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....

Day 11 - Castellina, Lucca, Pescia and San Gimignano

Monday, July 13, 2009

After our usual cup of coffee this morning, we set off to the tourist information centre in Castellina, where Sophie attempted to make a reservation at the Academia in Florence for us for tomorrow. After several tries at the reservation number, we gave up. Online reservations were showing the first available after we were back in Canada.... so we will go to Florence tomorrow and see what happens.

We stopped at a different cafe this morning in Castellina and had cappuccinos and croissants. It is interesting how a little less atmosphere reduced the price considerably.

From there we set off for Lucca which was about a one and a half hour drive.

 I should mention that we usually set “Higgins” to avoid the toll roads and set it on the fastest route when travelling long distances. Today we were interested in just getting to Lucca quickly. There is a significant  difference between driving on the autostrada and the side roads and it is not just speed. The autostrada does not have the scenery that the back roads we love  offers and when it does, you can’t pull over and take a look and soak it in...or take a picture.   Traffic is fast and there are a lot of trucks – really not an enjoyable drive...but quick!

We had packed a picnic so relaxed on the grass and enjoyed it when we arrived in Lucca. Lucca is the only town in Italy entirely surrounded by walls. The inhabitants built the brick walls in the 16th century for defense. Today, you can walk (or bike) around the city on the wide shaded walkways atop the walls ( the ramparts). We parked just outside one of the main gates of the old city.

Some traffic and sign tips:

It is important to have a list of traffic signs you may encounter along the way. It is also important to know where traffic and parking is restricted. Dan and I both bought International Driving Permits and even though we didn’t officially need them, they came in handy a few times when we were asked to surrender documentation. One example was when Lucia needed it for documentation that she had to submit about us to the government. I guess they need to know who is staying at the agriturismo properties.  The other time, today, when we rented a tandem bicycle in Lucca. They asked for our passports but we said they can keep our IDP’s as security. We had a lot of fun on the tandem bikes! Dan was in front so did most of the driving and pedaling but I helped too...a little.

We rode around the ramparts and had a lot of fun. We had the bicycle for about an hour and it cost us 5 Euros. They said it was usually 10 but he liked us.

We then toured the town. Lucca was the only Tuscan town that avoided the Florentine conquest. It is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, and has many popular opera events as well as a recently added film festival.  Some of the old stonework above the stores is engraved with the names of the establishments that no longer occupy that space.  The stonework will say shoe store and the store will actually be something totally different....remnants of the past. Lucca is a bit of a gritty town, but has a lot of energy.

After some gelato and people watching we left the city to look for Pasquale – Dan’s barber’s cousin in a town called Pescia. We were expecting to have a nice dinner at his restaurant.

We found Pescia which was a bit of a tired old place. Dan changed into his pants in the car – I changed my shoes and Dan patted down his hair to make sure his hair looked fine – after all Dan’s barber is Pasquale’s cousin! We walked down the street where the restaurant was located – passed it ...because it was closed! One thing about these cities and towns – they all have these garage doors that cover their stores when they are closed and you have no idea what lies behind the door, with the exception of a little sign... sometimes. I suppose robberies and vandalism led to this but it doesn’t really make a nice facade or make you want to return to the place when it is open. Most don’t even have operating hours posted.

Dan slid his barber’s card under the door to let him know we were there. In the 10 minutes we were in Pescia, I was approached very aggressively by beggars and I was quite happy to leave. So our plans for dinner with Dan’s barber’s cousin were shot and off we went to San Gimignano for dinner.

Upon arrival in San G. the light was almost gone, but the 14 towers which rise above this town, make it visually stunning.

  

We are going to come back on Thursday to explore the city, so after dinner we headed home on the windy roads in the dark. Thank goodness for Higgins! It was a little nerve racking on our dirt road leading back to the farm in the middle of the vineyard. We arrived in our little parking spot tucked into the bushes and when Dan turned off the car, it was sooooo dark I couldn’t even see him next to me. There were a gazillion stars above as we inched our way towards what we hoped was our door. Maybe we should buy a flashlight...

Dan finally got the key in and we stumbled inside.

In San G. we toasted to a a great day...so romantic.....and tomorrow we are looking forward to Florence or I should say Firenze!

Day 10 - A drive through the Chianti Area - Quercegrossa, Radda, Volpaia...

