Sunday 19th September I was woken abruptly this morning by gunshot, causing me to leap from my bed. The shot sounded really close, and for a few moments I was quite disorientated, and had to think where I was. I looked across at Angie still sound asleep in her bed, probably exhausted from being kept awake in the night by my snoring. I walked across to the window and quietly pulled open the heavy shutters, outside the early morning sun shone hazily through a thick violet mist which had enveloped the old monastery and the surrounding countryside, it appeared quite eerie. Our bedroom window directly overlooked the parking area outside the walls of the hotel, and there were several trucks and cars with hunters unloading their dogs and guns. I stood quietly for a couple of minutes watching them, a few more trucks and cars crept through the mist their tires crunching on the gravel driveway, they parked and unloaded more guns and dogs, then one of the hunters looked up and caught sight of me standing there in the window, he gave me a lovely smile and waved, "buongiorno Signora" he called. "Buongiorno" I called back, then suddenly he started speaking rapid Italian, and I had absolutely no clue what he was saying, although I'm sure it was nice because he was still smiling. I shrugged and with a smile said "English, spiacente, non parlo Italiano"(one of the few Italian phrases I had learnt, meaning, sorry I don't speak Italian). The hunter shrugged, smiled and turned back to follow his dogs. "Who are you talking to?" Angie said rousing herself from her sleep. "The hunters" I replied. I watched as they slung the guns casually over their shoulders and followed the dogs that were all running excitedly off towards the forest and disappearing like ghosts into the morning mist... We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the hotel before packing and checking out. In hindsight I should have called this blog "packing and unpacking", its all I seem to have done for the past four years, and this vacation is no different, but its how I organized it, and so far the plan has worked brilliantly. We drove away from the hotel, back down the steep, narrow road and suddenly came through the mist as if out of a cloud. Looking back, the top of the hill was completely engulfed in white cloud. We had enjoyed a lovely stay at Badia di Pomaio, and a truly wonderful meal in their fabulous restaurant. I would stay here again quite happily. |
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Thursday, October 28, 2010
early morning gunshot
La Tenuta Le Viste
Sunday 19th September
Tenuta Le Viste
Tenuta Le Viste
It didn’t take us long to find our next hotel, despite the road being another narrow, winding, off the beaten track location.
We pulled up outside a set of enormous gates, pushed the button and waited; it wasn’t long before a very friendly voice, in broken English welcomed us, opened the gates and directed us to pull inside.
What greeted us was a large, immaculately manicured garden, surrounded by olive trees, lemon trees and assorted pots overflowing with flowers. Two adorable little Cairn terriers rushed over, one called “Turbo” the other I’m sorry I don’t remember the name, both followed closely by Alexandra, the owner of Tenuta Le Viste.
I must at this point clumsily attempt to describe this property; the location of Tenuta Le Viste can only have been chosen by the Gods! This incredible seventeenth century dwelling sits high on the Florence hills, in an oasis of beauty and peace surrounded by olive trees.
You have heard I’m sure the expression “a million dollar view” well Tenuta Le Viste has a view that is absolutely priceless, breathtaking does not describe it.
Angie and I were completely blown away by the location. The house itself was in immaculate order, furnished with beautiful antiques, heavily beamed wooden ceilings, stonewalls, and beautiful brick floors adorned with antique rugs. There are four guest rooms, one of which is a suite fit for royalty.
Our room was beautifully furnished, with a bathroom of Carrara marble. Every convenience and luxury is provided, its peaceful, luxuriously comfortable and within minute’s by car from Florence. I would quite happily have just stayed there and relaxed for the evening with a glass of wine, Alexandra has a wonderful wine list for all taste’s and budgets.
Unfortunately I hadn’t researched enough to realize that you need to book in advance if you wish to dine here, which was a real shame, as the menu looked amazing. Next time!
So Angie and I unpacked our things for the night and headed into Florence. We were both totally oblivious to the fact that one is not allowed to drive in Florence without special permit, consequently I’m still waiting on the tickets that I’m sure will arrive any day now…
Being a Sunday evening we both thought the city would be quiet! How wrong could one possibly be! However, as throughout our Tuscan vacation we managed to find a parking space right in the center of Florence and bang outside Hermes, which, fortunately for Bob was closed.
Me, with the Pont Vecchio bridge behind.
