Ok, my excuse this time was that I had all the photos etc. set out for March 2025 and sat down to write that blog, but discovered that I’d completely skipped a long stays in 2024! Disheartened, I closed the computer and left it for a lengthy bundle of weeks. But I’m here now, and I have a bunch of fun stuff we did back then.

We invited an old work colleague… which is to say we worked with her some time back, not to say that she herself is old – anyway, we invited her over for a few days to experience what it’s like to play in paradise!

One meal to remember was in La Carabaccia in Piazza Settembre XX. It’s a lovely Tuscan place. Almost every place in Volterra serves Tuscan food, but this is a little different in that it has a very limited menu, which changes every day (fish on Fridays!), and is run by a couple of sisters in the front, with their mam in the back, cooking. The food is delicious, but do check if they’re open, as some of their opening times are erratic – and also do book in advance! It’s worth it. We ate there in the evening. The food was amazing – especially those pork medallions.

There was a crossbow competition in the main square that night, but the pomp and circumstance began in the same square as the restaurant, so we got both dinner and a show!

The next day we decided to wow our guest with the rolling hills of the Val di Cecina, and introduce her to another cute village – one of the cutest around. We went to both Andrea Bocelli’s favourite venue: the Theatre of Silence, and then to the village next door: Lajatico (parking).

It’s always magical at the outdoor theatre. The landscapes are wonderful, and today was a pleasantly hot day. You can also check out Volterra perched on her throne from a decent distance. I had to use a bathroom, and we all had to refresh ourselves, so we checked out the bar you can find near the carpark at the Teatro. It’s a nice enough place for drinks and light snacks – but that day, we just settled on the former.

We drove and parked at Lajatico, where I had to use the bathroom again – not sure what I’d eaten that morning that was disagreeing with me, but these are things life throws at us to test us. It’s a gorgeous village, especially on a fine day – as it is, like Peccioli, something of an outdoor gallery.

On the way home, we managed to get some nice shots of Volterra.

We’d been to Montecatini Terme/Alto before, but it’s nice to be able to show it off to others. This time, we would also be doing a nice and neighbourly thing, by driving to Chianni to pick up Marisa from the Tales from Tuscany youtube channel to come with us. She had been cooped up for weeks on end, without transport of her own. It adds to the journey, going to/from Chianni if you’re approaching from the south or east is actually a lovely drive – not so much, apart from spots, if you’re coming from the north or west.

I’ve probably said this before, but here it is again. Montecatini Terme is the first ever Italian town we set foot in, back in 2008, and so its counterpart, Montecatini Alto, is the first Italian hilltown I experienced.

We parked here, as we always do – never found this carpark to be anything more than half full, and it’s a 5 minute walk in different directions to the funicular which brings you to Montecatini Alto, and to the neo-classical Roman style spa. Actually, I am now reminded by the fact that the last time I was here, I accidentally wiped all my video footage of Alto – which cheesed me off no end. This time I got the footage – check it out below!

We had a walk around the town, and led the pack up to the church of St. Peter the Apostle. It was nice and cool inside, and relatively humble too. Right outside was a large WWII-era howitzer-style gun, along with types of small ordnance. What could this be? It turns out to be a shrine dedicated to Saint Barbara, the patron saint of (among other things) explosives! Apparently, she is Montecatini’s dedicated saint, although the church is for St. Peter.

I’d gone ahead of the others, as Marisa at the time had mobility issues after a nasty fall in a hotel. The rest had a look at the church too, were suitably impressed by the shrine to Barbara, and then we walked around the ruin of an old, small fortress which stood next to the church. There were some really nice views of the valleys all around.

Once exercised, it was time to add the calories back, and so we went to check out some of the restaurants back in the main square. Niamh and I had experienced our first Tuscan slow dinner in that square in 2008. It was one of the most magical experiences we have ever had – Alto being our first real hilltown – read more about it here!

We settled on Ristorante ‘Caffè Giusti’ dal 1898, and it was a fantastic decision. In fairness to these restaurants, they could serve cheap, bad food if they wanted to and still maintain reasonable footfall – but I’m sure glad this place didn’t! The food here was superb, and the service friendly. I had a wonderful pasta with deer ragu. Poor Bambi didn’t see me coming that day.

After the meal, we had a further walk around the small village in an effort to burn off the calories, and then went back down to Montecatini Terme and walked to the spa itself. It looked closed, but after only a short wait, we were allowed in side, and although I’ve seen it a few times now – it never fails to impress. This time around we discovered that Montecatini was a favourite place for Russians to relax. Who’d blame them? Take a look at this!

We tried the spa water – just the basic one was included in our ticket – but I’ve yet to be sold on it. It’s terrifically full of minerals, and doesn’t taste too clever. Undoubtedly, it’s very good for you!

After heading out, Niamh said she’d walk back up to the carpark and bring the car down to us. I offered to do it, but she insisted. Anyway – she made a crucial mistake upon leaving the carpark. Instead of heading towards the far exit and turning right, which would have left her with a 300 meter drive, she left the way we came in and turned left, and got stuck in Montecatini’s one-way system. Meanwhile, we were roasting where we’d been waiting and wondering what had happened to poor Niamh. You live and learn!

She eventually returned, in something of a tizz, and we drove the couple of hours back home – leaving Marisa off at Chianni.

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