Day 1 - Arrival
A Monday evening pick up at Pisa airport goes smoothly and within the hour the happy family reunion is complete... They haven't seen each other for seven months!
Day 2 - Fiesole
A hazy, sunny Tuesday morning forces us out and up to Florence's most upmarket neighbourhood, the very beautiful Fiesole, idyllically perched above Florence, with some spectacular views. We have a wander through the Roman ruins and museum and then settle down for a rather expensive cappuccino and cakes in the Blu bar where we can just make out the Duomo. We're both working in the afternoon and evening, but a very satisfying first day for our guests...
Day 3 - Caruso's Villa Bellosguardo
Well what do you know, the sun makes another surprise appearance for the second day running and so we head on out and up again. This time to the Villa Bellosguardo, which was restored by the great Neapolitan Tenor, Enrico Caruso. He lived here towards the end of his life and very peaceful it is too!
We enjoy a stroll among some spring anenomies and daisies and bask in glorious 21° spring sun - maybe March hasn't turned out so badly after all...
Day 4 and the drizzle has returned, so we stay in and relax, watch a dvd and play cards, Chas and Mavis feel like they're back in England for the day!
Day 5 - Florence and Santo Spirito
Another grey day, but we decide in true English fashion to soldier on... We take our guests on a short morning's tour of Florence, taking in Piazza Signoria, the Uffizi, over the Ponte Vecchio and ending up in Piazza Santo Spirito.
We enjoy a long, lazy lunch at an Osteria and Mavis even manages to pick up a new Pink twin-set at the clothes market!
Day 6 - Siena
I've finally broken up for my week's Easter holiday... yippee!!! So we have a full day to spend together and so Mavis' Siena date finally happens. Unfortunately the third grey day in a row makes the usually pretty journey fairly unforgettable. Still, I think they enjoy the 'Siena experience?.
We park up and slowly make our way to the Piazza del Campo, which is radiant. It's packed with happy tourists and we enjoy a hot chocolate at a bar while being entertained by a crazy street entertainer/comedian. Afterwards we go for a stroll and browse in the shops before picking up some sweet, almond Ricciarelli biscuits at Nannini for later. We usually end up coming here on a Sunday when all the shops are closed so it's nice to witness a very buzzy Siena on a weekday. And what do you know the sun finally appears on our journey home!
Day 7 - Inalbi
And as they say in the U.K. "Rain stopped play!" There aren't many days when it actually rains all day in Tuscany, but this was one of them! Still a chance to catch up on some reading and more playing of cards and a chance for the boys, me and Chas to get some revenge over the girls, Annette and Mavis...
We do however have a dinner date at the restaurant of one of my students, Massimo Grifoni, whose family own an agriturismo in Impruneta. So we all don our gladrags, complete with umbrellas and drive up to the restaurant. The property is down a long 'strada bianca', translated as 'white road' or unpaved road to you and me! It's very nice, the restaurant is in a large conservatory and is packed! No doubt in the daylight you can see the surrounding countryside too.
The food is traditional Tuscan and superb! We start with parma ham and crostini with liver pate and porcini mushrooms. we share ravioli starters and for main course I have a veal chop, Mavis baked veal, Chas the pepposa all'Impruneta, a local beef stew with lots of peppercorns and Annette the pigeon. The house wine is soft and fruity and Massimo and his wife, Dorotea even put in an appearance at the end to say hello.
We finish our meal with the most pleasant surprise possible... Massimo has payed for the whole meal!!! What a guy! (I must be a good teacher! At least that what Chas and Mavis think...)
Day 8 - Impruneta and Greve
A brighter start to the bank holiday Monday, or 'Pasquetta' as they call it here! We decide to check out a flower festival in Impruneta... A relaxing drive through the beautiful Chianti countrtyside is in the words of Chas, 'Just the job!' as is the ice cream we stop for in the pretty slopey square in Impruneta. There doesn't appear to be much happening in the floral area here, so we drive on to Greve...
There is a special antiques market and the town is the most packed I've ever seen it! We grab a seat at the cafe La Loggia (our old local) and gorge ourselves on some wicked bruschetta and I indulge myself in a glass of 'Serra di Belguardo' red wine. We take a browse round the antiques market and what do you know, even manage to pick up a couple of small tables for £45 and £15!
Then the heavens open, but I just have time to pick up some of my favourite pancetta from Falorni butcher's before whisking them away and home in the car!
Next stop - Rome!
Roma 8 & 9
We've booked a couple of nights at an agriturismo farmhouse between Rome and Tivoli for Chas and Mavis' last three days. They've both never been to Rome before, so hopefully it will be an 'eternal' experience for them!
