Tag: volterra

2023)

Whenever I got to Volterra, as happy as I am to be in it, I’m also dead keen to get out of it too. Not for any qualitative reason, but just to explore new places. I tend to forget, therefore, why first-time guests are always keen to stay in the town rather than move about. Volterra alone will command your attention for 4-6 days, especially if you’re a thorough bugger. Admittedly less than that if you just want to see the highlights. She is also very beautiful, and all you would rather do is chill, then is no better town for that.

Anyway, my point here is that our guests wanted to hang about the town for another day, rather than go on an excursion, and so we obliged them. Niamh and I must have done very little of note in the middle of the day. I quite possibly sat in and played CyberPunk 2077 while the ladies went out shopping. Having said that, I did go start the 28th with a nice walk.

Look at that lighting and sicken yourself with jealousy

The sky was unbelievably clear and the light to shadow ratio on the rolling colline (hills) was as good as it gets. Such a clear view of the geothermal stacks in Larderello in that last pic. You could see as far as Corsica, and I was unsure if I could even make out snow on its mountains. I’d seen photos of that before, but wasn’t sure if it was snow on mountains or distant clouds.

I walked around as far as the steps at Docciola and nearly killed myself by walking up all nearly 200 of them. I needed the XBox to sort myself out after that (any excuse!).

For lunch we did something new, at least – and had a sandwich somewhere different. This time, it was Al Vicolino‘s turn, and it was quite yummy.

It was our guests’ last night, so we took them one of our favourite restaurants: La Vecchia Lira, who change up a lot of their menu, based on season. Apart from one moment on insensitivity from me, the night went pretty well! I too often think that folks have the same sense of humour I have, and that used to get me into trouble a lot more than it does these days – but I do have the occasional slip. Apologies again, Maire, if you’re reading this!

Thankfully the food was on point more than I was!

We went home, suitably stuffed. We most likely got soundly thrashed by the young lady at pool on the XBox and went to bed disgusted.

Next morning, and it was time to see our lovely guests off on an afternoon flight from Florence airport. That’s right: Florence. We’d never driven to, nor seen, Florence airport, so it would be an experience! However, first: to (quickly) show the ladies around Florence. We parked at our usual spot, and took the tram in. 10-12 minutes sees you into the central train station (Santa Maria Novella) and a 7-10 minute walk to the cathedral.

The frontage of the Cathedral in particular has so much fine detail

As much as we take the same route in Siena, it’s even more so. Usually, we fly in by tram, then it’s Duomo > Piazza della Republica > Piazza della Signoria > Ponte Vecchio > eat in the Oltrarno > a quick look at the Palazzo Piti > a quick explore of the lanes of the Oltrarno > gelato > back over the Santa Trinita Bridge > through the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella > tram > home. This was only slightly different. After we’d taken the ladies across to the quieter side of the Arno we had to have an early lunch, due to the ladies’ flight time. We broke our own rules by stopping at a restaurant with pictures galore of its food – it was one of the few places open – and had some pizza.

I seem to remember a lot of salt in the food. Ah well… you get what you pay for sometimes. We travelled the rest of the route and took the ladies to the airport.

You can see a video of this day, plus the day in Siena we had the previous day.

We had to negotiate one of the few tricker highway junctions in order to get to Florence airport. I couldn’t get over how tiny it was! We drove in, got our little parking ticket, said goodbye and had to validate on the way out. There seemed to be just one guy guarding the carpark. It’s so tiny. Anyhoo, we did so and took the tricky highway whorls out of the town, and (eventually) home.

I treated myself to a gelato from L’Isola del Gusto, and had a moment over a pet rock that was left behind by the younger of our two guests.

With the guests gone, and our appetite for more Italian food on the wane, I had the great idea of going to one of the Chinese/Japanese places in Cecina. We drove to the carpark near the train station, and walked to Sushi Queen. I checked Google, and by golly, it was open! Except it wasn’t. We walked up to it, and it looked open. People were busy moving furniture around and rushing between rooms. I walked up and asked them if they were open, and they replied no. ”But Google said you were,” is what I wanted to yell at him, while shaking him by the lapels. But I just walked out disgusted, Niamh following behind less disgusted. I was on a crusade and wrote a scathing review afterwards (I have since removed it).

Here’s the thing restaurant owners: if you don’t have a website and have your times on Google, please update the bloody things when you’re not actually open. It could save people a round trip of disappointment if they travel to your place of business to find it shut. I was annoyed, as it’s a round trip of over 80km.

It turns out that there is another Chinese/Japanese place about 100m away, so that sucked the anger out of me somewhat. So thank you, Sushi Giapponese Tokyo for being open! We ordered a fair bit of food. It wasn’t bad – especially the rice, dim sum and noodles, but as usual we still haven’t fully found our Chinese Shangri-La, so to speak, with the stir-fried dishes. But it was a different flavour profile, and enjoyable… and the staff were really nice.

We drove home, played each other in pool for some lesser championship and went to bed.

I hope you enjoyed this blog. Let me know what you think, or if you have any comments.

A Double-Tour of Volterra (26/03/2023)

It was to be our guests’ first full day in Volterra. So, rather than head out to show them the wider sights of Tuscany, it only seemed fair to show off our lovely town.

Firstly, I got up that morning and had a walk about, marvelling at how green the land is around this time of year.