We walked around the lovely old historic streets and buildings, now heavily populated with designer stores, and expensive jewelery outlets from up market names like Tiffany and Cartier. We strolled leisurely across the famous Pont Vecchio bridge, bought some delicious gelato, wandered through the piazza, window shopped in the fashionable streets, drank delicious Italian coffee while we people watched, and eventually made our weary way back to the car to drive back to Tenute Le Viste, completely forgetting that we hadn't made a dinner reservation, and totally innocent of the mountains of tickets that I’m sure will descend upon me over the months to come.
Fortunately Alexandra had some wonderful wine, and a dish of snacks, which we had on the terrace overlooking the beautiful city of Florence all lit up like the night sky…
For what its worth, I can not recommend this little hotel highly enough. I have stayed at the Four Seasons in Manhatten, Ritz Carlton’s around the world, and many other luxurious and exclusive hotels, but Tenuta Le Viste now ranks among the most wonderful vacation spots that I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.
For more information go to www.tenuta-leviste.it
Side view of Tenuta Le Viste
e-mail info@tenuta-leviste.it
More wine country
The views from the top of the hill were absolutely breathtaking. We parked the car and walked up to the castle, a couple of other people walking around informed us that the castle was closed, not what we wanted to hear, we were both really hungry. We walked around the grounds, and picked some grapes, which were dangling temptingly from the veranda terrace. Other people picking the grapes informed us that they were decorative, and not part of the vineyard’s wine crop. (I hope they were right!)
The grapes were warm from the sun and tasted like strawberries. We only picked a few as we didn’t want to get into trouble, then headed back to the car to continue our search for a restaurant.
Back on the main road towards Firenze (Florence) we drove through Impruneta and came across “San Martino Restorante Pizzeria”… Angie had her usual spaghetti with tomato sauce, and I ordered Gnocchi, which was a gastronomic delight, mouth wateringly delicious. We ordered olive oil and balsamic for our bread, Angie still can’t get used to the Tuscan bread, and I have to say I agree with her. The bread in Tuscany is made without any salt, and unless its fresh from the oven and served with some oil or other dressing, its really quite bland. A little butter or oil and a gentle sprinkling of salt soon fix’s it right up!
Wine Country
Sunday 19th September
Getting out of Arezzo was almost as difficult as finding our hotel last night, but we were having fun despite our predicament. Fortunately Angie is a good sport and was able to inject humor into our frustration at (what seemed like continually) taking the wrong roads. I don’t think either of us was that impressed with Arezzo, although having said that we really loved our hotel.
We had planned on taking the autostrada to Montevarchi, but once again I took the wrong turning and ended up on the SR69, another secondary road. However, despite my inability to follow the signposts once again luck was with us, as the road appeared to be running parallel to the autostrada, and in the right direction. There was very little traffic on the road and as we were making good time we decided to stay on the SR69.
At Montevarchi we turned off onto another side road the SR408, and then eventually on to the SR429 into “wine country” Chianti. The beautiful windy roads took us past countless vineyards, through rows and rows of Cyprus trees, Olive groves and breathtaking scenery. I was stopping the car every few minutes to take photographs. As we drove through Radda in Chianti there were wine tasting tents all through the village, which was teeming with people, but there was nowhere to park, after driving around for a while we finally came across a parking space but we were so far out of town and at the foot of a very steep hill so we decided to move on. A couple of miles outside of Radda we came across another vineyard offering wine tasting, WE parked the car and ventured inside, Both of us tried a couple of different Chianti’s but we were not impressed enough to buy, The vineyard also produced and sold olive oil, and balsamic vinegar of various vintages. I tried some of the 30 year old balsamic, it was like nectar, I had to have it, besides we couldn’t really leave without buying something, after having had a few tastings, so I bought the smallest little bottle of the 30 year old balsamic, it cost about $50, but was so delicious, and I will use it sparingly, I just hope customs don’t take it off me when I fly back, I think its OK. There was a lovely little restaurant at the vineyard, but having enjoyed a very extravagant day (culinary speaking) yesterday, we both decided to find something a little less expensive for our meals today.
