266. Calaviolina

Thank god it's Friday! and we both have a free day... It's a no brainer - Calaviolina! There is no traffic on the drive down and we arrive before lunch. It's a twenty minute walk through the woods and then we arrive in paradise! We enjoy a wonderful afternoon of unspoilt beauty on this incredible beach... Can we take up residence here?

My student, Stefano Chioccioli has cancelled his lesson for tomorrow, fortunately I have anticipated this and we have packed a few overnight things. So we now have three days at the beach, whoopee!

At late notice we manage to book a room for tonight at an agriturismo, il Marrucheto, somewhere near Scarlino (in the middle of nowhere!) we find it eventually. 

We shower, change and head to the nearby town of Giuncarico. Italy are playing Ukraine in the quarter finals at 9.00 - so I just have time for a wicked seafood spaghetti, before sneaking off to a local 'circolo', leaving Annette at the restaurant. Luckily, it's a 3-0 win for Italy and they're in the semi-finals!

(Original post: no. 328 - 30/06/2006)

265. Alberto's party

Sat 24


For the first time in five years we're going to miss the San Giovanni fireworks... But all in a good cause. Our good friend, Alberto is throwing a beach party in honour of his 'early' retirement. Fifty of his closest friends have been invited to the archaeological park at Baratti. 

We arrive after a mammoth journey in time for our picnic lunch on the beach. Alberto and Nadia are there of course. Matteo and his girlfriend, Barbara, their dance teacher, Letizia and all the usual gang are there as well as many other friends and work colleagues. We settle down for a relaxing afternoon of swimming and sunbathing.




At 6 o'clock we all depart from the beach. We check in to our agriturismo, Calzalunga, near Suvereto. A shower and change of clothing and we are ready to party!

A quick drive back to Baratti and the archaeological park, which is a great setting for a fabulous evening. We're normally used to seeing everybody in swimwear. so it's strange seeing everybody with clothes on! Aperitivos get the party started, before a great banquet, complete with retirement cake and then Alberto opens all his presents. We continue dancing the night away...

Happy Retirement Alberto!


Sun 25


We're up nice and early for breakfast, before settling by the pool for some early morning rays and a swing in some hammocks! At midday the pool is invaded by an army of kids on a pre-lunch dip. We pack up and head to Suvereto for a sandwich lunch and then we're back at Baratti (by popular demand) At five o'clock I disappear into San Vincenzo to catch England vs Ecquador in the second round of the World Cup. (A Beckham free kick wins the match for them!) I pick Annette up and we head back to San Vincenzo for a pizza at... yes, the no.1 Pizzeria and we have a stroll and ice-cream, before driving back to Florence.

(Original entry: no. 327 - 24/25/06/2006)

264. Renaissance Man

I have a free morning today and decide it's time to check out the current exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, before it's too late!

An incredible collection of art from around the globe that support the ideals of this great Genoan humanist, author, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher and cryptographer, Leon Battista Alberti. There are also some of his books here on the treaties of Architecture, Painting and the Family...

(Original journal entry no. 326 - 16/06/2006)

263. Granducato and Davide at 40

Sunday afternoon and we take a drive out to Pratolino for some lolling about on the grass. The mood is somewhat spoilt by a children's festival complete with flag waving and a brass band!

But, hey, yesterday was my good friend, Davide's 40th birthday and this evening he's taking us out for a meal at the very posh Granducato Hotel in Campi Bisenzio. We're being joined by his Chinese work colleague, Kelvin. His book and Brunello wine presents seem to go down well - even if the food is not as spectacular as the place!




Tanti Auguri Davide!

(Original journal entry no. 325 - 11/06/2006)

262. Radda in the glass

This afternoon England are playing Paraguay in the World Cup, but the temptation of Chianti Classico wine proves too much!

 

And so after my lesson with Stefano Chioccioli I head out to the beautiful town of Radda and indulge in some glass swilling - a fabulous edition and some great new wines!

261. Open Pool

The outdoor pool in Greve has been open for a week now. Friday and a lesson cancellation for our first visit. It's fairly empty.


Sunday 18th and our second visit to the pool and of course its packed!


In the evening we have a great meal at Napoleone in Piazza Carmine.

