Day 5 - Down to Tuscany

Saturday - Happy birthday to Colin as we embarked on what would be a adventure down to Tuscany.  There's been no Clooney sighting so we may as well make our way to somewhere else.  Our hotel doesn't start breakfast until the very late time of eight o'clock but agreed to accommodate us early. I was pleasantly surprised when they'd not just sat out some yogurt and three croissants but had the whole spread ready to go.

I found the news agent and stood in line with many teenagers (this early on a Saturday?), bought three bus tickets to Como and we caught the bus. The drive was uneventful, save for the poor young lady who apparently had some bad news on the ride (see previous post). Luckily an American man sitting behind us had been to the station earlier in the week and recognized the Como stop we wanted as the bus had no sign, verbal or otherwise, of which stop was which. Our time in Como proper would be brief and consisted of a stop visit to the strangest shop at train / bus station I've ever seen. The Asian lady behind the counter would be happy to sell us travelers essentials such as pain killers and umbrellas, but also souvenirs of the utmost tackiness, the ever-present British tourist scarves, cheap clothes and some of the ugliest pumps I've ever seen.  But this since this bus station is conveniently also the train station, after some debate with the ticket agent about where in Milan to change for the airporter, we're off on our first Italian train.  Let's just say that, while it got the job done, the Swiss trains were much above the Italian and leave it at that. 

Changing trains in Milan was a little taxing. We got off on platform 14 and headed upstairs and then back downstairs to go over to track 13 which was posted to be the proper track when we left Como.  When the train to Naples showed up on the same track, we were naturally perplexed. As irritations elevated, we sought help by a nice young man from Trentalia who led us BACK upstairs to watch the big board where the still blank space for "platform" would soon magically display the proper track. Which it did, about five minutes before departure, number 13... Back downstairs we head for the train to take us to the airport.

The Malsepena Express was back up to Swiss standards and the 30-45 minute ride was pleasant enough, taking us through parts of Milan which were not on our list for good reason. Unfortunately, that might be all we get to see of Milan. We had planned to spend our last night there and Sherre and Ann even have tickets bought to see The Last Supper. Might not happen. As it stands, we may be trying to find our way to Amsterdam instead.

Now at the airport, we made our way to the rental car area where every agency that you've ever heard of is represented, except Advantage, which happens to be one who is holding our car hostage. After much confusion, we figured out where to meet the shuttle bus which took us (driving way fast) to a small, cramped, stuffy office full of notebooks where the very attractive agent, completing 20 minutes of paperwork, let us drive away with an Opel station wagon, silly man.  At lest we have full coverage.  Due to various circumstances I will be the only driver. That's a good thing (I drive pretty decent in Europe + I'm a control freak) and a bad thing (drivers don't get to blog or see all the scenery).  As the airport is really no where near Milan there were little traffic or navigation issues and we start driving southeast through Parma (ham and cheese), Modena (balsamic vinegar) and Bologna (duh) with no time to stop. Darn the luck. The scenery through this area could almost be Texas. 

Speaking of Texas, I had read all about the Autogrills of Italy (think Stuckeys for the Yanks and Little Chef for the Brits) and how they had such a wonderful variety of deli meats and cheeses and paninis and pasta , etc, etc. The Autogrill kind of holds you hostage as you're on a toll road and it is that or nothing. But with the reviews I read, hey no problem! We spotted an exit for an Autogrill and excitedly took the ramp. We would figure out later that different Autogrills, in additional to the large grocery, souvenir and DVD selections, have different restaurants contained within, one of which has meats and yummy cheeses and paninis. This particular stop.... the restaurant was...you guessed it.... The Old Wild West. Humorous moment was when Sherre ordered the Navajo combo and was promptly corrected. It's pronounced "na-VAH-oh". We've apparently been taught wrong in History class all these years.

 I believe it was when we were getting close to Florence that we began to see mountains in the distance and the rolling hills started to appear. Closer to Sienna, the cypress trees appear with a vengeance and we started to see the iconic Tuscany in the picture books. 

Driving through Sienna and trying to get on the road to Asciano where we'd be staying could have been a real nightmare.  It should have been a real nightmare. Luckily, I'd printed step by step directions from Via Michelin which got us through the many turns and twists and roundabouts perfectly.  Out of Siena, the Crete Senesi landscape appeared as something almost from another planet.  Plowed fields of an odd grey soil on rolling hills were just breathtaking.  We passed through several villages, signposted but tiny, one with only one structure. 

We had planned on arriving in Asciano around 4:00 to meet Roberto who was, according to his email, "awaiting for us in Tuscany with joy".  We were more like 8:00. That just happens when you're traveling doesn't it? Finding the 14th century tower in the walls of the town which we'd booked was difficult, even through Ann and I had each seen it on the Google street view many times.  After driving up what was probably a no-vehicle zone, we luckily found a large, free parking lot outside the walls. 

We sat by a fountain which surely was close and Ann started texting Roberto. He never quite answered the questions that Ann was asking him and we were getting a bit frustrated. We told him, as her phone battery was on its last dying breath, we were "by the fountain", not realizing that there were multiple fountains in this small town. Miraculously, soon coming down the hill was a bouncing Roberto, so happy to see us!  He was almost, well, joyful, as we're we. We were starting to think we would be sleeping on the street or in the Opal.

