Per usual, pictures on Picasa.
Had a better sleep last night than the night before, and slept in a bit before doing the blogging thing.
As I woke, some of the crew were out the door to head to Florence (Fiorenze) for a long day. (That would be Dan, Kryssie, Ethan, Steve, Debbie, Erica and Brian).
The rest of us, led by the inexhaustible Amy and Mitch, headed off to Pienza, a really pleasant little town for the morning and lunch, and then Lara, Mike, Lisa and I went off to Montalcino for the afternoon.
Pienza is very pleasant, and as advertised by Amy, it was perfect for the morning and lunch. It is much smaller than other places we've been so far, but within its town area, there were several really good shops, a nice cathedral to tour with nice views off the side, a pleasant little park, and a perfect lunch place. This is the first town on this trip where I've noticed references to World War II, and we were all thoughtful about how much suffering this area endured, particularly when we saw a photo (see Picasa) of a woman and son under the eye of a guard. The look of terror in the boy's eyes, the stress on the mother's face as she looks back behind her. We may think the world is going to hell in a handbasket today, but it really was in the 40s. Good to remember how easy we have it.
And how easy we have it! My lord, the food on this trip. Wally decided his palate needed cleaning before lunch, so off to the gelateria we went to take care of his gelato jones. Lunch was not spoiled. I had "Pici con Salsa Cinghiale" (homemade pasta with wild boar sauce).
After lunch, the men hung out in the park for a bit while the women shopped, and then Mike, Lisa, Lara and I went off to Montalcino. Montalcino is very striking on the approach, sitting atop a big hill.
After parking, we walked several flights of stairs to reach the top of the hill and taking in the cathedral. Nice but nothing too memorable. We then stopped in a little park with a cute display of Snow White and the seven dwarves, took in the local view (some fun pictures posing on the wall of the city) and then went to a wine shop for a free tasting of the local Brunello wine, two bottles of which we wound up getting for the house. Things got really memorable all of a sudden. Gathering clouds turned to rain, and as we took shelter under a door ledge, the skies really opened up with lightning, thunder and, most spectactularly, hail. This went on for some time, and after things quieted down a bit, Lara had the presence of mind to suggest we walk along one wall adjoining the wall, and this gambit succeeded in keeping the rain mostly off, and allowed us to duck into a charcuterie/boulangerie shop. Inside, they had free samples of the local pecorino that they eat in all stages: soft, semi-soft, and hard. There were also some excellent salamis, and I had to pick up some. There were also crackers that had the most wonderful pig fat of some kind that was flavored like ham and bacon, but much much better. By the time we were done in there, the sun was back out and the streets dried up amazingly quickly. We found a coffee shop/bathroom and while sipping coffees or beers, we watched a group of old men playing what we figured out later was Texas hold-em. It looked like it was from a story or a movie. Just fun to watch.
The drive home was more adventurous than I thought it would be. Two candidates for bone-headed moment of the day took place in rapid succession, and then on the way back Lara was struck by some of the local castles we were driving by and twisted my arm to drive onto driveways marked "privato" (sometimes it is good not to understand Italian :-). I did have the presence of mind to draw the line when we pulled up close to one castle and there was a sign warning us of "cane!" (dogs).
After dropping Lara off at the house, I headed off to find groceries for tomorrow's dinner. I'm making Chicken Francese (got a great recipe off allrecipes.com), these green beans we cooked in the Turkish cooking class in Istanbul, and a porcini mushroom risotto. It shocks me to report this, but Italian grocery stores are NOT LIKE US grocery stores. Furthermore, it shocks me to report that Italian grocery stores do not have all the herbs and spices you'd think they would. In this case, the one they don't have that is seriously pissing me off is dill. Dill, according to Wikipedia, originated in the Mediterranean, and it is certainly used in Turkey, so what's up with that, Italy? After spending far too much time trying to find dill (but enjoying all the different varieties of eggplant and cheese on display), I finally make it to the counter just as they dim lights in the store (guess the store closes early in the evening). The woman at the counter shrieks at me and does enough to make me understand that I was supposed to self-weigh all the vegetables and herbs I'd picked up. I scramble back to the produce section, a helpful guy assists me in weighing and printing stickers for my bags, and the last register open rushes me thru. 80 euros for the ingredients for Wednesday's meal. Well, that's only 5 euro per person, so maybe not so bad.
Now, about those bone-headed moment contenders: the first one is the winner, but by a hair. On our way back to the car, we passed a young couple at the ticket machine where you pay for time in advance, and as I approached our vehicle, I was shocked to see the passenger door open and moaned to Lara that we'd left the door open the whole time (envisioning it being soaked from the rain). I then opened the trunk, surprised to see things in the trunk that were NOT MY POSSESSIONS. I turned to see the young couple running toward us in alarm before I took in the fact that the car I thought was ours was theirs, and our car (EXACT SAME MAKE/MODEL - GO FIGURE) was right next to theirs. Well, we all had a good laugh once they understood my mixup. Lara, Mike and Lisa rather helpfully pointed out that this would have to be my bone-headed moment of the day (nice to have friends looking out for me, huh?)
