July 24-27: Tuscany 2

We had booked a rustic little B&B in the middle of nowhere in central Tuscany, which seemed like an appropriate way to relax for a few days, but first we had to go via Siena. Despite its many grand Gothic buildings and its huge central piazza, Siena was a mild disappointment, largely because of its filthy streets. However, we did see an incredible documentary about the Palio, a bi-annual horse race held in the cobblestone piazza featuring ten horses, ten jockeys and no rules. Each horse represents a segment of the town, and to win the Palio (by being the first to complete three laps of the piazza) has great religious significance. The film features a priest blessing the local team’s horse with holy water, inside a packed cathedral.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at our B&B in Pietrafitta. Our hostess greeted us warmly and escorted us to our rustic room. I asked about the advertised free wifi, only to be advised that it probably would not work, unless I knew how to fix it. And she didn’t like my chances, since her computer engineer son-in-law had had little success just a couple of weeks ago. Summoning all my nerd powers, I managed to successfully uninstall and re-install the router, in Italian no less. She was ecstatic. “Ah! It’s a miracle! Mario, Mario!” she cried, clapping her hands and calling her husband. “It’s great! Now I can move around and use the internet! It’s wonderful!”

A room with a view.

We spent our time in Pietrafitta taking a holiday from the holiday: no scheduled activities, just eating well, drinking the odd glass of Chianti, watching the sun go down, reading and lounging around the property. And using the free wifi, of course. It was a great way to turn 29.

A happy diner.

Birthday boy with birthday lamb chops.



Our B&B. Not our car.