scandicci

Thursday: Siena

Posted on by Susan

We left our fabulous Scandicci villa this morning and headed to the walled city of Siena where we will spend the next few days.

It is hard for me to believe that once again we parked our car and then hours later could not find the lot. Here’s how easily it can happen in a walled city: (1) park the car, (2) walk in via the grand arched entrance (there are about five of them in Siena, I have come to learn), (3) walk around inside the walled streets with very few cars, have lunch, walk into a few shops, walk along some narrow almost-alleys to look around, (4) decide to get the car and check in at our hotel.

Attempts to retrace our steps didn’t work. We had walked all over in the three hours we were there. Yes, we had taken photos of where we parked, but that that didn’t help because there are so many entrances to the walled city, each about a 15 minute walk.

I put the parking receipt address in my phone and it brought us to a lot on the other side of the city, maybe the main lot but not where we were parked.

It rained, sometimes very hard in the 90 minutes we were searching. Finally we saw an available taxi and I showed the driver our parking receipt. He knew where the lot was located based on its name, which my GPS didn’t recognize.

It turns out it was a surprisingly long 10- minute cab ride away. I don’t know how we would have found the car otherwise. We would likely still be walking around.

We checked in at our charming old hotel, our clothing stuck to us from the rain. The receptionist, Alicia, was a gem, telling us in her very sweet English that she would give us the “best room possible” and then she walked us to it (I guess so we wouldn’t get lost).

We will explore more of Siena tomorrow. We can leave our car at the hotel and use the map Alicia gave us.


photos: bike outside a restaurant in Siena; lunch starter; this bar made me smile as we walked by

Tuesday: Around Tuscany

Posted on by Susan

Today we set out to see the Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo near the Mugello region, about 45 minutes from where we are staying in Scandicci. The villa is notable because so many important events took place there during the Italian Renaissance, and its architecture is supposedly fabulous.

Although we found the huge villa, it is completely under renovation and closed to the public. We could not even get close enough to take a picture and there was nowhere around to park, but this summer home looked very impressive and perhaps we can revisit it in a decade or so when renovations are complete.

We still had a wine and olive oil tasting coupon for another wine producer not far from where we were yesterday, so that was our next stop. Their olive oil was so fresh – just made this week, and was the best ever. We got some to take home, if we can avoid opening it.

Next we went to San Gimignano, sometimes referred to as the “Manhattan of Italy.” The buildings there are tall and ancient, and there was a lot going on there. We encountered more people, mainly busloads of tourists, than we have seen in all of Italy. (Most of them were speaking English, which we hadn’t heard in a while.)

There were many small shops in the city, and we walked all over, not realizing we would have trouble finding our car. Every single time we have parked anywhere, we have taken a picture of where we are. Not this afternoon.

It took us 45 minutes through the maze of narrow streets, but we finally found it as the sun went down. Another five minutes figuring out the ticket payment machine and we were on our way back to Scandicci.


photos: our hosts set a beautiful table for us every morning and begin our day with a huge breakfast; the panoramic view from Mugello; an empty street in San Gimignano at the end of the day, after visitors left on their buses and we tried to figure out where our car was parked.

Sunday: Scandicci

Posted on by Susan

We are loving life in Tuscany after just 24 hours here. Our hosts are fantastic, and their attitude is that if you’re staying with us you are part of the family.

A lot of that ends up meaning food, and we are all for it. After an extra hour’s sleep because of the time change, we had a delicious and grand breakfast of eggs, cheese, pancetta, bread, jam, fruit – all grown by the family or prepared by Teresa, the host. It was delicious, needless to say.

We met a young couple from Canada who had been staying in the second bedroom for three days but were leaving that morning. They were fun to hat with a bit before they had to leave for their flight put of Rome.

We wandered into town, which was quiet since it is Sunday. When we came back to the villa, we were treated to wine, and mushroom lasagna, then a beef and potato dish, again with every ingredient grown or made on site. We were happily finished with eating when along came a mascarpone dessert with chocolate shavings on top. It was all better than any restaurant food we could have had, and all unexpected.

We left and stopped by an open house at a small nearby olive oil factory, and although we watched the whole process of olive and leaves going into the machine, the olives being separated, the fruit being chopped and blended, and eventually olive oil coming out, we did not sample anything because we were not at all hungry.

We came back to watch the sunset – an hour earlier than last night – and Teresa offered us wine and prosciutto on small warm rolls she had just made. Which of course we ate.


photos: Sunday sunset; an evening snack (plus wine); blending the olives – olive oil being made