SOLO TRIPS
Rising early seems to be something I have no control over. We had a dinner plan for the evening that included grilled steak. Giulio and Jacopo were to be the grill masters but someone had to go get the steaks. Guilio was working as a butcher at a local meat market but would only be working the early shift that day. Anticipating that no one would be able to get it together before it became an issue disrupting any other plans for the day,
I took it upon myself to hit the road before anyone else had stirred. I drove to the D'Piu in Monteroni d'Arbia where Giulo picked out the right steak for grilling and chopped off three hunks of prime beef large enough to serve thirteen
Despite my early errand run on my return indecision prevailed. Were we going to Pienza? Were we staying around the farm? Would Adam leave with the key? Would I strike out on my own? The only ones with a real plan were the Dutch and they stuck to it. Laura and Eric were going to Montepulciano and at ten they took off. By noon no was moving so Rick and JoHannah decided it was time to pull out what they could from the frigs for an impromptu lunch. Adam was not to be found and I decided it was time for me to bail and go off on my own.
The original plan had been for Pienza and I began with that in mind until I reached the bottom of the hill. The main reason for choosing Pienza had been to act as tour guide for Adam and Roby, I had been there several times before. Since they weren't there at that decision point in the road I decided to go in the opposite direction and head towards Asciano, a town close by I had never seen.. I turned on the right-hand directional and off I went, knowing I could stop anywhere I wanted. There are advantages to traveling alone.
The route to Asciano is almost completely uphill on windy shoulderless roads. I don't know if it was because of the time of day or the season when fewer tourists are about but over the 19 kilometers to Asciano I think I ran into fewer than five other vehicles going in the opposite direction. It gave me permission to pull as far to the side of the road as possible without having the car fall down a cliff or without having anyone scream at me to be careful.
Photographing the countryside in Tuscany during spring reinforces the understanding that one color can not be described by one word alone.
To say the vistas were green doesn't do the descriptive powers of words justice to what lay before me. Green is more than one word here. It's lush, it's heathered, it's chartreuse, it's melon, it's an undulating blanket, it's forest, it's oak, it's ivy, it's white wine.
Asciano is much like many of the small towns surrounding us in Tuscany. It's history is triple the length of our American history.
It was once fortified but it now rests peacefully with an old town center, a smattering of brutalist buildings dating back to the Mussolini time period and a belt of more current buildings of insignificant description.
The center of the old town can mostly be described as soft. The buildings are very pastel and almost tropical. Details on many of the buildings are not built in to the structure but painted on in a trompe l'oeil fashion.
The contrast comes with a chill when you see the largest structures in town remaining from the second world war time in Italy. It was a reminder of what can happen when autocracy tries to prevail. I didn't want to spend a whole lot of time in Asciano. I had arrived at the time when most places were closed and none of the restaurants were appealing. Given not much more to do I walked back the way I came and got back in the car
I decided to head back to Armena on the same road I had traveled to make sure I didn't get lost then make a stop at the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore about halfway back to the farm. We had been here once before on Christmas Eve and stepped into the church to listen to a part of the Christmas mass but we hadn't wondered any further into complex.
Discovering the cloisters on my own was, if not a religious experience, a spiritual one.
The walls and ceilings throughout are adorned with frescos. Colonnades depicting the life of St Benedict surround a central courtyard.
You have to look closely and not be overwhelmed by the frescos to find an opening leading to other areas open for exploration.
That's how I found my way to the library, one of the most beautiful libraries I've ever seen. The open hall lined with bookcases containing century old manuscripts on everything from cooking recipes to medicinal remedies.
Beyond the rows of books there's a staircase leading up to what used to be the pharmacy. The remaining artifacts of the pharmacy are still on display through the beauty of the ceramic containers for the medicinal ingredients to glass beakers looking like a mad scientist's laboratory.
When I returned Emmy and I took a quick run back to Buonconvento to order her bag from Pianigiani.
As we were leaving the center of Buonconvento we spotted Giulia standing outside her flower shop looking as beautiful as the flowers surrounding her. Giulia is the girlfriend of Jacopo the Saraceni's older son and an entrepreneur in her mid-twenties taking on the challenge of opening her own store.
Back at the farm there was little relaxing, as dinner prep is always an event. Dusk was on us before the table was set putting the dinner hour closer to ten for the evening.
The steaks had been marinating all day in a sauce Rick had prepared. Alessandro had split the wood for the grill to cook the steaks. Once the fire was roaring Giulio began pulling the embers to go under the grill. There was a real art to this preparation ritual.
The meal was once again spectacular beginning with a pasta ragu and caprese. The steaks were the main event served alongside roasted zucchini and eggplant.
It was perfection on a plate taking Rick all the way to gnawing the bone.
With the wine flowing along with the conversation well into the night somewhere in time we sent Jacopo into town for a gelato infusion. Alessandro showed everyone how to finish a meal.Nobody can say we don't have fun.
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