The Pool Day 8

No alarms were necessary this morning as it was going to be another "fun" day by the pool. There was a new discovery at breakfast today tho...a tiny trite looking round donut that I was expecting a necessary dunk to be soft. Guess what, this little soft sweet pastry was filled with some kind of pudding and it was very possibly going to be the best two little bites of my day. I had saved it for the end and wish I had taken a bite a little earlier because I would have gone back for more. However, I was too full to eat another bite! Tomorrow...look out!

After breakfast we all gathered by the pool and I typed up yesterday's blog. I had started it yesterday afternoon before dinner, but I apparently didn't save it because when I went to re-open it last night before bed my story was gone. I did type a bit more, but it is so frustrating when this happens (it has before) that I just needed to put the ipad away or fear blog burnout. So that made for a nice activity by the pool and kept me busy while everyone was doing their own thing. Rosalie was walking, Cara sunbathing, Betty reading, the boys playing soccer and the girls running in the grass making up games. This is vacation at its best. I did walk around and take a few photos and did up our little bit of laundry while I had the chance.

Lunch was out on the patio and again today it was really nice. I got the tomato and mozzarella sandwich on focaccia and fruit salad, finished by some kind of ice cream bar that had a chocolate outside rolled in nuts, but the inside had a center of cherry filling. Wow. The rest of the gang had a variety of sandwiches, salads, pastas, etc. I'm going to see if they have a poolboy position open and I'm going to sign Guy up so we can stay here - forever. I'll be in charge of Luna the cat. LOL. After lunch, ping pong matches, foosball and swimming continued. The sun is out in full force today and the breeze is down, but in the shade some serious naps took place.

We all headed in a bit after 4pm to get ready for dinner and we drove into town (San Gimignano) about 6pm to shop a bit before eating. We enjoyed the town, which was bustling with people on this gorgeous evening. I picked up a few items, necessities really - hairspray, lotion, Ibuprofen - gosh, pretty boring shopping?! There was a guy doing a puppet show and he had drawn quite the crowd. He was certainly into his craft. :)  After some videos and laughs we walked the length of the shopping area and met up with the rest of the family who had just caught up with us. Betty had me assist her in purchasing a new necklace and earrings. Lovey. And she said she was "done with buying jewelry". I said "forever?" and she said, "No! Just tonight". She had said it with such a tone that I thought she had meant a bit longer than just tonight!  LOL. I also purchased 10 cookies called "Nocini" at a bakery that I vividly remember being wonderfully delicious. We didn't have room to eat them tonight, so they'll make for a nice road snack tomorrow.

Dinner was amazing and I was so happy before the food even came! The view. Oh...the view. Totally amazing and the sun was setting which enveloped the area in a warm tone ideal for photography. I snapped a few photos out the window and we sat down to order. The menu was somewhat limited, but plenty for our non-picky crowd. I had a first plate of spinach pudding with cheese fondue. Neither like you would have expected, but delicious in its own unique way. All the plates were elegantly decorated and the presentation was the best I've seen in Italy. Oddly enough, a large number of the family ordered "fried chicken". I said it was a translation error and was sure it meant rotisserie or something. Nope, it was fried! Plus it had beautifully done zucchini fries on top. I had ordered the zucchini risotto and it was just ok. Sorry to say that, but for me, the cheese...and I love cheese, smelt like a foot. Not a happy foot. But I managed to clear the plate. After dinner, to the server's dismay, we didn't order dessert because the best gelato on the planet awaited us. John (Guy's brother - being clear since there are three Johns here) said he was going for three scoops, chocolate, strawberry and banana...a banana split! YES and YES! So after nine gelatos were ordered, we stood in the square, almost giddy from an exhausting day of fun, and ate our wonderful gelatos. And yes, the banana was not banana flavored, but was made with real bananas and was wonderful.

As we walked out I took several evening shots and the town is about as charming as they get. I flashed back to our room at the Hotel Leon just two years ago that overlooked the square. We'd stand at the window and people watch until the square was empty. Good times. On the way back to the hotel, we laughed as we played several games of "would you rather" and once we hit the hotel, everyone said goodnight and headed up to their rooms to pack. Guy stayed back to settle up the bill and he visited with some of the owners. They told him they were closed November-mid March and said they skied or visited the Caribbean. They had an 11 year old daughter that of course required staying in the area, or we took it they'd be venturing off for longer periods of time. They offered to pack us some goodies for our trip tomorrow and told us we had a beautiful family. :) I'm glad they had a comment card for us to fill out. We wanted them to know what a wonderful time we've had here.

Tomorrow ... road trip to our next destination ... Stresa on beautiful Lake Maggiore with a pit stop in Cinque Terre!