La Dolce Vita

Had a good sleep and we decided to go and look around the large weekly market here. It was huge, but mainly clothes and household goods, then a whole row of plants, for both indoors and the garden. These were all mobbed and had great vegetables and flowers at good prices that were being snapped up by huge queues of people,
We nipped back to the flat to get cream for LE who’d picked up some nasty mozzy bites from somewhere (we hadn’t noticed any yesterday and I’ve luckily not had any), then set off to walk out of the city and up to a local vineyard. Lovely to go through a bit of the countryside with the poppies, cypress trees and long rows of vines, and it was a pleasant warm day, despite the forecast having threatened rain. We admired some of the villas with their lovely sheltered terraces where I imagine long summer lunches are enjoyed…set me off reminiscing about holidays like that we’ve had in the past.
We arrived at the vineyard and once the other 6 people were there the owner began his explanation of what they do there. We visited the olive tree groves (it takes two of their relatively young trees to make a litre of virgin oil) and explained that oil can be labelled ‘virgin’ even if it only has 1% of the cold pressed oil in the bottle, which is why it can vary so much in price despite having the same label.
We then moved to the area where he grows the San Giovese vines and learnt about how they’re pruned, kept healthy from pests and diseases whilst being certified organic, and respond to climate changes that are increasingly regularly challenging them. Reminded me of the tales from the Hunter Valley vineyard we went to in Australia….its a difficult balancing act to bring home a successful harvest each year.
We moved to the ‘cellar’ (a lovingly converted outbuilding) with its combination of stainless steel and oak barrels and heard about the many steps involved in bringing the grapes to the bottling stage. They produce 3 reds, two whites and a sweet wine here, on a very small plot, and we moved to the tasting room to try them all with a lovely lunch of fresh pasta, Bresaola salad and roasted tomatoes with bread and their olive oil, followed by flourless chocolate cake with strawberries. Whilst I only tried a little of their chianti (LE got double helpings since I don’t drink wine) the food was delicious and it was interesting to chat to the other guests and to our guide. He spoke about the different wines of the Chianti area and the rivalries between many of the towns, especially Siena and Florence, although he said they all agreed to hate Pisa!
Once we had finished we strolled back into town and came back to the apartment for a bit of a rest. I finished my book on A Month in Siena by Hisham Matar and enjoyed his descriptions of the art I’ve seen here, and reflections on seeing the flag handling training and the sound of the drummers around the little streets and courtyards.
LE went off to the museum I’d visited the other day whilst I stayed to read and edit some photos, then when she returned we popped up the road behind the flat to a little restaurant that the owner had recommended where they did speciality Pinza dishes (different shape pizzas made with unique dough). I had one with potato, blue cheese and smoked duck and it was stunning….really delicious! LE had octopus, then I had a crème brûlée which was appropriately very creamy. We chatted about Canada, staff development schemes, Primark, the importance of seeking joy in life and countless other topics!
Home lateish and straight to bed. It’s been a very chilled and enjoyable day