A Walk in Tuscany

Hello, Dear Friends! In my last post I promised to take you on 

a little walk around the village of Montici in the 

beautiful region of Tuscany. 

Come along with me and we will explore this charming place 

on a beautiful, late summer morning. 

The magical sound of church bells begins the day. 

A map of the village hung on a wall. 

Some of the villas were shut up for the season already. 

We had to duck into doorways to let vehicles pass in some places. 

I found one that was just my size! 

My son and grandson. 

Pretty pots of flowers tucked everywhere. 

Well-worn stairs

We had to wait several days to find this little shop open. 

I bought a few small gifts and souvenirs, 

hand-painted wine stoppers, and a pretty tablecloth here. 

Table linens, scarfs, and small kitchen or bar-ware items

 are always on my list to buy as lovely and useful souvenirs 

of my travels. Small artwork and regional cookbooks are on the list, too. 

All so easy to pack and don't take up much space. 

A friendly cat came to greet us. 

Many of the villas had these thick, rough doors 

tucked into a separate entrance. 

I found out that they were old stable doors! 

Of course! People needed some place to park the donkey

and keep chickens and pigs! 

The village had everything to sustain itself

in days gone by.  

A place to tie up your cart? 

Everything was so neat and clean. 

This one was well-loved. 

Beautiful doors and hand-worked lace curtains. 

A little pass-through window. 

I saw an episode of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, and 

he explained these little windows as a place 

where you can buy a glass of wine! 

You just tap on the window

to see if they are open for business! 

A nice photo of son, Gabe. 

We were there to celebrate his 40th birthday. 

xx

Interesting lichens and a drip pool that must have taken 

many, many years to form. 

Beautiful lace panels. 

Old stable doors and window. 

This looks like some type of official entrance, maybe. 

This villa was so charming, with arched doorways, 

rooftop garden and stone bench. 

It was nestled into a nice courtyard, too. 

Many family residences have their own unique medallion. 

A very medieval-looking doorway! 

Um...I won't say it. Lol! 

Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo?

Gabe's dear MIL, Jayne, checking out the flowers. 

Church doors. 

A tiny church. 

My DIL, Jen tries to reassure a scared kitten. 

A tiny heart puddle. 

Ramblin' Man under an olive tree. 

Thank you for coming along with me, Dear Friends! 

I hope you enjoyed our stroll through Montici! 

xx

Next time we will prepare an authentic Italian meal together. 

I hope you will join me! 

xx

A Villa in Tuscany

 

Hello, Dear Friends - I can't believe it's officially fall! 

Children are back in school and summer has passed us by.

Here in the foothills of Mt. Rainier, we start enjoying the cooler weather, 

fall leaves, fresh apples, blackberries, and pumpkin spice 'everything'.

And... we start the unpacking of all our cuddly sweaters!

Indian Summer is still lingering, and it brings back memories of 

our time under the Tuscan sun exactly five years ago, 

in Montici, Italy. 

In my last post, I shared our arrival to our villa, and took 

you on a quick 'look-around' outside in the beautiful courtyard. 

Come along with me and I will show you the inside! 

Here we are in the living room looking out. 

Another view from the window which shows the hidden alcove,

from the side, which houses the well and garden tools. 

I love the beautiful urn in the corner. 

Inside, where we had so many happy evenings

in the cozy living area. 

This large room also contained a dining area with enough space for a large gathering.

There were 12 of us altogether, including my son's friend and dear in-laws. 

Just behind the table, next to the hutch, was a piano. 

My son-in-law, Steve, had fun trying out a few tunes.

 

The hutch had a large collection of glassware, linens and hand-painted pottery

in the lower cabinets. 

Don't you love the ceilings? 

A lucky houseplant with a beautiful view and matching artwork. 

This intriguing painting caught my eye.

A painting of a painter! 

Just beyond was the kitchen. 

The breakfast room that I showed you in my last 

post is to the right. 

Everything was very rustic. I think this is a pizza oven. 

I'll show you more of the kitchen in a future post. 

My son hired a chef to come in and teach us how to create 

an authentic Italian meal one night! 

One of the bedrooms. 

This was the view. 

All of the rooms had beautiful, old-world bathrooms like this. 

You can see me in the mirror. :)

Another bedroom view. 

This room had a stone balcony. 

This is the pretty doorway to our accommodations. 

As you step down the stairs, you enter a fairy-tale. 

Hand-painted frescoes all around. 

All of the 'woodwork' and lace was an illusion. 

Beautiful furniture and terra-cotta floors. 

I think I could live here forever. 

The faux drapery cords even have shadows. 

It was amazing to wake up to. 

Shadows on the lace curtains, too. 

Almost real. 

Steps leading up to the bath. 

Lovely in the evening, too. 

To the right of the dresser and bath are the doors to the balcony. 

A vine-covered secret hide-away. 

A cool corner to sip our morning coffee. 

With a fantastic view. 

Morning light. 

Stairs down to the courtyard. 

Views from outside. 

Another view of the stairs. 

Love the pot on the windowsill. 

Isn't the villa charming? 

A dream...

xoxo

Next time, Dear Friends, I will take you on a walk 

through the village. 

xoxo

La Dolce Vita

It's a Sweet Life. 

xx