Villa

Saturday September 30th

We found the Villa after a short drive and arrived here at 11:00. The owner Paolo was there but we were not able to check in as they were still cleaning. The Villa is in a magnificent location, on a hill and surrounded by olive groves and vineyards as far as the eye can see. To pass the time we went in to a nearby town, Montesportoli, and did a bit of preliminary grocery shopping, Essentials like wine and bread and beer and snacky stuff and then we sat and had lunch at a very nice little patio. Una was trying to find a place to get her bangs trimmed and the young waitress at the restaurant, which was owned by her mother, volunteered to take her there so off we went to the hairdresser where Una got tidied up.

We then headed back to the Villa and met with Paolo who explained what needed explaining, took our 500 euro deposit and off he went. By this time we are talking to Peter and Penny by cell phone. They had met up with Celia & Iain in Pisa earlier and were now attempting to locate the Villa, not an easy task as Peter had downloaded information on the wrong Villa we discovered later. Anyway it all worked out and they showed up just after 5:00. The Villa is even better than I imagined. Beautifully decorated and furnished, entirely authentic throughout but with all the amenities. Fridge, gas stove, washing machine, dishwasher, microwave. 2 full bathrooms with showers, a lovely big kitchen with a farmhouse table seating 6. A lovely sitting area upstairs with a 40 inch plasma TV with satellite, DVD player and stereo. Outside a huge in-ground swimming pool, a nice seating area with a big table shaded by a canvas gazebo and a stone built barbecue. We are delighted with the place and spent last night sitting out grazing on bread and cheese, and a whole smorgasbord of nibbles we had bought, including sun dried tomatoes, and olives soaked in orange juice. All washed down with several bottles of local wine. A very enjoyable evening with all kinds of conversations and reminisces. Outside the pool is lit up and there are lights surrounding the property. It cooled a bit to the point a sweater and long pants was needed but none the less still a very nice night.

Sunday October 1st

Another gorgeous day. We breakfasted outside, on coffee and toast, cereal and bananas and then, leaving Una and Penny behind, we headed off on a shopping expedition to replenish the exhausted wine supply and get some groceries in. We headed to Montespertoli where we had shopped yesterday only to find it closed being Sunday. A young couple directed us to a small store which was open but it had limited selection. It did however have some lovely ham and fresh bread and a bit of a bargain in local wine...we picked up a 10 litre box for 17 euros...about $25. Not sure how long it will last but I doubt it will see Monday night...

Back in our local village we discovered a very nice restaurant with gorgeous views over the surrounding countryside and so we booked a table for 7 o'clock tonight. It's been a lazy day, just what we needed. Una got some laundry done and I'm sure suitcase will appreciate having a respite from it's owner's soiled smelly clothes.

Tomorrow we are heading for some sightseeing at nearby San Giminagno and if I can find an internet cafe I will post this to the blog with some pics of the Villa. I may even try and get a guest journalist to contribute something for a change of pace for those that might be tiring of my pedestrian literary style.

OK, Peter here, tapping away on my own laptop. Must underline what Brian said about this villa - it's fantastic. We have views onto vineyards and olive groves laid out on sloping hills with castellated churches and houses on the hilltops. Today we have the sound of nature broken only by the sound of the church bells chiming and the occasional gunshot as some local bags dinner. Tonight we eat at the local restaurant in Lucardo where we have reserved a table for 6 overlooking a magnificent Tuscan valley. Didn't check out the menu this morning as I had left my glasses in the villa, but Iain says it's pretty comprehensive with rabbit and pheasant. More on the meal at Brian's next posting.

Iain taking over now and I have just calculated that given the price of the local plonk, it may just be cheaper to leave the girls here for the winter and pick them up next spring. It seems the ideal place to hibernate and given the price of the wine it should be quite easy to achieve! Concur with the previous comments about the villa. It is truly excellent with amazing views and gives the feeling of being real Italian.

Briefly, before we leave this Monday morning for our excursion to San Giminagno, the meal last night was wonderful, wonderful. Peter had Osso Buco, Celia and I some kind of lovely stew...Una and Penny had ravioli filled with ricotta and covered with a walnut sauce...everything was absolutely the best and very reasonable....the house wine (a chianti obviously) was 7 euros a bottle! The restaurant was called C'era Una Volta...which translates to Once upon a time. Of course we had to get a plate because the name is written on the bottom and as we left we toured the spotless kitchen and chatted with the cooks. We offered to buy a plate and were presented with one for free. This place is so good we have booked again for tonight...our barbecue night will have to wait...

Ciao...