Our plans today revolved around getting Steffen’s van fixed. The repair guy was supposed to show up at 9 am but I guess everything moves a bit slower here and they didn’t actually arrive until 11. They took a look at the van and though it was the oil pan which would be rather simple to fix and told him to drive it down to their shop about 5 minutes away. But since it was almost lunch time, and they wouldn’t re-open until 2 pm, we had a new task of occupying ourselves until it was time to drop the van off. Then, Stefan got an email from his office telling him he needed to be at work on Friday because of some urgent meeting with the head of the firm. Since you really can’t tell the boss no when they specifically mention that everyone, including those out of town for business or pleasure, needs to be at the meeting, there really is little you can do but attend. So, in preparation for our last day in Tuscany, we did some research on the area in some of the tourism guides we’d picked up at the camping reception area and hoped that we’d be able to track down some olive oil and Chianti among other things.
When 2 pm finally approached, we went to drop off Steffen’s van and then set off on our journey, not knowing that it would become quite a mission. We drove to a neighboring city which was supposed to have a farmer’s cooperative which sold olive oil, locally produced cheeses and many other local specialties. But when we got to the building, it was under construction and there was no sign of the store anywhere. Since we had once again timing things poorly, there was nothing else open in town and we were a bit hungry so we figured we’d go on and see what we could find in the area.
Back at the Defender, we found a vineyard in the navigation system and figured we would try that out to see if they had anything we’d be interested…and perhaps there was also some food. We drove up into the hills a bit and started to experience some beautiful scenery…but when we “arrived” at the location, there was no sign of a business here although there were wine fields all around us. So we went off to the next location and ended up on an even smaller road than the first. We were winding up and down small paths which one car could barely fit down and loving every second of it since that was what we bought a Defender for in the first place. We were in the middle of wine and olive country, there was no doubt about that. You could just stick your hand out the window and be able to reach the olive trees growing at the side of the road…but actually finding a local producer which sold to the public was not an easy task at all.
After driving around for what must have been 2 hours, we finally saw a sign for a vineyard. We drove up to a large old villa and were very happy to find a sales room where we were able to taste a few variations of their Chianti and a couple other types of wine. They seemed to be right in the middle of their harvest so we felt a bit rushed to get out of there but we each brought a couple of bottles home with us. Unfortunately they didn’t have any olive oil for sale at that time (we seemed to be a bit too early for that) so we hopped back in the truck and hoped to find another location soon which might offer more products.
At the vineyard, they had recommended a restaurant which was supposed to be quite good but we didn’t come close to finding it….and the few other places we passed where either still closed or just didn’t look inviting. By now it was about 5 pm and we where starting to wonder when Steffen’s VW might be finished. We had no phone number for the place to call and check but he insisted they had told him 5-6 hours which meant it would be done at 7 or 8 pm. Despite the strange working hours of the Italians, we were rather doubtful that the garage would be open so late at night…so we decided it would be best to head back in the direction of the garage and the campgrounds to check if they were in fact done.
As we headed back, we realized we were actually on the outskirts of Florence and in the middle of rush hour traffic. But thankfully the traffic still flowed rather smoothly and as long as we could navigate around the mopeds, people pulling out of parking spaces and various other obstacles, driving there was quite fun. As we headed out of the city, we were on a rather narrow road which started to head up into the hills. We rounded a corner and I was thinking to myself the road was seeming quite small here when I city bus came around the corner. He wasn’t going to budge an inch so I whipped us over as close to the curb as possible and we all must have inhaled and held it as he squeezed past us. Defenders may not be the most practical cars in Italian cities, but they sure are fun to drive lol.
The drive out of Florence was breathtaking. It was one valley after another and lovely rolling hills which were sprinkled with gorgeous villas. These areas seemed untouched by mass tourism although we did come across a few national parks which had tour buses pouring out of them. We were still looking everywhere for a place we might be able to eat but as it was closing in on 7 pm, we were concerned about getting to the garage before it might be closing. If Steffen wasn’t able to get it tonight, he would have to find his own way back to the garage the next day since we were planning to head out at 8 am and relatively certain they wouldn’t be working yet.
Somewhere around 7, we made it to the garage and were very happy to find it still open. As it turned out, they meant to say the van would be ready at 5-6 o’clock and were actually closing in a few minutes so we had come at just the right time. We’d already decided in the car that since we’d seen nothing along the way which was open, we would just go to the restaurant at the campgrounds and see what they had to offer. Boy, were we surprised. Not only did they have a full kitchen with several staff members, but everything was influenced by local specialties and quite delicious.
The guys decided to split a T-bone steak which turned out to weigh over a kilo. To say the steak covered the plate was an under statement. I had ravioli filled with pecorino (sheep’s cheese) and pine nuts with truffle oil and pepper over it. Very delicious but I could easily have eaten two portions. Steffi had tagliatelli with fresh stone mushrooms which were also cooked just right in a cream sauce. We were very surprised by the quality of the food and even ordered tiramisu for desert which was the perfect compliment. It seems that in Italy, they truly pay attention to the size of the portions and know just how much is right. Each meal we ate in a restaurant, we came away feeling completely satisfied but not overly full…something which we can’t always say when we’ve gone out elsewhere.
We came back to the camp site after wards and Stefen and I will be packing up everything we don’t need and putting it in the Defender already. Then in the morning, all we need to worry with is taking down the tent, packing it up, throwing our chairs on the roof rack and packing up a few other things which are still out but we should have it all wrapped up in less than an hour and be able to get on the road by 8 am.
