Again, busy busy busy as usual…
We arrived back safe and sound from Switzerland and everything has been going well! As soon as we got back, we headed over to Venice for the weekend. (We wanted to make it there before it got too cold and rainy!)



We traveled down the Grand Canal (in a ferry, not a gondola), and visited Murano, home of Venetian glass (since the 13th century when production was moved there to protect the city from the hazards of fire). We went to a glass factory and got to watch a glass horse being made!

We went to visit Piazza San Marco, where we were greeted by tons of pigeons! We fed them and as you can see were a big hit…


Our second morning there, the water was lapping at the edges of the steps into the canal, and we were wondering if we would be flooded in (the train station is unreachable when the water reaches a certain level). Fortunately, the tide receded and when we returned later in the day (after a museum or two) several steps leading into the canal were visible.
Here is a really cute house that we liked a lot!

Switzerland!!!

Hi everyone!
We are in Seelisberg, Switzerland.



We arrived on Sunday afternoon; Lali picked us up in Luzerne and brought us to Seelisberg. It is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been! It is on the edge of a cliff that drops off into Lake Luzerne. Every direction you look there are mountains. Each mountain is totally different from the others, with its own unique characteristics and personality. We have gone on several hikes already and plan to go on many more.
On Monday we went for a walk and came across some cute cows.



Yesterday Marco took us on a cable lift up a nearby mountain. It was a beautiful warm sunny day and we walked around to the back of the peak to a spot overlooking the lake. We sat there for a while soaking up the mountain sun before heading back.




There was a huge drop of the cliff, we all had to lay down to look over it…



It has been very warm here this fall. There are still flowers in bloom, including the most beautiful yellow roses.




As one of our jobs here, we learned how to make quince jelly and made some for the dining hall. It has a very nice somewhat flowery flavor. We are having fun playing in the kitchen together.

Happy Halloween!!!
We had to celebrate Halloween last night so we dressed up at a party held by our friend Pierino. (We were of course the only ones with costumes…)

I was a black cat and Heli was a brown mouse. We did not have much time and equipment but we were happy with our costumes. There were limited colors for ears…



We also carved a pumpkin and left it in the window. It was fun!



Here is Pierino with our ears. They ended up falling off after a while.

Salone del Gusto
Last weekend we go to go to the Slow Food fair in Torino! The Acetaia had a booth and we went for the weekend to help-although we ended up spending our time looking at all the different booths. There was a whole area with foods and people from all corners of the world with their traditional foods. These included Tibetan Yak cheese, French black turnips (very good), Parmigiano Reggiano made from red cows, special salts, vinegars, fruits, wines, lentils…(Note to Mom: we got some really beautiful French lentils for you!)

Here we are at the Acetaia’s booth in our new slow foods sweatshirts!




We also met up with Lonnie and Valerie and Steve (from Fairfield), which was really fun! Lonnie and Valerie met us and we all went to a really good speech given by the founder of Slow Food Carlo Petrini and a really awesome woman Vandana Shiva. She spoke on the importance of food freedom, of the freedom of farmers to produce food for their country, as well as the importance of sharing, that seeds want to be shared, and want to reproduce. I am terrible at recapping speeches, but it was very good and inspiring!

Here we are with Carlo Petrini, Lonnie and Valerie after the speech!



I think that one of our favorite things at the fair was a type of citrus grown in a small area in Sardinia. The edible part of the fruit is the white pith between the pulp and the skin. It is necessary to peel and de-pulp the fruits, and then the pith is soaked in blossom honey and then preserved. This was one of the products that we found in the area of the show that was for all the very small traditional producers. (Presidium area)

We went out for dinner with Lonnie and Valerie and two friends of Steve that Lonnie and Valerie met while waiting in line for the Fair. (There were huge lines and they just happened to be standing next to each other and got to talking and found out they both were connected with Steve!!) Dinner was excellent! We decided it was the best food we have had eating out since we have been here. For dinner we had a leek flan, and gnocchi, red pepper risotto, and for desert, a chestnut pudding like thing with persimmon sauce, and chocolate shavings.

