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Podre Di Santa Maria
This is the name of the agriturismo we are staying at in Tuscany. Day 9, Wednesday, May 21
Lisa has been dreading this moment. We are leaving Sorrento with a rental car. Because we are preferred members with Europcar we are upgraded for free to an Alfa Romeo. Nice car BUT we have to get out of this town. Lisa is convinced that we will not have the passenger side mirror in the next 5 miles. She is wrong but it only took 13 minutes to jump the curb. She wasn’t timing any of this by the way, (Like she could have done better!).
Jim got an overview of the toll system in Italy before we left Sorrento. We weren’t sure how many toll booths we were going to have to go through but we knew we were going to be on the road for about 5 hours not including a quick stop for lunch.
Once we got to the Autostrade, it was pretty painless. As we get closer to Tuscany, everything starts to open up and the hillsides are green. It is very nice. However, our GPS decided to take us a different route to our Agriturismo. We end up on a road that is no longer paved and a
Our House in Tuscany
This is the front door of our house. car the size of ours should never attempt to cross. However, there is no way to turn around because it is so narrow. We finally reach what is supposed to be our place and it opens a bit but if it is the same place, it is on the far, far, far end of the property. There was room to turn around so we go back down that road we never should have been on to begin with – oh boy! Resetting the GPS helps us get back on track and finally we arrive. However, there is a dirt road coming into the place that must be navigated with care.
As Jim steps out of the car he is met by a very large German Shepard, that practically charges him, along with a small Jack Russell Terrier. The dog is harmless but could scare you if you don’t know how to read a dog’s reaction. Gianna comes right after to welcome us to Podere di Santa Maria. She shows us around the area and when we get to our house, there is a cake she made waiting for us on the dining room table as a welcome treat. Our
Outdoor Dining
Across from our house we have a small terrace where we can sit outside when he weather is nice. home for the next seven is a very nice place with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, dining room, living room and kitchen. The house we are in was built in approximately 700 AD (over 1,700 years old) and was used to house animals in the day. Some of the original walls are exposed but most are covered with stucco.
Gianna takes us back to the office to give us some more information about the area but as we are walking down the stairs, a snake comes slithering up the stairs. Lisa did her normal snake dance and now Jim has a bruise on his arm. Jim is trying to figure out why Lisa is practically in a state of seizure and Lisa points at the snake. Gianna says “Oh, that’s Frank. He’s harmless.” That didn’t help Lisa at all or Jim’s arm. Why didn’t Lisa think ahead that there might be snakes at the farm stay? It must be the workload that fogged her thinking.
Jim cannot wait to cook here. So off to the store we go. We are staying in Ciciano (population 200) but head to Chuisdino to get some groceries for dinner. We stock up and head
Lounging Area
Next to the table and chairs are two lounge chairs, good spot for reading a book. back home. This is where we have an uh-oh moment. As we come down the unpaved road we hit a large rock on the road and the right front tire goes flat. After Jim shouted a few expletives we find a flat spot on the road and he changes the tire installing the spare. Now we know what we have to do tomorrow, find a tire shop and get the tire replaced. Since our insurance is through our credit card the tire needs to be replaced and then we will get reimbursed when we get home. Lisa tries to get Jim to relax but as he searched the internet for tire shops every page is in Italian so the stress does not go away. Oh well, Jim prepared a nice dinner for us so we ate and had a bottle of wine to ease the stress. Tomorrow will definitely be an adventure.
Miles Driven: 316
Miles Walked: 3 (feet feel better but other parts are sore)
Day 10, Thursday, May 22
Jim had a hard time sleeping thinking about how we were going to find a tire for our rental car so
Pool Area
Just a few steps from our house is the pool area with a great view of the valley. he was up early. With the help of Google translation he was able to find a list of tire shops and a dealer for the brand of the car. Lisa could tell he was antsy so we got ready and headed towards Siena. With the help of our GPS he found the area where all the auto shops are located and found the tire shop, tires in Italy are called pneumatico so Jim did his best to ask the man working at the shop if he had a pneumatico of the same size and brand. In broken English the man said he might have a tire so Jim asked him how much and he said $1,000. I think the man saw the confusion on Jim’s face and tried to explain his English is not good, Jim took out $110 Euros and the man said “Si, Si”, whew, much better than $1,000 Euros!
It took the man about 20 minutes to mount and balance the tire but he also checked the pressure of the spare and all the other tires. Jim tried to help him out by putting the spare back in the car but he was stopped by the
Jim Cooking in the Kitchen
Cooking with local ingredients was one of the many things Jim was looking forward to. man when he said, “now?” He wanted to do the work and not let Jim get his hands dirty. Once the work on the car was complete and paid for Jim tried to give the man a tip but he refused profusely. In Jim’s mind this guy was more of an angel than in any church we have visited so far on our trip.
So with the tire troubles behind us and Jim feeling like a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders we headed to Siena for lunch as it was about 11:30 in the morning. Per Gianna’s instructions we found a parking lot and took the multiple escalators headed towards the city center. Siena is unique as the piazza is a scallop shell shape with an incline towards the base of the shell. We found a trattoria and sat at a table at the edge of the piazza and watched the tourists. Lisa ordered a salad and Jim had a plate of cured meats and cheese, surprise!
After lunch we walked around a bit and then found the Duomo that was built starting in 1215. The unique feature of the building is the white and green
Sitting Area and Dining Room
We have a large room with the kitchen, sitting area, and dining room. The whole house is vary spacious, except for the phone booth shower ;-) stones used in its construction. Since 1215 additions have been made and it is of gothic style and very ornate inside and out. There are inlaid marble floors that depict various religious scenes that are very intricate. The building itself is very large and impressive.
It was time to head back to the country and relax. We make an evening cocktail and head over to the pool to relax. Gianna came by and we heard a little more about the farm. It had belonged to her grandparents but when it came time for her parents to take it over, they were not interested in running the farm. They kept the property but did not work the farm. About 6 years ago, Gianna decided to following in her grandparent’s footsteps and started bringing the farm back to life. We had a nice visit and we learned a lot about each other. She was very interested in Jim making cheese so she told us about a local creamery and she would get the information to us so that we could visit.
Once our cocktail glass was empty it was time to go back to the house and start dinner.
Jim made pasta using some local pork sausage, tomatoes, onions, garlic and spices, and garlic bread. This all went well with some local Chianti. Considering how the day started it ended much better and Jim was able to relax.
Miles Walked: 5
Miles Driven: 75
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