Via Portal all’Arco looking unusually good this morning

It was deliciously fresh that morning, and this doesn’t sound too farty, a boon for the soul, as you look at the light cascading off the hills, and capturing the pale brickwork of the buildings.

I took myself towards the residential area near the football stadium. I worried a couple of cats, and got caught in a cul-de-sac. Going past the stadium itself, I walked as far as the entrance to Park Hotel le Fonti. We stayed there for our second ever Volterra stay in June 2018, over a year before I started this blog. We found the place a little careworn, but the room pleasant. They had a pool on a plaza which overlooked the Val di Cecina/Val d’Era (latter as you looked farther north. The views were stunning.

The most major problem with the hotel was also its location – it was a cruel walk up to the town, and if you had mobility, heart or pulmonary issues it would have been an extremely difficult feat to get to the town itself. But we managed, and in the evening we remembered the stunning smell of honeysuckle and the playful darting and weaving of fireflies.

Sadly, I have since learned that the hotel closed down, which is a great shame. I hope they find a new buyer who can do justice to the location’s potential (start by offering minibuses to the town!).

I climbed back up towards Porta all’Arco, via the lovely Chiesa di Sant’ Alessandro. There a lady stopped me to beg for money. She seemed to me to be quite well-dressed, and looked comfortable – so I was surprised. I dropped her a coin and went on my way. I heard a few months later on my return that she passed away. You just never know what’s going on with people. I have also been told that there are a number of people in town who were originally held in the Psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Volterra, and have been accosted by an older gentleman from time to time. Bless them. It’s hard to imagine the atrocious conditions they may have had to put up with.

Later that morning, we took our guests around Volterra.

A few years ago, Volterra’s cathedral reopened after having been under renovation for a few years before that. We were actually there for the reopening (see towards the end of this blog). Some time back, they started charging into the Cathedral and the nearby baptistry. I will neither support nor condone this. If you want to see Volterra’s Cathedral, then pop in on a Sunday during a mass. Niamh’s friend wanted to see the inside (the outside is rather austere). We found out that tickets were not on sale just inside the door like they used to be, but rather at the nearby exhibition centre. It turns out that they were charging the same price for the exhibition centre, but now including the Cathedral and baptistry. You still had to buy a ticket for them, but at least my righteous indignation was somewhat quelled.

We first went into the exhibition centre and had a wander around the temporary alabaster exhibit, before checking out the more permanent local art in the rooms upstairs.

What a fab surprise that awaited us after checking out the art. They had opened a new panoramic viewing balcony in the centre! I was able to grab a couple of never-before-seen (by me) shots.

Then it was off to the religious buildings – starting with the baptistry.

If you visit many of the larger towns with historical religious squares in Italy (e.g. Pisa, Florence, Volterra – ahem), you will quickly note that the baptistry is often on its own, separate to its accompanying Cathedral. This is because, back in the day, you weren’t allowed to enter a place of Christian consecrated worship unless you were yourself a Christian. So, you got baptised in the separate building and then were allowed into the Cathedral. Anyway, you can see Volterra’s baptistry above. It only requires a short visit, before you can head off to the Cathedral.

Forgive me if I’ve recounted this before, but Volterra’s Cathedral is somewhat unusual, in that it is attached to the more secular Palazzo dei Priori. This is because, when the town’s ruler (only for a period of 6 months, I think) was elected, they and their family had to spend their entire tenure within the Palazzo, lest they be bribed, murdered, tickled etc. But they also still had to attend mass, and did so via a chamber which joined both buildings. There you go. You can learn a thing or two on this blog.

The Cathedral’s exterior very much belies the interior, which is rather more swanky.

Along with yesterday’s visit to Pisa, I recorded some video of Today’s visits. Have a look below!

We didn’t do too much of note for the rest of the day. We had lunch at Terre di Mezzo, a gelato from L’Isola del Gusto (che sorpresa!) and I marvelled at the quality of the Sky app on my new XBox (hint: it’s very good!).

Ok, this is YouTube, not Sky – but honest, it’s good!

Thanks for reading – let me know what you think!

Market Day and Picking Up Guests in Pisa (25/03/2023)

A shortish one!

We were due to pick up Niamh’s childhood friend and her daughter from Pisa in the afternoon, but up to that point, we had time to go to the the Saturday market, grab a gelato and even had a bit of lunch.

We were blown away by the colour of the produce in March. Everything was so vibrant. So, inspired – I got a gelato. Any excuse really!

Unusually, we went to Il Poggio for lunch. I do like the Zuppa alla Volterrana there.

Afterwards, I downloaded a couple of fun and easy games on the XBox, in case guest-boredom became a thing.

To be sure of picking them up, we departed early – nothing to do with my being OCD around arriving early (I would not make a good Italian). The flight, if I recall correctly, was only slightly delayed and we greeted them warmly before heading off to the Piazza dei Miracoli, as neither of them had ever been in Italy, let alone Tuscany. I was sort of excited. It’s always great to show new people around. At first my excitement was somewhat tempered by visiting the torre pendente (that’s the Leaning Tower) once more, but then I realised that we hadn’t visited for a few years and got all giddy again!

We parked in our usual spot, and skittered uneasily past the hawkers at the western door. I have difficulties remembering what it’s like for first-time visitors. I guess it must be incredibly surreal visiting somewhere you’ve only ever seen in two-dimensional abstract, and are suddenly being hit with its full glory. And it is, admittedly, an impressive place – not just the tower, but the baptistry, museum and cathedral too. We have also lately learned that you can walk on top of the walls here. We haven’t done this yet, so we will happily do so when another guest wishes to visit the square.

