Our Non-Cooking Time in Tuscany

Jeremy and I had both been to Italy on different occasions in the past. On my trip, it rained constantly. On his trip, he shared a car with his brother and sister-in-law while the camped or slept in hostels. Shall we say that our previous circumstances were not great, yet we both fell in love with Italy. This trip was different in that it was PERFECT, or PERFECTO as Chef Claudio would have said, in every way. Jeremy and I will now have a life long affair with Italy. I do see us going there regularly if not only for the food, but also for the shopping!

Saturday, 25 August 2007

We traveled on Lufthansa via Munich. This was a bit odd because the entire flight, direct to Florence from London is less than 2 hours. However, we couldn't find a reasonably priced flight which took us directly to Florence. To Pisa, 80 miles away, yes, but not Florence. With our 3 hour layover in Munich it took a long time to get there. But thankfully, Jeremy has his Star Alliance Membership. We just hung out in the lounge, ate pretzels, drank beer, and enjoyed the great customer service, something London truly lacks.

Once in Florence, we easily caught a cab to the Hilton. I must say, the Italians, men and women, are just beautiful physically and personality wise. The people at the front desk of the Hilton, wearing Hilton uniforms, just looked like they were filming a runway shoot. How do they do it? Since it was late, we just ate in the hotel. Again, the food, even for a hotel, was just amazing -- good food, of which one can taste the passion which went into it. And I must mention the room ... another thing out of a fashion magazine. It was totally modern Italian with sliding walls, tasteful mirrors, and sleek, low lines. I was sad to leave it in a sense.

Sunday, 25 August 2007

We took the shuttle bus from the hotel to the main train station where we checked our bags and headed out to explore. Jeremy had not seen David the last time he was in Florence. Part of what I love about seeing David is watching people's faces who are seeing him for the first time. We all have seen the pictures, but it is something totally different to experience him first hand. Jeremy was impressed. The temperature was ~100 degrees, so we made our way to one of Rick Steves' recommended gelaterias for what I considered at "to die for" chocolate and hazelnut taste of heaven. Jeremy got the peach. He laughed because it was the first time he could remember that he had the healthy option and I had the unhealthy one. Personally, I can still taste that gelato. I think that is a pretty darn healthy experience. :-)

We then spent the afternoon wandering around the Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Duomo, and various spots until we stopped for lunch at another Rick Steves' reco, Ristorante Paoli. The comical thing about this was, that I had been there 7 years earlier with my friend Cassie! Well, it is still good, and still going strong I'm happy to report.

About now it was time to pick up our bags and meet our transfer for the cooking school. The school was about an hour out of Florence. When we arrived at the B&B, Chef Claudio was waiting for us at the door with cold white wine and a smile. He welcomed us, and explained the week. Asked if we had any questions, then escorted us to our rooms. A wonderful arrival experience which set the tone for the rest of the week.

Later that evening Claudio, on his way to his restaurant, dropped us off at the Casagrande Hotel where the majority of the group was staying. There we had a pre-dinner meeting with Elena, our contact from the International Kitchen. She was impressively professional, explaining with passion the week ahead of us. Afterwards, we had a wonderful dinner at the Casagrande where the food did not stop. The Italians cannot truly eat like this everyday. If they did, there is no way they maintain such wonderful figures!

Monday, 26 August 2007

This morning Jeremy and I started out with a 30 minute WALK. The hills surrounding the B&B were very steep. I'm training for the Amsterdam Marathon, one of the most, if not the most, flat marathons. I saw now reason to try to these hills. It was very nice just to walk along in the morning with Jeremy enjoying the Italian country side.

After class, we had a few hours just to relax. I took the opportunity to just lie out by the pool. With temps at or close to 100, I was enjoying it. My "I've been too long in grey, cold, rainy London" body was longing for some heat. I was able to do this for about an hour until the mosquitoes found me. It was then time to go in to the air conditioning.

