On the Move - Italy (1 of 23) - Arrival
Sep. 1st, 2001 03:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetLeaving in the late afternoon made Friday reasonably relaxed for me, although Jason was in a frenzy of last minute work tasks. We left the flat around four and headed out to Heathrow along with what seemed like everyone else in London. Our train was packed all the way out and the check-in area was a zoo. The duty free shops in Terminal 2 are less interesting than in Terminal 4 and the options for food quite limited, so we ended up wolfing down sandwiches on our way to the gate. Our flight was delayed, so we sat in the lounge for a while and then boarded and sat in the plane for a while longer. The food was grimmer than usual--slices of turkey and ham with shredded carrots and very strange-tasting green beans. The view over the Mediterranean as we approached Rome was lovely and we arrived at Da Vinci-Fiumicino airport just over an hour late and very glad we had not planned to make the last flight up to Florence that night.
We got our bags onto a cart and rolled out into the terminal, very happy to see signs pointing us to the Hilton. It was quite a walk along what seemed like miles of pedestrian bridges and we were very happy that we could take the cart the whole way, although a little surprised that they let us take it right up to our room. We've grown used to our queen-sized bed in London, but it's nice to spread out in a king-size on occasion and we had a very pleasant sleep. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel buffet included with our room and then rolled back over to the terminal for our flight up to Florence. We had left plenty of time, in case checking in was a lengthy process, but it took less than five minutes, so we were left with over an hour to roam the shops. We made our way down to the gate and played with our map of Tuscany, trying to familiarize ourselves with the area. Eventually a bus pulled up to the doors and the passengers loaded onto it for a ride out across the tarmac to our plane. There we sat for about 30 minutes before departing 45 minutes late.
It was raining in Florence, but we still had a lovely view of the city with the Duomo (cathedral) dome easily visible on our approach. We collected our bags and rented a car and headed south toward our villa. Our car is a silver Opel Astra station wagon. It has standard transmission, which is not a treat in this hilly country, but all is forgiven for its excellent air conditioning. The rain continued as we came south on the A1 and traffic was somewhat congested, but we found a station playing classic American rock that seemed well-suited to the weather (Stairway to Heaven is the song I can remember now) and made it in just over an hour.
Podere Il Doccio is located about 35 kilometres south of Florence. Getting here from the A1 highway takes us around a few rotaries and pretty far off the beaten track to a little valley down a dirt road and across a tiny brick bridge that offers perhaps 3 inches of clearance to either side of our car. The villa is set amid cornfields and vineyards and is divided into four apartments, of which we have the largest. We were met by Marina Gren, her two sons and their dog, who showed us around enthusiastically. The apartment is made up of two bedrooms--the master bedroom has a gorgeous seven-foot tall mirrored armoir--a small bathroom with a shower and a long narrow room split between lounge and kitchen. The kitchen has a small fridge (there's a freezer in the laundry room downstairs), a long stone sink with a wooden dish rack above it, a gas stove, a dishwasher and a microwave. There's also a toaster, coffee maker and food processor, as well as basic cooking tools and condiments. The floors are all terra cotta tiles, which extend out onto the lovely terrace looking over the lawn in front of the house.
Having arrived, our first destination was the supermarket, or "ipercoop", in the town of Montevarchi, a few miles away. By the time we arrived it was 6pm on a Saturday evening, when everything is closed on Sundays, so the place was a zoo. In addition to the food sections, they also sell clothes, computers and housewares. The produce section was lush with a variety of fresh tomatoes and peppers and strolling by the whole legs of prosciutto was quite eye-catching. As always in a supermarket, it's interesting to see what they have and what we can't find. Coming from London, it was a bit startling to realize that one can have a cheese section with no cheddar in it. We picked up some basics and got out of there as quickly as we could, which still took over an hour. We'd failed to get lunch and our large breakfast had long since faded, so we were starving by the time we got through the line.
The Grens had thoughfully provided a booklet with information about the area, including a few recommended restaurants. We picked the most convenient, Il Vecchio Torchio, in Terranuova Bracciolini, and had a very welcome and tasty meal. We split an antipasto that was like a small pizza, melted cheese and meats on a 6-inch round of bread, followed by gnocchi alla sorrentina (with tomato sauce and mozzarella). Jason had the "struzzo" or ostrich fillet with herbs in olive oil, while I had a fillet of beef with mushrooms in a lemon sauce. Both were very flavorful and we were incredibly happy to be fed once more. We toddled off home and had a very restful first night in our Italian home.
