Scutti

After our pleasant night out on the town in San Gimignano we had a peaceful nights rest at Agri. I think that the holiday feeling has arrived and I felt quite beat, so a good nights sleep was aenergy booster. We were at breakfast at 8am sharp and of all of the things that I did not think possible, the coffee was pretty mild. Filter coffee here. With a full tummy we got Ed to take us to the local scooter rental place. We had reserved a Vespa experience throght the Tuscan countryside. Massimo checked us in and thank goodness they have upgraded their fleet to automatic transmissions. Just open the throttle and brake when necessary. Our Ferarri red Vespa was a cutey and soon we were out onto the main road toward Volteraa, another medieval town suggested by Massimo at the scooter rental.45 minute he said, which I thought was quite long.

On hitting the road our Ferrair Red Vespa nicknamed Scutti showed its fire. Boy this thing had acceleration and it took some getting used to, particularly as the first part of our journey was down a mountain with sharp turns and short straights. My scooter at home is restricted to 25km/ hr and when one opens the throttle you kind of ramp up to the top speed of 25km/h before you get stabilise on "max" speed. This puppy almost pops a wheelie when you open the throttle full tilt. Braking was also a thing as one needed to control the speed into the corner before braking and I got caught out 1 or 2 times and had to run wide through a turn. Thankfully there was no oncoming traffic at those points. 

Driving a "speed demon" on these Italian roads through a pass was not really that fun. It felt dangerous to go more than 50km/hr although at 1 point on a  long straight I tested her out and she got to 85km/hr. The roads have a canny tendancy to dip toward the outside of the road and when a car passes you have to stick to the outside and it is very bumpy and with the camber and rutting on the road you were not assured of a happy outcome at speed. Rutting: the formation of ruts, often in a surface such as a road, from repeated use - had to haul that one from deep within the archives of the brain.

Never the less the second half of the journey to Volterra was more scenic and peacefully and we putted along towards our destination on the top of a hillside. The fortunate thing about a scooter/motorbike is the free and abundant parking in most towns. We left Scutti at such a parking place almost directly in front of the  gates to this fortified town (seems to be a thing here). The fort in Volterra is apparently still used today as a prison by the state. Volterra is similar to San Gimingnano is it's high walls, tall appartments, narrow paved roadways and good feel. We were told that the places are very similar, but Volterra is less touristy and that was noticible. First stop a shot of the real stuff, Nespresso! Hee hee, No, NO, Espresso or as the Italians refer to it, Normal coffee. We walked the pretty town and settled on a lunch venue in a side street. Home made pasta and garlic and fresh tomatoes. Nothing more, Nothing less. Very tasty!

A striking thing is how many people eat ice cream here in Italy. Gelato! We have the option to eat the best Italian ice cream in the 2024 National Gealto Competition. San Gimignano won the contest lat year and when Scutti had seen us safely back to San G we went to get ourselves some. THe queue was fightening and at the end of the block was another Gelataria who served "The best ice cream in San G".  Chocolate and Amereto Charry for me and Ingrid had the Pistachio and Cheese cake with Nutella! Very nice ice creams they were. We handded in Scutti after a lovely day albiet sometimes a little scary. A good result when you return home safely! 

Back at Agri we had a shower and a well deserved afternooner. I was out like Mike Tyson had had a go at me. Ingrid who does not usually sleep in the afternoon went lights out too. After a shower (little cold) I went to sit outside at the table with a glass of the red stuff and I caught up a day or two on my blog. It is amazing how long it actually takes to put fingers to keys and have a little bit of a substantial piece. Having learnt our lesson we set out for dinner at 8pm. 10 min drive to San G and it was once again a task to find a parking in the busy tourist hub and settle on a restaurant and sit down. There are quite a few places and it is difficult to choose. They all have an attraction and they all will serve you good food. We settled once again on a place just off the main street and then it began to drizzle a bit. We contemplated leaving as for 15 minutes we were not acknowledged and the maitre d was faffing over a Foriegn couple who were sitting next to us. Maybe we were just a little tired, but soon we had menus in our hands, the Birra Media and Vino Rosso was ordered and we sat down to enjoy our evening. Maitre D turned a corner and served us with style and once again the food did not dissapoint! The drizzle had stopped as we sauntered down the hill to Ed who is actually enjoying his holiday. His 2 nights in a box had given him insight to the wonder of freedom and the open road!

Night night, sleep tight.