Volterra and Vino

After a splendid Sunday-night dinner under the Tuscan stars, Michael and I woke up early-ish on Monday and drove to Volterra, home to some very, very old Etruscan stuff and an ancient Roman amphitheatre. And amazing views, of course.

Cool story about this very old Etruscan arch (one of only two in existence): The Nazis wanted to blow it up, in order to slow the Allied advance, but the locals stayed up all night digging up the stones on the road I'm standing on above and used those stones to block the arch, convincing the bad guys that there was no need to blow it up. And now it's back to normal. And it's cool.

That's Michael, taking a break from our self-guided walking tour down Volterra's 'main drag', which is lined with alabaster showrooms and restaurants. At the end of our walk, we found this:

It seems the Volterrans loved their Etruscan arch much more than their ancient Roman ruins. Apparently, this amphitheatre (and, later, baths) was the site of Volterra's trash dump, and it was hidden for years and years and years, until the 1950s. Can you imagine?

After our lovely day in Volterra, we headed back to Panzano for dinner and a special, private wine-tasting evening with friends of our hosts (they have great friends), who own a vineyard in the neighboring village of La Piazza.  These pics tell that story. We came home with a few beautiful bottles of Chianti Classico and some olive oil...

Day of Rest

After an intense few days, we were happy to take a break from sightseeing to enjoy a quiet day in Panzano. We began the day with a quick breakfast at home, followed by a stroll down the hill for the weekly market, where I bought a cute bag AND a wallet (yay!), and where Michael bought veggies for the dinner we had planned for that evening.

And, speaking of dinner, Mr. McFreilich, beside being quite the cook, is a brave individual. Panzano is a smaller town than my home town (Sneads Ferry, North Carolina), which is really saying something. Michael, who speaks no Italian, revealed no qualms about popping into wine stores, butchers, bakeries, tiny alimentari, and dealing with the chaos at the local market, to procure exactly what he needed to create a truly beautiful meal, al fresco, back at the castle. The pics tell the story...

Bella sera - San Gimignano

Friday evening was all about a lovely dinner and stroll around San Gimignano.  Not much to report except great food, great conversation, perfect weather, and a charming city under the stars...

Brunello di Montalcino!

Saturday was Montalcino day - a much-anticipated day in the McFreilich household (particularly on the Freilich side). Our fun foursome arrived in charming Montalcino just as, unexpectedly, the opening festivities of the annual tournament of the "Apertura delle Cacce" - the opening of hunting season in Montalcino - were getting underway. The day event began with folk dancing in the piazza and culminated in the town's choosing the archers who would represent each competing 'contrada' (neighborhood) in the festival's archery tournament. As we wandered the streets of Montalcino, a band from each neighborhood paraded toward the square, dressed in medieval garb and pounding drums and blowing trumpets, followed by residents of the neighborhood, waving flags and decked out in their respective neighborhoods' colors.

The medieval traditions were a happy surprise, but we had traveled to Montalcino to enjoy its most famous attraction, Brunello di Montalcino. Benny and Michael did more than their fair share of tasting, and we went home with more than one bottle of this outstanding wine...

I Uffizi e la cena con Rosalynd

On our way back from Arezzo on Friday we learned that we would be heading to Firenze in the evening for a guided tour of the Uffizi, followed by dinner with our tour guide, Rosalynd, an old and dear friend of our hosts' family. Rosalynd is a noted author and registered tour guide in Florence, and a fascinating gem of an individual. Her knowledge, her scholarship, her authority, and her sense of humor made our visit to the museum incredibly special, and dinner and conversation at her lovely home in Florence was real highlight of our trip.

We returned to Panzano and stopped by Paolo to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy under the Tuscan stars. I paused for a photo-op on the church steps...

Guidiamo al Arezzo

After an hours long meal at Dario, followed by more festive celebration back at the castle, Michael and I made the bold decision to wake up early and drive to Arezzo. Panzano is situated in the mountains, almost midway between Siena and Florence. Leaving Panzano involves many, many winding roads. The drive to Arezzo was particularly windy. To make a long story short, I have never felt so carsick in my life, which is disappointing when it means you can't enjoy views like this...

Michael got us to Arezzo in one piece, and we enjoyed a quiet stroll through the town. Arezzo is, of course, home to the famous 'Guido d'Arezzo', but I was feeling too sick to manage to get a picture of his statue. Still, we had a lovely visit, enjoyed the architecture and the relative lack of crowds.

These 'laundry installations' were everywhere. I don't know what that was all about, but they were cool.

And I liked this tower of books.

Dinner at Dario

After an afternoon of sightseeing in Monteriggioni and Siena, we returned to Panzano for dinner reservations at the famed Antica Macelleria di Cecchini (known around here simply as "Dario"). When you walk into Dario's shop, you are greeted with a gorgeous spread of meats and bread - and Chianti Classico, of course. Upstairs is the kitchen and outside seating area, and guests eat family style, at long tables, adorned with fresh raw vegetables, pane, Chianti Classico, aceto e olio, and Dario's amazing profumo del Chanti. 

Dinner consisted of meat. Meat after meat after meat, from Chianti crudo (beef tartar) to Bistecca fiorentina. It was a fantastically indulgent meal, we made some new Italian friends, who made great sport out of trying to pronounce my name correctly (there aren't many 'Shannons' in Italy), and a wonderful time was had by all.