That seems like a good place to stop for now. We've adventures in Florence and the surrounding area to share with you, but it's time for lunch and then we're off to Arezzo for the afternoon.
We got our bags onto a cart and rolled out into the terminal, very happy to see signs pointing us to the Hilton. It was quite a walk along what seemed like miles of pedestrian bridges and we were very happy that we could take the cart the whole way, although a little surprised that they let us take it right up to our room. We've grown used to our queen-sized bed in London, but it's nice to spread out in a king-size on occasion and we had a very pleasant sleep. In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel buffet included with our room and then rolled back over to the terminal for our flight up to Florence. We had left plenty of time, in case checking in was a lengthy process, but it took less than five minutes, so we were left with over an hour to roam the shops. We made our way down to the gate and played with our map of Tuscany, trying to familiarize ourselves with the area. Eventually a bus pulled up to the doors and the passengers loaded onto it for a ride out across the tarmac to our plane. There we sat for about 30 minutes before departing 45 minutes late.
It was raining in Florence, but we still had a lovely view of the city with the Duomo (cathedral) dome easily visible on our approach. We collected our bags and rented a car and headed south toward our villa. Our car is a silver Opel Astra station wagon. It has standard transmission, which is not a treat in this hilly country, but all is forgiven for its excellent air conditioning. The rain continued as we came south on the A1 and traffic was somewhat congested, but we found a station playing classic American rock that seemed well-suited to the weather (Stairway to Heaven is the song I can remember now) and made it in just over an hour.
Podere Il Doccio is located about 35 kilometres south of Florence. Getting here from the A1 highway takes us around a few rotaries and pretty far off the beaten track to a little valley down a dirt road and across a tiny brick bridge that offers perhaps 3 inches of clearance to either side of our car. The villa is set amid cornfields and vineyards and is divided into four apartments, of which we have the largest. We were met by Marina Gren, her two sons and their dog, who showed us around enthusiastically. The apartment is made up of two bedrooms--the master bedroom has a gorgeous seven-foot tall mirrored armoir--a small bathroom with a shower and a long narrow room split between lounge and kitchen. The kitchen has a small fridge (there's a freezer in the laundry room downstairs), a long stone sink with a wooden dish rack above it, a gas stove, a dishwasher and a microwave. There's also a toaster, coffee maker and food processor, as well as basic cooking tools and condiments. The floors are all terra cotta tiles, which extend out onto the lovely terrace looking over the lawn in front of the house.
Having arrived, our first destination was the supermarket, or "ipercoop", in the town of Montevarchi, a few miles away. By the time we arrived it was 6pm on a Saturday evening, when everything is closed on Sundays, so the place was a zoo. In addition to the food sections, they also sell clothes, computers and housewares. The produce section was lush with a variety of fresh tomatoes and peppers and strolling by the whole legs of prosciutto was quite eye-catching. As always in a supermarket, it's interesting to see what they have and what we can't find. Coming from London, it was a bit startling to realize that one can have a cheese section with no cheddar in it. We picked up some basics and got out of there as quickly as we could, which still took over an hour. We'd failed to get lunch and our large breakfast had long since faded, so we were starving by the time we got through the line.
The Grens had thoughfully provided a booklet with information about the area, including a few recommended restaurants. We picked the most convenient, Il Vecchio Torchio, in Terranuova Bracciolini, and had a very welcome and tasty meal. We split an antipasto that was like a small pizza, melted cheese and meats on a 6-inch round of bread, followed by gnocchi alla sorrentina (with tomato sauce and mozzarella). Jason had the "struzzo" or ostrich fillet with herbs in olive oil, while I had a fillet of beef with mushrooms in a lemon sauce. Both were very flavorful and we were incredibly happy to be fed once more. We toddled off home and had a very restful first night in our Italian home.
That seems like a good place to stop for now. We've adventures in Florence and the surrounding area to share with you, but it's time for lunch and then we're off to Arezzo for the afternoon.
