ITALY 2013-DAY 5!

March 26^th-San Casciani Dei Bagni

Well, the fact none of us were very tired when we got back from Florence meant for a VERY late night and a very late morning. We did all eventually get up and get breakfast in our stomach, and then it was off to find San Casciano dei Bagni. We wound our way back through the hills to this lovely medieval town that seems almost frozen in time. 

Apparently, the town is known for their hot springs even today, and is one of those sleepy Italian towns that has held up very well.  The castle still stands, looming over the rest of the town, but you can’t tour it…because people live in it.  We stared at the base of the hill and moved up into something out of a D&D game. Narrow alleys would pop open into mini plazas with ancient doors and overhanging balconies.

We hit the town just at the end of the afternoon break, so the stores were just opening back up. Bakeries and cafes and other stores slowly opened up and started wafting smells out into the streets. There was an AMAZING jewelry store that had some rather incredible pieces of which I did not partake in, but others did.

The church was stuffed into the middle of the town, and had that atmosphere of such imposing peace that you couldn’t but help and be quiet when you entered.

I wandered alone by myself for a bit, and found some of the many feral cats that populate the towns of Italy. This friendly boy immediately came up and not only demanded pats, but also snuggles as when I sat down to rest, he crawled into my lap and started purring.

It made me miss my own kittens both more and less.

The weather had been spotty all morning, and then as we were deciding what to do about dinner, it started to pour! Taking refuge in the “gift shop”, it started to hail. Like, badly. 

It was fun to watch it all roll down out of the down in a white mush, but walking up to the bar where we took refuge before the restaurant we wanted to eat at was open was a bit of an adventure.  It was well worth it, as we discovered the same woman who owned the bar also owned the restaurant AND a meat/cheese/wine shop just a few steps away.  Daniela took very good care of us, and it turns out that she knows the owner of the villa where we are staying, as he often comes to eat in the town when he is in Italy.

After stuffing ourselves yet again, we made our way carefully back to the cars and drove away, having missed the hot springs, but knowing that we therefore had am excuse to come back.

Back at the Villa, we built a fire to warm up (the temperature DROPS at night up in the hills) and discovered there were some cheap hotel options for Rome…so we are off the city that all roads lead too!