10 August-Tuscany-Mesano/Casole d'Elsa/San Gimignano

10 August

Maurie and I walked to the village – the bakery was closed, but we purchased pastries at a general store and took them back to the villa for breakfast. Around 9.30am we all set off for a tour of some of the nearby villages. The first stop of the day was just a few kms away at Mensano – this was a tiny village with beautifully kept houses (all dating from medieval times, as are the rest of the villages in this area), many with a profusion of geraniums and other flowers in clay pots outside the doorways and down stairways. We felt a little as though we were walking through people’s private property as we made our way past the houses. The church dated from the late 10th century, so the same families had probably lived at Mensano for centuries. Our next stop was a larger village, Casole d’Elsa. This village had some interesting modern sculptures down a couple of alleyways, and on one of the walls of the oldest buildings was a large set of coats of arms and other symbols representing the old local families. We stopped for coffee at a lovely cafe/restaurant, which had an adjoining wine shop - while there we bought a couple of wines: a Rosso (Sangiovese) and a Tocai Friulano (white). Further down the road we stopped at a little shop which sold local foods and wines – tasted a couple of types of wine and between us bought a Camporignano and a Cerronero cabernet sauvignon.

The third and last place we visited was the renowned larger town of San Gimignano, full of soaring towers constructed in medieval times by the local wealthy families to protect their patch. The town is absolutely beautiful, albeit teeming with tourists. We had lunch at a little restaurant – my panini turned out to be a disappointingly dry salami sandwich, but the others’ lunches were fine – omelettes and another panani, but with a moist filing of tomato and tuna which counteracted the dry bread. We each had a glass of local wine – vernaccia is the local speciality. Later we bought gelato icecreams at what is apparently the world’s best gelato outlet(an actual competition!) – flavours included vernaccia, champagne and melon, and saffron (again, reflecting a local speciality); they were all absolutely delicious. Bought some little olive oils and Tuscan scenic calendars for presents, as well as a lovely photograph of a typical local scene (farmland and an old villa) to frame when we get home. Before leaving San Gimignano we went into the Sant’Agostino church, which was lined with an impressive set of old frescoes.

The first thing we did on arriving back to the villa was change and leap into the pool. The pool setting is idyllic – it overlooks a typical Tuscan scene of rolling hills dotted with little medieval villages, with oak trees and various crops, including sunflowers, covering the fields.



-Mesa-