Granduca Grosseto

... we need to be in Morocco by the 18th Dec as Kim promised me I would have surfing on my birthday - yay!!!! Then we have Hayden and Gill joining us for Christmas in Marrakesh - whoo hoo! It was text message city in Scooby this morning as we got another text this time from Gill in London giving us the fantastic news that I had been accepted as a British citizen. I had lodged my papers before we left London but did not expect to hear so soon as processing times can be up to 6 months!

... hot soak was for our still achey muscles the rotten egg smell was hard for Kim to bear. She was able to block her nose and only breathe through her mouth so she did not gag - poor thing. A new item appeared on the menu tonight - delicious Tuscan pork and chicken sausages (the best ever!) with cous cous ala Gill, all washed down with a local sparkling Rose - yum!!!!! We thought we would have leftovers but no they were so good we gobbled up all 10!

Down the road from Montalcino we popped into St Antimo Abbey where the local monks say their (7!!) daily prayers in Georgian chants. We caught part of the 12.45pm prayers and enjoyed some down time while listening the chanting. The afternoon was glorious and once again we were in tshirts, so we made the most of it and had a picnic in the sun beside the Abbey.

... just! We found a cute little coffee shop that had the best views over the valley from the toilet of all places!!! Oh yeah and the coffee was good too! Stocked up on some well needed groceries as Scooby's cupboards were bare, then it was time to sample the local Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello must stay in the barrel for 5 years ...

... or hysterical has never
seemed to me an attractive prospect.

There is oneexception to this prejudice, however, and that is Monte Argentario, a
mountainous peninsula linked by a causeway to the Italian mainland,
about one and a half hour's drive north-west of Rome. It is, in effect,
a small island, with all the joys that that implies ...

... on a clear day, especially in September and October. This property is available for weekly rental from the beginning of March until the end of October. For further information please click on the link below:-

http://www.isolarossa.co .uk/isolarossa/laquercia/index.html

... by the Romans. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that a rigorous programme of land reclamation, facilitated by technical developments, made the area the productive, ecologically diverse place it is today.

Some of the most significant Etruscan remains in the area are found at Sorana which rises from a mound of sheer volcanic rock (tufa) overlooking the deep valley formed by the River Lente. Here you can see the “Vie Cave” an impressive ...

... that would probably be quiet at night so we didnt stay around too much and were planning to driving to Siena afterwards.

In goes the address to the campsite and we head off..... hmmm.... the address was right but we pt too much trust in Harriet. We start to drive down the little steep streets which seemed weird, especially after we had come up a normal main road. Then ...

... the cobble stone streets were wearing dangerously high heels and showing lots of cleavage. The town was gearing up for a party. We stayed out as late as we could and headed home around 10:30pm and ready for bed. We were so smug, ready for bed and hunkered down for a good nights sleep when the band in the square outside of our window started playing. We really understood the effect of a sub-woofer. Our windows rattled until 2:30am. At ...

... The Uffizi just didn't have too much to offer so I was rather disappointed (maybe I'm spoiled 'cuz I've been to too many really good art museums). I took a short break from museums then remembered the David statue is in Florence (oh ya!). So I went and saw that at the Accademia. The statue is impressive, but there's really not that much else in the gallery. I guess it was worth it to see the real statue (I've seen several fakes). I totaled ...