Farewell Week One, Welcome Week Two!

"One of the great things about travel is you find out

how many good, kind people there are."

Edith Wharton

Skinners & Beaulieus

Carolina & Enrico Edwards

Today is our first"changeover" day, as we bid farewell to the
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.

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!

Winery Tour & Tasting in Montalcino

"Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world

and one of the most natural things in the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection,

and it offers a greater range for appreciation and enjoyment than,

possibly, any other purely sensory thing."

Ernest Hemingway 

Vineyards of Podere Le Ripi Winery, Montalcino

All 13 of our Week 1 friends are heading to the vineyards near Montalcino this morning to tour the Podere Le Ripi winery.   Parts of the hilly route are challenging & our GPS's don't seem to know EXACTLY where Le Ripi is located so there's a good bit of back-tracking, U-turning and minor confusion.  However, we all made it there safely and just a few minutes past our 10 am scheduled time!

The Pantheon wine cellar,
Podere Le Ripi

A delightful young woman, Martina, gave us a very interesting tour of the winery, including the special bonsai vineyard, the built-by-hand brick and mortar wine cellar called "The Pantheon," very impressive with its wooden casks, cement vaults and countless bottles of wine created from 100% Sangiovese grapes.  The inner sanctum of the cellar even had classical music softly playing, part of a study by the University of Florence to see if the music would hasten the aging process of the Le Ripi wines.  Martina then invited us to gather around a long table overlooking the vineyards, with 4 glasses set at each place - 3 for different varieties of wine, the 4th for water.  We sipped and tasted and compared the wines as Martina explained the wine making process and answered our many

questions.  She also told us the story of Francesco
Illy, heir to the Illy coffee empire, who purchased this land in Montalcino from a shepherd just 20 years ago.  

At the conclusion of the wine tour, we visited the close-by 12th century Abbey of Sant'Antimo, sitting alone
amongst the grape vines and olive trees of a beautiful, peaceful valley.  The French monks whose Gregorian chanting we heard when we visited in 2015 are no longer there, but Mass is still said on the weekends and the sound of soft (recorded) chanting filled the air.  We wandered through this amazing church, trying to understand how something so massive and so imposing could have been
constructed so many centuries ago.

Delicious lunch at Drogheria Franci, Montalcino

Next up ... you guessed it ... lunch!  Martina at Le Ripi had recommended Drogheria Franci, adjacent to the Montalcino fortress at the top of the town. We had a delightful & feisty Argentinian waitress, Laura, who spoke perfect Spanish to Jesus & Gladys ... and perfect English to the rest of us.  After a delicious lunch, we explored the town of Montalcino which seemed to be in the midst of planning a huge bicycle race ... many
colorful cycling jerseys were hanging high above the main piazza!

Back at Chiarentana, we stopped by the one-bedroom apartment, Bersagliere, to visit Maryanne & Bob Randolph who will be heading to Florence tomorrow.  Lovely apartment with beautiful views and huge rooms,   We invited the Randolphs to join us for wine and hors d'oeuvres at the Sassaia pool.  Out Happy Hour there was very fun, until the forceful and very WET sprinklers surprised us and forced us to scurry inside and regroup in the Summer Living Room downstairs!

Market Day in Montepulciano ~ Cooking Dinner for Week One Friends

"Food markets in Italy are more than just a place to buy your groceries ...

they're a great cultural experience!"

In researching activities for her days in Italy, Mary McAndrew discovered that on Thursdays, the nearby town of Montepulciano has its Market Day.  Since tonight is the night she and Paula, Jesus & Gladys and I are preparing dinner for our Week 1 friends, we decided to venture over to Montepulciano and check out the market.  (Hank & Carolina were heading to Castiglion del Lago and Cortona; Skinners, Beaulieus, Gladys & Jesus to Civita di Bagnoregio for the day.)


At the market, we found some very good buys on beautiful fresh asparagus, green beans, red peppers,

cherries, apricots, lemons, biscotti and more.  If we'd needed them, we could have ALSO purchased kitchen & cleaning supplies, dog food, shoes, clothing or furniture ... they had it all!  There was also a long line of really interesting food trucks ... more sophisticated than the ones we have in Raleigh:  Their entire sides folded down to display a wide variety of cooked foods such as you might see in a cafeteria!  At the end of our market shopping, we tried to get into someone else's black SUV ... but the Italian owner came by, smiled at us and was very pleasant in the face of our embarrassment. (Our black rental car is constantly covered with serious dirt and dust from driving on Tuscany's "white roads"!)

