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Fun Times at Trove

Petroio, Italy


The past few weeks have passed by in a blaze of , well blazes for one. Barbara decided that the Calabroni (aka big fucking hornets that are creepily smart) had lived in the big stump by the house for too long and set the whole thing ablaze. It smoldered throughout the day, and come evening it was still going. To attempt and get water into the centre of the stump the guys tried standing it up and it proceeded to roll down the hill taking out several small trees and landing just a few feet away from the field of dried grass. For obvious reasons this wasn't a good home for the giant flaming log. Never fear, Barbara has a big tractor :P Everyone pitched in to get it back up the hill and onto the gravel drive in a position where it could be properly hosed before we all turned in for the night.


James unearthed a nest of baby lizards in the process of hatching too, arnt they cuties?

A day or two later there was a wine tasting in Montepulciano of local wines. Local wines here means the rather famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montepulciano., yummm.


We met two friends of theirs in Montepulciano, Leslie (who is their colleague as well) and Karla (who also does tours back home in Czechoslovakia), and had a lovely evening sipping good wine. On the way home we saw this little cutie hanging out by the road...

That weekend Leslie and Karla came to stay at Trove and Saturday Ugo took us on a little sightseeing day trip. One of our first stops of the day was at the monastery where some of the movie The English Patient was filmed. It boasted some wonderful frescos and views of the surrounding countryside.




After leaving we drove through the countryside for a bit, just enjoying the stunning senary.

Ugo suggested we go to the little village of Lucignano d'Asso, so we could take a walk through it. Honestly I think he just wanted an excuse to visit the little grocery/deli that was there. He orded us a bottle of wine and we thought some light nibbles of cheese and what have you. We got a bit more then we anticipated but out of courtesy to the hostess couldn't do anything but eat the juicy fresh cantaloup, tantalizing slices of local dried meats, and cheeses. The meats we superb, I think Beth might have cried tears of joy had she seen those plates coming out ;)

Eventually we ended up at the hot springs on the side of Mont Amiata. We swam in a modern swimming pool which has several sections of varying size and temperatures, all fed by thermal waters heated by the volcanic activity of Mont Amiata.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love bathing in really hot water? Like hot to the point it chases James out of the shower. I could really do with a hotspring in my backyard...would certainly lower our electricity and water bills :P Of course I would also need a backyard again to have a hot spring in it.

We also visited one of my new favorite places again, the garden Bosco dela Ragnaia. This time it was a whole diffrent experiance having Ugo there to play the guide and tell is the meanining of all the words inscribed around the place. I swear this guy reads Conversations With God, and must have a lusty obsesion with good philosiphy.

We were luck enough to meet the creator, and he is the most unassuming guy youd ever meet. There he was just working away on a flower bed in his beat up denim and floppy wide brim hat, humility and warmth eminating from every gesture. He stopped his work long enough to have a quick chat and then politly excused himself and got back to it, he is obviously not a big socializer but still makes you feel welcome.

It's finally cooling off a bit and we've enjoyed several dinners outdoors in one of the courtyards. Nice breeze, good vino, good company...


I think I might have mentioned this before, but just in case....

I DONT EVER WANT TO LEAVE!

Love you all!

permalink written by  Slade's Elucidation on September 4, 2008 from Petroio, Italy
from the travel blog: Slade's Elucidation
tagged HotSprings, Italy, Tuscany, Petroio and Pienza

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