Both baptistry and cathedral lean too, but my bad photo exaggerates this!

I don’t do the touristy photos at the Leaning Tower, but at least one of our guests did! We had a stroll around, and found ourselves at the ticket office. We saw that there would be too long a delay to actually climb the tower, and that the baptistry is closed – which was a real shame – but we got a ticket for the Cathedral (which is free, but you still must collect a ticket).

In we went, only to discover that a mass was one. Fantastic, Ted! We all snuck one shot each before the nice uniformed man gave out shite to us for using a camera (even though no video, no flash). The sign indicated that no flashes were to be used, as that flash part of the sign had a bisected circle through it, but no – there is simply no arguing with a man in uniform in Italy.

Our brief glimpse of heaven before misplaced ego took over. It’s an amazing building though!

Now, here’s the thing. I have no more photos of the day. Anything could have happened, but my strong guess is that we just chilled and ate at home. Sorry about this – it’s unusual of me to not have taken photos to give me a clue. And these days it’s also unlikely of me to have left it 8-9 months before posting about a day. Hopefully onwards and upwards going forward!

Tuscany’s Classiest Dump (21/03/2023)

Gah! I know! It’s been another awfully long time since the last blog. Sorry about that. I was enjoying myself working and holidaying in Volterra for a couple of weeks. On the plus side, it means plenty more content on the way… at some stage.

First things first – I got out on a walk this morning – all the way down to the bus car park. The views from there are lovely. In fact, if you hiked for 3 minutes, you’d be in the middle of the countryside.

The countryside beckoned, but I was unsure of the trail and I didn’t have hiking boots on. I wonder how many use this trail, and if it goes far.

The trail is out of the picture here, but it carries down into the valley towards the hills

Niamh had wanted to go to the mercato dell’usato (2nd hand market) in Capannoli for while to see if we could find a little table or even stool on which we could place drinks/food etc. while sitting. It was closed for riposo, so we decided to make a drive of it, rather than going directly.

So, we decided to head out of town and make for a village in Volterra’s comune we’d never been to before: Villamagna. From there, we’d go to Legoli via a curiosity in the countryside: Triangolo Verde. I may have mentioned before, but the comune of Peccioli has made itself relatively weathly by creating a facility which handles much of Tuscany’s non-recyclable waste, and from that to energy production. The villiage itself is an outdoor art museum, and there are some curiosities in the area, not least of which are the ‘Peccioli Giants’, which represent the power of Peccioli coming from the earth. There is one squatting (a man, quite naked and anatomically accurate) over a building a little way outside the main part of town, and another visible from a modern terrace on one side of the old town, and there are a couple more in Trinagolo Verde. Now, I wasn’t too sure what this place was, other than the home of a couple of these giants – but we’d find out. But first, the drive!

We headed east, past Staccioli’s red ‘Ring’ and took a left at Roncolla, taking a looong route to the village. I’d read in Facebook posts that the inhabitants of Villamagna (who won the last tug-of-war palio, if memory serves me correctly) knew how to have a better time at night than the Volterrans. I wouldn’t get a chance to try that theory out this time, as it was shortly after lunch. Well… it was quiet. In fairness, it was riposo and those that weren’t resting or lunching were working. We stopped briefly so I could grab some video footage (more on that later) and a couple of snaps of the countryside.

I just love the way the land undulates and rolls

We took a route out of town along a road that topped a gentle ridge. It got narrower and narrower. We had to slow down to overtake a couple of young ladies on horseback. On either side of us, though, were some of the loveliest views of the Val d’Era. At one point it became too much, and we stopped a couple of hundred meters from a lone farming hamlet, one chimney of which was streaming pale smoke into the hazy sky. In the distance, a double lake shone like a jewel in the rolling green hills. Tuscany (sadly) isn’t known for its lakes, so these were eye-catching.

We found ourselves a little way outside Legoli at a closed automatic gate – the gate to Triangolo Verde. In front of a gate a huge shaggy dog lay in the sun. When our car approached, it slowly got up and ambled away, just outside of reach. I got out, and buzzed the intercom at the gate. I explained in broken Italian, and then broken English that we would like to come inside if it was open. The nice man inside the intercom said yes, and after registering us (names, addresses) pressed something to make the gate slide open. I raced back to the car, and we followed a curving path downwards towards a building, past an open air circular theatre and a place where we could park.

We got out and were very nearly blown over by the wind. But sure enough, there were two of the Peccioli Giants waiting for us to pose beside. The welcome centre (which is what I assme the building was, as well as perhaps being a bar) was closed, as were were out of season. In the distance some heavy bull-dozing-like machinery were busy doing something. It looked like they were operating near layered stone, and we thought that this place was a quarry of some kind. I was taking video, so there aren’t many photos. When I zoomed in at the machinery, it seemed that it was mostly bulldozing, and there were small flocks of birds everywhere the vehicles were working. Then it hit me: this was a landfill area – this must be one of the places in the comune of Peccioli where the trash is kept – the unburnable stuff maybe? Please correct me if I’m wrong!

Only in Italy, can you go to a dump and find sculptures of birds, giant humans, massive colourful art installations and an outdoor mini arena where events take place!

