This morning we get to have a little bit of a sleep in. We don't have to be at our meeting point until 9.20!
Today we are off to the Tuscan countryside!
We meet at the Piazza Demidoff, a lovely little square by the Arno river. Here we are pleased to find out that there are only Barb and myself (plus we find out later, one more) on our walking tour. We team up, however, with five others for the wine and olive oil tasting.
The drive through the Tuscan countryside is absolutely beautiful. It is all so lush and green, and everywhere spring is poking its head through.
As you gaze through the olive groves, at the base of all the trees are small flowers, be they white or yellow - truly beautiful. Apparently out here in the countryside there are covenants in place so that if a building falls into disrepair, it must be repaired to conform to the official appearance. They utilize all the materials that they can find in the area. So you see homes and walls built with stones, and rocks, and the average age of homes in this area is 800-1,000 years old. The character these homes have is amazing.
We weave our way from town to town. Past rivers, little villages, high schools, and even new developments. The new developments are for the most part townhouses, and the average size of homes here is 900 squares. We have been amazed in the cities, at how close the cars park to each other. If that happened at home, a rude note would be left on the window, and exclamations about a corkscrew would be issued! We ask our guide Stephen how do they manage to get out, and he tells us that the Italians on a whole are used to living small, and small spaces do not bother them, this was evidenced the next day when our taxi driver had to make 3 point turns in the narrow alleyways just to turn the corner!
Our first stop on this tour is the Inghirami family villa. Apparently,the Inghirami family is seriously wealthy, they are in the rag trade! They have had this estate for generations and basically run a "hobby" farm here. They bottle the true chianti, and extra virgin olive oil. It seems our guide Stephen is in with the Inghirami family, and that is how we gain access to the estate. It was bought by the family serval generations ago as a status symbol. During the summer months the rich leave Florence to escape the heat, and they head to their hillside villas. Oh, the life! This place is such a show of wealth. To prove that they were truly wealthy the estate boasts its own cathedral!
We also learn that lemon trees are a status symbol. They cannot survive during the winter outside in the snow, so they are planted in terra cotta pots, that need to be moved indoors for the cold months. Glad I don't have that job, as some of them are seriously large!
We get a tour of the cellars, and the wine making process is explained to us. We are in the true region of Chianti, and like Champagnes, there are rules that apply to the usage of the name.
We are also shown around the olive oil factory. They only produce enough on this estate for their own consumption, and as a wage for the people who help bring in the harvest. There is a true community spirit in this area, and the wealthy give a lot back to the people that help, and surround them.
After our tours we are led back to the tasting room. I unfortunately have a screaming headache, so I not that fussed with trying the wine. (I think we have been on the go too much, and I am paying for it today!). We also try the extra virgin olive oil that is bottled on the estate. After we have partaken of our tastings, we had an unexpected experience. Our guide, Stephen, who was an American that has been living in Italy for 38 years. You would assume by his accent that he is British, but he had to adopt the accent for his job. He used to teach English to the Italians, and it was easier for them to understand the British accent. We ask what brought him to Italy in the first place, and he told us that it was because he was studying music and singing. What happened next was a surreal experience. We had just tasted vin santo (the wine of the saints) a wine that was made for the monks. Stephen closed the tasting room door (now imagine - we are in a large cobblestoned barn, the doors are several inch thick large doors). He closes the door, and the quiet envelops us. He tells us to close our eyes. What we hear next is the most beautiful song you have ever heard. He had been trained to sing the ancient songs of the monks (he is only one of several people in the world trained to sing in this way.). The song was haltingly beautiful, and I had to open my eyes, lest the tears would roll down my face! I have never been touched by anything so beautiful before in my life. Even now remembering the the feelings, brings tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my arms.
This part of the tour is over, and we jump back I the van and head another 20 minutes further into the countryside, our next stop is a 1,000 year old family home.
The five others on the tour will do a pasta making class, which they will prepare for us for our lunch. Barb,Stuart and i take off for a hike in the countryside with Marco our guide. Along our journey, we find porcupine quills, wild asparagus, wild fennel, and herbs growing here there and everywhere.
