Last Day in Tuscany

Saturday, March 23, 2013

What a gorgeous day we were blessed with for our last day in Tuscany. Now, what to do with it? Rome about did us in so we knew we didn't want to plan much. There were still a few towns in the area that were recommended, such as a town built on volcanic rock. However, as we talked through the options, the boys all said they were done with seeing any more churches or ruins or buildings or monuments or...they just wanted to hang out together. So we opted to make use of the bikes that Fattoria San Lorenzo offers to its guests. And wouldn't you know it? There were a couple of tandem bikes. We had some good laughs with those! Some at my expense. Joel was driving at one point and slammed on the brakes. My handlebars weren't tight and flew forward as did my upper body. As a result of that forward motion, my toes could barely touch the ground so I was absolutely stuck there while the rest of my family laughed at me! They also laughed quite hard when I biffed trying to snap a picture. Accidentally using the front brakes with a camera in the other hand is not such a good idea. Micah and Tracy were laughed at as well when they tried a tandem with Micah steering. With the weight unevenly distributed, the front tire would not stay tight enough with the ground so that Micah could properly steer. They were veering all over the road!

Noah couldn't quite get going without a little help as his feet couldn't
reach the ground. He couldn't believe how small his bike in Germany
felt after riding an adult bike for just this morning.

We all took turns riding the tandems, minus Noah because he had
too hard of a time pedaling them. 

This reminds me of something out of the Sound of Music. We didn't stop to
climb any trees though. Now if they were just dressed in outfits made
from curtains.

After turning in the bikes around noon, we set off in search of a highly recommended restaurant for our last Italian meal. The gal working at the main desk that morning told me in her thick Italian accent that "you-a will-a just-a seeee-a (you get the idea) the restaurant off to your right a few kilometers down the road out of Grosseto. It's right beside a round-a-bout." She told me this after I punched the address of Ristorante Macchiascandona into our GPS and was told that there is no such road. Mind you, Grosseto is not a village. There are over 80,000 residents in Grosseto. I am sure there are many roads leading out of town! So we set off with high hopes of landing on the right road out of Grosseto. Two things to keep in mind - 1. Locals are generally a poor judge of distance, me included. When you are used to the roads, nothing seems that far away. And 2. Stopping to ask for directions but not understanding what you are hearing leads to more Italian spoken with more volume. We eventually found the place though we had to laugh upon arrival.

The reason we did not stop by this restaurant the first time that we passed
it has do to the signage. We thought this was the Ristorante Albergo. But
take notice to the little "sign" to the bottom right of the main sign. That is
where it says, 'Ristorante Macchiascandona'....not all that visible from the
road. Not even visible from the parking lot. But we are so glad we searched
for this place. INCREDIBLE. A mom and her two daughters run the place
on weekends and in the summer. All of the pasta is homemade that day.

We were told at San Lorenzo to order the stuffed spinach homemade pasta.
After realizing that no one really spoke but a few words of English, we ordered
four of these. A safe order. The other items that we ordered were more of a
mystery. I think one of them ended up being wild boar pate spread on
bread. I didn't mention what pate was as a few of the boys liked it and might
not have if they had known. Another was onions and peppers cooked in some
mild sauce. Very tasty. And the last was wild boar served over spaghetti type
pasta. The wild boar is hunted locally. This was also so delicious. I'm
sure we made a bit of a scene passing and sharing plates but that way we all
got to sample and enjoy the variety.

Instead of ice-cream, we opted to share a few of their
dessert specials. The slice of cake in the back was so
outstanding that I really wanted to take another piece
to go....and not share that one. But I didn't. It was the
best dark chocolate cake ever with a rich cream served
on the side. The other dessert was a fruit custard
which we enjoyed but didn't inhale.

After lunch, we allowed the boys to choose what we would do for the remainder of the afternoon. Of course, they chose the beach. We all love the beach so much that even when we can't go swimming, we still love to be there. This time we went to Marina di Grosseto, which is just down the shoreline from where they went swimming. The sand dunes in this area were really cool. I kept wanting the boys to get off of them as I couldn't think of a place in the United States where you can set foot in the dunes. The paths leading from the parking areas to the beach led straight through the dunes with no signs indicating to steer clear. So the boys had a blast playing tag in and out of the dunes. They also enjoyed launching from the highest point they could find.

Josiah chasing after Joel.

This could have been when Joel got the sand burr in his foot....the only one
that we saw. Err, felt rather.  Micah and Noah are the ones pictured at the top.

Joj and Noah

All four of them wanted me to capture them in mid-air. It really didn't matter
how many times we attempted this, I found it difficult to get them all in
the air at the same time!

One of them mentioned feeling like a bird as they sailed over a dune.

I love how much fun they have together!

Micah

Josiah

Joel

Noah

Micah

And this is how Tracy and I spent our time when not taking pictures. It
was so relaxing to rest in the sunshine.