Along the way we stopped at the UNESCO heritage site of San Gimignano. At one time there were 72 towers in this town and today 14 remain. The towers were built to show the economic and political power of the two ruling families of the day but in 1255 the 'town council' ruled no more towers were to be built. As with many other hilltop fortresses the views were stunning and the architecture amazing. Narrow alley ways and beautiful barred windows with flowers were everywhere. What caught our eye (and ears) were the artists around every corner. The young man pictured below was playing and the music filled every crevice of the piazza around him and beyond. We bought a CD and look forward to playing it when we get home to remind us of our time here.
We have had a bit of pizza since arriving but the pizza we bought in San Gimignano has been the BEST! We waited in a long line (always a sign of good food) at a little takeout and sat on a stone step in the narrow streets enjoying the fresh taste of tomato and the crispy thin crust. It was GOOD!
As we are heading into the countryside where there are no stores we stopped in the little village of Colle di Val D'elsa to pick up enough groceries for our three days at Ripostena Country House. The drive there was beautiful along narrow winding up and down roads through a canopy of trees. WE saw many old stone ruins and many larger stone estates along the way and the last bumpy, steep hill took us to our next stop.
Casa Vecchia means "old house" and #8 will be our home for the next few days. There are several stone houses on the property and all them were occupied when we arrived. The old farm from the 1300'swas restored in the 1980's and they have done a terrific job of leaving the terra cotta floors and wooden beamed ceilings intact.
There is a lovely infinity pool here and the weather was nice so Bob headed straight for the pool. The water was not heated and I am sad to say I was the only one who didn't take a dip (very unusual for me!). We sauntered the grounds while we waited for dinner. We all agree that eating a four course meal at 8:00 in the evening is not sitting well with us. However, the dinner last night was amazing. From the fresh bruschetta, the AMAZING carbonara spaghetti, the juicy and tender roast beef, the peas cooked with herbs and garlic to the bottle of wine and the almond biscotti. We stumbled home and fell into bed spending the night digesting both the beauty of the place and that amazing meal. A lot of reading, a bit of picture-taking and the most amazing sunset left us all feeling relaxed and grateful.
Buono notte!
Emma and Galen were recently in the South of France. Emma said she didn't really feel like she was on holiday until they left Marseille, a fairly large and bustling port city, and settled for a good week in the countryside.
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