As predicted, the weather today was even wetter than yesterday. A perfect day to head off to Saturnia. Not surprisingly, we weren’t the only ones with this idea. When we arrived, the cascading pools were pretty crowded. Still we took a soak and enjoyed the coolness of the weather.
Afterwards, we picked up some panini at a local ssteria before heading home. We watched the European swimming championships on TV. Not just any TV – Rai Tre; where the coverage is purely biased Italian. In fact, if there isn’t an Italian in the race, they’ll just show the commentators talking in the booth – silly.
Tonight we had a nice, quiet dinner at home – inside. Again, we timed the day well. After we returned from Saturnia, the floodgates opened and it really poured. There was also a huge wind storm and lightening again. With all the rain this afternoon it was still very wet outside.
After dinner, we had an outing to Porto Ercole. On Saturday, there are concerts in the historical city. Unfortunately, today’s performance was more of a lecture than a concert. I had the kids all psyched to go hear music and instead there were two guys talking about the life and work of Caravaggio.
Porto Ercole is celebrating the anniversary of Caravaggio’s death. He died here after escaping from exile in Malta. The historical center of Porto Ercole is perched high upon a hill overlooking the more well-know port area. It’s as if you are sitting on balcony overlooking the sea.
When we drove into town we had to circle three times and then drive a km out of the center to find an (illegal) parking space. Then we walked to the port for a gelato. We've discovered a new and also excellent gelateria called Creola. Afterwards, we walked along the port and up to the historical center by way of the stairs that were built into the rocks.
After the "show", we visited the church in which a Caravaggio was on display. When we descended, we met Carlo in the marina and he showed us his sail boat. We sat on the boat for a bit. Due to the storm, many boats were stranded here, and the marina was overflowing.
We gave Carlo a ride back to Orbetello on our way home. It was another very late Italian night for our kids. When we arrived at the villa, we were greeted by a big frog on our the doorstep. Frogs are a big hit in the countryside!
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