Wed. 28th and our first visit to a new pool in Campi Bisenzio, the newly opened Hidron. Its only twenty minutes away and has an Olympic sized outdoor swimming pool.

(Original journal entry no: 323 - 09/06/2006)

260. Giambologna in the Bargello

Well, it's been nearly a week since my dad left and only one week until the new Giambologna exhibition finishes. I have my first lesson today at 1pm and the Bargello museum is only open in the mornings, so Annette and I tear ourselves out of bed and get on the bus to the centre nice and early.

 

Giambologna is one of our favourite Sculptors and was very prolific in Florence. The exhibition is superb. Some of his pieces are always here and some have been specially brought in. I even pick up an amazing sculpture book for 20 euros, what a bargain! And what a Sculptor... not bad for a Frenchman!

(Original journal entry no: 322 - 15/0&/2006)

259. Dad - part 2

Book 10

"When evening comes, I return home and go into my study. On the threshold I strip off my muddy, sweaty, working clothes and put on my robes of court and palace. And in this graver dress, I enter the antique courts of the ancients and am welcomed by them."

Niccolo Macchiavelli - on his days at his villa in Sant Andrea in Percussina

Dad - part 2

Monday am and I drop dad at Florence station, Santa Maria Novella, for his week at the beach.

Friday am and I make the drive down to San Vincenzo to meet up with him. Unfortunately the weather has been disappointing all week and today is overcast too. We meet up and walk into the town for a browse at the shops. We find a cozy bar on the beach for lunch. Everybody is having ribollita, (a winter dish!) so I order one for dad. In the afternoon we drive up to Populonia and the fortress. The little town is packed (due to the bad weather) and the views are spectacular. Afterwards we drive back down for our visit to the Archaeological park at Baratti. 

Usually we're here for the beach when it's too hot to visit, but today is perfect. It's a huge site where there used to be an iron works. We go on the 'iron way' and then have a guided tour of the Eruscan  tombs. A very cultural afternoon. 

In the evening we end up at the Number One Pizza place as several other restaurants are full. We enjoy a great fish dish and some nice white wine.

Sat. 3 and again the weather is overcast, but in true English fashion we are not deterred. There is still plenty to do in this beautiful area besides sitting on the beach! First stop is Bolgheri. The four kilometre drive down the cypress avenue is impressive. We wander round the town and indulge in some wine tasting and enjoy a coffee in an outside bar. Our next stop is Castagneto Carducci - via a gorgeous road I've never taken before, passing through the vineyards of Ornellaia. We stroll through Castagneto and stop for a cheese, ham and wine lunch. We have time for a visit to Massa Marritima, only my second time here. Fabulous, medieval streets and superb crafty shops make for a great afternoon. In the evening we have booked a table at the 'Ombrone' restaurant in Suvereto. We check out the town first and have an aperitivo before settling down in this very smart restaurant. The wine list is obscenely expensive (four times the list prices) but the food is pretty sensational. I have the papardelle with wild boar and escalopes of beef with a great gorgonzola and pine nut sauce. Dessert is a bit wicked too, chocolate millefoglie mmm


Sun. 4 and finally the sun has appeared! So after breakfast we hit the beach at Rimigliano. At lunch time we move on to Baratti, Where my good friends, Nadia and Alberto and the gang are (as usual). We pop off to buy a huge porchetta roll and then enjoy an afternoon of sun bathing and swimming.


And so my dad's 'Tuscan Adventure' is over... two weeks of sightseeing and feasting 'Italian style'. We drive back to Florence and he packs up and I drive him back to Florence airport where I bid him farewell...

(Original journal entry no: 314-321 02-04/06/2006)

258. Dad

I've managed to twist my dad's arm to come to Tuscany and finally after four and a half years of us living here, he's decided to come and see what all the fuss is about... His last trip to Italy was about 30 years ago to Naples and Venice, and this will be his first trip to Tuscany.


We pick him up from Florence airport after an hours delay at midnight and he arrives with newspapers, tea, grape nuts and crumpets!

