Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
We are delighted to announce that one of our favourite local restaurants has won a well deserved Michelin Star for 2020! Congratulations to our good friends Cecilia and Massimo at Osteria La Gramola in Tavernelle! We have eaten there twice in the last seven days; need I say more. For a high quality restaurant, it is not expensive and it is hugely popular with the locals. The food is artistic yet the portions are generous and even gluten-free diners like me are catered for. My man and I love it! La Gramola
Ha ha, moving? Photo Discover Tuscany
Meanwhile, we optimistically decided to drop down to our local town of Certaldo this morning, intending to buy train tickets and to order an Italian driving licence from the local ACI. So, my man pops into a photo booth and gets some pictures. “My god, do I really look like that?” He is horrified that he looks like he has just been arrested and decides to grow a beard again! We go to the ACI and they are closed on saturday mornings, great! So it’s off to the railway station to buy tickets. The ticket office closed about a year ago so we have to use a ticket machine; it was not working! Fortunately, we have lived here for years, so we knew it was possible to buy them at a local tobacconist. My man got in the queue and eventually reached the front. The nice lady wanted his identification, National insurance number, email and his telephone number for their records! He asked her if she wanted a blood sample too! He thinks she got the joke, but he was serious. You can laugh if you like, but the thing is, on the day my man wants to travel the airport is on strike, so we have had to change his flight and get new train tickets. It is becoming somewhat tedious of late, as there are far too many strikes happening here in Tuscany!
But on a much brighter note, whilst reading the news with my morning coffee in Fiano, I found an article about one of Italy’s favourite Rock Stars, Luciano Ligabue, who has written a book about his life. He is now fifty-nine, poor thing. But here in Italy we aging rock singers are very popular, as you know, so I don’t know what he’s worried about. Luciano is a good looking guy, if you like your man a little rough around the edges, and is a great guitarist. The Italians love his voice, which is gravelly and shouty, not my favourite sound but nevertheless his live performances certainly have an all embracing wall of great sound. Ligabue
Oh yes, nearly forgot, a friend just reminded me that tomorrow (Sunday) is an evening of entertainment at the Old Cinema in our local village of Fiano. There is a great theatre group in the area and you will enjoy this play even if you don’t speak Italian. There is still time to pop into the bar and get a ticket! Enjoy!
And, last but not least, we are relieved to have Paolo and Gaia back at Ristorante C’era Una Volta just up the road in Lucardo. They had been off on a three week break visiting Instanbal and some other places, where they acquired a nice golden tan! We were presented with the most delicous platters of pasta with generous shavings of Tartufo Bianco (white truffles) over the top. Found locally in the woods, Paolo’s supplier of this food of the gods really knows where to look! Bless his woolly socks and truffle dog. Yummy!
Well enough of that, must get this blog edited and off to you. Have a great week and do get in touch, I love to hear from my readers. Don’t forget to email me a copy of your receipt if you have bought the paperback versions of all three of my books below before Christmas and I will send you a free signed copy of my short story ‘The Man in Black’. Enjoy! june.finnigan@virgin.net
Salute June x
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