Dia Ventisetti The Lost Day

There is one on every vacation, a day sacrificed to getting ready to go home in one way or another. It’s usually the last day. I think of as the lost day. Other people might be better at this than we are, but we seem to need to rally ourselves for the journey, sometimes even more than the outbound leg.

It isn’t the day we focus on a great last meal, or final museum or site. This is just the way it happens. So this morning we go to the roof breakfast room and discover a swimming pool we have missed. Dang! It’s too late, since we are reserved at another spot for tonight. We check out and are in the no man’s land of time between checking out and checking in. We meander around this small town and discover that we know it well, in just a day.

I would like to shop for a few things, but the store I saw last night with a little something for Steve & Vern doesn’t reopen until tonight and by then we will be in a different part of town without a car. Then there are the shoes that I know are somewhere in Italy calling my name – a pair the same colour as my purse. They will have to wait until next time. Last night we did find a hat for Kevin. He wanted the Pope’s hat, but we didn’t see him, or his hat rack. This may be an OK substitute.

When I think about the last 27 days, I am amazed at all that we have seen and done. What a gift this trip has been. We are equally amazed at the ancient sites we have visited and the natural sights we have witnessed. We were firmly on the tourist trail, and we were also lucky enough to get way off it on back roads with towns that didn’t make the maps and their own ancient sites. We loved finding and enjoying the hot springs in Saturnia. It makes me so glad that we prepare for our trips by doing research because we wouldn’t have known about them otherwise.

When we compared notes last night, we both loved Venice the best. Sure it was expensive, but to be in a place so unique, and with no cars, living in a true neighbourhood, was awesome. As was taking boats everywhere. 

Finally, there are a number of general observations we have about Italy – things to remember for next time.

·      Facecloths do not exist here; if I want it, I have to bring it.

·      Laundromats, even the self-service ones, supplied the soap! Big change since my last Laundromat days.

·      If there are only two cars on the road, they will travel inches apart.

·      Two-way traffic means that if there is room to have three cars across people will pass in their own lane. This is especially true for motorbikes.

·      Stop signs say STOP. What’s up with that? Isn’t there an Italian word for stop? After all, exits say escutia, not exit.

·      I like Limoncello, especially ice cold!

·      Out of the big cities, carry your own food if you need to eat before 7:30 p.m. In some cases, bars can be counted on to serve sandwiches and other light fare, but don’t expect British pub style variety.

·      Gelato is a gift from the gods – have lots.

·      In May 2012, gas has ranged from  1.62 to  1.92 Euros per litre. Is this where we are headed at home?

·      Hotels, even four-star lovelies, do not provide proper glasses in the rooms. Perhaps if you petitioned at the front desk or bar they might deliver some, but we received two, delightful, acrylic, travel wine glasses for Christmas and have used them everywhere! Thanks Bean!

·      Due to the compact size of streets, price of gas, etc. there is a very cool little thing over here that is a little flatbed truck built on a three-wheel motorcycle chassis. They are steered with motorcycle style handles in the cab. I want one!

·      Vis à vis above, there is another model with a bench seat and actual steering wheel that is only fractionally bigger and can seat two very friendly people. That would be cool too!

·      I also saw a Vespa that carries its own spare tire. OK, now I want one of those for sure. Couldn’t choose between my two favourite colours, cyan and purple.

·      Not sure if this is typical as you travel further south from Rome, but as we entered areas like Gaeta where they probably saw fewer tourists, it was hard to find a restaurant that wasn’t at a hotel. Maybe locals don’t dine out as much as other places?

·      However, Gaeta did have three places we saw that advertised themselves as Discos. Wish we could have stayed up late enough to see if anyone wore a white suit and pointed their finger upstairs when they danced.

·      Anzio, which I kind of looked forward to visiting with its wartime importance wasn’t even in our guidebook. When we got there, nothing pointed to any special sites from the highway we were on, and we were through it quickly. This felt odd.

·      Bidets have been in every hotel room and private apartment we have stayed in. They have even been in the public washrooms of better hotels. Not having grown up with this convenience – and there were times in my younger days when it would have been well appreciated – I am now happy to report that they work very well for foot baths after hours of walking, or for mini pedicures. This only works, of course, if they have positioned the toilet so as to make the bidet foot friendly and if they are excruciatingly clean.

