I woke up and my first thought was: day five – last full day of our Tuscany trip: how did the time go by so fast? What an incredible experience.

I can’t say enough about the group of people we met on this trip. It is rare when a group this large is so compatible – every last person was a joy to get to know. In fact, there was some group discussion on day five about a follow-up trip in two or three years to another Classic Journey culinary tour destination with the same group of people. Count us in! IF ONLY we could bring the same guides along: Francesco and Luciano were fabulously entertaining, personable, and knowledgeable.

Today was Walking Day. I think most of us signed on with Classic Journeys for this unique combination of eating and walking. And, by day five, I certainly needed to burn off a few (few?!!) extra calories.

Our last day trip took us to Montalcino, a 1000 ft. elevated village with sweeping panoramic views and beautiful walking trails. Montalcino is also well known as a cycling destination. Miles and miles of groomed paths attract many bicycle tours here. Our first walk was high up along the city’s ancient wall and encompassed farmland, large estates, olive groves, and forest. This beautiful path is featured in the movie “The English Patient”. We saw the umbrella pines that produce pine nuts. Pine nuts are still harvested by hand by the local villagers: they are manually extracted from within a very hard shell. Now I know why a jar costs $15!

The walk ended in the center of the village. We had many cafes for our lunch choice. By now, we trusted the guides when they referred a certain restaurant! We all piled into a small cafe that, happily, had a back wine cellar room that would accommodate 12 of us. The special was a sage, ricotta, and walnut ravioli that was DE-LI-CIOUS. Did I mention that Montalcino is famous for their Brunello wine? We ordered a bottle for our table – yes, it too was good!

After lunch, I enjoyed photographing the particularly charming village. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was on a movie set: Tuscany is all too picturesque. Every village square, street, door, restaurant, and back alley – perfect. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a region that made me wish I had 5 hours a day just to photograph. (OR wish that I had brought my professional equipment!!) Once again, I found myself running up ahead of the group or lagging behind to capture a scene.

We took a long bus ride back to Cortona. One last chance to gaze at the sweeping Tuscan vistas and contemplate buying an abandoned “fixer upper” on the crest of one of the many hills. There was one Perfect Moment on the ride back: Luciano shyly asked us if we’d like him to sing (he studied music in college, among many other things.) Instead of the usual Italian sing-along tunes, he began to sing (in Italian) Andre Botticelli’s “Time to say Goodbye”. Oh man: the combination of the beautiful scenery and this emotional song hit me with a tidal wave of emotion. Luckily, Mike and I were in the back of the bus. You know the feeling: your heart squeezes and your eyes start uncontrollably leaking out tears. I turned to Mike and whispered “don’t LOOK at me”! But he just put his hand over mine. awww…. He was feeling it too!

Once back at the hotel, we were given an option of a two hour walk to see the sites of Cortona (including Frances Mayes house), or stay and shop in town. Or… maybe nap? Most of us opted for the walk. And what a walk it was! Up, up, up to the crest of Cortona. Frances Mayes’s house is almost at the top surrounded by lush gardens. At the very top is an ancient church. The sun was starting to set and people were hurrying to the Saturday evening mass. Very peaceful. Almost made you wish to move there and settle into the slow paced country life. We could see the entire village, surrounded by the centuries old stone wall (think the Great Wall of China, only a smaller scale. These were originally constructed for defense and surround every medieval hill town.) Many photo ops! By now, we were an army of photographers.

When we arrived back in the town square of Cortona, dusk was falling and all the pretty little shops were lit up. Local village old-timers were congregating on the park benches to gossip or just sit contentedly. We had just enough time to go to our hotel and freshen up for dinner, which was held at a local trattoria.

While this meal wasn’t particularly memorable, food-wise, it was a festive last get together. I think a few extra bottles of wine were consumed at this dinner! We celebrated Shirley’s birthday with a delicious cake for dessert. A pact was made to keep in touch, and we passed around a sheet for addresses and emails. Then back to the hotel to pack, as most of us were catching early taxis to the train station. Our wonderful trip had come to an end.

