I woke this morning to check out the weather from the window -it’s another lovely day in Tuscany!
Today’s journey takes us to the hamlet of San Galgano, where we hiked up to a small round church at the top of a hill, where inside a tiny chapel, we see a sword in a stone. Is this the Celtic myth? It’s a mystery.
Today we were greeted by some feline inhabitants of the chapel, which I captured digitally.
We walked through the woods down a hillside to the ruined 13th century Cistercian Abbey of San Galgano, roofless but beautiful. It was an atmospheric foggy day. Our guide Alice took a group shot of us in an empty abbey – very unusual to find it empty, since there were lots of tourists there.
After our visit here, we got back in our van to explore the hill town of Chiusdino, where we visited the museum and climbed up to see the views. It was an exciting day In this small village, since there was a marathon race going on.
We had a long Sunday lunch in a wonderful local restaurant, where the wine was flowing and locals and visitors alike enjoyed the ambiance of freshly cooked local delicacies. I enjoyed the malfattis, though they weren’t like my local Napa ones from my childhood. They were fresh from kitchen to table. The marscapone dessert was to die for.
We were rained out for the rest of the afternoon so some of us visited a museum showing the history of glass, while others of us returned to the villa to read or rest, write their posts or check their email..and we had another delightful dinner at the villa.
Tomorrow we’ll go on a tour of an olive oil plant for a tasting, then visit Christina in her home for a cooking class – with lunch, of course.