·      I know I mentioned in the blog that smoking is prevalent over here, but seriously, it is like watching Mad Men. Or being at our house through the 80s! People smoke everywhere, especially in front of “no smoking” signs. Hotels seem to be the one exception and that is likely because they have fined enough people that it is no longer a problem. We have seen people smoking while driving scooters, bicycles and cars, which compounds a problem because many of them are also likely to be on their cell phones. What body part is driving?  We have not checked out the price of cigarettes, which might have something to do with this phenomenon. However, given the driving style, I do not want to be in this country when masses enter nicotine withdrawal!

·      It’s hard not to spend a lot of time commenting on the driving here because it is so aggressive and there are no rules. Well, it looks like there are rules, because there are signs, but if you stop at a stop sign you are likely to be hit from behind! People come out of side streets that have stop signs with enough of their car that if you hesitate, they will cut in. If you believe that they have left two to three inches from the side of your car, you just go for it. It feels like one gigantic game of chicken.

Roundabouts are everywhere and with the coming in and going out they actually work amazingly well, as long as you stay your course. There seems to be some magic that happens like a school of fish that you never see bumping into each other, even though they are making insane turns. Well, it can seem like that until you see a car that is carrying its broken off front bumper in its passenger seat, as we did today.

We are thrilled that we surrendered our rental after two weeks, with no more damage than it started with, a testament to my man getting his macho driving on, but at a price. He is glad to give up the stress. Thanks Duds, great job!

·      And just one more thing to do with cars…parking, especially double parking is endemic. Then there is the my-nose-has-fit-into-this-space, it-doesn’t-matter-that-the-rest-of-my-car-is-blocking-the-road style. My particular favorite is the fact that with parking allowed on only one side of many streets, cars are parked facing both directions. It is impossible to distinguish a ‘one way’ street from the parking, but then, hey, ‘one way’ is probably optional!

·      To tell a story on ourselves, we were in the Centro Storico of Terracina. There were very few street signs so we just kept taking turns and ended up on one of those skinny medieval streets that are about six inches wider than our compact car. Shopkeepers watched us go past. No one indicated there was a problem, until we arrived at a gate in the wall that encircled the city and there was a bollard blocking the only way out. I could feel Dennis pale. Backing up for a mile or so down this tiny lane would be brutal. Two bicyclists coming in the gate gave us the stink eye, but a local just waved his hands in a “go ahead” motion. We pointed at the bollard and he walked over and lifted it out of the road for us to pass. There weren’t enough “grazies” shouted out the car window as we drove through. Hope he got a chuckle out of it.

·      A word about Italian cats is in order. First, there are lots of them, many feral. I understand at one point they overran the Coliseum in Rome, but they somehow dealt with that. Now they are just shy and plentiful, in all places. One of the strangest cats we saw in Terracina looked like it came off a (bad) designer’s runway. The front half was black and sleek, the back half – literally as if they had sewn two cats together in the middle – was brown, and long haired. I could only get pics from quite a distance, but it should still be evident. Some of these cats were so responsive to a word of kindness, I wish they had a better, safer life.

·  Have I mentioned the blood orange juice? It is so good. It is on most hotel breakfast buffets and I enjoy its tartness relative to its North and Central American cousins. And perhaps I have not mentioned the breakfasts that virtually all hotels put on as part of the rate. Many are sumptuous, but tend to the sweet side, since Europeans tend to like sweets to start the day. Today we actually had eggs and bacon, but that is the first time we have seen that, generally the protein is yogourt, cheese or ham.

·      We noticed in Mexico that cell phones were enthusiastically adopted because they missed a costly infrastructure of wired phones. The same may be true in Italy, or someone may have just said they were cool and so instantly everyone older than about 10 has one and like at an all-you-can-eat buffet, it seems they don’t feel like they are getting their money’s worth unless they are on the phones all the time! Seriously, in a country where “looking good” is a cultural imperative being on the phone is the ultimate accessory. We have seen everyone from grandmothers with their grandkids, taxi drivers, cyclists, motorbike drivers, people just walking down the street, waiters, cooks, gas station attendants and bus drivers all living a separate life on their phone from the one they are living in the physical world. It is really interesting since hand gestures are such a part of a conversation here, to guess whether the gesture has to do with their physical reality or the conversation they are having. It is a research study waiting to happen. And have I mentioned that they haven’t really adopted Bluetooth yet. Just wait until they know they can get their hands free!

