Castello Brown

Castello Brown, Portofino, Italy

Ms. Mayes and I are about to say arrevederci! This third Tuscany book is a bit disjointed. Apparently she and Ed have bought another smaller house in the mountains near Cortona in response to someone placing a grenade at the bottom of Bramasole's driveway. It was not loaded, but it scared the you-know-what out of everyone. This was in response to Mayes's objection, along with others in the town, to the building of a public swimming pool in the middle of the countryside.

Anyway, they bought this other house but she doesn't write much about it. All I know is that it was tumbling down stones when they found it. They still own Bramasole and use this mountain house as a getaway. Sweet, huh?

She writes about short stays in other Italian cities, wine tasting, and food. Always food. So here we have perfect hotel rooms, perfect vineyards, and perfect meals.

They do visit Castello Brown in Portofino where The Enchanted April was filmed. Here is what she has to report:

And enchant it does. Bees are mining the orange trees and everywhere I look the view is blue, blue, blue. The position defies description. The house is a pivot around which the sea turns. It's empty this morning and wandering the rooms, I easily can construct a fantasy life.

I like reading about some of the towns and would like to read more about the little stone house they restored. Maybe later on in the book. Perhaps she doesn't want to give too much away for safety's sake.