Arezzo

On Thursdays they don't do any meals at Villa Pia. The staff takes a break and we are forced to get out into the countryside. We drove into Arezzo to spend the day. We toured the Cathedral and saw a famous fresco and then played in a huge park. we watched the bells in the tower swing at noon and found a great trattoria for lunch where we had truffle bruschetta, a faro salad and a white bean and tuna and olive salad accompanied by a cool, slightly sparkling white wine. the. We shopped along the streets and ended up in a great piazza where the kids had a gelato and Michael and I had prossecco served with pringles, oddly enough. We stopped on our way out of the town to see a roman amphitheater and then rushed back to the car when it started to rain.
After a mid afternoon break back at Villa Pia where we played ping pong and read our books, we drove up to Monterchi through tiny winding roads that posed as sidewalks until we reached the top of a hill and found a little cafe. They served us a huge platter of carpaccio covered in salad and fresh marinated olives and then I had a bowl of tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms and Michael had gnocchi with truffles. The Kids had spinach and ricotta filled ravioli and Michael and I shared a half liter of chianti. Several of our friends from Villa Pia joined us and we had a lovely time.
We came home and put the kids down and snagged a bottle of wine from the fridge. We curled up in bed with our wine and kindles and called it a perfect evening.
We plan to visit an olive oil maker this morning. The kids will take a cooking class this afternoon while we pack and as soon as children's dinner is over we will drive to Arezzo where we will drop off our car, catch a train to Florence and there, catch a night train to Paris where we will continue our adventure. Our night train doesn't leave until 22:12, so wish us some not too cranky children will you?
It is going to be so hard to leave this place.