Day 18: Massa Marittima

The weather is warm and sunny this morning for our expedition to the island of Elba. We drive to Piombino and get our tickets for the 11 am car ferry; the trip to the main town--Portoferraio--takes about an hour.

Once on the ferry we climb to the top deck to get some sun and sea air. Most of our fellow passengers are German tourists; Elba is very popular vacation destination for then. The sun is warm and I enjoy watching the mainland recede as we approach the island.

Elba is very hilly--there are actually three thousand foot mountains in the center of the island--and the coastline is made up of a series of picture book bays, some with pretty sand beaches. The main town--Portoferraio (this was once an iron mining center) is an attractive town of mostly pastel buildings climbing up from the large, almost circular harborThere is a fortress guarding the entrance to the harbor and there is still an operating fishing fleet. There are a lot of Napoleon-related historical sites here--this is where he was exiled after being removed as emperor. He lived here for nine months and, while not planning his campaign to return to power, gave some of his attention to improving the administration of the island.

Our plan is to spend about four hours driving around as much of the island as we can....there is a pretty extensive network of roads that both circle the coast line and also go into the interior. The island is about 20 miles long and 6 miles wide. Driving along the north coast, we are struck by how green the island is and how the resorts seem to be of a appealing size....small hotels and houses that seem to fit in with the landscape. The island also seems to be well maintained and the towns are pleasant and manageable. As we begin our drive, it turns overcast and when we reach the town of Marciana Marina and stop for lunch at a small bar with tables right on the water, we are hoping for the return of the sun. Even without the sun, we have a nice lunch--shrimp salad for Diana and a focaccia sandwich for me--watching the boats in the harbor and people watching.

Of course, just as we finish lunch and drive off, the sun comes out. Our route takes us inland and up to the hill town of Marciana, set on the slope of Mt. Capanne, the over 3,000 foot mountain at the center of the island. The road twists up the mountain side and there are gorgeous views of the north coast of Elba. They also have a cable car that climbs to the summit, but that will have to wait for our next visit to Elba. The hill town of Marciana is quite spectacularly sited and we stop to admire the views from some well placed parking areas.

The road continues back down to the coast and stays close to the shore on the western and southern sides of Elba, although the road climbs and dives regularly along the sides of the cliffs that come down to the water. There are some very nice strands of white sand beach mixed in with the rocky coastline. We are impressed by the number of bicycles out on the road; it is a major activity on the island. There are two or three more beautiful harbors along the southern shore that we visit before heading back to Portoferraio to catch the ferry. We have a little town to drive along the harbor, which has a nice pedestrian promenade. We stop for a gelato and take a look at the cruise ship that has docked since our arrival, before returning to the ferry for the return trip.

We are both favorably impressed Elba; the only negative is that the Italian presence on island, especially during the summer, is heavily outweighed by the German tourists. But it is certainly a physically beautiful place, with a combination of mountains, beaches and historical sites--it is not a one-dimensional resort island.

When we return to Massa, I take a walk around the neighborhood of the hotel. I discover a small trattoria--Il Pungolo--on the next street (I had seen signs for it, but I could never locate it). After checking the menu, we decide to eat there this evening. It is located on the ground floor of an apartment building but it is decorated vlery attractively with several small rooms. There is only one other table occupied (by two German women whom we had seen on two previous evenings at the restaurants where we had been eating) but the atmosphere is very cheerful and the waiter is very welcoming. We have one of our best meals of the trip tonight. The pastas are both exceptional--mine is tagliatelle alla Pungolo---with delicious mussels and fresh tomatoes--and Diana's is tagliatelle with a meat ragu--really savory. For seconds, Diana has a terrific veal and potato stew (spezzatino) and I have very good plate of swordfish carpaccio as well as a mixed vegetable sformato--a baked vegetable pudding studded with pieces of potato and carrot. We have a wonderful fresh white wine from the next town over, Valdipiana.

Another distinctive feature of Il Pungolo is the recorded American jazz they are playing. The waiter is tickled when I identify the recording (Jazz Samba with Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd). He then puts on a blues CD which I have to ask him to identify....it is by Keb Mo'. The bill for all this comes to less than $30.00--a terrific meal. No dessert and a short walk back to the hotel.

Diana and Jim

Day 17: Massa Marittima

[5/12/02: We are back home....we flew back yesterday (Saturday) but I am still a few reports behind. I plan to finish in the next few days. It was a terrific trip. Jim]


This morning we explore the centro storico of Massa Marittima. The weather is sunny as we drive the car down the hill and park in the very convenient lot just below the Duomo. The cathedral is as impressive inside as it is from the outside. The light is especially nice as it comes through the distinctive oval shaped clear windows behind the altar. There are some well preserved frescoes on the side walls and the whole interior decoration is more restrained than many cathedrals that we have visited.

