The former Casalunga farm is hidden away where the virgin hills and valleys of Tuscany turn gold in autumn. The first introduction to Superhost Elena was the receipt of a detailed route description, which took us on an unpaved road. A tall, long row of cypress trees in the distance kept watch over us like soldiers.
Elena continued to provide us with information that you certainly do not always find in tourist guides or websites. Local festivals, good restaurants, a spa with medicinal springs where almost only Italians come, a small wine farm, a beach on the coast shaded by very old umbrella pines.
On our daily walks in the immediate vicinity of Casalunga, we discovered a rounded hill, so high that we could make a 'virgin' 360 degree panorama over the landscape of Tuscany, looking out to the Val d'Val d', which has been declared a protected heritage site by UNESCO. Orcia. We walked through the flowering clover, a natural soil fertilizer, butterflies fluttered around us. Can't be found in any guide, even the 'all-knowing' Google Maps makes only minimal mention of it.
Very special to me were the smells in and around the farm, which brought back old memories of my own grandfather's farm. Unforgettable. My family members also enjoyed it: the grandsons could make a huge noise undisturbed in 'our' own swimming pool.
And Casalunga can accommodate many, many people. No fewer than six bedrooms, plus sofa beds in the living room. Five stars for Elena Lorenzini and Verdidea in Siena, the agency that arranged the booking perfectly for us! We stayed here for a beautiful sunny September and drove back to Amsterdam with a lot of melancholy. I found no fewer than 914 photos on the memory drive of my Leica at home. Wherever you looked, in the valleys or in the towns or villages, the beauty of the 'Crete Senezi' continued to amaze us for four weeks.