It's mostly about the gelato

It's Friday afternoon in Tuscany and it's been raining all day! So we have spent the day sitting in front of the fire reading, eating, dozing, and just generally enjoying the down time. Luckily we saw a lot the last three days so this has been great. As you can see, my husband and aunt weren't too thrilled about the photo.

Over the past few days we've see lots of cypress lined roads and drove down one of them. Definitely a Dramamine moment - but really pretty. We've seen so many charming farmhouses and all those sights that are icons for Tuscany.

It's one of those places you think you'd love to live in until you talk to residents who tell us they pay up to 50 euros (about $75) per DAY to heat their homes in the winter. Water, phone land lines, electricity are all in short supply, not efficient and very expensive, So I guess we'll just visit every now and then.

We toured these grounds (which are huge) and had a fun chat with the owner. He inherited this place from a distant family member! This is me and my honey in the "stable" which has been converted to a computer center, eating area, and lounge.

One of the things I love about this area is the hill towns. We've walked through five of them - well, maybe "ate" our way through would be more accurate. And shopped. The first photo is from a market that sold prosciutto and salami. The big brown things hanging at the top are prosciutto!


My aunt is a professional shopper. Ed takes photos. Both of them embarrass me at restaurants.

We also visited an abbey. Really big and really beautiful. But there were so many Italians around the place! And they were all talking and gesturing and laughing. Felt like home! By the by, my nose isn't really as big as it looks in the picture of the three of us. Camera was too close...

But, let's face it, the real reason we keep coming back to Italy is the gelato. Some of the shops are small, some have more than 40 flavors. All beautiful - they display them like fine artwork. And all very good. Plus, gelato doesn't have as much fat, sugar, or calories as ice cream. Now, how's that for justification?!?