Tuscany on Our own
28 April 2010 - Il Riccio Montepulciano
We finally arrived here at 3:15pm after some adventures and Hassles!
We had to first get the shuttle from the Hotel to the Airport and then get express train into Roma Termini.
A couple of the women came out this morning to say farewell again. While we were there Luigi (Trafalgar Tour Coach Driver) came back to the Hotel and gave me a big hug & kiss!
Getting train from Airport was OK apart from the validation machine ‘eating’ one of our tickets! Termini was a mess! Miles to trundle our bags to get the tickets. They told us Track 7, then the board showed track 1, then nothing. Finally, I found an official uniformed person who directed us to Track 8 – caught it with only a couple of minutes to spare!
When going in the lift to the ticket office a gypsy girl (although naive travellers that we are we did not realise this at first) with a young baby, tried to put her hand into my shoulder bag- had the outer flap open. But that side only had my phrase book and tissues so she was out of luck. We realised afterwards that the older Italian women getting out of the lift had tried to wave us away to stop us using the lift were actually warning us. “Attenzione”! We now know that this means more than just paying attention – its a stern warning!
We picked up our hire car at Chiusi and got lost at first. GPS wouldn’t pick up a signal so I tried to direct using a map but got lost. Then the car wouldn’t restart when we stopped to check our bearings. We were given a Fiat, not the Ford we had booked . All sorts of buttons and switches that we didn’t know what they were for! Also this was manual and we had only driven automatics for the last 15 years – and we (NZ) drive on the left!!
Finally, the GPS kicked in. When we passed a food place we stopped for lunch, as we were rather frazzled by then. However, we then arrived in Montepulciano without further incident and the place and setting more than made up for all the strife.
We bought a small bottle of Nobile wine and some chips after we had walked around the vicinity of the B&B and found where the Laundromat was. The wine is delicious and so too was the Vin di Casa at the nice Trattoria Gio recommended. Beautiful food, beautifully cooked.
Its now 9:40pm and Eddie’s already in bed. I’m in my pj’s but need to clean my teeth. We don’t have to get up early as breakfast isn’t until 8am. We won’t know ourselves J I love this bedroom. White plaster walls, dark wood furniture and windows with shutters. The sun sets through those windows and we had our chips & wine sitting there in the evening glow. Fantastico! Simple white counterpane on the bed, terracotta floor tiles and “Il Riccio” in the corner (a carved wooden hedgehog) protecting us and the room – probably been there since the house was built in the 15th Century!
Thursday 29 April
We didn’t get up for breakfast until 8am and could have gone down even later as the honeymoon couple didn’t appear until we were nearly finished.
Gio put on a CD playing lovely Mozart so I sat for a while just listening. Cute hedgehogs decorate the dining/living area made from a range of materials – even feathers!
Slow day today. Spent the past hour in the Laundromat. Took us about 5 minutes to find the ‘key’ to opening the washing machine door! ( It was a little icon of a key!) What ignorami!!
I’m writing this sitting in the window of our room. We are going to go see Tempio di San Biagio before we find somewhere to have a nice lunch.
Later: The church Tower bell has just struck 10 o’clock. That’s the last time it rings until 7am. It rings the hours and 1 bell at ½ past the hour during the day.
It was a good walk down to the Tempio. I got a couple of postcards while in there. A very quiet, cool building. The walk back around noon was hot and steep but we kept finding shady patches and finally made it. As Anna used to say we kept saying ‘piano, piano’ as we trudged up the hill.
We found a shortcut to Il Riccio so didn’t have to walk right up to the piazza and then back down to here. Had a drink, a ‘fresh up’ break and then, after writing out some cards to send to family & friends we first found where to buy stamps and then where to post the cards. The box indicated that mail is collected 10am each day so we’ll see how long it takes for them to get home.
We found a small place that had panini with nice pecorino cheese and thinly-sliced wild boar prosciutto and pesto with a very good cappuccino. After a little walk we came back to our room. I read a bit while Eddie had a nap, then we sorted out where we’ll go tomorrow. I’m still nervous about the driving but Eddie doesn’t seem to mind going further than I first suggested, so hopefully, its Monks chanting!
