I found myself in the company of Carmen and her numerous family, as we made our way in a south easterly direction towards Asciano, in the heart of the wonderful Crete Senese, one of my favourite places in the world, its strange hills changing colur and aspect throughout the year: now they had donned their glorious early summer attire, wrapped in green and strewn with delicate flowers.
Our steam train stopped to let us descend for a walk through this smiling landscape, the enjoyment of which not even a fine, steady drizzle could dampen.
A quartet of septogenarians made up a little jazz/folk orchestra, which played all day with unstoppable energy as they perambulated from carriage to carriage playing jolly tunes such as 'When the Saints go Marching in'.
They really got into stride once we arrived in Asciano, where they lit up the main square with their contagious energy which resulted in quite a street party. Italians, of course, like to sing, and so they did- all the old favourites including O Sole Mio, ending up with a rousing rendition of the jolly and boisterous Italian National Anthem. I have a little video of this ,but unfortunately the file is too big to transfer, so all I can show is this picture below, which by no means conveys the fun that was had by all...
