Il Boro

We woke up to rather extraordinary fog outside this morning.  It was quite beautiful and a bit of a surprise as it was clear last night before we went to bed.  By 9:00, however, it had virtually all burned off and the sky was clear and sunny as we walked up to breakfast.  Breakfast is served on the lower level of the building which houses the fancy dinner restaurant, Osteria.  The breakfast room was spacious and the buffet selection was amazing.  We took our time and had several cappuccinos before deciding to wander back to explore the village.

view out our window early in the morning

entry to our suite on the second floor

We seriously had committed ourselves to a day of rest, particularly to give Andrea a chance to get back some energy and deal with her ailments.  We walked slowly, explored the village and sat in a small seating area overlooking the valley.  We visited the small church in the square and enjoyed the 1940’s vintage mechanical displays built by the villagers after WWII as a testament to the strength of the small village.  This include a wonderful Pinocchio display room and a large Nativity scene.  These are all in a diorama style with original moving parts…..totally fascinating. While portions of the village were bombed, all was rebuilt.  This unique collection of medieval construction literally consists of maybe a total of 20 buildings on the top of a steep hillside.

For lunch we wandered back down to the Bistro and wine bar and sat outside.  Interestingly enough, Mr. Ferragamo himself came down for lunch……with his mother and his sister……and their dog, and sat at the table next to us.  While we did not have the gumption to introduce ourselves, we had some fun eavesdropping.

We were thinking about hitting the pool at the spa in the afternoon, but some ominous clouds were building to the west. We decided that resting in the room might be a wise first step.  We took it very easy hiking back to the room, stopping for 20 minutes to sit on a beautiful terrace partway up the hill.  We made it back to the room around 3:00……..and by 3:30 the rain, thunder and lightning had started.  It was quite spectacular for most of the rest of the afternoon, until about 7:00, when the sun came out again.  The entire shift in weather was dramatic and quite beautiful.  The clouds were stunning.

We had decided to eat at the Osteria restaurant tonight, as the Bistro was fully booked for an arriving ‘wedding part.’  We had seen the bride and groom a couple of times during our stay.  She seems to be a bit of a diva.  She asked the waiter at dinner last night to make sure that no butter was used in either her spinach or her pasta.  This morning at breakfast she asked that her cappuccino be made with almond milk.  She told the waiter “I am getting married this weekend and have to watch these things.”  haha......

The dining experience turned out to be quite special.  We will not describe the details beyond a quick list and a few photos.  There was actually a video-taping going on in the exhibition kitchen area adjacent to where we sat……something about a pasta lesson to be posted on Instagram.  The entire kitchen was visible behind full height glass walls…….rather dramatic.  Our meal included chicken liver pate with hazelnuts, marinated whitefish, wild boar meatballs, marinated wild boar (cinghiale is a local specialty……like the ones running around outside our window!), sea bass, fried turbot (amazing) and a selection of petit fours for dessert.  The service was amazing, and although we were tired, we were really glad that we had decided to try the Osteria!