At 5:30pm we had the rest of our small bottle of Poliziano Nobile di Montepulciano with the chips & panforte. After a shower and a bit of TV watching – a concert with the Pope in attendance – we went and found another nice little dining place and had our dinner outside. I had rabbit tagliatelle and it was yummm! A family came and sat outside too. After a time the Father must have realised we were not natives (perhaps speaking English with kiwi accents gave it away?) and he asked where we were from. They were French! They had been in Italy 3 years, living in Milan. He works for John Deere. The wee kids – a boy & a girl, were 6 & 8. The elder one doesn’t start to learn English until next year. The Mama only spoke a little English but Dad was very chatty!
The waiter was quite concerned that I had left 2 pieces of the tagliatelle. ‘You no like?’ he asked with a worried frown. He beamed when I told him it was delicious but I just couldn’t eat it all! We also had another small bottle of Nobile with dinner (no house wine). Who would have thought we’d be drinking glasses of red wine of an evening!!
We went for a wee stroll to walk off the food. Town is very quiet when the tourists have left for the day. We came back to our room and I thought I’d watch some TV and found Europa Cup Calcio (soccer or football to non-Italians) Liverpool Vs ATL (whoever they are?) Liverpool got a goal just before half time. Its now 15 minutes into the 2nd half – nothing happening, hence me writing up my daily log. Eddie’s gone to sleep! I’ve learnt that a corner kick is a ‘calcio angolo’ and ‘fallo’ is a foul. We said at dinner we would need 6 months here to get to grips with the language. What a cunning plan!!
Friday 30 April Il Riccio
Our wakeup call is the 7am bells. Its nice not having to set an alarm or being alarmed awake! We spoke to a couple at breakfast this morning from Florida. They are going for a ride in one of Gio’s vintage cars. I’m going to suggest that we do that too. We also have to walk to the other end of town – so plenty to do.
5:15pm - Well, we made it back only after a bit of a hassle. We listened to the monks chanting at San’Antimo. Some people coming into during the service were annoying, but I love the simple church and the few monks (including one with a cough!) sounded beautiful and echo-y in there.
On the way back we stopped at Montalcino and had a wine tasting – that we had to pay for! But we did buy a bottle of the Brunello I had read so much about. The sample was nice but I don’t reckon its better than the Nobile di Montepulciano. The town was very commercialise and touristy. Not quaint at all.
We then went on to Pienza. We found a parking spot near some public toilets and walked through a little park (Picolocomino), under the town gateway that is under re-construction and into a truly quaint & pretty town. Lovely views over the countryside and cute little shops with lots selling Pecorino cheese and those not selling cheeses were selling model & toy sheep of all sizes. I took a photo of them but resisted the temptation to buy one. We decided to buy some cheese and salami and some more panforte so we wouldn’t need to go out for dinner. Eddie saw a swiss army knife in the window of a wee ‘hardware’ store €12, so we bought it. Corkscrew for our wine; knife to cut our cheese and salami! Panforte for dolci. I love Italian ‘snack’ food!
Our TomTom GPS is now working well. ‘Tim’ (the voice Eddie chose as the least annoying) tells us when we’ve made a wrong turn and says to ‘turn around when able’. Also “dongs” when Eddie drives too fast which I like – saves me always having to remind him, and he doesn’t always listen to me anyway! But Tom Tom ‘dongs’ and he says “Sorry thing” and slows down!!
When we arrived back we went passed the street we should have turned down to get to the parking area, so we tried the ‘tricky’ Ivana suggested – taking the one-way lane the wrong way! We got fingers waggled at us by some old nonne and then a vehicle came the other way. Good thing it was only a wee ‘Ape’ (very small truck with one wheel at the front), so we managed to squeeze pass. We had no problems when we first arrived and Ivana told us to go that way to the park after we had dropped off our bags. We then walked around the street so we could see where we should have turned off – and because I didn’t want to walk passed those angry Italian Mammas!
