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6:25 pm – Italy – Day 2 Greve in Chianti
 Yikes! Our luggage still hasn't arrived. Beth spent a good part of this afternoon
arguing with Italian representatives of British Air as they first said our
belongings would be delivered early afternoon, then late afternoon and then…
not at all. What!? Well not today at any rate. The representative said that even though
she bribed the driver, he wouldn't deliver in our remote locale with night
approaching. Supposedly, we'll see
some clothing tomorrow morning as Beth arranged to meet the driver at a local
restaurant in Lucolena. Yeesh.
Well,
it is washing day and hanging out to dry was us.
This
morning we drove to Greve in Chianti, a wonderfully
touristy town just a few kilometers distance, where an open air market
displays the best of the Chainti region. As you might guess, we couldn't resist the
3 Euro outdoor wine tasting that was part of a slow food festival. Chianti, probably Italy's best-known wine region, is a hilly
district stretching from Florence through Siena. The woodlands around us are studded with
ancient towns and villages. The vineyards in this area are often estates with
large old country houses and we're trying to set aside some time to visit a
few. Gary has  arranged on Thursday for us to
have a full wine tasting and luncheon at one of the top wineries in the
region. More on that in the Thursday
(Day 6) entry.
Meanwhile,
back in Greve, for our 3 Euros, we tasted eleven
wines (only 6 for me as I was driving) and had a platter of various Prociuttos and bread supplied by the Commune di Greve in Chianti. We liked some of them enough to purchase a
half dozen at a local wine store (of which there has to be at least six on
the tiny town square) for use at dinner tonight. Having finished off nine bottles last night
between the eight of us, this may not be enough. I love this crowd!
 One site in Greve
not to be missed (and if you venture into the town square, you won't be able
to) is the hulking nude Torso Alato by Igor Mitoraj. Beth and Lesly couldn't resist posing next
to this rather preposterously endowed (at least in my humble opinion) bronze
monolith. I guess it is just as well
we couldn't view his hands or feet to test the old saw about proportionality
in extremities.
To
abruptly – and purposely – change the subject, dinner was prepared tonight by
Brian and Sue and consisted of a lovely Porcini Risotto that just hit the
spot followed by a main course of delicious veal stew. Gary
provided a delicious flowerless, butterless,
chocolate concoction he picked up at the Greve
market called Dolce al Ciocculato - Rocca dei Guidi - Ricetta
- G. Assierelli.
I think that's what is called.
And…
perhaps needless to say, we tied last night's record with nine more Tuscan
wines.
A
lovely day - though I look forward to changing clothes tomorrow.
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