Cinque Terre-Pisa-Tuscany

Mensano-Tuscany

Casole d"Elsa
San Gimignano

Casole d'Elsa

San Gimignano

Villa in Tuscany-Radicondoli

view from villa

view from bedroom window

surrounding countryside-Tuscany

Riomaggiore-Cinque Terre


Cathedral-Pisa
Pisa

Cathedral dome-Pisa


Cathedral-Pisa

Inreresting bottle labels-Corniglia

Riomaggiore

Grapes growing Cinque Terre style

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Breakfast at La Spezia

David-very helpful information centre assistant and restaurant Maitre De

Track around Cinque Terre

Dallas and leigh walking Cinque Terre

Manarola-Cinque Terre

8 August
This morning we set off early to visit the first three villages in the Cinque e Terre only to find that he first train did not leave until after 10.00am. We walked back down into La Spezia and spent some time at an internet cafÈ catching up the family on what we have been doing and checking emails from school.
Finally we got on the train and set off for Riomaggiore. Amidst the many trying to find a seat we could not believe our luck to find an almost empty carriage , and air conditioned! After a few minutes we realized we were in a first class carriage. Dallas and Leigh left to stand in the crowded corridor of the second class carriage while Maurie and I decided to take advantage of the air conditioning. This didn’t last too much longer as the conductor came through and we had to move to the sweaty crowded arm pits of the masses
Forunately we did not have to stand too long as Riomaggiore was a short distance down the track. We had a short look around and set off to walk the to the next village before the sun became too hot. We would stop at Riomaggiore on the way back.
The walk between Riomaggiore and Manrola was a short trip around cliff tops that skirted the very edge of the rocks down to the sea, sometimes breathtaking in the height and closeness to the edge and the sea below.
Manarola was possibly my favourite of the five villages-amazing old buildings hugging the cliff tops with narrow alleyways creating a maze through this little village.
We had lunch here and Maurie and I went for a swim in refreshing water that at least temporarily called the body from the tremendous heat.
The fishermen have their boats up in the streets and run them down into the sea on boards.
From Manarola we walked for about 40 minutes along the sea cliffs to Vernazza. Vernazza is higher on the cliff tops and does not have easy access to the sea, although the local fishermen lower their boats about 30-40 metres into the sea using pulleys.
We spent a short time in a wine museum that showed the making of sciachetra, a specialty wine only made in this area. I bought a bottle to take home.
An interesting wine and beer outlet had a huge range of beers with labels depicting all kinds of historical figures including Che Guevarra, Hitler, Mussoline, Castro and many more not so delightful characters.
Around 3.00pm we caught the train back to Riomaggiore and had a longer look around the town. Again, a very attractive place with an amazing network of narrow streets lined with homes and cafes and shops many centuries old. Leigh and I walked to the top of the village and then down many stairs and short alley ways to the sea where I joined Maurie for another swim before we headed back to La Spezia.
Back in La Spezia, Leigh, Dallas and I headed back to the hotel to freshen up while Maurie decided to head off and find out where we are to pick up the rental car tomorrow. (He arrived back two hours later with useful information, but had not found the actual place).
Dallas and I watched a little of the Olympic games opening (absolutely stunning bit we saw-scroll on the main stadium floor and then the lighting of the Olympic flame), then headed off to look at a museum that housed amazing religious relics and paintings dating back to 10th Century.
That evening we had a great meal and a cafÈ called "Pane e Vino" where we all had variations of a menu that was predominantly a very fine, moist ham with a combination of other food-very like prosciutto, and absolutely delicious, especially when washed down with some fine pino greggio.
9 August.
This morning Maurie and I set off by bus to get the rental car. All started well and we were dropped off right on the corner of the street. However, we both failed to notice the Hertz sign on the corner and walked about a metre down the road before we turned around and retraced our steps.
Finally the car was organized and we picked up Dallas and Leigh and set off for Pisa and Tuscany.
Arrived in Pisa without too much trouble and parked just outside the city and caught a bus into the centre. Walking inside the walls of the old city and catching the first glimpse of the leaning tower, the cathedral and the baptistery all together in their very white stone, made an impressive sight.
We had lunch and then went through the cathedral, a very well preserved church of impressive alters, paintings and carvings. Time did not allow us to look through the other buildings, as we had to be at our villa in Central Tuscany by 8.00pm.
Back on the road we headed towards Sienna and then turned off towards our villa in the heart of Tuscany, arriving in Radicondoli, the little village where our villa is situated, about a kilometre beyond the village. The whole area is exactly what one expects of Tuscany –rolling hills with large wooded areas, fields of sunflowers, cropped fields and beautiful medieval villages.
We were met at the villa by Graciano, the manager of the complex which includes about five different accommodation areas, but all well appointed to ensure privacy and individual quiet spaces. The pool is something we will certainly appreciate over the week as the temperatures will be well in the 30s.
We settled in and then went into the village to buy some supplies. These were from a very small COOP that was full of people who all seemed to have the same idea at the same time. However, we managed to get the essentials, beer, wine, cheese and a bit of food for dinner, and returned to the villa.
After a quick swim, we settled into a couple of nice bottles of red wine (Morellino di Scansano and Epibios-Colombaiolo) and a meal of prosciutto, blue cheese, salami and bread. We watched TV for a while before heading for bed, trying to make sense of the Italian commentary accompanying the Olympic Games – coverage of course is heavily weighted toward Italian athlete involvement. Our interpretation of what the panel was saying (based on their expressions and the occasional semi-familiar word) was probably completely awry.
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, campagne 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.


.