Why I Love to Travel: we owe it to ourselves and the world to experience other cultures to better understand each other. The more you travel, the more you realize that ALL people and cultures share many of the same traits: love of family, sharing love through the preparation and eating of food, the joy of music and song, a wish for law and order and a peaceful community, a belief in a higher power and beautiful places to worship in, and a curiosity to know about strangers. Plus, the world is such an AMAZING place – if we are able to, we should travel as much as possible and discover how beautiful every country and its’ people are.

This corresponds with my favorite saying, “the best things in life aren’t THINGS”. They are – experiences.
I hope I get to have many more experiences in my life like this one! Thanks to all on the trip for making it a great one.

Did you miss a previous day? Click here to read Day One, Day Two or Day Three.

Our first destination today was to the Avignonesi Winery, one of the largest in the region with over 550 acres. Our guide lead us on a very comprehensive tour which ended, happily, with a tasting of five of their popular wines. They are best known for their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. They also produce a tiny amount of Vin Santo – a hard-to-find, expensive dessert wine considered among the best of its class. It is aged for eight to ten years. We did not get to sample this!

I have visited Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma, “the oldest winery in California” that dates back to 1858. In fact, our daughter held her wedding dinner in their wine cave. Well, the wine caves at Avignonesi trace their roots back to the 16th century! The ancient curved ceilings are thick with black mold which in fact contains the penicillin mold. Over the centuries, they determined that the mold was actually beneficial in keeping bacterial contamination at bay.

We visited Tuscany at the perfect time for the grape harvest. The drying room bamboo shelves were stacked to the ceiling with red and white grapes. Ummm… can you imagine the smell? We were ready to taste some wine! Afterwards, we had the opportunity to visit their gift shop and purchase wine, cheese, and olive oil. They also offered olive oil tasting.

On the short bus ride up to the old walled city of Montepulciano, our guide Francesco talked about olive oil production. The most pure way to derive “extra virgin olive oil” is to pile the harvested olives in a large bin and let the weight of the olives press out the oil. (Very few producers do it this way, but the chef at our cooking school for the evening does it this way and we were able to buy this precious oil from her.) Almost all estates/farms have their own olive grove and they bring their olives to the local olive oil mill at harvest time to bottle their own oil.

Usually, the olives are lightly pressed and the first oil is called the “extra virgin” olive oil. Then they are pressed (harder) a second time and this results in “virgin” olive oil. Lastly, they press the remaining pulp very tightly and “olive oil” is the final product. We were told that most of the olive oil we buy cheaply in this country is produced from the last press and is mistakenly called “extra virgin olive oil”. If you can get a quart of olive oil for $10 to $12 dollars, it is likely NOT extra virgin. They can call it “extra virgin” if it meets a certain acidity level. So, some companies will acidify the olive oil to meet this standard and label it this way.

Lunch was on our own in Montepulciano and I opted for a quick bowl of riboletta, as I wanted more time to wander and photograph. We then met in the town square and walked down (always down!) to our bus. Time for cooking lesson number four, held at a gorgeous country B&B.

Benedetta and her mama have a cooking school on the premises. This was more of a classroom setting. First, we had a champagne toast to commemorate the 15th year of Classic Journeys. Then we proceeded to chop, dice, knead, roll, and cook the elaborate final cooking class dinner. Wow – this was really special. We learned to make: hand rolled pasta called “pici” served with a classic vegetable ragout sauce, a ricotta flan with a vegetable and breadcrumb topping, pork tenderloin wrapped in Italian “bacon” and topped with a garlic, olive, and breadcrumb combo, potatoes, and almond biscotti, homemade ice cream, and dessert wine.

Making the pici was so much fun! We started with a gooey mass of pasta ingredients dumped on the table: flour, eggs, olive oil, salt, and water. Somehow that mess turns into a giant lump of pasta (to feed 18 people!). It seemed like Mike kneaded it forever. Then the fun part: rolling it out very thin and using a special rolling pin with grooves to cut all the individual strands. Then we loaded a long table top with about 9 feet of pasta, which had to dry for one hour. While it was drying, we observed the preparation of all the sauces. We had to take turns in the 8×8 foot kitchen. Benedetta kept bellowing “MAMA!” at the top of her lungs when she needed something – too funny!

