Bella Toscana

I wrote this last week in Italy. Sorry for posting it so late!

I’m currently on the train from Florence to Assisi and am feeling inspired to write about the breathtaking scenery outside my window. There is a man playing the accordion in my train car- seriously. Welcome to Italy! Fields of sunflowers sprawl throughout the valleys. Mountains, worn and green yellow with age, surround us on all sides creating valleys in which small villages have settled. The houses and villas are grouped together, their terracotta roofs create a sea of orange in each of these valleys and a few more dot along the mountain side. At this point we’re actually in the region of Umbria and not Tuscany, but it is equal in its beauty.

Florence was nothing short of amazing…too beautiful for words actually, but I’ll try and write some anyway. Yesterday, Betsy and I went on a wine tour into the country side in the Chianti region- conveniently, a favorite wine of both Betsy and mine. They took us to an old private castle, one that was once owned by the Pazzi family whose wealth was rivaled and surpassed only by the ancient and powerful Medici family who ruled Florence for hundreds of years. There, tucked in the hills of the Tuscan countryside, we tasted a chardonnay and two Chianti varietals- one of which was made completely of Sangiovese grapes (usually wine makers add 10-20% merlot or other grape varietal in order to make the wine more “elegant” tasting and easier to sell. However, to be called a “Chianti” is must consist of at least 80% Sangiovese grape). The wine was served with a variety of Tuscan antipastos (appetizers) and was fabulous. I liked all of the antipasto including the Bruschetta (what Tuscany is known for), bread served with their own olive oil, as well as regional cheese and meat. I did not, however, care for the liver pate.

As I mentioned, they also produce olive oil and have a total of 10,000 olive trees. Each tree produces only one bottle of oil. They make some of the finest oil in Italy. I bought three bottles, so I guess you could say I bought three trees worth of oil. I never realized there was so much to learn about olive oil! Here they explained that if the olives are pressed once it is “extra virgin olive oil,” if pressed twice it creates “olive oil,” and if pressed again, “motor oil.” Ha ha. There are all types of things to account for in choosing a good olive oil but mostly make sure it is “extra virgin” and also check its acidity level-the lower the better.

So far Tuscanny is by far my favorite part of Italy...