We got an early start Saturday morning and took off for Tuscany. The Autostrade out of Bologna quickly turned into more than just getting passed by big Mercedes and BMWs at high speed.
It became a game of tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge as we approached Firenze. The hills of Tuscany make building roads a lot more challenging. We got off of the highway on the outskirts of Firenze and headed south. Everything changed right away.
We spotted the castle of Poppiano as we negotiated the hairpins and single lane roads (they carry traffic in both directions but they are slightly wider than a driveway).
We pulled into the driveway of Le Torri at 11:00, quite a bit early. Check in isn’t until 3:00 but we wanted to know where our final destination was. We trucked into the local town (San Quirico in Collina) just to wander.
Town to town travel is interesting. Since the majority of these ancient towns were built on hilltops (you could see the approaching enemy better), there is no way to the neighboring town except down into the valley and back up again. I would suspect that you go through a lot of brakes and transmissions here.
Every town it seems has to have its own tower and they are often picturesque.
As you’ll see in coming posts, I’ve developed a liking for the cool doorways in Tuscany. It seems that 90% of the place can be in need of significant TLC but the doors are always perfect.
Finally after a nice lunch, some leisurely wandering and a stop at the local coop for groceries, we were ready to head back. The place (Le Torri) is great.
Our room/apartment is the second floor set of windows in the right side of this picture. We checked in, and decided to relax in the pool. Then the rest of the week’s travelers arrived. 12 mad Hungarians (including two ex-pats living in Toronto) and four of their Canadian friends. What a hoot. They certainly livened things up. There was an interesting mix of Hungarian, Italian, English (Hungitalish?) as the night progressed.To our new Hungarian friends – “mad Hungarians” is a term of endearment – you guys are great.We experienced the infamous buffet of local Tuscan cooking, prepared by the matriarch of the family (Maria Pia), and tried their family Chianti. It was quite nice. We bought a bottle but I am sure that it won’t survive the trip. She is cooking again Wednesday evening so we’ll give a run down of both at that time.