My first official day of work started at 8am, relatively late compared to Casa Lanzarotti where I had to peel my eyes open at 6.45am. Marco drove me in their trusty red Fiat Panda to the big holiday farmhouse on the hill where I spent the day varnishing the wood furniture and polishing the brass doorknobs and windows sill till they gleamed. My imagination ran wild and I role-played as Frances Mayer, pretending to prep my summer Toscana house for my guests.
It was strangely therapeutic rearranging the plates and glasses in the cabinet and polishing the kitchen counter, while plug into my i-pod and singing my lungs out loud. In between cigarette breaks, I would look out the kitchen backdoor and admire the breathtaking view, sighing at the Toscana landscape. Soon Lorenzo collected me for lunch and I found out over spaghetti alla frutti di mare that Guido whose family owned the farm was a Count (as in royalty) and I joked that perhaps I shoud curtsy in his presence.Of course I didn't do that when I met him that evening when we picked him up on our way to the ancient medieval town of Certaldo on the hill, where there was a political festival of sort. He reminded me of a cuter, younger Kiefer Sutherland with his slightly aloof aristocrat air at times. At the popular outdoor diner's, Lorenzo presented me with a small pot of flowers he won in a lucky dip at the door and we all joined Daniel, a friendly English guy who spoke fluent Italian, and his 2 lady friends. Under the open starry night, I tucked into a bowl of Ribollita, a traditional hearty Tuscan soup made from kale, vegetables and stale bread (4euros), followed by deep-fried mixed seafood (7euros) with lots of vino, of course.
The medieval town was charming like how I'd imagine it centuries ago - there were even royal crests adorning the fortress' bricked walls. We all cringed at the really bad live act outside the cafe; the guys had their obligatory post-dinner expresso and gelato, while I couldn't resist buying my favourite Italian snacks of sfogliatella (crispy horn-shaped custard and nutella pastries!) and cantucci sweet biscuits for breakfast. I was also excited that I'd meet Katie tomorrow again, having contacted her in the afternoon that she could crash at the farm for 1 night before meeting her parents in Lucca.
