Tag Archives: Siena

And now we turn 200

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This is our 200th toscanakiwi post. When we started the blog it was to keep friends and family informed about our little adventure in Italy. But reading back over some of the last 200 entries I now realise it is also a collection of memories for Jean and I. It might be old age or just the passing of time but little things get forgotten and one adventure gets confused with another in our minds – but the blog is always there with the real story.

In September 2011, post number 100 was sent from our cottage in Tuscany. At that stage around 4,800 visitors had read the blog since it’s launch. As of today that figure has increased to 11,541.

A huge thank you to all our lovely readers. Your feedback is always welcome and knowing that our adventures are providing a little interest and entertainment is all that we can ask for.

Ciao

Graeme and Jean

Keeping the girls warm this winter – warning cute alert!

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Winter means warm clothes. That means both us and the girls. So when we made the last visit to our dog groomer in Siena we did some winter coat shopping for the girls. The buying criteria was two-fold. Firstly, warmth for the girls on cold winter days and secondly, out-right cuteness.

In Troyes it was cold enough for the girls’ coats to be used and after a walk in the brisk 4 degree temperature we all adjourned to the bar for drinks.

Then and now

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The changing landscape of Tuscany – from our arrival in May to our departure in October. The photos are taken from the terrace at our place, 6 months apart.

An autumn night in the Campo

Gallery

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This gallery contains 8 photos.

Siena is full of restaurants and most of these are either fully or partially outdoor.  This is particularly true of those that ring the Campo. In summer outdoor dining makes perfect sense with umbrellas or awnings giving protection from the … Continue reading →

October rain

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The weather forecast for today was a 70% chance of rain.  And for the first time since June the grey clouds gathered and the heavens opened.

In the distance Siena disappeared as the rain enveloped it, only to reappear a few minutes later.

Around us the rain fell straight to earth as there was no wind (a novelty for those from Wellington) and you could hear every drop strike the parched ground.

We have another keen movie maker in the family

Video

I’ve shot a bit of video in Italy over the last few months but now have to relinquish the crown of family filmmaker to Jean. Prompted by our departure from Tuscany at the end of October she put together a movie about our cottage.

Jean shot it so we had something to remember the cottage by but I thought it was worth sharing.

In using a single handheld shot for the whole movie she follows in the footsteps of great directors such as Hitchcock, De Palma and Scorsese.

Enjoy.

Tuscany in three and a half days – day one and a half

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Charlie and Isabel arrived on Saturday afternoon having travelled from north of Florence.  I had suggested they text us when they got close to our place which, in this case, meant texting from the carpark “I think we are here”.  The 3kms of dirt road make you wonder where the hell you are the first time you arrive.

We ambled out with the dogs and found them looking around wondering if this was our place or the home of some local family.  Either way they would have been made to feel welcome.

Dinner that night was at our local Pizza restaurant Le Campannia (other summer visitors will know this restaurant) which does excellent pizzas and provides endless free entertainment watching the antics of the locals.

Next morning was the All Black quarter final game so the entire team headed to the Campo at 9am to watch the game.  Clearly word about our World Cup venue is getting out as there were already two holidaying kiwi couples waiting for the game – and with us that meant the crowd swelled to a record eight people.  Nine counting an elderly Italian gentleman who joined us to support the French. He was a day late but still enjoyed the game.

Ninety minutes later it was “job well done” by the lads.  Well sort of well done as there is still some work to do before meeting Australia – and a chance for a wander around Siena before lunch in the sun at Osteria del Bigelli which, once again, did not disappoint with the food.

Jean made her famous kiwi roast pork with gravy for dinner and we washed it down with a very nice Chianti courtesy of our guests.

Rugby, beer, wine, sightseeing and roast pork with gravy.  A top day and a half.

Washday in Siena

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Despite all the advances in the modern home, some things are still best done in the old way.

Clearly very few apartments in Siena have dryers so Saturday mornings the streets are lined with laundry.

Given this washing is hanging over a major road out of Siena I guess nothing says clean and fresh like the lingering odour of “Eau de Two Stroke”.

The terror of a hairdresser who speaks no English

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It’s one of those things that needs to be done – haircuts in foreign languages. It’s simple for a guy – you nip into Siena, find someone who cuts hair, gesture for a bit off the sides and a bit less off the top, “grazie mille” and you’re gone.

For girls it’s a bit different. Particularly if colour is involved and the way you’re going to look for the next month or two is at stake.

Jean faced this situation recently and with some trepidation entered the small salon we pass on the way to language school to make an appointment. The hairdresser, a young Italian guy, spoke no real english but was helpful and seemed to know what needed to be done. All good so far.

New hair and new sandals as well

As the appointment was made to follow one of the All Black RWC games, Jean left me sitting having a quiet, post game drink (not to be confused with the pre game drinks or the inter game drinks) and estimated, based on past experience, that the whole operation would take about 90 minutes. She would text me when things were getting close.

No problems, I’d just sit and watch the world go by. Maybe do a little window shopping. Maybe not. “Anchi birra per favoure”.

Ninety minutes later – no text. Two hours – no text. Two hours and 20 mins – no text. To put it another way – that’s about 8 beers and, needless to say, by this stage I was feeling pretty good about life. My main concern, in fact my only concern, was whether or not I would be able to stand up.

To test this, a walk to the salon was in order to check Jean hasn’t been abducted, murdered, or worse, things have gone horribly wrong and she’s sitting there with red or green hair or even worse, no hair.

As I stagger through the door Jean seems calm and relaxed and, more importantly still has hair. The process is progressing but progressing very slowly. The hairdresser is a perfectionist – no an artist and it seems I have another 40 minutes to fill. I wonder how I”ll do that?