Outside people are gathering--tourists and townspeople--for a demonstration of flag throwing by the town's flag throwing group. This is a special activity that is common to many Italian towns; it is a historic version of baton-twirling--large flags on weighted poles are unfurled, thrown into the air and caught before they hit the ground. Today's demonstration is to show off the brand new uniforms that the group has just received. The uniforms are rich purple and gold velvet medieval costumes, with all manner of gold decoration and pictures.

We take seats on the steps of the cathedral and watch as the group--flagwavers and medieval band--warms up and then stroll to the other side of the town to start the procession. The band creates a great sound and the procession is quite spectacular as the group files into the main square from the narrow street. The captain of the squad puts on an exhibition, where he starts by tossing one banner and works his way up to four at the time--using both arms and his legs to catch and throw the flags.

After that, we see a group demonstration, where eight flag throwers put on a show involving throwing flags to each other in an intricate routine. There are a few close calls, but none of the flags hit the pavement. Unfortunately, during the routine, the sky begins to cloud up and a steady drizzle ensues; fearful of damaging their new costumes, they quickly end the show and race for cover.



We head for the car and head out of town to explore the coast to the south of Massa Marittima. We drive through a peaceful green valley on a back road towards the sea and then take the coast road out of Follonica to two beach resorts--Punta Ala and Castiglione della Pescaia.

We are not able to see the water because of the thick pine forest--"la pineta"-- separates the road from the beach, but there are many paths that lead from the road, through the pine grove to the beach. The road heads inland and we catch our first glimpses--on this trip--of Italian prostitutes. They're from Africa and they are sitting?by themselves--on folding chairs in rest areas just off the road. We have seen them on previous trips on the roadside near factories or commercial strips, but this is on a Sunday afternoon on the road to the beach.

Punta Ala, the first beach resort that we come to, is organized like the beach resorts on Hilton Head and Kiawah Island. There are commericial areas, recreation areas, and housing and hotel areas, all radiating off a central road. Access to the water and the harbor are strictly controlled and preference is given to residents for preferred parking near the water.

We drive around a bit but are frustrated in our attempt to get a peek at the beach and waterfront. On our way out, we stop by the side of the road and take one of those paths through the pine wood to the beach. It is a very nice sandy beach, that stretches around the long bay for miles. The water is extremely clean and the beach is nicely kept-- one of the most pleasant waterfront stretches we have seen in Italy. We sit on the beach for a while and then head further south to the next resort--Castiglione della Pescaia.

Castiglione is a completely different type of resort....it was (and still is) a fishing village and has a walled "centro storico" on the hillside above the port. The waterfront and the new town adjacent to the water are very low key--there are some hotels and many restaurants. We park and stroll along the dock looking for a place to have lunch. We stop at a large restaurant-pizzeria which sits right on the beach and get a table with the view of the water. Diana orders a pizza, which is just okay, and I have a plate of spaghetti alle vongole--which is also just okay; it doesn't compare to the same dish that I had for lunch the day before. We share a caprese salad--the mozzarella tastes as if it were the fancier cheese that is made from water buffalo milk; I like it but the consistency is a bit wet for Diana. This lunch is not intended to be an eating adventure....we wanted to eat in a nice setting in a short time for not too much money.

After lunch, we walk down the beach and eat some gelato, sitting on a bench overlooking the water; on this trip, the big surprise in the gelato department has been the "limone"--it has been very tart and very refreshing.

We continue south along the coast, but the road veers away from the water, so after driving through a couple more towns, we decide to head back to Massa on the fast road. To pick up the fast road, we have to go to the provincial capital--Grosseto. I take the opportunity to take a quick spin around the center of town on this quiet Sunday afternoon. Grosseto is not considered much of a tourist attraction, but the town still has its walls surrounding the town and some pedestrian-only areas in the old town--it certainly doesn't look too bad.