·      The final observation is that in each town or city there has been a Centro Storico in some cases medieval, and in other cases only a couple of hundred years old. What is truly interesting is that these areas are not museums, they are vibrant areas where people still live. I am sure they deal with all the frustrations that any of us would with old plumbing (no plumbing?) etcetera, but they live here. Children’s toys are apparent in areas where people have lived and raised children for literally thousands of years. I struggle when I think of how these people put themselves in this multigenerational landscape. As someone from the New World, this is one of the first times I actually feel it viscerally. I live in a place with trees I could cut down and build another house. I live where there is only the incredible history of nature and the slightest stain by humans. We have not built Coliseums, or the Vatican, or castles, or raised sculpture fit for the gods, but we can appreciate wonder and learn from history. We have a different relationship with history…it doesn’t define us, and in this, we are blessed.

Thank you Italy, it has been amazing and delicious and sexy – thanks for checking us out even as old peeps – we have loved our time here and hope to return. Next time, Southern Italy, but we realize we need to learn more of your language first, and how to use the trains and buses effectively, because as much as we enjoy your company, we really don’t want to drive here again. Ciao! Ciao!

  

Dia Ventisei Leaving Terracina and Coming Close to Rome

Can you find the little chameleon in this picture?
He is there, honest!

It was difficult to leave Terracina to move closer to Rome. Terracina is such a calm and beautiful place when you are near the beaches. It has all the attitude and posing and “Italianness” when you are on the main street, or in the square, but there is also a quiet pride that you can more feel than see. It is special.

We find the exit to take us on what we believe will be the coast road. There is just one “yellow” road shown on the map, but we have become less trusting of maps than we are at home. There are lots of times that we must “dead reckon” as they say in navigation…keep the sea on your left and ignore the signs that do their best to get us on a main thoroughfare to Rome. My job as navigator is to keep us out of Rome. I think I can manage it!

We are marveling at the camping sites and swimming places and overall lovely opportunities to stay here in the summer for a marvelous time. We wish we could bring Mo since there are great spots to set up for a while.

We are blown away by the miles of sand beaches that stay on our left shoulders, as we move north. We had no idea there was such a vacation-ready coast here. It is a great drive because at this time of the year there is no traffic. It is kind of odd that there is a whole lane of parking, signified by blue paint that wants anyone who parks and goes to the beach to walk to the nearest ticket dispenser and register. I can’t imagine that people who think that red lights are optional are likely to walk to get a parking permit. Perhaps once or twice a year there is an enforcement assault that will scare some people into paying for a longer period of time than most locals.   

The map shrinks as we get closer to Rome. The roads that want to send us there are numerous, and my job becomes more serious, because now that we have been to Rome we really know that we don’t want to be driving there. I do well and we arrive at Osteria, just across a canal from the town of Fumicino where Leonardo da Vinci airport is located. Since we didn’t really want to come this close to the airport for our second last night, we need to refocus.

I’ve got to say that even with a TIM card in the iPad, it was impossible to get a decent connection and explore Expedia for possibilities. We did what we did in the olden days…we drove and drove and there in front of us was the Hotel Tiber, four stars and fronting on both the canal and the ocean. It was more than we needed and all that we wanted, so Dennis checked us in.

The hotel is one of those boutique places…Pierre Cardin and others have signed a pillar in the lobby. The furniture looks like it is from a film set, but is cool and tasteful. So we go to our room with our “smart chipped key” and when we open the door, we have to insert the key in a second inside lock to “open” the lights. Very energy efficient; very annoying when Dennis had to go back to the lobby to ask for a second internet sign on for us, and took the room key with him. If he takes the room key, the lights go out. Glad they are saving the planet, but really?