Sunday, July 12,2009

It was so nice sleeping in this morning. The Tuscan sun filtered through the sheer lace curtains of  our bedroom window.  This is paradise....We enjoyed a coffee and some breakfast on our little patio then set off on our driving tour of the Chianti area. Our first stop was Quercegrossa, a little town just out the back way from La Foresta.  The town is very small and has a grocery store! YAY!!! We then headed for Castellina in Chianti and walked around, bought some groceries for dinner at the coop and visited the tourist office to check emails. We used our laptops and one hour cost us 1 euro for the two of us...pretty cheap. We had another coffee at a sidewalk cafe and toured the little village. Castellina is definitely worth a visit. It has a charming old main road and there are Etruscan tombs nearby.

We then set off for Radda in Chianti.

This is a picture of me knitting on a bench in Radda with a little kitten keeping me company.  I like to promote knitting in public.  It is NOT an old lady craft!

Looking through a brochure from the tourist office we found  a picture of a beautiful view of Radda. We agreed that it would be nice to try to find the vantage point that the photo was taken from, so showed the picture to our waitress. She looked at it confused and proceeded to tell me that she didn’t think it was a picture of Radda but to wait while she consulted with two of the young people who lived in the town. They began arguing with each other in Italian and I have no idea what was going on but they were surprised that the book said it was Radda when  they were convinced it was Volpaia.

And so Dan and I decided to head over to Volpaia as we were now curious ourselves. Higgins of course knew the way and guided us there. We travelled up the road to try to get a view of the town from above. Dan parked in an open field and we walked down a path through all kinds of bramble and bushes to discover a beautiful view of the rooftops of Volpaia ...yes this was definitely it! After arguing over whose ankles were scratched more, (no question that mine were...) we found our way back to the car. When we drove back down the road, there was another beautiful view of the town directly in front of us.

We just love having the flexibility to travel off the beaten path and not worry about time. Most of the guidebooks that we bought before we left Canada didn't even mention these towns. Rick Steve’s guide which we really like, only highlights some of them...you just need to find them on your own.

Our next stop after driving through Gaiole in Chianti , was the Brolio Castle. The castle rises in the middle of boundless vineyards with spectacular views. At the beginning of the 12th century, the powerful feudal family of the Ricasoli from Cacchiano took office on it. Still today the castle belongs to their descendants. We took a tour then went for a wine tasting at the store and bought a couple of bottles- one to enjoy while in Italy and another to have at home New Year’s Eve, when we remember how fortunate we have been and begin planning our next year’s vacation.

We made our way from there to San Gusme, a quaint little medieval village. By this time the light was beautiful as it lowered in the sky. Dan took some beautiful pictures.

We started getting hungry for dinner, so headed back to La Foresta. Lucia, always smiling and happy, greeted us. Dan was looking forward to a cold beer after driving these very windy roads. I had put a couple of beers in the freezer and forgot to remove them, so oooops.....they were ruined but Lucia saved the day and presented him with 2 cold Italian beers!

We toasted to tomorrow – Lucca and perhaps dinner at Dan’s barber’s cousin’s restaurant...if we can find it!

Day 9 - Tuscany - Cortona, Castellina and our move to La Foresta in Chianti

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Off we went at 6:30 to search for the cypress trees in the perfect morning light. I was hoping that this time it would be right...pleeeeease be right! And it WAS this time ...well almost...Because the light was hitting the scene right on, the shadows were directly behind the trees so you couldn’t see the shadows. It makes less of a dramatic effect on the picture.

What is most outstanding about a trip like this, is that it allows you the flexibility to use your time however you desire and in this case return to a very special place. This wasn’t just about a picture. We were able to linger as long as we wanted and drink in this stunning iconic scene of Tuscany. It was perfectly quiet. A shock of color from a poppy here and there...and a calmness that removes the city stress from your body like a vacuum.


With my new camera and extra lense, I am following Dan around like a shadow, copying his pictures a bit, but of course I have an eye of my own (so he says) and have a lot of my own pictures. It is so difficult to take pictures of a landscape which is so vast when seen with the naked eye and convert it to a photo that is so condensed. I have this picture in my head that I want of these 3 wheelers that you see sometimes on the side roads. They are very old little vehicles which hold one driver or two if you really squeeze. Dan has humoured me by following these guys down roads...but I just haven’t captured yet what I want.

The picture I was thinking of had a driver in the vehicle travelling down a perfect old road. We finally found the vehicle without a driver so I had Dan stand in front of the vehicle so it looked like he was driving!

