Yes, Dan Johnson....

there is Burger King in Venice.

 

La Dolce Vita

Days at Villa Madellena seem long, busy, and filled with light and warmth. It is possible to spend the day doing nothing at all, or taking field trips to neighboring towns. At the end of the day, we enjoy recalling the events of the day and sharing dinner.  Tonight,  Tuscan Chef Allesandro comes to cook for us.  We are all especially relaxed and ready to enjoy the foods of Tuscany. Life is sweet.

Cocktail hour at the end of the day.  Taylor, Sue, Kevin and John discussing important things before dinner.

Chairman of the board - relaxing before dinner.

Al fresco dining - it's like we're in a movie set.

Tuscan Chef Allesandro with his assistant Consuella.

September Salad -  spinach, apples, pomegranate in Parmesan basket.

Pappae al Pomodoro - tomato, bread, basil soup.

Tuscan steak with arugula and Parmesan.  

Pannacotta with caramelized grapes

San Gimingnano

John, Bruce, Margit, Taylor and I chose to take a day off from our time in Volterra to drive to the town of San Gimingnano.  It is known for being the hill town with 14 medieval towers.  In its hey day it had 72 towers.  It is also famous for being the Italian setting for E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread.

14 towers like this seem like a lot.  I can't imagine this small town with 72 towers.

We walked in through Porto San Giovanni

Piazza del Duomo

Views from the hill top were lovely.

Classic Tuscan scenery.

In a little alley, we found a private museum with a terra cotta replica of the city.  I found it quite charming.

Lunch - Tuscan bean soup was delicious.

After lunch, Margit, Taylor and I took a ramble down through the Porto delle Fonti to see if we could find the Antique Fountains.  We weren't sure what to expect, but we didn't expect what we found.

Walking through the Porto delle Fonti.

This seemed so mysterious to me, partly because we were the only ones here. This is clearly more than a fountain.  Were they once baths?

What a day!  Towers, views, secret fountains..................everything a Tuscan hill town should have, and more.

A Day in the Tuscan Countryside

Pienza
Ten of our people folded themselves into two smallish cars and headed out into the Tuscan countryside.

Our first stop was the walled Renaissance city of Pienza.  Suddenly the architecture became fancier than the plain Jane Roman style we have been enjoying up until now.

The basilica is built on the edge of a cliff in such a way as to provide the proper shadows out on the piazza on the equinox.  The result of this requirement makes for a church that kind of feels like it is collapsing down the hill.

The ceiling designs drew my eye heavenwards.

The most intriguing part of the church for me is a labyrinth down in the basement.  It's not just a labyrinth pattern on the floor, is a real maze of creepy hallways that go up and down.  I felt  like I was in a real life Nancy Drew book.

Labyrinth dead end.

Montefollonico

Next stop, lunch in Montefollonico at the Ristorante 13 Gobbi (13 Dwarves).

We all had the specialty of the house.  Homemade tagliatelle tossed on a wheel of pecorino.

John holding court at his table.

Taylor holding court at both tables.

Monte Oliveto Maggiore

Lunch over, it's time to move on to Monte Oliveto Maggiore monastery.  We had a long interesting drive through the countryside with Google Maps deciding to take a rest break (no connection).  Fortunately, Sue, in the back seat, had a paper map.  We found the paper map to be somewhat helpful...actually it's more of a suggestion, because most of the roads are unmarked.  We eventually made it to the monastery, one half hour late for our tour.

Antonella gave us a wonderful tour of  Monte Oliveto Maggiore explaining the history of this Benedictine order, which started in 1313.  She provided a detailed interpretation of the historic frescoes representing the founding of the monastery. The painter put in nasty little jokes about the monks because they were usually late with their payment for his work. The frescoes are unusually colorful and sensual.  They are even somewhat erotic because they demonstrate how the monks were constantly having to avoid the temptation of evil women.

The tour was so enthralling, that I didn't take any pictures.  Trust me, those frescoes are worth seeing if you come to this part of Tuscany.

