First, find parking anywhere and any way you can. Guido (Gary) does a great job with our, by comparison to many, fairly large Fiat.

We are very happy to return to nearby La Pieve for our last dinner out in Tuscany. We had reservations at a fancier place, highly recommended, but their earliest seating ever is 8:30 and then, the long drive up the mountain in the dark. The evening could not have been more perfect. I could watch the “kitchen” which is a fire place, and watch our server, who,while speaking no English, performed his duties with grace and pride, like right out of an Italian movie. Our first course was a shared pasta with wild boar sauce. Wild boar was printed on the menu in English but our server thought it necessary to explain that it was “pig.”

Our second course was the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina. The t-boned cut is from the Ciianina cow, bred only in Tuscany. It was even more delicious than the filet we had tried on our first visit. We, of course, shared that chunk of meat, grilled over a pile of hot coals pulled from the pizza oven, and will have leftover with eggs for an American breakfast. Guido is very happy with the traditional Italian breakfast of coffee and pastry. I, Giulia, get caffein jitters and feel the need for something more substantial, though rarely steak.

That’s Marilyn behind Guido and our tattooed chef behind the bar.

Our chef and our server.

This young woman waved to us as she and her children came into the restaurant. It was a sweet moment to be recognized by a villager. Earlier in the day, we had shared a corner in a coffee bar, with her, her man and her huge German shepherd.