The holidays are over and we're back at work. However just to make things better, the king of smooch, singer and ex soldier, James Blunt has chosen to do a concert in Florence and we have two tickets for his 'Back to Bedlam' tour. His song, 'You're Beautiful' was chosen for a Vodafone telephone commercial and he's become quite big in Italy.
We ease our way into a packed Saschall (now called Obihall) amongst all the teenage girls and have a ball! He puts on a 1 1/2 hour show and we have a good ole' bop.The Italians sing along to some of his famous songs, like 'Goodbye my Lover' and High, but can't quite get the pronunciation right... and so 'You're Beautiful' comes out as 'Youre Bootiful' !!!
(Original Journal entry 15/1/06)
The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia
237. A 'cheesy' New Year
'That which we observe isn't nature itself, but nature exposed by our questioning.'
- Werner Heisenberg
We've booked 4 nights in an agriturismo farmhouse near Pienza, in the south of Tuscany. We didn't want to travel too far and this is the perfect opportunity to explore a region we only rush through on day it's a two-hour drive from Florence.
Day 1 Buonconvento and Monte Oliveto Maggiore
A nice relaxing start and drive down to Siena and we arrive in the pretty walled-town of Buonconvento just in time for lunch at 'Mario's Trattoria'. A simple pici pasta with porcini and a glass of house wine sets us up nicely for a cultural afternoon visit to the Benedictine abbey high up in the 'Crete Senese' countryside. I came here last May, while Annette was studying for her DELTA exam, so it's a perfect opportunity to show her some of the beautiful 'il Sodoma' and Luca Signorelli frescoes.
We find our 'agriturismo' fairly easily - it's four kilometres outside Pienza, near another monastery, called Sant'Anna in Camprena, which was used in the film 'The English Patient'. We settle in and decide to have dinner in and light our open fire - just what the doctor ordered...
Day 2 Rapolano Terme and La Porta
After a very long lay in and late start, we head out to the first of our two visits to some local thermal health spas. It's our first time at Rapolano, near Asciano. The mystical scenery is stunning, with the gentle,rolling hills giving you a feeling of serenity. We arrive and polish off our sandwiches and plunge into the 39 degree thermal waters of this gorgeous pool... very soothing! This holiday is about relaxing and we come out walking on air... on our way out we check out a couple of small churches in the town.
For dinner we have booked a table at an interesting restaurant called, 'La Porta' in a tiny hamlet called Montichello. It's our first chance to try out our new 'Slow Food' guide book. It'a a wonderful setting in a pretty medeival town, which has an outdoor terrace with a great panoramic view.
Menu:
Complimentary appetisers of radicchio wrapped in pancetta lesd nicely into appetisers of local cold cuts and Annette's pecorino cheese and truffle souffle is wicked! My papardelle pasta with local Chiannina beef just edges Annette's pici pasta with a duck sauce. For main course though Annette's lamb 'trilogy' surpasses my pork and truffles. We share a chocolate cake and an awesome red dessert wine from Sicily. Wine is courtesy of Tenuta di Trinoro and a four French grape blend bombshel! A nice opening dinner...
Day 3 Castelmuzio and Pienza 1
We take a drive out to see some local places. A hidden gem is Castelmuzio - a small hill-top town with some spectacular views - lunch and a drive on to what turns out to be a cool woods, the Philosopher's garden, complete with mysterious writings... 'What do we really know?' - Montaigne
We stop off in Pienza for an early evening stroll and a mug of hot chocolate. We stay in at our lovely farm house for dinner and whip up a roaring fire and in true Francis Mayes style, we 'open another bottle of Brunello' and continue our Champagne... pure indulgence!
Day 4 Val d'Orcia, Castelnuovo d'Abate, Sant'Antimo and Montalcino
A very early dawn uprising to see the golden sun emerging over the gentle hills of Pienza, into a clear blue sky. Perfect for our trip through the Val d'Orcia as we head towards San Quirico and stop off at Bagno Vignoni for lunch. To our surprise the thermal hot spring pool is open tomorrow, so we plan to return. We carry on o Castiglione and Rocca d'Orcia. We are skirting the imposing Monte Amiata, which dominates the whole area. We enjoy a brief stop in Castelnuovo d'Abate, a medieval town south of Montalcino. Our destination is Sant'Antimo, a 12th century Romanesque abbey. It's a very beautiful structure, well it would be, but unfortunately it's covered in scaffolding... doh! Well we'll just have to come back another time...