Roberto walks us to Giordano’s Tower which was only about 50' away. As just about all of the buildings are made of the same stone, it's camouflaged and around the corner. The pictures on the internet make it look as though it sits a bit by itself but that's far from accurate. Our home away from home in Asciano was completed in the 1350's and consists of three floors, maybe a 16' x 16' footprint, + a rooftop terrace. The  bottom floor has a pull out sofa, a wardrobe full of cleaning supplies (why?), a baby tv and a lemon yellow vinyl and chrome 80's chair. A stone niche provided an excellent spot for my suitcase. From the size of the front door and the lack of original interior staircase, this area was for the animals back in the day. 

A tight modern spiral staircase of 23 stairs gets you to the main living area with a four top, bright plaid plastic covered table, an piece of Ikea kitchen with a gas stove, mini fridge, sink, mini dishwasher and a washing machine. There's  also a wonderful fireplace so big it has stone benches inside. 

Another 13 steps, this time stone with a step height well above ADA standard, takes you the third floor. Carefully stepping out into the floor mid-stair there are two tiny rooms, one on either side: One with a sink and the other with a toilet and the tiniest shower you've ever seen.  It's sort of a triangle with sides about 24". Thank goodness I've done lots of yoga.  It was only via muscle memory that enabled me to shave my legs. Pass the facilities and you're in a bedroom with another double bed and a large, modern wardrobe. 

 

More stone steps lead to the large terrace with a couple of tables, eight chairs and a couple of chaise lounges, one of which had lost its feet part.  There was also a clothes line, which we would use later once we figured at how to work the washing machine from another planet.  Giodarno's Tower also came with a parking space just around the corner at Roberto's house, complete with a locking gate.
 

We had parked in a relatively full parking lot and after settling in, set out to find out why this little town of less than 8,000 was hopping so, even for a Friday night. Our stomachs were also screaming a bit, as it was 9:00 by now. The tower was down the hill from the two main piazzas, but it must not have been too bad a hill as going up as Sherre and I only had to stop and look at the view (i.e. rest) once.  Low and behold our little town was in the middle of Settembre Ascianese, a month long festa!  

As tourists frequently do, we stopped into the first restaurant we saw but we're turned away "All booked" even though it was completely empty. The man looked to be the proprietor gave us his card and sent us on our way with instruction to go around the corner. We stepped in to find again completely empty but  "All booked". We handed a young gentlemen the card, thinking that it might get us in but all he did was lead us outside and try to take us back to the restaurant in the card. "No! All booked!", we said. Instead of turning us away he did an interesting thing. He lead us around the corner and down the street to another restaurant. By now, whatever event that had happened earlier had let out and the third restaurant was full. Uh oh, we thought. But the nice man handed an equally nice lady our card and she took us to a back room where we experienced a couple of treats: the first of many ultra-cheap wine experiences, fun and efficient service and some incredible food. Throughout Tuscany, and this night in the heart of Chianti country, you must just order the house wine. It will be red unless you asked for white, it comes in a carafe, and is no more than 5 euros for a liter! To translate, that's two glasses apiece for about $2 a person for some really good wine. I think in a week we had one wine that we didn't care for, but that one was only 4 euros so who really cares! 

Our food choices that night would stretch our normal safe bets but did not disappoint. We started with fried artichokes, not my fav but the other girls enjoyed them. Ann, who doesn't eat red meat, got the tuna, onion and mozzarella pizza (E6.5) that she had been wanted since we set foot on Italian soil. Sherre and I agreed that is was, well, tuna pizza but Ann really enjoyed it. She enjoyed it so much that she packed up the leftovers in another pretty pizza box and put them in our tiny fridge, were they would happily reside for the next four days. 

Sherre had Tagliatelle al ragu d'Anatra (tagliatte pasta with duck ragout - E8) which appeared to be tasty but neither Ann nor I can vouch for that since we wouldn't dare try it. I had the Capocollo alla griglia con salsa di cipolle (translated on the menu into Engrish as "Meat porc of grilled with onion sauce" - E8.5). For some reason I visualized some sort of pork tenderloin with an oniony brown gravy. No. Don't visualize here in Italy - you will always be surprised and sometimes confused and occasionally disappointed. This was more like a thin but giant pork chop (like an grilled unbreaded schnitzel) accompanied by a new taste sensation which I, unusually, could not quite decipher. Think caramelized onions to which you've added maybe cream cheese + something slightly tangy. It was delish and if anyone reading this has a clue, please fill me in. 

The restaurant was starting the thin out and tablecloths were being removed by the time we finished our meal so we asked if we could take what was left of our very yummy and  cheap wine outside to watch the world go by. Chick talk, wine and cool weather was the perfect end to a long day. That and the fire dancers that were performing on the church steps. We walked back down the Tower and made bed assignments. Sherre and I would take the fold away on the bottom floor since we wanted to be lazy and Ann would take the bedroom. The bed assignments would change two other times in our four nights....