Tuesday 11th June - Fattoria degli Usignoli
Truth to tell I have no idea where we are. The book just says Tuscany but then the whole trip has been Tuscany. We are 800 meters above sea level in a large resort. I can find no information on it at all.

Our main focus since I wrote yesterday has been keeping Peter breathing. He brought his inhaler but it had expired. So there we were all through the night with him having to stay upright to breathe. Needless to say sleep was infrequent. So this morning our tour guide and one of our group who is a career nurse went on a hunt through Pienza to try to find a doctor. Remarkably difficult. However we did locate a chemist who was not prepared to let us have the antibiotics the nurse said he needed. We had a full on Italian "discussion" with all the accompanying gesticulating and modulation, but ur did result in the antibiotics for €7.50. He would not let us have the inhaler which was on the shelf behind him. VERY frustrating. So after dosing him with that and parasol he climbed into the bus curled up in the backseat and concentrated on breathing

On the group went to an inorganic farm called the Monticiello cheese factory. The valley was bought 3 generations ago by a Swiss couple and has now gained UNESCO recognition with its production of Pecorino cheese. They also grow olives, produce boutique wines. Are a self-sufficient farm used as a national training centre. All a huge enterprise. We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch they served up to us.

The three hour drive to the resort we are in now was long , hot and tedious. Peter had to be transferred to the tour guide's seat at the front and the rest of us wished we could be. It was a real case of "Are we there yet". By 5pm we drove up the regal cypress lined driveway and helped unload our cases. I was delighted to see a 2 bed-roomed unit, so I'm expecting a better night's sleep.