Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debstah1/sets/72157622732458140/
6:15pm: In the farmhouse after a fairly relaxing day. Woke up a little before 7:30 after not sleeping too well again :( We did laundry just before 8 - the washer was much smaller than I anticipated! Anyway, it took nearly an hour but since it was so bright and clear we then hung everything on the provided clotheslines and went on our way to San Gimignano around 9.
Got there shortly before 9:30 and found the correct parking spot. Right inside the wall we found a Bar and got a cappuccino and pastry - nutella croissant for me (it was awesome.). Wandered around and in and out of shops, into the gorgeous duomo and just seeing the funky little medieval town. Around noon we went to a pizzeria and got a pizza to eat there. We then set out to find the San Gimignano Coop (supermarket) which we knew was close. After driving around in a few circles we finally found it and picked up some things to cook in tomorrow - fresh pasta, tomatoes, grated cheese, olives, some clementines, olive oil, salt, pancetta cubes, grated parmigiano, etc. We also got necessities like toilet paper and paper towels. Then we set off for Colle di Val D'Elsa, which I wanted to go to mainly b/c it is where 95% of Italy's crystal items are produced. After driving around in circles we found proper parking and made it up to the upper town (there's an upper and a lower). This town is basically a ghost town. We were there in 'siesta' time and mostly everything - including most of the crystal shops - were closed. Managed to find a couple shops with some gorgeous stuff. All I really wanted was a little figurine and finally I found a cute little owl for only 13 euros. We took the elevator down to the lower town and checked out a great gelateria, then went back up and left. Really not much to do in this town. Even the duomo was kind of plain.
We then realized we needed some kind of meat for our cooking in so we went to the HUGE - and I do mean huge - Coop supermarket in Poggibonsi. We got some bread crumbs, chicken, fresh tomatoes, and I got a nail file that actually worked. So now we pretty much have everything we need to make a pretty nice feast tomorrow.
Came back to the farmhouse shortly before 5 and took our mostly dry laundry down and just came back here to relax before going back to Antico Desco for Renee's birthday dinner.
Today was an absolutely glorious day weather-wise, about 20C (around 70F) and literally not a cloud in sight. Hopefully every day will be like this for the rest of the trip!
9:05pm: Went to the restaurant down the street. Had bistecca alla fiorentina that we split, and some roasted potatoes. It was so good. I am so full. It will be hard to eat regular American supermarket beef again. That's all really. Oh, and there was a party of about 6 annoying Americans behind us. The lovely waitress (same as the other night) was trying to explain to them that they had ravioli with pumpkin, so she said "Halloween" and they were like "oh, you have halloween here?" then later they got their food and were trying to figure out if their beans were cannoli beans or cannelini beans. I think I smacked my face at these people at least 10 times. Anyway, I had told the waitress it was Renee's birthday, so after our meal even though we asked for the check, she brought us two pieces of a traditional seasonal dessert made with chestnuts, she said not everyone liked it. It smelled like gingerbread, but tasted like a nearly-tasteless chewy pancake. Not really my thing. It was quite nice of her though, especially since they gave us a small discount again (I presume for their arrangement with our farmhouse). Love this place.
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