Return to Tuscany

My Italy / France tour finished on the 10th September and I now have the company of my husband Philip for two weeks. Although we thought we might have driven the length of Italy including Sicily!! We have come to our senses and decided to do a Slow Tour through Tuscany and Umbria and enjoy local restaurants, eat artisanal food from the many passionate producers and stay in the countryside surrounded by olive trees and grapevines. 

Our first four nights were in the hills behind the village of Pontessieve – 30 minutes from Florence. Through the Alistair Sawdays site we decided on “Borgo di Sopra’  which had a selection of apartments ranging from a Studio to 1-2 or 3 bedrooms. In its once long past it used to be a watch tower and the clever engineer Giampiero and his English wife Jane have made a magnificent  job converting stone ruins into stylish roomy apartments. Each with its own balcony to enjoy breakfast in the morning sun or the view in the balmy summer evenings. It was paradise and with the help of Giampiero who guided us to local trattorias, restaurants, markets and wine tastings we really could have just stayed put and enjoyed being spoilt by their hospitality 

Pontissieve sits on the side of the Sieve river which eventually joins the Arno and it was obvious the bridges had been bombed by the Allies in the second world war. One old bridge remains and the river is lined with houses, many with balconies facing over the view. We had lunch at a local trattoria called L’Pepolino – It was filled with locals all obviously very familiar with the menu and seemed to be personal friends of the family, who were all frantic dealing with the constant numbers of people coming through the doors. Tasting the Chianti Rufino wines took up the late afternoon in the huge Frescobaldi’s family vineyard ‘Nipozzano’. Not only did we get to taste the wine at a beautifully set table but were served local dried meats and cheeses. It was interesting to see vast areas of land cleared of olive trees to plant more grapevines.

Everything becomes a new experience – even shopping at the local supermarket which has more cheese, chacuterie and pasta then I’ve ever seen in one supermarket and this wasn’t classed and big. 

Day two was allocated to Florence. The last time Philip visited here was with our 3 children aged 8, 5, and 3 in 1995. He was staggered by the massive numbers of  tourist groups all following a guide with an umbrella held high for them to follow and with their head sets on – most looking so disinterested and trudging behind the person in front of them. Tourism has changed enormously and places like Florence, Venice and Rome are suffering terribly. 

We travelled by local train and like all major cities walking is a given. By the end of the day we had stepped out almost 12 km – Taking in the Boboli Gardens, ( in 30 deg) the new duomo Museum which was fabulous and meandered through cool narrow medieval  stone streets past some very lovely shops. Our highlight was lunch at ‘La Casalinga’ and an absolute must do recommendation from Giampiero. This place worked like a machine and managed to seat everyone that flowed through the doors from tourists to obvious locals. Paper lined tables filled at least 5 dining rooms with hundreds of people and the most staggering is that it is still a family run trattoria. Mother and Father are out the back cooking (with some help) and son, daughter and others worked like trojans turning over tables very quickly. It is evidently that busy everyday for lunch and dinner. I did try the local speciality – ‘Tripe’  but, it’s not often I can’t finish anything, however this was too much . Philips specialty of the day was a large serving of slow cooked beef in tomatoes, onions and mushrooms was excellent. 

There is far too much to do in Florence in one day and its now imperative to book visits if you want to avoid the inevitable horrendously long queues. Days like this are fraught with tiredness, sore feet and dealing with the heat and crowds and when the train broke down on our return journey, it turned into a very long day. The Chianti Rufino, cheese and salami on our little deck in the calm mild evening was a blessed relief. 

We felt very spoilt by Giampiero and on our last day he drove us to the local artisans market which was inspiring and gave us a chance buy – local extra virgin olive oil, pecorino cheeses, salami, bread and ravioli made from ancient grains. Followed by a coffee at a local bar which also sold an impressive range of baking. Before returning we dropped into the local Monastery. It sat down a long drive lined with impressively tall pine nut trees and we were unexpectedly thrilled to see and hear the Nuns in Gregorian type singing behind a big iron gate in the church. It was something you see in a movie and was very moving.

Philips birthday lunch was a 30 minute drive away through oak forests, high in the rolling hills in what seemed a very remote area. But, all by itself was a restaurant. Cars lined the roadside and it was filled with locals, many also enjoying a birthday celebration on a wonderful hot day. Large Italian families were together sitting at long tables under the trees and what looked likes something they did regularly together. 

Returning to Tuscany has been a treat and this Slow Food Slow Travel is just what we need.