Florence!

Our trip to Florence was a whirlwind of activity. I think that we managed to walk more than we ever have in a three-day period. But it was really lovely!!! The city is so amazing, so much art and culture and history. I find it hard to believe.

On Friday we went to both the Uffizi and Academia museums. We loved David, as well as many beautiful paintings by Botticelli. To be able to look a few feet and see the beautiful works of art is breath taking. And the views at dusk from the windows of the top floor of the Uffizi are also. We decided that this was simply an overview of Florence and that we will have to return many times to really see everything.

Saturday was our relaxed church visit day and we visited many of the beautiful churches of the city. Our favorite was the church of All Saints. We visited early in the morning and it was silent and beautiful. There was also a beautiful painting by Ghirlandaio in the refractory next door that we also really enjoyed. It was of the “Last Supper.” I feel like we had an intensive lesson on Christian history and stories.

Later we had lunch at Dolores’ restaurant (which was excellent) and had a most entertaining waiter… they have the best chocolate cake!!! Then powered on the wine, chocolate cake, and several shots of espresso, we made it all the way to the top of the hill overlooking the city, where we watched the city grow dark and the lights pop on. It was through a mist of haze and slight rain, and the colors of the city blended with the lights and the bright greenery around us. (We have some photos but they are slightly grainy as it was dark and wet…)

That evening we went out with our friends that met us from Modena! We managed to traverse the city a few more times before dinner and then by the time we got home it was very late. I think that we both fell into bed (I climbed onto the top bunk…).

Sunday we went to the Boboli gardens (at Maggie’s suggestion) and absolutely loved it! Especially the smell of the damp moss and fresh leaves after the rain. One can get lost in the many forests throughout the grounds. Our favorite area was the little path that ran back and forth in the back of the gardens. There were some really beautiful large marble sculptures here that we liked a lot. Shaped like flattened out bubbles…

We also went inside the palace to see the clothing exhibit. It was housed in beautiful rooms, each with different colored walls and furniture. The whole palace was HUGE! I can’t believe that one or two or even 5 families could use all the space.
This was the new palace, connected by a covered walkway to the old palace, on the other side of the river. The covered walkway is really cool and it crosses the river on the top of the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge). This is the only bridge left in Florence after WWII.

These are a few pictures from our trip...

..in the old palace



...ponte vecchio



...boboli gardens at the palce

Ciao tutti!

Sorry it has been so long since our last post! Things we have been really busy here with the end of the grape harvest about two weeks ago, the slow foods show this weekend and everything else in between. We have also finally taken time to do some traveling around and site seeing.
One notable event that has taken place is Torrey was crowned “Miss Vendemmia” at our harvest party. (Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of the corrination at this time…)
Another notable moment was when Erika made prepared Pandora with chocolate sauce…



Every year for the harvest party, Eugenio (Erika’s father) makes porcini risotto, he is an expert and everyone anticipates this meal! Here is a photo of him making it…


One day we made Sapora for tigelli.
Sapora has a similar consistency to apple butter but is made with apples, pears, pumpkin, mosto cotto (cooked grape juice) orange peel and quince… it is very tasty!
Then Erika showed us how to make tigelli

Medieval Village

Last weekend we went to visit a medieval village near Piacenza. It was very cute and I think that the highlight was posing for a picture on the extra long bicycle. We had to work very hard to convince the rest of our group to get up on the bike. In the front is Heli, followed by Giacamo, then me, Alex, and Little Pierre.

The bike was grouped with a whole bunch of old farm equipment, including an old fashioned grape press. At the acetaia we use the modern “soft press” which I assume is more efficient.

The city was really beautiful. All the buildings are old stone and painted with murals. The castle was built in the thirteenth century and is surrounded by a beautiful forest. We could almost imagine that we were back in the middle ages-except for the souvenir shops. My favorite houses had hearts in the shutters, and beautiful red geraniums spilling out of the windowsills.


After wandering around the village we stopped and had roasted chestnuts before heading home. The air was beginning to cool off in that lovely fall way and we had the toasty chestnuts to keep us warm!