We pick up the SS 1 (called the Via Aurelia) from the old Roman road system; it is a limited access highway on this stretch and we make the drive back to Massa Marittima (about 25 miles) in 20 minutes. Before climbing back up the hill to town, we stop at one of the odder tourist attractions we have seen in Italy (or elsewhere). The Center for the Saving of Turtles--known as CARAPAX, and its associated organization, the Center for the Saving of Storks are located on a back road between Massa M. and Follonica and they are open to visitors. This is an international volunteer organization that is trying to re-establish species of turtles and storks, as well as a local strain of donkey that is endangered. They also nurse sick turtles back to health. You walk about a mile from the main road to a series of ponds, green houses, and fenced off areas where the turtles are fed and protected until they are ready to be put back in the wild. You walk past these pens and look at the turtles; they are very difficult to spot on land; since those are the first areas you walk past, I had the feeling that this might be a gigantic rip-off. But the pools contain many turtles, a few swimming or climbing on the banks, but most of them just sitting there. Diana thinks this is a gigantic joke - like watching paint dry.

The stork area is more compelling. There is a large netted structure draped off a tall central pole that serves as an aviary for this specie of stork, whose migration pattern from Africa to Europe had been disturbed by changes in the enviroment. This area provided a safe haven for the birds as they re-establish the traditional migration route. The storks are something to see--flying inside and outside the aviary--as well as making their nests on pole top platforms. The local donkeys have the additional responsibility
of keeping wolves away from the storks and they add a large amount of noise to the refuge with their constant braying. All in all, a very odd tourist attraction.....

It has been a long day so we head out for dinner at 7:30; we go a large restaurant-pizzeria overlooking the valley called Le Mura (it is set in the city walls). We are not the only ones with the idea of eating early; the place is packed--and the only tables available are in the back, without a view. We take it....Dinner is very fast--the staff is very efficient. We have some very good pasta--large tortelli in butter and sage for Diana and pici (local fat pasta) with a tasty ragu for me. Diana has a bruschetta with olive oil and garlic to start; to us, it is very untraditional--it is made with one gigantic slice of bread. It looks like a big open faced sandwich and is not the most appealing version of bruschetta. I also have grilled sausages done on the open fire. The meal was pleasant and quite reasonable and we are satisfied to be heading back to the hotel for an early night.

Tomorrow we will take the ferry to Elba.

Diana and Jim

PS from Diana: As you've gathered, on some of Jim's excursions (up the tower, up and down some hills) and on some other occasions, I instead relaxed and read. May I highly recommend

--A Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch (a wondeful novel by a VA writer, about family, relationships and a father struggling to get to a better place),

--White Teeth by Zadie Smith (a big first novel that's been widely reviewed, so you probably know it, about three cultures and families in London), and

--The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (also widely reviewed, about NY Jewish comic books creators, the Holocaust, escape and the American dream).

Reading them added to making this a fine vacation.

Day 16: Massa Marittima

It rains all night in Massa Marittima....it is still raining when we get up, but by the time we finish breakfast and are ready to go out, the sun is out, but it is very windy and cold. We decide it is a good day to get in the car and visit some of the nearby towns; it is certainly not the day to take the ferry to Elba.

We drive directly to Follonica, a large and modern beach resort. There is nothing particularly picturesque about the town, but it doesn't appear to be one of those tacky beach towns. The sandy beach stretched for miles on both sides of town and they have preserved long stands of pine forest which guard the coast line. There are seemingly hundreds of hotels in town and along the beach.

We drive to the middle of town and park near the water to have a look around.....but the wind is so stiff that we have a hard time walking anywhere near the water. The water is quite rough and waves are pounding the waterfront docks We quickly get back in the car and take the road along the beach to the north. At one spot, we are surprised to see a "fleet" of windsurfers out in the water, going at very fast clips in the rough water....I guess the windy day is good for some things.

We poke along the coast towards the next town, Piombino....stopping once in a while to get a first hand look at the rough seas. For our trouble, we get a lot of sand blown in our face.

Piombino is a steel town...the approach to town is dominated by a large electric power plant and miles of steel plants--with smokestacks and gigantic piles of coal. It is also the main ferry port for going to the island of Elba, about five miles out in the Mediterranean. We stop at the main ferry terminal to get information about the schedules and the costs; even today, the ferries are running.

We stop in the "centro storico", which is a pedestrian-only area inside the old town walls. Most of Piombino was bombed heavily during World War II, but the small historical center seems to have survived. The other side of the "centro storico" opens onto the sea and there are nice places to sit and watch the water and look at Elba. A castle dominates the town--it has just been restored and opened as a archeological museum--and there is a small fishing port in a protected harbor at the foot of the town. I wouldn't say it will ever be a big tourist attraction, but it is a reasonably pleasant town. We notice a poster advertising a memorial service the next day, for those who were killed in German concentration camps during World War II.

It is still too windy to walk around too much, so we get back in the car and start driving out of town toward to the north--looking for a town that is supposedly the center of strawberry cultivation in the area. We have some difficulty leaving the town--we drive around the modern suburbs and beach areas to the north, but we do get some nice views of the water while we are trying to exit Piombino.