Our evening activity was a delightful drive through the Chianti region of Tuscan resulting in a wine tasting at the I Selvaitci (Sel-va-TEE-cee) Winery. Oh yes, I do enjoy this kind of living. The winery produces ~80k bottles of wine a year with 95% being exported. Of that, 70% is exported to the US. Giuseppe, who is one in a long line of the I Selvaitci family, was wonderful at explaining the wine making process, the grapes used, and selling his wine. Jeremy and I left with a case. :-)

An interesting note on the drinking of wine in Italy. In England, by comparison, people drink to excess, get belligerent, and physically sick ... sometimes by 2:00 in the afternoon! In Italy, people drink, but they don't get "drunk". One of the women in our group works for the world's largest spirits company, Diageo. Because they study the drinking habits of the world, she said that in Italy, (Spain, Greece, France, etc), they believe in beauty, love, sex, style, and having a passion for what they do. If a person is too drunk to truly function, how can that person create the beauty around them ... or perform sexually. They are not going to sacrifice their art. I really respect that view.

After our wine tasting, we went back to Claudio's restaurant for a cheese tasting and "light" dinner. We sampled three types of Peccorino (Goat) Cheeses ... 1 month which is very creamy and mild; 3 months, which is stronger, and firm, and 1 year which resembles parmesan in a lot of ways. I could see eating the one year cheese with a nice balsamic or on a salad, while the 3 month would be good to fry, and the one month would make a nice snake with bread.

Our light dinner was still more than a person should eat at one time. It was a beautiful evening , dinning under the stars, in a medieval town square. Another perfect ending to a perfect day.


Tuesday, 28 August 2007

I started out the morning with a solo one hour walk in the country side. Each morning out, I saw many people walking and RUNNING those hills. Talk about making me feel like a slob! After a wonderfully light breakfast of mainly fresh fruit from the garden and delicious cappuccinos, we headed to class.

Our evening excursion started with a delightful stop in the town where Americo Vespucci's family was from. It was this very small, walled city/castle called Montefioralle. What it really had was CHARM. Each home was cuter than the rest. You could tell that the locals were like, "ugh, more tourists", but I certainly did love the stop.

We continued on to the town of Greve, also in Chianti. In Greve, where Verrazono (think of the bridge in NYC) is from, we stopped for a quick visit to the Falorni Butcher, est. 1729 and still run by the original family's 8th generation.

http://www.falorni.it/

I was hoping for a behind the scenes tour, but it was a more "wander about, and purchase if you like". A few members in our group did.

We then went to a large wine co-op for a tasting. They place was huge, and had a pay as you taste type of process. You would purchase something that resembles a credit card with a value on it. You would then wander around the shop inspecting the wines. If you wanted to taste one, you would put your glass under the tap, place the credit card in the slot, and push the button. The placard gave the basic information on the wine. I felt this was a very impersonal way to "taste". I love when the wine maker is out there explaining the process and shows the true passion as in the I Selvatici Winery from the night before. Turns out, there was some mix up with the co-op. According to our guide, it was already paid for. According to the co-op, it was not. We all decided we would prefer to leave than pay "again". Not very good marketing on the part of the co-op people, but hey, there lost!

After Greve, we drove to a delightful farmhouse isolated in the Chianti country side. Here we had another true wine tour and tasting followed by another great dinner. During our wine tasting, they told us why the symbol of Florence is a "black rooster". The Siennese and the Florentines where constantly fighting for the Chianti region. It was decided, because they didn't have a true time keeping system, that a rider from each City would take off at when the "cock crowed" in the morning, of a specific date. Where the riders met would determine the borders. The Florentines decided to not feed or water their rooster for 3 days beforehand. That poor bird started crowing in the middle of the night. At this signal, the rider took off, claiming ~70% of Chianti for Florence. I still can't believe the Siennese bought it!

For dinner this evening, Jeremy bought a bottle of 1971 Chianti Classico to be served with the dinner for the entire group. It was his birthday the next day, and he wanted to give a gift to everyone. I thought that was a wonderful gesture!


Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Today's first excursion was to the town of Arezzo. This is the town where "Life is Beautiful" was filmed. We had a wonderful guide by the name of Suzanna. She was a PhD in Art History and Restoration. She had worked on the restoration of the local church, San Francesco, with the famous frescoes by Piero della Francesca, " The Legend of the True Cross". I would have normally looked at the frescos and went "Ok, cool. Next", but with her passion behind the story, I was mesmerized. She led us through the town which was preparing for a jousting tournament over the weekend. The grandstands were set up and we were able to watch the competitors practice. They no longer try to knock each other off the horses as in days of old. Now, there is a dummy set up, which holds a board in one hand and has this whip-like object in the other hand. The jouster is the hit the board as close to the center as possible, without getting hit by the whip. Arezzo is divided into four sections. Two competitors from each section is allowed. Suzanna said they can get up to 40,000 people in the square to watch the competition. Sounds like a cool day.

