After a very busy 2 ½ weeks of on the move traveling, we arrived at Il Seccatoio, the converted 700-year-old tobacco barn in the countryside of Umbria. It was a welcomed sight. Now we could unpack our suitcases, wash clothes, relax in the warm sun of Umbria, cook our own meals using the local fresh ingredients available, swim in the pool, and admire the unbelievable scenery. This has been one of my favorite Italian places to visit. Bob and I had been to Umbria in ‘76 and ‘98 and it has a special meaning for me.
Upon our arrival two excited labs greeted us. We quickly became acquainted with these friendly dogs—Noah and Ollie. The owners of the tobacco barn are ex-pats from the UK and a very interesting couple. They had spent the past 20 years in Umbria renovating their home and the tobacco barn—memories of UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN came to mind with the stories they shared with us. Richard is a landscaping genius and his wife, Lucie, is an artist. They had many colorful antidotes about their lives in England and Italy. The tobacco barn was beautifully restored and very comfortable. The only negative was the abundance of creepy crawling spiders and bugs. We did learn to share the villa with them although we did not enjoy doing so.
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| Ollie's lives to be groomed! |
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| Noah and his personal masseuse |
The main attraction of the villa was the incredible 360-degree views we had lounging by the pool. Breakfast every morning on one of the terraces was a real treat as well.
We also took several day trips to villages in the area. Our first trip was to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena is best known for its Piazza del Campo, the town square, famous for hosting the twice-yearly Palio horse race. San Gim is called the Italian Manhattan because of its medieval towers. We enjoyed some of the best pizza in Siena while admiring the town square and people watching.
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| Hmmm..Caprese Salad in Siena |
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| San Gigmignano |
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| Nocciola Gelato, Court's favorite! |
Our second drive was my personal favorite because of the scenery and the winding roads. We went to San Marino, a sovereign state totally surrounded by Italy. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP and has no national debt and a budget surplus. We got lost several times and came to a few forks in the road and had no idea which way to go. But with images of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” came to mind. We took the roads that appeared less “traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” It was those roads that gave us the most magnificent views and scenery in all of our drives. Molto bellissimo!
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| I stayed in shape by lifting cars....yeah right! |
The landscape brings to mind a patchwork quilt with every color of green imaginable. We drove by patches of olive groves, vineyards, wheat fields, and divine stately cypress trees lining long, winding drives to beautiful villas.
Our last day trip was to the wine villages of Tuscany. Montepulciano was the village where we thought the wine was the best. It is known worldwide for it fabulous wine Vino Nobile, which is among Italy’s best.
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| views from Pienza |
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| Love in every corner |
I have special admiration to Miguel for his great driving and Courtney for her expert navigation. Morgan and I sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the drives!
Our last night in Umbria was a delight. We were invited to Richard and Lucie’s villa for a typical Umbrian dinner. We had the pleasure to meet India, Richard and Lucie’s daughter and Vickie, Richard’s sister. We celebrated the evening with a variety of locally grown vegetables cooked to perfection and several bottles of red and white wine. It was a perfect end to a perfect 2 weeks in Umbria.
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