The Drive and the Countryside

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Today was our tour of the Tuscan countryside – first to San Gimingano and then to Siena. Our driver was Alexander (from Australia) who moved to Italy 40 years ago at a very young age and took the name Alessandro. He spoke with a heavy Italian accent (keep that in mind for what follows).

Tim sat in the front seat while the rest of us piled into the back. There was a lively conversation from the start in that front seat. Despite the language barrier, Tim and Alessandro were chatting like best friends in a matter of 5 miles. Those of us in the back could not help but listen in and at times chuckle about the exchanges of Alessandro speaking and Tim saying, “Huh?” At one point, Alessandro was talking about his daughter, and when Tim asked how old she was, Alessandro responded with what sounded like, “Six – tee.” Tim’s incredulous response was, “What?!?! Sixty?” Now Alessandro was an older guy, but it even took Tim by surprise. What followed was a sequence of Alessandro saying something with the number six in it, and Tim questioning back, “six – zero?” or “sixteen?” (with excessive emphasis on the “n”) or “one-six?” Alessandro kept saying “six … something.” After several back and forths, Alessandro gets out his wallet (while driving down the highway) and fumbles through the wallet until he produces a picture of a little girl who looks about 6. In the end, those of us in the back seat were never really sure whether the picture was his daughter or grand-daughter and whether she was 6 or 16.

Alessandro also was sharing his interests (and pictures) which seem to focus mostly on flying airplanes. At one point, Alessandro even mentioned flying in a “Baaloo.” Tim responded “What?” Alessandro and Tim continued the exact same exchange several times – Alessandro “Baaloo” and Tim “What!?” Michele was in the back seat about to burst and tell Tim that Alessandro was saying “balloon.” Just before she burst, Alessandro and Tim made the connections and there was an audible sigh from the five of us in the back seat.

With the driving antics out of the way, let me say it straight away – if you ever have the chance to go to San Gimingano, you must go! It is a an absolutely beautiful 14^th century town, just like you might envision – narrow stone streets, some churches, perched on a hilltop overlooking a broad colorful valley filled with vineyards and olive groves. Unfortunately, we were there only one hour and we could have spent several hours there.

We left there for lunch at a vineyard nearby – Fattoria Poggio Alloro. We got off the main road (and “road” is a generous description), and turned on to a gravel road that was even narrower. Just when we thought the scenery in Tuscany could not get any better, we were stunned as we were escorted to the back of the farmhouse. There was our table with a stunning view of the valley but looking up the hillside back to the walled city of San Gimingano in all its glory. We had a leisurely lunch, which was great since we could not stop staring at the view.

We went on to Siena, a larger city but still with many features from many years ago including Roman times. After all of our travels, we needed a toilette stop (as they say in Italy) and found a public restroom. The attendant therein was a bit slovenly and was making sure everyone deposited their 50 cent piece in the turn style. When the turn style got jammed, the attendant made sure that it was working again. Once the guys got out, Chan and Steve were quick to point out to Tim that this was the type of job Tim could do in retirement (Tim is looking to stay busy these days). Tim readily agreed but noted he needed more education. He noted that when he got back to the US he would look into some correspondence courses on bathroom management.

What have we learned by now is the following:

·       If you are buying Chianti that doesn’t have a black rooster on the label somewhere, then you are not buying authentic Chianti.

·       Gelato is God’s gift to Italy (less fat and less sugar – more filling, tastes great) and Italy’s gift to us.

·       The average European or at least the average tourist in Europe doesn’t understanding queuing theory – that is, forming a line and following one behind another in their proper turn. All such thoughts are null and void. People just jump ahead in the line when they want something.

·       Every church was built in the 14^th century or earlier. Anything after the 14^th century is considered new.

·       Our church count is now up to 27 and the chapel count is well over 100.