This area is called the Port of Rome; while no cruise ship docks are visible here there is a very healthy looking fishing community and yacht basin. The fish boats are tied to the sides of the canal and there are random piles of nets that I take lots of pictures of because I find the colours and textures of the piles fascinating.

We walk the canal scanning for places for supper. Of course there is a place that attracts Dennis, a “porchettaria” which means that he could have a sandwich carved off a roast suckling pig! Not wanting all the fat that they love to leave with the pork, I order a green salad. Well, the female chef understood, but asked several questions – could I have some mixed vegetables? Did I want olives? She then delivered the most exquisite salad with marinated artichoke hearts, a variety of mushrooms, marinated sun dried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, scads of various greens and several olives. I left a very happy camper.

As we were eating we watched a little pedestrian lift bridge be raised, so we walked to the middle of it, just in time to watch the car bridge be raised to allow two sailboats to move further up the canal.

Then magically it is near sunset and we walk to the end of the pier to see the final act. Beware, there are lots of pictures of this too. Good collage material J.

Returning to the room we explore some of the lovely outdoor places our hotel has created with fountains and flowers. While very chic, the spaces are also comfortable. Nice.

This day too close to the airport has turned out well. We are grateful, happy and having a drink of wine.

Dia Venticinqua Back Exploring Terracina and Loving it

The views on the coast road going north from Gaeta are
fabulous and there is no scary drop off! Perfecto.

It was hard to leave our great hotel on the beach in Gaeta, but we have started our trip back up the boot that will end on an airplane on Saturday. We would love to have visited Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii…but, as we tell ourselves, next time.

Truth be told, we are amazed at what we have already seen and done; anything now is a bonus. We need to relax into these last few days, so we have planned new territory and routes, but not new directions.

It is a shortish hop up from Gaeta to Terracino. We stop for pictures and gelato in Sperlongo a delightful little town focused on its little bit of the Mediterranean. Unlike what we have read about the Amalfi coast, to the south, and Cinque Terra, quite a bit north, the towns here are reasonably flat and getting to the shore is easy. The sand is white and the waves are strong, deep blue that curls into green as it reached the shore. I just love it; my inner water baby is happy.

Terracina is just as beautiful as we remembered from our rush through it three days ago. In fact, more so, as we walk the old part, called the Centro Storico. The Romans were a clear presence here. In Rome you see SPQR on most of the old buildings and even on the new elements, funded by the municipality, such as sewers. Wikipedia says, “SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senātus Populusque Rōmānus ("The Senate and People of Rome")” In Terracina, on the church in the old city is SPQT. This is the only time we saw this outside Rome. I wonder, did they share a Senate? Clearly they worked well together since the Appian Way joins the cities.

SPQT clearly the Romans were here...or the Terracinans were in Rome!

The main part of town is so Mediterranean looking: palm trees, warm pastel colours, town square across from the church, a fountain with seashells and trendy shops. All of this is hovered over by huge rocky cliffs with ancient ruins at their crest.

The other “main drag” is by the ocean with small hotels and beach umbrella forests, that ake a break once in awhile to allow a place where you can enjoy the beach without purchase. Nice.

The air is hot, but the water chilly as we dip our toes in the Med and search for shells on the beach. All lovely.

Dennis has an early dinner at a place run by a fisherman’s coop. I’m not that hungry, but enjoy seeing the catch and the old men fixing nets and gathered in a group to bait hooks with octopus for the next foray. We wonder if the coop has given the ability to create a division of labour with younger guys off in the boats doing heavy work and the seniors here contributing, but less physically?

The evening is lovely and we find a deck on the second floor of our hotel on which to upload scads of photos, and drink the delicious Italian wines. This will have to slow down when we get home, but it is so tempting here with delicious bottles going for the equivalent of five or six dollars. If we had a carboy, there are places that let you fill your own container right from the cask: exceptional wine that never really sees the inside of a bottle. This is what you get as house wine in a lot of places. Sometimes, when I order the white house wine they will ask “gas, or no gas” as they do with water. I have learned to say “with gas” because the slight bubble is something I like. Try a bottle of ice cold Prosecco and you will know the feeling!

Buona sera! Ciao!

