Gastronomic Tuscany

Yesterday we got up at 4:00 am to drive our friend, Lynne Lysiak, to the Florence airport for a 7:00 o'clock flight.  Even with driving down the mountain in the pitch dark, we arrived at the airport in less than 45 minutes.  Thank goodness for the GPS as the signage for the airport is not the best.

Tuscan Countryside

Castle Brolio

Lynne's visit seemed like a whirlwind tour.  She arrived last Tuesday and we were on the go almost the whole time that she was here--Brolio, Greve, Rodda, Siena, Montireggione, Pienza, and Florence. For us, it was a repeat visit to most of the places, but Lynne told us that she had no agenda and wanted us to show her the Tuscany that we love, so we did. Brolio, which includes the Ricasoli Castle and winery, is worth multiple visits.  Again we had a wonderful, private tour of the castle and grounds and a personalized tasting experience.

Picnic in the Vineyard

It was a beautiful, warm, and sunny spring day, and before our tour, we were able to picnic in the vineyard. Of course, the drive there and home takes you through some of the most gorgeous scenery in Italy, if not the world.  Brolio is only about 50 kilometers (35 miles or so) from our apartment in Poggio, but that's 50 kilometers of winding, often narrow, country and mountain roads.  The payoff, though, includes, breathtaking views around almost every turn and over every rise.  Lynne told us that she had no idea that the Tuscan countryside and scenery would be so varied and extraordinary--and coupling that with the arrival of spring, makes the whole experience almost indescribable.

Lynne, Larry & Sue at Brolio

Returning home from Brolio, we stopped for a short tour of Radda in Chianti; yet another small Tuscan hill town, perched high above the surrounding countryside, with breathtaking views from all sides of the town which can be easily circumnavigated in less than an hour, including a stop for Proseco and souvenir shopping. Dinner found us in Greve where we returned to the Osteria Nerbone. It is still early in the season, and on a mild spring night in the middle of the week, we pretty much had Greve and the Osteria Nerbone to ourselves.

Paulo, the proprietor, once again greeted and served us, and we followed his recommendation for wine (a Brolio Chianti Classico) and food--vegetarian lasagna and rabbit stew. The surprisingly light lasagna, made with beshamel sause, was as we all agree the best that we ever tasted and the wine made a wonderful complement for it and the stew as well. Driving the last 15 kilometers home was slow going through the dark and twisty mountainous roads; and we all fell into bed after an exhaustingly full day of touring and eating.

Portion of floor in Siena Duomo

The next day, Thursday, we had scheduled to visit Siena.  As anyone who reads this blog knows, Siena is our favorite Tuscan town and we are always ready to show it off to friends and visitors--fortunately, Lynne was ready and willing. Per usual, and especially after the full day of driving and touring on Wednesday, we didn't get off to an early start, arriving in Siena around 1:00--just in time to amble though the city--passing quickly by the Campo and the Duomo with promises to return, to get to one of our favorite restaurants, Osteria del Gatto, for lunch.

Il Campo, Siena

Il Gatto is a tiny little eatery, seating fewer than 30 diners if every table and chair is occupied, serves great Sienese and Tuscan dishes like Pici (a local spaghetti like pasta) with wild boar sausage. A liter of the house wine costs only nine Euros and is a really excellent Chianti. We have probably eaten there five or six times over the last couple of months, so we have gotten to know the owner/chef and staff so it is always a relaxed experience for us, and one we enjoy sharing with visitors. They also sell packages of our favorite richerelli--a Tuscan almond cookie that we have grown to love.

Siena's Duomo

But with the most of the city still to explore, we couldn't linger too long--well, OK we were there for an hour and a half, but since the day was so warm and sunny, there was plenty of time and light to see the highlights.  On the way to the Duomo, we stopped by a little ceramic shop, Studio Artistico, that we enjoy, and after a delightful "Italglish" conversation with the artisan/owners, (Virginia and Alessandro Marchionni, we purchased a platter depicting a Tuscan country scene painted by Alessandro and made arrangements to pick up some pieces for gifts when we return to the area later  in May.

Piccolomini Library Fresco

We think that everyone who visit Siena should see and experience the Duomo, which is a riot of renaissance art and decorations. We particularly like the mosaic floors and the Piccolomini Library.  The Library houses 15th century murals depicting the life of the Sienese pope Pius II.  Even after 500 years of pollution and hordes of tourists streaming through the Library constantly, they are as seemingly as vibrant as when the artist Pintoricchio first painted them.  Much more approachable than the Sistine Chapel, we love revisiting them and showing them to visitors.  We were delighted when Lynne wanted to linger for close to half an hour and only reluctantly leave.

Sue & Lynne in Il Campo, Siena

After the Duomo, we wended our way to the Campo, stopping at our favorite Gelaterria--discovering for the first time that it offers a balcony above the Campo, great for tourist watching, basking in the sun, and slowly savoring one's gelato.  A slow, picture window peering stroll down La Citta, the central shopping street, finally brought us back to our car. Opting for the longer, but faster autostrada route for our return home, we finished the day at Pizzeria La Torre in Figline, home of delicious paper thin crusted pizzas. Only 10 kilometers from home, it is certainly worth the stop.

