A Departure and an Arrival

Antiche Pietre

I woke up before the alarm even went off. It was another beautiful morning and the room, facing the lake, was beginning to fill with light. I got up and put on one last pot of coffee in the mercurial Moulinex. Since we had begun trimming the filters, the coffee maker was behaving more responsibly. I spooned in the last of the coffee and began the final cleaning. Adriano, the owner, was coming at 11:00, ostensibly to do the final inspection and collect the keys. I began putting pots and pans away, emptying the dishwasher, sweeping the floor and doing general cleaning. Although I knew my job would never satisfy the cleaning ladies or the owner’s wife, I had my family’s honor to maintain! I emptied the refrigerator of the last remaining items and cleaned the bins. When I had done all that needed to be done, I took a shower, packed up my toiletries, cleaned the bathroom and hauled my suitcase to the car. Last task was to walk the trash down to the dumpster. When that was done, I took some final pictures of the place as a record. Then I sat down in a chair on the veranda to reflect on the wonderful two weeks spent in this magical place.

Getting ready for pranzo

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly heard the sound of a car approaching. If you know Antiche Pietre, you know that you only hear a car when it’s coming to you. Assuming it was Adriano, I got up to greet him. When the car pulled in, I knew it was not Adriano. A young woman got out and waved. “Buon giorno” she greeted, “Buon giorno” I replied. As she got within earshot, she introduced herself as Adriano’s daughter. Once she got into the house and we shook hands, she informed me that her mother and father would be here shortly and that they were bringing lunch with them! Well, that was news. At any rate, we began preparing the veranda for lunch. Dishes, silverware, glasses and such were prepared, though even Maria Elena gave signs that all was up to the discretion of “mamma”. Soon another car arrived and it was Adriano and his wife. It was all hugs and kisses at first, but then it was down to serious business of getting lunch onto the table so I could get to Chiusi on time. Adriano and I quickly completed the business of turning the house back over. Meanwhile the women were busy getting things ready.

Then, before you knew it, we were sitting down at the table. Adriano at the head, of course, and I and the womenfolk in our proper places. The first course was pasta with ragu’, the way Maria Grazia’s mother had taught her to make it. Only lean cuts of meat were employed. “You won’t see that circle of fat the way you would in Bologna”, Maria Grazia assured me. With or without the fat, the sauce was delicious. I had to accept a second helping after I mentioned that there was no food being served at my next destination. You would have thought that I was being sent to cross the Sahara on an empty stomach. Anyway, that was followed by the tenderest veal scaloppini accompanied by grilled zucchini and the sweetest peas I have ever eaten. 

Leaving Antiche Pietre behind

The conversation was lively and, at some point, I started talking about my experiences living in Rome. Then I popped off a few phrases in Roman dialect that brought the table practically to tears of laughter. I guess the anomaly of an American speaking Roman dialect was just too much. The easy laughter was a wonderful reminder of why I love Italy so much. At this point Lorenzo arrived. I have to assume that he is Maria Elena’s beau, As he began to eat the rest of the family began repeating the conversation that had just taken place about me and the Roman dialect. More laughter followed.

 Now, our host pointed to his watch. I had to have some homemade limoncello plus the cookies I had brought them from Citta’ della Pieve (nice touch, on my part and very well received.) Now, however, the time had come. We all said our goodbyes. I was behind schedule. So I jumped into the Hobbit car, waved goodbye and drove away from Antiche Pietre for one last time.

Siliano Alto

I retraced my steps from yesterday on the way back to Chiusi. The plan was for me to meet the other participants and Julian at the station. Then I would follow them in the car. For some reason, they were very cryptic about the course’s actual location. We met, as planned and soon I was following the Mercedes 9-passenger van. We left the lower part of Chiusi and climbed into the old town. We skirted the center and took off down the road on the other side. After a few kilometers, the van turned onto an unpaved road, upon which we bounced along for another kilometer or two. I truly wondered where we were going. Then a few houses appeared; and, after another turn, we pulled into the drive to Siliano Alto, the house where the course was to be held. I met all the others and we were quickly shown to our rooms. It was now about 4:00 P.M. They asked us to reassemble at 6:30 for a general orientation to the house and the program. I, for one, was ready for a nap.

Around five, I took my laptop outside and connected to the WiFi. James, the other male participant was already diligently at work on a pastel sketch of the surroundings. It looked pretty good and I was already starting to feel anxious. We exchanged pleasantries and then he went back to his work and I to mine. After about 30 minutes he said, would you like some red wine if I were to get a bottle? So, I readily agreed. As we began to share the bottle, the three Aussie women arrived and more glasses were procured. We began getting to know each other. The group seemed congenial. Then it was time for our “house meeting”.  Our last participant, Lois, appeared from somewhere. Julian apprised us of the ins-and-outs of life in Siliano Alto. Most of it was straightforward. Then he outlined for us how the week would unfold and what we could expect. Again, the explanation was clear and straightforward. Now it was time for dinner, so we moved into the communal dining/living room for the first of Leo’s fabulous meals. Following dinner, we stayed and chatted over wine. Something that soon became a feature of life here. Then, it was time to get some sleep. One departure and one arrival behind me.