An entry in the TFS Travel Journal
Awoke to find we were still actually here in paradise, and not dreaming. Enjoyed some fruit in the kitchen, then some tea in the yard with a view of the Tuscan valley. (Hopefully, by the end of the week I’ll be comfortable enough here that the word “Tuscan” will no longer look like a misspelling of “Tucson”)
The air was surprisingly cool, as was the dew from the grass on our bare feet, but the sun was reassuringly warm; perfect weather for grape growing/harvesting, presumably. Motored off toward Siena along SS222, the Chiantigianti, through countryside redolent of Napa or Provence.
Arrived around 12:45, theoretically more than enough time to find lunch in a nice restaurant, one of our goals for the day. Unfortunately, navigating and parking are evidently two things just not offered to visitors. We vacilated between frustration and despair before finally squeezing into a spot in a parking lot. We bought a city map and masterfully, though not completely by design, found one of Fred’s recommendations, Ristorante Mugolone. Bellisimo!!
We began with insalata funghi and bruschetta, both of which were delicious, with a garlicy but succulent olive oil. Then a papardelle with chicken and a light red sauce and linguini with more funghi and oil. Both were rich in taste and so nicely seasoned. We then shared the roast lamb, which was prepared by being de-boned and held neatly with small pieces of string and seasoned with oil, small sprigs of rosemary, parsley, garlic and other spices and cooked to perfection to practically melt in our mouths; now that is a dish we will not soon forget! All accompanied by a surprisingly light, but potent, La Casa ‘91 Brunello. Dessert was a warm pignoli cake topped with a thin layer of custard. Interestingly, the whole room (and probably the other few rooms, also) was served by two proper, upright men in dark blue suits who, as our book said, “took their service seriously!”
Milton then climbed the famed bell tower (all 400 stairs), after waiting about 20 minutes for enough people to come down, while Wendy perused the shops around Il Campo. In the ticket-purchase area of the tower, what must have begun seriously but then evolved to entertainment, the instructions (”no more than 30 people allowed up”, “closed when raining”, etc.) were posted in at least 60 languages. Estonian, Tibetan, Croatian, etc. Since the weather couldn’t have been better, the view from the top of the undulating Tuscan countryside was mesmorising. Finally had to come down, though, then explored the Duomo. One of the more remarkable buildings we’ve ever seen (have we said that lately?). Domes within domes, the marble floors that took 46 artists over 200 years to complete, beautiful stained glass, enormous marble pillars, and richly colored frescoes that looked as though they had been created yesterday.
We then strolled the rest of the city for an hour or two. Truly the walled medieval wonder it’s touted to be, with curving and steeply rising and descending streets of differently-colored terra-cotta buildings with colorful shutters and innumerable flower-laden window boxes. We perused many shops of fabulous local ceramic creations (fruit and flower motifs in lucious colors), and bought a 1998 Tuscany calendar.
We headed off through the Siena rush hour and enjoyed another spectacular sunset as we drove (and saw many cars pulled over as the inhabitants ran out with cameras in hand) to Castellina, where we saw some enticing shops of antique Italian furniture, then did our marketing for the week. Returned home and unpacked the groceries; how nice to have a refrigerator and kitchen filled with Wendy and Milton’s favorite things! (mostly fruit and cookies). Then a quiet evening at home.