Good Evening Family and Friends:
We woke to gray skies today. We went downstairs for breakfast, and made our plans for the day. Initially we had planned to spend time enjoying the Villa after visiting and purchasing some foods from the local market in San Casciano. The grounds are so lovely at the Villa, and there are small tables perfect for a picnic.
We drove into town to the market. This was quite a large market, and as you walked around, you heard lovely things like, "Bongiorno!" Here, when you walk up to the vendor, there is a polite greeting first. Then, little chats occur, the product is purchased, and "Ciao!" You can't purchase coffee and walk around here, like we do at home. For the Italian, the caffe is purposeful, and it's usually espresso. For the most part, it's enjoyed standing at the counter, along with a pastry, socializing briefly with everyone around, and then "Ciao!"
The markets in these towns are social events for the people. Each town has its particular market day. Everyone seems to know everyone. You can always hear loud, friendly voices. We walked past a large display of the freshest of vegetables, ever. Large zucchini flowers sat in big boxes, every kind of tomato (kinds we dream about), vast arrays of basil, large sage leaves (which are dipped in egg and deep fried for a snack) all sit in colorful arrays for the choosing. And always, there's one immense roasted piggy that sits atop a counter for quick slicing purposes. A person has the urge to stop and gawk at everything, although it looks silly, so one tries not to. For instance, there's always the personality that makes a statement. We walked by one vendor busily shifting boxes around and yelling out happily to those around. He wore a baseball cap, and over each ear, two cherries were draped. A lone tomato somehow dangled from the front of the cap. It's hard to keep a straight face, when you're asking for a few apricots from him.
When you leave the market, after walking by enormous racks of clothing and shoes, you can always stop and pick up a bouquet of hydrangeas, a potted fuchsia, roses, morning glory vines in pots, or even choose from a variety of cacti.
Just before leaving, we walked to Caffe Vittorio, and sat outside for cappuccinos, which must always be paired with two flaky pastries filled with luscious, warm cream. At this time, it was sprinkling lightly - and being silly tourists, we sat outside anyway. We enjoyed ourselves looking around and letting the sights soak in.
So - because the weather wasn't going to allow us to sit around outside the Villa in the sunshine today, as we had hoped, we drove towards Empoli again. The reason for this? I discovered that Leonardo Da Vinci's birthplace was in a town called Anchiano about 3 kms north of the town of "Vinci". I just had to get there. Can you imagine being so close to the birthplace of one of the greatest artists the world has ever known - and then not actually seeing it?
This was quite a peaceful drive once we were in the country. There weren't the motorbikes roaring by today. The country was very agricultural, with a few vineyards and lots olive trees along the way.
We drove into "Vinci" yet another beautiful, ancient town in this part of the world. Everything was so so green and heavily treed on the surrounding hills. We found parking, and crossed the Piazza Dei Guidi. There was a wall of jasmine flowers as we walked up the stairs into the Il Museo Leonardiano Di Vinci (museum). This museum was filled with demonstrations of the engineering talent and design, as well as sketches of Leonardo, which to be honest, I did not find that interesting (Ron loved it). In fact, I would rather have been attending the funeral of a dignitary. Finally we left, to walk through the Chiesa Santa Croce, Vinci (church). They say Leonardo was baptized here, but the other day we heard he was actually baptized in Florence.
Suddenly, a feeling of being tired of some things - like old walls, confessional booths, statues, and, old everything swept over me. Instant crankiness was the result. I told Ron I felt like knocking down a few statues, so perhaps I should think about waiting outside. He agreed and suggested I start on my way to the car.
All the way back to the Fiat, I felt like warning the weary tourists who passed by me on their way to the museum. "Hey, if you like wooden pulleys, this is the place for you!" Mostly I wanted to say, "Don't go, - really, I promise you, you won't like it!...It's incredibly boring...and you'll all be cranky afterwards!"
Ron came along to the car, and happy once again, we continued on to the birthplace of the master, Leonardo. It was a 3 km drive up the hill. There were olive trees with silvery leaves all along the way to the farmhouse. I could actually reach out and touch the branches with my hand as we drove by. The olives are only tiny berries right now.
We came around a corner which had a stone wall on one side. Again, two naive tourists must have thought a hike along the highway seemed like just the right thing to do (Trip Advisor may have forgotten to mention it was a 3 km walk uphill, which is nothing when you're in good shape). They clung to the wall, shrinking up against it in fear, as cars careened around the corner (I don't even know how they kept their Tilley hats on).
We parked and I could hear the hikers wearily approach the farm house, yelling at each other in another language. We were having fun interpreting what they might be saying...things like, "You said it was going to be a peaceful walk through the olive trees! I hate you Hans!"
So, back in focus, we are in Anchiano - the birthplace of Leonardo. He was born in 1452. The house, called Anchiano Casa Natalie di Leonardo is a typical 15th century Tuscan rural dwelling where Leonardo is traditionally considered to have been born (I never like it when you drive up and signs say things like that).
We walked through this small, dark, Tuscan home, in which the walls are about two feet thick. While there, we were able to view a 25 minute presentation on the life of Leonardo. The film talked about his fascinating story. Some of the landscapes that we see outside this house are depicted in Leonardo's drawings.
All the while, it thundered outside.
When the film was over, we emerged to dark clouds. It was windy, and sprinkling rain. Soon it was pouring rain, so we drove back to the Villa to get packed, as tomorrow we leave this area. We are driving to Venice, and giving up the Fiat.
After we packed up as much as we could, we drove into San Casciano for our dinner reservation at 7:30 pm at Osteria Caffe Del Popolano Enoteca, which proved to be a delightful little place with yellow walls, soft music, a nice atmosphere, and a pleasant waiter named Andrea. It was small and could hold around 20 people. The food was delicious. We started with olive oil from San Casciano, served with bread. I had Insalata mista, as well as Ravioli all'Ortica con pesto Bianco alle noci. All handmade pasta, (stuffed with spinach and pesto) of course. Ron tried the Bistecca alla Fiorentina as well as Fagioli all'Olio, (steak & beans). Bon Appetito!
When we left, the streets were quiet and damp with rain. You could see heavy mist hanging in the air over the hills. We walked by a small group of locals talking loudly and filling water bottles at the fountain.
We drove back, parked in the olive grove, and as we walked toward the Villa, we breathed in the magnificent beauty of Tuscany ...
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