Tag Archives: Toscana

Toscanakiwi hits 100

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Yesterday marked a milestone for Toscanakiwi with our 100th post. Given we’ve been away from New Zealand since the start of April which means something has been posted roughly (very roughly) every 1.6 days.

Part of the package from WordPress, the people who host the blog, are statistics about how many people read each post each day and total visits to the blog every day, week and month. Since starting the blog we have had over 4,800 visits or an average of 30 per day. Through August and September the average has risen to around 40 per day and over a week we regularly get anywhere from 200 to 500 visits.

So as we pass the 100th post, we want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read our ramblings and share in our Italian adventure. It means a lot to us to know that the folks at home – and all around the world based on the country visitor stats – are interested in the odd things we get up to and the fun and games that go with living in Italy.

Through watching the statistics one thing has become clear – the publishing mantra that “content is king”. Our content is based on what tends to happen around us on a daily basis, but if there is anything our lovely readers would specifically like us to do, talk about, talk about more or explore, please let us know. In fact, you can leave suggestions on this post if you wish.

Once again, thank you all for your support over the last few months and we hope you will continue to visit in the future as we continue our Italian adventure.

Ciao

Graeme and Jean

I Mondiali di Rugby – seconda parte

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We were back in Siena for the second All Black game.  Once again the staff at La Birreria performed their magic and found the game buried in the Sky TV menu – as always after the usual fussing and discussions – and we settled in for the duration.

Kiwi's make their presence felt for the RWC in Siena

We were joined by a young Dutch couple who were on holiday in Siena and who were also following the RWC.  Given that the total number of rugby players in Holland is around 5,000 (including men, women and juniors they said) their rugby knowledge was very good.  They were, however, a little surprised when we had the inevitable 10am beer and wine and beer and wine and …

But clearly we weren’t the only Kiwis in Siena watching the game as the photo shows.  The flag was hanging outside the bar we had originally earmarked to watch the games at but which didn’t open early enough for us to able to watch them live.

Apparently the Kiwis had started knocking on the bar door at 10:30am and convinced the staff to open early so they could watch the remainder of the match.  I wonder if a similar approach would have worked anywhere else in the world?

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.

You never know what you’re going to see next around our place

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Sunday was a glorious morning. Mist surrounded our place early in the morning and as it cleared we became aware of the sounds of the local hunt doing their thing across the valley.  It felt like we had been transported to England.

Post hunt relaxation

Fox hunting was, in fact, introduced into Italy around 1850 by the english and is popular in both Lazio and Tuscany.  These days they chase a scent rather than a fox but that certainly didn’t, from what we could see, dampen the enthusiasm of the participants.

I wonder what “tally ho” is in Italian?

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!

An afternoon in Pienza

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We haven’t had the chance to get out and about much lately, but yesterday the whole team made the short trip to the village of Pienza about 50kms from our cottage.

We had visited Pienza around 8 years ago and remember it for it’s fantastic Pecorino cheese and great views across the valley.  In respect to both of these, nothing had changed.

We were in for an unexpected treat as the annual Pienza “Fiera del Cacio” or “Cheese Fair” was in full swing while we were there.

The highlight of the 10 day festival is later in the week when they have cheese rolling in the square.  Effectively lawn bowls on a cobbled square using cheese rounds where the various contrada of Pienza compete for glory.

When we arrived, the main Piazza in Pienza, Piazza Poi II was full of flag wavers and drummers performing.  Following that, and slightly less spectacular, was the presentation of a painting of the Palio by a local arist and the branding of the cheeses used for the cheese rolling later in the festival.

The drive to Pienza is through some of the loveliest scenery in Tuscany.  Everywhere you look is another photo opportunity. One spot in particular looked familiar.  It is a grove of Cypress trees standing in the middle of a paddock which has been photographed a thousand times and makes regular appearances in books about Tuscany.

On the way back with the sun setting it got it’s one thousand and first photographic outing.

About Daisy – Part 3

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Our girl has shown a steady recovery over the last week. She’s gone from not being able to walk without falling over to something close to her usual waddle. She is still wobbly and when she tries to shake herself ends up flat on her stomach with legs splayed.

Her revised heart medicine has also kicked in and, touchwood, she hasn’t had a seizure in over a week. Mind you with Jean and I running around after her every need there hasn’t been a lot of stress on her heart anyway.

One thing that has fully returned is Daisy’s attitude. She’s almost back to her cantakerous old self, and seems ready to take on the world, or more likely, other dogs, children, anyone who dares to come near the cottage, anyone who looks at the cottage, anyone who comes near the car, you get the idea.

The movie started out as some footage to show the team at our Italian vet clinic her improvement over the last week but it got a bit out of hand. We have nothing else much to do, really.

A special place in Greve

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When Mike and Charmaine and wee James were here we visited the small village of Greve in Chanti.  Greve is built around a triangular piazza which has the usual assortment of shops and cafes dotted around it.

