Dan's Arrival in India

Dan arrived and was welcomed in a traditional Indian way - A garland was placed around his neck and a Vermilion dot was put on his forehead.  On arrival in Delhi, Commonwealth Team Members are escorted through special lines and welcomed in a lounge. 

Dan was picked up by a driver and escorted by a guard(s) to the hotel where a lot of the media are staying.  He said security was very tight and everything was  checked before anyone was allowed to enter the hotel.  Even cars were screened.

This is the airport in Delhi.   They are 9.5 hours ahead of Toronto time.  I spoke to him on gmail chat and then he was off to bed - it was 1:00 in the morning there.

Namaste!
Penny

Dan - At the Commonwealth Games in India

My husband, Dan, leaves Monday to photograph the Commonwealth Games in India. He is the official photographer for the Canada Team and will also be submitting photos daily  to the Canadian Press. I am going to follow Dan’s experiences while he is there – his experiences – the excitement, the energy of the athletes, the truth.

I know he will be busy running around to the different events, organizing and submitting his photos, but we will keep in contact as much as we can. I wish I was going with him...yummmm Indian Food, colourful culture...so exciting! There has been a lot of negative media surrounding the arrival of the athletes and the conditions, but Dan is really looking forward to the experience and taking pictures that will reflect the talent and dedication of our Canadian Athletes and hopefully a glimpse of life in Delhi.   He is not delayed as of yet!


His bags are packed and he is ready to go....

Day 16 - A date with David and our last night in Florence

Saturday, July 18, 2009

We set off for Florence at 7:00 am and stopped for pictures at Piazzelli Michelangelo, worth a stop for a view of Florence from across the river, then hoped that, by some chance, we could get into our room at the Holiday Inn on via Europa.  When we arrived at the hotel they had a room ready for us! We checked in and took the bus down to the Duomo.

The plan was to stay the last night in Florence so it would be easy to get to the airport the next day and we could have a nice dinner in Florence on our last night.

The Academia, where David resides,  has two entrances – one with reservations and one without. When taking an escorted tour (like Trafalgar or Insight), group passengers have priority and  get quick entrance, a good reason to take escorted tours. Since we  had made a reservation, we went in quite quickly as well, but I must tell you there was a very long line up for those who didn't. After going through security and renting the guided tour tapes, we proceeded into the gallery. We admired the paintings and  then visited  the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition, which was very interesting.

After exiting that exhibit, we entered the hallway leading to David.  I’m not sure I can describe the feeling I had when we spotted David – under the skylight – standing so tall and really so incredibly stunning. I actually felt quite emotional.  Learning about  Michelangelo creating him and the years it took, are all very fascinating, but it was so much more.  When you are standing in a place looking at something  that you have seen in  pictures  and have heard so much about - and you are actually really there - standing in front of it - whether it be a place or a building or whatever....it suddenly becomes magical. Walking around David and seeing him from behind, a view you rarely see in pictures  – gave a whole different perspective. You can actually see the stone in his hand and the sling that he used when slaying Goliath. Guided groups came and left while we were there – but there were a couple of chairs so  we sat and soaked it all in, after all, we had the luxury of time...

We toured the rest of the gallery then headed to the streets for a Gelato.

We said goodbye to Florence and took the bus back to the hotel. By the way, you have to buy bus tickets at a tobacco store. We bought one ticket which gave us 4 bus rides – two for me and two for Dan.  When you get on the bus there is a machine to validate the ticket - an honour system.

On the way home, an auditor came on the bus and checked everyone’s tickets!

We refreshed ourselves then set out by foot to have dinner - our last night out in Italy.

It was a romantic candlelit dinner. There was a concert nearby and we laughed because the sounds of Jan Arden filled the air.  We talked about the trip ...yes it was the last night but ...it  wasn’t really over......

What did this trip mean to us?  For about  48 weeks a year we work hard and follow the direction of what other people want from our lives.  This was our opportunity to recharge  and do whatever we wanted to do.    We stopped to smell the flowers - so many of them - because we could.  The nature and design of the trip was the highlight - we could sleep in or not - mostly not...  Sometimes we were up before the sun in order to catch the sunrise.  We also gave each other a chance to do our own thing - me with my cooking classes and Dan taking time to photograph whatever he desired.  The older we get, the more the reality  exists that we may never get to these places again and whatever experience we have, may need to last a lifetime.  So for the short time we were visitors in this beautiful country, we like to think that we were also participants - getting our chickens from the local farmer, having a morning coffee in the  village cafe with the locals and buying our bread from the baker - following the natural rhythm of the place.  And while doing this, we also met like-minded people from other countries and all walks of life. 

