I got up, took out the trash and, all alone (in your face, anxiety!), traipsed around some of the walls in innards of Volterra. Unsurprisingly, she was looking lovely.
The town-side of Portal all’Arco 
The outside view of Porta all’Arco – 2400 years old – some of it, anyway 
Portal di San Felice 
Piazzetta degli Avelli 
Classic parked scooter shot 
View from the terrace – one of the nearby churches is being renovated
I couldn’t tell you what we had for lunch, I’m afraid, but we decided to go to Osteria Fornelli for dinner. Like Del Duca, this is a bit of the treat, as they do two menus: a traditional one, and a modern take on some classics. Or they used to. This time they only had the traditional offerings – I wonder if they lost their chef. They used to have this killer baked raviolo stuffed with pork – sadly, nowhere to be found.
However, they still had 3 excellent things:
- Their bread was wonderful, as always
- The cooking was fantastic, regardless
- They also have one of the best views for a sunset in Volterra for any restaurant
We had a wee walk on the way.
Piazza Minucci – one of the best Instagrammable shots in Volterra 
The wonderfully named Vicolo degli Abbandonati – another great Instragrammable point-of-view
Then we walked in without a booking and grabbed a table. We didn’t think anything of that, except that we thought that they were insisting we sit inside, for seemingly no good reason. We were a little disappointed, as we wanted to be outside to see the sunset, without having to leave the table.
About 10-15 minutes in, though, it turns out that we were incredibly lucky – the restaurant was actually booked solid. This was the first time that we had been given any kind of a clue that things were beginning to pick-up in Volterra. At first we thought that it was despite the pandemic situation, but it transpired that it was because of the pandemic situation – more on that another day.
Anyway, back to the grub! Niamh had mixed bruschette, and I had (surprise, surprise!) Zuppa all Volterrana. To follow, Niamh had a steak with mixed veg, and I had pasta (pacchieri, by the looks of it) with white ragu (either rabbit or hare – I don’t remember which). Everything was delicious!
I left my table (masked-up!) to take a few colourful sunset shots.
We went home, then – taking snaps on the way. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we stopped at Isola del Gusto for a sneaky gelato!
Our Man In Volterra 