 

Thursday and I've changed some lessons around so I can take him around Florence for the day. We visit the Ponte Vecchio, Cathedral, Palazzo della Signoria and Pitti Palace. We meet up with Annette in Piazza Santo Spirito for lunch at the Osteria. I have a wicked seafood spaghetti and they both have the risotto and we share a panzanella. The weather is incredible, sunny and close to 30 degrees! The queue for the Uffizi looks small, so I decide to take dad to check it out...  There is a special Leonardo da Vinci exhibition on, which we see at the end. Incredibly we get to see his self-portrait from Turin and San Jerome from the Vatican . I finally get to see Caravaggio's Medusa shield, which has been undergoing restoration for at least five years, but Raphael's Madonna of the Chaffinch is still absent... (on its seventh year of restoration!) After dinner we're back in Florence to see the DaVinci code...

Friday and again the weather is sensational. I take dad for a wicked breakfast at Giorgio, before heading out to the Chianti, via Impruneta. We stop in Greve and enjoy a stroll in the square. I pick up the usual pancetta in Falorni's and we press on through Panzano to Castellina. We stroll lazily through this beautiful town and dad picks up some white wine in the enoteca. We stop for a papardelle and wild boar lunch, with a sublime Chianti Classico riserva, courtesy of Felsina. I find the famous gelateria that has so far eluded us for four and a half years and we sample some of their ice creams. I have some lessons, so we race back to Florence along the lovely Chiantigiana road. In the evening Annette whips up a succulent fish dish.

Saturday and we're back in Florence. First stop is 'the History of Science Museum' that dad has requested. I've never heard of it, even though I've seen the building many times (next to the Uffizi) there are 20 rooms of instruments collected from Etruscan times up to modern times by various Florentine nobility. Mathematical, scientific and astronomical instruments. telescopes, microscopes, barometres, lenses, pumps, electro-magnetics, clocks, surgical and pharmaceutical instruments, you name it they were there! Even one of Galileo's fingers!!! What a pleasant surprise.


Next we decide to check out the Cathedral of Santa Croce. Preparations are underway for the Calcio Storico in a month's time. I show dad Giotto's frescoes, the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and Rossini, as well as Dante's memorial by Canova. we visit the Pazzi Chapel too and even see Cimabue's cross. We refresh ourselves with some quick granite before tackling the three busses neded to get home!


In the afternoon we join up with Annette for a visit to theis year's 'Centovini' wine festival at the Relais hotel at Certosa. This year it's being held around the outdoor pool, a very tempting prospect considering the hot weather! There aren't too many people, so we have an enjoyable and relaxing time. Dad gets an initiation into the world of Italian wines... we stagger home and I knock up some risotto and saltimbocca.

Sunday and it's Cantine Aperte - destination... Montalcino! An 11.00am start and we make it to our first stop, Altesino, just before lunch. We visit this pretty and welcoming winery and enjoy a very nice 'Rosso' and 'Brunello' with some pecorino and Parma ham. The views are stunning and we enjoy a picnic in their grounds surrounded by fields of wild poppies!


We press on to the actual town of Montalcino and fancy a cake, so we stop at 'il Giardino' restaurant for a very indulgent dessert and sweet wine - wicked! We carry on to Castello Banfi, the American owned and largest estate in the area. The drive through their vineyards is spectacular, as is the drive up to Poggio alla Mura, the ancient 13th century castle belonging to the estate. We join a tour of the cellar which is huge! After we check out the bottle and glass museum, which is fascinating. Unbelievably on this special 'Open Cellars' day you can't taste their Brunello... you have to pay for that privilege! Instead they have their two latest (and much cheaper) creations, a rose and a young merlot which are nothing to write home about! Scandolous, considering at Altesino, a much smaller winery we were able to taste their top two wines! We have a quick look round the town of Montalcino and stop off in Siena for a cool truffle pizza in the Piazza del Campo and watch the sun go down...

End of Book 9

257. Montaione

In our eternal search to buy a house we have been brought to the town of Montaione... It kind of sums up the futility with which we've been subjected to.


We meet up with an estate agent at Gambassi Terme, which is in itself in the middle of nowhere and follow them up over 1,000 feet to what resembles a horrible concrete bunker!


The house is an empty shell, with no kitchen or bathroom fittings! It takes us less than ten seconds to realise that this is not the kind of place we wish even to be buried in, let alone live... oh well the search continues!