Room with a View and other excitements

I went back to 'my' place again to contemplate  the view from what will become the dining room. 

Paolo accompanied me; the architect who will help me to make the interior as stunning as the view at Casato di Sopra 11. The building, by the way, is not from anything as recent as the 17th century, which was first reported....Bah!

 It is from at least the 13th century,  Paolo assured me, when we went into the bowels of the building, where there is a cellar belonging to my flat. And if one digs around in the foundations of the buildings in this, the oldest part of town called the Castelvecchio, one is likely to stumble across remains of the early Etruscan settlement of Siena....

Andrew came with us too in order to inspect this lovely place, and he gave his wholehearted approval.  He  has  enjoyed the delights of Siena with me for the last week: Those delights include, of course, drinks on the Campo, where the bars are trying to outdo each other with their generous helpings of all sorts of free goodies. Here we are having a modest little lunchtime Prosecco, and they brought us a WHOLE PIZZA as a freebee! It is worth coming here at lunchtime for a drink- you don't even have to bother with lunch, it is included!

Our adventures also led us into the splendid country southwards- deep into to the Crete Senese, where we visited the beautiful and ancient Benedictine monastery of Monte Olivero Maggiore. We were a little cavalier about the travel plans and  took a bus south which brought us to Ponte d'Arbia, a little village (mentioned in the Inferno) of 499 inhabitants in 2011 according to Wikipedia. One of these inhabitants was the lovely landlady in  the one village bar, where we  tried to organize further transport. The landlady did her best to phone up the locals to see if anyone fancied driving us the 15 remaining kilometres to the Monastery. Unfortunately no one was able to help. Meanwhile, to cheer us up, two smart looking Senese chaps standing at the bar had invited us for a glass of  Prosecco. Things looked a little uncertain, but  just  when we thought we had better start walking, a kind elderly man timidly came up to us and offered to drive us!  

The wonderful Abbazia do MonteOliveto Maggiore did not disappoint. We admired the frescoes, many by Antonio Giovanni Bazzi (Il Sodomo) who features in Vasari's Lives of the Painters

We had lovely lunch  in the well-frequented restaurant: it is clearly a place for Italians to visit for a Saturday outing.  But finally we admitted that  we had to get out of there somehow. The same problem presented itself- there was no transport. We were too mean to call for a taxi from Siena, and I thought it might be fun to hitchhike again for the first time in about 40 years. So, as the light faded and the skies turned dark  and threated to open we nevertheless headed out on the Tuscan road towards Siena...

And of course, after some tense moments towards sunset, a few miles down the road, a nice young chef who had spent four years in London being taught his craft by great Italian chefs in Knightsbridge restaurants  picked us up and dropped us in Asciano, whence we continued to Siena with a local train.

Andrew is gone this morning, and here I am, shopping at the deli counter of my local supermarket for my next guest, Sanjay, who will arrive tomorrow. La vita e bella.

 

It is done!

At the last post both the Office and the Good Government fell... and the surprise winner came out of nowhere to win this race: and the winner was ONDA! That is to say, I will be living in the Onda (the Wave) Contrada, on the Casato di Sopra, a main thoroughfare that starts at the Piazza del Campo and curves its way upwards towards the most ancient part of town, the Castelvecchio. 

The owners, an elderly couple who has let their grandchildren use the flat for the last couple of years, took  the weekend to ponder my offer.  This morning, however,  the whole family turned up at the estate agents office to sign the contract, and at the end of February  I will be able to take possession of this flat which measures just under 200m2 and is situated on the 4th floor of this 17th century building, where it enjoys the benefit of a lift, as the estate agents would put it. It must have some of the most spectacular views in town, stretching in  a semi circle from the east across all of the south of Siena! 

It has a balcony which overlooks both the Duomo and the Torre del Mangia;  the bedrooms and the kitchen and even the  bathroom overlook my present home by the  Santa Maria dei Servi.  

The little alley way which runs down the side of the building, called Vicolo del Sambuco, must be the steepest in the whole of Siena. 

It is not a grand Palazzo like the Good Government or the Office- it needs some modernization, but it will be quite splendid I believe!

It is really quite well situated for the plan that is forming: it is five minutes walk up the hill to the Dante Alighieri language school, which is frequented by many people from all over the world who stay for a minimum of a week and often a month or more- they are not just young gap-year students but often older, perhaps  recently retired people who are intending to enjoy their time by learning a new language and immersing themselves into a great ancient European city. They have money, taste and culture, a sense of fun and curiosity- they are looking for a great place to stay. I intend to try to supply this  in just a few months! There will be only three rooms to let- each with bathroom of course. Much of the space will be used for communal areas where the view can be enjoyed by all. 

How appropriate that I will be an ONDA- I am a Piscean after all!

The Onda Contrada traditionally represented the Carpenters, and their church, just around the corner, is the San Giuseppe- St. Joseph. The origin of the Contrada  is lost in the mist of time and legend as so much else here - some say the connection with the sea goes back to the Sienese Republic when Siena's territory stretched as far as Grossetto with its Mediterranean port.

 

 And tomorrow dear Andrew is coming to visit.  This feels very apposite:  Andrew my Notting Hill neighbour  was one of those 'founding member' friends that was there with me the first time we arrived in Djenne so many years ago- it is his birthday tomorrow and we will celebrate that, as well as the acquisition of the flat, in one of Siena's best restaurants tomorrow night!

We are enjoying a sunset drink at Hotel Djenne Djenno above in 2008- let's hope there will be sunset drinks on my balcony in Siena soon...

Back Home!

Flying in over Florence last night from Copenhagen, I continued this morning on the bus through a  ravishing Tuscan landscape draped in autumn colours.  I arrived back to Siena this afternoon, surprised and a little amused at how much this felt like a homecoming.

I returned to this my new adopted city after two weeks of celebrations in England and in Sweden. They were celebrations of a very different kind- first the sixtieth birthday bash for my beautiful, talented  and exuberant friend Imogen, who is mad about rabbits and lives in a beautiful farmhouse in the Oxfordshire countryside. 'Party animals' was the dress code:

  

In Sweden a more sombre mode took hold  as I arrived in Torekov, my childhood summer Paradise on the West Coast, for the funeral of my dear Aunt Birgit, the mother of that whole great tribe of my Engineer cousins. She had lived a happy, long life and died after a short illness at the age of 94. It was a beautiful, happy funeral, if that is possible- a celebration of her life and legacy. She had the grace and kindness to take me in as a rebellious and difficult teenage girl of 15, and I stayed with her, my Uncle Ebbe and my cousins for my last two years in Sweden, and therefore I am now privileged to be wedged firmly into this great family- 

When  I go back to spend  time with them, I get my once yearly dose of proximity to children- I never ever have any interaction with very young members of the human race elsewhere- but the Engineers have multiplied tremendously and their children have too. There is always at least ten children of various sizes running around playing with their cousins- it is hugely fun. Here is a little future Engineer, in his funeral outfit.       

                        

Pelle, to the right above by the old summerhouse before the funeral, is the head of the family now since Faster Birgit has left us. 

He and his wife Nanny are of course my co-conspirators in the intended Pensione here in Siena. And there are two more- Les and Pat from Minnesota... we are all meeting up tomorrow here.  On Monday we will all visit  once more  THE OFFICE...

                             

and I have also arranged for us to look at that wonderful building I call THE GOOD GOVERNMENT...The owners who are restoring it  have told me that since what they offered me originally  was too small for the pensione-to-be  we can have the floor below too in this building which stands here since two hundred years before it featured on the  fresco in the Palazzo Pubblico below...

Perhaps  decisions will be made this week- more soon!