Under the Tuscan Care

So whilst in Ko Pha Ngan with the old man, I was doing some research for the europe leg of my trip. I discovered that I would be in Italy near the same time as Il Palio and my guide book said that I should book a place more than a month ahead. Well, I only had about 8 days. Looking all over the internet, the only place with any availability was a place called Borgo Antico about a 10 km bus ride away and for 50 euro a night with a minimum of three nights stay. A pretty steep price to pay, but this is a once in a lifetime event. So two days ago I found my way to the hotel. The stop button on my bus didn't work, so when I passed the hotel on the side of the road, I had to go to the front and ask the driver to stop. I probably was only 400 m past the hotel, but just that distance dropped me on a road with a field of sunflowers on one side, and rolling hills of grass on the other, almost as far as the eye could see. As I walked back up to the hotel I passed a small vineyard, so naturally I jumped off the side of the road and snagged a couple grapes. Oh yea, real grapes have seeds. Other than that, they were pretty much just grapes haha (I half expected them to burst with wine into my mouth). The hotel is incredible, rustic brick with vines lining the courtyard; right in the heart of true tuscany. I was showed my room which was small, but incredibly lavish compared to anywhere I've stayed in recent memory. I have a window that has metalwork latches and swings open to a beautiful view of a authentic and quaint courtyard nextdoor. I was thinking of going elsewhere to find dinner, as I knew the price tag at the restaurant would be pretty big, but than I remembered the last piece of advise I got frome my friend Sofia in Rome that she read from a Coelho book: "Don't spend your money buying just "things" when you travel, buy nice dinners and drinks and experiences". So, seeing this as a sign (which I am learning to trust and follow), I went down and asked to be seated for dinner. I was walked to the dinning area which was gorgeous. It was a long hall with an arched brick ceiling that gave the feeling of sitting in a wine cellar. There was rich oak cabinets along the wall and well spaced tables with white table cloths. A cute and friendly waitress came to show me the menu fixe to ask if it was ok: it sure sounded amazing. Four courses with wine, coffee, and water (which I thought was an odd thing to list as included until I saw it come out) for 25 euro. What followed was, what I can say with confidence, the best meal of my life.

-First, I was brought a basket of fresh bread, a half liter of the house red, a tall glass genie bottle looking container of spring water, and glasses to match. This was quickly followed by a plate with four different cured meats, and a healthy slice of cheese. Salami, cheese, bread, and wine? I was very quickly a happy man. The 2 kinds of salami were rich with fat and flavor, the other meats that I didn't recognize had a texture closer to raw than cured, but bold and delicious. The wine was incredibly smooth and simple, perfect for lasting through 4 different courses. I cleaned my plate.
-Next came the primi, a full plate of two different pastas. The first was ribbon-like with wild boar and what looked like large capers cooked in red sauce. The flavor was very familiar and simple, but was completented well with the capers which snapped with a tone of pine. The second pasta was hands down the best pasta I've ever eaten. The noodles were very thick strings that were cooked perfectly evenly through. It was cooked with a pork and veal mixture in a mushroom and truffle sauce. I was writing in my journal at the table and this is what I said, "If you could put the earth and the wind into a pasta dish, this would be the product. Light and fresh and savory and rich all at the same time. Beautiful." Call me corny, but I still stand by it. I cleaned my plate again, wondering how I would make it through two more courses, but they were making it easy for me.
-The secondi was pork loin steaks accompanied with potatoes. The pork had a blackened crust of herbs and was topped with a creamy mustard sauce. I ate the pork and left the potatoes to save room for desert. As I sipped on my wine, curiosity set in and I took a stab at one of the golden cubes. My eyes went wide open. The perfectly even golden brown potatoes had been pan fried in an herb rich olive oil that made for a tasty morsel that made me feel like this was my new home. I ate as much as I could before resigning. I was stuffed, but I had a feeling that somehow I'd be able to eat dessert.
-The final dish was a small white "cake" that had the consistency of flan but had the flavor of just heavy whipping cream before being whipped. It was standing ankle deep in a chocolate sauce, and the whole plate was liberally showered with chocolate that looked like it had gone through the coarsest side of a cheese grater. Decadent. I somehow ate the whole thing on the verge of laughing aloud the whole way through. I sat back and sipped on the petite esspresso that was freshly made and accompanied with a no nonsense packet of sugar; this was no time to hold back, the whole thing went in. The waitstaff was overly kind the whole meal, and I think enjoyed how much I enjoyed the meal I promised I would return (which I'm doing tonight (yes!)) and went to the front courtyard. There was a lazy pattering of rain drops on the tree I stood under while surrounded by the brick and vine as I enjoyed a cigarette in the night air. I had indulged myself far to much that evening, but when I was finished, I lit up another.

Next stop the Palio! I made my way into town in the morning and walked among the beautiful stone streets and stone buildings of Siena. I got a slice of mushroom and whole olive pizza that was about the size of a small keyboard and sat on the steps of the gorgeous cathedral to enjoy it. I made my way into the piazza to get a good spot for the palio. After several hours of pagentry the madness of the race went by in three quick laps around the square. Afterwords the streets were lined with supporters of the winning team as they played drums and sang and carried the jockey on their shoulders all the way around the city. I had a couple of 5 euro beers and went back to the hotel and slept heavily. This morning I woke without an alarm for the first time in a while and felt extremely refreshed. I still have to stave tonight at Borgo Antico, so I came into Siena again to see some more sights in what may be the most beautiful city I've seen. The streets wind through the valleys of exclusively old buildings in a way that only makes medieval sense, I love it. While happily lost, I stumbled upon this internet shop, appropriately named Happy World. Now I am going to go to a restaurant in my book that serves Tagliatelle al ragu di coniglio, pasta with rabbit sauce. Tomorrow I head to Firenze (Florence).
I'm having the time of my life and wish you could all be here with me. Thanks for reading and I'll see you when I see you.



Jenkins: Thanks for the advice, I'll definately do that. The book I have says that the tickets are the same, so they probably still are. Cheers!