The Mulino

Our stay was based at Il Mulino di Monteromano which is located on the very most eastern side of Tuscany bordering on le Marche. It is a beautiful, quite rural area in the foothills of the Appennine Mountains. The nearest neighbor is an elderly man who lives about a mile away whom you can see outside tending his grape vines if you drive by in the mornings.

My mother and I stayed in the downstairs bedroom (you can see our door and window on the lower right) - which stayed saturated with sun and visiting butterflies (and the occasional lizard) all morning.

Even though the mill was rather out-of-the-way, it was close enough to any number of tiny, medieval villages and many a day-trip was taken to see the surrounding environs. We were also within driving distance of larger towns like Urbino, San Sapulcro and Arezzo - all of which had charming architecture, churches, museums and gelaterias. (More on the day trips later).


However, for the fairy nieces, it was a wonderland of nature and exploration. Every sort of natural element - animals (including a wild boar we saw one evening), insects, rocks (they had found quite a collection of fossils just around the mill), flowers (of which we practiced sucking the necter from the honey locusts, honeysuckle and red clovers), etc!!!...



There were 'caves' under the mill houses and in the crevices of huge boulders. There were hills and trees and climbing vines. Steams and waterfalls. Enchanted glades and inviting meadows.

And does this not capture the expression of unabashed joy and freedom in one's life and surroundings?