The sculptures are very impressive. That’s all I have to say about that.

We headed back out. Pressed the red button to open the gate, and I took a couple of of photos of the landscape on the far side of the ridge.

Actually, this was a vew from the ‘dump’

We got back in the car and decided to make more of a bee-line towards Capannoli. We drove through Legoli – considered stopping for a moment when we saw a couple of men setting up seating outside a bar – but carried on. We got through Legoli, but then Google threw us for a literal loop and took us away from Capannoli and back towards Legoli. We caught it early enough and chose out own route (following signposts) to Capannoli, until Google righted itself and chose the correct way.

We got there eventually, and just after opening time, except that it wasn’t. Because the thing closes on Tuesdays – this was *not* in Google. We instead made straight for La Rosa, to Biscottini. We spotted a little stool-like thing, but didn’t buy it (we went back for it another day though!). It’s an interesting store though – all sorts of house decorating stuff in it. Once done there, we went shoe-shopping – at the outlet store there – the one with the enormous boot outside – you can’t miss it! From there, it was across the road to the bar for gelato – and very good gelato it was too!

We got home and chilled before heading to L’Incontro for aperitivi and L’Antica Taverna for dinner. It was a nice enough meal.

It was chill-time again, then bed… but as an extra, here is a video of the day’s action!

Thanks for reading – let me know what you think, or if you have any questions about the area!

The Real Deposition (20/03/2023)

Sorry I’ve been away a while. I’m working on a project which is chewing up a lot of my time at the moment. Normal service will eventually be resumed.

We spent this day in Volterra – except to take our guest home. She wasn’t due to fly ’til later that evening, so we went on cultural excursion to the Art and Alabaster museum. But first, the walk of course! I kept it inside the walls today, starting with a trip down the steps at Docciola and then working my way up to the Bastione carpark. Although we’re allowed to use this carpark, we’ve never done so. It’s easily the closest one to us, but the entrance to the lane that leads to the carpark is super-narrow. The laneway broadens, but it really isn’t wide enough for 2-way traffic (which it is!), so we have a vague terror of meeting another car going in the opposite direction. At both ends you would have to reverse around narrow corners… and at one end up a steep hill. We’re too chickenshit to do this in a rental.

Some of the views over the Val d’Era from the carpark are rather nice, though.

The walk continued inside the walls. It’s not as demanding a walk as outside, I feel, but there are enough hills and dips to give the heart a good workout in places.

Look! It’s a classic Italian scooter shot!

Not untypical of me, I had dessert before I had lunch, at Chic & Shock. I rarely go anywhere other than L’Isola del Gusto for gelato, but sometimes a change is as good as a rest. Afterwards, we went to La Taverna della Terra di Mezzo for some lunch. And more dessert. I have a sickness.

We said our goodbyes to Robbi and Aurora and made a beeline towards Volterra’s lovely Art and Alabaster Museum, to show our guest around. Failing to secure tickets for three students, we went in grudgingly as adults.

I was super-excited, as I thought they had restored Rosso Fiorentino’s Deposition of Christ, and it was on display. I was surprised at the time, as I thought it didn’t particularly need any restoration. Anyway, it’s one of my favourite pieces in the entire collection, and it’s always nice to see it.

We entered the courtyard after buying the tickets and I noticed a peculiar thing: an exact copy of Rosso Fiorentino’s Deposition of Christ turned on its side, and leaning casually against a wall. I didn’t think anything of that until later.

We toured the alabaster museum first. Volterra is one of the European centres for Alabaster, so if you’re a fan of the medium, you’re in for a treat. I was taking video at the time (see below), so I only have one well-taken photo of a ‘slice’ of a replica of the bell tower in Pisa.

The detail on those Corinthian-style columns is something else!

Our visitor was enthralled with the history and examples, and rendered slightly terrified at the bust of the scary smiling lady in the mock-up of a workshop they have in the museum. This seems to freak everyone out – you can catch a brief glimpse of her perched in front of a window at 09:37 in the video you can find a bit below.

Once done in the alabaster section, it was time to check out the paintings in the adjoining building. Most of the artwork is religious because, back in the day, the Church (or wealthy families needing to curry favour with it) was the only patron wealthy enough to commission pieces.

The stunning ‘Annunciation’ by Luca Signorelli, late 1400s (or is it?)

And the grand-daddy – Rosso Fiorentino’s mannerist masterpeice, The Deposition. I remember seeing this painting in art books when I was a kiddo. However, there was something different about it. It was not in the same condition I was used to seeing it, and access to it was blocked off by plastic glass and temporary walls. Some of the paint had flaked off. And then I understood. This was the real version undergoing restoration – so they were not finished yet. Then what had I been looking at before? Was it the one so casually left leaning on the wall in the courtyard? I lingered for a while, feeling a little disillusioned. Maybe all galleries do this with their masterworks. Is the Signorelli painting above a restored original or another copy? I’m almost too afraid to ask. Perhaps I’m being too idealistically romantic.

Below you can find a video of our day to that point:

We left fully culturalised and took a meandering route back to the apartment.

A while later, it was time to drive our guest to Pisa Airport. I think she enjoyed her time with us over the weekend, and there’s still plenty for her to do should she decide on a return visit.

That evening we chilled. We had hunger pangs and so nipped out to L’Hamburgeria for a bite to take away. It was not bad. I love the fries here – they’re like shoestring chipper-chips!

