The O'Connells and Drew and Masa had left at 6:15 so we were now down to 13. Peter, Tom and I left at 10:00 to explore the old town of Foiana della Chiana, right in our own back yard. First stop, cappuccino at an outdoor cafe! This is definitely a working town--not a single tourist except us. We strolled, peaked, window shopped but only Peter bought anything. We talked about returning that evening; Peter had found a pizzeria with a wood-fired brick oven.
While in Foiano, Peter went into a home store and was immediately attracted to a set of decorative cats to add to his animal collection. When he asked the sales person, "Quanto costa?" her reply was "Sei Euros" which Peter understood as "Sixty Euros!" instead of "Six Euros!" It sounds as though what ensued was a real comedy of errors including the sales person taking 6 Euros from the cash register, pointing to the money and repeating the number! Much to his surprise, Peter ended up with the whole set for 6 Euros.
Before we'd even done a complete tour of old Foiano we had to leave because our group had a reservation for a wine tasting at a local vineyard. At Fattoria Santa Vittoria in Pozzo, we met Mauro, son-in-law of the owner and quite the charmer, who gave a very interesting tour of the winery. His English was accented but flawless and idiomatic. After the tour we were treated to a light lunch of 3 kinds of bread, three kinds of salami, 2 kinds of cheese and grilled, paper thin slices of eggplant and several tastings of their white, red and dessert wine (vin santo).
Back at the villa, all opted for a hiatus either at the pool or on a bed! Some even started packing! At 6 we went back to Foiano as a group to wander the streets and gaze at the old doorways and faux bois and trompe d'oeil on the walls of buildings. This old city is walled in the shape of a heart, has 5 churches inside its walls, is totally walkable and is home to Foianoese of all ages. Peter and I each met a very helpful college student studying in a small religious museum that contained 2 Della Robbias!
So, in the end we gathered at Peter's new pizza place, La Zinfarosa for pizza, pasta, veal and wine from our vineyard that afternoon. The ambiance was great--al fresco dining, a beautiful sky, overlooking an ancient Tuscan town with old, dear friends. Doesn't get much better! Off to Rome tomorrow; we'll spend the night there before flying home early Sunday morning.
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