[Itinerary Page]The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
May 21 - The Road to Deiva Marina
Not much to talk about on a travel day. We got up, we packed, we drove ... it's like that. We did decide to go back roads, at least for the first part of the trip. So we headed off toward Siena and then north along Route 222 that runs through the heart of the Chianti region. I am not quite sure what I was expecting ... but it certainly was not what we found.
The Chianti is very hilly and very wooded. I pictured more rolling hills covered with vineyards, but while the grapes were there, alright, they were mostly in smaller patches clinging to the sides of the hills. Good sun, good drainage and tough growing conditions do make for more flavorful grapes so perhaps it makes sense after all. At least it seems to be working!
We skipped breakfast so we stopped for lunch in the town of Greve, generally acknowleged as the center of the Chianti district. It was market day in town so Margene went down for a quick look-around while I handled the details of clearing the check (and sitting in the air-conditioned car reading!)
Getting to Greve took an hour and a half over winding roads so we decided that while the scenery was wonderful, getting there was more than half the fun ... particularly when keeping to back roads all the way would have added about four more hours to the trip! So we found the motorways and zipped past Pisa, Carrara (Gawd, there is a lot of marble there!) and up the coast to the little port of Deiva Marina and the Hotel Clelia.
We stayed here for a couple of nights on our last trip in 2003 and our memory is that the prices were reasonable, the place was clean, the people were friendly and their restaurant was pretty good. When we arrived, we confirmed that three-and-a-half of the four qualities are still in place. The missing piece is the friendliness -- some of the staff are terrific and look for ways to help, are patient with language differences (of which there are many) and generally seem to embody the spirit of hospitality. Some (including the manager, it seems) are on the surly side today, more interested in enforcing rules than in providing a memorable guest experience. Well, I guess that rigidity is an experience ... but it is too bad that it happens ... and it does come at a steep long term price.
One advantage of this place is that it is just a stop or two down the train line from the Cinque Terre. In 2003 we were brave/insane enough to actually drive down the miles and miles of narrow switchback road to Vernazza -- definitely a white-knuckle exercise in masochism. If we decide to head over there tomorrow, we will do it in a much more civilized manner. The train fare is only two euro, far less than the cost of the parking lot in Vernazza!Dinner at the hotel was pleasant if unspectacular. Eating so late (after 8pm) does makes for late nights. I can't imagine getting back from a huge meal at 10pm and going straight to bed so we stay up for awhile. Late nights, of course, makes for late mornings ... and the wheel turns. Tomorrow we may roll out and get an early start ... or we may just continue our slug-like pace. We'll see what the morning brings.
Around Greve on a Saturday Afternoon
© 2005 Restaurant Doctor