Enroute to the strawberries, we head for the town of Populonia and the Gulf of Baratti, a smaller harbor to the north of Piombino. This little harbor seems to be protected from the winds on the other side of the headland. When we get out of the car and walk along the water, we are amazed that the wind is just a breeze and the sun is warm. It is a very pretty little harbor with many boats, a grocery store, a bar and a restaurant. We decide to take advantage of the change in the weather and get a table outside on the terrace, overlooking the water.

The restaurant turns out to be very good--we have tasty bruschette, spaghetti with clams (which is the best of the trip) and penne with asparagus and gamberoni, which is also very good. It is even more amazing to think that we could be enjoying a pleasant lunch in an outdoor restaurant with the weather that we had seen just an hour before. We also have a nice exchange with the young Italian couple from Volterra, who are sitting at the next table. They give us some restaurants recommendations in the area and we talk about traveling in Italy--they go out of their way to speak slowly and clearly so that we can understand their Italian without difficulty.

After lunch, we continue driving up the coast. We drive through the big resort town of San Vincenzo--hotels stretching out for miles along the beach; one of Italy's best-known seafood restaurants is there--Gambero Rosso. We then turn inland and begin to climb to Castagneto Carducci, the strawberry town. It is a very pretty town, with views all around, but no strawberries are for sale anywhere. We continue on to Suvereto along one of the most winding roads that I have ever been on in Italy. We pass through some nice hill towns and there are great views from the road as it climbs up and down the hills; this is yet another scenic area.

We finally find some strawberries at a stand just outside Massa Marittima and they are very fresh and pretty tasty. We drive down to the center of town for dinner again--to a Slow Food recommended restaurant called Osteria da Tronca. It is another cave-like setting, with arches and exposed bricks. We are glad that we had called for reservations, because a sign in the door announces that they are full--"completo". I have a mixed plate of salami and prosciutto and a pasta with a rich tomato sauce and Diana has a plate of cheese served with whole pears and some tortelli. I also order a "sformato" of cardoons (a vegetable that is a cross between celery and an artichoke)--it is a like a pudding that is baked in the oven. It is tasty, but the portion is gigantic and I can barely make a dent in it. The food is good, but we are very tired so it is not memorable; we are ready to get the check quickly after finishing and go back to the hotel early. We are glad that the car is close by and the we don't have to walk up the hill back to the hotel.

NOTE: We think that the portions that we are being served--especially the pasta course--are much larger than on previous trips. So much for the rationalization that it's OK to eat multiple courses, since the portions are small. Oh well.

Diana and Jim

Day 15: Castelmuzio-Massa Marittima

It is hard to leave the villa and Castelmuzio, but today we are off to the far southwest corner of Tuscany--the area called the Maremma; we are staying in a hill town about 10 miles from the Mediterranean--Massa Marittima.

We say our goodbyes to Mark and Rebecca--they have been wonderful hosts; we tell them that we will be happy to "test-drive" any of their villas whenever they need us. We have one more errand before we leave the area--we want to stop in and buy some olive oil from Miriam's neighbor, Ruth McVey, who produces and sells her own oil. She is an American university professor who bought land in Montisi. Her oil was written up in Saveur Magazine about five years ago and we stopped to buy some then. On our way to her house, we see her driving the other way into Montisi so we turn around and catch up to her in town. She tells us that we can buy some oil from her associate, who is back at her house. We return and buy three liters of beautiful, thick green oil....

The drive to Massa Marittima goes through a very picturesque section of Tuscany; it is more wooded than the Pienza area, but it is very green and hilly. It is not very populated; the towns are few and far between.

The weather today has turned overcast and slightly cool. We are planning to have a picnic so we are looking for two things--the sun and a picnic table. Miraculously, as we hit the top of a hill, there is fenced off area with three picnic tables at the side of the road. We stop there, figuring we can't wait for the sun; who knows if there will be any more picnic tables down the road? Lunch is very pleasant, even with the overcast sky--bread, cheese, ham, salami, tomatoes, fruit....all in our own private picnic grove.

There is one important tourist attraction on the road to Massa Marittima....the deserted abbey of San Galgano. After one wrong turn--taking us about five miles in the wrong direction--we find the abbey. It is a roofless church from the 15th century, that was abandoned in the 17th century and became a ruin. It had been the seat of a very rich order, which had connections with the Sienese government. Now it sits quietly and mysteriously in the middle of a field, waiting for the few tourists who come this way. It is pretty impressive to see and to walk around. There is also another church, still in use, on the top of a nearby hill, It contains the sword of San Galgano, which he plunged into a rock in the 14th century as a symbol of his renouncing the material and warlike world and taking holy orders. It is also noteworthy because of its unusual octagonal dome and for some 15th century frescoes.

