Thursday - Wine and No Sunshine

San Gimignano today was a smaller version of Siena – storybook pretty, with lots of cute little shops, narrow stone streets, and a stunning cathedral. Even the small-town churches here are incredibly ornate and detailed. Then you stop and think when they tell you it was built in the 12th century…

It rained off and on today, which was actually a nice change – it’s been hot and sunny since I’ve been here. The cooler weather made it perfect for a bowl of ribollita at lunch (tuscan vegetable soup with bread boiled into it to make it thick). The food on this trip has, of course, been incredible. And I already think it’s going to be hard to kick my new afternoon gelato habit. Today’s gelateria had a sign outside proclaiming it the "world champion" of gelato for 2006 and 2007. I’m not sure who judges that, but it WAS the best ice cream I have ever tasted. I got the dark chocolate with orange. OH MY GOD was it ever good!

I think tonight, I’m going to try the enoteca (restaurant) that is just down the road from the relais. The hotel has it’s own enoteca, which serves traditional food, and it’s been really good so far. But it’s still raining, and there is no way in hell I’m driving on ridiculously curvy WET roads in the DARK.

Late update: add to the list of great foods I’ve had in Italy… pasta with wild boar cooked in wine. The restaurant down the road was completely charming, although I’m noticing a definite trend with Italian waiters. Unlike Americans, they don’t try to hurry you out ot the restaurant, so they can seat the next party. Eating dinner before 8:00 seems to be considered tacky here, and once you get in, you are at the table for the night. Waiters definitely don’t have any conception of THE LOOK that usually works to get someone to your table to take your order, bring you more wine, bring the check, or just bring the next freaking course already because I finished my appetizer a half an hour ago. It’s just a more relaxed way of enjoying your meal, and it works for me most of the time. But at quarter to 11 tonight, I really just wanted il condo, per favore (the bill please).

By the way, I have succumbed to the lure of Italian leather. I’ve been trying to be good, but the pewter peep-toe slingbacks got me a few days ago, and I was ensnared by a green suede hobo yesterday. I had intended to buy lots of Sienese pottery for all my friends, but two problems quickly appeared… it costs way more than I thought to get anything that doesn’t look like it was painted by a marginally talented kindergarten student… and, if I do buy it, I’ve got to pay to ship it back to the states and hope it doesn’t arrive shattered. I think I’m going to have the same problem when I talk to the guy in the hotel’s wine shop…