A Tuscan Christmas eve

 I couldn't wipe the smile off my face this morning as we woke in Tuscany. The views over the valley were even more beautiful than I had remembered. This morning, the first thing to do was head to the local supermarket for a few supplies, like breakfast things, snacks to have in our apartment, etc. A trip to the supermarket in Italy is something else - especially at Christmas time. Along with the regular items to be found were aisles full of Christmas treats, speciality pastries and Pannetone in every flavour imaginable. 

We returned to La Maesta and enjoyed reuniting with our favourite place, taking a walk around the property. It is of course, Winter here, but the weather is not intolerable. We sat outside and enjoyed the views, and Shannon called home to check in with the Walshs. We joined Stefano, Rosalinda and Virginia for coffee and met Stefano's sister and brother-in-law, who had arrived for Christmas. This then rolled into lunch which we thoroughly enjoyed. Rosalinda made a delicious fettuccine ragu, followed by roast beef, salad, and slices of Pannetone with coffee.

It was nice to spend time with the family and help Virginia with her English homework! Her English is excellent, and her knowledge of grammar is most likely better than mine ;-)

For the afternoon, we decided to visit Arezzo, a beautiful city nearby, only a ten-minute train ride from Castiglion Fiorentino. We took our time wandering the streets, brushing shoulders with the locals who were busily buying last-minute Christmas gifts and enjoying the atmosphere. In the main piazza, we came across a Christmas market, which was quite similar to those we had seen in Germany. There were stalls selling Christmas decorations, gloves and hats and of course plenty of food. We stopped at a small cafe on the main square for 'Aperetivo'. This is the time in the late afternoon that Italians enjoy a cocktail or wine with snacks before dinner. Shannon had a Negroni, and I had my favourite, an Aperol Spritz. We sat and enjoyed watching the people go by and many, many dogs. It got dark by 4:40pm, and the beautiful lights came on. We got the train back to La Maesta and will soon join the family for a Christmas eve dinner.