So punk, dya feel lucky?

Well dya? Yes actually, but nobody is holding a gun to my head! Despite the BBC reliably informing me that there will be thunderstorms today (Wednesday) or at very least the need for wet weather gear, damn I left my oilskins and sou’wester at home, I would class today as ‘crackin’ the flags’ kind of weather. I was out early doors again, 6.30am local time, to take in a bit of Siena without those pesky tourists 🙄. After an early breaky I returned to my abode for a recharge, and when I re-emerged onto the stone streets it was like bank holiday in Bowness! Undeterred I ventured out amongst the crowds to sit in the Piazza del Campo and count my lucky stars, even though none were visible on such a sunny day, that I could enjoy such surroundings in the warm Tuscan sun.

Not a city dweller but a country bumpkin 

Although it may be the done thing to follow the crowds to all the tourist cities it doesn’t really float my boat. Pisa was done because I dropped Ray off at the airport and had never actually been. Siena was done as I was passing anyway and although Rachel and I had visited briefly it was a fleeting glance.

But my desire is to get back in Herman, drive the country roads and take in this magnificent countryside. Florence hangs by a thread, I know I maybe should go but hey, we’ll see.

Sometimes I surprise even myself with my incompetence

I had the voucher for this morning’s breakfast safely in a pocket, presumably the same pocket I had my mobile phone in which, having a few minutes on my hands before the cafe opened, gave me the opportunity to nip into the piazza for a final tourist free photo. You guessed it, whipping my phone out obviously brought the voucher with it, unnoticed by me. Shortly after leaving the piazza I realised my mistake so returned to retrieve it from the pavement. In those two minutes a rather conscientious road sweeper had obviously done an excellent job of making the pavement clean enough to eat your breakfast off. So I bombed off my included breaky from yesterday’s cafe and took the pleasure of a pole position coffee and pastry in the piazza. Old people eh?! 🙄

Siena – Val d’Orcia

I’ve heard of twice cooked lamb, even triple cooked chips but never quadruple boiled pasta! Restaurants with views are at a premium in these parts so I thought I’d struck lucky at Poggio Rosa. The owners seemed to be a married couple in their 80s, welcoming and friendly. I ordered the mushroom tagliatelle and was surprised that it arrived in less time than it takes to boil an egg, or in this case what should be al dente pasta, which turned out to be as limp as a very limp thing. On the plus side the meal DID actually taste of mushrooms and I consoled myself with the thought that I couldn’t get food poisoning from the ingredients. 

A small plate of mushrooms with dead tagliatelle, a glass of tap water and an espresso for £21, at least it will supplement their pensions!

The Golden Hour

Tuscany is stunning, of that there is no doubt, but mostly so during the golden hour. Getting up before dawn sometimes fits with my sleep/non sleep pattern as it did on Friday morning when I set up the action camera for a time lapse of the sunrise at 6am. Unfortunately the result wasn’t of sufficient quality for circulation and this morning I slept in (to 7am! 🥱)

My agritourism accommodation in set in the heart of the Val d’Orcia (pronounced Val Doch-ee-a, (as I picked up from a young German couple in Siena). I felt an idiot abroad (again) pronouncing it Val Dorseea 🤦🏻‍♂️. My accommodation is so good I extended my stay by one night and will start my meandering journey north on Sunday morning.

Chapel of Our Lady of Vitaleta is spitting distance from my base as are many of the well known rural tourist sites/sights of Tuscany. I visited the chapel during the day then returned at the golden hour when I naively thought I’d have the place to myself. Anybody with the slightest interest in capturing a good shot is out and about at the golden hour!

The rolling hills casting their extended shaddows is a special sight indeed as opposed to the relative flatness when the sun is high in the sky.