Inside the Cathedral in Sienna
View of sunset from Certaldo Alto
Jess and Mariko with our beautiful cheese cake!
Winter in the Tuscan hills
Rolling hills in Tuscany
Monday, February 25, 2008
More Inpro Pictures
Inside the Cathedral in Sienna
View of sunset from Certaldo Alto
Jess and Mariko with our beautiful cheese cake!
Winter in the Tuscan hills
Rolling hills in Tuscany
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Spring Inpro - Cooking in Tuscany
We just got back from a week in the heart of Tuscany with it's gorgeous rolling hills and medieval towns. Somewhere between Florence and Sienna lies the town of Certaldo, and somewhere outside of Certaldo was where we found ourselves. The accommodation for our trip was three small apartments that are connected to a huge villa that is also rented out - but in warmer weather. With only 9 students and 2 chaperones we didn't exactly need that much space. The places were very cute - rustic and charming... and on the first night, VERY COLD! Thankfully that changed over the course of the first 2 days. The name of the place is: Agriturismo Bacío, and the owner is Alberto.
View from the apartments
I think the hardest part of the trip was driving - 5 hours up and down, and each day tackling the winding roads and sharp curves in a huge van with stick shift - but we did pretty well (with just a couple of detours on an excursion or two).
The cooking classes were great. Shilpa who runs organictuscany.org is very low key and easy-going. We had the classes in her kitchen with Manuela, a fantastic local Italian who is the mastermind behind some of the recipes. Shilpa has 2 adorable kids and a sweet husband who were in and out livening up the classes. Each group had 2 days of cooking and had a chance to make the following menus. We were small groups (my group was 5 in total, and James group was 6 ). We cooked from 10am till 1pm and then ate a nice leisurely well earned lunch.
Day 1:
Fresh homemade pasta (organic stone ground flour and organic eggs)
2 sauces - both with the base of vegetables and herbs (all grown at a local organic farm that we visited on thurs) and one meat (free range organic beef), one vegetarian. Using great ingredients really did enhance the flavors of everything.
Tiramisu - I didn't get a chance to taste this dish because of the uncooked alcohol in it (when I do try making it myself I will omit that ingredient), but word on the street is that it was pretty fantastic.
Jenni and Salome making fresh pasta
Day 2:
Again, all ingredients are locally grown and/or organic.
Fennel souffle - my first venture into the world of souffle making and actually not that hard. And for someone who is not a fan of either cauliflower or fennel I was stunned at how delicious they turned out.
Cauliflower souffle
Chicken with olives
Cheese cake - one of the loveliest, lightest cheese cakes I've had.
On the mornings we didn't cook we went on tours of some of the local farms. The first, La Ginestra, produces bees and honey, and a small supply of boar/pig. We had a chance to see the animals and the hives and had a very interesting explanation of the process of honey making. We also got to taste honey directly from a hive and then later, in jars with particular flavors. After the tour we had an awesome farmhouse meal - again 4 courses - starting with the anti pasti, then a pasta dish, pork and potatoes, and a lovely warm apple cake to round it off (followed by Italian espresso for those who enjoy coffee!)
The second day we went to 2 different farms - the first is a community of about 24 people who started a lifestyle project to become entirely self-sufficient. They grow all their own vegetables, they raise cows and goats for milk, cheese and yogurt, they have chickens and geese for eggs, and even dug their own lake for irrigation. Solar panel energy runs the equipment and they have a small farm store where they sell their products to make an income for any supplies they might need. We bumped into one of the founders of the community - an old beautiful man - who shared with us many of the fascinating details of their history. See their website for more details: http://www.poggioantico-firenze.it
The second farm we saw that day was an organic vineyard and olive grove. They also rely on agritourism and have many rooms to rent out during the year. I have forgotten the name for now but will try and add it if it comes to me.
The rest of our time was spent visiting the nearby towns. We had an afternoon and evening in Sienna - really sweet and just beautiful. James and I got to see the frescoes in the cathedral which were fairly spectacular. Dinner at Hostario Il Carroccio -Via Casata di Sotto, 32 Tel: +39-0577-41165 - was good, though I wish we had not gone with a set menu. It was way too much food to try and ingest after a big lunch, and it seemed like it just kept coming out.
Group picture in Sienna
On Tuesday afternoon we took the opportunity to check out the old city of Certaldo. From what I saw and heard, this is a less touristy place to go and it still has all the charm and history of an old Tuscan town. Something I thought every day was just how gorgeous everything must be in the warm weather. Certaldo alto has a beautiful view of the surrounding areas and a nice walking path around the town walls from which to see everything.