The three-hour drive down from Florence is relatively traffic free and we drive straight into the centre of Rome (which is no mean feat!) to pick up the tickets for the bus tour that we had booked back home. We figure it's the best way for Annette's ageing parents to see the city. I park the car close by and by 1.15 we are on the bus!
The first stop is the Trevi fountain. Luckily it's a beautiful day. Cloudless, blue skies and some warm March sun. We enjoy our packed lunch in front of this huge, fantasy of white marble! I think they are impressed... We make the short walk to another of Rome's famous landmarks, the Spanish Steps (which is actually pretty good for a 75 and 85 year old!) and again it's packed with people all sprawled out over the steps. We join the throngs and imagine ourselves as Audrey Hepbburn and Gregory Peck in Roman holiday... it's a timeless scene!
After the walk back to the bus Chas and Mavis are very tired, so we decide to stay on the bus and go round the rest of the tour without getting off and listen to the guide do her thing. We pass the Borghese gardens, the Vatican, the Vittorio Emanuele monument and the Colisseum. We alight back near the station, pick up the car. and head out to our agriturismo near Tivoli.
Driving in Rome and through the suburbs is always a hair raising experience and we eventually arrive at 'La Quercetta' despite the dodgy directions. It's beautifully situated high on a hill where Annette can just make out the dome of St. Peter's with those eagle eyes of hers!
After a brief rest and change we head out to find a restaurant. We hit on a place called 'Tony's' and what do you know the waiter was born in Cambridge! A small world it is... A two-course meal for four with wine comes to only 58 euro!!! Welcome to southern Italy...
Day 2
And we're out at 9.30 am and stop for breakfast at a local cafe. After a half-hour drive we're parked up and back on our sight-seeing bus for some unfinished business... First stop is the Vatican and St. Peter's square. We arrive at 11.30 am - just missing a surprise appearance by the ageing Pope John Paul II by 15 minutes! Still Chas and mavis are suitably impressed with the square and we relax with some tasty ice -creams to cool us down from the sweltering heat.
The next stop on our bus is the Colisseum, Rome's most famous monument. I accompany Mavis up the Appian way to have a look at the Arch of Titus and we have a quick peak at the Roman Forum. Our 24 hour ticket has expired so we hop in a taxi back to the station. Annette manages to stop the taxi driver totally ripping us off by informing him that he has forgotten to turn on the metre! and the 10-minute journey costs us a mere 4 euro 20! We pick up the car and decide to have lunch in the Borghese gardens and then we leave our guests resting in the shade while we have a dash round the Villa and museum!
Villa Borghese
This is a museum I've wanted to check out for some time. Cardinal Scipione Borghese amassed a huge collection of sculptures and paintings in the 1600's. He either comissioned or bought several pieces by his favourite artists, Gianlorenzo Bernini and Caravaggio!
We make our way around the outside of this beautiful villa, through the gardens and limonaia and somehow end up inside without paying the entrance fee! We only discover the ticket office afterwards, in the basement and nobody has checked ...
The Bernini sculptures are amazing. Apollo and Daphne, Aeneas and Anchise, David and the Rape of Prosperine. Also we enjoy Canova's very seductive Venus, portrayed by Napoleon's sister Paolina.The Caravaggio paintings are sublime too. We see 'The Madonna of the Serpent', San Jerome, The Sick Bacchus and The Boy with a basket of fruit that we saw in England five years ago. Noteable abstentees are Saint John and David with the head of Goliath. Goliath being a self portrait of the artist himself. Both at the National Gallery in London until May! D'oh! Still a nice surprise visit on our 9th visit to Rome...
We drive back to our agriturismo in time to sit in some very welcoming early evening sun. We find this great restaurant and get to try the local dish, 'Saltimbocca alla Romana.'
Hadrian's Villa
We pack up our cases and make our sad departure from the agriturismo, stopping for breakfast at a very sunny cafe. next stop Hadrian's Villa. It's a gorgeous morning and we enjoy a leisurely walk in what amounts to a small town! Some thirty buildings make up this 120 A.D. Summer residence of this great Roman Emperor. the ruins are extensive and surprisingly well preserved. We leave Chas and Mavis relaxing and dash about trying to see as much as possible!
Villa D'Este
And so on to our last port of call, before heading home to Florence. We drive up to the hill-top town of Tivoli. A quick lunch in the small main square and then we're in to the Villa D'Este.
It was built in the 1500's and is famous for its water features. Unfortunately the rain has arrived and looks like it's set for the day... We wait around for it to clear up, but no luck. The're has been a thunderstorm and the lift down to the gardens is out of order and the stairs are too much for our aged guests... what a shame. The best we manage is a few pictures for the album. Never mind. However we've had a great three days in the eternal city...
(Original journal entry 31/3/05)
P.S. This was to be Annette's father Chas' last trip to Italy.
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