Finally, about FOUR HOURS LATER, it was time to eat (9:30 p.m.) Boy – we were all starving! By now, we were used to course after course being delivered to the table and had learned to “pace ourselves”. To top off a memorable meal, Luciano stood up and began to sing Italian songs – some slightly familiar (?) that he expected us to join in on! (the only line I knew was “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore”.)  Then the energetic Benedetta (all 4’10” of her) burst forth from the kitchen to join him. What a fabulous meal and setting! We didn’t get back to our hotel until 11 p.m. and all fell into our beds with equal parts exhaustion and food coma.

Did you miss a previous day? Click here to read Day One or Day Two.

Our last morning in Florence: had to put the suitcases outside our door early. Boarded a large tour bus for the trip from Florence to Cortona, located in the southern most region of Tuscany. (Cortona was the town made famous by Francis Mayes’ “Under the Tuscan Sun”.) Our itinerary had us spending the day in Siena before arriving at our hotel in Cortona. Everyone in our group was eager to spend the remaining three nights of our trip in the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

Siena is described as “cinnamon colored” and that is a perfect description. It too is a hilltop medieval town that was one of the major stops for pilgrims on their way to or from Rome. Even in the rain, the warm colors of the buildings can be seen for miles as you approach. Our cooking lesson for the day was held at the home of Constanza, a noblewoman who is a descendant of Pope Pius. […..hmmm, ok, go ahead and wonder (as we did): “how can someone be descended from a pope”???…..]

One of the unique aspects of Classic Journeys Culinary Tours is that each of the cooking sessions is held in a different location. This is a great way to meet local people in their homes and see how they live. Constanza has a large, expensive, 13th century 3-story home in the heart of the city. It is filled with antiques and unique collections. Look at the photo of her kitchen below: tucked in among the many dishes is a 3 ft. tall marble horse head! In every direction we turned, there was an interesting display of items, many hundreds of years old. Even a trip to her bathroom yielded a display of antique hats and garments.

The kitchen table was loaded with beautiful produce, herbs and pasta waiting to be transformed into our lunch. By now, our favorite antipasti was tomato bruschetta and Constanza’s version did not disappoint. What surprised us is how much olive oil is used in Tuscan dishes: whereas we lightly drizzle our bruschetta in the U.S., they pour on a healthy amount. And it is so good! Next, she surprised us with raw Italian pork sausage mixed with some goat cheese spread on crostini. We were assured that the quality of the pork sausage was such that you could indeed eat it raw. Chick peas were used in the soup and also in the pasta dish. The main course was veal carpaccio, dredged in flour and lightly fried with an artichoke topping. Another surprise: Italian artichokes have no choke: you can cut up the whole thing.

The long table in her living room was set for 18, the yellow walls cast a warm glow in the gloomy rainy afternoon, and to add to the mellow atmosphere: Constanza’s own private label wine! Dessert was a lemony torte and nut biscuits, served with limoncello. Ahhh… was it nap time? NO – time to go walking around the city of Siena with a local resident who is an official tour guide of Siena. We donned our raincoats and ventured out.

The city is set around a large open central square called the Piezza del Campo. Usually, there would be hundreds of people sitting on the cobblestones and socializing, but the steady rain chased everyone under the awnings of the cafes that ring the square. The famous Palio horse race occurs annually in the square.

The crowning glory of Siena is the Duomo. It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries and has a striking facade of white, dark green (black), and red marble. The red marble comes from Siena. The statues on the lavish Italian Gothic style facade represent prophets, philosophers, and apostles. Almost all are copies: the originals are kept in the “crypt of the statues”. There is a very old man in town who is the sole restorationist for all of Siena’s ancient buildings (see him in his shop below). The cathedral tower, with its zebra striped appearance, is the highest structure in town and dominates Siena’s landscape. The same unusual black and white stripes repeat themselves on the columns inside the cathedral. It was a shame we didn’t see the interior: it is one of the most magnificent cathedrals in Tuscany with works by Donatello, Bernini and Michelangelo.