Wednesday was our trip to San Gimignano. I have heard that summers are crazy there because of the tourists. Luckily we had no such trouble - perhaps even a bit of the opposite. The Torture Museum we were supposed to visit was closed, and the most well known Gelateria, famous for their pistachio flavor in Piazza Cisterna was also closed. We ended up settling for another random gelateria which was certainly adequate but we'll never know if it compares! We had another great dinner at Trattoria Il Rigoletto +39 0577 – 941981 just outside of San Giovanni gate I believe. It was a good choice not to go with a set menu and instead we had a chance to sample what suited our moods at the time. The goat/sheep cheese with pepper and honey and toast was pretty delicious.
Thursday afternoon was down time though we did take a walk to a local potter who was kind enough to show us around his studio and show room. It was surprising to see such rustic and Japanese influenced work in an area filled with the typical majolica Terra cotta painted pots. You can check Terry out: http://www.terrydavies.it/techniques/tuscany/tuscany.html
Our final dinner was also local, at a sweet restaurant called C’era una volta (Once upon a Time) in Lucardo. As a starter the mixed fried turned out to be light and surprisingly good. Their pici (local pasta) is also very tasty.
The rest of our time was spent at the apartments where we cooked 2 dinners together which turned out pretty well. We played games together and watched Ratatouille to set the mood for the week!
Sienna
Cathedral - Sienna
View from the apartments
I think the hardest part of the trip was driving - 5 hours up and down, and each day tackling the winding roads and sharp curves in a huge van with stick shift - but we did pretty well (with just a couple of detours on an excursion or two).
The cooking classes were great. Shilpa who runs organictuscany.org is very low key and easy-going. We had the classes in her kitchen with Manuela, a fantastic local Italian who is the mastermind behind some of the recipes. Shilpa has 2 adorable kids and a sweet husband who were in and out livening up the classes. Each group had 2 days of cooking and had a chance to make the following menus. We were small groups (my group was 5 in total, and James group was 6 ). We cooked from 10am till 1pm and then ate a nice leisurely well earned lunch.
Day 1:
Fresh homemade pasta (organic stone ground flour and organic eggs)
2 sauces - both with the base of vegetables and herbs (all grown at a local organic farm that we visited on thurs) and one meat (free range organic beef), one vegetarian. Using great ingredients really did enhance the flavors of everything.
Tiramisu - I didn't get a chance to taste this dish because of the uncooked alcohol in it (when I do try making it myself I will omit that ingredient), but word on the street is that it was pretty fantastic.
Jenni and Salome making fresh pasta
Day 2:
Again, all ingredients are locally grown and/or organic.
Fennel souffle - my first venture into the world of souffle making and actually not that hard. And for someone who is not a fan of either cauliflower or fennel I was stunned at how delicious they turned out.
Cauliflower souffle
Chicken with olives
Cheese cake - one of the loveliest, lightest cheese cakes I've had.
On the mornings we didn't cook we went on tours of some of the local farms. The first, La Ginestra, produces bees and honey, and a small supply of boar/pig. We had a chance to see the animals and the hives and had a very interesting explanation of the process of honey making. We also got to taste honey directly from a hive and then later, in jars with particular flavors. After the tour we had an awesome farmhouse meal - again 4 courses - starting with the anti pasti, then a pasta dish, pork and potatoes, and a lovely warm apple cake to round it off (followed by Italian espresso for those who enjoy coffee!)
The second day we went to 2 different farms - the first is a community of about 24 people who started a lifestyle project to become entirely self-sufficient. They grow all their own vegetables, they raise cows and goats for milk, cheese and yogurt, they have chickens and geese for eggs, and even dug their own lake for irrigation. Solar panel energy runs the equipment and they have a small farm store where they sell their products to make an income for any supplies they might need. We bumped into one of the founders of the community - an old beautiful man - who shared with us many of the fascinating details of their history. See their website for more details: http://www.poggioantico-firenze.it
The second farm we saw that day was an organic vineyard and olive grove. They also rely on agritourism and have many rooms to rent out during the year. I have forgotten the name for now but will try and add it if it comes to me.
The rest of our time was spent visiting the nearby towns. We had an afternoon and evening in Sienna - really sweet and just beautiful. James and I got to see the frescoes in the cathedral which were fairly spectacular. Dinner at Hostario Il Carroccio -Via Casata di Sotto, 32 Tel: +39-0577-41165 - was good, though I wish we had not gone with a set menu. It was way too much food to try and ingest after a big lunch, and it seemed like it just kept coming out.
