Oh yeah! I’d almost forgotten that we decided to splurge on a long weekend back in Italy. It was the August bank holiday in Ireland, so we used that Monday to bolster our weekend.

We flew out the Thursday evening, and arrived in Volterra half past midnight.

Friday, August 4th
We did a lot this weekend to maximise the money-to-fun ratio, and so sleep may have suffered. We found ourselves on the go a lot. So, our first date was in Bagno Perla beach club in Castliglione della Pescaia (parking). We met our friend by the entrance to her apartment stupid early, and had a quick breakfast at L’Incontro. Then we walked to our rental and drove the ninety minutes to Castiglione – a lovely village on the coast (duh), with a rare old-town feel. It’s a bit of a walk from the carpark, but parking is tricky elsewhere in the town – plus at least the carpark leaves you close to the centre of the town itself, which was to be our target afterwards.

Unsurprisingly, we did beachy stuff at the beach. I stood among the waves in the warm water. The strand goes out about 30 or so meters before you have to worry about floating, and unlike many Tuscan beaches, the sand is silky smooth. I cannot swim. I cannot even float. I know people say they cannot swim but they can at least float or doggy-paddle. Not I. So it’s a big deal for me to get out there.

They have a restaurant at the beach club too… don’t expect anything haute – but it does it’s job more than adequately.

Back to the beach for a couple of hours. Our friend could stay there all day (thereby getting best value for money from the rental of seats/beds/parasols.

But Niamh and I have to do something else – something different after a while. We have no patience for just lying there. We walked back and had a wander about the town. Once done, we stopped off at a bar on the main street for a spritz… which was nice, but the service was a little south of friendly. While we were there, we were caught in the mother and father of all downpours! Leaving that establishment, we thought we’d check out the menu of an Irish bar there – we had no real intention of eating there, as we had our sights on a burger bar. The food wasn’t Irish really, but at least the beer was!

Afterwards it was off to the burger bar for a tasty treat. The bar has since moved to Florence, and rumour has it that it’s not as good as it was, so no names dropped here. The bar wasn’t opened yet, so we went into the hotel bar opposite, where a few locals were hanging out, and had another spritz.

The burger bar opened and our friend reacquainted herself with the owner – we made our order and got our burgers. They were every bit as good as they looked!

Once done there, we (that is to say ‘I’) had the arduous task of driving us home. No staying overnight – we did that later in September, though.

Saturday, August 5th
A day of travelling and exploring was in store for us!

I did start the day with one of my trademarked walks, although I kept it brief and inside the walls.

Walked, breakfasted, showered and off we went. We’d harboured significant interest in the forested areas around the Val di Cornia recently, and headed off in that direction again this time. We wound our way through a metric ton of mini-valleys, and saw a town in the distance: Gerfalco. I didn’t see much in the way of anywhere to eat after an explore, though. Sorry, Gerfalco – maybe another time. Checking Google now, I see the Cirolo looks like it serves antipasti and sandwiches – so I’ll put it back on my map. But for now, it was on to the larger town on the other side of the valley: Montieri (parking).

I got a good vibe from Montieri from the get-go. There are fab views into the forests below (check the video), and by the time we reached the heart of the town, we saw that the town seemed to have a good sense of community. There was a group of guys sitting in the curved main part of the town, all chatting, gossiping and generally enjoying each others’ company. There was a bar and a restaurant – only the former of which was open then. The restaurant was due to open, however, and so we spent the time going up and down Montieri’s hills, and exploring its nooks and crannies.

The one thing I will say that marks Montieri as being quite different to most other towns we’ve explored, is that it’s rather grey. So, rather than the amber of tufa, the houses were made of a different, more rugged stone. Even the flagstones on the roads and paths were different. Different is good, and so we enjoyed our time nosing around.

It was lunchtime, and exploring a hilltown can be hungry and tiring work, so it was off to a restaurant in the middle of town: Il Baccanale. Once inside, we were given placemats, giving a brief history of the town, which was a cool little feature. It told us that the silver of which the Volterran medieval currency (the ‘Grosso’) was made was mined nearby. If you attend Volterra’s annual Medieval Festivals, you can use the Grosso as currency at it, instead of Euros.

I don’t want to harp on about a placemat, but it was a super idea!

Niamh and I shared an antipasto plate, and followed it up with tagliatelle al ragu (Niamh) and a traditional Tuscan plate of sausages and beans (me). The food was nice, and the people lovely. Worth a spin if you’re in the area.

Once fed, it was time to move on and explore another wee town: Sovicille. It was a 45 minute drive from Montieri, but we nearly stopped at Chiusidino as there seemed to have been some sort of festival on. Unfortunately, there was simply nowhere to park and it was on to Sovicille. We parked, and walked about the town.

There were almost no people about, and so the town, as well as being small, was also incredibly quiet. It was certainly warmer than Montieri. It was pretty – especially the central square in which we stopped for a quick drink before finishing up. There was little else to it, to be honest, apart from a large building we were unsure as to whether it was a hotel, stately home or collection of apartment. A lovely setting, if not a particularly lively setting.

Back to Volterra, and the the rest of the day, consisted of gelato, aperitivi and food. I don’t have much else to say about it, but please do enjoy the photos – some of which of the sunset are fabulous!

Thanks for reading to the end – part 2 to follow – let me know what you think!

• Uncategorized