We boarded the bus in the late afternoon for the 1 1/2 hour ride to Cortona. With the rain still falling, and limited visibility, AND the effects of yet another amazing meal still with us, most folks opted for a little nap! When we neared our destination and the bus began a series of hairpin turns climbing up and up to the hilltop village, we began to realize what a FABULOUS view our hotel would afford us, as every room faces the valley and Lake Trasimeno. It was a little scary negotiating the narrow curves with the full sized tour bus, but our cheery driver Leonardo was a pro. He and Francesco kept up a non-stop animated dialogue for most of the trip, complete with hand gestures (yes; he was very good at one- handed driving )!

Happily, the rain stopped as we checked into our rooms at the lovely Villa Marsili. The hotel dates back to the 8th century and was recently restored with special attention paid to its original style and architectural characteristics. (There is still one original staircase!) Each window of the villa offers breathtaking views, and the guestrooms are filled with antique furniture. The view from our window almost caused me a little vertigo! As in most European hotels, our “king size” bed was 2 twin beds pushed together. See the photo below of the “angels” on our headboard 🙂

Dinner was on our own (for the only night of the tour). When we met in the lobby, a small “Italian style happy hour” was set up in the adjacent parlor: an alcoholic punch with assorted nibbles. Shortly after, Luciano walked us up the steep hill to the center of town and pointed out a few restaurants. Kathy, Alan, Sarah, and Mike and I opted for a little bar that had a cozy wine cave in the back. I was very content just ordering riboletta for dinner: a vegetable soup thickened with bread. It was delicious! Upon returning to the hotel, another late night treat awaited us. We sat in the parlor for about a half hour and enjoyed some biscotti and the traditional sweet wine to dip it in. Another perfect ending to a perfect day.

Day three photography notes: it rained much of this day. It wasn’t conducive to taking many photos. By this time, I’d truly decided another trip to Tuscany was warranted in the future. How I’d love to wander longer – in nicer weather – and photograph different views of Siena and also see the inside of the cathedral.

Did you miss Day One? Click here to read it.

Day Two began, as all our days did, with a hearty breakfast buffet to satisfy hungry Americans: a selection of regional ham and cheese, eggs, pastries, fruit, cereals, yogurt, juices, coffee American (which is comically described there as “weak” and “large”) or cappuccino, or coffee (espresso). Our guides said that Italians will just have coffee and a pastry or a piece of toast to start the day. Well, hey, “we’re on vacation”! And who can pass up Italian ham and cheese?

We boarded a bus early and headed out to the Chianti region, a landscape of villas, castles, and of course, vineyards. A beautiful day had dawned and we marvelled at the patchwork quilt that is Tuscany: olive groves, vineyards, rolling farmland, sunflower fields. Sadly, we missed seeing the sunflowers in bloom by about a month. (Someday, when I come back with my Real Camera, I will time it to see them in bloom – I cannot imagine how beautiful it must be!)

Interestingly, Tuscany was once an oak forest. After the “humanist” movement of Pope Pius II around the fourteenth century, citizens were encouraged to become landowners. Whereas most people lived in fortified hilltop villages for protection during medieval times, they later felt safe enough to move to the lower lands and begin cultivating the land. The forests were cut down, acreage was parcelled out, and farmers planted their crops. The variety of crops and the very hilly terrain is what makes Tuscany so beautiful today. (OK – that is several centuries of history rolled into one paragraph!) On the bus, we played the children’s game of: “OH – that [sprawling villa] one is mine! That one can be yours! We could all be neighbors!”

We stopped to visit a local artisan who still crafts terra cotta pots by hand. He apologized that he only had one craftsman working that day, as the others were all out harvesting the grapes in his adjacent vineyard. We were given a demonstration of the actual handthrown method, as well as a pot being taken out of a mold. Tuscany has the perfect soil for making terra cotta pottery. We passed many other similar businesses on the way to our hiking destination.