Group picture in Sienna
On Tuesday afternoon we took the opportunity to check out the old city of Certaldo. From what I saw and heard, this is a less touristy place to go and it still has all the charm and history of an old Tuscan town. Something I thought every day was just how gorgeous everything must be in the warm weather. Certaldo alto has a beautiful view of the surrounding areas and a nice walking path around the town walls from which to see everything.
Wednesday was our trip to San Gimignano. I have heard that summers are crazy there because of the tourists. Luckily we had no such trouble - perhaps even a bit of the opposite. The Torture Museum we were supposed to visit was closed, and the most well known Gelateria, famous for their pistachio flavor in Piazza Cisterna was also closed. We ended up settling for another random gelateria which was certainly adequate but we'll never know if it compares! We had another great dinner at Trattoria Il Rigoletto +39 0577 – 941981 just outside of San Giovanni gate I believe. It was a good choice not to go with a set menu and instead we had a chance to sample what suited our moods at the time. The goat/sheep cheese with pepper and honey and toast was pretty delicious.
Thursday afternoon was down time though we did take a walk to a local potter who was kind enough to show us around his studio and show room. It was surprising to see such rustic and Japanese influenced work in an area filled with the typical majolica Terra cotta painted pots. You can check Terry out: http://www.terrydavies.it/techniques/tuscany/tuscany.html
Our final dinner was also local, at a sweet restaurant called C’era una volta (Once upon a Time) in Lucardo. As a starter the mixed fried turned out to be light and surprisingly good. Their pici (local pasta) is also very tasty.
The rest of our time was spent at the apartments where we cooked 2 dinners together which turned out pretty well. We played games together and watched Ratatouille to set the mood for the week!
Sienna
Cathedral - Sienna
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Ski Week Continued
Just a couple more pictures of the amazing mountains we were hanging out on.
View near the top
James and I before having fondu on the mountain side
View near the top
James and I before having fondu on the mountain side
Ski Week - Jan 6th - Jan 12th
A gorgeous view from the mountain
Ah yes, another manditory TASIS travel week. As faculty we get to spend a week in Crans-Montana in the French speaking area of Switzerland, taking ski lessons and enjoying winter activities. We do have some work to do. We are required to be on duty for a shift of a day as well as to chaperone an activity or two. So for example I was on duty on Sunday -the day we arrived - and I had to take part in Snowfest for the 9th Grade. We had a huge snow ball fight outside at night and then walked to a restaurant for hot chocolates. Tough life. I hung around to do evening check in, did lights out and was out of there at 11pm. Then I was done for the rest of the week and could pretty much do as much or little with the kids as I wanted. Our ski passes were paid for so all we had to pay for was equipment rental which was discounted to CH100 for the week. I rented a locker as well to save myself shlepping all that gear up and down the hill. It's really tiring! I think the hardest part of skiing is getting your gear on and together.
We had great weather 3 days and not so great weather the other couple, but it was a good time. Tiring for sure, but lots of fun. Most of the faculty stay up in the center of town in one hotel (which we don't pay for either!).
Though James made the decision to skip the skiing, I couldn't pass up the chance to give it a try. Over the week I took advantage of a couple of the morning lessons. I was in the Never group and basically hung close on the bunny trails till the last day. Then I dared to venture onto a beginners trail down the mountain. I was fairly terrified but thanks to my good friend Charlene, I made it with no major injuries and only a handful of clumsy falls.
Charlene and Keith - two of our good friends here who we spent alot of time with
Amy, Joanna and I on skis - Amy was helping the two of us out a little!
We ate fondu on the mountain, went tubing at night and even had a chance to watch a movie in English at the local theater. One night a bus had been organized to take the teachers and some 12th graders to some thermal baths. My aching body was more than grateful for the soak. We also had a lovely faculty dinner one night and much socializing on the other days including crepes and hot chocolate.
Other fun bits were the faculty vs student ice hockey game. So many people who have hardly ever played or never played just got up on the ice and had a great time. I was happy to watch! I don't think anyone needs to see my lack of grace on ice.
The night tubing with the kids was also great fun. We tied many tubes together and headed down a fairly long track. Of course there had to be hot chocolate to follow!
James and I at the hockey game
Tubing - I was on the end of this crazy train of students!
Ah yes, another manditory TASIS travel week. As faculty we get to spend a week in Crans-Montana in the French speaking area of Switzerland, taking ski lessons and enjoying winter activities. We do have some work to do. We are required to be on duty for a shift of a day as well as to chaperone an activity or two. So for example I was on duty on Sunday -the day we arrived - and I had to take part in Snowfest for the 9th Grade. We had a huge snow ball fight outside at night and then walked to a restaurant for hot chocolates. Tough life. I hung around to do evening check in, did lights out and was out of there at 11pm. Then I was done for the rest of the week and could pretty much do as much or little with the kids as I wanted. Our ski passes were paid for so all we had to pay for was equipment rental which was discounted to CH100 for the week. I rented a locker as well to save myself shlepping all that gear up and down the hill. It's really tiring! I think the hardest part of skiing is getting your gear on and together.
