Tuscany Road Trip Day 2

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My day started after a shower with only what can be described as a feast for the senses. Breakfast was served on a terrace overlooking vines and rolling hills with what looked like an outline of a castle in the distance on a hill covered in a misty blue haze. Green in all sorts of shades dominated the landscape, a cooler breeze on my skin, a wonderful mixture of grains, nuts and finely diced dried fruit and the local yoghurt, followed by a coffee and cornetti. There were all sorts of bread to sample accompanied by ham and cheese. A beautiful clear blue sky, little birds diving in and out of the vines singing their morning song, what a way to start a day! I then found a part of the property on the opposite side to the terrace with an equally beautiful view under a small patio which would have been more stunning when the wisteria was in full bloom, for now I’d just enjoy its greenery. Another half hour spent here and then it was time to head off for another day.

We left the Radda district of Chanti and drove to San Gimignano a walled city way back when. These little communities are common place and are scattered throughout the countryside of Tuscany. There were built to keep the enemies out sometimes having two walls for extra protection. I’m learning not only were times tough and rough for some in the earlier centuries but most altercations were settled with violence, as depicted through the various art work we had previously view in the museums. Guess I could have paid more attention at school or had a better memory of the things I did learn!

From San Gimignano we pulled into an unassuming place to stop for lunch off the tourist path. We sampled some grilled fish and ordered a side dish of roasted vegetables and potatoes. Nice to have some veg for a change and whilst lunch was good was nothing to rave about.

With lunch done it was off to the hot sulphur baths of Rappolano. A cascade of swimming pools varying in temperature that are feed from hot springs. There was a definite presence of sulphur in the air that we could smell when we opened the car doors but certainly nothing offensive. The water was a blue milky white colour and reminded me of the colours of the lakes and creeks that we had seen from the train from Paris to Florence. We followed the locals lead and gathered the white pasty substance that collects on the bottom of the pool and rubbed it into our skin leaving it to dry and then rinsing off. Our skin felt a lot softer the following day, not sure if this was the exfoliation, the sulphur, or a combination of both.

We headed for Montalbano for a farm stay around 650m above sea level where there was a menagerie of various animals. The apartment had two rooms and a bathroom housed above the main house of the owner Lucciano. As it was late in the day we didn’t have a chance to fully appreciate our surroundings as we were of to dinner at one of H’s mate’s places. Andrea’s was around 15mins back down the hill from where we were staying for the evening. We had authentic Italian cooking from the region and sampled the Italian tradition of sitting round the in house kitchen table with Andrea cooking, drinking red wine and chatting to us. Our first course was cous cous with lemon, olive oil (naturally!) plump black and green olives, plums, tiny red berries that had a sharp taste when they exploded in my mouth, red onion, capsicum and tomatoes. Now I’m sure there was also some other secret ingredients in there too. Both R & I would have been satisfied with that dish alone, however as with Italian meals there was much more to follow! Pasta (of course!) was next, penne with almonds, tomatoes, chilli, garlic and again other ingredients. We were full of praise for Andrea’s dishes and cooking. He told us if we didn’t love life then we would not like his pasta dish! It didn’t stop there a beef dish with both tinned and fresh tomatoes, onions, red wine and garlic and a mixed spice that was prepared and bought from only one store in Tuscany. To finish an egg dish with shaved chocolate and freshly whipped cream, which lead to the funniest scene in the kitchen. Andrea started whipping the cream in a bowl on the kitchen floor…I’m gathering this was because you couldn’t put a pin between all the stuff on the kitchen benches. When he started cream started spraying over H and even reaching our side of the table, it was hilarious at the time…guess it’s one of those location jokes! A magnificent meal cooked by Andrea and definitely enjoyed by all.

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