Saturday, October 29, is a beautiful fall day in Tuscany Italy!! Yes, I am writing this before dark!! Thus, the day isn't over yet. Once I got moving rather late in the morning, our main focus today was to have a delicious lunch and we accomplished that by going to a neighborhood restaurant just up the road! We parked in their lot to watch the olive harvesting the other day.

Il Camminetto to del Chianti is a lovely place with exquisite food! And reasonably priced...

View out the window from our table

Looking in to the restaurant from my seat

We shared but Sarah ordered trucioli with pesto & pine nuts. I ordered the special of homemade pasta with FRESH mushrooms! The mushrooms melted in our mouths!! And the bread was a variety with all being delicious! We are being American & having a ziplock in our purses in order to discreetly create our own doggie bags - especially the bread. Usually there isn't anything else left on our plates!!

After that wonderful treat, we took a meandering lane that was next to the restaurant which they assured us did cross the valley. Well, it did; however, they failed to mention that it turned into a gravel path! Sarah persevered with only meeting one car! 

The views and sights were worth it.

We reached the narrow blacktop lane to take us to Grassina. We had driven this once before to see our house from across the valley and tried to do so again when Phoebe was here to no avail! Now today, partial success when we weren't trying! So through Grassina into Ponte a Ema to the day's second objective - an Italian cemetery! Yes, we have been wandering where the cemeteries were as hadn't seen any in any of the many churchyards we have visited. And what an appropriate time to do so as Tuesday is All Saints Day! However, Italians observe November 2, All Souls Day. We found the cemetery by once again turning around & there it was - set back up a cypress lined drive. No church, just large walled cemetery.

Inside one of the 'rooms' - 4 levels

One of the outside graves

One of the courtyards - three stories

The ladder to use to place flowers on upper spots

Some 'rooms' were like chapels

When we arrived around 2:30, it was quiet with a few people around. By the time we left, it was bustling with people cleaning stones, pruning bushes, sweeping, placing flowers, etc. 

Sarah just read online that now 50% of funerals are cremations. We saw a few markers from 1920 but must were 1950 or after. It was interesting to see this part of Tuscany life.  We proceeded home but decided to check out a 'brown sign' which seems to signify a point of interest. We followed a narrow lane, paved, up & around for a few kilometers to find a ruin with arches. More fun were the two ladies having their afternoon chat while supposedly resting during their afternoon constitutional!

We made our way back into Grassina and attempted to stop for gelato but the parking lot was full so on towards home we came. We decided to see if the tiny grocery store at the turn to Impruneta was open. It was so we bought cheese, cookies & chocolate! Oh, the cookies are good even though packaged - sponge base with orange jelly covered only on the top with chocolate!! Now home we came - our entire journey consisted of approximately 10 km = 6.2 miles and we were gone about 4 1/2 hours!! We had about 45 minutes of sitting on the patio before the chill set in with sun going down. A great day!!

Yes, an olive tree protecting the Madonna in the cemetery.