Higgins has been a very good navigator and once we find a destination and set the coordinates, he is able to lead us back there over and over again. His pronunciation of some of the highways and streets are hilarious and sometimes we actually are entertained by him. I had downloaded a scary voice, Dr. Nightmare, that could be substituted for the regular GPS voice. (Dan didn’t know this) Dr. Nightmare has a very loud deep dark voice and every once in a while adds a comment, like “DON’T MIND THE NOISE IN THE TRUNK HA HA HA.” One day I plugged his voice in and scared Dan when he was driving...maybe it wasn’t such a good idea...I thought it was verrryyy funny. Well it didn’t last long before our regular Higgins was called upon. I also sometimes change the vehicle that appears on the display. Yesterday we drove a little car with a dog hanging out the window. Most of the time we have had a little pink one...what shall I put today???

Our drive around the countryside was fun and the market in Cortona was ok but not great- mostly clothes. We picked up some tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella for a caprese salad tonight to go with a roasted chicken.

Off we went to La Foresta, an agriturismo property which was going to be our new home for the next week. Agriturismo isn’t about working on a farm, it’s about experiencing rural Italian life and a slower-paced holiday. The idea is that you rent a room in a farmhouse in the countryside where you can enjoy unparalleled views and where your most difficult task each day will be deciding where you want to go or if you simply want to relax there.  La Foresta  was hidden away in a vineyard. Higgins took us to the little Church in San Leonino, but then he ran out of road and our instructions were to take the little path and follow it way into the vineyard. Paolo was there fixing a lawn mower. “La Foresta?” “Si” he replied and very jovially told us with hand signals to leave the car and follow him. He did not speak English at all but showed us what we needed to know about our apartment. A message on the door from Lucia said that she would be back around 5:00 pm and would see us then. Paolo was obviously the “everything guy” as he was watering, fixing things etc. Our apartment was definitely rustic but very charming, with very large windows covered with white lace and big antique wardrobes, mirrors, dining room table etc. It was not for the person who is not comfortable with a variety of bugs. Some of the windows didn’t have screens and even if they did, they didn’t really meet the edges of the frame. I watched a little gecko run from inside to outside of the room and mosquitos were a plenty. Hunter Dan chased down a bee and closed the inside shutter and trapped the bee, convinced that he would find his way outside through one of those gaps. The only problem was that we needed air in the room...

The dining room was equipped with a small gas stove, refrigerator, sink and some utensils (plates, forks etc). We also had some old tall candle holders. Our bathroom was down a few steps from the dining room with a little arched door. It was cute with a bidet , a toilet, sink and shower. The shower was a shower head pointing down with a rough curtain around it. There was no ridge around the shower so the water simply ran all over the floor until find the drain....a little wet...but this was country life in Italy. We had a little outdoor eating place with some old vines dripping with grapes hanging overhead and there was even a swimming pool.

Lucia arrived! She apologized for being late and greeted us very warmly with hugs and proceeded to fly through our apartment telling us everything we needed to know from turning on the gas to the restaurants nearby and the pasta lessons that she would tell me about tomorrow when she would bring the information. She showed us the map and suggested towns we should visit...she circled every town in the region!

We drove over to Castellina in Chianti to explore the village as this was our closest town. It was very charming with many cafes and little shops as well as a coop grocery store. It seems that most visitors to this area are from Belgium and Germany and we really didn’t hear English at all.

We returned home to toast to our new place and tomorrow’s drive through the Chianti region.

There were sunflowers everywhere!

Stay tuned for day 10 and our drive through the Chianti region.
Arriverderci!

Day 8 - Pienza, Montepulciano and Cypress Trees

Friday, July 10, 2009
Yes we did indeed wake up at 6:00 am (to catch the beautiful morning light) and Dan was sure he would find the setting with the Cypress trees.  So we drove and drove...until we gave up and went to Pienza.  We visited the market, where I think we were the only tourists and bought one tablecloth - a mixture of cotton and linen for our dining room table  (12 Euros), the one for our table on the deck (5 Euros) and oh yes one more...lucky we don’t have more tables.... We stopped at a cafe for a morning coffee and treat and I bought this cool little rolling pin which cuts pasta. Then we headed over to the tourist information centre where Dan was convinced that if he described what he was looking for or found a picture of a scene that was in his head, then maybe...she would point us in the right direction.  And yes she did...but it wasn’t easy to find...and guess what?  By that time the light wasn’t right, so it looks like we will be going back there another morning.  I made sure that before Dan moved the car, I set Higgins, our GPS,  to register exactly where we were, so we would find our way back to this dirt road in the middle of one of the most picturesque landscapes in Tuscany.

