I spent seven beautiful weeks at La Penisola. The property lies in the Volpaia valley. The view alone is breath taking. My passions are writing and photography and both were satisfied in the scenery of Radda and surrounding towns and villages.
It is imperative to rent a vehicle if for anything but the freedom to roam the small roads that lead to treasures in local scenery, or to just scoot up to the village of Radda to pick up your days grocery. The rolling hills of Chianti are challenging at best in a car, but there is a bus that takes you to Florence and one to Greve that eventually connects to Siena and all the towns in-between. If you are going to rent a car, I found a small compact that runs on diesel was good enough for me.
La Penisola itself is beautiful. (see this webpage for selected photos:
The woman in the set is Nora and those are her adorable dogs... please say hi to all of them when you visit.) .
The apartment is very quaint, exactly what I had been looking for. Living quarters are not large though. The bathroom is quite suitable and everything worked well. There is a small fridge and a stovetop with four gas burners on it. Not having an oven meant that I had to be very creative when making meals but this turned out to be fun for me because I ended up making more of the local dishes and or just got creative because of it. Also, because there was a small fridge, I went to market often. This was very fine with me for the purpose of my visit was to immerse myself into the culture and visiting markets and local grocery shops, certainly helped me there. I got a true taste of Tuscany and it's people this way. By the way with the exception of a few special occasions, I ate at the apartment almost every night.
I will be honest with you. Sitting arrangements might be a bit uncomfortable for your husband, as there are only two small-sized wicker chairs on the main floor. If you can convince Norah to get a comfortable chair in the room for your husband, (and Nora is very accommodating), I'm sure that would solve that concern. There is a small table for eating and or writing in the area of the kitchen\sitting space but I enjoyed eating outside for the most part. Since I was on my own, when it rained, I usually just curled up into a chair with bowl or plate in hand and used the stool that was there to place my wine or tea.
There are plenty of utensils to use, plates, bowls, and glasses enough for two to four people if I'm not mistaken.
The bedroom loft is also very quaint and rustic. If your husband is tall, he will have to get use to ducking, but that is part of the charm of the whole place. In the end it is worth all the ducking when you lay in the bed, turn out the lights and look out to the sky through the skylight. The stars shine overhead at night, and in early morning the birds fly by, sometimes resting on the glass... it was wonderful.
If you are a painter, La Penisola will be nourishment for your soul. If you are concerned about things for your husband to do while you are painting, if you have a car, there are plenty of places to drive to. The small towns and villages are like finding jewels in the sand. You can send him on treasure hunts every day, see what he comes back with. Or, the property is so quiet that just sitting in the garden reading is not only peaceful but enjoyable as there is always something interesting to observe from the goats in the field to a chance view of wild boar and deer in the valley.
Because I write and take photographs, I took a small laptop. I downloaded music to my computer and bought a portable set of speakers, this was great on nights when it was raining.
Nora is a busy woman, as you will soon find out, having said that, she is always willing to help. She knows much about the area, knows many people and as hard as I tried to get into speaking Italian, it was always nice to speak with someone that could speak English! No matter how busy she is, she will take time to accommodate your questions and\or concerns. I like her very much and she always made me feel at home.
The loft apartment is very Bohemian, and somewhat rustic as are most places in Tuscany. The apartment is small yes, but very romantic. If this is the feel you are going to Italy to capture you will most certainly be satisfied with La Penisola. If you have not been to Italy before, than you must remember that it is not North America and in some ways it is like stepping back in time. A place where people enjoy life and live in the moment. A place where worries are left for "domani" and especially in Tuscany where the scenery is heavenly, it is totally inspirational.
If you do decide to stay the extra week, check out the market in Greve on Saturday morning, go early and just people watch. Drive to Gaioli, 20 min from Radda to pick up fresh baked bread, or don't forget the best gelato at Antica Delizia in Castellini in Chianti. But mostly just enjoy the graciousness of all that is Italian.
Enjoy your trip.
Please don't hesitate to ask specific questions I will try to help.
Ciao, Ciao!
Sandy
Visit La Penisola's website at the following:
1 comment:
Wow... I so wish I could go on such a trip.
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