We finished our Arezzo tour with the customary Chianti wine tasting. This was a "special" wine tasting due to the mix-up in Greve the day before. The interpreter for the presentation was wonderful. She kind of sounded like Elmo, was totally animated, cute, and had numerous tattoos!

We finished the evening with another wonderful dinner at Claudio's restaurant, under the stars.


Thursday, 30 August 2007

Today was the day of my dreams. I finally made it to the Prada Outlet!!!! Oh joyous day. :-) I had two hours, and had done my homework. In hindsight, I could have used three hours. I was able to pick up two bags, three sweaters, three pairs of pants - or trousers as the say in the UK, and a jacket. All in all, a good day.

After a shopping, I did an hour afternoon walk. I needed someplace to use up all my shopping energy!

At 6:30, we had a tour of the Casagrande Hotel. The hotel is a 15th Century home, with parts still preserved as the home. We were able to see the dinning room, living room, chapel, and the bedroom that Pope Leo II or 10th, I'm not sure, had slept. All I can say is the Pope was not a tall man. Our guide was wonderful, letting us truly inspect the furniture and general surroundings. It was cool to be wandering around the "home" of a 15th century lawyer.

Afterwards, he took us for a tour of the winery, followed by another wonderful wine tasting. Chianti is the main wine, but they also made a very nice white. When I asked, "What kind of grapes are the white wine made of?" He replied, "Chardonnay, I think. The white really doesn't matter." I just laughed. They sell the white for 3.50 Euro, and it was a perfect summer white. If it only didn't cost to ship ...

Dinner this evening was another wonderful night, under the stars, at the Casagrande.

Friday, 31 August 2007

Today was all touring. I got up early for my walk, then had another delightfully fresh and light breakfast. I think they eat light breakfasts because they eat such big dinners, so late.

Our guide, Max or Maximo, picked us up, and may I just say, WOW! This man should have been on the cover of GQ. He was impecably dressed, 6'4", and had worked as a body guard in the past. One top of it, he was an excellent guide. Such a deal!!!

Max started by taking us to the US WWII Cemetery. It was a sobering moment, but one of which I was proud. I think a lot of us, at least me, forget about the fighting in Italy since Mussolini fell faster than Hitler.

Next stop was the town of San Gimignano. Perfect! This is what Italy is all about. Perfectly preserved medieval towns, and wonderful gelato. We took a tour of their church, Collegiate Church, where they made me wear a paper robe. My "skorts" were too short. Ok, I can respect that. The church contains more spectacular frescoes from the 14th century. If you ever have seen Tea with Mussolini, you have seen San Gimignano. If you've not seen it, I highly recommend it. It is based on a true story of how a bunch of British and a few American women, worked to save San Gimignao during WWI.

Next was lunch at this wonderful town called Monteriggorni! It looked just like a castle, not like a town. I wouldn't even have stopped there because I wouldn't have known it was a town! Jeremy saw it when he was in Italy 8 years ago. He stopped by the side of the road and took a picture, but didn't even think to go in. The town has like two restaurants, two shops, a church, and 40 residents. After we ordered our "light" lunch, a refreshing change, we climbed the town's outer walls just to do it. I think it is the only touristy way they had to make money. Of course, lunch was perfect. The owner kept saying, "Sorry, we are just a family owned restaurant. We don't have a lot." Trust me, it was perfect!

We continued on to Sienna. Sienna is known for being one of the least friendly cities in Italy. And from what we heard, they are paying the price for it. The city government is now training shop owners to be nicer. We didn't have any trouble wandering around, and eating gelato. So far, Milano has the best, but I'll keep checking. :-) We did have a lucky break at the Cattedrale di Siena. This is a catherdrale that is more of an art museum. They were trying to out do the catherdrale in Florence, and did. They were still working on it when they ran out of money. Our break you ask? The floor of the catherdrale was uncovered. It turns out that they keep the floor covered for 10-11 months out of the year. The floor is a major work of art, so they keep it covered to preserve it. We happened to make it a day or so after it was uncovered. Totally cool!

Our "Last Supper" was held at Claudio's restaurant, inside. It had started to lightly rain. This was actually a very nice change. Niccola had asked what we would like. We all thought seafood would be good. Turns out to be some of the best seafood I had ever eaten. Perfect ending for a perfect week!