There is a very special feeling when you  share a place with someone you care about - It's about sitting on the side of a country road watching Dan wander through the sunflower fields working so hard to capture that feeling in images...and knowing that he got pleasure greeting me after my pasta lesson waving my graduation certificate and showing my handmade penne.

We saw so many interesting and stunning places...we are so fortunate. 

Thank you Dan,  for an incredible unforgettable experience...I love you...

What is next?  ...stay tuned for our trip to Greece....

Until we travel again...

Penny

Day 15 - My Pasta lesson with Wilma in La Tavernelle...

Friday, July 17, 2009

Pasta Fresca is the name of Wilma’s shop in Tavernelle di Pesa, a small town in the province of Florence, between Florence and Siena, in the heart of Tuscany.  She has been selling pasta here for approximately 16 years.
She has many different kinds of hand-made pasta: gnocchi, stuffed ravioli, tagliatelle, spaghetti, pici, cannelloni and so much more.

I arrived at 10:30 for my lesson and Wilma and Caterina (she helps Vilma and spoke English very well) both welcomed me – sent me to the sink to wash my hands, and handed me an apron. It was a very happy little shop with many customers stopping by to pick up their pasta which came in all shapes and sizes –the pasta not the customers!

Waiting for me were 4 eggs sitting in a mound of flour. 

We began by making a well in the center of the mound and cracking the eggs in the middle of it. We then started mixing the flour in with the eggs (slowly bringing more flour into the center) until we had a good pasta dough. We ran the pieces through a simple pasta machine and then cut by hand the  various shapes of pasta.

We had a couple of fillings to make stuffed ravioli and because I wanted to learn to make penne, Wilma cut some pasta in little squares and we rolled the pasta around a tinly little stick...hand rolled penne!  We even made spaghetti  alla chitarra.   A traditional instrument for cutting fresh pasta sheets, the chitarra (KEY-tarra) has ancient origins in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Master handcrafters from Pretoro hand-string two sets of zinc-coated steel wires on the varnished ashwood box. One side yields evenly cut fettuccine, and the opposite side, delicate angel hair. And the faithful mate to the chitarra is the rolling pin that helps flatten the dough and then press and cut it through the wires. We had a lot of fun!
Wilma said everything tastes better when it is made with love.  She said it in Italian and it sounded even better.
Dan showed up just in time for my graduation ceremony. He took a picture of me getting my diploma and Wilma presented me with my pasta beautifully wrapped to take home to La Foresta.

The whole experience was about 1.5 hours and was definitely worth the 30 Euros. There is one night a week during the summer when the streets are closed off and the restaurants serve dinner outside.  Wilma offers a dinner for 15 Euros.

I was very excited to try out my new pasta making skills at home. I guess I was maybe too excited, because after travelling almost all the way  back to La Foresta, I realized I had left my camera in La Tavernelle and we had to drive back there....ooops. sorry Dan....

We grabbed a sandwich on the way home, relaxed a little then set off along the back roads to San G. While I was at the pasta class, Dan had driven over there to find the perfect place to photograph the city at dusk. He had set the coordinates on “Higgins” which made it easy to identify the spot when we went back.
Unfortunately the wind was blowing pretty hard up there and  a storm was heading our way. He did get a few shots when the sun peeked through.

When we arrived back at La Foresta, everyone was gathered  around a big table in the courtyard and Lucia served her wine, panzanella, olive oil and tiramisu.

Most of the guests were leaving the next morning so we all said our good-byes and  toasted  to a great vacation in Italy...but we actually have one more night in Florence before we leave on Sunday and a date with David at the Galleria Academia at 11:45 tomorrow morning. I know he will be waiting for me (naked) in the hall...ok not just me – millions of people.  I better go to sleep now....


Buona notte...

Day 14 - San Gimignano and Volterra

Thursday, July 16, 2009

It was a lazy morning...coffee in Castellina di Chianti, checked emails quickly and drove to San Gimignano.

It was market day in San G. and the place was just invaded with people. We arrived at noon and the furthest parking lots had long long  line ups. We headed back down to the lot closest to the city gates and were very lucky. The people who had obviously arrived early in the morning were now leaving and spots became available.

The entire city looked different with hordes of people and markets stalls blanketing the entire square. The market was not very interesting – no local crafts people or artists – mainly clothes and tablecloths....