Dia Ventitre y Ventiquattro Taking a Drive and Finding a Slice of Heaven

We wake to heavy rain. The lake we thought would be so relaxing to spend a couple of days beside is so shrouded in fog we can’t see it. We decide to pack and meander. Too bad, I am sure this is a lovely place and I bet the lake just hops as a summer tourist destination from Rome.

We head toward Rome, 120 or so kilometres southwest of us. There is more lush countryside, like the Tuscany areas we have seen, and then the terrain begins to change, to lose its extreme hilliness and flatten more as if to accommodate the industry that begins to surround Rome. As the landscape changes, so does the weather. The clouds go from actively raining to just threatening. We are hoping to find the ring road and stay out of the traffic of Rome proper and it kind of amazes us that we are able to do this. Dennis watches for kamikaze drivers who will pass under any conditions and I look for road signs and try to divine directions when town names are omitted from the maps or signposts. Together we are a whole brain! We could show them a thing or two on The Amazing Race!

As we move south of Rome, the geography really begins to alter and the sun makes an appearance. The lush farms are still there, but uncultivated terrain is becoming drier. We see more cactuses than roses and poppies now. Hills give way to flat land, almost like a delta. As we move further, we realize that the route we have chosen to get to the Mediterranean north of Naples, is along the Appian Way. For the first part of the drive, the road twists and turns, then about 60 kilometres from the coast it becomes dead straight, with very large and very old, pine trees on both sides that have been hard pruned to allow only a broad canopy to create shade. Along the west side, a canal parallels the road, no doubt to move goods inland by barge, likely pulled by slaves from the banks of the canal. Ingenious, but I wouldn’t want to have been a slave.  

Driving to the coast, south of Rome on the Appian way.

 All signs of rain are gone and the sun is at its brightest as we reach the sea. We pass one lovely town at the coast called Terracina and drive along the edge of the green blue Mediterranean. Dennis has seen a speck on the map that caught his eye and we head for Gaeta on a point of land tickling the sea. When we hit it, we stop for gelato and a visit to Expedia on the iPad. We find a vacancy at the Hotel Serapo facing the Gulf of Serapo and with big grins on our face we are now sitting on the balcony of our room, listening to the waves of the ocean lap on our beach and we are thinking about maybe hunkering down for a couple of days of sun, sand, surf and relaxation. We’ll decide tomorrow, but it sure is a beautiful place to think about all we have seen and done so far in this enchanting country.

The roadside foliage changes from wild poppies to
cacti as we meet the Mediterranean. 

 As it turns out, we decide to stay for another day, thinking a day by the sea in the sun will be lovely. We head out for dinner and experience friendly people, good, but not great food, with a surly finish. Too bad. We are back too late to walk on our beach that is locked off, even from hotel guests. I have to say I love the attitude in Mexico where the beach by the sea belongs to everyone. The hotels can only have so much and certainly can’t chain it all up!

Oh well, lovely wine in the room and watching a thunder and lightening storm ends another day of travel and adventure – new sights and experiences.

Day two on the beach at Gaeta begins with a shower, that becomes a downpour, that continues in various “flows” all day. We accomplish a trip to a laundromat and a lot of reading and relaxing. It would have been a great day to upload all the pictures, but the wifi here is so slow that it would be painful (took 10 minutes for each daily pic in the blog!)

It’s suppertime and the rain has finally stopped. Time to walk to a place nearby that has a variety of smaller bites. Perfect for a day of little activity.

Tomorrow we will move back to Terracina and begin our leisurely trip back to Fumicino for Friday night.

Dia Ventidue The Back Roads of Tuscany and Hot Springs at Saturnia

These natural hot springs at Saturnia have been used since Roman times.
We had a blast and then smelled like sulfur for the rest of the day.

We are rested and relaxed as we leave Arezzo to find our way south to Saturnia. We set ourselves a challenge of staying off the toll roads and begin to chart a course as soon as we avoid getting on the A1.

As we curl through olive groves, forested hills and farmlands, it becomes apparent that the towns we are entering and leaving aren’t on any of the maps we have – seriously! We will be in a village of a few thousand people, with a church and a ruin, or a castle, and it has a town sign and all, but it isn’t on the maps! How can they do that? Then we get to signposts that have arrows going off towards roadways, with lots of town names, only one or two may be on the official map. How would you feel if you lived in a town that didn’t make the maps! How do people find you? Do you know you aren’t on the map? What criteria do they use? This is just all so odd.