We head on to the wine heaven that is the hill-top town of Montalcino, it's my third visit and Annette's second. After a customary browse round the Fortezza, we lose ourselves in the countless enotecas and shops. We find a restaurant, highlighted in our new 'Slow food' guidebook and book a table for 8.30pm. It's only a half-hour drive back to our farmhouse, time enough for a cup of teaand a well-earned rest, before heading back out to Montalcino and the Osteria 'il Giardino'.A very pleasant evening ensues. We're straight onto the 'primi' both choosing the gnocchetti with a wicked truffle sauce- wine is Rosso di Montacino courtesy of Maccioche. A vegetable-less secondo of rabbit and beef and to finish with the most incredible ricotta and torte... infact it is a dessert we would go on to talk about many years later as our best ever!!!
Day 5 - Pienza, Montichiello and Bagno Vignoni '3'
And so onto our final day... A final trip into Pienza for some serious pecorino cheese purchases and a return visit to Montichiello for a daytime look at theis cute, medieval town with the famous, ziggy-zaggy cypress lane. There is also a famous 'Teatro Povero' small theatre at the top with these words of wisdom...
'When you want to see me again, look within your heart and you will see me. Because living things do not die. We are branches of the same tree with its roots in the sky.' - Traditional Folk theatre, Montichiello
Our last stop is at the thermal hot spring at Bagno Vignoni. It'a our third time here and so far our favourite hot spa in Tuscany. After lunch in the very pretty cobbled square, we're stripped and into the 52° C thermal waters. It'a another cloudless day and we enjoy the warm sun's rays in between dips in the steaming pool. It's been a great 5 days, with some serious relaxing, eating, drinking and trips into the local countryside... A perfect start to the new year!
(Original journal entry 6/1/06)
- Werner Heisenberg
We've booked 4 nights in an agriturismo farmhouse near Pienza, in the south of Tuscany. We didn't want to travel too far and this is the perfect opportunity to explore a region we only rush through on day it's a two-hour drive from Florence.
Day 1 Buonconvento and Monte Oliveto Maggiore
A nice relaxing start and drive down to Siena and we arrive in the pretty walled-town of Buonconvento just in time for lunch at 'Mario's Trattoria'. A simple pici pasta with porcini and a glass of house wine sets us up nicely for a cultural afternoon visit to the Benedictine abbey high up in the 'Crete Senese' countryside. I came here last May, while Annette was studying for her DELTA exam, so it's a perfect opportunity to show her some of the beautiful 'il Sodoma' and Luca Signorelli frescoes.
We find our 'agriturismo' fairly easily - it's four kilometres outside Pienza, near another monastery, called Sant'Anna in Camprena, which was used in the film 'The English Patient'. We settle in and decide to have dinner in and light our open fire - just what the doctor ordered...
Day 2 Rapolano Terme and La Porta
After a very long lay in and late start, we head out to the first of our two visits to some local thermal health spas. It's our first time at Rapolano, near Asciano. The mystical scenery is stunning, with the gentle,rolling hills giving you a feeling of serenity. We arrive and polish off our sandwiches and plunge into the 39 degree thermal waters of this gorgeous pool... very soothing! This holiday is about relaxing and we come out walking on air... on our way out we check out a couple of small churches in the town.
For dinner we have booked a table at an interesting restaurant called, 'La Porta' in a tiny hamlet called Montichello. It's our first chance to try out our new 'Slow Food' guide book. It'a a wonderful setting in a pretty medeival town, which has an outdoor terrace with a great panoramic view.
Menu:
Complimentary appetisers of radicchio wrapped in pancetta lesd nicely into appetisers of local cold cuts and Annette's pecorino cheese and truffle souffle is wicked! My papardelle pasta with local Chiannina beef just edges Annette's pici pasta with a duck sauce. For main course though Annette's lamb 'trilogy' surpasses my pork and truffles. We share a chocolate cake and an awesome red dessert wine from Sicily. Wine is courtesy of Tenuta di Trinoro and a four French grape blend bombshel! A nice opening dinner...
Day 3 Castelmuzio and Pienza 1
We take a drive out to see some local places. A hidden gem is Castelmuzio - a small hill-top town with some spectacular views - lunch and a drive on to what turns out to be a cool woods, the Philosopher's garden, complete with mysterious writings... 'What do we really know?' - Montaigne
We stop off in Pienza for an early evening stroll and a mug of hot chocolate. We stay in at our lovely farm house for dinner and whip up a roaring fire and in true Francis Mayes style, we 'open another bottle of Brunello' and continue our Champagne... pure indulgence!
