Drive to Monti Sibillini National Park, Mt. Vettore, Sellano then Montefalco

31 October, 2014

There is a chair lift on the top!

Today we decided to explore the National Park to the east of Spello and to take a circuitous route to the wine-growing town of Montefalco.

This place would be cold in winter.

We were surprised by the amount of snow on the mountain range. It looked like it had been there since last winter.

Nice views over Mt Vettore.

Mount Vettore (2476 m) is part of the Appennino Umbro Marchigiano range. Our route took us to Sellano, Visso, through the park via Castelsantangelo and Arquata dei Tronto and some spectacular limestone gorges, Norcia and Triponzo to Montefalco.

Montefalco. Wide streets for a medieval town.

We had consumed some very nice wine from Montefalco in the Il Cacciatore Trattoria in Via Guilla. We discovered it was across the valley from Spello, identifiable by a very large, but very modern water tower!

Dinner at Il Trombone.

We had passed Il Tombone a number of times on Via Guilla and decided to dine there tonight. What an absolute gem! Some of the best-tasting and best-presented food we’ve had in Italy, very friendly staff (the waitress and the owner/chef) and great value for money. They also have a terrace with a view, so we’ll have Sunday lunch here.

Under the Tuscan Sun – Cortona & Montepulciano

30 October, 2014

The Roman Arch in Via Cappuccini, Spello.

This Roman Arch is located at the top of Via Cappuccini and was the portal into the original walled section of the Roman settlement from the North. At its base Rob i is standing on a glassed-over section showing the original road a metre below. This arch is very modest compared to the main 3-arch entrance to Spello, Porta Consolare, to the south.

At our front door.

The entrance to La Residenza dei Cappuccini apartments (Saio, Sandalo and Tau) is half way up Via Cappuccini towards the Roman Arch, fronted by a large wooden double door. Opening the door reveals steps to each of the apartments with Tau, our apartment, at the top.

Via Cappuccini.

Looking down the Via Cappuccini towards the Church of Santa Maria di Vallegloria and its bell tower, with the apartment ‘shingle’ attached to the wall.

Cortona, Piazza della Repubblica.

Finally got to visit the location of Frances May’s novel and movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun”, and to take in the view over the Val di Chiana and Lago Trasimeno from the town’s steep walls. We enjoyed a midday coffee in the sun in this square.

Montepulciano well in the Grande Piazza.

After walking the streets of Cortona, we drove down and across Val di Chiana – once a swamp and now reclaimed, fertile land – to another walled, hillside town of Montepulciano on the other side of the valley. I remember first coming across Montepulciano wine in London restaurants, so was pleased to finally get the opportunity to see the town and its surrounding picturesque wine-growing countryside of rolling hills.

Shopping streets in Montepulciano.

Lots of shops and restaurants as we wound our way up to the top of the town. Numerous enotecas and some shops featuring local products, such as fragrances.

The double gate at Montepulciano.

A very impressive, and no doubt daunting, entrance to the town – double jeopardy to enter or leave in its time!

Assisi. No Saint Francis here….

28 October, 2014

Mount Subasio. View from the top.

Today we went back to Collepino and continued up to the top of Mount Subasio. There are some great walks through the forest and on up to the top which we figured would be covered in snow in a few weeks (very alpine). The road up to the top is wider, smoother and better built than some of the major roads that we have driven on in Italy so far. The view from the top was wonderful. This is worth a trip just for the view but is a must for the hiking experience.

Assisi Roman Temple.

Next stop was Assisi. The home of Saint Francis. Apparently he was born in Assisi in 1181 and was Christened John by his mother while his father was away on business (typical). But his father called him Francis (literally meaning “the French one”) because his father admired France. It was the Romans however that started the Assisi village as a fort and Roman Temple. Many of the building have excavations below (with glass covering) that expose the Roman past.

12th Century building.

Assisi is a typical medieval town with tiny alley ways and ancient streets. Many roads are a steep climb but great to explore.

Roman plumbing… It still works.

There are many water fountains around the town that access the Roman aqueducts and have clean flowing water with no pumps or water processing. The water is sourced from natural underground streams.