We did Rick Steve’s walking tour then went to over to the guys selling BBQ chickens to get one for dinner. He told me the chickens would be ready in 15 minutes and I needed a reservation, so I made a reservation.

We walked around and took some pictures then headed back for our chicken. It was chaos! I couldn’t get near the front and everyone was screaming in Italian at the guys that they wanted chickens. One woman just in front of me was demanding a chicken and he said she needed a reservation....I held my hand up and told him I had a reservation! He asked my name, handed me the chicken and the woman beside me was not happy! Too bad....I ran off I went with my chicken! YAYYYY!!!

We headed off for our picnic in Volterra then again took Rick Steve’s walking tour. You can also download some of his tours on your ipod, so you can follow the tour and listen to him along the way. We chose to do it the old fashioned way and read from the guide.

The shops here are filled with Alabaster pieces – from lamps to sculptures. The streets of Volterra are very steep and after walking down to the oldest gate in the city, I was seriously concerned about walking all the way back up...it was hot...but we did and it was fine.

Volterra has a very interesting history and there are fascinating stories about how the locals protected this oldest gate during the Nazi occupation. You can find these stories in the guide books. Volterra also has a very good Etruscan museum.

History is everywhere in these villages and you can choose to visit museums and galleries or simply sit in a square for the afternoon and admire the old buildings and towers – to each his own – there are no rules. We headed back to la Foresta where we had a swim, read a little and ate dinner.  Oh yes...tomorrow is our last day at La Foresta and Lucia is going to make bruschetta and Panzanella and serve her homemade wine from her vineyards. 

We toasted to tomorrow- my pasta lesson with Wilma of “Pasta Fresca” in La Tavernelle, and a very early morning (to catch the early morning light) in Monterrigioni.
Arrivederci!

Day 13 - Umbria - My Cooking Class, Deruta and Assisi

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

We left La Foresta at 8:00 to make sure we arrived at my cooking lesson in Deruta on time. We crossed the border of Tuscany and entered Umbria. The directions that Zoila gave to me were to get off the highway at Deruta north and follow the dead end road then continue on to a dirt road until we get to a villa with Iron Gates,   We found it and the Iron Gates slowly slid opened when we approached.

“Italy Loves to Cook” is run by two wonderful women, Zoila and Tiziana. The lessons take place in Tiziana’s villa, Villa Vincara," an elegant, antique villa of the early 1800s. Tiziana speaks a little English while Zoila is fluent after having spent many years in California. We prepared a very very large lunch.

This was our menu:

Appetizers

Mushroom Bruschetta, Zucchini and Bacon (pancetta) Bruschetta, Eggplant , tomato and mozzarella combinations

Primi Piatti: Umbrian Ragu, Gnocchi, Lasagne

Secondi Piatti: Tasty Involtini

Dessert: Rocetti al Vino

First we went out into the garden to pick the herbs and then we began preparing all the dishes.
We started with the Ragout so it would simmer while we prepared some of the other dishes. The gnocchi was fun to make and much easier than I thought it would be. I participated in all the cooking and learned tips about the food and the region along the way. “Italy Loves to Cook” can accommodate up to 12 people for a cooking class and more for lunch if companions don’t participate in the classes. They also can customize the menu or expand it over a few days.

When the cooking was almost done, Dan arrived to have lunch with us and I think it was the largest lunch we ever had. It was served on beautiful Deruta ceramic dishes which we commented on. While Dan was wandering around the town of Deruta, he said he saw the Deruta pieces everywhere. It turns out that Tiziana is friends with the owners at one of the best factories, so on our way to Assisi, we would make a quick stop...just to look. We said our good byes and continued on with our day...very full...but it was a great lesson with very good food.

We drove into Deruta and stopped by the “Ceramiche Artistiche – Gialletti Giulio “ factory where Michele, who spoke excellent English, gave us a tour. Along his side was Antonio one of the owners. Michele went through the entire process, the same process (with maybe some modern equipment), that has been used for centuries to make these renaissance ceramics.

The artists often use some of Michelangelo's techniques when he painted the Sistine chapel, to create the patterns on the ceramics. All the pieces are entirely hand-crafted and decorated and they are even working on a project now for Vatican city.

There are many ceramic factories around Deruta, but this one makes everything from the very beginning starting with the blocks of clay.
They are a very respected family and so very proud of their work, which is so beautiful. We just had to buy some plates to take home. I can’t wait to make my Umbrian dinner and serve it on our new plates! I will have to play an Italian opera during dinner – like Tiziana and Zoila did.