Florence - At the Uffizi

On Saturday we drove to Florence. On Sunday ten of the Villa Madellena residents met up for a tour of the Uffizi Museum.  Our wonderful guide Allessia Rossini introduced us to the highlights of the this incredible museum for three hours.  We took a lunch break and spent more time.  What an amazing day. Here's some of what we saw.

One of my favorite moments happened when a woman behind me put her selfie stick around me so she could take a snap shot of the painting I was trying to see.

Do I sound a little crabby?  Well, Taylor is the nice person in this marriage and he has a different view of this photo shooting behavior.  He thinks it's a positive thing that these people with their cameras are at the museum instead of on their couches watching hockey. I suppose that's another way of looking at it.

Grande Finale with Tuscan Chefs

All of us at Villa Madellena love  Tuscan food.  Why not invite a local chef to come teach us how to cook for our last night together?  Five of us signed on to produce dinner for the entire group.  Eleanora and her assistant Consuella came to the villa at 4:30 and we were off and cooking.

• Panzanella
• Lemon ricotta tortelli with spinach and speck
• Pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon and puff pastry
• Marscapone mousse with homemade caramel sauce and hazelnuts

Margit, Bruce, Jamar and Sue getting ready to make tortelli (think large tortellini).

Our final feast at Villa Madellena.  This was the only dinner we ate indoors. I think we sat down around 8 pm.  Eleanora and Consuella served dinner and cleaned up.  Now that's the way to cook.

I was too busy to take photos of the food, but I thought it essential to take time to take pictures of the diners.  Most of us came to Villa Madellena as strangers, but I think we all agree that we left as friends.

Richard

Kevin

Richard and Kevin came to Montisi from Florida and they will be heading to London to binge watch plays when they leave the villa.

 

Sue and Larry come from Seattle. After leaving the villa, they are going on a Rick Steves tour of Greece.

Margit, from the Portland area, will be travelling with us to Florence and Venice.

Ted joined us at Montisi after cruising in the Mediterranean.  He lives in both Seattle and Palm Springs.

Laura heads back home to Seattle after leaving the villa.

You may have noticed that Taylor and I are missing from the photos.  This is because I was taking the photos and Taylor was upstairs in bed with the traveler's grippe.  He missed a fabulous dinner.

Finally, the master minds of our fabulous week:

John

Bruce

If John hadn't worked with Marcia, the owner of Chateau Madellena, years ago, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to come here.  Also, these two geniuses masterminded the selection of the group and most of our activities. Fortunately for them, they are heading off on a Rick Steves tour of Prague and Budapest when they are done with us. Thank you John and Bruce.

During our week at Montisi we have taken day trips to other hill towns.  Since we either pack ourselves into two small cars, or pack ourselves into a van with a driver we are getting to know one another.  The last two days I sat next to Richard, who is from Florida.  On our second day of nonstop talking, he suddenly asked me if I knew who Pink Martini is.  Do I know?  Naturally.  It turns out that Richard, and his partner Kevin, are huge Pink Martini fans and have been to concerts in various parts of the world.

This brought on our own private Pink Martini sing a long in the kitchen after dinner.

Ted and I know all the words.  Laura, from Seattle, is a newbie.  I wonder if our off key singing and general enthusiasm have caused her conversion?

Under the Tuscan Sun

We have been in Montisi, at Villa Madellena, since Saturday.  It's time to slow down a bit and enjoy the Tuscan sun.  But first we go to the local market in Sinalunga.

Ten of the eleven of us fold ourselves back into the two cars at 7:30 am and drive to Sinalunga which is about 10 miles away.  We scored!

Food for lunch and dinner.

I got these table cloths for 10E each!

Margit and I got new clothes.  Margit also got the red necklace.  My linen dress has polka dots.

When we got back to the villa at 10:30 a.m. we each found our own niche.

The social people ate together.

John liked his peace and quiet in the breakfast room.

Taylor read the New York Times in a shady garden alcove.

Jamar worked on her blog.

Ted totally knows how to relax.

A perfect day in Tuscany.