"One of the great things about travel is you find out
how many good, kind people there are."
Edith Wharton
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| Skinners & Beaulieus |
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| Carolina & Enrico Edwards |
Skinners, Beaulieus (up at the crack of dawn to take off at 6:15 am) and the Edwards (who enjoyed a more leisurely departure at 10 am). We all had had such a fun week together and shared so many hearty laughs (and MEALS!) that we were really SAD to see them all leave!
Mary, Paula & I didn't venture far from Sassaia since we needed to pick up Giorgio, Marguerita & Anna at the Chiusi train station at 3 pm ... and meet the Throndson/White group at Dopolavoro at 4:30 pm to "lead" them down our long "strada bianca" (white road) to Sassaia.
Mary suggested going on a hike! I asked Chiarentana's sweet rental manager, Lorena, if we could hike the trail above Gonzola, up into the "crete senesi" ... the gray, clay, lunar-like hills particular to this area of southern Tuscany. "Sure," she said, "that would be fine." It was very fun to be back over by Gonzola, the beautiful house we rented in September 2015 ... and our hike was wonderful. (Thanks to Phil and Bob for lending me their great collapsible hiking poles!) Bright yellow "broom" flowers everywhere, fabulous views of the Val d'Orcia ... its vineyards and olive groves, medieval towers and fortresses, patchwork quilt of green, green, green farmland. So beautiful and so peaceful.
Before heading to the Chiusi train station and (back to) Dopolavoro to pick up our seven new Week 2 guests, Mary, Paula & I squeezed in a quick and delicious lunch at Dopolavoro, the lovely, little restaurant on the La Foce grounds.
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| George Cherny snapped this pic of the "Syracuse Girls" |
After lunch, Mary was the first 2018 guest to fully submerge in the Sassaia swimming pool ... swimming 20 laps! After all our new guests had arrived and settled in, Paula prepared a delicious meat, cheese and fruit platter for our Happy Hour by the swimming pool.
Then we set off for our weekly Saturday night Welcome Dinner, delicious and served again by the lovely Loredana who brought in her baby boy to meet us. Donata Origio (daughter of Iris & Antonio who originally purchased and developed La Foce back in the 1920's) was also there & greeted our group warmly. When we got home, the newly arrived guests mapped out their excursions for the week and the Week 1'ers shared their experiences. The Throndson group planned a fun day at a spring flower festival in a tiny town nearby. Cherny group will head tomorrow to Mass at San Biagio in Montepulciano and lunch at the delightful La Grotta. Jesus & Gladys and Benton group all will take a train to Florence on Monday. So much to do and see in this amazing region of Italy!
So, one week has ended and another begun, in our 2018 lovely Tuscan adventure!
2 comments:
I am so glad our hiking poles are useful. At least THEY are in Italy! I love your description of the local terrain. I felt like I was hiking with you! I hope you remember to come home! Keep blogging!
Have you been able to practice your Italian?
Glad to hear you squeezed in a hike between all those meals :-)
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