93. Sardegna

Fri. Civitavecchia


Yipee! We broke up from school yesterday… no more work for 6 weeks! Staff party is done and we’re packed up and ready for our holiday on the enchanting island of Sardegna. The ferry leaves at 6.30pm from the port at Civitavecchia near Rome. We leave nice and early at 10.30am which turns out to be a good move because a truck spills toxic chemicals on the A-1 motorway and the trip takes a little longer than expected! Still time to have a look around the very uninspiring Civitavecchia and at 5.30pm we roll on to the ferry.

Our cabin is tiny, but everyone is in happy holiday mood. We have dinner on board at 8.00 – just time to see a gorgeous sunset together...

Sat. Costa Rei

It’s a 16-hour crossing! So arrival time in the capital, Cagliari is 10.30am. I somehow manage to wake up at 5.30 and watch the sunrise (Annette is somewhere in snoozeville!)

The drive to our apartment in Costa Rei is only a 70 km drive and check-in isn’t until 6pm, so the plan is to find a nice beach on the way. I've bought a cool book with pictures of all the best beaches on the southern coast and have been told they are somewhat reminiscent of the Carribbean, but seeing them for real is quite another thing!

We drive out of Cagliari and along the coast past some unbelievable beaches and it’s oooh! Followed by aaah! And wow! Cove after cove of sandy beaches, rugged mountains, forests and the most incredible turquoise sea...

First a stop for lunch is in order and we find a cool restaurant called the Blue Spider, with great views overlooking the sea and by 3 o’clock we’re ready for a dip!

We stop at Simius beach near the famous Villasimius. It’s on a promontory with sand on both sides, wow! We buy a huge sun umbrella and those bat and ball thingies and settle down, getting into holiday mode- unfortunately we eventually have to tear ourselves away to go and check in. We drive on to Costa Rei, via a wild goose chase in Muravera. The flat is huge and we can even see the sea from our terrace. Time to unpack, shower and hit our second restaurant, 'Sa Cardiga e su Pisci', in the lively town only a 5-minute drive away. Annette has a seafood pizza and I have a fried fish mix. Afterwards we sit at a bar and watch some traditional dancing and then go for a romantic midnight stroll along the beach, interrupted by some strange man with a stick, a man sleeping on a sunbed and some hippy playing the bongos! Now that wasn’t in the script...

Sun. Cala Sinzias

After a sweltering night, today the plan is to do a bit of local exploring and essential shopping for the week. After lunch on our terrace we decide on beach no.2, Cala Sinzias and very beautiful it is too! A 20-minute drive and we’re relaxing on a long sandy beach, with emerald coloured water to cool down in... In the evening I try out the barbecue and grill up some lamb chops.







Mon. Piscina Rei & Torre Salinas

Today we agree on a double header, beach in the morning... beach in the afternoon! First we check out our local beach, Piscina Rei, a whopping 5-minute drive away! It turns out to be one of our favourite beaches... Between midday and three we have to be off the beach to spare our pale white English skin, so we take a drive to one of the local farms selling fruit and veg. After lunch we try out beach no.4 at Torre Salinas. We try out our new bats and ball and manage a 23 ralley! After our long day at the beach, it’s home, shower, change and restaurant no. 3, 'L’Aragosta' (lobster) and a seafood melangue is the order of the day and very tasty too!

Tue. Nora and Chia

Our plan today is to venture out a bit further. Even though we have perfect beaches where we are... The island is dotted with Roman, Phoenician and Nuraghe ruins, so today we are heading back past Cagliari, (where it’s just too hot to visit) and on to Nora where there is an ancient Roman settlement, oh and then on to the beach at nearby Chia.

We take the inland road to Cagliari and get more than we bargained for... a long windy road through some spectacular mountains, complete with goats nonchalantly wandering across the road. On past Cagliari and we reach Nora, just time for a picnic lunch under some palm trees and a snooze on the rug.

Our visit to the extensive ruins at Nora is taken in excrutiating heat... although it is quite interesting. There is a cool amphitheatre where they stage summer concerts and Greek plays.

On to Chia, where the beaches look even more stunning than at Costa Rei! First stop is at Monte Cogoni and quite impressive it is, the only problem is it's very windy and the sea too rough. We stay for a while and then move on to the beach at Turreada, which is a little calmer and very beautiful. We stay til about 8 o-clock, before the long journey home...







Wed. ‘Is Laccus’

Again we manage to make it out for the morning stint at the beach, nice and close at Piscina Rei. We’re rather shattered from yesterday’s long trip, so after lunch we have a rather long ‘pisolino’ (siesta) ready for our anniversary dinner, although we’re making it a celebratory week.! We open our bottle of Gosset Grande Reserve champagne (very expensive present from Annette’s brother, Phil) and have a couple of glasses to get us in the mood... Our meal is at ‘Is Laccus’. It’s a 10 course set meal affair at an Agriturismo in the mountains. Complete with local dishes, Malreddus (a sausage and tomato pasta) Porcheddu (a spit roasted pig with myrtle and juniper berries) and Sebadas (a ricotta filled pastry) for dessert. We down about 2 litres of the local red wine, Cannonau and finish with the local liquore, Mirto made with myrtle!



