Day 16 * Exploring a Tuscan village and countryside * 4/6/08

We woke at about 6 with birds singing merrily, but dropped back off to sleep to find us reawakening at 8.30. Showers, breakfast, talk and then it was off for a walk around the village and surrounding area. Katy told us much about everything and was an excellent guide. The walk took us up to the winery of the brand we drank for dinner last night. Fascinating seeing lizards just sitting in the sun. Then it was back to the village and up to the top with a view of the old monastery being converted into apartments, and also the estate of the one and only Sting, and Grant’s employers hotel. On the way we stopped at a place that breeds tortoises in their backyard.
Katy and Grant’s dealings with Italian bureaucracy seemed amazing & funny now, but not during the whole process, but then they’ve perfected their systems over many centuries and as Katy observed, despite the frustration of how many bits of paper they seemed to want, it was always easier than trying to argue the point, because the officials would just put up the shutters.
Then back home for a lunch of buffalo mozarella and tomato, olive oil and basil, and a nana nap. Haven’t had a lot of chance for those.
After the nap and afternoon tea, it was off for a bit of an explore, picking up a rental car from Tiripelli Motors where we experienced first hand how the Italian lifestyle and love of bureaucracy worked, and we ended up at Montevarchi at the Ipercoop doing the shopping thing. It was rather like The Warehouse gone big and mad with supermarket and everything else besides.
Back to Figline through he Italian rush hour traffic, which wasn’t so bad once you realised what the rules were, & found a park near the station. Then we walked around the town for a wee while, saw the lovely town square with the house that referred to Marsello Ficino the Italian renaissance philosopher, and then headed to the station to pick up Grant coming back from a training session in Venice. Driving back through Figline I noticed a street named after Antonio Gramsci, a modern philosopher who tried to humanise Marxism for Italy.
Back at Ponte Agli Stolle it was BBQ time with chicken, steak and sausage, with Sofia performing as a wee tired lady in the background. Dinner was very pleasant but then it was ten o’clock and Denise started to nod off so for us – time for bed, and another happy day in this Tuscan paradise.