We meander through the hills, past a old monastery that has been turned into a bed and breakfast, and eventually we end up back "home".
The guys are just finishing up their tagliatelle, so lunch is not far off. We head upstairs into the family home where Christiane has set the table and prepared a wonderful antipasti plate.
Pepperonata (chargrilled capsicums), chargriled eggplant, frittata, and pizza. Primo plati is then spinach and ricotta ravioli. Secondi plati was tagliatelle with cherry tomatoes, garlic and chilli. Dessert was panta cotta with strawberries in syrup. The "would be cooks" were very pleased with their morning's efforts! The time now was after 5 pm! We had spent the whole day out in the country. You tend to loose track of the time here as it is very light her until well after 8pm!
After a short break back at our hotel, we decide to investigate the Ponte Vecchio. Both sides of the Ponte Vecchio are lined with jewelry stores.
They draw me in like a magpie to a piece of foil! I left home with the intention to buy a nice piece of jewelry to mark both my trip, and my 50+1 birthday! We look in every shop, and I have found the style that I like. Now I just have to find the exact piece,with the shapes and colors I like. Several stores stock the same pieces, but we narrow it down to one store. You will have to wait until I get home to see my birthday present to me! Very pretty, I am very happy! While we are at the Jewelry shop we had quite a long conversation (for many reasons) with the Australian woman who worked there. She gave us a tip that there was a bar down the road called the Open Bar where you could buy a glass of drink (and it could be only one if you liked) and you could eat all the apperitivos (small snacks, such as bite sized frittata, olives, cherry boconcini, roast beef!) What a deal, and what a concept. The price of a glass of wine was 10 euros, which was only say 2 euros more than at other places, but with that you could literally make a meal. As we had had a late lunch, we decided this was all we wanted that night.
The nights tend to be quite late here, we are finding that we are eating after 9 pm and turning the light out around 12! It will take some adjusting when we get home! What will tomorrow hold? Stay tuned... Wait till you hear Barb's hairbrained idea! (no offense Barb!)
We meet at the Piazza Demidoff, a lovely little square by the Arno river. Here we are pleased to find out that there are only Barb and myself (plus we find out later, one more) on our walking tour. We team up, however, with five others for the wine and olive oil tasting.
The drive through the Tuscan countryside is absolutely beautiful. It is all so lush and green, and everywhere spring is poking its head through.
As you gaze through the olive groves, at the base of all the trees are small flowers, be they white or yellow - truly beautiful. Apparently out here in the countryside there are covenants in place so that if a building falls into disrepair, it must be repaired to conform to the official appearance. They utilize all the materials that they can find in the area. So you see homes and walls built with stones, and rocks, and the average age of homes in this area is 800-1,000 years old. The character these homes have is amazing.
We weave our way from town to town. Past rivers, little villages, high schools, and even new developments. The new developments are for the most part townhouses, and the average size of homes here is 900 squares. We have been amazed in the cities, at how close the cars park to each other. If that happened at home, a rude note would be left on the window, and exclamations about a corkscrew would be issued! We ask our guide Stephen how do they manage to get out, and he tells us that the Italians on a whole are used to living small, and small spaces do not bother them, this was evidenced the next day when our taxi driver had to make 3 point turns in the narrow alleyways just to turn the corner!
Our first stop on this tour is the Inghirami family villa. Apparently,the Inghirami family is seriously wealthy, they are in the rag trade! They have had this estate for generations and basically run a "hobby" farm here. They bottle the true chianti, and extra virgin olive oil. It seems our guide Stephen is in with the Inghirami family, and that is how we gain access to the estate. It was bought by the family serval generations ago as a status symbol. During the summer months the rich leave Florence to escape the heat, and they head to their hillside villas. Oh, the life! This place is such a show of wealth. To prove that they were truly wealthy the estate boasts its own cathedral!
We also learn that lemon trees are a status symbol. They cannot survive during the winter outside in the snow, so they are planted in terra cotta pots, that need to be moved indoors for the cold months. Glad I don't have that job, as some of them are seriously large!