Torre di Mangia, Siena

This trip to Italy, the little town of Pienza has become one of our favorite destinations and places to show guests.  Not quite an hour from our apartment in Poggio, it's a great drive through glorious countryside--the Val D'Orcia.  And believe it or not, in the six weeks we have been here, the look and feel of the scenery has changed remarkably with the arrival of Spring, so revisiting anywhere is almost like a new experience. Pienza, built as a summer retreat by the same Pius II featured in the Piccolomini Library, is a tiny, renaissance hill town that is easily savored and enjoyed in a two or three hour visit. We like the Pope's Palace; occupied by his descendent until the 1960's, it can now be toured.  With its own fairly modest Duomo, lots of 16th and 17th buildings and shops, Pienza also provides a stunning view of the Val D'Orcia from a wallside promenade just a block off the main piazza.

Our favorite restaurant in Pienza, La Buca delle Fate, was unfortunately over run by a large tourist group and could not seat us, so we were forced to seek out an alternative--La Luna, which is just a few doors down. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day, but we were lucky enough to find a table in the covered  outdoor loggia. Again we followed the waitress's suggestions and really enjoyed our local pasta dishes and the superb pork roast. Arriving late and eating leisurely---the great house white wine aided that process; we were one of the last luncheon guests to leave.  We stopped the owner to express our thanks and appreciation, and he was delighted as it had been a crazy afternoon for them with quite a few pushy and demanding tourists.  It made us feel good!

Lynne's visit was only six days, but as we are only 20 kilometers from Florence,  we felt that we should try to take in some of its sights.  Previously we had taken the train, but this time decided to drive to the city and park. Worth doing once, perhaps. Traffic was really not as bad as we feared, and with a good address, our car's GPS (we have dubbed her Gracie P. Soothsayer) managed to get us to one of the city's outlying parking garages without incident, and a short cab ride got us into the "central market" area of the historic district.

Ponte Vecchio, Forence

The central market, encompassing much of the area in and around Piazza San Lorenzo, is filled with vendor stalls selling all of the detritus that might appeal to the average tourist--jewelery, clothes, trinkets, ceramics, and especially here in Florence--leather goods--coats, shoes, and bags. The vast majority of the vendors seem to be non-Italians--Africans, middle easterners, and South Asians seeming to dominate. Although tempted by some of the beautiful leather goods, we resisted.  Besides, we were really looking for a restaurant (as usual)--Maurio's, which Sue had read about online.  Asking several of the more friendly and non aggressive vendors and getting lost and turned around, we finally found it.  Alas, the wait was an hour and a half--evidently, Sue is not the only one who had read about it on the Internet.

What to do? Turn to Rick Steve's and look for eateries in the Central Market area.  His first suggestion was Trattoria ZaZa.  Do we try to find it? Ask some more of the vendors? Fortunately no need--ZaZa's turned out to be right next door to Maurio's and there was no wait. Our assigned waiter was at first quite aloof, but once we asked "Che cosa consiglia?" (What do you recommend?) and then ordered what he recommended--he warmed up considerably. His suggestion of Sea Bass and Ravioli were great--the fish in a light cream sauce is among the best dishes we have had here in Italy.  For Larry, the highlight was of course the desert--again a recommendation from the waiter--an apple tort with marscapone cream.  Melt in your mouth!

Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

Lynne didn't get to see too many of Florence's tourist sites.  It is almost impossible unless you devote two or three days to hard touring to do that--and arriving in Florence at 1:00 and taking 2 hours to find a restaurant and eat a leisurely lunch, really doesn't allow it, but we saw the Duomo, the gold and jewelery shops of the  Ponte Vecchio, and the Palazzo Vecchio.  The David replica is almost as nice as the real one and doesn't require an hour's wait.

After five days of pretty intense touring, we all agreed that we would just stay close to home for Lynne's last day with us--besides we had not had the chance to eat at Becatinni's, and we wanted to share that experience.  The Becatinnis are such a warm and open family.  They have made our stay here in Poggio a delight and a joy.  Whenever we see therm--in their restaurant or on the street, they always greet us and try to engage us in a conversation--not always easy, as only Lorenzo, the son, speaks English, and our Italian just isn't up to in depth conversations--but that never seems to discourage them.

Checking in with Lorenzo on Sunday morning to tell him that we would like to have lunch with them at 1:00 or 2:00, he looked crestfallen and told us that they are full--but after a moment's hesitation, he said--"no problem" (his standard phrase fortunately), we will seat you in the bar. After a delightful walk, with Lynne helping to identify some of the wildflowers growing along the roadside, we arrived at Becatinni's at 1:30.  Lorenzo was not kidding...they were full.  It seems that two couples were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversaries--one party of 8 and the other numbered close to 60. With a scattering of other diners, the restaurant was jammed and all of the Becatinni's were scrambling (often literally running) to prepare food, serve, and clean-up. 

Still they took time to greet us and serve us personally, with everyone stopping by to meet Lynne. Seated in the bar, though, we were privy to all of the behind the scene activities.  Quite a scramble ! Danilo still made time to make us a special crepe and his homemade ravioli with wild boar and truffle sauce.  When we told Danilo that we wanted to order his Bistecca Fiorentina, he was delighted to make it for us and even took time to show Sue how it was cut and cooked.  Afterwards, Lynne had the very highest of compliments--this was the best Italian meal that she had ever eaten.  We agreed !

Sue, Danilo & Lynne with the 2kg Florentine Steak