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The water was back on this morning. There wasn't much hot water, but at least the water was running. It seems the water company was working on something in the middle of the night and neglected to tell anyone... Vittorio apologized for the inconvenience, but it wasn't anything he could control. However, the lack of hot water was something he could take care of. A breaker had been tripped on the water heater. Flipping it back got the hot water running again for everyone.
As we were starting downstairs to breakfast, I glanced out of the common room's window to see one of the other workshop participants taking a picture. Naturally, I looked to see what had caught his interest and spotted one of the farm cats taking a nap on a wooden shelter. This shelter keeps some of the weather off of a wood pile and doubles as a shade in midday. The photo above shows where the cat was napping. What's not visible in this photo is the dog napping on the main level of the patio area. The cat knew a safe spot!
After breakfast, we had another short session. Roy and I shared some photos from home. Talking in the courtyard between breakfast and the session, one of the farm cats jumped up into my lap and settled in for a purring nap.
After our session, it was back to the car for another drive. Our first stop was the old abandoned house that we had gotten permission to go into, as long as we didn't go upstairs - the floor on the second floor was rotten.... There was plenty to shoot from the outside and the first floor - lots of wonderful light. There were some old huge wine bottles in one room. We played with those for a while and even caught a ghost!
The photos above show the old wine bottles we found in the abandoned farm house. The one on the right has a ghost helping himself to the wine!
The three photos above were also taken at the abandoned farm house. The photo on the left is the front of the building, including what probably was the main entrance. The photo in the center is of an interior door leading to an inner courtyard. The photo on the right is looking out the window of the wine bottle room at the surrounding countryside.
Then we went on the scenic route north of Pienza, stopping occasionally to shoot photos. We went through Castelnuzio, Petrios, Madonnino, Montisi, San Giovanni d'Asso, and Torrenieri before winding up in San Quirico d'Orcia again. We had lunch somewhere in there... I'm not sure where along that route that the picture above was taken. It shows the Tuscan countryside. The orderly rows are vineyards.
Then we went back to the farmhouse where I had my one-on-one session with Eddie. We talked about a lot of things - where I'm going with the photography, for example. He's a good listener. While I was doing that, Carl worked on the laundry, hand washing a bunch of our necessities, taking time out to do some yoga on the patio (with the assistance of one of the farm cats). He enjoyed the change of pace. While he finished that up, I grabbed the camera and tripod and shot some interior scenes. A nice quiet afternoon.
The photos above were all shot inside Il Rigo. The one on the left is a vase of flowers on one of the dining room tables with a piano in the background. The next one is a row of liqueur bottles on a side table. The third one is a bouquet of flowers in a wine bottle sitting on a dining room table. The right vase of flowers is in the wine room, an area where one could purchase a glass (or bottle) of wine from our innkeepers. All of the flowers in these photos were picked from the rose vines growing on the walls of Il Rigo.
About 4, we got back in the car to drive to a local vineyard for some evening shooting, a wine tasting, and a delicious meal. Rain was threatening, but didn't materialize until it was time for the wine tasting, which was indoors. The vintner was experimenting with playing music to the vines as they grow. They're bombarded with classical music from about 9 in the morning until 9 in the evening. I don't know how their neighbors feel about it... The vintner claims it makes a difference, keeping the vines healthier than those in the same conditions without music. I'm skeptical...
Their three main wines were okay, but I couldn't tell the difference between them. There was, however, a large difference in the price. Frankly, the vineyard's table wine that we had with dinner was better tasting to me than the ones they were selling...
The five photos above were the only ones I was able to get at the vineyard before it started seriously raining. The first shows baby grapes on the vine - they're still tiny in May. The center photo in the first row shows the rows of vines. The right photo in the first row has shadows of grape leaves on a larger grape leaf. The left photo in the bottom row shows more rows of vines. Planting a rose bush at the end of the row is traditional in many vineyards. I've heard that a couple of reasons for this. One is that there is a symbiotic relationship between the grape vines and roses. Another is that this is a leftover from the days when the workers were illiterate - maintaince of the vines would begin for the day, for example, on the row with the yellow roses. The photo to the right on the bottom row is of a rose bud against the wall of the wine cellar.
The two photos on the left above were taken in the wine cellar of the vineyard we were visiting. The next photo is of a gourd, taken through a wine bottle. The photo on the right above is an arrangement of wine bottles and gourds. The subject of the picture to the left of it can be seen here, also.
After a delicious dinner, we drove home in the rain and lightning and discovered that this car's headlights are woefully inadequate. Carl finally decided that the low beams were for city driving (where there were street lights and speeds were slower) and the high beams were for country driving. We drove on high beams most of the time at night and no one flashed us, so....
All in all, another very nice day.