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Published: October 27th 2007
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And we're off! We picked up our Smart Car this morning from the rental place and Gus braved driving in, and I braved navigating, those crazy Florentine streets in order to get us safely on the highway. You know, where there are lanes, and speed limits and NO PEDESTRIANS! Oddly, it seems safer to be on a road where everyone is going 90 km/hr than in the streets of Florence. Go figure. 😊
A word about our car...we originally booked the Smart Car that holds two people and your lunch. But since this isn't really tourist season, we got a free upgrade to a Smart Car "ForFour", which means it will hold 4 midgets and their handbags! There must not be a lot of folks over 6 feet tall here because there is NO WAY you could fit 4 adults comfortably in that car. Thankfully, we only had to fit 1 big Gus, 1 small, but pregnant, Gus and one suitcase - so we were okay. And there really is no such thing as automatic transmission in Italy and after driving for about 5 minutes you understand why...you need to be able to get those bursts of speed you can
only get by jamming the car into first and flooring it!
So, now we're off the highway and on some very windy and scenic country roads. Fall has just begun so the trees were starting to change. We saw the dark green evergreens, the lighter greens of trees starting to lose their color and the dark golds and yellows of the trees that had given into fall completely. The vineyards were rainbows of color. Some vines still held onto their dark green leaves, while others were varying shades of gold and even some crimson. It was quite spectacular, even in the rain. Oh, yes, it's raining - fall is here. We drove the Chiantigiana (the scenic drive through the Chianti region) and drove through Greve in Chianti, Montefioralle (shimmering silver olive trees as far as the eye can see), Panzano and we finally stop in Castellina in Chianti for lunch. I think we stopped at least 2 dozen times to take pictures and get a breath of very cold, windy and rainy fresh air!
For lunch we had decided to replicate the jammin' paninis we had in Rome. Ciabatta bread with artichoke spread, roasted red peppers, cotto ham,
proscuitto di Parma and fresh mozarella - mmmm...mmmm...good! It was too cold for an al fresco picnic so we pulled into a parking space with a very nice view and had our picnic in the Smart Car. Let's just say it's a good thing that I camped as much as I did when I was a kid because I can pull off some pretty tasty stuff in a VERY small space! 😊
Then we were back on the road to Radda in Chianti. By the time we arrived they were smack in the middle of their siesta, so the only place open was a cafe. As far as we can tell they are the only establishments with consistently open hours. I think it's because when everyone is on siesta they want their espresso! After wandering the stone streets we ambled into a cafe to warm up. Did I mention it's COLD?! I was wearing every layer I could. This whole "your body temp raises when you are pregnant is a CROCK!" I was FREEZING! I had on a long sleeved shirt, sweater, fleece jacket, quilted jacket, raincoat AND pashmina and gloves! This is why I look like the Michelin
Man in most of these pictures 😊 Oh yeah, AND I have tights on under my pants! Crazy! I think my body has forgotten what it is like to live in a cold climate - I have successfully become a Southern Californian again. Gus, whose blood is obviously still thick from his childhood in Colorado is fine in a T-shirt, sweater and leather jacket. Which is why he looks so lithe and perfect in the pics!
We ordered our drinks and a homemade donut...yes, homemade, on the premises! Mmmmm...ciambella! I ordered a hot chocolate and this taught me that although there are standards for cappuccinos, espressos and cafe lattes - all bets are off when it comes to hot chocolate. Mine arrived in this charming mug and looked and smelled yummy. One thing looked odd, though. There was a packet of sugar on the side. Man, that would be too sweet for me. Um, yeah...I took one sip and found out that it was, in fact, hot cocoa...sans sugar! 3 packets later, the sweetness level was good and it was quite possibly some of the best hot cocoa I've ever had.
After Radda we decided to drive to
our hotel. Or should I say, our incredible 4 star hotel in the middle of Chianti which Gus got for a song! Gus negotiated an incredible rate (almost half of the off-season price) for a Deluxe Suite! We arrived at Le Pozze di Lecchi in the late afternoon. Now I don't remember much of the drive because I had been beaten into submission by the pregnancy fairy at some point after leaving Radda and I had entered a small coma. I was awakened by the heaving of the car back and forth and up and down as we drove down the country road to our hotel. Fun! Nausea never felt so good!
That's okay - the reward was just around the corner. Le Pozze di Lecchi (www.lepozzedilecchi.it) is hands down the nicest place I have ever stayed in my life. You know how hotels use their best rooms to advertise - yeah, that's our room in the brochure! We had the suite with the largest windows that face the entire property! Gus got about 10,000 husband points for finding this treasure! We had this amazing fireplace and a HUGE bathroom with a whirlpool tub for two and rose marble
accents. We didn't want to leave!
After checking in and bringing up our luggage, it was nap time once again. Yea, being pregnant really takes a lot out of you. I am so used to going at 400 miles an hour and running around all day that it is so foreign to me (still) that I need 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon of actual sleep. Not just rest, sleep!
When I finally woke up we decided to walk around the property to see how great it is. We wandered down by the creek and through the gardens. Even in the rain, it was magnificent. Actually, the best part about the rain is that you get the place to yourself. We were the only ones crazy enough to be outside. 😊 It was quiet, peaceful and very crisp - just like autumn should be.
We decided to dine at the restaurant at the hotel that night because there is NO WAY I can stomach another drive into "town." They start serving at 7:30 and again, we had the place to ourselves until about 8:15 - I don't know how the Europeans can go so long without
eating! Before dinner we found the lounge outfitted with a bunch of comfy couches and a roaring fire. Mmm...heaven. We found a deck of Uno cards and warmed ourselves by the fire for about 8 games.
Dinner. I think this dinner deserves a blog of it's own. So we'll pick it up from there...
Ciao ciao!
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