The gray skies give way to a steady drizzle as we continue to Massa Marittima. It is a very pleasant drive, up and down the scenic green hills. We approach Massa M. from the back; it sits on a the slope of a hill facing the Mediterranean. As we climb the hill, the vista stretches all the way to the water. We find the signs pointing us to our hotel, the Residence La Fenice, and locate it without difficulty.

The hotel has been open for less than a year; our room--actually a suite--is on the top floor. There is a separate living room with a kitchenette and a sloping roof with exposed beams. The ceilings also have skylights, so even with the gloomy overcast, the rooms are quite bright. It is also very nicely furnished with lots of wood and wrought iron. Once we are settled, I go out to check out the town. I walk towards the centro storico, which you enter through the old Sienese walls. Once through the wall, I am taken aback by the street that leads into the town; it is a very steep ramp that drops off sharply for about 100 yards. It is not a hill one will want to tackle after dinner and a bottle of wine.

Once down in the center of town, the main piazza and surrounding streets are fairly level. The main piazza is particularly striking, with an impressive cathedral set high on a platform over the square and other medieval buildings arranged on all sides of the piazza. All the angles are slightly irregular, giving the piazza a very distinctive feel. The raised platform adjacent to the cathedral serves as a stage for open air operas in the summer and the steps serve as seating for watching the passing scene in the piazza. You also have wonderful views over the countryside from some spots on the square. I also note, with some relief, that there are several parking areas just below the center of town, so driving down to town for dinner shouldn't present a problem.

The climb back up to the hotel convinces me, beyond any doubt, that we will be driving to dinner. I pick a restaurant out of the Slow Food Guide--the Vecchio Borgo--and call to make reservations. When it is time for dinner, we drive right down and park in the central parking lot. We stroll around town for short time, but the weather is getting nasty so we head for the restaurant.

It is already quite crowded- I am glad to have called to make the reservation. The restaurant iss all brick and stone, with rounded ceilings and heavy wood furniture. We order the speciality of the restaurant--the "gran misto antipasto". This is an endless series of dishes--both hot and cold--which is a sampler of all their appetizers. We eat them all with relish--the best is a carpaccio with a very savory dressing, but everything is very good. I order the local tortelli alla maremma--filled with ricotta and sauced with a meat ragu--and Diana has the ravioli with a walnut pesto. No dessert--we are too full. The wine was a hearty red from a neighboring town.

We walk back through the square, admire the cathedral in the night light, get in our car and climb the hill (the easy way) back to the hotel.

Diana and Jim

Day 14: Castelmuzio

Today we have an appointment to meet the owner of one of the properties I have used near Pienza, so we are rushing to get there on time. We decide to take advantage of the kitchen in the villa, as well as the access to fresh eggs from Rebecca's and Mark's chickens. However, we don't take into account the time it will take to figure out how to use the coffee maker and electic kettle, how to turn on the stove and where all the ingredients for breakfast are kept. So we are a bit rushed--but the eggs do taste good. I needed help from Mark to unseat the hen who was jealously guarding her cache of eggs. (It turns out that both the coffeemaker and the kettle have plugs that don't match the sockets; Rebecca gives us a proper adapter when we mention our difficulty.)

We drive to the property, right past the church of Sant'Anna di Camprena--one of the locations in the film The English Patient--to the farm property called Le Cretaiole. This property also has one of those priceless views, over the rolling hills to the town of Pienza about five kilometers away. Isabella, the owner who speaks English, is late and we spend some time talking to Carlo, her husband, in Italian. When our Italian runs out, we sit on a lawn glider and enjoy the panorama. When Isabella arrives, we talk about the travel business a little and have a look at one of the rooms; she tells us about the activities that they organize for their guests and we take some brochures. I think that I will have more clients interested in staying here.

We then move on to Pienza, where we have stayed twice in the past; it is one of our favorite towns to visit. I also recommend to it to clients who want a convenient and beautiful base in southern Tuscany. Things have changed somewhat since our last visit; the square just outside the walls--where we used to park--is now reserved only for residents and there is a new, pay parking lot a few steps from the walls of the town.

