Hotel #22 Sunny day in Chianti and a boutique country hotel to add

February 15, 2011

chilly morning in Chianti proves to be a great day

 When I went to bed last night I made sure the indoor and outdoor shutters were open. I wanted to make good and sure that when I woke up, I would see sun – the power of positive thinking actually works! I got up at 8:30 a.m. (to the alarm on my cell phone) and looked over and saw sun streaming through the window. I jumped out of bed definitely on board with the idea that the sunburst I saw last night was a sign of good things to come. I got ready for breakfast made my way to the “sala di colazione” and filled up on a caffe latte, toast, fruit and grabbed a piece of Italian style coffee cake and wrapped it up in a paper napkin for a snack later – still sort of full from my Valentine’s Day dinner the night before, I figured today would be spent driving and enjoying the views with not much time to stop for lunch – lots to accomplish and lots of ground to cover today.

morning fog burning off

Today I had a meeting on the other side of Greve (which is about a 30 minute drive on the windy S curve roads of Chianti) back towards Florence. I left the hotel at 9:15 to make sure there was enough time. Good thing I left early because when I reached Greve and the turn off for Villa Bordoni, it was a dirt road and offered multiple opportunities for some stellar photos – fog burning off on the hills, sun shining on certain valleys and ancient Norman churches, cypress trees- GOOD GOD, I AM SO HAPPY TO BE BACK IN CHIANTI!

Villa Bordoni

San Cresci - down the road from Villa Bordoni

I pulled into the parking area at Villa Bordoni at 10:00 am. and was greeted by a very happy golden retriever (who I later learned was named Mathilda- note to self – GREAT name for a girl dog). I followed Mathilda to meet David, the owner of Villa Bordoni, who was in another meeting going over the new wine bottle labels. I learned that David is a well known restauranteur in Florence, is Scottish AND lived in Somerville, Massachusetts for a few years! (such a small world). This could quite possibly be my new favorite villa hotel in Chianti – they have only 11 rooms and each room is named for the view it has – “Montefioralle” etc. All of the hotel was painstakingly renovated recently and is very tastefully done – also very comfortable. There is a restaurant on the property. They make their own wine (I will be opening my bottle of Chianti from David tomorrow night) and can arrange anything you need. There are cooking lessons held on the property. They have mountain bikes. There are hiking trails surrounding the property. There is a pool and each room has its own private cabana around the pool – this is a great place for couples – very romantic. Also, Villa Bordoni is very close to Florence so you can easily do day trips and have this wonderful spot to return to each afternoon for a superb dinner and not have to drive home at night!

Not only was David one of the most friendly and easy going guys I have ever been lucky enough to meet, he quickly called a friend who owns a villa nearby and arranged a meeting time for us for tomorrow morning – GREAT connections!

more morning fog

my favorite place to stop on the way from Florence to Chianti

We said our goodbyes after I had a chat with Riccardo the manager of Villa Bordoni and made my way back down the dirt road – back to civilization. This afternoon was to be spent driving around and seeing other hotels I have booked or have in mind to book for clients to see what they look like at the worst time of the year. I went up and down the SP222, the SP408 and all of the roads off of these roads. Great notes were made on each of the properties.  And the driving was so fun with the sun shining – I just wish I had brought some music with me rather than the Italian radio. Eddie Vedder came on the radio at one point which made me VERY happy.

so iconic

new logo?

Vagliagli from above

Chianti

Chianti

Siena towers in the distance

my favorite outcropping of cypress trees

Radda in Chianti

Later in the afternoon, I had a meeting with a property I have stayed at several years ago – a cashmere goat farm owned by a remarkable American woman. When I arrived, I was greeted by 6 Bolognese dogs (all white fluffy dogs) and bleating goats. The owner and I caught up and I was able to hold one of the puppies – a 3 day old puppy whose eyes had not yet even opened. It was so small it could fit in the palm of my hand. We saw the farmhouse she rents and she showed me some of her new cashmere products. This is a wonderful rustic farmhouse property just outside of the village of Radda with wonderful views of the surrounding hillsides. It’s so nice to hear the goats bells ringing and the far off church bells of Radda and the winds – great spot for a small family or some friends – it can sleep 6 people and it has a pool and outdoor dining.

outside of Volpaia

herding Bolognese puppies and goats

goat

After meeting with Nora, I returned to the Palazzo Leopoldo in Radda to meet with Massimo again to tour the hotel and his other hotel in the village, Palazzo San Niccolo. Palazzo San Niccolo is a very nice small 4 star hotel in the center of the village. There is an elevator, large rooms (some with wonderful frescoed ceilings) and views onto the village streets. A great place to call base for serious oenophiles! Palazzo Leopoldo, a few doors down from Palazzo San Niccolo is a more historic property. Again, here you will find very large rooms with views onto the Chianti hillside. Palazzo Leopoldo also has a restaurant and a spa for the guests. There are two rooms in the hotel which have kitchenettes which would be great for a small family who wants to visit Chianti and does not need a whole villa.

Exhausted from a very full day, I returned to the hotel to grab my bag and headed to the lowest level of the hotel and out a secret door, into the tunnels under the village and under the main road to a pizzeria. The pizzeria, wasn’t serving pizza that night and the proprietor obviously thought I understood a lot more Italian than I do and started to rattle off specials and why the pizza oven was not on etc – surprisingly, I understood and could react, verbally! I guess immersion DOES help with language learning. I was there with only one other couple and I quickly learned that they were Americans. A young American couple who are living in Naples for 3 years – he is with the Navy and they are on leave touring around Italy for a few weeks. We talked throughout our meals and they covered A TON of ground in a very short time.  They even allowed me to take a picture of what they got to eat, but the pictures did not come out well at all. I had the porcini, sausages and polenta and a glass of wine.

We said goodbye and I thanked him for his service (the guy in the Navy) and returned to the hotel. While I was eating, it had gotten VERY cold, rainy and windy. Back to the room and into bed to read. The shutters were flying around in the wind and the AC vent cap (a hole in the window) kept blowing off into the room– It was late so I became MacGuyver  and stuffed the hole with a towel, chewed two pieces of gum and stuck each on the rim of the cap to hold it on and then closed the indoor shutters and locked them with a hair elastic – It worked – no more banging and gale force winds coming into the room all night :)

Buona Notte Ragazzi!