We stopped at Paninoteca-Birreria Pizzeria for pizza by the slice on our way to the beach. This was the place Claudia says is her favourite, where she took us for lunch the day we first arrived in Castiglione. We understand why, it is ours too. It is a rather unassuming place. To be honest, if it wasn’t recommended to us we probably would never have tried it, it looks a little bit unkept from the road side, but inside is a pizza nirvana. We ordered simple Margarita pizza, two slices each at 1.20 euro a slice.
We spent the afternoon at Castiglione’s beach, it was pretty busy being a weekend. Castiglione is a popular holiday/weekender for Italian families as it pretty easy to travel to from Rome, Florence and Milan. We waded out into the depths, the water was pretty clear. I was doing well until I saw a jelly-fish swimming towards me. That was it, I screamed like a big girl’s blouse and high tailed it into shore. With encouragement from the boys I returned to try again. Now there were things touching me. I would stand waist deep in water, look down and all I could see were my toes and the ripples of sand on the sea bottom. The next minute I would be screaming my head off after feeling something touching me. I yelled and screamed and the boys laughed and laughed at me. Again we returned to shore. JR did the next stint alone with AJ. I watched from the safety of the sand. They went out so deep and I longed to be with them so I had a little talk to myself and decided that everyone out there swimming was just fine, if no harm was coming to them, no harm would come to me. When the boys came back and AJ begged me to join them again I did just that. I had a little cry this time giving the boys more fodder for laughs. Once we got out deep enough and we could not touch the bottom, I calmed myself and had a lovely time. In fact, when the boys were ready to come back to shore, I was the one that wanted to stay in the water. The African dudes tried to sell us everything but the kitchen sink as we lay on our beach towels in the warm sun, we waived them on firmly but politely.
We cooked a lovely dinner at home, spinach and ricotta tortelli with a tomato and garlic sauce, and after, we got dolled up and wandered the streets, taking in the wonderful summer, seaside feel that is Castiglione. Everyone was out to enjoy Saturday night. We strolled slowly (I am teaching JR how to stroll and he is doing rather well) enjoying a gelato. JR couldn’t resist dropping into Dal Buchaniere for a late night snack of Margarita pizza, no one resisted of course although I must admit to only having a sliver.
I was ready for bed when my head hit the pillow tonight. My skin had become thirsty after the salt water and I had a little bit of colour to my usually pale complexion. Don’t you always feel exhausted and exhilarated at the same time after a day at the beach?
Showing posts with label Dal Buchaniere. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dal Buchaniere. Show all posts
Friday, October 2, 2009
Castiglione della Pescaia. Thurdsay 24th September, 2009.
What a paradise this is. I love looking out our window and watching people strolling by. Locals ride past on rusty old bikes yelling out their greetings to people they know. It has an easiness, a seaside pace here and is just lovely. Our nearby clock tower chimes randomly. The clock is stuck on eight o‘clock and it chimes at eight twice a day and then at fifteen minutes past, during dinner a few nights ago we counted 67 chimes, so in true Italian style it does as it pleases in the most delightful way.
We ate pizza by the slice on our way to the beach this afternoon. We spent hours strolling along the sand in the clear blue shallows. AJ decided to go for a swim fully clothed and had the time of his life for what seemed like ages. JR and I waited on the shore delighting in watching him and his childlike freedom and innocence, glimpses of this are few and far between these days.
AJ was checking out a fellow swimmer who was with what we presume was her Aunt and Mother. She was the most beautiful young girl we had ever seen. Her long, dark hair fell down her back in soft waves, her skin was dark olive and she had a little bit of meat on her bones softening her face to make it round and youthful. As she came out of the water she was stung by something and hobbled to her beach towel close by ours. She held her beautiful face in her hands and sobbed her little heart out, it was sad to see. AJ was talking about how beautiful she was and went to buy her an ice-cream to cheer her up. It worked a treat and her face lit up in a broad smile. (Trust us to treat a medical emergency with food!) A little later he went and sat beside her and began to get to know her. JR and I were sitting quite close by, I became all choked up with emotion at the sight of my boy growing up and approaching a girl he liked, JR and I were both so proud of him. He returned after a while with a smile plastered across his face. He laughed saying, “Guess how old she is?” She was 19, needless to say he extracted himself from the conversation soon after. He was back in the water when she left and the lovely thing was, she made sure she waved goodbye to him from the shore. He was so happy and it was nice to be there to share such a funny, tender moment.
We all left the beach happy; AJ was walking six foot tall. We found our new favourite gelateria in Castiglione which I am sure we will return to with regularity, it seems everyone else has discovered it too as it is always busy.
