Where to go???
Finally we decided to visit the Abbey at Monte Oliveto Maggiore only about a 30 minute drive from here. It was beautiful in a peaceful rural setting. The big cypress were lovely to walk through.
Here’s the entrance:

We passed by this lovely statue:

She (Santa Caterina) always makes me think of Kathryn.
Then we went inside to see the frescoes of the life of St. Benedict and to visit other parts of the museum.
I thought the pharmacy room was really cool:

We passed by the dining hall with the long, dark wood tables all set for lunch. It was right out of a movie set.
Seeing all the various monks in their “costumes” gave the visit a special touch:

Back down to earth–we had laundry to do. We drove into Asciano –what a beautiful quintessentially Tuscan drive! I asked at the “i” place about the lavanderia and got directions out of the old town into the “industrial zone” and we found it. Ken loved the color of the walls (NOT!)

Then we went back into the centro of Asciano and at a lousy lunch–too salty pasta with mushroom and chicken with rosemary that was incredibly dry. Oh well. the place was La Mencia. If you’re ever in Asciano, don’t eat there. Well, at least the glass of prosecco was good.

The roses all over this area are in full bloom. This one was in a pot in Asciano.
Came home to read and relax for a while. I hung out a bit in the lower garden here at La Grancia. In the evening we met Gail and Roberto for some wine and cheese. Roberto had the most amazing, truly unforgettable pecorino he had just bought from the Sardinian sheep people yesterday. The fresh! ricotta was out of this world and the aged pecorino, too. We drank wine and talked about food and travel but most importantly we toasted the life of our long-time Slow Travel friend Robert Rainey who was murdered in his office in L.A. yesterday. All over the US and in Italy friends were toasting Robert last night with fine wine and I was glad to be a part of it.