Villas and B & Bs

Booking the accommodations for our trip to Italy via the Internet in advance, I was hoping the photos and descriptions lived up to their promises. Luckily, everything we booked was even better than I imagined.

PRAIANO

Calanteluna looked straight out onto the Mediterranean, with Praiano just below us and Positano winking not too far away.  

The view was always changing, depending on the time of day and the weather.   The sea and skies showed us many faces in the short time we we there:  evening sunsets and twinkling lights; midnight blue skies.  On two nights in a row I got up to watch very active electric storms with multiple & simultaneous lightning strikes... white bursts of waves and bolts of lightening opening against the black night.  By dawn, calm returned with mist on the water and fishing boats bobbing on the sea.  Calante luna means 'waning moon' in Italian, and we happened to be there just as the moon was shrinking. Perfetto!

ROME

We booked the B & B through the Bed & Breakfast Association of Rome.  Our original accommodations fell through, so they offered us another alternative, closer to the Vatican.  Better value, same price.

We ended up at La Ciumachella, in the Prati district and just a walk away from the Piazza del Popolo.  Breakfasts were delicious (yoghurt, fresh fruit, pecorino cheese, cafe Americano)!  The room was comfortable and a place to lay our heads; but one of my favourite things about this place was the bathroom.  Well-appointed, spacious, and en-suite.  We didn't want to spend too much time indoors, there was too much to see, so this suited us just fine. A choice of restaurants and cafes in the area offered everything from Michelin dining to pizza sold by the weight.

TUSCANY

I loved everything about Casale Rosanna, but most especially the vista. 

Morning sunrises and the mist lifting off the hills. Late afternoon light.  Afternoons fading into the magic hour.

The hills were so rich in colour and texture.  Such a soft, embracing horizon. When we go sailing the horizon is often so simple, uncluttered.  Here there was such depth and infinite variety.  Looking through the binoculars was like framing works of art.

One morning I watched an air balloon floating over the hills, approaching slowly and soundlessly from the distance.

Nights on the patio here were starry, with very little light pollution.  By this time in our trip the moon was disappearing into the sky, becoming new, and then waxing to a sliver.  There must have been meteor showers because we saw several shooting stars.

The kitchen was great for cooking, the dining table was a generous size, and French doors opened to let in fresh air from the patio, the kitchen, and the bedroom.  

We even got good use of the pool on a couple of hot afternoons, overlooking the towers of San Gimignano and sipping on limoncello. I remember drifting off to sleep and hearing the clanging mechanical sound of grapes being gathered and tossed into the back of a small truck, realizing I was in the heart of Chianti.  The 2011 vintages will always hold special meaning for me!