We exit the A1 autostrada at Incisa and follow the signs to the mall which is ingeniously named “The Mall.”  We arrive a few minutes later to a wood and steel outdoor complex of buildings connected by wide cement walkways and manicured lawns that looks like what I imagine the Microsoft of Apple “campuses” look like.  The shops are very high end and very high tech – Gucci, Armani, Ferragamo and the like.  We are here solely on a reconnaissance mission, just eyeballing the shops so we can recommend (or not) this as a stop for our friends and customers.  It is very impressive.

Perhaps we would have stayed longer, but somewhere along the way we realize that we have left one of our bags, the results of our shopping spree in Florence, back at the hotel.  After a phone call to the reception we decide that we have to return to Florence to retrieve the bag, which will add about an hour to our trip.  Two days ago, with our fog light warning beeping every 15 seconds, we probably would have shot ourselves.  After a few therapeutic days in Florence almost look forward to the excursion.

We retrace our steps to the hotel, pick up the bag and about an hour later we are at the Sinalunga exit on the A1, where we pick up the spur to Perugia.  We notice signs for the Outlet Village at Valdichiana and decide to take a quick stop, again solely for research purposes.  The Outlet Village is not nearly as upscale as The Mall, but it is much, much bigger.  There are dozens of shops selling mostly clothing and housewares.  Prices in most of the stores are good and there seem to be some incredible bargains to be had.  We wander for a while and head to Perugia.

 About 45 minutes later we arrive in Perugia and head for the restaurant of the Deco Hotel in nearby Ponte San Giovanni, where we have arranged to meet our friend Javier Casuso and his children for dinner.  The Deco is run by the owner of the house we have been looking at renting for our new villa business and we have had a few conversations with Javier (who is our partner in the business) about whether this is the right property.  We are leaning against consummating the deal with the owner, but in Italy this should be no reason not to have dinner in his restaurant!

We arrive on time and enjoy the cool air on the terrace outside the restaurant as Javier struggles to assemble his team, which live a block away and whose apartment is visible from where we are sitting.  We can see figures dart back and forth across the windows and occasionally hear shouting, fighting and begging to get a move on.  It seems that family life in Italy is little different from that in the U.S.

Finally, about 20 minutes late Javier and the crew arrive, faces we have not seen for nearly a couple of weeks, since they have been visiting us in Washington, D.C. over the Christmas holidays.  It is good to see the kids again and, despite the usual kid behavior in restaurants (eating with hands, hitting everyone, running around the table – and I am only referring to Javier here) we have a terrific dinner of pastas and fish, which takes several hours.  Not content with saying goodbye, Javier invites us to his apartment for a nightcap of espresso and grappa, as well as delicious little crème filled pastries that one cannot seem to find on desert menus anywhere in Italy, but which are abundant in the country’s numerous patisserie.

We say our goodbyes and drive about 15 minutes to the town (in definition only) of Bosco, where our hotel for the next three days is located.  At night it is easy to miss the sign for the driveway to the Relais San Clemente, but after turning around we navigate the long private road to this exquisite property which boasts beautiful gardens, a pool and tennis courts, many outdoor activities and dozens of beautifully appointed rooms in a building dating back from the renaissance.  It is dark, naturally, so exploration of the Relais will have to wait until tomorrow.  For now we are content to fall sound asleep in the peace and quite of the countryside, windows open and cool air filling the room.  We deserve a good night’s sleep and the Relais seems just what the doctor ordered.