Just a Saint at Assisi.

The main Basilica is worth a visit. You can access multiple levels of the Duomo and in the crypt is the tomb of Saint Francis. We also did a tour of the Basilica museum.

No Saint in this Piazza.

The Piazza has great views over the valley and you can also see Spello on a clear day.

Rocco Maggiore.

On the very top of the Assisi hill is the old fort of Rocco Maggiore. We ran out of time to visit the inside as it takes a few hours to do the tour. We have left the tour for our next visit.

The Roman aqueduct in Spello

27 October, 2014

An open view of the Aqueduct.

When we checked in to our apartment in Spello, Guiluca (the local Policeman and our Host) suggested that we do the 5km (each way) walk along the old Roman Aqueduct. I figured that this had to be a relatively easy walk as the Romans had very good plumbing skills (since they invented it) and the aqueduct should have a constant but gentle fall. Bingo! I was correct. What an amazing piece of Civil Engineering (Smithy would be impressed). The system was installed about 300 AD and continued working until almost the 19th century. Now that is a good return on investment. The Aqueduct is almost 5km of covered stone masonry that carried a reliable water supply to Spello from Collepino. The stone work and bridges are mostly still in tact and has a gentle fall over the entire 5km.

Just worry if something comes out!

Every 50 meters or so along the Aqueduct is an overflow point that not only serves to provide regular drinking water access but allows flood waters to escape so that a constant water flow is delivered to the end point of Spello. Very clever.

Spello from the start of the Aqueduct trail.

Our little apartment in Spello is wonderful. It is close to many restaurants and is right in the heart of this medieval town that was once a Roman fort.

Check out of Londa then on to Spello

25 October, 2014

Breakfast in the sun at Londa.

We had two days of “catch up” for our last two days in Londa. The weather was fantastic but starting to get a bit chilly once the sun set. The Prices have returned home so we decided to relax and enjoy the sunshine and views at home in the Villa. Lynn caught up on her reading and I did some catch up on my blogs. It was now time to take a leisurely breakfast in the morning sun and pack the car for our next two weeks in Spello.

Country views from our Villa in Londa.

After some very foggy mornings in Londa when the Prices were with us to lovely sunny mornings on our last two days. The valley is very quiet, save for the occasional sheep, goats and single cow that graze past. The olive grove below us shimmered in the cool breeze. Lynn really liked this place despite the occasional wildlife that wanted to come inside and join us. It’s what you expect in an old stone building in the countryside.

Our first day in Spello.

We arrived in Spello on the last day of daylight saving in Italy. After the usual faffing about trying to find the apartment and unloading the car we settled in and decided to explore parts of this old hillside town.

A discovery tour of the streets of Spello.

We managed to remember much of our short visit to Spello two years ago. The little steep streets and stone buildings. Not a lawn mower or leaf blower in sight.

Where’s Wally in Spello?

Siena then dinner in Volterra

20 October, 2014

No horses running today!

Our last full day touring the Tuscany region with the Prices. They are on their way back to Hong Kong and Brisbane tomorrow evening. Their visit seems so brief so we have made them promise to meet up with us again next June when we will be in Malta. Still we have today to tour Siena and Volterra. The main Piazza of Siena is where they have the bi-annual bareback horse races that are contested by the best riders from the various Sienese “contrade”, or areas in which the city is divided. These take place on 2 July and 16 August every year and the piazza is always packed full. Today the tourist numbers are down so we have easy access to the whole town.

Just the usual clowns.

Lucky that Helen is sometimes serious ’cause these other clowns almost never are….’ Still, lots of fun in Siena. This was Lynn and my first visit here as the last time we drove by, the parking was impossible.

Hey Helen, does Ken still ring your bell?

This is not really a bell but an old well at the Conservatorium of Music in Siena.

Like a mini version of Florence.

Next port of call was Volterra. We found the central Piazza and a Church that was like a mini Duomo of Florence. Quite spectacular considering how small Volterra is in relation to Florence. In the Piazza was a Spanish Guitarist busker that caught Lynn’s ear. A quick Euro 15 and we had a CD for the car.

Lovebirds in Volterra.

