Villa Cappeta, Monte San Savino, Arezzo, Tuscano, Italy
Oct 8 Saturday
I had to get to the Pisa airport to pick up a rental car. So, I walked out of the hotel, straight down the street to the train station, boarded the 8:33 to Pisa central station, got off, walked 30 yards, caught a bus to the airport, caught the shuttle to the rental cars and was on the road in about a hour and twenty minutes for the grand cost of $4. Well, really it was free as BoBo gave me his unused ticket. I LOVE GOOD PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Back at the hotel it was raining pretty hard so I loaded Walt, Helen, Jesse (inventor of Modern Vespa forum) and Rachael and drove them to the train station. Getting all of them and their luggage in the car was not as big a challenge as I thought it would be.
Glad we had turned in the scooter because the rain got pretty heavy. Vicki and I loaded up and headed for Monte San Savino, my second home. We stopped into to Elisabetta to restock with their great wine enroute and arrived a Villa Cappeto around 3 PM.
the town of monte san savino
man
Manuela meeting us with olive oil. that is their house on the left and ours on the right
The next day arrived Vicki Bennett and Rich Luker of 16th Ave N and Ashville. Rich's job is very intensive and Vicki had just come off about to months of intense artist stuff, like teaching, fashion shows. etc. and like us were just as happy to have a low key week, as we were, so that is what it has been. Laying around in front of the fire reading books, walking, a little shopping, some eating and lots of wine. The weather has helped keep this profile as one moment it is sunny and bright and then next it is raining. We are told this has been going on all summer which has greatly confused the grapes and olives.
books, fire and my friend Spotty
Delta decided that Vicki and Rich's luggage should not travel with them. So Vicki was looking for a sweater so, despite most things being closed on Monday our favorite coffee shop owner, rounded up a clothing store owner to help Vicki with a sweater to no avail though.
shopping at the coop
this is market day. the wall that rich is leaning on is usually occupied by old itlain men waiting in the sun for their wifes. today just a lone American waiting for his wife.
lunch in Cortona. that is called tomato soup
If you ever saw Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane you would have seen a fountain in this square built just for the movie. It was there for many years but now has been returned to the original configuraton.
the "no" is in English because 99% of the language you hear in Cortona is American
this was a great art display of shoes made of paper. Vicki B bought a small shoe made of antique music score for her jazz musician son and his art teacher wife. The artist even built a piece of art box for it to go in.
rich is a avivd softball player in the old guys league in St. Pete and he was staying shape running wind sprints and practicing moves with spotty
I was not there to capture the sprint that took his face to meet the ground.
where the dead people live
A few years back a new restaurant opened in San Savino called le Bindi http://www.lebindi.it/
It has been a hit every since. It is one big table for 20, fixed menu, $27 plus wine. There are only two employees, Paul and his daughter Cristina. She is the chef and he is the server and chief explainer of the dishes. Dinner started at 8 and was done just after mid-night. The great thing is that it was served family style and you could limit your portions. We were all full but not stuffed in the end.
(pictures courtesy of Vicki Bennett. I was to busy eating)
full and happy headed home in the middle of the nigh
....did I mention wine?
non-chef rich about to get bitch slapped if he does not get out of the way
I love early mornings
Continuing with the food theme. Hosteria Decchia Rota is in the small rural village of Mariciano near us. It has been one of our favorite restaurants for several years. Not only for the great food, but the owner with his strange hair and his presentation. In his staccato heavily accented English he explains every item on the menu and the history of the dish. Does not matter how long it takes, he stays at your table until he is done. Never mind the other customers.
I rely on my car insurance and credit card insurance for rental car insurance when I travel. The small print says it is only good if the car rental is less then twenty eight days, so I had to go trade in the rental car in the bigger town of Arrezzo about thirty minutes away. I new it was market day in Arrezzo I just did not know that it was International Food Festival and it started at the door of the Avis/Budget office. The bad is no parking the good is we did not have to walk far to eat. The rental car guys were fun and allowed me to keep the same car and just wrote a new contract. The entertainment was the customers who came in to get a car or turn in a car. Little misbehaved children to the man who came in and asked in english "how do I get to Cortona" , "what do the road signs mean" , "I am staying tonight in a villa near Montepuchiano how do I find it". To the credit of the agents they very patiently tried to answer his questions, despite being overrun by customers. This went on for awhile and then he left.
the avis agent after the questioning person left
The International Food Fair
our neighbors left this morning so last night we had a going away/happy birthday party for Vicki B
the faux birthday cake
....and then we had a ballot/voting party. So, on pictures alone who should I vote for I wonder. While doing this I swear Donald tried to kiss her.
Oct 16
Vicki and Rich packed up and headed off for Sardinia in search of clam spit silk.
Daniel and Manula gathered us up and took us to Arrezzo for a aperitivo (drink) in the evening. The place was still busy with the international food fair, but we headed to a famous bar who's name I do not remember for a round of drinks and nibbles. From there we walked back through the food fair and sampled a few items of dinning.
women evidently must have one of these "the worlds best vacuum" and also one of the most expensive at well north of $1,000. they swear by this thing
.....a girl can not have to many shoes
.....these guys are amazing. Two brothers, both in their 70's, work not stop all morning, day after day on this tree. They spilt the wood for and with Daniel.
.............I was informed by the land lord that I could not leave this sign up, even with the x, to long as it was dangerous.
...........ok, so Manuela has been giving chestnuts to cook and we have not been getting it right, so she came over and showed us how it is done. Daniel had given us the instructions but he had left out a step or two.
.....none of the women would cut my hair so I stopped in to see the barber in Monte San Savino who I had never seen with a customer. Something got lost in the translation and he took it all off, which was fine with me. He really really worked hard to get all the stickyup hairs off and then used a razor to shave around the neck and ears.