Day 4 Val d'Orcia, Castelnuovo d'Abate, Sant'Antimo and Montalcino
A very early dawn uprising to see the golden sun emerging over the gentle hills of Pienza, into a clear blue sky. Perfect for our trip through the Val d'Orcia as we head towards San Quirico and stop off at Bagno Vignoni for lunch. To our surprise the thermal hot spring pool is open tomorrow, so we plan to return. We carry on o Castiglione and Rocca d'Orcia. We are skirting the imposing Monte Amiata, which dominates the whole area. We enjoy a brief stop in Castelnuovo d'Abate, a medieval town south of Montalcino. Our destination is Sant'Antimo, a 12th century Romanesque abbey. It's a very beautiful structure, well it would be, but unfortunately it's covered in scaffolding... doh! Well we'll just have to come back another time...
We head on to the wine heaven that is the hill-top town of Montalcino, it's my third visit and Annette's second. After a customary browse round the Fortezza, we lose ourselves in the countless enotecas and shops. We find a restaurant, highlighted in our new 'Slow food' guidebook and book a table for 8.30pm. It's only a half-hour drive back to our farmhouse, time enough for a cup of teaand a well-earned rest, before heading back out to Montalcino and the Osteria 'il Giardino'.A very pleasant evening ensues. We're straight onto the 'primi' both choosing the gnocchetti with a wicked truffle sauce- wine is Rosso di Montacino courtesy of Maccioche. A vegetable-less secondo of rabbit and beef and to finish with the most incredible ricotta and torte... infact it is a dessert we would go on to talk about many years later as our best ever!!!
Day 5 - Pienza, Montichiello and Bagno Vignoni '3'
And so onto our final day... A final trip into Pienza for some serious pecorino cheese purchases and a return visit to Montichiello for a daytime look at theis cute, medieval town with the famous, ziggy-zaggy cypress lane. There is also a famous 'Teatro Povero' small theatre at the top with these words of wisdom...
'When you want to see me again, look within your heart and you will see me. Because living things do not die. We are branches of the same tree with its roots in the sky.' - Traditional Folk theatre, Montichiello
Our last stop is at the thermal hot spring at Bagno Vignoni. It'a our third time here and so far our favourite hot spa in Tuscany. After lunch in the very pretty cobbled square, we're stripped and into the 52° C thermal waters. It'a another cloudless day and we enjoy the warm sun's rays in between dips in the steaming pool. It's been a great 5 days, with some serious relaxing, eating, drinking and trips into the local countryside... A perfect start to the new year!
(Original journal entry 6/1/06)
236. New Year's Eve in Piazza Signoria
Well I've never celebrated New Year's Eve outside before, so this year we brave the freezing weather and head for Florence's Piazza Signoria.
There is a classical concert being performed by Giuseppe Lanzetta and the orchestra of the 'Camera Fiorentina' in the beautiful Loggia dei Lanzi. The orchestra are wearing scarves and fingerless glove! And competing with huge bangs from fireworks all over the city.
The square is packed and at midnight everybody, us included, pops open the Prosecco and Spumante, bopping away to the can-can as we count down the new year...
We finally leave at around 1.30 am... after many encores for the poor orchestra!
There is a classical concert being performed by Giuseppe Lanzetta and the orchestra of the 'Camera Fiorentina' in the beautiful Loggia dei Lanzi. The orchestra are wearing scarves and fingerless glove! And competing with huge bangs from fireworks all over the city.
The square is packed and at midnight everybody, us included, pops open the Prosecco and Spumante, bopping away to the can-can as we count down the new year...
We finally leave at around 1.30 am... after many encores for the poor orchestra!
235. Bolle Ballet
Our second trip to the Teatro Communale this year and we're going to see one of the hottest male ballet dancers in the world, Roberto Bollet. (He danced at the Queen's 50th Jubilee)
This evening he is performing two dances. A classical piece from Mozart's Pas deux and a more modern piece called 'Por le petit mort' by Tchaikovsky. Both dances are superb.
After the interval the company perform some of Romeo and Juliet by Prokoviev. For us it is a memorable evening seeing one of the world's great dancers, although one stupid woman down the front isn't so happy with the modern interpretation...
This evening he is performing two dances. A classical piece from Mozart's Pas deux and a more modern piece called 'Por le petit mort' by Tchaikovsky. Both dances are superb.
After the interval the company perform some of Romeo and Juliet by Prokoviev. For us it is a memorable evening seeing one of the world's great dancers, although one stupid woman down the front isn't so happy with the modern interpretation...
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