Finally, we topped off the day with a slow walk on our street and around Piazza dei Priori.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions.

Cemetery Tour on a Cloudy Day (19/03/2023)

The weather took a turn for the worse which, truth be told, seems to by and large been a prevalent feature of our visits to Tuscany throughout this year I’m sorry to say. At the time of writing this, however, there is something of a heatwave in many parts in Italy – but we’re stuck in rainy old Ireland.

Our guest wanted to hang around Volterra to check out bits and pieces she missed, so we didn’t stray from the town – well, not far, anyway.

I got up alone and had a walk. It was a full walk around the walls, which is always gratifying.

The circumnavigation continued…

The elevator Volterra is finally getting – under construction

Not having walked enough, I entered the town through Porta a Selci, walked parallel to the prison and entered the park for a quick circling!

The prison in the background. It’s an old fortress, which was enhanced by the Medici in the late 15th Century

I had walked so much by then, that unfortunately I broke through to another universe altogether!

Fortunately, I was not one of the droids they were looking for, and I was allowed to re-traverse the veil between planes and return to my apartment!

Our guest took their time to explore a little more around the town, while Niamh and I lounged around at home. We went out ourselves after while for a short walk and parked ourselves a while in the main piazza, people-watching. We met up again with our guest (sort of) at the Roman Theatre ruins.

Being impressed as she was by those ruins, we asked her if she want to check out the dig-site of the Roman Amphiteatre. She gladly agreed, and we wound our way down. When we got there, we discovered that some shrubber had been cut away to allow a better look at the site. It’s not fully open to the public, but sometimes they advertise site tours.

There’s really only so much time you can spend here when there’s no tour arranged. We ooh’d and ahh’d a bit before we crossed the road and into the cemetery. I don’t think our guest had seen an Italian cemetery before, so we explained (not that we are experts on the matter) that after a period of burial, the remains are removed to a ‘drawer’ in the walls. All of these slots are well-maintained and many have photos fixed to the front.

We moved from one massive courtyard to the other, by taking stairs down, taking glances at the photos every now and again. Some of them are smiling, some are dour – all are interesting. Niamh suddenly exclaimed “Wow – someone’s put one of the O’s on their grave!” After inquiring what she meant, she instead pointed towards the tomb in question. And it did indeed have one of Staccioli’s O’s on it – a mini-version. Then it struck me: this might be his grave – he is Volterran by birth after all!

I clattered down the stairs excitedly and marched swiftly over to it, and confirmed that it was, indeed, Mauro Staccioli’s grave – his wife is interred there too. I love his sculptures – simple but stark and strong. At stated in other blogs, his works are dotted around Volterra like hidden Pokemon! Google Images of some of his works.

I was filming at the time, so I stood there in reverence for a while, just occasionally nattering at the invisible people on the other side of the camera.

Here’s a video of the day!

We trundled back uphill.. all the way uphill, mind you – the walk there is fine, the walk back can be challenging, depending on your fitness.

We chilled back at the apartment for a while, and then went out for a brief walk (the Sith were still hanging about in the square), and wolfed down our dinner at La Vecchia Lira!

Thanks for reading, all. Please leave a like and let me know what you think!

The Verdant Theatre and Colourful Lajatico (18/03/2023)

We had looked up the weather for our first weekend, and saw that today (Saturday) was going to be the best day of the next few. Our friend would be leaving on Monday, but had also declared that she would have been perfectly happy to stay in Volterra. We had spent a little time in the market that morning too, and it looked like the forecasts would pan out correctly, so we dragged her out, and were glad we did in the end. I think she thought so, too.

But first, my walk of the morning! Here are the pics… enjoy!

They were beginning to set up the market

As mentioned earlier we had a little trip to the market. It was still slightly shy of the season opening, so the stalls were still in the main squares.

We took another mini-stroll to some key photo-spots.

We took the Pisan road to get to The Theatre of Silence (Il Teatro del Silezio), where Andrea Boccelli holds his summer concerts near Lajatico, near where he grew up. We have visited it before, but when the land was still scorched from the summer. This time we saw it in all its verdant glory! I have to admit that, while I recognise Andrea Bocelli as an extraordinary talent, I have no hankering to ever go to those concerts. Howerver, the Theatre is absolutely gorgeous, no matter the weather.

The temperature hit about 21/22c – close to the max in which our guest feels comfortable. There was a little wind, as the place is super-exposed, but there wasn’t nearly as much as last time. We stayed, we saw, we took a few snaps and headed towards the nearby art-strewn village of Lajatico!

It’s such a beautiful little place, with well-appointed art-installations – and like many picturesque hilltowns, is kept immaculately clean. We walked about it, admiring how well they’ve curated the buildings to blend in with the artwork, or is it vice-versa? I think maybe it’s a little of both.

Even the water-tower is getting in on the action – painted like one of the floors of the leaning tower of Pisa.

After I had posted some pictures on Facebook and Instagram, Alice, who works in our Property Managers but who lives in Lajatico, gave out to us (in a friendly way) for not letting her know we were in her town. She promised to go out for a drink with us next time we were here. I love Italians!

Back in town later that evening, we had aperitivi in Bar Sportivo and L’Incontro. Our guest met our friend, Mary, and both are originally from Chicago, so there were good chats had! Our guest, Niamh and I finished off our day in Porgi L’Altra Pancia for a well-deserved meal and a glass or three of wine!

