In Colle Val d'Elsa (Fri, Sat, Sun)

This town is our second of two destinations where I had booked an apartment online for 11 nights. Why the long stay? It's a small town without famous sights, not written up in guidebooks. We had never been here but we knew the region had good country roads for walking. It was a bit of a gamble based on being in the middle of some recommended walking (more about that later) and the fact that I was able to find an apartment online in our price range and convenient without a rental car.

When we arrived on the train from Florence, I phoned the apartment manager (Gabrielle) from the Poggibonsi train station and he kindly came to pick us up, saving us 20 or 30 Euros for a taxi. We had a little mis-communication due to my Italian language skills but he was unfazed and happily drove us back to our apartment which is above his restaurant. We're in the centre of the oldest part of the "Centro Storico" of Colle Val d'Elsa. The name means Hill in the valley of the Elsa and the Historic Centre is on a small but sharply defined hill overlooking the larger and newer part of the city. This area was settled by the Etruscans around 4,000 B.C. and our part of the old town dates from 900 A.D. Our apartment overlooks the valley with beautiful views on two sides and we are less than a 10 minute walk from the main piazza.

The "centro storico" of Colle Val d'Elsa

One of the first things to do when you arrive in town and check into your apartment is go GROCERY shopping. Fortunately, that "chore" is more fun here than most places. We just missed the friday morning market but the Co-op Supermercato is FANTASTIC. It's easy to throw something together like this. The only thing we cooked was the porcini mushrooms fried in olive oil.

Salad of arugula, basil, cherry tomatoes, porcini mushrooms.
Plate of fava beans, olives, and grana padano cheese
Bruschetta given to us by our host.