JR went out for magic hour and while he was away, I took AJ for a much needed hair cut. I was a little worried about explaining how we wanted his hair cut but with the help of some very ooh la la Italian fashion magazines, we were able to communicate our wishes. The guy did a great job and AJ was so happy with the result, it is nice to be able to see his face again. Not bad for fifteen euro.
I asked the girl at the shop below our window where she eats out and she recommended a little restaurant outside the tourist strip called Celso, it was a goodie with great service but I think that the close by Dal Buchaniere remains our sentimental favourite. The owner is gorgeous and the whole family work there, it has a nice feel to it and the food is exceptional.
JR and I walked home through the streets of Castiglione hand in hand, we were happy. AJ hugged us both as he was going to bed and said, “Thanks for this year guys, it’s great”. And that is what it is all about.
We ate pizza by the slice on our way to the beach this afternoon. We spent hours strolling along the sand in the clear blue shallows. AJ decided to go for a swim fully clothed and had the time of his life for what seemed like ages. JR and I waited on the shore delighting in watching him and his childlike freedom and innocence, glimpses of this are few and far between these days.
AJ was checking out a fellow swimmer who was with what we presume was her Aunt and Mother. She was the most beautiful young girl we had ever seen. Her long, dark hair fell down her back in soft waves, her skin was dark olive and she had a little bit of meat on her bones softening her face to make it round and youthful. As she came out of the water she was stung by something and hobbled to her beach towel close by ours. She held her beautiful face in her hands and sobbed her little heart out, it was sad to see. AJ was talking about how beautiful she was and went to buy her an ice-cream to cheer her up. It worked a treat and her face lit up in a broad smile. (Trust us to treat a medical emergency with food!) A little later he went and sat beside her and began to get to know her. JR and I were sitting quite close by, I became all choked up with emotion at the sight of my boy growing up and approaching a girl he liked, JR and I were both so proud of him. He returned after a while with a smile plastered across his face. He laughed saying, “Guess how old she is?” She was 19, needless to say he extracted himself from the conversation soon after. He was back in the water when she left and the lovely thing was, she made sure she waved goodbye to him from the shore. He was so happy and it was nice to be there to share such a funny, tender moment.
We all left the beach happy; AJ was walking six foot tall. We found our new favourite gelateria in Castiglione which I am sure we will return to with regularity, it seems everyone else has discovered it too as it is always busy.
JR went out for magic hour and while he was away, I took AJ for a much needed hair cut. I was a little worried about explaining how we wanted his hair cut but with the help of some very ooh la la Italian fashion magazines, we were able to communicate our wishes. The guy did a great job and AJ was so happy with the result, it is nice to be able to see his face again. Not bad for fifteen euro.
I asked the girl at the shop below our window where she eats out and she recommended a little restaurant outside the tourist strip called Celso, it was a goodie with great service but I think that the close by Dal Buchaniere remains our sentimental favourite. The owner is gorgeous and the whole family work there, it has a nice feel to it and the food is exceptional.
JR and I walked home through the streets of Castiglione hand in hand, we were happy. AJ hugged us both as he was going to bed and said, “Thanks for this year guys, it’s great”. And that is what it is all about.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Our Rain Soaked Village. Sunday 20th September, 2009.
The piazza below our shuttered windows came to life before we did this morning. The rain was constant although at times it waned to a light shower before returning back to heavy downpours. The sky was a solemn and steely grey and it rumbled with thunder as AJ slept and JR and I put on a pot of coffee. Our lounge room overlooks terracotta tiled roofs and they became deeper in colour and shone, taking on a reflective surface that would disappear when the rain was over and the sun returned to Tuscany.
Every so often I would wander to our bedroom, open the window and watch the umbrellas passing below. Welcoming smells of pizzas and sauces wafted up from the restaurant lined streets, I was getting hungry. Italian radio played somewhere outside and drifted into our room, James Blunt sang his familiar songs and it was so nice to hear an English song after so long.
I can’t remember if I mentioned that my computer was fixed in Provence by the lovely Frank at Cie and Co in Nyons. My emails have been downloaded but not all of them and it is only now I am realising the implications of the loss of some of my data. I have to find a way to retrieve the email address for our Venice exchange in October; it has been a while since our last contact. I have an empty contact list and only have email addresses from my most recent emails. I am sure we will find a solution; I think JR worries a little more than I, I remain optimistic that it will work out fine using a little nouse.
It was well into siesta time when we left the house, still with the rain falling around us. Dal Buchaniere, the restaurant where JR and I ate last night was still open so the three of us wandered in and before long we were sharing an authentic pizza with a floury crust, topped with a rich tomato sauce, mozzarella and spicy salami, simple and beautiful. I followed with a risotto of gamberi and funghi, mama mia life is good.