Fourty minutes later all is well, Jean looks great, every single hair is in place and perfectly cut, dried and styled. Just the look to be dragging a drunk through the streets of Siena on the way home.

Lunch at L’Osteria del Bigelli

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The lovely people who own the property we are staying at have gone out of their way to make us welcome, everything from dropping off fresh fruit collected from some of the fruit trees around the grounds to clearing trees to improve our view of Siena when we were away in Positano.

Last week they recommened a restaurant in Siena that they said served very good, very authentic Tuscan food. The restaurant is called L’Osteria del Bigelli and is siutated in the Campo in Siena.

We were a little sceptical as the standard of food in the Campo, with a limited number of exceptions, is quite poor and aimed more at speedy delivery to tourists so the restaurants can turn tables quickly rather than any real culinery excellence for more discerning customers – or even for us.

Following the rugby on Saturday morning we decided to try it out. The fact that is located next to La Birreria where we watch the Rugby World Cup matches made the decision even easier.

The restaurant consists of about 12 outside tables squeezed under large umbrellas to protect from the sun and 4 tables inside which, given the weather currently, remained empty while we were there.

We were very pleasantly surprised from the start. Jean had ravioli with cherry tomatoes and I had herb encrusted lamb with spinach. The food looked great, smelt great and tasted great. The lamb was so good I was concerned a South Island farmer wearing stubbies and a floppy hat was going to appear beside the table at any moment and say “I’ll take that mate” and walk off into the distance with it.

Washed down with a glass or two of vino the meal was superb. All up lunch cost just over €50 or about $NZ85 which is quite reasonable.

The verdict – a great recommendation, we will visit L’Osteria del Bigelli again soon.

September must be wedding season in Siena

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Supporting the All Blacks has meant we have spent quite some time in Siena over the last few weeks.  Fridays and Saturdays specifically, and every time there has been a steady stream of weddings being held at the Siena town hall in the Campo.  Clearly September is when couples both local and from all over Europe get married and Siena seems to be a popular choice.

In fact it is a bit of a production line with one group of wedding goers literally going into the Palazzo Pubblica as the preceding one comes out to be covered in confetti and rice.  On Saturday we took the time (along with a number of other casual observers) to watch this matrimonial ballet and to take a few photos along the way.

One large party – an Italian wedding – seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time over the ceremony (italian’s taking their time, that’s unusual) and the following group who were from elsewhere in Europe – I say Germany, Jean says the UK – had to wait and wait and wait.

All ended up well though, they finally got their turn, I got some photos and to see some nice old cars, and Jean got to comment on all the frocks, shoes, hats, handbags, hair and makeup.

I Mondiali di Rugby – terza parte

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Saturday morning we made our regular pilgrimage to the Siena to watch the All Blacks play.  As we approached La Birreria, Jean commented “here we go again” referring to the ritual process of getting the television tuned to the right channel.

The perfect RWC breakfast - cappuccino, wine, beer and chips

But clearly we are having an influence on the bar.  When we arrived the TV was tuned in and already playing the warm up.  Chairs and tables had been arranged ready for us which meant we got to see the warmup, anthems and haka.  All things we wanted to see but usually missed.

We also had some fellow spectators join us.  A young couple from Hamilton who are in Europe for 5 weeks holiday walked in as we were getting settled.  They said they had driven an hour and 20 minutes from just south of Florence to find this particular bar in Siena. A blog they had read, written by Kiwis living in Tuscany, had mentioned it had live television coverage of the Rugby World Cup.  It took a moment for us to realise they were talking about Toscanakiwi.  Clearly our little blog has a wider readership than we thought – by at least 2 people.

So dear readers for the next big game  – the quarter final –  the drinks at La Birreria are on me.  See you all there.

What’s with the weather?

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According to the annual temperature statistics for Siena, right now the temperature should be around 20C.  Obviously no one has told the climate this and yesterday, according to my iPhone weather app, the temperature by the pool at 4:33pm was a healthy 32C.

I Mondiali di Rugby

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As with many things before, we thought we had a plan for the RWC opening. We had located a Heineken RWC bar in Siena. Through the usual mix of English, Italian and sign language we gleened that it had Sky TV and would be playing the matches.

Given the time difference, the opening ceremony was due to start at 9:30am local time with the first match at 10:30am. That meant heading to Siena at 9am – and being up around 7:30am.

Now this, in itself, was a major challenge as our place doesn’t really stir until around 10am on any given day. (Correction, I don’t stir until around 10am. Jean is up and active much, much earlier.)

We arrived at the bar promptly at 9:30am (wearing our RWC/NZ t-shirts) to find it shut, closed, the exact opposite of open. This was, to say the least, a disappointment. Our plan was in tatters.

We retired to one of the bars that ring the Campo in Siena to regroup and replan. We noticed as we sat down outside the bar – on a beautiful Siena morning – that they had a TV playing behind the counter. It was tuned to an Italian news channel – but it was a Sky TV channel. Could they change it to the right sport channel? Would they?

As with many situations in Italy, our simple request was taken very seriously. A newspaper was obtained and the TV listings checked to find the right channel – 204. The very helpful waitress then disappeared for a few minutes. We waited. The TV channel didn’t change. We waited.

When she returned, she explained that they had opened the other half of the bar and tuned the TV’s in there to the right channel. She showed us to a table, made sure everything was ok and checked if we wanted anything to drink.

She was thinking Cappuccino and was a little surpised when we ordered beer and wine (nothing like that first Heineken at 9:35 in the morning).

It was quite surreal to see New Zealand and the opening ceremony on TV when the view out through the door of the bar was Siena’s Campo. The Sienese opinion of the opening ceremony – very cool.

The game? Not a bad start, but there’s still work to do. Go the ABs!