Our next stop was Assisi, best known as the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi.  It wasn't too busy the day we were there but it was very hot indeed!  We followed the winding medieval streets up to the city square, ignored for now while we searched for water to alleviate our thirst.

 
We had seen the work of an artist in Montepulciano..Massimo Cruciani..... and were told that he had a gallery in Assisi, so we went to the gallery and he happened to be there!  Massimo paints on glass which gives the work a very unique visual quality.  His work is so alive with colour  and is shown around the world.  He had been a photographer for many years before picking up his brushes so Dan chatted with him  for a while about photography. 

We left with a small beautiful painting that will always remind us of our trip to Italy.

It was time to head home...we were tired and hot. We had dinner and toasted to tomorrow...the market in San Gimignano and Volterra!

Arrivederci!

Day 12 - The Beautiful City of Florence ...

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I am writing this in the evening after our day in Florence and all I can say is “my feet are aching!” I think we must have walked 20 miles...in the heat...in the city...with a trillion people. But Florence is such an amazing place. We drove into Florence which was stressful, as there are traffic limited zones where it seems your car is photographed and if you mistakenly go back and forth - in and out of these zones, you will get tickets in the mail – pretty heavy fines I understand. This is where our dear “Higgins” just didn’t get it... so he was always recalculating! Calling Higgins bad names did not help! We finally settled in at the parking lot at the Porta Romana. It ended up costing us 10 euros for the day which we thought was good.

We took the Renaissance walk from Rick Steve's book and began by crossing the magnificent Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge that was  spared Hitlers bombing. In 1966, when a massive flood wiped out the shops on the bridge, the bridge itself was strong enough to withstand the roaring waters.


The bridge crosses the widest point of the Arno river and embodies the progress of humanity because it has come from carrying soldiers to battle, to open commerce, to a vast gathering place for peoples from all walks of life.
 
After crossing the bridge we stopped to admire it from the other side...
 
And now a coffee..Dan and his morning pastry...who am I to argue? Here we experienced the additional charge for sitting...it doesn’t matter if you are outside or inside – obviously when you are occupying a seat, you take longer and therefore the charge.  The idea is - drink up and move on!

So we stood and had a coffee and pastry then continued our walk. The line up at the Uffuzi and the Academia and were very long...so was the line to go up to the top of the Duomo.  We decided to try the Academia reservation line again for reservations on Saturday...no luck.We will try again later...

 We wandered through the market where you could purchase shawls for 5 Euros and leather goods of all kinds.

We were warned about the quality of leather though, so resisted buying. We sat and people watched at the Piazza Santa Maria then wandered the streets admiring the architecture, sculptures, street performers and local art.

Florence is filled with art – not only in its museums but on its streets and buildings- you only need to keep your eyes open and you will discover it.

Dan went back to the Duomo to take some  pictures with the afternoon light  (and I of course shopped :)) then we walked...hiked...back to the car...we were boiling and tired....



Because we had reservations at the Holiday Inn for Saturday night, the night before we were leaving to return to Canada, we drove over to the hotel to see where it was and ask them if they could reserve the Academia for us for Saturday...YESSSSSSS....we have a reservation for 11:45am !!!!!  I am finally going to see the real David...ok maybe not THE REAL David, but the real Michelangelo’s David!

There is also a photo exposition taking place at the Academia that we were interested in seeing - Robert Maplethorpe.

After the Holiday Inn, we made a stop at the COOP in Florence – this is a GIGANTIC grocery store – with a wine section the size of most of our wine stores back home.

After walking out of the store the wrong way and setting off the alarm (quite embarrassing) I was happy to be going back home to La Foresta. Oh yes, one more stop to ask Wilma, who owns “Pasta Fresca!” in the town of la Tavernelle, if she would consider giving me a pasta lesson on Friday.

When I introduced myself  (Penny- friend of Lucia from La Foresta) she hugged and kissed me and told me to be there at 10:30 Friday morning. After leaving Wilma's place,  they were closing off the street and having some sort of celebration so  Dan was being told to move out by the police....so off we went...home finally for dinner and toasted (with our new rosé “Albia” from Barone Ricasoli) to my cooking class with Zolia tomorrow in Umbria, where Dan will join us for the lunch  I will learn to prepare, then on to Asissi. I have now got to put my feet up...ahhhhhh...more Rosé please....