Later we had a nice supper of our pecorino cheese, focaccia bread we got at the wee cafe off the piazza, and salami, washed down with the tasty Brunello we bought. (2004 vintage; Il Poggione (vineyard)
1 May, 2010 Saturday
Festa oggi! We were awakened quite early. Pigeons were extra noisy so I decided to shower before breakfast. When I got out I heard a band playing up in the piazza. I said they must be going to have a parade later as surely they wouldn’t be starting the actual festivities before 8:00am?
Ivana didn’t seem impressed “Bah! Festa! You no have?” “No” I replied. “Fortuna!” she responded.
We had decided to walk down to the end of the town we hadn’t reached before – little did we know! Festa and Market Day. Band playing, people everywhere! Crowded but all going ‘piano, piano’ – and all, even the caribinieri – seemed in a gentle, happy mood.
Eddie bought a belt made to size – cost on sign €15 – he charged us €10! Then we espied a cute wee toyshop. She showed us some lovely music boxes but we couldn’t fit any more in our cases. We got our 2 grandsons a model Ferrari car each. We also found a nice pendant for me, at one of the market stalls. Silver oblong with star in the middle on a linked chain for €10.
Went into a rather unassuming ‘chiesa’ (church) – no outside adornments & the stones were very old and worn. Inside was small but beautiful! Much nicer than the main cathedra which is very cold, dark & gloomy.
We came back to Il Riccio for a ‘pee pee’ stop and to drop off our parcels – oh, we also found a nice wallet for Eddie – very stylish – as his at home was getting rather tatty.
We got Gio to book us a Trattoria for dinner as being Festa all were very busy. First one he tried – full – 2nd OK. I asked him who the artist was of the pen & ink drawings. He didn’t quite understand what I was asking at first and explained that the drawings were of places around Montepulciano. I then pointed to the name – A. Caroti. “Ah, yes – my Father, he did those!” when I said they were very good he beamed and pointed to a photo of a man on a large horse that we have noticed before. That was his Father – and another one of his father in uniform and very young. “Very handsome” I commented. Gio beamed even broader and them showed us more family photos around the room – 7 generations have lived here! His mother, 93, still living here. I think I saw her the day we arrived.
Eddie then asked about the building, as it seems to be in two parts. He took us to the high windows in the dining area. The Arch across the way was a street that led to the piazza and as main part of Il Riccio was directly opposite and could be seen from the piazza it was made to look grander. The rest just ordinary as it couldn’t be seen! The roof below our window wasn’t always there. It originally was a small piazza where they beheaded the ‘naughty ones’! He used a cutting motion with the side of his hand across his neck “Chop, gone!” He must have noticed my grimace as he comforted me with – “Bad ones, so OK!!”
We then went to check where the Trattoria was for dinner and came back to the piazza to a small cafe in the corner where we had panini with porcini, prosciutto & mozzarella and a glass of ‘freddo’(cold) Arancia Rossa (blood orange)– absolutely delicious. I wish we could get that juice at home!
After another walk around and into some Etruscan Tombs. They were under a wine shop where they store barrels of wine. I took photos of the BIG ones! Then we trekked up a very steep street and got back to the piazza. Had to have a gelato from the shop we first went onto when we arrived. Another delicious treat. I had strawberry this time that had chunks of real strawberry in it! YUMM.
Now back in our room for a bit of R n R. Its 3pm. I’m charging my phone then need to charge my camera batteries. I was checking through my photos just before – taken some good shots even though I say so myself! Lots of churches but they’re all different and spectacular in their own way.
The bell tower here always rings the hours, then a couple of minutes later, rings again. Just in case we haven’t heard the first time? (I later realised that it was another bell further down in the town!) I was humming the song about chapel bells ringing for Little Jimmy Brown, while I was getting dressed this morning. Its a nice bell sound – not too ‘clangy’. We saw another bell tower down near the fair and it had a punchinello type figure on top that actually rang the bell! So cute.