We left the vineyard and continued on through the picturesque town of Greve in Chianti. It was getting late and we were both beginning to feel a little peckish. Since Radda we hadn’t come across any restaurants in the small villages we had driven through. We eventually came across a signpost for a Castle that Angie had spotted on the map, she thought it might be interesting, and possibly somewhere we could get lunch. We turned onto a small side road and followed it up a narrow steep hillside towards “Castello di Verrazzano”, a local tourist attraction. The road wound steeply around the hillside climbing higher and higher, eventually we reached the top, where there were large parking lots, but they were empty! The castle built around the eleventh century still produces wine today, and is well known for its Verrazzano Rosso. The name Verrazzano means “land of boars” Had I researched it I could have booked us into one of their fabulous wine tours and dinners. OH yet just another reason I’ll have to come back to this incredible country…
Friday, October 22, 2010
On to Arezzo
After our wonderfully decadent lunch, we headed back to the car stopping along the way in the little shops to admire all the wonderful fruits and vegetables, cheese's, meats, breads and pastas all produced locally. The food here is so good, I would have enjoyed filling a basket with all the goodies to take home with me, but I settled for a small bag of blue striped farfalle. In the little piazza a local man was sitting on the church steps with his Jackdaw, which was hopping around his shoulders and up and down his arms, as tame as could be. We stopped to take some photographs before moving on.
Back in the car we headed out of Montepulciano on the 454 to Laviano where we joined a wonderfully scenic road to Cortona. Both Angie and I were keen to see the hill town of Cortona as its the home of Francis Mayes, the author of "Under the Tuscan Sun" among other books. Her descriptions of the town and surrounding areas made it sound truly delightful, it was just another place not to be missed.
Once again we didn't have time to venture inside the city walls, we drove around for a while but with the afternoon light beginning to fade we forgot the side roads and quickly joined the S71, fast route to Arezzo.
This was definitely the largest town we had encountered so far, quite industrial, and much flatter than any of our previous towns.
The directions I had to our hotel were horrible, and needless to say we got terribly lost; even using lulu we couldn't locate it. In desperation, after driving around in circles for about an hour, we pulled into a gas station to ask for directions, not an easy task bearing in mind neither of us spoke any Italian, but Angie is never deterred by such unimportant issues as language. At the gas station several people came over very keen to help, not a word of English was spoken between them, but with my trusty map, hand signals and much patience Angie managed to get a rough idea of the location of the hotel.
I still don't know how we found it, and I honestly don't think I could find it again if I returned, but find it we did, eventually, up a long and very narrow, winding road, through the woods, three miles from the historic center of Arezzo.
Our four star hotel "Badia di Pomaio", in the La Badia area, turned out to be a beautifully restored, ancient 17th century monastery. The hotel has seventeen rooms, two fabulous restaurants, a pool and gorgeous grounds, not to mention the breathtaking panoramic view of Arezzo.
Our room was quite lovely, it had heavily beamed ceilings, two comfortable twin beds, a large marble bathroom, a writing desk in a nook off the bedroom, and a small sitting-room. The huge windows overlooked the countryside and mountains in the distance.
I took a shower while Angie headed out to explore the hotel and grounds.
That night we dined in the hotel's main restaurant, and once again the food and wine was really spectacular.
Today was definitely my favorite day of our trip so far, each day I don't think it can get any better, and each day I'm surprised. Italy truly is a country to fall in love with...
For more information or details on this hotel go to: www.badiadipomaio.net and click on "translate this page" to choose English,
or: www.hotelbadiadipomioarezzo.it
Back in the car we headed out of Montepulciano on the 454 to Laviano where we joined a wonderfully scenic road to Cortona. Both Angie and I were keen to see the hill town of Cortona as its the home of Francis Mayes, the author of "Under the Tuscan Sun" among other books. Her descriptions of the town and surrounding areas made it sound truly delightful, it was just another place not to be missed.
Once again we didn't have time to venture inside the city walls, we drove around for a while but with the afternoon light beginning to fade we forgot the side roads and quickly joined the S71, fast route to Arezzo.
This was definitely the largest town we had encountered so far, quite industrial, and much flatter than any of our previous towns.
The directions I had to our hotel were horrible, and needless to say we got terribly lost; even using lulu we couldn't locate it. In desperation, after driving around in circles for about an hour, we pulled into a gas station to ask for directions, not an easy task bearing in mind neither of us spoke any Italian, but Angie is never deterred by such unimportant issues as language. At the gas station several people came over very keen to help, not a word of English was spoken between them, but with my trusty map, hand signals and much patience Angie managed to get a rough idea of the location of the hotel.