We realize that our destination is only on one of the maps we have. After managing to get as far south as we need to, we hope to find signs to Saturnia, since none of the small roads indicated on the maps have any numbers. Fortunately, we see a sign and follow the twistings and turnings of wonderful narrow roads through the country for a couple of hours. Many corners are so tight that they have parabolic mirrors on them to see oncoming traffic. This feels strange in the middle of the forest. We pinch ourselves at the beauty of the scenery, the castles on the hilltops, the abandoned farmhouses that are falling to ruin and the thriving farms that are fully planted and rowing. We notice that there is already a crop of hay coming off and it is only May.

We also marvel at the cyclists who are plentiful. Many are fully spandexed and clearly channeling their own Giro d’Italia, but others have full camping gear with them. These hills are steep and the roads narrow. All of these riders have to be very fit and very determined to manage this terrain.

After stopping in the quaint town of Saturnia for an espresso, we ask a local and track down the hot springs that are the focus of our journey. Parking in a rough lot, we change beside the car as others are doing and follow the locals to the hot pools in the river. I expected to be impressed, having seen pictures when I found out about this spot online, but really…it is so much better in person. We climb into the sulfurous, milky pools and soak for an hour or so. The atmosphere is like a party. Lots of groups of friends and families are enjoying the various pools and waterfalls. Sitting in the water, the view is of hilly, green fields and forests and caves carved out of the hills beside the pools. These hot springs have been used since Roman times for sure – by soldiers likely happy to get relief for sore muscles. Likely the Etruscans used them too, but there is no record for that long ago. I think it is great that they are still free – try to find the free springs in the Rockies these days. If you really want to pay and be pampered here, you can stay at the Spa and Golf Course up the road.

We leave relaxed and smelling slightly of sulfur. My silver jewellery is now a colour between brass and bronze – when will I learn this lesson! Oh well, it will come off when I get back to the land of jewellery cleaner and in the meantime it makes me marvel at alchemy.

We decide to drive on and select Bolsena for the night because it is on the edge of a lake, north of Rome. As we rejoin larger populations, I get a message from Sara wondering how we are. Seems that there has been a 6.0 earthquake near Modena, outside Bologna. People are dead and buildings seriously damaged. Dennis and I went through that area twice in the past couple of weeks on our way to and from Venice. Sad.

When we get checked in to the Eden hotel and finally have a sporadic internet connection, Dennis checks the earthquake news and finds out that $326 million worth of cheese – specifically Parmesan and Gran Podano – has also been lost in the earthquake. What was that about priorities?

We eat early at a little pizzeria in Bolena called aTanaquilla and I have my best bite yet. The crust on my pizza is thinner than a soda cracker, Time to wrap up another full day. Delicious! Buona Sera, tutti!

Dia Ventuno Toscana Verde & Laterina

The Bar/Pub/Stopping Point in the medieval town
of Laterina, near our hotel Toscana Verde. I would love to know
the meaning of all the plaques of various "patrons" set into the wall.

Day 2 at Toscana Verde is very relaxing, we meander down curvy country roads, read, nap, and return to a great little restaurant called Il Romito on the banks of the Arno. The meal is great and the location is charming location.  No one speaks English and lots of smiles and hand gestures are used. Large tables full of multigenerational families share the space and everyone is festive and I am quite sure well fed! The chocolate and pear cake I have for desert is still warm. I love that they can let chocolate be its own flavour and don’t have to bombard it with sugar. Dennis finishes with a desert that has layers of merengue and cream that is OMG good!

We are loving eating in these small towns. I guess when you have to keep your neighbours satisfied, the focus on flavour and quality goes up.

Dia Venti Siena to Arezzo

The Duomo in the town of Arezzo.

This morning we leave our charming pied-a-terre in Siena that I am sure was designed for lovers’ trysts. It has a private entrance without going through the hotel. The door has lovely windows with shutters that close from the inside for privacy. It is all bed and bath and rug and charm and had Dennis and I been here 30 years ago, we may never have left the room! But last night we realized that we are both full up of cities, and hilltop towns, and churches and many things ancient. Our destinations are in danger of running together and we are in danger of forgetting what an adventure we are on, so we are glad that we are off to the country.

