Buonasera (Good Evening) Family and Friends:
I would like to start by just saying a few words about San Casciano in Val di Pesa. It's referred to as a commune in the province of Florence. It's in the heart of the Chianti area, which is a region famous for its wine and olive oil. It's pleasant here, because you have easy access to Florence without a lot of the tourist activity -and that's why we wanted to come back here again.
It's hard to describe Villa il Poggiale. It is like a very large estate home high up on a hilly area. There is a pool on the property, although it's far too chilly for the pool. Our room has huge wooden beams in the ceiling, running along the expanse of the room. It's spacious with a lovely view out the window onto the hills - and we couldn't be happier.
I thought I'd wake up to roosters crowing somewhere this morning, because I remember this from our last stay - listening to squawky roosters, some of which didn't even know how to crow properly. Instead, I woke up to pigeons (doves, some would say), cooing out the window. As a point of interest, did you know these birds don't have gall bladders - and if you were a medieval naturalist, you would have known that because the birds lacked bile (one of the four humours, this explained the sweet disposition of the doves. (I know what you're thinking..."Who cares?").
Moving on...breakfast was in a large, lovely, elegant room. Classical music played in the background and there was a beautiful array of fruits, breads, meats and cheeses. It was such a pleasant experience. I stayed warm the whole time. You actually felt you could converse with other humans here, and I didn't have to rip open any packages to get my breakfast out. One thing lacking - Nutella.
During breakfast, we met a young couple from New Mexico who were touring a bit of Italy on a rented Ducati motorcycle. They were anxious to leave right after breakfast, but it was pouring rain, thundering and very chilly. Everyone had to wait around for the downpour to subside. During this time, we met a couple from Croatia, who were anxiously trying to call their daughter to find out how she liked her new jacket, (which they paid 800 euro for. "Leather on the outside, fur on the inside".
Soon the rain subsided a bit, and we decided it was a good idea to break out of the Villa, where by this time, numerous excited children ran the halls and banged on doors. As we walked past the front desk, I heard a British accent loudly proclaiming, "We have no electricity - none whatsoever! Our room is dark - dark, I say! Yes - Room 8!" and of course the staff immediately sent the electrician (who happened to be meandering around chatting with Monica at the desk), on this most serious of missions. I had to force myself not to look back at this exasperated fellow, standing at the desk in his flannel pjs, dressing gown, tousled hair, and fuzzy slippers.
We left this unhappy situation, popped our umbrellas open and rushed towards, the little Fiat. We heard there was an open market in Empoli. Ron asked, "Should we drive to Empoli? "Sure,"I said. So you can imagine my surprise, when I discovered we were suddenly looking for a parking spot in San Casciano. "What on earth?" I said. I discovered that Ron had forgotten we were going to Empoli. At any rate, we parked and with umbrellas open, walked along freezing our buns off, until we came across a cafe with the door open, called Moka Arra. The radio blared away in Italian, but then we'd hear a Beatle song, or even Sting, inserted into the mix every once in awhile. Soon a large group of locals came in, and loud conversation ensued.
Anxious to get to the open market at Empoli, I marched through the parking lot ahead and went and stood by the door of the Fiat. As I saw Ron's head coming over the hilltop, I yelled, "Ron - Open The Door!" He said he would, only it wasn't our car. That car I stood by happened to be a Peugot. But he could see the car was silver, and understood why I got mixed up.
Well anyway, we drove around Empoli, this way and that, until we finally happened upon an enormous outdoor market. One thing we do remember from a previous visit, was that there are no malls here containing endless chain stores. At these markets, you will see large amounts of clothing and shoes, wigs, along with wonderful meats, cheeses, vegetables and fruits, flowers and herbs. It's like the stores just come to the people.
We left Empoli, as it started to rain again, and drove back to Villa il Poggiale to enjoy a few of the snacks we had purchased at the market, (small, red tomatoes from Sicily, and some bread and cheese). When we came in the door at Villa il Poggiale, it was into a very rich, warm, inviting atmosphere with classical music playing in the background.
After our little snack, I was dying to get out the door again and take a drive to the ancient hilltop village of Volterra. (These ancient hilltop villages are very common -and at different points in history, their location is what kept the people safe from invading enemies). The wind however, was absolutely howling outside, so we decided to spend the afternoon at the Villa, before going out to our dinner reservation this evening at Cinque di Vino, in San Casciano. We met a British couple from Kent (Sherry and Steve) and had the greatest time visiting in the beautiful sitting room.
We went back to our room, got ready for dinner and drove into town to the restaurant, Cinque di Vino. It was a wonderful experience to see Marco, the Chef, once again. He helped us with food choices. I had wild boar tagliatelle, and Ron had the Florentine steak, for which the tiny restaurant is known. Marco is a delightful person, and was personal and interactive with the guests all evening. When he heard that I had asked Monica, the waitress, what was in the very tall, exquisitely shaped bottle sitting on the counter, he and a few of the staff gathered together and presented it to me...just before we left the restaurant.
So, we walked back to the car, and believe or not, we could hear the beautiful sound of bells clanging from at least three different churches...
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