Monday, July 18, 2011

Daytrippin: Il Passo di Consuma

Fellow blogger Christine of " Ciao Christy" has started a Monday series called La Dolce Vita. She has been so kind to invite fellow bloggers to share posts about what makes life sweet :)





Definitely a "Dolce Vita" kind of day!

One of the things I miss most about living in Florence is a car. I used to drive EVERYWHERE! I loved driving! The thing about living in Tuscany is there are a ton of awesome places to go out of the city, most reachable by train or bus but it's not the same as being in a car out on the smaller roads where the vistas are for me, the most beautiful.

Not having my own car or even a motorino I'm dependent on friends who do to go to these places where a) a car is necessary or b) is just way more convenient. So when my friend Laura invited me to go for a drive with her, her husband Marco and brother Doug, I said HELL YEAH!

Around noon on Saturday I met up with them for a drive to the Passo della Consuma. It's a long windy road up and over the hills that connect the provinces of Arezzo and Firenze. The countryside is spectacular plus it's like 10 degrees cooler up there ( which was welcome after the recent heat wave). Our first stop was the abbey at Vallombrosa.
We walked around the grounds a bit, took a bunch of photos and then headed to a well known but far removed sandwich shop located along Il Passo Della Consuma called the Chalet il Valico. Laura and Marco had been there a bunch of times before. The place is basically a shack on a mountain frequented by Italian motorcyclists decked out from head to toe in matchy -matchy leather biker wear ( and they wear it well). Think Harley enthusiasts go Armani. I especially get a kick out of the guys with the aerodynamic fins on their backs. Anyway, this place is known for their VERY rustic sandwiches, meat and cheese on schiacciata bread ( Tuscan focaccia). The sandwiches were HUGE and a little difficult for me to eat as I am still recovering from the dentist.
View from Chalet Il Valico


Laura's brother Doug with all 4 sandwiches

Dessert: La Bomba- had chocolate pudding inside- YUM!

After lunch we went for a drive to the Castel Castagnaio ( which was closed) but the drive was real pretty and tested Laura's driving skills. Bonus, meeting the fat beagle who I thought was pregnant at the bottom of the hill. Her name is Zara.





Finally we headed out to Poppi, a town in Arezzo province. Poppi's claim to fame is that it's one of the places Dante stayed during his exile from Florence and the of course the medieval  Il Castello di Poppi. Super cute town, like one of the perched villages in Provence, great way to spend a Saturday.


6 comments:

  1. Hi there I am calling by as another participant in Ciao Christy's - La Dolce Vita.
    I enjoyed sharing your Saturday with you and must remember to make a note of the Chalet di Valico.

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  2. Ciao!Yes, the chalet is worth a visit if in the area. Thanks for stopping by! :)

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  3. I love the photo from the chalet! Absolutely gorgeous. And the Bomba looks delicious! Love, Christy

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  4. Thanks Christine!!! Get up there if you haven't already and have fun in Amsterdam :)

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  5. did I already post this on FB? Anyways...I remember that exact.same.dog when I was there last time and we were heading to Poggi. Did you guys climb the Tower? Tres spooky!!

    I want a sandwich from Consuma! WAH! Do you think our fair friend will take us there when I come back for a visit?

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  6. Don't know how I missed this post before but just had to comment now. David and I spent two weeks in Poppi in 1999 during our RTW trip. We rented a little apartment there and just hung out. It was awesome! Haven't been back since though...

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