HELP! I’VE FALLEN IN (love with) TUSCANY AND I CAN’T GET UP

 Poggio Etrusco

     By accident I came across Poggio Etruscan run by Pamela Sheldon Johns while I was searching a hotel, B & B, Agriturismo, or anything that we could stay in for 2 or 3 nights after we were through in Firenze.  I know.  It was just a dream and not at all connected with reality.  I thought that if we had the extra money, we could hold up somewhere cheap and either take a bus or a train there, or if things really worked out—a car.  It could workout great.  Stay somewhere with a pool and a frattoria near by and I could spend the day sketching and painting and Marianne could have reposo any time she wanted.  It would have to be either near Firenze or near a train station.

     First, I looked in the Vagliagli area in Chianti, because, of course, Dario Castagno wrote about it so wonderfully in his “A Day in Tuscany” and also his first book, “Too Much Tuscan Sun”.  You can’t find cheap, close, and short term in Chianti—it doesn’t seem to exist.  I did find Amina, an Agriturismo, but the reviews from previous guests made it very questionable.  Also, the bus really didn’t stop close—a car was needed.  I found the search site Verene, and Italian company that lists all sorts of stays.  I found a handful, but wasn’t really impressed with the cheap ones.  I mean, come on, these extra days could be inexpensive, couldn’t they?

      By some quirk of fate, I found a little ‘Agri’ outside of Montepulciano—the first place Franc Mate and his wife Candace lived (“The Hills of Tuscany”).  Actually, that Montepulciano address was a come-on of sorts, the ‘Agri’ is east of the village of Sant Albino.  The quirky website caught my eye.  The owners, Pamela Sheldon Johns (writer of cookbooks and her artist husband, Johnny—were Americani!  It had a pool, 4 apartments and a Bed & Breakfast “matrimonial” room, the Margherita, rented by the day—two days minimum.  The Poggio Etrusco is a 15 acre organic farm where guests are encouraged to pick the seasonal fruit.  It is accessible from Chiusi, a major train station, and there’s a Hertz rental-a –car there as well.  I checked the Google map to see if the roads would be navigable for a ‘newbie’ Italian driver.  They could be driven—15 miles, not too many corners, two main roads, and two towns.  I could do that.  Hell, even Marianne could do that. 

     Two very desirable things Poggio Etrusco had going for it was how close it was to other places that I would love to explore, and Pamela, a cook, gives classes.  I could go for walks, do my artist thing and Marianne could take a cooking class.  What could be more perfect?  Oh did I mention the room cost € 85?  That’s $127.50 a night—by far better than the other places that were over €100 a night.  If I wanted to take the car to Montepulciano, La Foce, the Mate winery south of Montalcino, or even visit Julian at his art conclave east of Chiusi, it would be an hour’s drive or less.  I could take my sketchpad, or paints, and stop anytime I got the urge.  Three days in the bucolic bliss of the Italian countryside and I would be able to go back to Oregon a happy (rich in spirit and soul only) man.  If Marianne learned some authentic Tuscan recipes--all the better!

     The possibilities were just getting better and better.  I found reviews by former guests and they are raved about the place.  One couple had been there twice.  I checked the location several times on Google Earth and finally located Poggio Etrusco.  There it was, in the country, and I could actually walk farm lanes and explore, and maybe even see a deserted ‘podere’.  Isn’t the resolution on Google’s satellite maps an amazing thing? 

     Of course, an abandoned farmhouse can only mean one thing, a project—a fixer-upper.  I stopped and held myself back.  “Damn Francis Mayes, Franc Mate, Phil Doran and those others who have already ‘suckered’ us ‘dreamers’ into thinking if they did it, why can’t I?”  I quickly sent an email to the John’s, hoping they would have the Margherita room available that Saturday, Sunday and Monday. 

Hello:
Found Poggio Etrusco through web searching; it looks beautiful.  I was
pleased to read that there is a car rental in Chiusi (and train station).My wife and I are in Umbria/Tuscany for two weeks in June of 2010.  We have accommodations for the first two weeks but may want to rent a car and say two or three nights more (so I can sketch and paint).It looks like the Margherita (A matrimonial room for bed & breakfast stays. Private bathroom and private entrance, Euro 85/night) might work
for us.  Please let us know if the room is available June 26, 27, & 28.
Thank you so much for your help.

    Realistically, I didn’t think there was a chance on God’s green earth we could get it.  Still, if we had the money, it was worth a shot.  I looked on it as my ‘secret fantasy’:  Walking a dirt road, the din of cicadas, a variety of Tuscan birds singing, sun on my face, distant views of Lago Trasimeno, and avoiding snakes.  It would be private dream.  I probably couldn’t tell Marianne.  It would just be something to get me through the long fall days, while school, church, and the ‘hot tub’ saga worn on. 

     No sooner than I had gotten home from work and I had an answer:

Sounds like you are planning a great trip, and I am glad you have found us! I do have Margherita available. If you would like to reserve, please send a deposit of 50%, a check for $190 payable to ITALIAN FOOD ARTISANS (Euro 127.50 converts to $190), and mail it to 27 W Anapamu St #427, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. The balance of Euro 127.50 will be due on arrival and payable in euros (cash preferred) or with Visa or MasterCard.
Regarding the rental car, I suggest you check rates at Auto Europe. They will beat other rental companies' price and use the vendors at Chiusi.

Pamela included her website:

      www.FoodArtisans.com
      Pamela's cookbooks and workshops in Italy
      US office (805) 963-7289
Their business address:
       www.Poggio-Etrusco.com
       Organic extra-virgin olive oil
       Agriturismo  (Bed & Breakfast) in Tuscany
       Tel/Fax (39) 0578 798 370
And, of course, Johnny’s website:
       www.JohnnyJohns.com
       Johnny's Tuscan-inspired artwork

     Gulp!  The ‘what if’ happened and I didn’t think it would.  How was I going to talk Marianne into this?  There was that moment of ‘I’ve been caught in the cookie jar’ kind of realization.  She could go ‘ballistic’ if I just sprung it on her.  Would we be able to swing this, too?  I was afraid to even think about it. We would really have to hop a train in Firenze and rent a car in Chiusi and drive to Poggio Etrusco.  Could we even?  How do I get into these predicaments, I’ll never know.