The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo



205. Rory 3 - Lake Garda 2

Our favourite nephew, big Rory now becomes our most frequent visitor with his third visit in four years! He's doing a 'marble effect' course in Verona for a couple of days and he wants to check out Lake Garda while he's here. We agree to meet up with him and spend the night somewhere on the lake. We drive up to Verona and meet him outside Juliet's balcony and stop for a quick beer with his course colleagues.





 It's far too hot for city sightseeing, so we abandon the idea of checking out some of Verona's treasures - we need water!!!




We've booked an agriturismo farmhouse on the west coast, so we stop somewhere on the south-west coast and dive into the cool refreshing lake water. Afterwards we enjoy a nice aperitivo in the small town of Lasize and then drive on to a place called Gargnano and eventually find the agriturismo, Sbrigol, up a rather steep hill. It has a fabulous view over the lake. and we are greeted by two goats and a donkey!





The apartment sleeps 10 people, but the guy only charges us 30 euro! After a shower and change of clothing we head out for dinner and find a gorgeous looking restaurant right on the picturesque harbour and enjoy a super fish supper, while catching up on the adventures of socialite-twenty-something Rory. It's a balmy evening and we take a couple of beers up on our balcony chatting well into the night with a big full moon shining down on the lake.




A late start to Sunday as we pack up, check out and go for breakfast back on the lovely harbour before leaving. We find  wonderful sandy beach where we stop for some sunbathing and swimming. It's another hot, sunny and clear day at this wonderful setting. In the late afternoon we head to our final destination, the very picturesque, Limone sul Garda, which has these cool limonaia everywhere and we take a last dip in the lake, before going for a cool aperitivo in a buzzy bar. After bidding the beautiful Lake Garda goodbye we drive up to Riva and catch the motorway back down to Florence. It's a very tiring three and a half hour trip, but what a magical weekend!






Epilogue

On Monday we are working in the morning, but manage to wangle the afternoon off and take Rory to the outdoor pool at Greve. We stop off for a cheeky ice cream in Impruneta before enjoying a lovely afternoon in this super location. In the evening we finish with a late night supper and some wicked Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine.

(Original journal entry 29/6/05)
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