Sotto il Sole Toscana*

*Warning: This blog contains food porn

Entering la citta from Porta Bifora Etrusca, we were confronted by the 1:3 gradient of the stone paved Via Ghibellina. Calves stinging, we sought respite at a wooden tri-level dining platform opposite Ristorante la Bucaccia www.labucaccia.it. Topping up our glasses of Vegna Toscana chardonnay, we perused the menu while gazing down at Val Di Chiana and it's fields of sunflowers and tobacco. Featuring cucina tipica locale, a shared appetiser of salamis was taken as primi piatti before our secondis of pasta arrived.

Remembering previous Italian culinary adventures, I had created a bucket list featuring gnocchi con saffron e walnut and risotto verde prior to leaving home. Given timing and location (Venice and Siena), I remain hopeful of partaking of these dream dishes prior to leaving Tuscany. Any future list will include today's Pranzo pastas. Kim's pappardelle with a wild boar ragu was, in my humble opinion, only slightly pipped by my primi pitti of the house speciality of Il Bucaccia: Thick home-made ribbons of pale potato pasta coated by a creamy sauce of Pecorino cheese and pink peppercorns. Yum, yum! Why do we never see these dishes in Australian restaurants?. Two spoons per favore for "Il nostril gelato ~ Our ice cream". Gelato con I nostri cantucci fresci e Vinsanto, translated as Ice cream with almond biscuits and sweet wine, accompanied by espressos and sambuccas finished us off.

Buongiorno flows into buongiorno when you are in Toscana, broken only by supermercato shopping, swimming and cliff-hugging descents to Camuccia. I know I should include rest, but I didn't come to Southern Europe to sleep. An overnight trip to Venice for Chris, Paulette and Rowanne left Kim and I with the Peugeot 3008 and an unplanned day. Parking in the shade, we entered Cortona by a lesser incline and headed for Via Nazionale where Kim wanted to exchange some leather goods and I could get a haircut.

Tasks completed, we sat at an outdoor table opposite Bar Stucia for a heart-starter. Our pinot grigios arrived accompanied by a plate of mixed appetisers. Thoughtful, and typical of what we have become accustomed to in Italy. Three young men sat at the table adjacent and ordered lunch. Sipping ice-dewed mojitos, they proceeded to greet every other passerby: Ciao Roberto!, Ciao!. Handshakes, backslaps and good natured multi-directional conversation flowed. A waiter approached, attached a circular chrome shelf to their table and placed a basket of bread in it. Ingenious when space is at a premium!

"Scuzzi, uno rose e uno mojito per favore! When in Rome.... Our drinks soon arrived accompanied by another plate of appetisers ~ different, but equally delicious. That's lunch taken care of! Next door, the boys ceased ciao-ing as each received plates presenting two enormous basket-meshed prawns. At nearby Bar 500, two tanned twenty-something's picked desultory at their insalata melon e prosciutto as they checked out the competition performing their passeggiata. Rococco sunglasses threaten to slip their flowing tresses as their heads followed the action.

"Vorrei il conte, per favore", I asked and handed over the €21 to cover our drinks. Appetisers, no charge!