Dinner in a small alleyway restaurant. The food was good and Ken managed to find a wine that we had consumed earlier in the week and really loved. He negotiated a great price (they don’t call him Ken Price for nothing :-)).

Carrara but not as Queenslanders know it! Then on to Pisa via the beach

18 October, 2014

Carrara, the marble town.

Carrara (probably named after its Queensland counterpart :-)) is where a large percentage of the Roman marble was and still is cut out of the hills. Just the size of the marble mountain behind Carrara is enough to draw one here but the amount of marble statues, marble buildings and curbs (yes, street curbs made of marble) is fantastic. We had a stroll around the old town and the usual coffee in the Piazza under which is an old World War II bomb shelter.

Marble ball rotating on water. Full size!

Now I have often seen and once owned a small Chinese water feature where a small marble ball rotates on a cushion of water. Well, the idea is not new. Carrara has the real deal but the marble ball is about two meters in diameter and still rotates on a cushion of water.

It’s Ken who has the real lean.

On to Pisa… we did the drive down the beach from Carrara to Pisa. The beaches are wide and go on for miles. Lucky it was Autumn as I can imagine the traffic and crowds of people here in the summer. It was a clear, warm day for our Pisa visit. We had all been here before so the tower and Duomo were not the main attraction for us. We had a stroll around the old town and managed to cross the river (my, it looks like Florence when crossing the bridge) and stroll around the north side of town.

“Just holding the tower from falling, officer.”

We returned to the restaurants near the tower for dinner and managed to find a reasonable Trattoria with good food.

The power of two.

Lucca for some car repairs

17 October, 2014

Lucca from the footpath on the walls.

As some background to this story, we are staying at a restored 16th century farmhouse in a place called Vierle. Vierle is about 20 minutes’ drive up a steep valley from Londa, which is a small village about an hour’s drive east of Florence. Country roads are never particularly wide roads nor are they particularly well maintained. After two weeks of daily drives in and out of Vierle I was beginning to hate the potholes, blind bends and narrow passing of oncoming vehicles. The track into the farmhouse was especially heinous. The little Fiat Punto had very little ground clearance so it was only a matter of time until I ground the underside of the tinny Fiat on the rocky outcrops of the driveway.
On our last trip to Italy we had driven past Lucca and had admired the fortifications that surrounded the town centre. We had always planned to return to see what lay within. Top Gear (one of my favourite television car shows) did an episode in Lucca where James May got lost and ended up on the Lucca walls. So today we were going to Lucca. By the time we had driven to Londa on our way we noticed a rather disturbing noise coming from under the Punto. I felt that it had to be as a result of the continued interference fit between the underside of the Punto and the limestone boulders of Vierle. But to be sure that it wasn’t something more serious we called the car rental company and requested a repair. They came back with an address for us to take the car in Lucca but after 2:30pm. Just time for a quick look at some of Lucca and a coffee stop.
After some stuffing about finding the real address of the mechanic and some language difficulties we had the Punto up on the hoist. A couple of quick pulls on the rather large crowbar the problem was rectified. In his broken English he advised that the Fiat Punto was “a piece of shit” or at least the Italian equivalent. While we had his attention we also had the failed brake light replaced and the worn out rear wiper blade replaced. All fixed and back on the road to find the Prices in Lucca.

You can’t hide behind a bottle of Chianti

It had been a little damp with the occasional shower or two but it was warm enough that we decided to have dinner in the Roman Amphitheater Piazza in Lucca. We did the usual circuit checking out the restaurants and chose the one with a Gelateria attached (no sense looking for dessert in a different place after dinner) and a nice wine or two. Since we are all from Brisbane we also made sure that the restaurant we chose had suitable umbrella coverage in case it rained again. Good call! Half way through dinner the heavens opened up and all tables except ours was rained upon. We were dry (on the outside) eating and drinking well.

I would rather drink it!

In the end a “good” was had by all: good food, good company and good wine. And the car was all fixed. Now to try to avoid the boulders on the way back down the drive.

The title of this blog should have been ‘Lucca – or Losta?’ Guess who left his phone in an office and realised later that he’d lost it? And guess who went into the office to retrieve it and who didn’t berate  him for losing it??? (see The Case of the Missing Galaxy) – Editor.