Situated close to the market, we found a brand new CONAD super mercado where we each rolled a little orange plastic basket around and collected the rest of the items needed for our dinner.  Fun to run into our friendly La Porta waitress Cristina in the meat department!  As we were heading back to Sassaia, we stopped to check out Castelluccio, the castle formerly owned by La Foce 's Origo sisters, but recently sold and undergoing renovation to become a luxury hotel!  Also stopped to fill the car with (diesel) fuel ... always an "interesting" experience. The gas station was closed, but a friendly Italian man offered assistance, donning a disposable clear, plastic glove, filling our tank, using Paula's credit card to make the payment.  All the while, his young son smirked at the scene from the back seat of their car ... perhaps his Dad frequently helps out clueless Americans!  Also stopped to visit the beautiful little family cemetery on the La Foce grounds where Iris & Antonio Origo and their young son are buried, along with other family members and workers from the La Foce estate.

Paula suggested that we stop for lunch at La Foce's little restaurant Dopolavoro (which means "after work" ... it used to be the La Foce social hall for the farmers and their families in the 1920's & 1930's). We sat outside in their lovely courtyard and our waiter was the very friendly and always-smiling Filipo who remembered us from 2015. Yummy salads with Bibb lettuce, pine nuts, pecorino cheese, raisins ... and then we were off to Sassaia to begin our dinner prep.

As I prepared the Chicken Francese, Mary prepped the fresh veggies and smashed potatoes and made a lovely wildflower arrangement. Paula set a beautiful table and an hors d'oeuvres tray of Italian meats, cheeses & fruit to take down to the pool. We also made a pretty Caprese salad and Jesus & Gladys brought extremely delicious chocolate and fruit tarts for dessert.

Cozy Sassaia ...
before the lights went out!

After dinner, I walked outside to see the sunset, took a walk around the grounds, sat down at the outdoor table to check my emails.  I was sitting there, gazing up at our pretty farmhouse ... when suddenly ALL the lights in the house went OUT!  Oh, oh, I thought ... THIS is a problem.  All three of our resident engineers (Mike, Lary and Hank) came pouring out of the house ... heading for the various fuse boxes located around the exterior.  Since the internet router went out with the electricity, we couldn't call Lorena to ask for help. Jesus, Hank and I drove over to Dopolavoro where the very kind manager, Asia, dispatched the maintenance man who flipped a hidden breaker switch ... but as soon as he left the property, OUT went the lights again!  In the end, it was Mike Skinner, fix-it-guy extraordinaire, who solved the problem ... disconnecting a floor lamp that seemed dangerously hot and had been tripping the circuit breakers.   Yeah, Mike .... and mille grazie!

Visiting Three Little Tuscan Towns

"Bagno Vignoni was a halting and refreshment point centuries ago

for numerous pilgrims (including Saint Catherine of Siena) who traveled

the Via Francigena on their way to Rome."

After our wonderfully BUSY two days in Assisi, today was a day to sleep in, relax and stay close to home (at Sassaia).  We decided to visit three near-by and charming medieval towns:

BAGNO VIGNONI:  This town's main piazza is most unusual. It consists of a huge rectangular pool, completely filled with water bubbling up from hot springs whose therapeutic quality has been renowned since antiquity.  I was surprised this visit to see that the pool contained a special temporary exhibit ... a public art installation consisting of about 50 mirrored metal circles that reflect the movement of the water and allow observers to see the water and sky in new & interesting ways.



We walked through the town to its beautiful park overlooking the amazing Val d'Orcia's gently rolling hills, vineyards, cypresses and olive groves.  Sat down on the rocks, rolled up our pant legs and soaked our bare feet in the warm, clear thermal stream.   Ahhhhhh, delightful. 

When returning to our car, we happened upon Jesus & Gladys who reminded us that, unless we had "Star Trek Beam Me Up" power, we'd best get moving towards our 2:30 pm lunch reservation in Monticchiello!

MONTICCHIELLO:  Certainly one of our all-time favorite little Tuscan towns, where we enjoyed many happy and delicious meals at Osteria La Porta in 2015.  All 13 of our Week 1 guests were there, seated at a long table on the beautiful terrace, chatting happily away about their morning adventures.  La Porta's lovely owner, Daria, welcomed us back warmly and a pretty young waitress named Cristina took our orders for delicious spinach/ricotta raviolis with marscapone & black truffle sauce, salads, soups, local handmade pici pasta with wild boar, lamb or ragu sauces  ... and the always amazing "Beef Cheeks" with red wine sauce and mashed potatoes.  Hank Edwards, self-proclaimed "meat and potatoes guy," gave the beef cheeks high marks .... Mary McAndrew, though reluctant to eat something called Beef Cheeks (!), took a taste and gave them a thumbs up. Toward the end of the meal, there was a brief summer rainstorm ... the big white terrace umbrellas protected most of us from its drips and drops!  I was delighted to have a chance to meet Daria's 2-year old granddaughters, Mia & Naomi, whom she was "expecting" when we last visited in Sept 2015.

