We welcomed Saturday morning with another stroll through the Straßen of Freiburg.
After stopping by the neighborhood Bäckerei for some delicious pastries, it was our good fortune to come across a food market in the town piazza. With rows upon rows of vendors offering fresh, local produce, baked goods, & meats, we came away with our hands full of delicious goodies.
By lunchtime, the Mooring ladies & I were back on the road. The second half of our drive took us from Germany into Switzerland, passing along a series of scenic lakes & hillside towns, eventually continuing into the Gotthard Tunnel on the Swiss-Italian border
The third-longest tunnel in the world, Gotthard extends some 11 miles straight through the side of a mountain. It's quite a feat, really, but can make for something of a claustrophobic ride.
Eventually, we'd made our way through most of northern Italy, bypassing Milan, Bologna, Florence, & then eventually reaching Tuscany, where our rental house waited, just off the A1 beyond Bettole & Torrita di Siena. Our little Tuscan villa sat peacefully atop a gradually sloping hillside, adjacent to a working farm.
The vista from the back porch overlooked our swimming pool immediately below & rolling hectares of farmland, vineyards, & traditional Tuscan houses in the distance. It was absolutely perfect.
DAY 3
Our first full day in Tuscany we spent in leisure, relaxing & driving around a bit to get accustomed to the area. The highlight of the day was our visit to what would become our favorite local restaurant, the Osteria delle Grotte in Sinalunga. More about that later.
DAY 4
Tania arrived around midday on Monday, having flown from Stanstead into Perugia, so we drove down there to pick her up & explore the town a bit. Fi actually lived in Perugia back in 2001, studying Italian at the Universita per Stranieri, so it was quite a treat to have her as a tour-guide.
We stopped for lunch al fresco at an attractive little place called La Rosetta. Though it was very hot (high 90s), our table was tucked back from the main streets in a shaded courtyard, so the ambient temp was quite comfortable. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to eat with our sunglasses on. Very Italian.
There are some nice views in Perugia.
Of course, no trip to the city is complete without gelato, which is actually something of a family decree in this bunch, esp in Perugia.
That just about sums up the first few days. Here are a few more snaps I took before leaving the city.
More to come from the second half of our week...
Wow, Matt that place looks amazing. I can't wait to hear more about your rental house. Alan is going to be beside himself, that is one of his favorite places.
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