Pienza still has that beautiful look--the old brown stone buildings, the narrow gently-curving main street, the side streets with neat houses all sporting window boxes overflowing with flowers. The main piazza, with the cathedral and palazzo, still looks as it did in 1500. The walk in back of the town still has the gorgeous view over the valley to the mountains in the distance. It does seem that there are more shops selling local food specialities--principally the sheep's milk cheese (pecorino) that Pienza is famous for. And there also appear to be more restaurants.....

There are a couple of tour buses full of Americans--this is on a Thursday morning, but the town is certainly not overcrowded...as it can get on holidays and weekends. It has become a popular destination for Italians out for a day trip. We buy some bread for lunch at the bakery we have been to the past; the bread still looks as good as we remember. We also buy one of the famous cheeses--after some samples to choose which age cheese we prefer--and some prosciutto and salami (made of boar) to go with the bread. We also visit the very good bookshop in the town, which has a nice selection--even a number of books in English. We sit for a while on the promenade and drink in the view before heading back to the villa for our lunch. Pienza still is a very attractive town and I am sure we will come back again in the future.

Driving back to Castelmuzio, the sky darkens and rain appears on the horizon. We hope to be able to eat outside but the rain starts too quickly, so we have to move our picnic indoors. It still tastes very good.

Later in the afternoon, we get in the car and start driving in the countryside. We drive past Montisi and Trequanda (the neighboring towns) and then decide to go to Lucignano, a village to the north and east, which is known for its unusual urban design. The street plan is made up of concentric circles, which narrow towards the center. This plan results in four piazzas on each slope of the hill. The commercial area is concentrated in the outermost ring. The walls of the town are virtually complete and there are good views over the plain on all sides. It is yet another one of those attractive Italian towns--which the country seems to have an unending supply of. After a walk around the town and some window shopping, we stop for a gelato before heading back to Castelmuzio.

One interesting feature of the countryside in this area is that we discover a number of roadside picnic tables, perched along the road at places with particularly nice views. Something that sometimes frustrates us is trying to find an appropriate place for a picnic while we are driving. In the Val d'Orcia, this doesn't appear to be a problem.

Back in Castelmuzio, I take a walk around the village and discover that there is a bar, a newstand, and a small supermarket....all of which had been closed on the holiday yesterday. The hotel and restaurant in the middle of town is going through a change of ownership, so this large building in the heart of the village is closed. While walking back through one of the town parking lots, I see a tractor pulling a large wagon (it turns out to be a portable kitchen that had been used for the community Easter dinner). They can't get past a car parked in the lot. They ask me if it is my car and I have to tell them that it isn't. They are very frustrated and very determined to get the wagon through. I stop and watch for a while; the men are trying to lift the car and move it just enough for the wagon to squeeze through. When we go to get the car to go to dinner, both the car and the wagon are gone.

For dinner tonight, we are meeting our friend from the Italian forum on Compuserve, Miriam Margolyes. She has a house just outside the village of Montisi and is now in Italy shooting a program for the BBC about Tuscan houses. The restaurant is in Trequanda, about 8 kilometers (five miles) from the villa and we arrive a little early. We walk from the parking lot to the center and locate the restaurant, Il Conte Matto (the Mad Count). Miriam hasn't arrived yet, so we sit in the main square, watch the last merchants from the weekly market close up their stalls and enjoy the arrival of twilight. It is also interesting to watch these big trucks and vans easily negotiate the very narrow and winding streets of the village--something that I still find difficult in a normal sized car. We also direct a party of nine Norwegians to the restaurant.

Miriam arrives, along with the television crew (they are all staying at her house in Montisi and they eat together every night.) We have a very nice dinner and have interesting discussions with Miriam, the director and some of the crew about the project. It is a wonderful evening. It is always fun to get together with Miriam and spending time with the television crew is an extra bonus. The food at Il Conte Matto was also very good--I had parpardelle with a boar ragu followed by "fritto misto toscano"--fried meats and vegetables and Diana had a filet with pepper sauce and an unremembered pasta. A very nice evening.......

We drive back to Castelmuzio and walk to the villa from the parking lot...the stars are not as bright tonight as they had been the night before.

Diana and Jim

Day 13: Lerici-Castelmuzio

We have our last Doria Park breakfast on this trip. Before we leave the hotel, Luigi takes us up to the roof of the hotel where they are now working on five new suites. They should be ready for use this summer. They will have large terraces and jacuzzis; Luigi is very excited about having these new, spacious rooms to rent. We take one last drive through the town, but we can't find any place to park, so we head out towards Tuscany. We drive on the back road along the Magra River for a while and stop to buy some produce at one of the many farm stands that are selling fresh fava beans and strawberries. The strawberries are very ripe, with a lovely texture.

