Grosseto and the Sea

11/12/2009

Today we woke up at the usual time, got ready, and headed down to breakfast at 9:30. We woke up to another nice day. Two in a row and Id say we are getting pretty lucky. Anna told us that normally the weather in Tuscany is very on and off, so I guess it is our turn to experience then on weather. The plan for today was to go to Grosseto and shop around in the free open air market and then go to the seaside for lunch. Since now it is only Francesco working Villa Gaia, the breakfast spread was not what it normally was when Anna put it out, but that was ok with us.

Around 10 we got in the car and drove for about an hour to Grosseto. The open-air free market was very interesting. Not only were there, like the market in Florence, that sold leather goods, scarves, jewelry, and knick-knack items, but there were also booths that sold clothes, kitchen appliances, flowers, food, linens, and even sewing materials. It was all very interesting to walk around and see what everyone was selling. There were so many people shopping here that the market was packed. There were some food booths that were selling roasted chickens that smelled incredible and the smell permeated throughout the entire market. Since we have pretty much been shopping nonstop from the time mom got to Italy, we didn’t have anything else on our list that we were looking for, so we just cruised around the market looking and seeing what was there.

We spent about two hours at the market and then met back up with Francesco. He then drove us to the seaside town of Castigillone della Pescano. It was very interesting to see a seaside town, because when you think of Tuscany that is not what comes to mind. The water was the Tyrannian Sea, which is a part of the Mediterranean. The sea air felt nothing like how it does at home.

We ate at a restaurant that was right on the water. It had a great outdoor patio, which we ate out on. Lunch was just ok. It was our first meal with Francesco that was just ok, but that was probably our fault. We told him that seafood wasn’t our favorite (especially seafood in Europe because they serve it whole) so he didn’t take us to his favorite restaurant because it was a strictly seafood restaurant. Despite the mediocre food, the view and atmosphere was great, so everything equaled out. At lunch we learned Francesco’s entire story of how he got to be the owner of Villa Gaia, his family history, and a lot about himself, which answered a lot of questions that mom and I had been wondering about. Now that we could piece everything together that we learned about him, his family, and Villa Gaia over the week so that it all made a lot more sense.

After lunch we walked up to the top of the town, which is situated on cliffs and looked out over the water. It was a spectacular view on a beautiful day. Each town that we have visited has been different and yet similar at the same time. Francesco told us that towns used to be for entire families, which is why they are all a little different because the families ways of doing things were different, but all of the towns are a little similar too because they are in the same region. I wanted some gelato before we got back in the car but unfortunately all of the gelato places in town were closed for the winter. Apparently the town is an extremely happening place to be and have your holiday at during the summer time. They have a lot of accommodations, including campgrounds and bungalows, for people to stay in.

We got back in the car and drove back to Villa Gaia. Mom and my project for the afternoon was to get everything packed up and make sure that we were ok on weight. So when we got to Rome everything would be pretty much ready to go. After some craft packing and deliberation, we got everything in the bags and have a good plan. We should be just fine getting everything that we bought back into the States.

For dinner, Francesco is cooking for us some of his specialties. I am very excited to see what he prepares. Last night we had an interesting conversation about cooking. Roman said that because the quality and the history of the ingredients and then the climate of where you cook varies in different places all around the world, no matter if you cooked the exact same way, the food would taste different, not better or worse just different. I am very interest in seeing how using what we have learned over here will taste when we cook at home.

Tomorrow we are leaving Villa Gaia around 10 and driving to Rome, where we will spend the night before flying out on Saturday. It has been a wonderful stay at Villa Gaia and my whole European Backpacking adventure has been incredible, but Saturday will be my 55th day of traveling and I think I will be ready to go home by then and sleep in my own bed. I am looking forward to the holidays and will have to jump right into that rush when I get home. I am extremely excited to see what 2010 has in store for me.