Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Siena and Twilight in Volterra
We had another long day of driving all over Tuscany. We headed to Central Tuscany - Siena which was beautiful. Legend has it that Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus, the symbol of the wolf feeding the twins, Romulus and Remus. We spent half our morning exploring the main square, Piazza Del Campo & Palazzo Comunale. Siena is quite unique and charming with it's Etrusian tombs. We dined for lunch at Osteria Da Divo which is 3 levels, the lower two set amid Etrusian tombs. It was a welcome relief from the heat. It has been unseasonably warm in Tuscany and I have been attacked by mosquitos, Russell not so much. Our appetizer was rolled zucchini filled with fresh Pecorini cheese from Pianza and flavored with kale served on a small cake of brown red onions. It was unbelievably good along with the lasagna. We will definitely miss the food and I have gained no less than 10 lbs. I will miss my geleteria's on every street and street corner. There are no Starbucks or Peets here and it was only in Siena at a coffee shop called Illy that I was able to get a cappuchino to go, which was quite the treat for me.
From Siena we headed to Volterra which for any of you Twilight movie buffs (Russell and I have not personally read or seen the series) was set here because it is a well preserved medieval town perfect for vampires, the premise of the book series. Volterra is north of Siena which was about an hour and a half drive. Again, Russell mastered driving on the narrowing roads driving around 120 (kilometers that is, approximately 50 mph). Russell was actually quite a slow driver, we got passed a lot. I did my best to stay awake during our road trips but I just can't . Volterra is a lot smaller and less touristy than the 53,900 population of Siena. Volterra's population is approximately 11,200 so it was quite refreshing to visit. It sits high on a hill with stunning views at twilight. We ate at an interesting ristorante called Don Beta. I felt like the buffalo mozzarella cheese pizza while Russell feasted on wild boar (which was good and tasted like steak).
We headed back to Spannochia which I did manage to stay awake for the majority of our journey. We have gotten lost a little but all-in-all we've done fairly well. It didn't help that my Garmin Nuvi didn't work even though I bought the Italy map chip to download. We had to rely on various maps.
We checked out this morning and met one of the interns (Sarah from Michigan) who is doing a volunteer program for 3 months at Spannochia. It's unfortunate we came late in the season because just as we arrived most of the families were leaving. There are approximately 15 rooms in the main house where we were staying, then they have farmhouses if you stay more than a few days. Sarah went to school to be a dietician then decided to go to culinary school. She did say that the pigs are not slaughtered on-site since there are specific protocols to be followed since they sell their meat . I also asked her if Spannochia is haunted (I dont know how it can't be, it's so old) and indeed she shared a story of a haunting by a woman that has been seen. There was another intern who apparently heard the former owner (from centuries ago) calling for one of his workers all night, and it scared him so much he couldn't sleep. The next night he slept with his headphones and music on. I am very happy we did not experience this during our stay. This is why I refused to blog at night in the computer room which was a maze of turns and pitch black from our room. But it really was a nice stay. We were lucky to have experienced a 5 star hotel, a bed and breakfast, both downtown Florence, and a unique farmhouse bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Siena.
Today, Tuesday, October 4th we drove to a nice winery in the Chianti region called Il Mulino di Grace on our way back to Florence. We also had a great lunch in Panzano.
We are up early tomorrow morning to catch a 6:30 am flight.
See you all soon.
From Siena we headed to Volterra which for any of you Twilight movie buffs (Russell and I have not personally read or seen the series) was set here because it is a well preserved medieval town perfect for vampires, the premise of the book series. Volterra is north of Siena which was about an hour and a half drive. Again, Russell mastered driving on the narrowing roads driving around 120 (kilometers that is, approximately 50 mph). Russell was actually quite a slow driver, we got passed a lot. I did my best to stay awake during our road trips but I just can't . Volterra is a lot smaller and less touristy than the 53,900 population of Siena. Volterra's population is approximately 11,200 so it was quite refreshing to visit. It sits high on a hill with stunning views at twilight. We ate at an interesting ristorante called Don Beta. I felt like the buffalo mozzarella cheese pizza while Russell feasted on wild boar (which was good and tasted like steak).
We headed back to Spannochia which I did manage to stay awake for the majority of our journey. We have gotten lost a little but all-in-all we've done fairly well. It didn't help that my Garmin Nuvi didn't work even though I bought the Italy map chip to download. We had to rely on various maps.
We checked out this morning and met one of the interns (Sarah from Michigan) who is doing a volunteer program for 3 months at Spannochia. It's unfortunate we came late in the season because just as we arrived most of the families were leaving. There are approximately 15 rooms in the main house where we were staying, then they have farmhouses if you stay more than a few days. Sarah went to school to be a dietician then decided to go to culinary school. She did say that the pigs are not slaughtered on-site since there are specific protocols to be followed since they sell their meat . I also asked her if Spannochia is haunted (I dont know how it can't be, it's so old) and indeed she shared a story of a haunting by a woman that has been seen. There was another intern who apparently heard the former owner (from centuries ago) calling for one of his workers all night, and it scared him so much he couldn't sleep. The next night he slept with his headphones and music on. I am very happy we did not experience this during our stay. This is why I refused to blog at night in the computer room which was a maze of turns and pitch black from our room. But it really was a nice stay. We were lucky to have experienced a 5 star hotel, a bed and breakfast, both downtown Florence, and a unique farmhouse bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Siena.
Today, Tuesday, October 4th we drove to a nice winery in the Chianti region called Il Mulino di Grace on our way back to Florence. We also had a great lunch in Panzano.
We are up early tomorrow morning to catch a 6:30 am flight.
See you all soon.
Monday, October 3, 2011
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