We filmed the day too, and you can watch that below!

Thanks for reading (and watching?) all – I hope you enjoyed the blog. Please leave me comments and suggestions below!

A St. Patrick’s Day Return (17/03/2023)

This will be super-short. I’m aware I haven’t posted in a while (sorry about that), but I’ve been away, and taking time off to be present on a whole month away in May/June – more on that in 3-4 month’s time! Also, I’ve been editing content for my Writer Group’s second anthology, and am really excited about that, but it does chew up a bit of my time.

Anyway, back to St. Patrick’s Day! Actually, did you know that March 17th is also Italian Reunification Day? Well, you do now. From prior observation, they don’t seem to celebrate the day with any material significance, but please do correct me if I’m wrong.

Anyway, we had the day off, as all Irish people do, on St. Patrick’s Day. We had a lie-in and had an afternoon flight. This time, we would be flying out with a friend who would be staying with us for a few days, of a 15-day holiday in total – more guests would join us the following week. We only met at the boarding gate, and I can’t remember if Niamh and I had something to eat either in the airport or mid-flight. We must have had, as we would have been too hungry by the time we’d gotten to Volterra. Truth be told, we were still hungry by the time we got there anyway, haha!

We got there in one piece, had no baggage to pick up, thankfully – and walked the 4-500 metres to the car rental building. These past few times, Niamh has booked with the RyanAir partner, but there seems to be significant churn on them – a different provider every trip! This time, it was Italy Car Rent, who I have to say were very good, in that the process of picking up the car was one of the fastest we’d experienced. We got another Fiat Panda. Look, we know it’s about about half as powerful as a dead mouse, but it’s got a decent transmission (5th to 4th a bit janky, though), is comfortable and has a fast-acting aircon system – certainly for those sitting in front. Given its size, it’s also easy to manoeuvre and park – no wonder Italian country roads are littered with them!

We climbed in, noted that the boot was barely big enough for all our hand-helds and backpacks and drove to Volterra. It was already dark by the time we started driving, but was pitch when we got there, just before 22:00. We parked in a pay carpark, which are free from 20:00-08:00 (so I’d have to get up and move it!), and marched towards Porgi L’Altra Pancia, which is chiefly a restuarant, despite what Google says. Unfortunately, they were packing up, but we got a warm welcome from Adrian – one of the waiters there. We had to double-back where we were then accosted by Ilenia from La Sosta del Priore, who also greeted us enthusiastically and we chatted for a minute or two – she’s so lovely (and bloody hard-working!).

After that, I trotted up to Terra di Mezzo, but it too was closed. A shame – I could have murdered a pasta dish. It had been almost 6 months without a decent one! Anyway, looks like we’d settle for a pizza. We lashed back towards Pizzeria Ombra della Sera and got a nod from the dude who has seen us 20 times before and ordered. I was silently grateful that they were at least open (if only for pizzas – they have other fare on the menu, but the main kitchen was closed). We ended up thoroughly enjoying what we ordered – along with some beers.

Once done and paid, it was off to the apartment where our friend got her first taste of the 76 steps. I hadn’t set the expectation properly, as she thought the steps were on the outside of the building, not the inside, and so she wasn’t as put out as she thought she was going to be. A 15-minute tour of the apartment later, and we were all in bed after an exhausting day.

It’s good to be back! Let me know what you think, and feel free to like and subscribe!

A Tricky Journey Home – Airtravel Wheelchair-bound (17+18/09/2022)

We had finished work for this holiday, and so it was time to start packing for home. I did most of that, due to Niamh having a broken leg or something.

I did also get out for a walk in the afternoon, to find out it was one of the clearest days I’ve ever seen in Volterra.

There was an amazing view of the Apuan Alps

Later that day, Niamh phoned Pisa airport and booked passenger assistance for the next day.

That evening, I had to go out again to get some takeaway, as obviously Niamh couldn’t enjoy her time in any restaurant. I opted for pizza instead of pasta, this time.

Well, the morning to go home came. We called upon the misericordia one last time to bring Niamh downstairs. We asked them to bring her to our carpark, but they said they needed to use the ambulance again quickly. So, Niamh hobbled towards the seating in Piazzetta San Michele, which I marched towards the car. We can drive through the town because we have a resident’s permit.

I got the car, drove through Porta a Selci, and up to where Niamh was. She struggled into the car and we made our way to Pisa Airport. We parked in the short term, and I helped Niamh struggle into the departures area. She was in pain using the crutches, and we just had the worst time, until she found a sear in a café she could use. I had to run back out and bring the rental car back, and walk back from that area to the terminus.

She was still in distress, so I had a walk around to see if there were any wheelchairs we could grab. I found chairs alright, but they were behind a barrier. The Customer Service booth was also unmanned, so I was beginning to get a little bit desparate.

Niamh suggested I bite the bullet and jump the Aer Lingus check-in queue to see if someone there could help us. Jumping any queue is hell to me, but I went up there anyway and thankfully the people at the top of the queue were sympathetic. The check-in lady called for the assistance, and I had to wait a seeming age until the assistance lady arrived with a chair. She was so lovely, thankfully. We got Niamh to the top of the Aer Lingus queue again, and got us checked-in. (At the time, Aer Lingus was making people physically check in for flights, even though they had already checked-in online and had a ticket in their phones – is this still happening? ‘Cause if it is, it’s terribly offputting!).

