Hair, Roads, Baths, Roads, Hills, Christmas Markets

 Before leaving Australia we intended to both have a haircut, however, time just got away, and we weren't able to fit it in. So with some help from our friend Rosalinda we were able to book in at the Ladys Salon and also at the Barbers in Castiglion Fiorentino. 

It is little experiences like these that mean so much to us, Yes the attractions are well worth the attention received but it is such an insight for us when we take time to slow down and travel like locals.

I entered the Barber and Rosalinda was able to give some instructions to the barber who said he didn't speak English. I also realised this was not any male barbers, this place also had a sink where they washed the customer's hair!

Anyway keeping with the theme of travelling like a local, I had my hair washed, hair clippers, a razor around the edges and a trim to the beard. It was the longest, but most thorough barber experience I have ever had. 

I then went and did a self-tour of the supermarket, I love these places when overseas, yes we have the same products, but there are many differences.  Italy has an entire aisle committed to pasta, but only a few shelves for breakfast cereal. Italy sells prosciutto ham, hanging in the deli area, just grab an entire leg and use your meat slicer at home. There is much less beer, but both beer, wine and spirits are just in the aisles like all the other products, not in a separate bottle shop like home. 

By now Katie had completed her makeover and we were both impressed with her hair, she looked fabulous. 

Our next stop was a place I had been meaning to visit many times Bagno Vignoni, the place of a hot spring. 

This has hot water coming from the earth, filling a large man-made lake and then being channelled through the village to a stream. 

Lunch was also had here where we had some local cheese with plain honey and truffle honey drizzled over, followed by a rectangle pasta in broth (pasta had a similar filling to tortellini) and I had a ragu pasta.  All meals were amazing, and we also had excellent wait staff. 

From here, it was to Montepulciano where we walked up, up and up the main street till we reached Piazza Grande and attended the Christmas Market and a Brunello de Montechino wine tasting. A bottle was also purchased, but I doubt it will make it home!

Finally, the sun was setting, and we headed back home to LaMaesta. 

Leaving the country, time for the city.

This was another day where we once again surprised ourselves and managed to fit all our belongings and newly purchased souvenirs into our bags.

It was then time for the last espresso in the comfort of Rosalinda's lounge room where we expressed our thanks and discussed Stefano and his trip to Australia in 2019. 😜

In the past week whilst at La Maesta we had three opportunities to have local Tuscan meals with Rosalinda, Stefano, Lilla and Virginia. The meals were made with locally sourced ingredients and made with love using unwritten recipes handed down from generation to generation.

Our first meal consisted of a bread soup Ribollita followed by Osso Bucco. The Ribollita bread soup was just amazing and was similar to a minestrone soup but had been thickened with bread being added. We both had tried Ribollita while out at other places this trip, but none were as good as La Maesta's. Normally I am not a fan of Osso Bucco, but with the local herbs and Lilla's love added it was amazing.

The next evening started with handmade ravioli and then followed with bbq steak cooked over a wood fire, which was sliced and then drizzled with rosemary and peppercorns that had been heated in a pan to release the aromatics. This evening was finished with a giant Tiramisu. So lovely and fresh from the kitchen.

Last night, our final meal, we were presented with Lasagna and then roast chicken and potatoes. The flavours of the food are unbelievable and no matter how much I try, doubt, I could ever replicate.

We loaded our bags into the Pope Mobile and then made the short journey to the closest train station to La Maesta, Castiglione Fiorentino, just 10 minutes away.

As we also found yesterday, purchasing tickets is very easy on the automated machines, we just needed to select English then where we wanted to go and follow the prompts for payment. The machines accept credit cards and cash too.

Just purchasing the ticket is however not the end, each ticket must be validated by putting it into a little machine on the platform where it gets a hole punched in it and the date stamped.  Without this validation, the ticket inspector will issue a fine.

With the train journey over we were in Florence, and it was a little bit of a shock, being in a bustling city for the first time in a while and it is always crazy around the central station too.

After dropping our bags we ventured out and explored the city by foot, this visit to Florence we will be visiting some favourites but also covering some of the places we had missed in the past.  First stop was Mercato Centrale a food market with an upstairs food court where cooked produce can be purchased.  This place always has fresh food and amazes me of the things I have never seen before. 

There are parts of animals that I never thought could be or should be eaten.

Leaving the market we then walked the gauntlet of men selling poor quality leather and scarves.  Passing through one man said "I have nice scarf for you, special price", Katie replied "I'll come back later" where he promptly returned with "I will wait for you". I hope he isn't waiting, we didn't return. 

Another said "I have jacket for you, half price, and in your size, big shoulders," courteously I replied, "No, grazie".

Next stop was the Duomo, we never get sick of this building. It's big, it's impressive and I still can't believe how arduous the construction would have been without today's modern building techniques. It is a world treasure.