I still don't know how we found it, and I honestly don't think I could find it again if I returned, but find it we did, eventually, up a long and very narrow, winding road, through the woods, three miles from the historic center of Arezzo.
Our four star hotel "Badia di Pomaio", in the La Badia area, turned out to be a beautifully restored, ancient 17th century monastery. The hotel has seventeen rooms, two fabulous restaurants, a pool and gorgeous grounds, not to mention the breathtaking panoramic view of Arezzo.
Our room was quite lovely, it had heavily beamed ceilings, two comfortable twin beds, a large marble bathroom, a writing desk in a nook off the bedroom, and a small sitting-room. The huge windows overlooked the countryside and mountains in the distance.
I took a shower while Angie headed out to explore the hotel and grounds.
That night we dined in the hotel's main restaurant, and once again the food and wine was really spectacular.
Today was definitely my favorite day of our trip so far, each day I don't think it can get any better, and each day I'm surprised. Italy truly is a country to fall in love with...
For more information or details on this hotel go to: www.badiadipomaio.net and click on "translate this page" to choose English,
or: www.hotelbadiadipomioarezzo.it
Monday, October 18, 2010
Montepulciano, OH the joy of great food
Leaving Sorano we followed the secondary road until eventually joining the 478 to Chianciano Therme. The 'Terme' part of the name means Spa. We decided not to stop here as time was marching on and we wanted to get to Montepulciano in time for a late lunch. At 1,950 feet above sea level, this medieval hamlet is the highest hill town in Tuscany, it also has breathtaking views over the surrounding countryside. Built on a sloping, narrow limestone ridge in the heart of the Vino Nobile wine growing territory, Montepulciano is most famous for its wonderful Vino Nobile di Montepulciano made from the Sangiovese grapes, not to be confused with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, which is made in Abruzzo using the Montepulciano grape variety.
We innocently drove through the ancient narrow streets, and parked in the Hotel La Terrazza parking lot in the center of town, completely oblivious to the fact that you are supposed to have a special permit to drive here. We were lucky, we didn't get clamped, or ticketed (that we know of, of course a ticket could still arrive!).
Happy with our luck at finding a great parking space we headed out in search of the shops, and a restaurant. I turned off the main shopping road and wandered down a quiet little street where I discovered a true Tuscan gem, "II Restorante Borgobuio" owned and run by husband and wife, Elda (the chef) and Pier, the head waiter, tennor and restaurant entertainer...
This lovely, little restaurant created within an underground cave, part of the 500 cellars of Palace Venturi, is a joy to behold, with its vaulted ceilings, interesting antiques, saffron lighting and very friendly service, turned out to be one of the best restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of eating in. With Pavarotti at his glorious best belting it out over the sound system, and Pier joining in (quite well, I might add). All the tables were brimming with family's, couples, business people and locals, the atmosphere was both sophisticated but informal, with a warmth that made you feel as though you were eating in someone's home. Pier made a great fuss of "Angelina" (as he called Angie), and me "Heeter"!
The food was absolutely superb, I had an asparagus risotto, possibly the best thing I've ever eaten, and Angie had pasta with a scrumptious home made tomato sauce, all washed down with the most delicious wine, yummy, scrummy, I was fully indulging my love affair with Italian food and wine, as is evidenced by my expanding waistline! We took our time over lunch, and were put under no pressure to move on and free up the table, as is so often the case in many restaurants today. I really believe they would have let us stay all day, had we chosen to.
We would have happily stayed, for dinner too, but our itinerary was calling, we still had to get to Cortona, and then on to Arrezo and find our hotel for the night...
Before leaving, Pier managed to talk us into a dessert, which neither of us really wanted, it was just easier to say yes to him, we had a tiramisu which we shared, and I had a cup of espresso to wake me up ready for the drive ahead.
You can visit this restaurants web site: www.borgobuio.it
We innocently drove through the ancient narrow streets, and parked in the Hotel La Terrazza parking lot in the center of town, completely oblivious to the fact that you are supposed to have a special permit to drive here. We were lucky, we didn't get clamped, or ticketed (that we know of, of course a ticket could still arrive!).
Happy with our luck at finding a great parking space we headed out in search of the shops, and a restaurant. I turned off the main shopping road and wandered down a quiet little street where I discovered a true Tuscan gem, "II Restorante Borgobuio" owned and run by husband and wife, Elda (the chef) and Pier, the head waiter, tennor and restaurant entertainer...