Week 1 Lunch at La Porta, Monticchiello

Since we'd scheduled our La Porta lunch for mid-afternoon, the town shops were open for browsing when we finished.  Had great fun selecting some pretty Tuscan linens in Massimo's sweet little shop and some journals and note cards in another.   Since the days last so long here this time of year (sunset at almost 9 pm), we still had time to explore nearby Pienza!

PIENZA:  Visible across the valley from La Porta's terrace, Pienza is only
about a (beautiful) 20-minute drive from Monticchiello.  Found a parking spot not far from the city gate, figured out how to work the parking payment machine (!) and walked into the city where, in the 15th century, Renaissance town-planning precepts were first put into practice by Pope Pius II.  Visited the Church of San Francesco (with a relic of thread from his habit on the altar) and Santa Maria Assunta, and walked along the magnificent path atop the town walls. Breathtaking views and, on the drive home, we were treated to a great sunset!

Joined the rest of our fun Week 1 clan for leftovers .... Caroline's homemade spaghetti sauce was delicious.   Lots of fun chatter, lots of tasty wine, many new friendships being born in this relaxed, beautiful setting. 

Exploring More of Beautiful Assisi

"You can pack for every occasion, but good friends will always be

the best things you could bring!"

Set those alarm clocks early this morning at San Crispino.  My friends Richard Derrenbacher and our former parish pastor, Franciscan friar Mark Reamer, OFM, are in Assisi with a group of pilgrims from Siena College and invited us to join them for 8 am Mass at the Tomb of Saint Francis. Since San Crispino's complimentary breakfast didn't begin until 8 am, we walked around the sleepy town searching for a bar for some coffee & something to eat. Finally found a little shop down near the Basilica and its delightful owner Angelo provided us with delicious pastries and cappuccinos which we devoured at his little outdoor tables. 

The Mass, in such a very special setting, was wonderful. The nun who did the readings and the friar who preached were excellent. Feeling very fortunate that our paths crossed with the Siena College pilgrims!

Chapel at the Tomb of Saint Francis, Assisi

Our goal following the Mass was to hike up to the always impressive

Rocca Maggiore and then back down in time to check out of San Crispino by 11 am.  High above the town of Assisi, the Rocca was built in 1174.  Mary, our extraordinary navigator and map-reader, did an excellent job of leading us up, up, up to the fortress.  We explored the castle and photographed the beautiful 360 degree panoramic views of the town. Since time was running short, we took a cab (a "McTaxi" van that had a bit of trouble navigating the narrow streets) back down to town and happened to pass by the very neighborhood where Mary's parents stayed in Assisi in 1996!  When the cab driver dropped us off at San Crispino, we still had time for a relaxing chat with Jesus & Gladys on our apartment's lovely terrace.

Shiny clean Mojano underground
parking garage, Assisi

Our departure from Assisi was just slightly complicated by the fact that we'd unfortunately lost our ticket for the parking garage, but the problem went away after we spoke into a microphone near the exit gate and it miraculously lifted to let us escape ... without paying any parking fees!

We stopped by Saint Clare's beautiful San Damiano sanctuary with its bronze statues and peaceful setting in the olive groves. The convent itself was closed for riposo, but we had a lovely hike with Glayds & Jesus around the exterior walls. On the way "home," we stopped in the lower town of Assisi for lunch (tasty pizza slices served on wooden cutting boards), bancomat, gelato and a visit to St. Mary of the Angels with Francis' touching  Portiuncula and Transitus Chapel.

Panna cota by Lorenzo & Anna!

Paula had to drive through some heavy rain for a few miles on the way back to Chiarentana, but she made great time and we were climbing up the steps to Sassaia by 6 pm.  We'd planned to head back out to Dopolavoro (the cute little restaurant on the La Foce grounds), but decided instead to relax around the pool with some tasty Italian meats, cheeses, breads & fruits - delightful. After the sun set ... almost 9 pm (!), we joined our other Week 1 friends up in the house for dessert - homemade panna cotta with a delicious fruit topping.  

As wonderful as our days in Assisi were, it's always great to return to Chiarentana!