Thur. Cala Anniversario and La Quercia

Today is our actual anniversary day- 4 years! And this morning there is a local market opposite our appartment, so we take a leisurely stroll around. I pick up some shorts and two pairs of swimming trunks. In the afternoon we find this tiny secluded cove with no name, so we christen it ‘Cala Anniversario’ In the evening we go back to a restaurant we spotted the other day, La Quercia again in the mountains and we gorge ourselves on some wicked fish dishes, before returning home for more champagne!



Fri. Cruise

It’s our big cruise day on a wonderful 25 metre yacht!

We’re up at 9.30 for our 10.30 departure from Villasimius. As always it’s a beautiful sunny day and our first port of call is Punta Smolenta to an absolutely gorgeous secluded cove and sandy beach, inaccessible by land. We enjoy some snorkelling and I swim to the shore. Lunch is on board and it's Malreddus again washed down with copius amounts of red wine. Next we sail round to the tiny island of Serpenturia. Some go to shore, but we are happy diving and snorkelling off the yacht in the beautifully clear sea. A very splashy return to Villasimius, bringing a wonderful day to an end. We pop into the town at Villasimius for a wander and  granite. It’s our last evening and we’re just too tired to cook! And so we head for yet another restaurant, 'Gianni’s', again out of town and enjoy some more local Sardinian cuisine. Fotunately we aren’t sunburnt from our cruise!

Sun. Departure

Check out time is 10.30am, but our ferry doesn’t leave until 6pm, so one last trip to the beach is a must. This time to the fabulous Cala Pira a tiny cove and another sandy beach! It’s our last go with the bat and ball and we manage a new record 31 ralley! Just time to find a last restaurant for lunch on the way back to Cagliari, a trip to the hypermarket and we’re back on the ferry, a very sad good bye to the very beautiful Sardegna...

90. Summer concert extravaganza

Radiohead
 up Piazzale Michelangelo


It's a weekend concert extravaganza in Tuscany as I get to see 4 concerts in 5 nights! Unfortunately the tickets for Radiohead sold out months ago, but tonight I'm covering someone's class and am working in the centre of Florence. As the concert is in Piazzale Michelangelo, which is outside, I decide to see if maybe I can gate-crash... I drive up, but the road is cordoned off, somehow though I manage to convince the Carabinieri that I need to take this road home! I find somewhere to park. You can hear the music from a mile away. Hundreds of people have gathered outside the walled off seating area. You can just see the stage and hearing Tom Yorke and the boys is not a problem. So I settle myself down with a beer and enjoy 2 hours of free Radiohead! And pretty slammin' it is too!

Craig David
in Lucca

Friday night and we have tickets to see Mr Southampton smoothie himself. A 1 1/2 hour drive to the enchanting Lucca, we arrive at 8.30, grab some take-away pizza and settle ourselves down in Piazza Napoleone. He starts promptly at 9.30, all dressed in white and bangs out all the hits from his two albums, no Sting and only an hour and a quarter... still his performance is very slick and polished and we have a good boogie! Drinks after in a very buzzy bar, 11.30 and the city is heaving with throngs of people enjoying the balmy summer evening and party atmosphere.

Zubhin Mehta
in Siena

One of our work colleagues, Barbara Curtis, who lives in the beautiful Siena has told us that the 'Maestro' himself, Zubhin Mehta is performing a free concert in Piazza del Campo tonight and so an opportunity to see the world's greatest conductor is too good to miss!

After the 45 minute drive we park up and make our way to the Campo through the narrow winding streets. It was only two months ago that we were here enjoying the magical Andrea Bocelli! There are plenty of seats available. Some at the front are reserved, but further back they're free. We find a spot right in the middle and enjoy a wonderful evening in the company of the 'Hungarian hurricane'. He is conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the orchestra based in Florence! This evening they are playing two pieces by Brahms and Prokoviev's Romeo and Juliet... a super evening under the stars and a big full moon!

Alanis Morrisette
 in Lucca

Our final concert (for this week anyway!) is the multi-Grammy winning Canadian superstar, Alanis Morrisette. As a 'Jagged little pil' purchaser, Annette is particularly happy to be going along... For this gig we are back in the lovely Lucca, as the concert is part of the Lucca Summer Festival, an event now firmly engraved in our diary.

