another eye opens

(click photos twice to enlarge)

After breakfast on Saturday, we said goodbye to our beautiful house, and our friendly companions dispersed to their next destinations.

Andy and I returned to Casa Howard in Florence, where we spent part of the afternoon wandering around the Oltr’Arno window-shopping (dazzling housewares, the coolest jazz record store ever) and enjoying the witty graffiti (iconic American as blockhead) until we noticed a poster announcing that the Tuscan gay pride parade was taking place…today! In fact, right now!

So we wended our way back to the other side of the river and eventually found the parade, full of enthusiastic youngsters who kept waving at someone over our heads — we crossed the street to see who it was, and it was all-purpose Nonna, beaming beatifically at the marchers and accepting their excited greetings.

Then it was time to park in a pleasant piazza for a classic Italian cocktail (Negroni) with classic Italian cocktail snacks (potato chips).

We followed a costumed marching band from Lucca to the Piazza della Signoria, where they mingled with the plethora of homoerotic statues, new sculpture by Belgian artist Jan Fabre, and a wedding photographer taking his job very seriously.

We had dinner al fresco at Michael’s first choice, where the waiter engaged us in zesty conversations about wine and American politics and where Andy ordered one of the most sublime dishes we ate all week, gnudi with spinach and sage. Gelato, a good night’s sleep, and off to the airport. Va bene!

(click photos twice to enlarge)

On our last day together, we took an expedition to Montepulciano, where I’d never been and which turned out to be an exquisitely beautiful and charming town to visit. It’s one of the highest Tuscan hill towns. From the top of the bell tower in the Palazzo Communale (Town Hall) the 360-degree views are spectacular.

After strolling around the town encountering unexpected sights and sounds (a tenor serenading passersby with a passionate aria), Andy and I settled down for lunch with Jay and Terry Wayne at a cafe overlooking the main piazza. While a Brazilian couple played flute and piano in the square, we shared a bottle of the local wine, vino nobile de Montepulciano, and I had the tastiest lunch of the week — simple grilled sausage with roasted potatoes.

A spectacular sunset capped our day.

(click photos twice to enlarge)

Our plans for Sound Day centered on visiting the abbey at Sant’Antimo, a beautiful austere 14th century rural church where a group of French monks perform the traditional six services of Gregorian chant. John and I have brought groups before, and it’s quite magical to experience classical a cappella singing with the acoustics of an old stone church. We planned to take in the midday service, but sadly on this day the monks were performing it privately, and in the church we heard only a recording of the service. (My theory is that they were in their private quarters in boxer shorts drinking beer, glued to the World Cup championships on their flat-screen TV.) Nevertheless, it’s a peaceful place to visit with scenic backdrops for pictures.

We had lunch in nearby Montalcino, celebrated for its wines (brunello di Montalcino and rosso di Montalcino). These are wines that can get quite pricey in the States, so we got a kick out of having a bottle of delicious rosso for local prices. Jennings models a fun jacket that Michael bought recently. And his pasta course took advantage of early truffle season.

San Giovanni d’Asso is known for its truffles, and Il Chiostro arranged for us to meet a renowned local truffle hunter named Paolo, who gave us an informative presentation on how truffles are grown, cultivated, and harvested. We met Mimi and Pipo, the dogs who are trained to find truffles — they don’t look like your idea of hunting dogs, do they? And Paolo’s friend Lorenzo served us some truffle-buttered bread while we admired his tattoos. Linda’s dinner started with a plate of extra-delicious antipastos: bresaiola wrapped around field greens, a tiny cooked artichoke, pecorino nero with flecks of truffle.