Vino bianco

la chiara di prumiano

This is where we’re staying tonight!
Very peaceful… a little new-agey, but definitely beautiful. Dinner will be served at 8.
Before arriving here, we stopped in San Gimignano, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The town is a little too well preserved though, not many locals and the streets have zero debris on them. Everything looks like it came out of restoration yesterday. Went to the “Death Penalty Museum” which seemed to be the same exhibition I’d seen elsewhere recently… we’d been talking about seeing it when some people overheard and gave us their tickets, saying they had been to the other one too and it had made them a bit ill. as we were leaving, we walked by the “Torture museum” which was unsurprisingly similar (but bigger and allowed photography). i have a couple photos i’ll upload later… didn’t go in the duomo or the torre… since we’d just been up the torre in Siena that morning and didn’t want to pay for the Duomo.
So we are here now… and I will finally relax and sleep in a little longer this weekend, I hope!

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Dinner Senese

Perfetto.

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Course 0: salad of fresh tomato, cucumber, onion, garlic, bread
Wine: Pinot noir prosecco
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Course 1: tuna tartare with anchovies and peanut sauce
Wine: Pinot grigio
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Course 2: steamed calamari with basil, squash and tomato
Wine: Gevurztraminer
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Course 3: prawns with bacon over beans
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Course 4: Monkfish with jellyfish flakes, tomatoes and gnocchi
Wine: Marabino Nero d’Avola
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Course 5: Grouper with eggplant and basil
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Dessert: Chocolate torte over Strawberries, melon sorbetto; Creme brulee
Wine: Muscato di Puglia

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Tre Cristi

This is the best restaurant I’ve found in Italy. Or in the world, for that matter.

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IL MIGLIORE VINO

Di Sicilia…

This red wine finished our meal (before the muscato di Puglia)… the very best meal I have ever had, at Tre Cristi in Siena. More photos to come when i’m on a real connection.

cena con Nicoletta è Daniele

Tonight we had dinner with our real estate agent and her boyfriend. She is really nice and helpful, and a great friend.
And when we got home, there were 2 hedgehogs playing with the cat food!

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Olio extravergine di oliva

Today we also drove around the Lucca hills looking for an olive oil factory. We finally found one that was open and not too busy, the last one on our list! The woman, Carla, was so nice she gave us a quick little tour. I will definitely come back here!

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Colline lucchese

Terme di Montecatini

The actual spa, the one that’s in Fellini’s 8 1/2 is a large park with several very old buildings. Here you feel transported about 100 years. As Katya would say… “BEAUTIFUL!”

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homemade breakfast

jenn made us french toast with our fresh eggs and bread from dinner last night. topped with blackberry-balsamic vinegar preserves, and melon. yummmmmm!

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