Tuscany impressions
They seem to love the roundabout concept here in Tuscany. I think roundabouts are abominations, but I’ll forgive the Italians their rondaboutphilia because this is nevertheless a great place to visit.
Many people in yesterday’s thread mentioned the Italian expertise at industrial design. Agreed, except for one thing—the toilet in my hotel. Anyone other than a giant is insecurely perched up so high that their feet don’t come near touching the ground. And instead of being relatively flat, the seat itself sticks up in a kind of ridge, which has the effect of heavily digging into any body parts making contact with it.
I was at a neighborhood pot luck dinner here on Wednesday evening that involved the neighborhood of the enormous rented villa at which some of my relatives are staying (a residence to which I’m slated to transfer myself this Saturday, with a view that reminds me very much of Napa, California). It turns out that Italian potluck has much the same menu as potlucks in my New England experience: heavy on the couscous salads, the pasta salads, and the green salads.
But I’m well aware that Italians know how to cook and they know how to eat. I’m looking forward to visiting a few restaurants for a lot more than pasta salad.
Tomorrow I do my first sightseeing. The plan is to visit this place, then back to the family villa for a little dinner for about 25.
In 6 ft. 2 in. I appreciate toilets that aren’t made for the Lollipop Guild.
La bella torre di San Gimignano! Lucky you! Some years ago I spent 5 weeks in Tuscany with a university group for a summer semester. There were about 25 kids and 12 adults. We were based in Siena and most of the kids made a beeline to the lone McDonalds at least once a day. Nearly all of us adults didn’t want to leave the family-run hotel because the cook was fabulous. Then again, it’s hard to find bad food anywhere in that neck if the woods. Neo, I know you don’t drink, but if some of your family does, make sure they sample some Brunello di Montepulciano before they leave.
I’m sure you will love that place.
As for food, seeing as you are in Tuscany, if you are a meat eater I recommend you find yourself a place that serves Pappardelle Cinghiale. It’s not really the season, but it is a spectacular dish.
If you’re a meat eater, go to Trattoria Sostanza for their buttered chicken (which looked awful, but tasted wonderful) or a Florentian steak (sold by the kilo).
I spent over a month in Tuscany quite a few years ago and San Gimignano was my favorite place. A medieval hill town on an isolated hill surrounded by fields of sunflowers. It apparently has the same population as during the middle ages. The towers are quite a sight. And the wine, Vernaccia de San Gimignano, is one of my favorite white wines.
Bryan:
I would wager the month you spent in Tuscany was not August 🙂 . Nothing “isolated” today about that hill! Beautiful but incredibly crowded and incredibly hot.
More later.
Tuscany has very good pork and sheep’s cheese. I particularly liked the creamy sheep’s cheese. San Gimignano has a lot of tourist traffic, but don’t let that take away from the experience. The wall and towers are beautiful, and you can get away from the high traffic areas. Throughout Tuscany there are nice quiet street with colorful window boxes, exotic door knockers, and interesting people. Late in the day, the tour buses leave.
Enjoy.
I am reminded of a dearly beloved family friend who recently died at the age of 95. She began first grade not knowing a word of English. Italian was her first language. Without the “benefit” of bilingual education she went on to get a STEM degree magna cum laude and then a Master’s degree from Harvard.
Her immigrant parents, from Lucca (Tuscany) and Sicily, were examples of America’s melting pot, as it is not likely that in Italy someone from Lucca would marry someone from Sicily. She continued in the melting pot tradition, by marrying someone with whom she shared the same college major but not the same ethnicity.
While tied to her home region- she never lived farther than 80 miles from her birthplace- she made a number of trips to Italy and to Europe. I once asked her if, in her senior activities, she had met the mother of a classmate of mine. The classmate’s mother was a redhead with parents from Milan. “I can spot an Italian from a mile away.”
“Anyone other than a giant is insecurely perched up so high that their feet don’t come near touching the ground.”
Otherwise known as “sitting pretty.”
Do some research on the olive tree plague while you are there.
Also, what do your native contacts think of the Partanna brand?
Also, it would be cool if you could get some high quality images of wall paintings in Etruscan tombs. You would be surprised at how crappy and small are the files on most Internet sites. {I now see that someone has already mentioned the tombs. Still, the photos would be your own, and you could have them as detailed as you like. If allowed to take them I guess)
Neo, actually we were there in August! It did not seem too hot at all. Mind you, this was over 20 years ago, so many, many fewer tourists, I imagine.