June 21
Happy Summer everyone!! Although we’ve had very hot weather (at least 90 every day) for the last two weeks, today it’s officially summer. As you can see from the map, we went a little out of our way today but we couldn’t check into the resort until 4pm and it was too far to go, so we decided to visit Volterra before coming to the resort. We are so glad we did. What a cool town!!
Volterra has its origins in the 8th century BC and has been home to both the Etruscans and the Romans. There are still quite a few structures left from those olden days.
We went to the Etruscan Museum and there were lots of examples of funeral urns as well as the usual pottery, coins, jewelry, etc. Here are some examples.
Volterra is famous for its alabaster. It is a mined stone and is only found in this area. The most abundant is white alabaster and the brown is much more rare and, therefore, expensive. We found just about everything you can think of in the stone….jewelry (was tempted but I resisted), bath items like soap dishes and toothbrush holders, picture frames, wine glasses, vases small and large, chandeliers, bowls, etc. Peter found a small lamp that he loved so we got that. It cost more to ship than it did to purchase so I’ll figure out how we’re going to get it home. It’s mostly white but has a little brown in it. We saw one in another shop that had a lot more brown and even though it was the same size as ours, it cost more than double. Guess the brown is more expensive.
Of course there was also lunch. Peter had pizza and I took a walk on the wild side and had a calzone…very delicious.
Here are a few pictures from the town.
After leaving Volterra, it was a short 30-minute ride to the Hilton Grand Vacation Resort in the Tuscan countryside. It’s in the middle of nowhere but that’s not a problem with the car. After getting settled we headed down to the pool. The water was lovely, cool and refreshing but not cold. That’s a nice switch.
Tonight we’re going to an authentic Tuscan dinner in town. It was arranged by the resort and it’s a traditional 4 course meal. We had an early lunch so we’re hungry. Have a great night.
