Tuscany 2017

Our nearly yearly pilgrimage to Italy was wheels up on Wednesday the 11^th.

We have been so looking forward to this trip since we decided that we needed it more than it wasn’t really in the budget, more than there wasn’t really a good time, more than we could just take a long weekend up north. No, we needed a trip to Italy to reset our souls, salve our spirits and put the order of the universe… back in order.

Traveling, blah blah blah no fun, I’ve said it before so there’s no need to go into lengthy sardonic accounts of airport security lines, (though this time we both got TSA Precheck and it was really quite nice) the general public’s lack of manners and inability to dress appropriately for travel, the size and comfort of airplane seats… and airplane food. So I won’t .

The one thing about the traveling part that I noticed this trip that seemed to be different than in the past was the recovery time. Refer to the comments I didn’t make about airplane seats and not sleeping and the 2-1/2 hour drive from the Rome to Cortona. Hence the delayed first dispatch from abroad.

We checked in at Casa Chilenne Bed and Breakfast at about 2 in the afternoon. After chatting with Jeanette and giving Carlotta’s ears a good scritch. (mandatory when checking in at Jeanette’s place) we bopped out to the hole in the wall pizza place around the corner to grab a couple of lunch slices and sit on the steps in Piazza Republica to have a little lunch and watch the people go by. A first day Cortona tradition for us going back about 15 years. Feels good to be back, feels right.

Thin, crispy and perfect every time, every year.

After just wandering around a little bit, I decided I had better lie down before I fell down and went back to the room for a nap before dinner. A couple of bottles of wine, some cheese, bread and apples and our first dinner in Italy 2017 was spent pleasantly on Jeanette’s rooftop patio watching the sunset.

A long walk in the park afterwards was a perfect way to wrap up a long day of traveling.

Day 2.

After a rather odd night of sort of sleep… confused by a cell phone clock that still read Michigan time I nearly got into the shower at 2:30 in the morning. I don’t know what made me do it, but maybe because the street sounded so quiet, I checked my watch… it wasn’t 8:30. Sheesh.

Breakfast at Jeanette’s is always amazing. Pastries, cakes, tarts, fruit, eggs and bacon if you really want them and of course the most important thing, my preferred breakfast…coffee. Really good espresso… dopio (double) and maybe one more just to top off the tank before starting out. I’m ready to hit the road!

First stop Siena. Siena was the first place we stayed the first year we came to Italy. It was February, it was the most snow they had had in 15 years, we didn’t even know where to find the street signs let alone know where we were and weren’t allowed to drive in a walled city. We were thoroughly lost. I decided to pull over and walk into the first open business I could find and point to the name of our hotel and a map and hope they could point me in the right direction. About 25 feet from where I left Donna in the car I walked up to the first business I saw with the lights on. A little brass plaque on the wall beside the door said Hotel Antica Torre. It was our hotel and at that point I thought maybe Italy is meant to be for us.

Today we wandered around watching the people and visited the Duomo.

The Duomo in Siena is one of the most spectacular we have seen. The inlaid floor, the striped marble, the incredible statuary, the windows and all of it have never disappointed us. This year though, we had to pay to get in… and you had to buy different tickets to access different parts of the building. It was crowded and noisy. It was still beautiful but somehow it felt like it had been in some way been taken away from us.

We had a nice lunch at one of the many restaurant/bars that line the edges of the Piazza del Campo. Donna and I waited in the piazza while Jack and Lynn climbed the tower. My gluteal tendonopathy hurt just knowing they were walking up all those stairs.

Bidding farewell to Siena we head off to Asignano. A small quiet typically Tuscan town off the tourist trail. Quiet is the operative word here. There were very few tourists… seems like maybe 6 including the 4 of us. There was a lovely simple basilica, some charming balconies and a most wonderful quiet.

Dinner at Ad Braceria. Lamb, beef tenderloin, swordfish and pici with pancetta for main courses with spinach, eggplant, zuccini and peppers all cooked over wood. MMMMmmmmmm.

And a random Italian cat of course…

Tomorrow a low key Cortona day.