 |
| Pots of Lemon Trees |
He peers through the patio
window, smiling. Tall, and lean with
thick white hair and innumerable smile lines - the gardener wants our
attention. "Come, see my
garden. See what I am planting today."
I have no Italian, he speaks no English but the pride shines from his sun-baked smile. I admire the pots of ivy-geranium that he is planting.I show him a store-bought lemon and motion towards the five terracotta pots in the garden. "Are they lemon trees?" He nods in agreement. "Si, si."
In the garden surrounding
our rental house, in Alberti, a tiny Tuscan village, there is a wide variety of
edibles. There are mature olive groves with small hard fruits taking shape. There are fig trees drooping with green forms
- just waiting for the summer sun heat to finish ripening the figs into dark
lush fruits.
We freely clip chunks of
fresh rosemary to include in our evening meals.
Still deeper in the garden are peach, apricot, cherry and kumquat trees;
and artichoke plants with their spiny buds hiding a tasty tender heart. It is the early part of June and everything
is almost ripe, not quite. Lavender
shrubs scent the driveway and patios. Rose
bushes, hollyhocks, and jasmine spill over onto pathways. In the evenings we sit on the patio sipping
delicious local wines, enjoying the enticing smells that scent the air,
reliving the day’s adventures. Heaven!
Tuscany is everything we
expected, and more. Our three-bedroom rental
house is situated only a few kilometres away from the little hilltop town of Montaione.
Lawrie
and I discovered a wine store, with a few tables and chairs set out in the
central plaza overlooking the church.
Christine, one of the owners, helpfully recommended a local white wine to sip while we soak up the sunshine.
It was so good we bought three more bottles to take back to the house to share with our travel partners. They had been busy stocking up as well. Perfect! Now we have many different Italian wines to savour.
 |
| Lawrie and his sister Linda Grierson |
 |
| Lawrie sipping wine in Montaione |
Christine, one of the owners, helpfully recommended a local white wine to sip while we soak up the sunshine.
It was so good we bought three more bottles to take back to the house to share with our travel partners. They had been busy stocking up as well. Perfect! Now we have many different Italian wines to savour.
Our rental house had a
well-stocked kitchen, and a charcoal BBQ.
The willing chefs in our group created gourmet meals with the fresh
ingredients available in the local stores.
We ate very well; morning coffee by the swimming pool, lunches at
restaurants, and dinners at the house. Using
the house as our home base we spent the next week exploring the countryside,
visiting ancient fortified towns such as San Gimignano, Certaldo, and
Volterra.
 |
| The 6 of us have been busy shopping for local wines. |
Our last night in Alberi
we treated ourselves to a classy meal at the nearby Casa Masi Trattoria. The
location, the food, the wine, and the service were all fabulous; with an added bonus
of being greeted by two extremely well-behaved Great White Pyrenees dogs, and
one cute tabby cat.
 |
| At Casa Masi Trattoria Italy. Wonderful! |
Here’s their website
for more info: http://www.casamasimontaione.it
 |
| We're not allowed inside, can you come out to play? |
It’s an experience we’d
happily share again – the week in Alberi and Montaione, and the dinner at Casa
Masi Trattoria. Heaven on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment