Still no wi-fi!!! One of these days we'll get it straightened out! We awoke to blue sky and sun so the day looked very promising. Team 3 left to do shopping for tonight's dinner. The rest of us headed for a day in Arezzo using Andrea Pastorelli's guided tour.
Before we got to Arezzo, we stopped in Foiana del Chiana, our closest town, when we saw that it was "market day." Lots of stuff, food and clothing. 3 of the ladies bought scarves, Peter bought a pasta rolling pin, Gary bought a wooden spoon, etc. We can't pass up a local market!
On to Arezzo, the largest city in this area of Tuscany, the Valdechiana. Andrea, who is Seth Doane's fiancé, grew up in Arezzo and gave us a written overview of the high points in Arezzo. We've named him "our own Rick Steves!" Plus, his mother and father have a cafe in Arezzo, Le Bar Senese, just outside the wall of the old city. After parking the car, the 10 of us headed there for a cappuccino. After explaining that we were American friends of Andrea, his father Ernesto became overjoyed! He was so surprised yet so beside himself to see us. He spoke NO English so between Carol and me (mostly Carol!) we managed to converse a bit. He absolutely refused to let us pay for our coffees!! We took lots of photos, Ernesto recommended a pizzeria which he actually called to tell the owner we were coming and we promised to return after our tour of Arezzo to meet Alma, Andrea's mother.
Wow! You can visit awesome, ancient cathedrals with chandeliers, beautiful stained glass windows, lofty arches and statues created by masters but nothing compares with making real contact with another human being. Ernesto was so joyful to see us and treated us as though we were the most special people he had ever met! As I said, he spoke no English and yet he was full of conversation! We all had goose bumps!
We left Le Bar Senese with a promise to return to meet Alma. Walking up the main road inside the walled city, we passed chic boutiques, a pieve, a crowd just down a side street craning to see Leonardo DiCapri and crew filming a movie and a "living sculpture" of a mountain of books coming out a second story window. You have to see it to understand. We spent some time in Piazza Grande and then started descending back toward the Pizzeria Miva. Made a stop at Chiesa di San Francisco in the Piazza San Francesco to view the frescoes and to take a photo of Caffe dei Costanto where a scene from "Life is Beautiful" was filmed.
We eventually found the pizzeria where a table had been set up on the patio for the 10 of us. Beer, wine, pizzas, Tuscan soup, pasta--we ate very well! Just as we were leaving, Ernesto arrived to guarantee we had been well taken care of by the staff at Miva. We walked back to Bar la Senese where we met charming and chic Alma, Andrea's mother. Alma did speak a smattering of English so we were able to communicate a little better. She misses her son and told us so.
On the way home we made a quick stop at Penny Market for some staples.
At home Team 3 was already prepping for dinner which commenced about 8. We had melon wrapped with prosciutto, veal parmigiana with pasta and Italian sweets for dessert. Thanks Team 3: Francine, Bea, Lou, Mim and Ed. Cards, conversation, more wine and then bed.
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