We consult many maps and the front desk for the best road out of town, toward Arezzo that will keep us in the country. It seems like it may be a bit of a zoo getting out of town, but it turns out to be very easy…keep your right side to the wall of the old city until you see the signs for Arezzo!

We make it on to a highway that promises to take us to our destination until we are detoured for roadwork. This has happened before, and it is a little unnerving because all the main highways have two lanes each direction that are always separated by a large divider. When roadwork occurs, they take down a piece of the barrier and route you into what are usually the oncoming lanes, so the divider is on your right, not your left. There are just little six-inch-high indicators to remind cars coming toward you that you are in their lanes, where you shouldn’t be. So, today we ran into this again, and to our chagrin, where we needed to turn off to Arezzo was in the middle of the detour and we could just watch it go by from the other side of the divided highway. Sh*t!

When we get back to “our’ side of the road, we get off at the first town. It is very small and residential and lovely. We pass little red brick homes with much loved gardens in front. Running into a supermarket, we top up with wine for the evening…love the frizzante, like drinking champagne every night. The store has hams that we have only seen in gourmet shops, and potato chips in Winnie the Pooh bags that Lucas would love, but would likely be against the law in Canada (that makes our country sound so anal retentive…perhaps we are!)

We find Arezzo and follow signs to the old city. We have learned that there are only Tourist Information places when you have already gotten to where you probably wanted to go, and they are likely to be closed for the Italian equivalent of siesta when you need information – this country is too funny sometimes.

Anyway we find the duomo in the old town and two “information points” on the sign. Dennis takes one, I take the other. His provides free maps, but he has to walk into someone’s office to get them. Mine charges for maps – the kind that every hotel concierge gives out free – and serves coffee. While we have a coffee, we take all the maps and figure out the way out of Arezzo and toward Castiglion Fibocchi to get the turn off to Laterina where it turns out our Travelzoo deal is taking us.

Just out of Arezzo we cross the Ponte a Buriano, famous because it is in the background of the Mona Lisa. Clearly, Leonardo was here. Actually, the bridge crosses a slow moving and picturesque river, so good on him!

We continue roaming our way through this fabulous country. It is lush and hilly and so very green in the May sun. It has a calming effect. Slow down, all is good.

We find what we think is near Laterina and I check the Travelzoo address for Toscana Verde where we are reserved for two nights and we are scanning for via Penna. We pass what we think was it so Dennis looks for a place to turn around and pulls into what turns out to be Toscanna Verde -- our reservation. No such thing as coincidence…

The place is a single large building. If we believe the photos, it was once a tobacco drying shed…perhaps it is true. We know we got a deal on a four star hotel on Travelzoo, paying less than half. Well, we also know that this comes with risks so we are pleasantly surprised when the room is huge. In fact a two-bedroom suite over two floors. On closer inspection, it is not well taken care of, and decorated in a, “I don’t need this at home, let’s take it to the cottage” décor. We are ok with it, but there are some spooky aspects. The long halls have lights that are on timers and delays, so it you don’t know where the switch is, you are trying to find your room in the dark! The plus is that it is so quiet! We hear birds and cicadas and it is clear we are in the country.

We wait impatiently for 7:30, which is the earliest we can have dinner. Finally we go down and there is no sign of life in what should be the dinning room. Dennis asks the front desk, and it turns out we have to go through what looks like an abandoned room before we get to the dining room!

We can only describe our meal as an episode in Fawlty Towers, with some food thrown in. There are wonderful characters who are supposed to be our waiters, but cannot add anything to the reading of the menu and less to our understanding of the meal. Courses are served; smiles are exchanged and we make our way back to our room. The sky is amazing from our deck. We stay here again tomorrow night, but we will eat elsewhere ;-)

Ed = D’s comments: This place has a Hacienda style and feel and for the first several hours we were two of it’s only guests – it had a spooky aura. The solitude and quiet immediately had an effect on us both but as Sh succumbed to a nap, I went for a walk around the property. There were what sounded like gun shots going off in the distance (probably a target/skeet range) and as I neared the swimming pool a furtive figure darted through the brushes carrying a large bag followed by a white setter. Very quickly, muffled non-stop barking drew me to the source which was the setter excitedly barking into a shed ½ buried in an embankment. The grounds man suddenly appeared and was apparently embarrassed by the dog’s noise. He tried to explain that the dog had cornered a snake in the shed. It all fell together and things were normal again. Funny how spooky sometimes just sets a tone that won’t let go.

