Most mornings I pay what I call the ‘Volterran Sleep Tax’, and get up early to drop the trash down for collection. This must be done each morning, except Sunday, between 06:00 and 08:00. The trash is split between various types (normal, paper/cardboard, plastic and metal, organic, glass), each one having its own collection day(s).
Organico has 3 days, because, well… stinky. I think this is a fantastic idea, as it prevents the town from looking nasty for the visitors who arrive in the mornings. I’m an early riser anyway – when I’m in work I usually get up around the 05:15 mark – so it’s not a huge deal.
I usually do a walk after that, and document it here for you folks!
Yesterday, after the walk we just stayed in and Niamh threw lunch together from some odds and ends in the fridge. The thing about Italy, is that the ingredients here are so good, that food as inoccuous-sounding as I just made it, is actually pretty damn good!
I knocked half of my red wine over our lovely outdoor table. Sometimes I have the coordination and poise of a two-legged giraffe.
It was a hot one again yesterday, and we had a small stroll and topped it off with an amarena (cherry) granita each.
As I hadn’t been feeling 100%, I found myself wrecked tired after the short walk, and for the first time during this stretch I disappeared to my bed for a couple of hours, while Niamh snuck out to do some additional food shopping.
Niamh cooked again tonight, and it was a minced beef ragù, with a passata base. She began with a stir-fry of the holy trinity (celery, onions and carrot – often said to represent the Italian flag, but looking more like the Irish one!), and ended up with a nice, coarse (just the way I like it) sauce to go with the bucatini (thick spaghetti with a hole running through it). It was fab, and we have enough left over for more this evening!
Little did I know that during her sneak-shop while I was resting, she got some take-out from L’isola del Gusto – cherry (again), and their award-winning Crema d’Ersilia. We have enough left over of this too for this evening… Yummmm!
After dinner we went out for another stroll. They were setting up for a dance and music special in the Roman Amphitheatre. We caught a lovely sunset as we watched them prepare.
We went home, and watched the second episode of Orange is the New Black from the latest series. Not holding out much hope for the rest of the show after some of the dumb plot turns in that episode. Oh well.
This morning, Niamh paid the Sleep Tax, and so I was able to have a little lie in of 30 minutes before heading out for my usual walk.
Down in the valleys below, thick blankets of fog made islets of the colline (hills) below. This is the Tuscan countryside at its best.
Today, being Saturday, is market day! Instead of being in the Piazza dei Priori, it’s down in the main car-park, which might scupper our plans to visit Colle di Val d’Elsa today – but we’ll see. At least we’ll still have a mooch in the market! The Piazza is being used for a silent disco later on, so a chance to people-watch at their most primal, then.
A presto!
Our Man In Volterra 