We pass a park on the seashore where we see a sign for a picnic for the Communist Party....they are having their May Day celebration.

It is a very fast trip on the autostrada to Florence where we pick up the superstrada (free) to Siena. We get off and take some back roads to our next stop in Castelmuzio, a small village about 45 minutes south of Siena. This area of Tuscany is stunningly beautiful. The land is less forested and the terrain is more gentle than in Chianti--the hills seem to undulate and the vistas are wide and deep. In early May, most of the hills are a vivid green and it is a pleasure just to drive along the winding roads taking in new views at every turn. Sometimes, when driving on a ridge, you get these kind of views in both directions.

The landscape is also dotted with a number of small hill towns which provide a brown contrast to the green fields.....often, you see four or five of these villages at the same time.

Castelmuzio is one of these small towns. We have become friendly with Mark and Rebecca Abouzeid--he is American and she is Australian; they have lived in Castelmuzio with their two young daughters for about four years. They have a internet villa and apartment rental business called InTuscany.net that they run out of their home. My clients have rented some of the wonderful properties that they represent. They also make olive oil from their own trees. They have invited us to stay in the newly-restored villa on their property--they did the interior design themselves and much of the work--before they begin renting it out. For a look at the villa, go to http://www.intuscany.net/villas/villa_nell_oliveto.htm

Their property is just outside the village walls and has one of those fantastic views. To the south, you can see Pienza, the Val d'Orcia and Monte Amiata in the distance. To the north, you see the village of Montisi and its countryside. The new villa, which sleeps ten, is not quite finished--they have asked us to test drive it and let them know what is still needed--but it is everyone's dream of a villa...tile floors, beamed ceilings, beautiful views from all the windows, a terrace, modern baths, space to eat outside. They have just finished installing a large pool, where you can swim and enjoy the views at the same time.

We spend the afternoon sitting near the pool, watching the children swim and catching up with Mark and Rebecca. The weather is also beautiful--the sun is shining and makes the countryside sparkle. I take a short stroll in the village but everything is closed today because of the May Day holiday.

They have invited us to dinner tonight so we go over to their house about eight and have a glass of wine sitting in their dream kitchen, while Rebecca gets dinner ready. Dinner is informal--pasta with a spicy parsley sauce, grilled sausages and salad- served in their spacious dining room. They are very hospitable and we are having a very good time.

After dinner, we walk back across the property and are amazed at the brightness of the many stars in the night sky.

Jim and Diana

Day 12: Lerici

The sun is shining this morning so our plans to take the boat to the Cinque
Terre are a go. After another wonderful Doria Park breakfast, we walk down
to the dock and buy our tickets for the boat. When I ask for tickets to
Vernazza, our favorite of the five towns, the clerk tells me that the sea is
too rough for landings at Vernazza and the boat will only be stopping at the
largest town, Monterosso. If we want to go to Vernazza, we will have to
walk or take the train.

The hour and a half boat trip is extremely pleasant. We stop at the
entrance to the Gulf of La Spezia--Portovenere, a very striking town with a
tall row of colored
buildings overlooking the harbor, a long boat harbor and an impressive
church set out on the rocks at the narrow mouth of the harbor. Soon we are
cruising along the Cinque Terre coast, with its olive groves and vineyards
planted on what seem to be impossibly steep grades. In addition to the
five towns, there are smaller villages scattered on the cliff sides--they
seem to defy gravity hanging on the sides of the hill.

We pass the first four villages and go in close to the rocky shore for
better views. At times, we can see the hikers walking along the trail half
way up the cliff face and once in a while, we see the train as it emerges
from the tunnels that have been blasted into the rock for its trackbed. The
sun is shining brightly, the water is a beautiful blue--a great ride.

We dock in Monterosso and immediately head for the railroad station to see
when the next train to Vernazza will leave. There is one scheduled in
fifteen minutes, so we buy our tickets and wait on the platform for the
train to come. Two trains come into the station at the same time and
somehow I have misread the schedule; we are waiting on the wrong track. We
run to the other track and jump on the right train just as it starts
moving--a close call. Vernazza is only minutes away and we hop off the
train and walk down into the town.

We have heard how crowded the Cinque Terre has become but thought it was
worst on weekends. But on this Tuesday afternoon, the main (only) street in
town is wall to wall with people. They are milling around, eating lunch,
shopping, strolling up and down, finishing their hikes, getting ready to
take their hikes--they are everywhere. We also note that there is not only
an internet cafe but a self-service laundromat--a far cry from the somewhat
sleepy town we had first visited in 1993. We make our way down to the
waterfront and walk around the rocks for a while....the town is still very
attractive and it is not hard to understand why so many people are there.
But it is not the same with wall to wall tourists.....