Before lunch, we took a lovely 1 1/2 hour walk through a part of Tuscany that – once abandoned – is now being bought and refurbished and sold as a) rentals for vacationers and also b) to people who want to “return to their Tuscan roots”. it is all being carefully restored in very strict adherence to original style. These parcels of land are being sold for well over a million dollars. Seriously, it looked just like a movie set! We hiked through a vineyard where Francesco told us about the Sangiovese grapes: Chianti wine must be made from at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. Chianti is divided into 7 regions; the largest is Classico. The black rooster on the label of a bottle of Chianti Classico is the assurance symbol of quality. It is also used to prevent wine fraud.

Our vineyard walk was the perfect transition to another cooking session, this time in a country house on the grounds of a 15th century castle. Feisty Patricia and her darling husband (he looked alot like Santa!) taught us how to make eggplant bruschetta (see photo below of Laura, Mary Lou and I making this dish), beef carpaccio with raddichio, Spelt (like a plump grained risotto with wine and chicken broth) as our pasta, and poached pears for dessert. Yes, you are wondering…. this was LUNCH!

I’d never heard of Spelt before but this is definitely something we’ll be eating alot of in the future at our house. It was presented to us in big crockery soup bowls: steaming hot, buttery, plump and just slightly chewy. I KNEW this was just the first “pasta” course and that I should refrain from eating it all – HA – fat chance! Once again, I could have just eaten two huge bowls of this and been satisfied for the rest of the day! Ditto with the eggplant bruschetta. Such simple food, so beautifully prepared and presented. Combine that with the fun atmosphere of the cooking session (Mike had such fun learning to cut with the two handled curved mezzaluna), the growing camaraderie of our group, the incredible charming surroundings of Patricia’s cucina and dining room, the “pinch me – am I really here?” view out the window. The constant appearance of a fresh bottle of Chianti Classico on our table….. you get the picture!

Time to board our little bus and travel to our final destination of day two: San Gimignano, the ultimate hill town with its fantasy skyline of 14 medieval towers. Most all of the towers in Florence and Bologna were brought down due to wars, catastrophes, or urban renewal, but San Gimignano managed to conserve 14 of theirs. Constructed originally for defense, the towers grew into the world’s most photogenic example of one-upmanship as family after family sought to out-build its peers. The 1999 movie “Tea with Mussonlini” was filmed here.

As with all the medieval villages we visited, it is atop a “hill” (we would call it a foothill in our country). Buses must park near the bottom. There is only one way up – on foot. At this point, I was so glad we took the advice of Classic Journeys and bought the prescribed hiking boots. The cobblestones are ancient and uneven – you must always watch where you are stepping. At the top, we marvelled at the far-reaching vistas and the towers. (see photo below) I saw an old man sketching and decided to photograph him and turn the photo into a sketch. I really like the results!

Thank goodness for all the walking this day: when we returned to the city, we were told that we would visit a local trattoria for dinner: antipasto, THREE kinds of pasta, steak, sausage, potatoes, lots of chianti wine. Profiteroles with chocolate sauce for dessert. ‘nough said. Goodnight!

Day Two photography notes: a rare clear day with blue skies couldn’t have happened on a better day for photographing the Tuscan countryside. I tried to do some “impressionistic” painting effects on some of the countryside photos and “old grungy” effects on the medieval city. I used to paint a bit, and love mixing photography with Photoshop painting effects and filters.

After spending a week in the Dordogne region of France at a culinary school in 2006, Mike and I decided to plan a similar trip this year to Tuscany. We’d had such a fantastic experience in 2006, we wondered if we could find another tour that could measure up. The answer: Classic Journey’s “Taste of Tuscany” Culinary Tour.

The lure of this company is that they combine a walking experience of a region with culinary experiences at different locations, ranging from simple country homes to ancient castles to posh city dwellers’ condos to B&B’s. This sounded perfect to us: a chance to burn off some calories while indulging in fabulous meals! Classic Journeys limit their groups to 16 and do not travel in huge tour buses. They believe that the perfect approach to your final destination is to arrive on foot: “crest a hill as the sun is setting and see the ancient village bathed in the burnished colors of the sunset”. This sounded good to us! We sent the information to our friends in Pittsburg; Kathy and Alan – whom we’d met on the France trip and shared some great experiences with. We didn’t even have to twist their arms – they said “sounds good – let’s go”!

