A Drive--A Lunch--A Garden--A Dinner

Well, the title pretty much sums up our day--lazy, lovely, delightful.

We have never driven over to Abbadia San Salvatore or the base of Mount Amiata--even though this is the first year of the second decade of our coming here to Sant'Antonio. So today seemed like a nice day to do just that--

It is an easy drive and the road up Mount Amiata is beautifully serene with tall trees and shrines hidden away in the shadows. There was a particularly lovely one I wish I had captured so I could share it here. But wishes don't bring much.

In A Culinary Traveller in Tuscany we had read of a promising restaurant, Ristoranti Anna, down the road from Abbadia San Salvatore in Piancastagnaio .. so we went in search of it. We did find it and were rewarded with an excellent lunch after working our way through the spoken menu. I had wonderful spinach/ricotta ravioli smoothered in arugala, little tomatoes and shaved cheese--yum!


On our way back, we went on Casey's favorite field trip--the gardens of La Foce. Most people who come here make this a must see on their first visit but it has taken us 11 years. We had been to La Foce but not the gardens which are only open on Wednesday afternoons. The history of this villa and its gardens goes back centuries but the most fascinating for us is the war years. In spite of what I said, this was not a favorite Casey experience. but, he did handle it with grace.







The day ended with the Sant' Antonio Wednesday night dinner which is a very fun evening. The food is good and it is a chance to spend time with the other guests from around the world. Tonight it was British Columbia, China, England, Australia and the United States.


While the big people drink wine and converse, the kids play outside on the grass. it's a good time for all.






Now it is bedtime. Buona notte!

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