Author's note: This is a re creation of the original post for this day which I tried to post on that day but lost it somehow in the ether. The original was funnier.
Today was our first shore excursion, to San Giminagno and an agriturismo for lunch. The bus ride to S.G. was long, about 90 minutes but really beautiful for the second half, through quintessential Tuscan hills along narrow, winding roads. About 15 minutes before arrival we started seeing bits of S.G. around bends and through the trees and knew we were in for something special. The town is sometimes called the Manhattan of Italy because of the towers and you can imagine what they must have looked like in their heyday when there were 70 of them. Now there are only 8 left but they are still imposing. Sunny piazzas linked by narrow and windy lanes with 4, 5, 6 storey old buildings lining both sides. Lovely shops, markets and restaurants all along. And the views whenever you get to an edge of the town or from the highest point are stunning.
We stopped for gelato at a recommended place and to our surprise, it had won the "best gelato in the world" competition in 2007 and 2008. Try to remember your most delicious gelato experience and double it. Yum.
Next, back in the bus and on to lunch. San Donato is a working agriturismo farm harvesting olives and making wines, located on a hilltop overlooking the Tuscan landscape. It was actually a very small village, four homes and a church, all purchased by an Italian farming family who expanded it over the years, buying land for the farming operation. We had a typical Tuscan farm lunch of sliced sausage, pasta, bread and salads with a sampling of their wines, white and red. For dessert we had a very potent sweet wine called "holy wine" into which we dipped biscotti.
Our dining room was up a flight of concrete stairs and as we were descending after lunch, Carol's ankle suddenly gave way about half way down and she fell. I shudder to think what might have happened if she hadn't had the presence of mind to grab the railing immediately. As it was she hung on for dear life, her body horizontal, her head pointing down the stairs until I caught up with her. She survived only to get outside and have a bird poop on her arm. I guess that means she's returning to Tuscany some day!
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