We decide to come to early and enjoy some time in Lucca. We arrive at about 2 pm, but struggle to find somewhere open for lunch. Eventually we find a shady outside table in a restaurant  in Piazza San Martino and have a simple risotto and salad. There is still plenty of time for us to chill out before the concert starts. We've heard you can hire bicycles here and cycle on top of the 2 1/2 miles of city walls, sounds a bit dangerous? So that's exactly what we do! Actually the walls are about 50 metres wide, so it's pretty easy to stay on! We start at the Porta San Pietro and cycle anti-clockwise, many other people are doing the same thing and it's car free! We pass by the Palazzo Pfanner (used  for the film 'Portrait of a Lady') and its fabulous gardens and come down and stop for a drink in the very peaceful Piazza Anfiteatro, where we get chatting to a local Lucchese woman. A small costumed parade passes us, complete with trumpeters and flag throwers. We enjoy a lazy nap in a shady park back up on the walls and then pop back to the car for a change of clothing for the evening...

We're back at the same Pizzeria, but today we have time to sit outside and enjoy a whole pizza at a more leisurely pace. 8.30 pm and we wander to Piazza Napoleone to await Ms Morrisette. She comes on 1 1/2 hours late! (A woman's perrogative!) But is well worth the wait... She plays an awesome 2-hour set, including all her big hits. Rock on!

89. Casa Petrarca, Carmignano and Artimino

Casa Petrarca

The overwhelming desire to have our own place has led to a short sharp burst of activity. Today after work we are looking at two properties. The first one is in a town called Pian di Scò near Regello. The town looks a bit run down and the house too is rather neglected, it’s big, but has no garden or view. The second place is more interesting. The Estate agent takes us to Incisa in the val d’Arno and winds his way up a hill to Castello, a tiny hamlet with some great views of the Appenine mountains. The house is an 800 year old buildingopposite ‘Casa Petraca’, the supposed birthplace of the famous Poet. The house is very grand, with 5 metre ceilings with exposed wooden beams and original terracotta floors, a tiny view out of one of the windows and an enclosed garden, across the road! The price is slightly out of our budget, but I don’t think we would have made an offer anyway...

On the way home we stop for a pizza at La Paglietta!



Carmignano

A few days later and we have another appointment to see a flat in the wine growing area of Carmignano,(In Tuscany you can’t escape wine!) to the west of >Florence. We meet the Estate Agent in Poggio a Caiano and drive up to the small, pretty town of Carmignano. The house is too small and only has a errace, which has a spectacular view! The other house we were going to see is off because the owners have gone on holiday for July and August and didn’t want to sell for another year anyway... cue end of our house hunting for now... tbc-


Artimino

Some time on our hands, we drive on to the very picturesque hamlet of Artimino, where we spot yet another Medici villa! And another winery, we pop into the Enoteca and buy a ’98 Carmignano riserva and find a nice bar to relax in for an aperitivo. We get chatting to a local who says there isn’t much chance of buying anywhere here and so the search continues... but we had a pleasant drive out in the countryside and discovered some new places!

88. The Merchant of Prato

The original Merchant of Prato, Marco Datini, was born in 1335 and travelled all over Europe setting up contacts . The result was a flourishing textile industry in Florence’s neighbour, Prato and continues to this day...

Today we are hosting Tiziano, who has his own textile company in Prato and his partner, ‘Welsh’ Gemma, one of Annette’s friends.Saturday is spent shopping in Greve market and a nice drive up to villa San Andrea for another case of their very fine and reasonably priced Chianti Classico riserva wine. They arrive at 1 pm and we enjoy lunch together in our woods, complete with giant hare and butterflies! Afterwards we hit the pool for some swimming and sunbathing and finish off a very pleasant day with a ‘passegiata’ and aperitivo in Greve.

87. La Traviata up Fiesole

La Traviata at Fiesole


June has turned into July and it’s new territory for us as this time last year we were back in England enjoying two weeks of solid rain! No such luck here, barely a drop in months and the thermometer is stuck at around 35°C.

This evening is very special as we are having our first taste of Opera in Italy and it’s Al-Fresco! We’ve seen La Boheme, Tosca and Aida together in England and tonight we have tickets for Verdi’s La Traviata in the 1st Century B.C. theatre in ‘uptown’ Fiesole. It’s only a 45 minute drive from home and we arrive at 8 pm, just enough time for a quick coffee in the pretty square, before our 8.30 pm entrance time. In true English fashion, we have brought a bottle of Spumante (smuggled in) and some strawberries and we settle down for what should be a great evening... The sun is still setting and we are surrounded by Roman and Etruscan ruins and a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside, the stars are easing their way out, the orchestra is sriking up and the players are taking their place... Wasn’t coming to live in Italy a good choice?

The Opera is wonderful. La Traviata is athe tragic story of a Parisian courtesan who is ill. She falls in love and moves to the countryside, then back to Paris where she eventually dies.The famous Aria comes early on in act 1. We polish off the Spumante and even manage to squeeze in a tiramisu ice cream in the interval! A great evening... Bravo! Bravo!

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)