We get a tour of the cellars, and the wine making process is explained to us. We are in the true region of Chianti, and like Champagnes, there are rules that apply to the usage of the name.
We are also shown around the olive oil factory. They only produce enough on this estate for their own consumption, and as a wage for the people who help bring in the harvest. There is a true community spirit in this area, and the wealthy give a lot back to the people that help, and surround them.
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After our tours we are led back to the tasting room. I unfortunately have a screaming headache, so I not that fussed with trying the wine. (I think we have been on the go too much, and I am paying for it today!). We also try the extra virgin olive oil that is bottled on the estate. After we have partaken of our tastings, we had an unexpected experience. Our guide, Stephen, who was an American that has been living in Italy for 38 years. You would assume by his accent that he is British, but he had to adopt the accent for his job. He used to teach English to the Italians, and it was easier for them to understand the British accent. We ask what brought him to Italy in the first place, and he told us that it was because he was studying music and singing. What happened next was a surreal experience. We had just tasted vin santo (the wine of the saints) a wine that was made for the monks. Stephen closed the tasting room door (now imagine - we are in a large cobblestoned barn, the doors are several inch thick large doors). He closes the door, and the quiet envelops us. He tells us to close our eyes. What we hear next is the most beautiful song you have ever heard. He had been trained to sing the ancient songs of the monks (he is only one of several people in the world trained to sing in this way.). The song was haltingly beautiful, and I had to open my eyes, lest the tears would roll down my face! I have never been touched by anything so beautiful before in my life. Even now remembering the the feelings, brings tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my arms.
This part of the tour is over, and we jump back I the van and head another 20 minutes further into the countryside, our next stop is a 1,000 year old family home.
The five others on the tour will do a pasta making class, which they will prepare for us for our lunch. Barb,Stuart and i take off for a hike in the countryside with Marco our guide. Along our journey, we find porcupine quills, wild asparagus, wild fennel, and herbs growing here there and everywhere.
We meander through the hills, past a old monastery that has been turned into a bed and breakfast, and eventually we end up back "home".
The guys are just finishing up their tagliatelle, so lunch is not far off. We head upstairs into the family home where Christiane has set the table and prepared a wonderful antipasti plate.
Pepperonata (chargrilled capsicums), chargriled eggplant, frittata, and pizza. Primo plati is then spinach and ricotta ravioli. Secondi plati was tagliatelle with cherry tomatoes, garlic and chilli. Dessert was panta cotta with strawberries in syrup. The "would be cooks" were very pleased with their morning's efforts! The time now was after 5 pm! We had spent the whole day out in the country. You tend to loose track of the time here as it is very light her until well after 8pm!
After a short break back at our hotel, we decide to investigate the Ponte Vecchio. Both sides of the Ponte Vecchio are lined with jewelry stores.
They draw me in like a magpie to a piece of foil! I left home with the intention to buy a nice piece of jewelry to mark both my trip, and my 50+1 birthday! We look in every shop, and I have found the style that I like. Now I just have to find the exact piece,with the shapes and colors I like. Several stores stock the same pieces, but we narrow it down to one store. You will have to wait until I get home to see my birthday present to me! Very pretty, I am very happy! While we are at the Jewelry shop we had quite a long conversation (for many reasons) with the Australian woman who worked there. She gave us a tip that there was a bar down the road called the Open Bar where you could buy a glass of drink (and it could be only one if you liked) and you could eat all the apperitivos (small snacks, such as bite sized frittata, olives, cherry boconcini, roast beef!) What a deal, and what a concept. The price of a glass of wine was 10 euros, which was only say 2 euros more than at other places, but with that you could literally make a meal. As we had had a late lunch, we decided this was all we wanted that night.
The nights tend to be quite late here, we are finding that we are eating after 9 pm and turning the light out around 12! It will take some adjusting when we get home! What will tomorrow hold? Stay tuned... Wait till you hear Barb's hairbrained idea! (no offense Barb!)
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