday
and meal number 4. This time it's with my Upper-Intermediate class, who have arranged to go out for a pizza. First choice, Capponcina in Settignano, is booked up, so this evening's destination is Edi House in Piazza Savanarola. We meet up at 9 pm. Unfortunately not everyone could make it, but we an evening with 5 of the ladies. Diana is getting married in 3 weeks and honeymooning in the Maldives. A very enjoyable evening... see you all next term? I hope so!





(Original journal entry 6/03)

83. Fratelli Alinari

There's been this photography exhibition on for four months at the Strozzi Palace downstairs from where I work at the British Institute. We've walked passed it every day and only jusy made it as it finishes in two days!

The Alinari brothers is actually the world's oldest photographic firm, founded in Florence by Leopoldo with his brothers Giuseppe and Romualdo over 150 years ago in 1852. The company was contiunued in the early 1920's by Leopoldo's son Vittorio.

The exhibition is an extraordinary and unique journey through 150 years of Italian life through a series of 20 rooms of incredible images. Beginning in their home town of Florence and moving on to other towns and cities of Italy, then Europe and finally all over the world. My favourite section is the two rooms on realism, which shows scenes from every day life in some of the poorer southern provinces. Fishermen, street vendors and the poverty in Naples which really seemed to capture the soul and essence of the people.

There are some truly memorable photos some of which we've been seeing around Florence for the past several months.  We buy a print of Neapolitan street vendors selling pasta!

Certainly anyone who is interested in photography would be astounded at the quality of these enduring images, some of which were taken in the 1850's only 10 years after photography was actually invented! They are planning to have a permanent collection in Florence sometime in the future... can't wait for that!

http://italophiles.com/alinari.htm

82. Cantine Aperte

On one day in the year hundreds of wine cellars all over Italy open their doors and bottles to the public offering free guided tours and wine tasting.

We met an English lady at Villa le Corti who works at nearby Castello di Verrazzano and decide that it might be worth checking out... After lunch in our woods we mosey on up to the castle. The tour of the very pretty gardens and cellar is amazing. We see the new, smaller French 'barriques' which are replacing the larger more traditional Tuscan 'botte'. We are also taken up to an amazing terrace, where the grapes are dried out to make 'vin santo' the local dessert wine, the terrace has great, panoramic views and we can even see our humble house over the hill in the distance. The owners have a huge collection of older bottles going back to the 1920's! At the end of the tour we are treated to a tasting of the latest releases, their Chianti Classico and their Riserva, whilst enjoying their beautiful terrace...

http://www.verrazzano.com/


Afterwards we pop into town for an ice cream and have a look round the once-a-month craft market. We then go for a drive and find ourselves at this beautiful spot between Panzano and Castellina. It'as a tiny hamlet called Piazza and what do you know they have a restaurant with an outside terrace! Osteria la Piazza. Of course this is too good to pass up and so we grab an outside table overlooking the Chianti hills... only one surprise awaits us... an unwelcomed visitor to Annette's salad... Mr Maggot!

(Original journal entry 25/5/03)