The runner-up took place almost immediately afterward, and was courtesy of Gertie (my GPS). Mike and Lisa were following me, Lara sitting shotgun in the Fiat, and it appeared that Gertie was not going to take us back the winding streets up the hill we took but was taking us a different way. Well, I love different ways. So, we're picking our way, and then it's not at all clear which way the GPS is telling us to go. I hesitate, we make a turn, and Mike does not follow us (good for Mike, as I will reveal). While we're proceeding down the new path Gertie has calculated, Mike calls to tell us we're crazy, and we're telling him, no, no, all good, the GPS is taking us a different way. We go thru a narrow gate down a steep cobblestone street, and all of a sudden we are on a seriously steep, seriously unpaved rutted path. STILL, we continue on thinking this is the coolest thing ever and that we're going to pop out onto a main road after a couple more hairpin turns. Hah. Suddenly, there is a "road closed" barrier and we're forced to turn onto a rutted driveway down to an old stone farmhouse. We manage to do a U turn (keeping an eye on the sheer drop off to one side), and coming down the seriously steep, seriously unpaved road is a man on horse. At first, I'm nervous that we've trespassed onto private property and are in real trouble, but hilariously the man on horse rides by like our presence there is the most mundane, unremarkable thing in the world, and praying that we don't bottom out on ruts or stall out the engine, I pick our way back up the rutted road. Eventually Gertie does get us back out the way we came into the city, and this emboldens us to take some chances on those mysterious driveways marked with that unintelligible "privato".
Moment of grace yesterday: Many contenders: Nice chat with Marta while in Pienza checking in to see if I'm OK with all of the Dick and Laird echoes surrounding us. Quiet moment prepping string beans for my stint as chef-du-jour tomorrow (Weds) with Lara assisting, and her turning to me to say, "You know, I think of you as more of a brother than an uncle". (Smile.) For that matter, escaping from the route Gertie the Garmin laid out for us leaving Montalcino probably should count for something.
Tomorrow we will be in Siena, the whole group traveling together for the first time. (Poor Mitch and Amy, who will be our leaders.) Fewer opportunities for trouble on the road, but probably lots of opportunities for trouble in the kitchen. Fingers crossed all comes out well!
Had a better sleep last night than the night before, and slept in a bit before doing the blogging thing.
As I woke, some of the crew were out the door to head to Florence (Fiorenze) for a long day. (That would be Dan, Kryssie, Ethan, Steve, Debbie, Erica and Brian).
The rest of us, led by the inexhaustible Amy and Mitch, headed off to Pienza, a really pleasant little town for the morning and lunch, and then Lara, Mike, Lisa and I went off to Montalcino for the afternoon.
Pienza is very pleasant, and as advertised by Amy, it was perfect for the morning and lunch. It is much smaller than other places we've been so far, but within its town area, there were several really good shops, a nice cathedral to tour with nice views off the side, a pleasant little park, and a perfect lunch place. This is the first town on this trip where I've noticed references to World War II, and we were all thoughtful about how much suffering this area endured, particularly when we saw a photo (see Picasa) of a woman and son under the eye of a guard. The look of terror in the boy's eyes, the stress on the mother's face as she looks back behind her. We may think the world is going to hell in a handbasket today, but it really was in the 40s. Good to remember how easy we have it.
And how easy we have it! My lord, the food on this trip. Wally decided his palate needed cleaning before lunch, so off to the gelateria we went to take care of his gelato jones. Lunch was not spoiled. I had "Pici con Salsa Cinghiale" (homemade pasta with wild boar sauce).
After lunch, the men hung out in the park for a bit while the women shopped, and then Mike, Lisa, Lara and I went off to Montalcino. Montalcino is very striking on the approach, sitting atop a big hill.
After parking, we walked several flights of stairs to reach the top of the hill and taking in the cathedral. Nice but nothing too memorable. We then stopped in a little park with a cute display of Snow White and the seven dwarves, took in the local view (some fun pictures posing on the wall of the city) and then went to a wine shop for a free tasting of the local Brunello wine, two bottles of which we wound up getting for the house. Things got really memorable all of a sudden. Gathering clouds turned to rain, and as we took shelter under a door ledge, the skies really opened up with lightning, thunder and, most spectactularly, hail. This went on for some time, and after things quieted down a bit, Lara had the presence of mind to suggest we walk along one wall adjoining the wall, and this gambit succeeded in keeping the rain mostly off, and allowed us to duck into a charcuterie/boulangerie shop. Inside, they had free samples of the local pecorino that they eat in all stages: soft, semi-soft, and hard. There were also some excellent salamis, and I had to pick up some. There were also crackers that had the most wonderful pig fat of some kind that was flavored like ham and bacon, but much much better. By the time we were done in there, the sun was back out and the streets dried up amazingly quickly. We found a coffee shop/bathroom and while sipping coffees or beers, we watched a group of old men playing what we figured out later was Texas hold-em. It looked like it was from a story or a movie. Just fun to watch.
