October 25, 2008 – Day 6 – Volterra, ...

October 25, 2008 – Day 6 – Volterra, San Gimignano, Cortona

• Awoke at 0800


• Leave Hotel De le Ville around 1000


• Walk to Auto Europa Car Rental and arrive approximately at 1015, fill out necessary paper work and forms, in the car (Alfa Romeo) by 1030 and on our way out of Florence


• Start driving down the Firenze Sierra Freeway, follow signs to Siena and then to San Gimignano. On the way we decide to go a little further to Volterra first since this is about 30 km west of San Gimignano and we figure it is best to start at the furthest point away then work our way back to our next hotel


• Arrive at Volterra around 1200.


• Walk around the perimeter of the town, looking for the primary bell tower to climb. We are simply amazed at the beautiful arches, the terraced building and the breathtaking views.


• Also Volterra has many very small churches located throughout the walled city. Very small, no more than 20x20, but will beautiful and ornate art work adorning the walls and alter.


• We walk up one street and find a pastry shop, where we buy a cream puff and four small bow ties (like donuts). We also get a cappuccino and hot chocolate to go. The hot chocolate is like pudding, very thick; half of it winds up in my beverage giving it an instant moccachino flavor.


• There is an opening at the top of the hill with a panoramic view where we sit down to enjoy our little snack. Nancy spies a fruit stand and buys a pear, an orange and a banana. We share the pear, which is as juicy and sweet as I have ever tasted.


• Right next to us was a very large covered tent, where there was some kind of food, cheese and wine special going on. We venture inside and sample all kinds of cheese, pork products, wine and grappa. We did not want to seem greedy with our sampling, since we did not have any intention of making any purchases here.


• After a few more corners, we decided it was time to move on


• It is the penultimate Italian experience.


• Overall, we were very impressed this town and enjoyed our time here


• We leave Volterra around 1400 and arrive at San Gimignano at 1430.


• Very similar to Volterra, fortress city built on a hill, where you can see for miles around in 360 degrees.


• It makes sense that back in the day that they would have built their towns here on the top of this hill so they can see any marauding armies for miles. Also, by holding the high ground it makes it very difficult for the aforementioned marauding army to actually attack and conquer the cities. It is pure strategic genius to put these cities where they are.


• Upon entering San Gimignano, we find the cathedral of St. Jacobo and we know that we are going to like this town


• Next stop is the museum, where we pay to see some of the pottery recently unearthed in various archeological digs of the recent past. Most important we pay to get in a) to use the toilets and b) gain entry to the Grasso Tower, the main tower in the center of town.


• As we continue to wander around, we find a wine tasting at the base of the bell tower and decide it would just not be right if we did not sample some of the wines they were offering on this fine day. After sampling a few of the locals vino, we decide to climb the tower


• At the top of the tower we are able to look down on the entire city as well as the valley below. Again, simply beautiful, breath taking and awe inspiring. If I could I would have stayed there forever and just basked in the beauty, but alas, time called and we had to move on again, so down the stairs we went.


• We exited the city via a different street, to make sure we saw as much as we could with the time we had, when we eventually found ourselves back at St. Jacobo and knew the time to leave was now, but that we would not soon forget the majestic beauty of these two stunning mountain towns.


• We were back in the car on the way to Cortona by about 1630. We figured it was about an hour and half to the hotel, which would get in before the sun went down. Since we never really ate lunch, we shared the orange and banana we had purchased in Volterra on the drive.


• As 1800 approached we could see Cortona in the distance. We had directions to the hotel from Florence and were not sure they would apply the same as we were coming from Sienna. (Note if I had just listened to Nancy when we first approached Cortona, and turned left instead of right, we would have saved ourselves 90 minutes of frustration), with that in mind here goes the story:


• Turn right at the intersection following the signs to Cortona. We go up an incredibly large, narrow and winding road to come into another mountain town.


• At the first intersection, we see lots of signs for hotels and restaurants but none for the one we are staying.


• We drive around the lower ridge of the city and come to another intersection, where the sign says our hotel is down the hill (arrow pointing straight down), so we begin to descend again down a different long, narrow, and winding road.


• We get to the bottom and incredulously cannot believe we missed the hotel, so we turn around and try again (Note: If we had continued on about another 50 meters, we would have found the hotel and saved ourselves at least another 60 minutes).


