More of Chianti, San Casciano in Val di Pesa and Gambassi Terme

We travelled west this morning to see more of the incredible beauty of Tuscany and the Chianti region. It seemed less dry with the vines appearing thicker and greener. The poets, writers and artists of the 1800s certainly got it right, the light is indeed perfect here.

Our first stop was San Casciano in Val di Pesa, a town we have previous memories of, and which we found has developed a greater up-market persona. Beautiful shops displaying homewares, food and wines of the area, real estate and restaurants and bars. 

Amazingly I had my first cappuccino today, day 25, so we took a photo. One reason for abstenance is the heat, however it is very much not the done thing to order a cappuccino after midday. Italians are obsessed with digestion and they believe that milk consumed after 11 am - midday will screw up your digestion for the day.

 

Riding Vespas is very popular with the young tourists and we often see groups riding along, two per scooter, with the 'sag wagon' Ape following. Today we saw a young man trying to teach six girls how to ride, he sure had his work cut out!

Our transport, the little Opel Corsa was lucky today, a car park in the shade and with a view.

The end point of today's excursion was Gambassi Terme, an area I wanted to check out as I have had a germ of an idea for a future trip. Ever since our portion of the  Camino di Santiago walk was cancelled due to Covid in 2020 I have been thinking
about the Via Francigena. But can this poor old body, (and rapidly getting older) possibly do a section of such a walk? I wanted to look at the terrain in this area which we did not know.

We saw several people pass through Gambassi Terme on their pilgrimage route, one on a bike, the others walking. The signs and directions were plentiful and the general area was encouraging.

Gambassi Terme is a lovely little town with an historic centre, a castle, Romanesque churches and an interesting old gardens area. A light lunch was enjoyed in the piazza as a couple of men at the next table played cards, to the encouragement and entertainment of another eight or so men.

Yes, it was warm again!