PS: When we finished supper we got back to the lobby to discover a busload (literally) of Japanese tourists had just descended. This place is VERY normal now!

Dia Diciannove … San Gimignano and Siena

The huge Piazza del Campo in Siena.

After a great breakfast we leave for San Gimignano, which is only about 20 kilometers away. Driving through more lush hills we spot farmhouses, a castle, and archeological sites on hills throughout the region. There are olive groves, grapevines stretched on rows of wire, fields of wheat, and wild poppies. It is magnificent. We manage to stay on the lovely side roads and arrive in San Gimignano – another hilltop town – just seconds after our parking Angel clears another space for us.

This town seems happy and prosperous with more going on than in Volterra. We wander about a bit, gawking at the now-more-familiar antiquities and street scenes. Around one corner we come across a street market with goods, rather than produce and find a terrific lightweight coat for Dennis. My man’s got Italian style! Albeit in blue, but blue with a bit of an attitude ;-).

We purchase a couple of other souvenirs we’ve been looking for, tour the rest of the sights and head out to the car. The four elderly Italian gentlemen who were there when we parked are still there, and have a couple of new additions helping them watch the world go by.

The drive to Siena is through country that is very much the same, but it is clear coming into the city that it is much larger. Funny, none of the maps we have show these cities as different sizes. Their dots are all the same, the font for the names are the same, but clearly the towns aren’t. It’s like they got together and agreed that nobody’s could be bigger than anybody else’s – which I suspect is how the whole country gets along now. Of course, in the old days, bigger always won (or got to write the revisionist history)!

So, we realize that finding a place to stay could be easy, because there will likely be lots, but finding a place to stay that is near anything may be trickier and we are just here for one night. So we find the old walled centre and keep the walls in sight while scanning for accommodation signs – somewhat easy; and available parking – almost impossible! At one point, Dennis double parks while I run into Hotel Villa Elda to check for space. When I hear the price of the last room they have to offer I tell them that is more than I want to spend, so they drop the price. Cool. It is a lovely room off the garden, like a private little oasis. We grab it.  (In fact that’s where I am sitting now as I write this – with a glass of vino bianco frizzante.)

This room is a ten-minute walk from the old city of Siena and even the views walking over are sublime. I take my usual photos of the things that catch my attention, and since I have recently noticed the cross of the Knights Templar with equal length sides, but the ends of the cross pieces are wider than the middle intersection point, I am now seeing them in a variety of different places. I can see why following these symbols could become intoxicating, because I wonder about the stories behind the sites where I see them. Hopefully the pictures will show the fascinating aspects of the city.

We love the large central Piazza del Campo that is so different from other towns. It is sloped both towards the centre and down toward the church to create a natural runoff collection point. The “square” is also an interesting form made of nine spear headed shapes all coming together along their edges and points, making a fan shape, each one having a slightly different brick colour. These areas represent the Council of Nine that governed the city in medieval times. The plaza is famous because twice a year, bareback horse races take place around the plaza in an event called The Palio. There is much pageantry with flag throwing competitions, lots of betting and participants are outfitted in medieval costume. The Palio has been going on since 1283 and pits the 17 parishes of Siena one against the other until all but one has been eliminated. The guy who wins it – I am assuming it is all guys – gets a banner to prove he is number one.

It is thrilling to be here and it would be cool if they left the flags up all year long, but then I guess that would be like leaving the Christmas lights up. We imagine the flags of the 17 competitors based on all the “scarves” that the souvenir vendors are selling.

After eating unamazing food, we amble back to our great room and sit in the garden, drinking wine and writing to you all.

Tomorrow we head for Arezzo and two days in the country. Ciao!