From there, it was easy-street. We hopped every queue in the airport! Finally, out on the apron, we waiting for Niamh’s special vehicle which would raise us up to the aircraft. It’s a weird beast of the thing – essentially a maxi-van on extendable trellised stilts. It raises the compartment up to door-height and allows entry onto the plane.

They brought us to the back entrance of the plane, and we managed to grab our seats – not too far from the back-entrance, thankfully. The flight was otherwise uneventful for me – but I imagine was hellish for Niamh. She had to be given blood-thinners for the flight, due to her leg, as she had to keep it down. We weren’t given any special seating with extended legroom.

When we landed, matters were somewhat reversed. We were more or less last off the plane, and for some flipping weird reason, the groundstaff in Dublin brought the extender vehicle to the front of the plane. They then asked “Why did they put you in the back?!”. Anyway, they weren’t moving it, and Niamh had to struggle all the way back to the front.

We waited just inside a part of the terminus at Dublin and waited for care assistants. A couple of ladies arrived with alternative chairs, but declared that they were there for an old couple coming in from Las Vegas. Their flight were delayed. As a courtesy, they checked our names on their roster, but we weren’t to be found. Sigh. Their couple was a no-show in the, so they took our details and made a roster entry. We were seen to all the way to our car from there – a good service once the booking logistics can be sorted out!

Anyway, that was the end of our September 2022 holidays. We didn’t return for another 6 months, and the blog will continue from there!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a comment 🙂

Happiness and Disaster (14-16/09/2022)

I don’t really split this out using date headers, as the days merged into one another.

Well, it begins. The most trialling sequence of days we’ve had to endure in Volterra yet.

It began well, though. We were having guests that evening! But first, it was a working day, so we had to do our duty. I remember very little of the day up to the evening, I have to admit. The only two photos I have are, unsurprisingly, food-related.

I think this was outside at Il Poggio again for lunch.

Once work was done, we were to meet Marisa and David at the free car park at Docciola. Bless them, I don’t know how they do it (and I hope I’m not shaming them here, and that they see the funny side of it), but they unfailingly manage to get lost every time they use an app that I’m going to call Schmoogle Maps, coz it sure isn’t Google Maps. It never plays ball. Today was no exception. A call or two later and they were set on the right path.

We parked (a little bit naughtily) near the Docciola gate itself so we could drive them up to town without them having to climb the 200 steps with their luggage. A municipale police car drove past and clocked us. They slowed down, but we indicated that we’d only be there a couple of minutes as a pick-up and they drove one. As well as driving into the carpark by entrances flush with the road, there is a ramped entrance which, if you’re not careful, will cause you to smack the underside of your bumper. A crunching sound announced the arrival David and Marisa. Their white Panda bore the brunt and Niamh and I both winced at the same time. Fortunately, the car didn’t looked marked. Anyway, we greeted with hugs and we drove them up to the resident’s carpark and walked back to the apartment.

We showed them around the town. They were lovely and suitably enthusiastic. Out by the main panoramic viewpoint at Piazzi dei Martiri, we met our friend Mary. During the course of conversation she mentioned that it was going to rain about 02:00 tomorrow morning. This is important for the happening later on (ooo, foreshadowing!).

I didn’t take many photos of video, as Marisa was filimg for her own channel and I wanted to be a bit more present for that. You can catch her footage here:

We entered the theatre to check it out, but also to look at the miniatures exhibition I visited with my brother before. I took some pictures of that at least.

That evening, we went to the seasonal restaurant Torre del Porcellino. The food there is damn good, and if you get a seat on the outside, you’ll have some pretty views of Volterra’s premium laneways. We got a seat inside, but had a fun time regardless. We may have had a few courses. As we were walking out I caught the unmistakeable smell of fresh porcini. The aroma is incredible – you just don’t get it with the dried/reconstituted variety. Another little explore followed, but it was mainly around the square.

And then home, to sleep, perchance to dream. Except something happened.

Not too shortly after 02:00, I was woken by the bedroom door opening, and Niamh gasping as she slowly hopped her way into the room. It frightened the crap out of me, as it really sounded to me that her breathing was laboured. So the light was switched on and it took me a moment or two to clear my mental cobwebs.

I soon realised that it wasn’t catastrophic in the real sense. No heart or pulmonary issue. She was limping heavily, however. Unfortunately, and this is nobody’s fault other than Fate’s, she’d left a nightie out on the washing line on the upper terrace and had remembered that it was going to start raining. So, she got it into her head to go up and grab it off the line to save her having to do another wash. She’d left the lights off and was relying on her nightsight. This was a harsh lesson to learn, in the harshest way possible. She missed one of the steps going from the terrace down into the kitched and fell awkwardly. She thought she heard a crack, and assumed it was a flip-flop hitting the floor (more foreshadowing).

Niamh had sprained her ankle badly once before, and the pain she felt was similar, so she assumed it was a sprain, and said that the hospital wasn’t necessary. She managed to get into bed and take a paracetamol, but then she started to shiver. It was definitely shock, so I threw a blanket over her. Niamh has an uncanny ability to sleep, certainly in comparison to me. Amazingly, she was asleep minutes later. It was me that spent the night catastrophising and being unable to sleep.

