Saturday, June 15, 2019

Tuscan flora, fauna, food, wine... and a cat on a leash

HALLIE EPHRON: A little more about my trip to Tuscany. The landscape, the flora, fauna, the food...

The vistas are spectacular. Just what you've come to expect from the art work and movies that feature the region. Fields of olive trees and vineyards stretching to the horizon, dotted with cypress trees and pink-stone buildings with terra-cotta tile roofs

Here's one of those roofs, close up from our hotel window.



I think those flowers (like miniature daisies) might be pink because of the color of the terra cotta tiles (like flamingos are pink because of the shrimp they eat.)

Lizards make their homes in the stone foundations.


There were flowers everywhere. Like us in New England they'd had a cool wet spring and now, with the sun shining, flowers were bursting open. Brilliant red poppies. Irises so hardy they were growing out of stone walls.  Flowering yellow broom. Amazing fragrant roses.


Birds! We were not disappointed. Here's a European Redstart, a new one for me. And a saucy European Blackbird, who struts about the lawn looking for grubs. It's got an orange eye ring, orange beak, orange feet, and a very loud and distinctive call.






Gelato! Every town has at least one gelateria and it's always delicious. This one is in San Gimignano -- Gelateria Dondoli -- which was actually named #1 in the world. I had a cup with lychee/rose and passion fruit. Sublime.




There are cats (and dogs) everywhere. This one seemed perfectly content to be walked on a leash, wearing a necktie, at the weekly farmer's market in Castellini in Chianti.


Art! Most of it's in the churches and the treasures are from the middle ages when Florence and Venice were arch enemies and competed in every venue. Here's a fresco in the main church in San Gimignano, demonstrating in graphic detail what awaits you if you misbehave.




And of course, the food and wine. Chianti Classico is the prince of wines in this region. We drank many glasses and I wish we'd brought home a bottle or two. 



They also make a rose, and there's a lovely white wine, Vernaccia, from San Gimignano. 

The antipasti tables are bounteous, the pasta sublime, and Tuscan steak, Oh my! One night four of us shared a T-bone steak, grilled and served rare with fried potatoes. 


Alora... we will be going back to Italy.

And a reminder, if you're interested in a week-long workshop next year with Ann Cleeves, visit Minerva Education.



36 comments:

  1. Beautiful . . . and so inviting. Flowers everywhere, beautiful artwork, yummy food . . . what more could anyone possibly want???

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  2. It all looks perfect! Did you get a European bird book before you went? Also - did Jerry go out birding while you taught writing? ;^)

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    1. Of course we HAVE a European bird guide which we took along. And you got that right, too--Jerry walked and birded while I taught.

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    2. I have the guide to West African birds if you ever need it!

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    3. Good to know! That's one we don't have.

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  3. You were luckier in the weather than we were the year I was there, Hallie. It was the year the heavy rains across Europe flooded Paris and other cities, and a couple days it was in the 40's and low 50's, and uncharacteristically gloomy. But the flowers and other plants were glorious and abundant. It really is such a verdant place, Tuscany. Which no doubt contributes to the quality of the amazing food of the region, don't you think?

    To save space in my suitcase, I did not take binoculars, and regretted it. Rhys identified a cuckoo calling close by, but I never got to see more than a quick flash of feathers. Next time!

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    1. The first day there it was rainy, but otherwise we had perfect weather. YES we *heard* a cuckoo but never got to see even a flash of feathers. The European cuckoo really does say "Cuckoo, Cuckoo..." Like a cuckoo clock in a cartoon.

      Verdant YES, and I'm sure the weather is why the food is so amazing. And because they value local farming. The Italians truly *get* good food and why it matters. While we're stuck on makind chemically-produced artificially meat. Hopefully agri-business will stay away from Tuscany.

      SO green. But it's also quite hot and dry in the summer (our host, Cajsa, says so hot that she and Piero would rather be in Tempe in August!) -- so maybe it's like Napa which is verdant in the spring and dry/brown in the heat of summer.

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    2. I can't imagine it's drier than the desert in Arizona! Weird.