This lovely, little restaurant created within an underground cave, part of the 500 cellars of Palace Venturi, is a joy to behold, with its vaulted ceilings, interesting antiques, saffron lighting and very friendly service, turned out to be one of the best restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of eating in. With Pavarotti at his glorious best belting it out over the sound system, and Pier joining in (quite well, I might add). All the tables were brimming with family's, couples, business people and locals, the atmosphere was both sophisticated but informal, with a warmth that made you feel as though you were eating in someone's home. Pier made a great fuss of "Angelina" (as he called Angie), and me "Heeter"!
The food was absolutely superb, I had an asparagus risotto, possibly the best thing I've ever eaten, and Angie had pasta with a scrumptious home made tomato sauce, all washed down with the most delicious wine, yummy, scrummy, I was fully indulging my love affair with Italian food and wine, as is evidenced by my expanding waistline! We took our time over lunch, and were put under no pressure to move on and free up the table, as is so often the case in many restaurants today. I really believe they would have let us stay all day, had we chosen to.
We would have happily stayed, for dinner too, but our itinerary was calling, we still had to get to Cortona, and then on to Arrezo and find our hotel for the night...
Before leaving, Pier managed to talk us into a dessert, which neither of us really wanted, it was just easier to say yes to him, we had a tiramisu which we shared, and I had a cup of espresso to wake me up ready for the drive ahead.
You can visit this restaurants web site: www.borgobuio.it
Exploring Pitigliano and Sorano
Saturday 18th September
Our stay last night was at the Spa Relais Orientina, just a few minutes drive outside the center of Pitigliano. A small family run hotel, friendly, and very comfortable with a good restaurant. The spa facilities looked lovely, but didn’t (for us) operate at very convenient hours, they closed as we arrived at 7pm last night, and didn’t open until 11am this morning meaning we didn’t get to use the spa at all, we were both disappointed as we had been looking forward to a swim and a sauna before dinner.
The hotel rooms were spotlessly clean, and the beds moderately comfortable, I would stay here again and happily recommend this hotel to anyone visiting this area.
After breakfast we drove back into Pitigliano, through the entrance gate, once provided with a drawbridge, into the old walled town. We parked in Piazza Garibaldi, and strolled leisurely through the lovely old medieval town, built in 1545. The history of this whole area can be traced back to the Bronze age (2000-1000 B.C.)
One of the beautiful little streets in Pitigliano
There was a collection of lovely old vintage Citroen car’s on display in the Piazza, and many of the locals and visitors were wandering around admiring them. Angie and I headed off to explore the little streets. I bought a bottle of locally made wine to take back for Bob. Pitigliano produces a lovely white wine called Bianco di Pitigliano.
We peeped into the Cathedral dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1509. The baroque style interior was characterized by a magnificent high altar, on either side were two statues symbolizing Faith and Charity, and on the walls are two paintings by Pietro Aldi (1852 - 1888), an artist born in nearby Manciano. We slipped quietly in to light a candle and say a prayer.
Angie outside a local store
Pitigliano sees far fewer tourists than other Tuscan hill towns and cities, which is a shame because this stunning little medieval town is a real jewel in Tuscany's crown, and very worthy of a visit.
Dug into the tufa beneath the city are underground caves and tunnels, which have been in use since Etruscan times when the cliff was dotted with tombs. Today many of the caves are used for storing wine. There is also a Christian cave chapel dating from 400AD, it is said to be the oldest in Italy.
Taken at the entrance gate to the walled town of Sorano
The next item on our agenda was to return to Sorano, which turned out to be Angie's favorite place. Sorano is four miles from Pitigliano, thirty-two miles from the A1 autostrada, fifty-eight miles from Grosseto, eighty-six from Rome, and one hundred and five from Florence. The town sits dramatically perched atop a tufa ridge, surrounded by lush vegetation, vineyards, sheep farms and olive groves, clear evidence of the area's strong agricultural vocation.
We drove through the tiny streets, and into the main Piazza, when we parked the car and walked around taking photographs and admiring the lovely old buildings. When we returned to the car, a funeral procession of about one hundred people was passing slowly through the Piazza, so we sat and waited for it to pass before moving on.
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