We've done the walks in the past and are just looking for a relaxing
afternoon in town. We decide to eat lunch on the main piazza, overlooking
the harbor, at Gambero Rosso, which has gotten very good write-ups in guide
books. We get a table quickly (one was vacated by a young couple who never
ordered--we
speculate that either they couldn't get a waiter's attention or the place
was too pricey for
them). The restaurant is crowded--there is a table of twelve German
tourists, who are keeping the one waiter that we see very busy. But a
second, very charming waiter saves the day....it is amazing how little
effort it takes for a waiter to ingratiate himself.

We eat very well and enjoy the unending passing parade of people walking
from town to the harbor and vice-versa. We have some local
specialities--Diana starts with tortelli with a very fresh and sparkling
pesto sauce and I have something called mes-ciua, a soup of various grains
and a delicate broth. For seconds, Diana has a composed dish of potatoes,
tomatoes and fresh anchovies, while I have a delicious plate of La Spezia
stuffed mussels--cozze ripieno. For dessert, I get a very good panna
cotta, with a chocolate sauce. We drink a local Cinque Terre white which
goes down very easily.

Lunch is a big success...we have a good time and enjoy the food very much.
It has been very leisurely so we head back to the station to get the train
for La Spezia. We have decided not to take the boat back, but will catch a
bus in La Spezia back to Lerici. Diana stops on the way at the bakery and
has the same type of walnut cake that she had on our previous visits....it
is still very good.

The station is packed with people going in both directions. Just before the
train is supposed to arrive, we hear an announcement that our train is
running about 25 minutes late. We tell this to some puzzled Americans on
the platform and decide to sit down and wait for the train. In spite of
the crowds, we have enjoyed our visit to Vernazza but think that this may
well be our last trip to Vernazza, unless we come in the off season.

The train finally comes and we are in La Spezia ten minutes later.....the
train spends most of its time in tunnels so there are no views of the water,
except when the train stops at the other Cinque Terre town stations. Once
in La Spezia, we find the bus stop for Lerici but we miss the first bus
because we don't have any bus tickets. (In fact, we could have jumped on
and made it without tickets; the inspectors on these buses are few and far
between.) We only have to wait for fifteen minutes for the next bus and
the trip to Lerici takes about 30 minutes. The bus makes a long circuit
through the city of La Spezia, passes the large naval yard and port area,
and goes through the beach town of San Terenzo before arriving in Lerici.
Very convenient.....

Before going back to the hotel, we stop in the wine and olive oil store that
we have gone to on previous visits. On both occasions, we had nice
discussions with the proprietor and he was very gracious giving us short
courses in olive oil and balsamic vinegar before we bought. After we show
him my card, he remembers us and we have another pleasant chat--in a mixture
of Italian and English--about politics in Italy and the introduction of the
Euro. We buy a couple of bottles of the Cinque Terre sweet
wine--schiacchetra'--for presents and a few bars of olive oil soap.

We only have about thirty minutes before Luigi, our friend from the Doria
Park, comes to pick us up for dinner. We are heading to Palmaria, the
island just across from Portovenere. You have to get to the restaurant by
launch from Portovenere. We drive to Portovenere, walk around, and have an
apertif at a cafe on the waterfront....as well as a nice array of snacks.
The boat ride to the restaurant takes about ten minutes. The restaurant is
a very attractive building with a covered porch with windows looking over
the water towards Portovenere. The light is wonderful as the sun is
setting.

We order the house specialty, the antipasto di mare. We get an endless
series of dishes with all manner of seafood--fritters, mussels, fried squid,
shrimp, marinated anchovies as well as some non-seafood dishes, like fried
rice balls. It is all delicious. There is so much to eat that we agree
that we can only order one more dish each--either a pasta or a secondo.
Luigi and I share two pastas--one with asparagus and shrimp and the other
with a red seafood sauce and mixed seafood. The asparagus pasta is the
better of the two. Diana has a grilled gamberoni dish, which is tasty but
difficult to deal with cracking the shells and getting the meat out. No one
has room for dessert. We agree that the antipasto was the high point of the
meal and that it would be nice to return to the restaurant in the summer
when one can eat out on the terrace.

We have to wait about 15 minutes for the launch to come and then the drive
back to Lerici takes about thirty minutes. We have had an extremely
pleasant evening with Luigi; we enjoyed the food and the company very much.

We are very glad that we decided to come back to Lerici....it is really one
of our favorite places in Italy.

Jim and Diana