Mille Miglie 2012

La Mille Miglia 2012

What an exciting day today along the ancient via Cassia ! The Mille Miglia or 1000 Mile race - came through San Quirico d' Orcia which is a few miles up the street from us and we drove up for a quick visit to cheer on the participants in their beautiful machines.  Hundreds of Ferrari's, Porsche's, Mercedes, Bugatti and other cars passed us by with every kind of driver - young and a bit older and of all nationalities.

The famous Nuvolari Statue

 I remembered that the last time I saw the Mille Miglia, Susan and I were both preggers with our first children and quite giddy about the whole thing - being there and all and I felt the same today with Ani. Somewhere there is a picture of us with a glass of (very minuscule, of course) prosecco in one hand and a couple of handsome boys at our side....

One day, I think I might like to try the Mille Miglia....

Tuscan Landscapes

Driving down from San Quirico d'Orcia to Bagno Vignoni at this time of the year the landscape is predictably amazing...

Lone Tree

I think this must be one of the most famous trees in Italy. This is on a slope by the road that leads from San Quirico d'Orcia, the ancient Etruscan village a mile from San Buona Ventura where we are, to Montalcino.

On the way to Montalcino

We became a bit sick from the traveling and stopped into a Farmacia to get some cough drops and were astounded by the frescos that looked like this..

There are a million more places to see, paintings to discover, restaurants to eat in, museums to walk through, beautiful scenes to contemplate. It is not surprising we feel so at ease here. Beauty and grace is so natural here. In the countryside that surrounds us and in the way the women - and men - wear even simple jeans and a t shirt but look stunning. Simplicity and down to earth grumblings are du jour and makes your ears burn and heart laugh as you receive words of wisdom, whether you ask or not - from the local vegetable vendor, the pharmacist and the counter lady at the espresso bar. It's adorable.