Whilst the skies were still blue and the sun shining, we walked over to Basilica of Santa Croce. We had visited the exterior before but with research since that visit, found out about the impressive interior and also the tomb of Michelangelo.

We paid the 8euro entry (each) and were impressed by the interior and very high ceiling. 

I was then met with slight disappointment as Michelangelo's tomb was covered in scaffolding and was in restoration.

Our walk then took us down to the Arno river and then we returned to our room via some 'human Xerox machines'.  This is what I call these artists, they don't create any original works and basically reproduce the same images over and over. You can find them in any tourist place, it could be Venice, Rome or here in Florence.

 

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Anghiari, a little place on the edge of Tuscany.

Mattino Toscano (a Tuscan Morning)

First thing this morning we headed to the local pharmacist where Katie purchased a selection of goodies, that will help make this little cold more bearable and hopefully kick it sooner, rather than later.

It then was time for some new explorations; this time a hilltop town north from Agriturismo La Maestà, Anghiari.

The drive from Castiglion Fiorentino was through a wooded area and was some Italian countryside that we had not seen before. Unfortunately, when driving I cant take photos and there were no real opportunities to stop. With the road running along the creek, some trees were without leaves and covered in moss, while some still retained their leaves, but were brown and ready to fall.

Anghiari has much history and more than I could ever faithfully represent here, but thankfully their history is maintained in the many museums that are in the town.  We visited the Museo della Battaglia e di Anghiari, which presented information about a historic battle and also other historical information about the town over three floors. It was well worth the 4 euro entry per person.

After the museum, we ventured further and made a purchase of a ceramic Giraffe, from a lovely little man. If we had bigger bags who knows what else we would have got.

Then it was time to visit a church, this one was from the 1100's.

Lunch was at a lovely place, Il Feudo del Vicario, where I had porcini mushroom pasta followed by a rustic beef steak, where Katie had a soup of chicken broth and spelt (a type of legume) followed by steak braised with polenta wedges.  We both shared a small bowl of potatoes which were seasoned with salt, olive oil and (amazing) truffle. 

The meal was lovely, as were the surrounds of the tiny dining room. Locals filled all of the tables, enjoying their Sunday dinner and we took joy in realising we were the only tourists in the place.  These are the little restaurants we like to uncover - if they are full of locals, you know you are on to a winner! 

We continued walking the streets of the town but did find it to be one of the hilliest places we have visited. It was very much up and down, not a flat street or laneway to be seen.

Below is Franco, as Katie named him. When we parked the car at Anghiari, he arrived and was meowing at us both, we gave him a pat and he followed us part way into the town.

When we returned to the car Franco the Gatto was still there, this time curled up on the seat waiting for us.

Before leaving Anghiari, I was able to take the DJI Mavic drone for a flight around the town, and here it is below.

We then returned via the same path and stopped in at Castiglion Fiorentino and walked up to Piazza del Municipio and had a coffee, whilst admiring the view. Thankfully by now, our winter colds had started to improve a little.

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The night train served its purpose, only just.

Neither Katie or I had used a sleeper train before and were unsure of exactly what to expect.

The train served its purpose and allowed us to get some sleep and transferred us from Munich to Arezzo, here are a couple of the downsides.

You can't have your seat and bed set at the same time. Initially, the compartment is set for seating. About an hour into the trip the stewardess comes to get the breakfast orders and also asks if we would like the seats switched into bed mode. 

Once this is done you only have the option of sitting on the bed with your feet dangling off the edge. This is uncomfortable.  

Next problem is actually in the bed, with the twisting and turning of the carriage I often felt like I was going to roll off, especially when the driver used the brakes to slow the train. Also when the train goes around corners the carriage tilts one way, sending blood to the feet and the other, blood to the head. 

The next problem is with all this rocking, rolling, twisting and turning it is basically impossible to use the shower facilities without falling and hurting one's self. We both opted to not shower on the train and wait till we reached our accommodation. 

The breakfast service is well organised and served in the compartment or made for you to take away. We dined in the carriage. Before bedding down, you get to choose from six items on the menu, any extras are about 1.50 euro each.  Options available are bread rolls (2), coffee, tea, orange juice, butter, jam, honey, Nutella, salami, mortadella, cheese, sausage, yoghurt and bircher muesli.

Overall as I have stated previously the train sleeper was ok and served a purpose, however, if we did it again we would not do it on a windy line through the alps! We are both glad of selecting this method of transport to have the experience first hand.

After the journey, we collected our car from Arezzo AVIS and purchased some items for lunch then headed to La Maestà Tuscan Sun, where we met with Rosalinda.

The rest of the morning we settled in and washed some clothes and in the afternoon headed to Castiglion Fiorentino for a short walk and to get some supplies for the next week.

There was also a breif moment of fair wether to fly the drone over La Maestà Tuscan Sun (click he YouTube video below)

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