Dan reached in the back seat and pulled out a large plastic bag and asked what I bought??? I told him that I bought the rolling pin. No, he meant the bag of light bulbs...hmmmm I didn’t buy a large bag of light bulbs...I  put the rolling pin in my bag with the tablecloths and must have picked up another bag in the store.  OMG...I was a shoplifter!!!!!  We need to go back to Pienza to return the stolen goods!  When we returned, the shop owner laughed at ( with) me and waved me good-bye with a Grazie and arrivederci and off we went to Montepulciano.

Wow, it was a very steep climb to the top!  We enjoyed a stroll through the square and  the many wine shops and stopped for a refreshing drink.

For the first time, we found wireless and Dan ran back to the car and got his computer where we each sent a couple of emails.

We found our way to Foiana del Ca....where I heard there was a great shop for eye glasses.  Actually, I was admiring the glasses that a girl in an art gallery was wearing and asked her where she bought them.   Since my glasses were broken, I thought this would be fantastic.  I would get a beautiful pair of Italian glasses.  When I suggested this little side trip, I could see the look in Dan’s eyes...Where are we going????  For what?????  So it was a little town kind of out of the way...but isn't that the beauty of a trip like this?  Flexibility?   We arrived in this town and were pointed in various directions until one  man knew exactly where we wanted to go and led me through the town...she didn't speak English at all and the glasses were just too expensive for my budget right now...oh well it was fun anyhow! 

I need to share with you a little superstition that my parents told to me when I was very young.  It is simple  – when you see bales of hay in a field when driving through the countryside, you make a wish.   When my family would go on driving trips, my mom and dad would point out bales of hay in the fields and would tell us to make a wish.   You would hear “Hay!... Hay!.... Hay!... I am not quite sure of the origin of this superstition or ritual...maybe they created it to keep us distracted ....I must say that I have very eagerly passed this on to every person who travels with me and I’m sure Dan , Elliot and Joanne – even if you don’t like to admit it – you are silently making wishes on those bales of hay.  By the way, it works...but let’s be reasonable now and unselfish  (those are my rules!).   
And so I am always requesting pictures of hay...special memories of my mom....

We headed back to Gli Archi where Emanuela greeted us warmly.  Dan decided to do some laundry.  I’m not sure what happened with Dan and the washing machine, but it had something to do with plugs matching the machine then him mistaking 90 for temperature but it was minutes.  He kept returning to the machines every 15 minutes to see how it was going.  He was gone for quite a while and a thunderstorm rolled in and then he returned very wet hugging very wet laundry.  We draped them around our apartment. No...he was not a happy camper.
We had a nice dinner with wine (Vernaccia di San Gimignano) and toasted to tomorrow – The Cortona Market day and our move to our new home for the next week – La Foresta.  Oh yes, and another morning visit to the scene with the cypress trees...how could I forget?
Arrivederci

Penny

Stay tuned for Day 9

Day 7 – Back to Tuscany

Thursday, July 9, 2009

It took us five hours to drive back from Sorrento to Gli Archi. We felt like we had taken a mini vacation on the Amalfi coast. We made it to the grocery store in Carmuccia in time to pick up a few things for our picnic the next day.

The owners of Gli Archi put on a pizza night every Thursday and for 10 Euros per person we decided to join them for dinner. All the women including the grandmother, who talked to me nonstop in Italian, even though the daughters kept telling her I didn’t understand, were involved and busy chopping and frying toppings.

Onions were fried for the toppings of a focaccia appetizer and we had a choice of four different pizzas, all created in the little kitchen beside the outdoor brick oven. One of the women was assigned to oven duty and would point the paddle which was at least 10 feet long, into the kitchen while another woman slipped the pizza on it. She would have to then back up and start manoeuvring forward like she was jouster and march towards the oven and slip it off the paddle right onto the oven’s stone floor. You wouldn’t want to get in this woman’s way!

We all were seated at picnic tables – There were about 30 people, a mixture of adults and children from all over the world. We joined a couple and their son, originally from Belgium who now live in Abu Dhabi. We exchanged stories while enjoying our focaccia, pizzas and homemade wine. Then came watermelon and Vino Santo. She plopped a biscotti into it and smiled. Of course there were other desserts as well...a meringue, chocolate cake and cookies.
We toasted with homemade limoncello to tomorrow.... market day in Pienza, a visit to Montepulciano and a hunt for a particular setting with cypress trees that Dan was determined to find in the very early morning light.

Arrivederci
Stay tuned for Day 8... ...