We got up and Niamh’s ankle wasn’t any better really. She thought it felt a little better, but there was absolutely no way she could put weight on the bad leg without serious pain. She got dressed with assistance and somehow managed to give our guests breakfast options, and saw them off with me – we had warned them that they’d have to leave the apartment early enough in the morning, as we were due to work that day. They were understandably sympathetic and lovely towards Niamh and wished her the best. At that stage we were both convinced that all she had was a sprained ankle. There were times that she thought it was getting better. We had one eye on the calendar, as we were due to fly back to Ireland in a few days.

We worked through the day, but I had to go to the pharmacy and pick up more painkillers, a pair of crutches, some bandaging and an icebag. I’ll spare you (and Niamh) pictures of the bruising.

Pain would come and go, and Niamh had to tell her work that she’d have to dip in and out as pain would often get the better of her.

I had to escape the apartment, not least to get food. There was a a Chocolate Fair, and I bought a stack of comfort choccies for us both.

Mmmm… chocolate… the smell alone was amazing

We read up on flying home with an injury, and were informed that we’d have to get a doctor’s note that Niamh was safe to fly. Ok, we were goosed. We’d have to either get to a doctor, or go to A&E (don’t translate directly – it’s known as pronto soccorso in Italian) in Volterra hospital.

We opted on the latter and contacted our property manager to see how best this could be facilitiated, as there was no way Niamh would be able to walk to the car, crutch or no crutch. We were told that the brilliant Misericordia service would bring us by ambulance to the hospital. We agreed a time for that afternoon, and our colleagues in work were very understanding, thankfully.

A couple of guys from the Misericordia arrived at the apartment front door, and had a contraption with them. I had seen something like this once before in our apartment block, and assumed that they’d need the same to get Niamh down the 4 floors of stairs. It is essentially a wheelchair, which can also motivate by adjusting caterpillar-style (i.e. tank) threads from the back. The last one of those I saw was powered by combustion engine and it was extremely noisy, especially given the sound could bounce around our cavernous stairwell. Fortunately, this one was electric.

Many towns have their own ‘Misericordia’ – essentially a voluntary ambulance service – and have had for centuries. In fact, there is a mini museum dedicated to the Volterran misericordia next to the cathedral. Anyway, they assisted Niamh into the chair, and off they went!

The chair alone weighs something like 50kg

I travelled in the ambulance with her to the side of the hospital grounds we’d never wanted to see!

She was taken inside, while I waited outside. Covid fears were still around, so I couldn’t join her, sadly. Niamh recounts that the whole process only took about 3 hours. I was thinking that this put our own A&E in Ireland to shame, but was informed weeks later by my Italian teacher that Volterra’s pronto soccorso is never as busy, because the town is so small. Anyway, Niamh also remembers them being very gentle and kind.

During the three hours, I messaged her and watched the sky turn some glorious colours.

The photos that Niamh came out with, however, were as interesting, on of them far more interesting!

Yep, her leg was broken – the fibula was, to be precise. They put her in a backslab cast so movement would be restricted.

We’d also have to go back the next morning, as the specialist wasn’t there to give her the note she needed to fly. We were delivered back to the apartment, including the upstairs climb, and paid the guys €50 (€25 per trip!). Well worth the money.

Soooo, we went back the next day. Same The specialist was busy, and so Niamh had to content with being left on her own for over an hour while other patients came and went. She didn’t quite know what was happening, and didn’t have sufficient of the language to be able to find out, so it began to be a little upsetting. Eventually an order/nurse took her to the specialist who typed up the letter for flying, plus a diagnosis for specialsts back home. He also said he could operate in one or two days. Niamh seriously considered it, but thought she’d find being back in Ireland more comfortable.

With a few clicks of a button, and a modicum of pride, he produced the letter and handed it to Niamh. She had a look at it, and couldn’t understand it. But she also could. It took her a few moments to realise the letter was in Irish – I guess translation was a feature of the tool he was using. Niamh had to inform him that most Irish people didn’t speak Irish, and so the nearby staff all had a good laugh at his expense. He good naturedly re-printed the letter in English and then sent her on her way.

Where was I? Well, I decided to walk certain areas around the hospital and on nearby roads to explore. I’m like a cat that way.

Chiostro delle Monache. It’s a hostel – you can stay here!

Then I began to walk some lonely roads indeed. I think my anxiety was a little above normal, thinking about Niamh’s predicament, hoping she was ok, and not least because some of these areas that were new to me had delapidated, sad looking buildings.

At the end of this particular road which was lovely, despite the collection of dead buildings, there lay a large house that was actually in-use and which had a garden attaching. I think you can hire parts of it to run new-age and alternative therapy sessions.

I took a different road back to the hospital area, and got some fab views of Monte Voltraio and the Val d’Elsa beyond.

I went back to the hospital, and picked Niamh up (metaphorically) and went back to the apartment.

Our friend, Mary, who gave us the weather portents of doom visited us with more chocolate gifts. We weren’t complaining. She also gave us some suggestions to promote healing. It was a very kind-hearted gesture. I’d texted all our Tuscan friends about our predicament, and they were so supportive – thanks, guys!

That evening, I took a stroll just to get out again, and for dinner I grabbed a couple of pastas for takeaway from Porgi l’Altra Pancia – it just lies at the apartment building entrance. We munched on that and spent our time screen-watching ’til bedtime.

The next blog is the last accounting of our time in Volterra that September, and will recall the last day, and the tortuous journey home, but until then thanks a lot for reading.

Please leave a comment or question – I’d love to hear from you.