Living in Tuscany

There are interesting situations that arise when you are in a foreign country and trying to use a washing machine with (of course) Italian instructions is just one of them.  The washing has been going round and round all day. I sort of think we have the wrong buttons pressed. 
So what to do. 
Translate the buttons in Mr google, hopefully it will be finished soon, its 9.30 pm and we put it on at 11.00 this morning.
Booking accommodation on line can be fraught with difficulties at times… but this time we sure hit the Jackpot.
We have an almost 2 year old with us and we wanted our own house, most of the places I looked at were share kitchens etc… but here we have 25 acres of olive trees, a vista to take you breath away and our own villa with 3 bathrooms and lots of space.
The photos online didn’t do it justice so I will take some gorgeous pics for Franco.
We cater our own dinner and breakfast and just going to the supermarket in this town is interesting. We’ve not seen any other tourists and we feel as if we are living local. 
Tonight we are having olive oil made from the olives on the property, we’ve cooked veal on the outside oven and we bought pastries from a small bakery behind big green doors.
You need to remember to shop before 1.00 or after 4.00 because everything closes down in the villages for siesta.. Nevertheless we wandered through three nearby medieval villages today. The stone houses are perched precariously, one next to the other at bizarre angles, verandahs overlooking huge country vistas and the alleys are like warrens. One wonders how many feet have trodden on the stone pavement.
The alleys are long, the walls are five or six stories high and its difficult to photograph because of the perspective and the confined space. If its sunny there are strong contrasts in light and I have to work hard to capture the image.
We found a  restaurant where the locals were dining A few charades to describe what we wanted for a meal and then the chef came out and translated the menu in perfect English.
Keith and Sergie chose a Florentine steak… its big enough for two people. I had a little pasta and walnut stuffed cheese.
The meal took a few hours and then the proprietor poured us a ‘water’ Gees Louise it burned all the way down, pure alcohol I guessed.
So no work today… maybe tomorrow.
The images below are from our trip to the coast 30 mins from here. Its breathtaking.

3 Comments Add yours

  1. ann w says:

    Fyi – the photos are not showing – otherwise it sounds lovely where you are.

  2. ann w says:

    dang – the moment I posted that comment the photos showed up – that’s what I call ‘good service’!

  3. Wendy in Kennewick says:

    Spectacular! What a lucky lady and to be able to share with family, even more so!

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