Tuscany 2004 - Day 7

Friday, 25 June 2004

Pool day. For a snack we have Aglio, Olio & Peperoncini for Herbert & me, bread with tomatoes and sausage for Bettina. Unfortunately we've run out of oil. In the afternoon we go to Aiola and spend some money. Had a nice chat with old Aiolain. She gives 10% off, all in all. Nice. Including a Grappa Riserva, normally costs 32 eggs. Back to the pool, Bettina finally makes it into the water, sensational. She's swimming, everyone can see it.

Dinner at Bengodi's in Castelnuovo , we'll see. Unfortunately, Bottega del 30 has no room for us. So Bengodi. Actually an enoteca with a kitchen, a very good one at that. The crostoni misti are the best of the holiday, I don't know. 5 of them! Then fusilli with gorgonzola, very good. A huge portion on top of that. Only the meat with balsamic vinegar was good (obviously fried in lard), but then drowning the whole thing in olive oil (literally) was a bit too much of a good thing, especially with an already bulging belly. A bottle of 2001 San Felice goes down quite well with that. To finish off, a wonderful grappa from....... I don't remember! Nice barrique, mild, strong, good.

Arrive home at 11:30, meanwhile the Greeks have eliminated the Baguettes 1-0, I think they'll soon build a temple for Otto Rehagel. From tomorrow evening we'll be watching the whole thing in our cozy homeland again, and due to a lack of alternatives it will probably be the main activity. Eating out isn't important in terms of quality and frequency anyway, not to mention swimming.

What remains to be said: it was lovely, relaxing - despite all the inconveniences and negative developments. Great holiday, I'm even quite relaxed about my work. Nothing can shake me, there's no stress at all. The spirit of Tuscany will certainly stay with me for a while, but I'm not happy with my physical changes, of course. But due to a lack of comparable feeding places and thanks to less alcohol consumption, my tonnage should change a little for the better.

Grazie, ciao, ci vediamo. E stato belissimo. Come on, come on. Or so.

Thank you, Illungo.