It also has one shop which we think is special.  The sign outside says Norcineria – or butchery – but the experience inside is something else.

Looking out towards the piazza in Greve. Love the sign

Describing Antica Macelleria Falorni as a butchery is like calling St Peters in Rome just a church.  Entering the shop, you are hit by complete sensory overload.  Everywhere you look there are cured hams, cheeses, salamis, and more cured hams hanging, stacked, packed and displayed.  The smell is overwhelming (I’m told as I have no sense of smell) and it strikes you like a hammer the moment you walk through the door.

The shop also sells wines to go with the wide range of cheeses available as well as the ususal Tuscan butchery mix of meats, game, and poultry.

In the usual Italian way, things can be tasted before buying – just to provide even greater sensory overload.

Inside Antica Macelleria Falorni in Greve

The shop stretches through 3 street frontages so as you move away from the front door you move from one small area to another, and in each the ceiling is hung with curing legs of ham giving the whole shop the feeling of a cave.  For food-lovers, almost certainly an Aladdins cave.

If you visit Tuscany, you really should stop in Greve and marvel at this most unlikely tourist attraction.

Not another photo?

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As a keen amateur photographer trying to capture the relaxed Tuscan lifestyle I can become a bit demanding on my available talent – which consists of one long suffering wife and two small white fluffy dogs.

When the demands become too great the dogs simply get up and walk off. Jean isn’t so lucky.

The pool busters

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The complex has ben really busy over the last few weeks. Guests are coming and going and we have had a great mix of nationalities – Dutch, Italian, the ocassional Brit and, of course, the Germans.

One day recently Jean and I headed to the pool for an afternoon of swimming and relaxing to find that, when we got there, every lounger was either being used or was empty but with a towel drapped over it – clearly the European sign for “reserved”.

It reminded me of a UK TV commercial that aired in the early 1990’s about this very subject. Enjoy.

Fun in the sun

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You can never have enough pool toys

Daisy has taken up a fair bit of our time lately, but prior to that we managed a bit of pool time. It was the only way to keep cool in the 35 to 40 degree heat.

Clearly in Europe everyone turns up at the pool with some form of inflatable toy to amuse themselves. Often there are so many toys in the pool it’s difficult to find a spot to swim.

Not to be outdone Jean splashed out (excuse the pun) on a lilo. All of 5 Euro at the local inflatable pool toy store.

Jean and Nacho Libre

The man who sits by the pool has made a wee movie showing Jean in action.

Please note, the ocassional swat at the water is simply Jean avoiding wasps, bees, bugs, etc, that have made their way into the pool.

 

 

 

 

 

About Daisy – Part 2

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It’s Friday evening and Daisy has had her ECG and there’s more wrong with her heart than right.  Having said that, the cardiologist has altered her medicine to best suit her condition so there’s a bit of life in the old dog yet.

Pictures of Daisy's big heart at work

When we arrived back at our vet, Julia had talked to the cardiologist and apparently he agreed that Daisy was a medical miracle.

Her inability to walk without falling over has been diagnosed as Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome and not anything to do with her heart.  It means a loss of balance and co-ordination – a lot like a big night out on the town by the sound of it.

Best Google it for details but it’s something that just needs to work it’s way through her system with some assistance from medication.  Some drugs that they usually prescribe for this syndrome would be bad for her heart so they’re off the list.  That means there’s no quick fix and she will gradually improve over the next month or so.

Until she recovers she will need to be carried everywhere – and I mean everywhere.  For up to a month?

About Daisy

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The more observant of you may have noticed that there have been very few posts over the last few days. That’s because we have been busy looking after Daisy. She is not well and it seems her old age is catching up with her.

Last week she had two seizures in the space of 24 hours where she collapsed and did her best impersonation of a dead dog. Both times she recovered, picked herself up and soldiered on in her own unique way but it gave us a huge fright and she was off to the vet in record time.

Daisy has a heart problem and takes medication to manage it. Julia our vet thinks the medication needs to be changed so Daisy has had a thorough check-up, X-rays and now is booked in for an ECG this afternoon at a cardiologist in Florence. (We didn’t know there were dog cardiologists but apparently there are.)

Sick Daisy and friend

To complicate things in the last 24 hours she has started to fall down a lot when walking (or even just standing) which meant another rushed trip to the vet and further discussions in a mix of English and Italian and occasional arm waving.

It seems that the falling down is probably not related to her heart and is something else – most likely a neurological infection that is affecting her balance. The catch 22 is that we can’t treat the infection until we know what state her heart is in as that will affect the medication used to fight the infection. So we are waiting for the ECG to be done this afternoon. It is a long wait.

Daisy of course doesn’t know all this medical stuff and just thinks life is miserable. She has to be carried everywhere as she has given up walking. And her favourite treats and even Jean’s famous roast chicken dinner won’t cheer her up. Right now she is asleep in the bed next to me with her head buried as far under the pillows as possible.

If I were her I would do the same.