I am sure you are all wondering if and when we will make our mark on Casteglioni to ensure the town will never forget us. The incident happened today during lunch. Our pitcher of red wine arrived along with a jug of water. I filled our water glasses while the waiter fluffed around us taking away things from the table that three diners would not need. He went to take AJ’s very fancy, goblet style water glass away. He lifted it, looked inside, shrugged his shoulders, smiled and off he went. We ate our delicious lunch and lingered for ages, chatting about AJ returning home to high school and all about the fun he had with the local kids last night. He went to take a sip of his water and said, “Why have I got a candle in my drink?” I immediately went into fits of laughter as I realised what I had done to him. I had filled the candle holder with water which AJ had been sipping from during the course of our lunch, he only realised there was a tea light in it just before we were ready to leave; gosh it was funny. The staff all laughed along, I suspect the waiter had told the others and they were waiting to see when our faux pas would be noticed. I am so glad we are able to provide entertainment to the locals wherever we go.
We spent the afternoon exploring the Centro Storico area of Castiglione taking advantage of a break in the rain. AJ had been up to the highest part of the village belonging to a castle and a maze of cobbled streets lined with atmospheric restaurants, so he was our guide. Along the way he shared with us the stories of mischief he and the kids got up to on Saturday night, it took me back a few years that’s for sure. We found bushes of wild rosemary and noted where they were for the nights we cook JR’s rosemary potatoes. Coming back down into the main street of the village we all devoured our first Italian gelato, my mint and strachiatello was the perfect combination and the girl behind the counter was a doll. Come to think of it, all of the locals so far have been wonderful, warm and welcoming.
We cooked Claudia’s pasta dish for dinner, crescents of al dente pasta tossed with olive oil, salt, blushing tomatoes that tasted so wonderful and juicy, teardrops of snow white boconccini and olives that AJ depipped that were as black as night.
Every so often I would wander to our bedroom, open the window and watch the umbrellas passing below. Welcoming smells of pizzas and sauces wafted up from the restaurant lined streets, I was getting hungry. Italian radio played somewhere outside and drifted into our room, James Blunt sang his familiar songs and it was so nice to hear an English song after so long.
I can’t remember if I mentioned that my computer was fixed in Provence by the lovely Frank at Cie and Co in Nyons. My emails have been downloaded but not all of them and it is only now I am realising the implications of the loss of some of my data. I have to find a way to retrieve the email address for our Venice exchange in October; it has been a while since our last contact. I have an empty contact list and only have email addresses from my most recent emails. I am sure we will find a solution; I think JR worries a little more than I, I remain optimistic that it will work out fine using a little nouse.
It was well into siesta time when we left the house, still with the rain falling around us. Dal Buchaniere, the restaurant where JR and I ate last night was still open so the three of us wandered in and before long we were sharing an authentic pizza with a floury crust, topped with a rich tomato sauce, mozzarella and spicy salami, simple and beautiful. I followed with a risotto of gamberi and funghi, mama mia life is good.
I am sure you are all wondering if and when we will make our mark on Casteglioni to ensure the town will never forget us. The incident happened today during lunch. Our pitcher of red wine arrived along with a jug of water. I filled our water glasses while the waiter fluffed around us taking away things from the table that three diners would not need. He went to take AJ’s very fancy, goblet style water glass away. He lifted it, looked inside, shrugged his shoulders, smiled and off he went. We ate our delicious lunch and lingered for ages, chatting about AJ returning home to high school and all about the fun he had with the local kids last night. He went to take a sip of his water and said, “Why have I got a candle in my drink?” I immediately went into fits of laughter as I realised what I had done to him. I had filled the candle holder with water which AJ had been sipping from during the course of our lunch, he only realised there was a tea light in it just before we were ready to leave; gosh it was funny. The staff all laughed along, I suspect the waiter had told the others and they were waiting to see when our faux pas would be noticed. I am so glad we are able to provide entertainment to the locals wherever we go.
We spent the afternoon exploring the Centro Storico area of Castiglione taking advantage of a break in the rain. AJ had been up to the highest part of the village belonging to a castle and a maze of cobbled streets lined with atmospheric restaurants, so he was our guide. Along the way he shared with us the stories of mischief he and the kids got up to on Saturday night, it took me back a few years that’s for sure. We found bushes of wild rosemary and noted where they were for the nights we cook JR’s rosemary potatoes. Coming back down into the main street of the village we all devoured our first Italian gelato, my mint and strachiatello was the perfect combination and the girl behind the counter was a doll. Come to think of it, all of the locals so far have been wonderful, warm and welcoming.
We cooked Claudia’s pasta dish for dinner, crescents of al dente pasta tossed with olive oil, salt, blushing tomatoes that tasted so wonderful and juicy, teardrops of snow white boconccini and olives that AJ depipped that were as black as night.
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