After spending a week in Nice, France (future blog article), we arrived in Florence on October 9th and checked into our first hotel, The Monna Lisa: a charming former convent perfectly situated in the heart of Florence. We spent the first 3 nights of the tour here. After meeting the group on Sunday afternoon, our guides Luciano and Francesco took us on a two hour walk around the city to orient us. Our first group dinner that evening at a trattoria introduced us to what to expect for the duration of the tour: start the meal with antipasti – Parma ham (not related to any ham we buy in a deli here), salami (ditto), cheese, bread, liver pate, tomato bruschetta, marinated beans (OK – seriously this was enough for an entire meal!), THEN the first course of pasta, THEN the entrees (2 meat dishes and potatoes) followed by a decadent chocolate torte (they call it cake but that word doesn’t do it justice), grappa and limoncello. Did I mention a constant supply of wine? We asked our guides if real Tuscans would ever eat this much for an evening meal. They explained that “this is the kind of Sunday meal your mama makes every week”. Well, so it was Sunday everyday of our tour: W – O – W

(aka: B-U-R-P or O-I-N-K)

Which leads us to Day One:

Crossed the River Arno to visit an ancient church on a high hill overlooking the city of Florence. When Florentine’s say ancient, they mean 800 – 1200 years old! The church was intriguing, as early Christianity combined mysticism with astrology with religion. The floor was inbedded with the signs of the zodiac. This seems strange to us today. Also; the entire floor consisted of tombs. Entire families would be buried in one grave. This tradition stopped when: a) there was no more room and b) when it became a health hazzard during times of the Plague.

We hiked down the very steep hill and visited the Farmer’s Market: a sensory overload of meat, cheese, spices, fresh produce. We were told to grab a “very light lunch” because dinner (our first cooking class) was going to be “an extravagant affair”.

We boarded our 20 passenger mini tour bus and took a ride way up into the mountains above Florence to the farmhouse of sisters Anna and Alma. The weather was cold and blustery and nothing was more inviting than to enter their old stone farmhouse and smell the woodstove and the food they had already cooked! Our itinerary simply stated: you will learn to make a simple ricotta and spinach filled ravioli. Well, of course, this was only the “first course” (which we learned is the second out of four things you eat at “Mama’s Sunday dinner”).

Anna and Alma live in a remote area and make infrequent trips into town. They are self-sufficient and have their own chickens, rabbits, sheep, gardens. Their vegetable and herb gardens are a thing of beauty: the Tuscan climate produces bountiful crops. Everything Anna and Alma make is from scratch, inlcuding the pasta. We learned how to make the dough, knead it, make it into ribbon thin sheets, and then fill the raviolis. Such fun. Let’s just say: it looks so much easier when they do it! They spoke no English, but would come around and “fix” our mistakes and show us how to do it (again). Look at the hilarious photo below of our ravioli: the really puffed up ones with too much air are mine! But I can also say that these were the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten – we DEVOURED these and everyone asked for seconds and we would have been happy to just eat the ravioli.

Accompanying the ravioli was: fennel salami, pate and pesto on bread, salad, sausage and figs, cheese, pears, guinea fowl, potatoes, 2 kinds of “pies”, wine (duh), sweet wine and homemade limoncello (the best on the trip) and coffee for dessert. Are you imagining this? This meal will stand out in my mind forever! And the charming rustic surroundings only added to the pleasure of the meal. A funny story: our guides served the coffee. I asked for cream and sugar and Francesco dumped about 3 tablespoons fo sugar into my little cup before I could stop him – it tasted like coffee syrup! After dinner we took a nice brisk country walk (see the photo of Nancy and her husband Joe below).

A word about the photography: I would have loved to bring my “real” camera and a variety of lenses. Instead I brought the tiny Canon G9 and challenged myself to produce the best photos possible with a little pocket camera. Without a tripod, the low light photos are a bit too grainy and have some motion blur. But I think they actually look kind of cool!