Rad in Radda

My little trip back in time in Radda in Chianti. 

First I want to give a quick geography lesson because I often hear people say they want to go to Chianti or go to Tuscany instead of Florence. Technically if you're in Florence, you're in Tuscany. Think of Tuscany as a state divided into sub regions, one of which is Chianti, and with the capital of Florence. Chianti then acts as a sort of "county" which is then also divided up into eight different sub zones. One of these sub zones or areas is called Radda in Chianti. 

This weekend a friend and I took a bike (as in motorcycle) ride through Tuscany and actually made our way into Umbria (another "state"). On our way back yesterday we decided to stop along the Chianti Road for a quick cafe somewhere near Radda in Chianti. This place was adorable with its original stone building, a large patio to the right overlooking a small lake, surrounded by vineyards, and the sign faded enough to where you couldn't make out the name. We walked in and were greeted with a dark room that looked like something out of a scary movie, but heard women's voices coming from somewhere in the house (restaurant...?). My friend led the way back into a smaller room with dark, wood-beam ceilings and the flicker of light bouncing off the back wall. He entered the room before me then whispered, "Sally, vieni. Questa e incredibile." Sally, come here. This is incredible. 

When I entered the room, it was like entering 1902. There were four women all sitting around a long wooden table - one was obviously the oldest with a blue wrap around her head. The fire was going behind her and there was nobody else in sight - no diners, no guests...what exactly was this place. They quickly invited us to sit with them and made us coffee, but bringing us the bottle of their family grappa. We sat at the table and listened to these four women, all of them family, talk about the history of this place, which was once a trading post for the mail carriers to switch out horses while delivering the post between towns. Now it serves as a guest house, restaurant and family hang out. We talked about tourism, history, their family, America and more for over an hour before we finally got up to leave. We walked out the front door calling back to the women over our shoulders with promises of returning in the summer for a meal, while just shaking our heads in disbelief on what we just experienced. Even for my friend the Italian, it was an unreal step back in time.

La Villa Miranda - Radda in Chianti

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Side note - I moved apartments (again) and have some pictures to share:

See pictures of my new apartment here.

My new address is:

Sally Roberts

c/o Roberti

Via del Presto di San Martino 2

50125 Firenze, Italia