Middle-aged flash packers

Our revised itinerary was added to by Steve in the shape of a riverside walk, close to the apparently picturesque town of Colle Val d’Elsa ( from now on known as CVE).

After a baffling 10 minutes trying to work out how to obtain a ticket from the parking meter, we headed off on our meander alongside the river Elsa. It really is worth a visit. A chalky turquoise, the river abounds with trout and various wildlife. There is a slight eggy smell from the sulphur that is in the river, particularly the pools, but it’s supposed to have healing powers, so hold your nose and have a dip!

It’s very popular with locals and everyone had a determined look in their eye as they vied for a good picnic spot along the river bank.

We chose not to do battle with the hoards and walk back the way we came, so we headed back to the car via the old town of CVE.

Unlike Le Marche, Tuscany is full of the most stunning old towns and villages, perched on hilltops looking impossibly gorgeous. I’m actually feeling sorry for Le Marche now. Starved of the riches that Tuscany gathered centuries ago and ravaged by earthquakes , Le Marche suffers from plainer sister syndrome.

CVE is one of the many old towns in Tuscany, beautifully preserved. It was a surprise therefore to find it pretty much devoid of life. A few tourists wandered about and a couple of restaurants opened their doors, but that was it. The church bells put on a stupendous chorus of bells that was actually quite deafening, but no one was interested.

What a contrast to San Gimignano (from now on known as SG. I’ve become completely idle after 3 weeks of hols, everything has become too much trouble).

When we visited beautiful Lucca (also in Tuscany) many years ago, my only complaint about it was that it was like a Disney town. It was so pretty and so full of tourists, it didn’t seem real. It had been disneyfied. I’d say the same about SG. Wall to wall tourists,

with most buildings given over to souvenir shops, it was quite a shock after CVE. Still, I love a shop and kept SG in business by purchasing a significant quantity of tat (Steve’s words , not mine).

It didn’t take long for us to see everything we wanted to see and we headed back to the lovely Hotel Villa San Luchesse where we swam, dozed and read. And had another Gruvi Myrtlle ice-cream. This is now my favourite ice cream, usurping even the Magnum Oreo.

Dinner was at Bazzino’s again. This restaurant has single handedly reinstated our faith in Italian food. My boar sauce and paparadelle was divine. The same could not be said for the karaoke in the town square and we headed for home.

Tomorrow we drive to Verudo, just outside Alba. Alba is in Piedmont and is famous for truffles. Should be interesting