Welcome to the October edition of the To Tuscany email.  Many of you have commented on the new look newsletters, so we hope you continue to enjoy receiving them.  Dont forget that if you have any ideas that you would like us to cover in the newsletter, please feel free to send them to me.

Thank you to all of you that sent in your recommendations for restaurants in Tuscany, we are adding all your suggestions to the relevant town information pages on our website.  The best recommendation came from Christina Tolvas-Vincent for her review of the Ristoro di Lamole near Greve in Chianti.

See below for this months competition regarding travelling with children in Tuscany.
 

The latest in the James Bond films - Quantam of Solace - is due for imminent release and has followed in a long standing tradition of filming Bond scenes in Italy.

Previous films using Italian locations as a backdrop include: Casino Royale (Lake Como and Venice); From Russia with Love (Venice); the Spy who Loved Me (Sardinia); Moonraker (Venice) and For Your Eyes Only (Cortina).

Quantam of Solace picks up the story from the end of the previous film - Casino Royale - you may remember the chase through the streets of Venice, the collapse of the house with Bonds girlfriend Vesper in and Bond tracking down the mysterious Mr White to his villa on the shores of Lake Como where Bond shot him in the leg.  The opening scenes see Mr White being interrogated by Bond and M (Judy Dench) in a MI6 safe house in Siena and him spilling the beans about rogue spies in the CIA and MI6.

Bond corners one of these rogue agents in Siena and the chase is on!!

Starting deep in the underground sewers that criss-cross underneath Siena, the chase is interspersed with views of the horses thundering around the Piazza del Campo above. As they emerge from the cisterns in the Fonte Gaia fountain, the Palio racers have just crossed the finish line.  There are many 'crowd shots' so if any of you were at the Palio in 2007, you may just catch a glimpse of yourselves in a Bond film! (we did give you advance warning that they would be filming scenes for Bond during the Palio in an earlier newsletter).  From the Piazza del Campo, the chase continues across the rooftops and even includes a jump by Daniel Craig onto a moving bus - he does most of his own stunts.

Whether you want to visit Siena to see the Palio or as a homage to Bond, contact us for the best selection of villas and apartments within easy reach of this fantastic city or use the following link to search for villas in the Siena area:  http://www.to-tuscany.com/siena

The last 3 weekends of November are given over to Festivals celebrating the harvesting of White Truffles in the San Miniato area of Tuscany.  Easily reached from all areas of Tuscany, San Miniato is one of the most productive areas in Europe for the valuable White Truffles and the locally grown truffles are the most expensive of their kind. The Tubar Magnatum Pico is the most valuable because it will only grow in the most precise conditions and is therefore very limited in its harvesting.

The San Miniato National White Truffle Fair sees stalls selling the famous delicacy along with other local produce such as truffle oils, porcini mushrooms, walnuts, artichokes and even the Sigaro Toscana - Tuscan Cigar - that is also produced in the San Miniato area.

Our nearest property to San Miniato is the private villa Colle di Sotto for 4-6 people:  http://www.to-tuscany.com/colledisotto

 

Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding travelling to Italy or anything within our newsletter. We can be reached at http://www.to-tuscany.com/contact-us.

 

Sincerely,