Drive to Poppi and beyond……

16 October, 2014

Mandatory coffee at Poppi Castle.

Today we planned a cultural tour of Poppi, Saltino, Regello and Vallombrosa. These towns are all within an hour’s drive of Londa and are great examples of the Tuscan landscape. Poppi is a medieval town on the mandatory hillside. It has a small castle that has been well maintained and you can climb the bell tower (between bell ringing half hour slots). The little cafe beside the castle has great coffee so we stopped for the usual morning coffee. As we sat and sipped our coffee gusts of wind blew the autumn leaves down like golden snow. Very pretty sight to go with the views across the valley.

Poppi Castle.

Poppi castle is a great place for a visit to see the old library with its 12th century books and wonderful frescos.

The streets of Poppi.

Some of the streets of Poppi remain unchanged since the 15th century. We spent an hour or more just walking the narrow streets and peering in to the lane ways and tiny shops.

Parking outside the town walls of Poppi.

Lynn visited the local post office to buy some very expensive stamps for her two postcards. She is missing from this photo as she was off taking photos of some very silly signs around the streets of Poppi. Maybe there isn’t much to do here for the locals?

Silly signs in Poppi.

The Scorpion and The Mouse…. Greve in Chianti for great wine

14 October, 2014

Wine tasting Chianti Classico Reserva. Lady’s choice.

Now that the Prices were over their jetlag (either way we were going wine tasting today!) it was time to get amongst the Tuscan wines in the Chianti Region. But before I go into this…. last night about midnight Lynn was awoken by a scuffling noise in the kitchen downstairs. If Lynn is awake then it is only fair that I am also awake (not by choice). It was my job to go and investigate. Naturally I found nothing so I was very keen to head back to bed. Lynn was not convinced so she insisted on joining me for a second search of the kitchen. We had been shopping the day before so Lynn checked the stock. I think she knew what she was looking for. Yes, her precious chocolate-dipped almond shortbreads had been nibbled. Since it was not me then she made the assumption that we had a mouse in the house. All the edible groceries were then sealed into the oven away from the hungry mouse. Since Lynn was now satisfied that we had determined the source of the noise I was permitted to return to bed. However…… that was not the end of the story. Lynn went to the bathroom before returning to bed and almost stood, barefoot, on a scorpion on the bathroom floor. She trapped the beast under a drinking glass and, to put an end to the matter, emptied a spray can of insecticide under the glass. I was very supportive from bed.

Anyway, back to the wine tasting…. we managed to visit a couple of the major wineries around Greve in Chianti. Now, we have been indulging in the Italian red for some time but it wasn’t until we did these wine tastings that we really noticed the variations in wine quality that comes out of this region. I think I will only ever drink Chianti Classico Reserva from now on.

Just prior to our wine tasting lesson.

At our last winery we were offered a tour of the wine-making facility but we were about 15 minutes late so we opted to join the group at the end of their tour for a lesson on wine tasting. It was great fun. We were tabled with a newly-wed couple from the USA and two young ladies (South Africans) who were living in Switzerland. Not only did we learn about the various Italian wines but we learnt the best way to taste wine is with food. We also discovered some very nice aged balsamic vinegar – in a very small bottle – at Castello Di Verrazzano.

We would return to Castella di Vicchiomaggiore the next day for a long lunch.

Across the valley and on a hill opposite was Castella di Vicchimaggiore. We did a wine tasting at their cellar door and purchased some lovely wines. We couldn’t leave without a visit to the Castella as well and decided we would return the next day for a l-o-n-g lunch. The food was good, great company and a great view.

Dinner at L’Amici Mia in Figline Valdarno to catch up with Roberto (Alec Baldwin twin).

Last time Lynn and I were in Italy (2 years ago) we stayed just outside of Figline Valdarno. In the old town we found an Enoteca with a very nice restaurant. The owner was a doppelganger for Alec Baldwin. We had to return for dinner. Well, Alec (Roberto) had aged and put on some weight but he was just as entertaining and the food and wine were just as wonderful.