The 3rd honeymoon, a trip report.

Old Oct 29th, 2006, 04:01 PM
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From Pontedera we back tracked a little because Castelfranco di Sotto sounded interesting !!! Castelfranco di Sotto's main claim to fame is as well as being a pretty little village is that it is the Cream Puff capital of Italy !! It would have been a nice place to spend a couple of days ! The surrounding countryside has lots of fruit trees and I could imagine spring being wonderfull.

Back on the road again and we head towards the town of San Miniato , or should I say the San Miniato bypass, damned if I could work out how to get into it ! On through Fontanella and Castelfiorentino heading south.

We have decided that Certaldo will be the lunch destination, even though 2.30pm is getting a bit late for lunch..but hey this is Italy ! We drive straight into the heart of the lower town and find a car park very easily in front of the town hall, and being sunday it was free !! We find the funicular that takes us to Certaldo Alto, the old town on top of the hill! First on the agenda is to find something to eat , we stop at an Enotecha and order a platter of "typical certaldan delicacies", basically a fancy anti pasto plate, but it was damn good. Lisa had bought a small bottle of Mushroom and truffle paste which we also included in the meal as we sat outside. We washed it down with a bottle of a local white (can't remember the name !), which was slightly sparkling and very refeshing. Lunch cost us about 30 euros ( and the mushroom and truffle paste was 10 of that !!!).

Certaldo is well preserved and certainly being looked after. Palazzo Pretorio is the highest building in town and offers a nice view over Certaldo. Outside is a facade decorated with heraldic shields while the inside includes a prison, the quarters of the Vicar and his family, and rooms formerly used as the seat of government. The palazzo is located on Piazza del Vicariato in Certaldo Alto. The Palazzo had a display from some modern artists which seemed so incongrous in the 11th century surroundings. The garden had quite a number of very spectacular roses and to keep to the unexpected theme on the other side was a full on Japanese Zen garden !!

We passed on the chance to ride the funicular down and had a very pleasant stroll before boarding the Renault for the rest of the journey.

We take a very narrow back road heading towards the little village of Tavernelle Val di Pesa to have a look at the villa we stayed at in 2000. It was worth the detour for the drive through some wooded areas, and the Villa Genziana brought back some good memories!

Back on track, through Barberino Val D'elsa before hitting that black hole of motoring Poggibonsi !! I dreaded this part of the drive as the maze of roads,flyovers, highways, trucks, delivery vans,tourist buses and bicycles make it a nightmare, to my credit I only took the one wrong exit !

The rest of the journey was dead easy as we bypassed Siena and found the Hotel at Borgo La Bagnaia very easily, arriving just in time for cocktails !
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Old Oct 29th, 2006, 05:11 PM
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Marko, I love your humor and writing style.

I have always beem afraid to drive around Italy even though DH wants to but now after reading your report I think we will give it a try. (the problem is me, I can't read a map)

Keep your report coming.
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Old Nov 1st, 2006, 02:42 PM
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topping to add/..
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Old Nov 2nd, 2006, 04:22 PM
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The next week is with a small group, 15 in total, and has been organised by the company who is hosting us.

Borgo La Bagnaia is situated 12 kilometres south of Siena and is a posh sort of spot in the country side. It is a renowned equestrian centre and usually caters for the horsey jet set. It is pretty much empty, but the staff tells me it will be full next week as there is a show jumping competition. The rooms are quite large and very nicely decorated, the place has a huge pool and lots of grassy areas. The place is spread out in a way that confirms that it used to be a little village. Across the main road is the other section which includes a bar, restaurant, and health spa. Breakfast today is on the terrace overlooking the fields of Tuscany !

Now heres a spooky thing, after I parked the car and our luggage was picked up and delivered to the room I had cause to get something else from the car. I had put a sheet of paper in the glove box, when I dragged it out, the manual for the car slipped out as well and fell open on the car floor, in it was apiece paper with hand written notes on how to get from Bologna to.......Borgo La Bagnaia !!! No wonder we found the place so easily , the car had been there before !
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Old Nov 2nd, 2006, 07:18 PM
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After breakfast we had the morning free to do some exploring, so we jumped in the car and headed south. The initial goal was to find Bagni di Petrioli, a set of sulpher springs that are known for their healing qualities. After a few wrong turns we found it, just as a rain storm found us, it poured so our plans to have a dip disappeared. One interesting thing we saw in the car park was an absolutely stunning italian woman get out of her car in the skimpiest bikini I have seen for a while ! There wasn't enough fabric to make a handkerchief, she wobbled down to the entry is ridiculously tall heels and it was about then that I wore the spouses elbow in my side ! Ouch...time to move on. Oh and the sulpher springs STINK, like being stuck in a lift with a flatulent person !

Back on the road we headed west looking for Abbazia di San Galgano. It's a very pretty drive, lots of wooded areas and views peaking through the mists. We found it fairly easily and stopped for a quick espresso at the restaurant across the field from the ruins. Out in the middle of a ploughed field is the Abbey of San Galgano, a Gothic architectural masterpiece that lost its roof in 1550 and has been abandoned ever since. The abbey is set in a beautifully secluded area off the main road. You're free to roam through these recently restored ruins or even take a short walking path leading up a small hill to the Capella di Monte Siepi (Chapel of Monte Siepi). It houses a very special relic: a real "Sword In The Stone" that dates back to the 12th century. Legend has it that Saint Galgano Guidotti thrust his sword into a rock outside his home and it's been there ever since, with a small church subsequently built around it. The chapel is an interesting beehive shape. We were the only ones at the Abbey and it was quite eerie as it was misty and dark. Great place for a horror movie. One little note, if it was busy there the public car park is about 750 meters from the Abbey, we parked at the restaurant which is much closer.


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Old Nov 4th, 2006, 02:34 AM
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The spouse feels the need for retail therapy after the cultural experience so we head into Siena. Honestly do not be put off driving the back roads of Italy, as long as you have a decent map and you can tell north from south you will be OK. In fact the hard part is usually getting OUT of towns and cities! You have to make educated guess's at time, just know what direction you want to end up !

Siena and shoes...success at last ! We didn't have a map so we just wandered for a while and managed to walk past most of the sites! The Duomo was half covered in scaffolding. It was a flying visit only ,but good fun and Il Campo was fairly quiet so I managed to get some good pics. We had a coffee at the cafe we ate at in 2000. It is a wonderfull place Siena and if you are visiting Tuscany DO NOT miss it. We grab some pizza on the fly and (eventually) find our way out of Siena heading south on the S222 to Borgo la Bagnaia.

The next bit will be posted in a seperate thread as it is when I started taking culinary notes...foodie stuff!
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