Dinner For Elvis

While Torino was being washed away a few weeks ago to never-never land, the sun was out and shining down in Tuscany. Lucky for us.

Also lucky for us that we booked one of the cutest agriturismos ever right outside Siena! We'd found it through a simple Google search, so I can't say that I wasn't slightly holding my breath as we lumbered down the ever so bumpy, cypress lined dirt drive. But boy oh boy were we in for a treat. Bees a bustlin' here and there between overgrown lavender bushes, petunias smiling out of window boxes, a little succulents garden, olive groves, and in the distance the duomo of Siena. Weeeee!!! Never mind the occasional winged invader who may visit during the night, bedroom windows were meant to be left open to allow breezy mornings to gently rouse you from your slumber. That or also what was either a two year old screaming, "ciao! ciao! ciao! ciao!" or a cat in heat. I wasn't sure in my sleepy daze.




Anyhow, Tuscany, as always, delivers. I love Italy and I know the country pretty well, but I gotta say, as cliche as it may be, Tuscany seriously never fails to leave me feeling renewed and just so in love with its beauty. Thousands have commented and written on this very subject, so I'm just gonna leave it at that. It's awesome.

Made the requisite trip into Siena and check out the most brilliant thing I saw there.


I didn't know that they actually existed! I thought it was a total joke, but that dog does seem pretty content, right? Of course, she probably also weighs 6 pounds.

Our agriturismo, in addition to growing olives, had a delectable little kitchen garden as well. We had dinner there one night and feasted on all sorts of good stuff, plucked from the dirt hours before. And lots of their wine. Lots of it. Dinner was served family style so the ten of us guests all sat together around a long table, all convivial and lovely. Though the owners are Italian, everyone that night at dinner happened to be American and so we enjoyed one of those rare, memorable evenings that happens when a group of compatriots are brought together while abroad. Lots of tale-swapping of travel adventures, genuine interest in where everyone was from, what they do.


Included in our dinner group were middle-aged honeymooners. Both writers, both southern, both super enthusiastic about everything!, they were a hoot. He may have been just a tad bit full of himself, or maybe I'm just a tad bit uncultured, but on several occasions throughout the hours-long dinner I had mental moments that can only be described as cultural retardation. First example, male honeymooner is proudly (rightly so) telling us about his 17 year old daughter who just graduated from high school and is off to college this fall. Evidently even at her ripe young age, she already knows what career path is calling, and as such narrowed down her college choices based on their pre-neurosurgeon programs (whereas I just had to Google that to find out if it was one word or two). As he's going through all this with us, I'm nodding, while thinking, "Ok. Neurosurgeon. Like Derek Shepherd. He's a neurosurgeon! Got it!"

Or later when he was telling us about the novel he'd written, or rather the series of novels he's been writing, whose plots are centered around voodoo practices. At one point my ears perked up at his mention of a James Bond film. "I don't know if you all have seen it, but there is a James Bond film set in New Orleans, that gets into a lot of the voodoo practices down in Louisiana. My novels delve into these practices and my genius post-modern plots, weave this, that....." "Yes I know it!" I blurted out, "It's with Roger Moore." I then stopped myself short of going on about the hilarious car chase scene and the idiotic sheriff character. Cause you know, when I hear Live and Let Die, that's just where my mind goes.

All in all a fantastic vacation! Pics also from Cinque Terre, which was, as always, magical. Highlight, besides the absurd beauty of it all - farinata. Love. it.


p.s. The sinkhole's status remains unchanged. There have been many people prodding, poking and gawking, but nothing done to close that sucker up.