      It really does say "cuckoo"! I was floored. Duh. LOL

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  4. Sounds wonderful, Hallie! I give it an 'E', for Exceeded Expectations! Doing something you love to do, in a dream-of-a-place--can't get better than that!

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    1. Indeed. I kept pinching myself and saying "It's like I've died and gone to heaven."

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  5. How could you work in the midst of all this beauty?!

    DebRo

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    1. Meet the participants and you'd get it. They were amazing.

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  6. Food, blooming flowers, gelato...absolute perfection.

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  7. Visiting Italy, being surrounded by thousand year old structures, experiencing works of art, both man made and natural, at every turn, knowing that time is measured in millennia, not decades -- no wonder people suffer Stendhal Syndrome.

    What did you create in the midst of this beauty?

    Will your next book -- or the one after -- be set in Tuscany?

    Will you return again and again?

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    1. I had to look up Stendhal Syndrome... It IS overwhelming.
      Set a book in Tuscany? Maybe a chapter or two.
      And I'd return in a heartbeat. Though I want to see Naples and the Amalfi Cost and Sicily first.

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  8. So lovely. Thanks for sharing this!

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  9. What an amazing place to visit! What lovely photos to look at first thing in the morning. :)

    The cat made me laugh. I've seen cats who walk on a leash, but I've never seen one wearing a neck tie!

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    1. I know. How humiliating for the poor thing. Might account for the way it was slinking.

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  10. Thank you Hallie for this wonderful "tour" with my morning coffee. I was there with you for a tiny bit of my day and, *sigh*, it looks glorious! Now my question, when you got home, what recipes did you try to recreate?

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    1. I know better than to try to make pici - the local thick tubes of pasta. All that's in it is water and flour. But it's THEIR water and flour. I was reminded of how wonderful their style lasagne is and will try to make: individual serving-sized squares of pasta layered with a hearty meat sauce and topped, I think, not with mozzarella cheese but a cheesey bechamel. Warmed and then toasted in the oven. The problem with recreating their food is you need their ingredients. THOSE olives. THAT cheese. THOSE tomatoes...

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  11. Thanks for those beautiful pictures of Tuscany . It brightens this cloudy day.

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  12. It looks like your trip was topnotch all around! Congrats, and so glad to see you were able to balance work and pleasure so majestically!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy! Nice to have that kind of challenge to rise to!!

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  13. Hallie, so many gorgeous photos! We were in San Gimignano for one day with a budget tour group and yes, we had gelato there! We stayed one or two nights in Tuscany. Beautiful! Though I have to say that Venice was my favorite part of Italy. Thank you for sharing more photos of Tuscany.

    Diana

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    1. I love Venice, too - it's magical. Sadly it was not on our itinerary this time... after 10 days I was ready to come home.

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    2. Next time you can visit Venice.

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  15. Tuscan steak--that you order by weight! LOVE.And everyone is so nice. I've been to these places, exactly, and it is breathtaking. Where rosemary winters over and grows into shrubs! LUCKY you all!

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    1. ROSEMARY! At our hotel there were rosesmary BUSHES, like 3-4' tall.

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  16. I visited Italy once several years ago.
    It is gorgeous.
    The people put us to shame, most speaking at least 2 languages and many speaking 5 or more!
    The food is wonderful.
    And the gelato? Sublime. We wouldn't eat ice cream for a while after returning home because of the contrast in taste.

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  17. Of course I love the beautiful flowers and countryside, but the pictures of the birds you posted really had me interested. I laugh at myself because it seems my getting old(er) is coinciding with a greater pleasure in watching the birds. The food looks scrumptious there, and the art in Italy has to be a constant breathtaking moment. Italy is starting to call to me.

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  18. What a wonderful trip! The pictures will help you remember all the little things that make Tuscany special.

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  19. Hallie, it all just looks fantastic. I have been to Rome and Venice and Florence, but not to Tuscany and I really, really want to do that. The food, the flowers, the wine, the birds--just heaven.

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  20. Fantastic! Hallie, it looks like you really made the most of the trip. So much to love in these posts! Thanks for sharing with us...now I need to get back to Italy.

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  21. Such pretty pictures! I especially love the irises growing out of the walls & the kitty in his tie.

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