The drive home was more adventurous than I thought it would be. Two candidates for bone-headed moment of the day took place in rapid succession, and then on the way back Lara was struck by some of the local castles we were driving by and twisted my arm to drive onto driveways marked "privato" (sometimes it is good not to understand Italian :-). I did have the presence of mind to draw the line when we pulled up close to one castle and there was a sign warning us of "cane!" (dogs).
After dropping Lara off at the house, I headed off to find groceries for tomorrow's dinner. I'm making Chicken Francese (got a great recipe off allrecipes.com), these green beans we cooked in the Turkish cooking class in Istanbul, and a porcini mushroom risotto. It shocks me to report this, but Italian grocery stores are NOT LIKE US grocery stores. Furthermore, it shocks me to report that Italian grocery stores do not have all the herbs and spices you'd think they would. In this case, the one they don't have that is seriously pissing me off is dill. Dill, according to Wikipedia, originated in the Mediterranean, and it is certainly used in Turkey, so what's up with that, Italy? After spending far too much time trying to find dill (but enjoying all the different varieties of eggplant and cheese on display), I finally make it to the counter just as they dim lights in the store (guess the store closes early in the evening). The woman at the counter shrieks at me and does enough to make me understand that I was supposed to self-weigh all the vegetables and herbs I'd picked up. I scramble back to the produce section, a helpful guy assists me in weighing and printing stickers for my bags, and the last register open rushes me thru. 80 euros for the ingredients for Wednesday's meal. Well, that's only 5 euro per person, so maybe not so bad.
Now, about those bone-headed moment contenders: the first one is the winner, but by a hair. On our way back to the car, we passed a young couple at the ticket machine where you pay for time in advance, and as I approached our vehicle, I was shocked to see the passenger door open and moaned to Lara that we'd left the door open the whole time (envisioning it being soaked from the rain). I then opened the trunk, surprised to see things in the trunk that were NOT MY POSSESSIONS. I turned to see the young couple running toward us in alarm before I took in the fact that the car I thought was ours was theirs, and our car (EXACT SAME MAKE/MODEL - GO FIGURE) was right next to theirs. Well, we all had a good laugh once they understood my mixup. Lara, Mike and Lisa rather helpfully pointed out that this would have to be my bone-headed moment of the day (nice to have friends looking out for me, huh?)
The runner-up took place almost immediately afterward, and was courtesy of Gertie (my GPS). Mike and Lisa were following me, Lara sitting shotgun in the Fiat, and it appeared that Gertie was not going to take us back the winding streets up the hill we took but was taking us a different way. Well, I love different ways. So, we're picking our way, and then it's not at all clear which way the GPS is telling us to go. I hesitate, we make a turn, and Mike does not follow us (good for Mike, as I will reveal). While we're proceeding down the new path Gertie has calculated, Mike calls to tell us we're crazy, and we're telling him, no, no, all good, the GPS is taking us a different way. We go thru a narrow gate down a steep cobblestone street, and all of a sudden we are on a seriously steep, seriously unpaved rutted path. STILL, we continue on thinking this is the coolest thing ever and that we're going to pop out onto a main road after a couple more hairpin turns. Hah. Suddenly, there is a "road closed" barrier and we're forced to turn onto a rutted driveway down to an old stone farmhouse. We manage to do a U turn (keeping an eye on the sheer drop off to one side), and coming down the seriously steep, seriously unpaved road is a man on horse. At first, I'm nervous that we've trespassed onto private property and are in real trouble, but hilariously the man on horse rides by like our presence there is the most mundane, unremarkable thing in the world, and praying that we don't bottom out on ruts or stall out the engine, I pick our way back up the rutted road. Eventually Gertie does get us back out the way we came into the city, and this emboldens us to take some chances on those mysterious driveways marked with that unintelligible "privato".
Moment of grace yesterday: Many contenders: Nice chat with Marta while in Pienza checking in to see if I'm OK with all of the Dick and Laird echoes surrounding us. Quiet moment prepping string beans for my stint as chef-du-jour tomorrow (Weds) with Lara assisting, and her turning to me to say, "You know, I think of you as more of a brother than an uncle". (Smile.) For that matter, escaping from the route Gertie the Garmin laid out for us leaving Montalcino probably should count for something.
Tomorrow we will be in Siena, the whole group traveling together for the first time. (Poor Mitch and Amy, who will be our leaders.) Fewer opportunities for trouble on the road, but probably lots of opportunities for trouble in the kitchen. Fingers crossed all comes out well!
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