• Darkness is now descending upon Cortona


• We wind up going back all the way around to the original starting location, where we go up the same large, narrow and winding row we went up before


• When we come to the 2^nd major intersection, I decide to head up the hill, though the signs clearly indicate that the hotel is down. We get to the top of the hill and decide to pull over, look at the map and try to use my mobile phone to call the hotel and figure out where we are, and more importantly where they are, but I am unable to make an outgoing call at this point in time.


• Eventually, I find a place to turn around and begin to go back down the hill again. We see another break in the city wall, with a huge list of restaurants and hotels, so we pull into a parking lot to see if we can see a sign for our hotel. No Dice


• We continue down to the intersection where there is a sign for our hotel and I pull into an EMS (Ambulance) station and park the car. I get out and walk over to stare at the sign for 5 minutes to try to gain a better understanding of the arrow pointing down to see if there is some deeper hidden meaning, since I have already been down and would swear the hotel simply does not exist down there. I stand there looking around to see if anyone can assist me on what has now become a fools errand and quite the folly.


• Eventually, I wander back to the EMS station and speak to the gentleman stationed there and ask them if they can tell me how to get to the hotel, and sure enough I need to go down and 50 meters past where I was to get there. Damn, I should have just listened to Nancy and made that left 90 minutes ago.


• Sure enough we follow the directions and find the next sign and proceed towards our hotel, Il Falconairre, which is up an incredibly narrow, winding road into the middle of nowhere.


• As we pull into the parking lot, we are now both frustrated, exhausted and extremely hungry.


• We check into the il Falconnire around 1915 and make a 2015 dinner reservation at the hotel. It was suggested by our travel agent that we eat dinner at the hotel, and it was good thing, since there was no way in hell I was going to go out and try to find my way around Cortona again in hopes of finding grub.


• By 1930 we are in our room. It is a large room with a big poster bed, a couch and entire sitting room and large bathroom.


• The concierge was very adamant that we be back at the restaurant in time for our reservation. So that did not allow much time for relaxation.


• We walk back to the dining room (Note: I did not bring any pants besides jeans, nor do I own a sport jacket) and discuss the fact that we are probably going to be way underdressed for this place, and just hoping they will still serve us, since we are bordering on starvation now.


• The maitre’d sits us down and presents us with the menu (so we have passed the first test, they have let us in the door and sat us down. I guess they figure as long as our checks don’t pass our money is just as green as everyone elses. Though my suspicions are confirmed when every man there has a suit and tie, or at least a nice collared shirt with a sport jacket. Nancy had a nice sweater with jeans, so from the top up, you could not tell she was a tad underdressed.


• We were offered a complimentary glass of champagne as we sat down


• Upon examination of the menu, Nancy becomes quite concerned that there is nothing for her to eat. Everything is served with thick creams or heavy sauces, neither of which she will eat. We scour up and down until we find two items that she will eat; Onion Soup and Pan Seared Tuna. (Next crisis averted). I order ravioli with a red sauce and a pecorino fondue over the top for an appetizer and Venison Tenderloin with a bittersweet chocolate sauce for my main dish.


• The Onion Soup was very good, but not very soupy; it was primarily onions and bread in a bowl.


• The ravioli was good, but nothing to write home about.


• The tuna was served medium rare on a bed of spinach. The spinach was good but not as good as the dish we got in Florence at Buca Lapi. The tuna itself was outstanding; white on the outside and a touch of red/pink on the inside, just the right amount of flaky, a perfect piece of fish


• The venison was two small tenderloins, with a brush of chocolate sauce underneath it. I personally would have never thought to pair these together (that is probably why I am not a chef), but they were a perfect compliment in tastes. Needless to say, I was quite happy with my choice.


• Finally, we were unsure if we were going to have dessert, but decided since we had nowhere else to go that night and were in no hurry, we might just as well dive in and go for broke.


• We each had a dessert, a triple chocolate truffle (milk chocolate, dark chocolate and some kind of nutty chocolate) and Banana fritters


• Then the waiter brought out a sample of about 10 other deserts for us to try. He described what each one was then walked away.


• I don’t know if we were tired or focused on our own dish, but we did not really comprehend whether a) these were complimentary or b) what each one of the desserts actually were


• We asked the waiter over to tell us again, and he said something that I never in a million years would have expected him to say, especially at a fine establishment like this one:

“I already told you what this was, did you forget?”

• We were rolling on the floor laughing and this just capped off the night


• We went back to the room, and fell into bed.