Il Poggialino part 2

Monday I decided to walk down the mountain for market day in the small town of Loro Ciuffenna.  I had so many pains yesterday at Vespa I figured the best thing to do was to repeat that walk of just a little less than an hour again today.  I know, I should walk my fat ass up the mountain but that would probably take hours and in the end I would get to ride up anyway in the ambulance.

Getting down the mountain took a little longer as every one wanted to stop and visit.  First was our neighbor from Trevane on his tractor.  He was going to tend his grape vines but he gestured to get on, and he would give me a ride.  I thanked him and said I would walk. Or, at least that is what I think we said.  A few more cars stopped to offer a lift but I declined.  Almost to town I talked to a gardener.  He had strung a string line along the bottom of a hedge row and was trimming the hedge one branch at a time. Took a side street once I was in town.  These people have nice yards but nothing like Slovenia. However, one house here won the yard art award.  He had recreated the whole town of Loro Ciuffenna out  of rock in his front yard. He threw a couple of wooden musicians in for good measure.

I sat in the local café with all the other old men until Vicki picked me up at 11 and we headed for the Chianti region. It was not a pretty day, but the area was still magnificent.We stopped in the little town of Radda.  In the past, at this time of year, we were about the only tourists in town.  This time there were a lot more tourists, but far from crowded. Almost all were Americans and not the tour bus type.  They were independent travelers like us.  I guess us baby boomers are on the move as the economists say.

marc is a 5th generation wine maker. he took over from his grandfather about 10 years ago and started a new business model of selling direct in bottles instead of bulk.

 the red buckets are for grapes. the pickers were on break sleeping in the cars to the right.

right turn on a dirt road

vicki waiting for the wine house to open

It is our last night here and we are sitting out back drinking wine and looking into the pitch black of night.  Tomorrow we move to Monte San Savino and Villa Ceppeto, where Daniel and Manula live and our Old Best Friends (they don’t own a winery like NBF’s in Slovenia) from 16^th Street are staying.