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Published: February 29th 2008
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Valentine's Day Picnic
Here we are sending out a lover's day toast to everyone. We took this while enjoying a relaxing walk through the hills of Chianti. After a chilly one-hour walk to the bus station in Florence from our hostel, we left on a 7am bus to Radda in Chianti. For those of you who don't know us very well, this wasn't just a one-hour "stroll". This is what we have now termed the "AK Way", since it is quick, brisk walking. We have a hard time strolling sometimes because we always want to be going somewhere or getting to the top of the mountain as fast as we can, but we actually did slow down a bit while in Radda and enjoyed strolling for entire days in the countryside.
I remember being filled with peace watching the sun rise over the hills while riding to Chianti that morning. I was excited to get out of the city and be in solitude again. After several stops and a bus full of school kids (we think this bus also served as a school bus for some of the local country kids) we arrived in the quaint town of Radda. This town is in the heart of Italian wine country, thus the famous Chianti wine originates here. I frequently thought of my sister Lesli here, as she adores
Strolling through Radda
Heather loved this stone house and brick archway over the garage...such incredible craftmanship that we saw all over the area. Chianti wine and dreams of visiting this region someday. Well Lesli, I now have a greater understanding of why you like this wine so much and look forward to enjoying a glass with you when I return. I know you'd love it here! I've asked Ben to buy me a castle here and you can have all the grape vines! On with the story...After a few very enjoyable Italian lattes, we soon found a place to stay. It was the low season there, with virtually no other tourists visiting. How fortunate we were to be visiting at this time---you all know how Ben and I like to be visiting places at peak tourist times!
After getting settled, we took a nice long walk through the rolling hills for the remainder of the afternoon. This just happened to be Valentine's Day as well and we enjoyed yet another "romantic"
picnic with Chianti wine, bread, pesto, cheese, and olives (we still are not sick of that picnic menu) followed with a square or two of dark chocolate. It was so relaxing just to be walking along the dirt roads, past huge fields of grape vines and wineries, breathing in the fresh country air. That evening we enjoyed a delicious
Radda in Chianti
Views during our long walks through wine country. classic Italian dinner at a local restaurant...probably one of our best Valentine's Day celebrations yet.
The next day we enjoyed another latte before heading out on our all-day stroll along the classic Chianti roads. We found out about this "hike" from Lonely Planet, of which we were thankful to have bought in Florence, since it gave very clear details where to go when there were virtually no trail markers! But thanks to Heather's great route-finding capabilities and a few dropped bread crumbs, we easily found our way and didn't get lost! This was a great day for us, being out in nature, enjoying another great picnic on the lawn of a beautifully restored castle, and being together. Very relaxing once again.
At one point on the trail Ben noticed a bit of a stone arch under a clumb of ivey. We worked our way down to the stream to find the ruins of some old, abandonded castle. There was not too much left but you could make out a couple of large rooms, some arched windows, and a shaft of some sort filled partly in with stones. Futher exploring around the back side found a type of arched
Ben strolling through the villages
Here's Ben strolling through a village outside of Radda. It was a very quaint and charming village. Again, loved the archways. stone cistern close to the stream but a little higher. It was filled with crystal clear water and appeared to have an opening in the back that I assume was the other end of the shaft in the main room above. That was Ben's most exciting part of the hike, to explore the old, forgotten castle, and to imagine the goings-on that must have occured off this lonely hunting path hundreds, maybe over a thousand years in the past.
On the way back we were so thrilled over the beauty of this place we just had to
do a little dance . That is rare footage indeed and Ben is using all three of his "moves".
The next morning we caught our 7AM bus back to Florence but without the one hour power walk to station. We were sad to leave this place but so grateful to have experienced it...we would love to return here again.
As most of you know, Ben and I really enjoy our coffee, especially from our home espresso machine. We quickly learned how to drink espresso like the locals do in Italy. Ben and I laugh because Alaskans love to get big 16oz lattes and sit
Castles in Chianti
While taking long strolls on dirt roads through the countryside, we saw many castle estates with huge wine vinyards. Classic Chianti region. at Kaladi and sip on them for awhile. Well, that's not so in Italy. Actually, you'll pay almost double if you sit down. This is how it works in Italy... When you walk in to the cafe, the baristo (usually a male dressed very well, sometimes even in a suit with a bow tie and vest) greets you with "bougiorno". Next, you go to the cashier and pay for your drink ahead of time, then go up to the stand-up counter (just like a bar counter), put your receipt down with a small tip on top, and order your drink. After it is made, you stand up at the counter and quickly drink your coffee. This is a classic example of how quickly the Italians drink their espresso: we timed our bus driver (when leaving Chianti) from the time he got off the bus, went inside the cafe, drank his espresso, and got back on the bus....only 5 minutes!!! Unbelievable. Just thought you'd enjoy a bit of local flavor.
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MaggieRolfs
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Wish I was there
Hello Sweethearts, Boy! I love those arches in the village near Radda. Someday I'm going to build my own arch. When I think of the rainbows in the sky after Mom's funeral, I don't wonder why people like them so much. No expresso for me, but I would love to sit on one of those Chianti hills and sip a latte with ya'll. Oh well, guess I'll just do my dishes and change a few diapers and wash a load of clothes. When I finish, I think I'll sit down and eat an orange. Ned, I have those same thoughts when I eat oranges. I love you Ben and Heather.