San Quirico d’Orcia, Tuscany 12/31/2013
New Year’s Eve! Remember we are still catching up. Heading south towards Rome on December 31, we spotted a sign for a supermarket and turned in. Then we saw a sign for parking and campers. Such luck. There were several other RVs from Italy, so we pulled in and quickly made friends with our neighbors. Watching the ball drop in New York’s Times Square was out of the question but we certainly made the best of what New Year’s Eve can be.
The village of San Quirico d’Orcia, Tuscany is of Etruscan origins with its earliest written records dating back to 712 AD. As evening came we wandered into town and saw that many cafes and restaurants were still open. Several fires in raised cauldrons were burning in the streets.
Returning to our camping spot, our new friends from Rome knocked on the door and brought us a taste of their lentil/sausage soup, apparently the traditional food for New Year’s Eve. They explained that lentils symbolize coins, so one better eat as much soup as he can to insure plenty of money for the coming year.
The nearby community had some great fireworks and one of our camper neighbors had a few of his own to entertain all of us. We stood outside as the magic hour approached, popping the corks of some good Italian Prosecco and toasting to each other for a great and adventurous 2014.
In town, the church bells rang to welcome the New Year, and the fireworks went on till the wee hours of the morning. After a good night’s sleep, (no headache), we strolled into town again. Merry makers were sipping coffee and some of the evening’s fires were still smoldering. We did find a cute winery selling their own vintage with tasting, but it was not up to the Tuscan standards we had been spoiled by.
Before leaving we dug out our maps and got some good tips from our experienced RV friends. They warned us about parking on the streets in Rome and gave us some coordinates for some safe camping sites.
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- The village of San Quirico d’Orcia is of Etruscan origins with its earliest written records dating back to 712 AD.
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- The view over the Tuscan rolling hills was a wonderful place to celebrate the New Year.
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- There were several other campers, all from Italy, so we pulled in and quickly made friends with our neighbors.
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- One of our Italian camper neighbors had a few fireworks of his own to entertain all of us.
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- Merry makers were sipping coffee and some of the evening’s fires were still smoldering.
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- We did find a cute winery offering tasting of their own vintage.
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- Before leaving we dug out our maps and got some good tips from our experienced Italian friends.
New Year’s Eve! Remember we are still catching up. Heading south towards Rome on December 31, we spotted a sign… http://t.co/mqHJnhePoA