We had great weather 3 days and not so great weather the other couple, but it was a good time. Tiring for sure, but lots of fun. Most of the faculty stay up in the center of town in one hotel (which we don't pay for either!).
Though James made the decision to skip the skiing, I couldn't pass up the chance to give it a try. Over the week I took advantage of a couple of the morning lessons. I was in the Never group and basically hung close on the bunny trails till the last day. Then I dared to venture onto a beginners trail down the mountain. I was fairly terrified but thanks to my good friend Charlene, I made it with no major injuries and only a handful of clumsy falls.
Charlene and Keith - two of our good friends here who we spent alot of time with
Amy, Joanna and I on skis - Amy was helping the two of us out a little!
We ate fondu on the mountain, went tubing at night and even had a chance to watch a movie in English at the local theater. One night a bus had been organized to take the teachers and some 12th graders to some thermal baths. My aching body was more than grateful for the soak. We also had a lovely faculty dinner one night and much socializing on the other days including crepes and hot chocolate.
Other fun bits were the faculty vs student ice hockey game. So many people who have hardly ever played or never played just got up on the ice and had a great time. I was happy to watch! I don't think anyone needs to see my lack of grace on ice.
The night tubing with the kids was also great fun. We tied many tubes together and headed down a fairly long track. Of course there had to be hot chocolate to follow!
James and I at the hockey game
Tubing - I was on the end of this crazy train of students!
Winter Comes to Lugano
We saw our first snow in Lugano right before we left for Ski week. I think what gets me most is the snow on the palm trees!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Crazy Christmas Break
London - New York - Boston. It sounds glamorous and oh so jet set, but as it turns out, it was quite exhausting!
First stop London for 3 days. We had a nice stay at Sonja and Theo's and I was very happy to spend a little time with Julie every day. Our first night she had us all over for dinner and cooked a spectacular multi course meal. After 3 months of TASIS food I was really done with bad food by the time we left, and that meal was the start of a good food vacation.
The weather was crap as it tends to be in England. We took a walk in Hyde Park only to find it getting dark at 3:30pm. It also felt freezing to us after our balmy Ticino weather. And of course there is the expense of everything in England - Outrageous! Still, when friends and family are around everything is that much better.
Dinner at Julie's place
On the 19th of Dec we arrived in New York after a pleasant flight over with BA. This is especially noteworthy when we compare it to the Alitalia flight back from Boston to Milan. Besides the terrible turbulence which perhaps wasn't their fault, there were no individual tv screens and then no movie on the main screen. We had no choice for dinner - they had run out of chicken and so fish was shoved apon us. Later for drinks we discovered two options - coke or water. Breakfast was no better. Didn't sleep a wink and arrived to find some other passenger had grabbed our hand luggage and left theirs. The airline didn't take their bag from us, and instead just incouraged us to find them before they disappeared... Great. Lucky for us we discovered an old guy with it about to go through to a transfering flight. That could have been a disaster.
But back to New York - it is all a bit of a daze as we tried to schedule in as many friends and family members as we could. Much revolved around meal times and our mission to eat at all our favourite spots was more or less accomplished. Oh the bliss of eating sushi again! And Cuban. And chicken wings. And ribs. And burgers. Wow the list goes on.
Also in New York I got my first mani pedi since July thanks to Karen and her packing procrastinating. We did get round to doing some packing and moving for her and Matt and we even had a chance to see the house they bought. Very cool. We also had a chance to catch up with Jamie and John and hear about the wedding and honeymoon. We had dinner with Felice catching her right before her own trip to Australia, and we saw an awesome performance of Alvin Ailey. We had dinner with a student's dad and girlfriend, shopped at Century 21, walked around Soho, and had Christmas Eve and day with James' family. All this and more in just 6 days.
Meeting up with John and Jamie
Christmas Eve with the Family
Karen and Matt in front of their new house
We thought Boston might be more relaxing, but it turned out only slightly so. James' parents drove us up which was very sweet of them and also gave them some extra time with James. With Sonja also there visiting, we spent the rest of the week bouncing back and forth between Shirin's and my mom's places which was quite disorienting. The first night we tried sleeping all three sisters in one bed, and lets just say that it didn't work out so well! Bugsy and Samba eventually started to recognize James and I again and then permitted us to pick them up, but at first they were very put out with all the new bodies in their home. It was good to see them all adjusted to their new home though. We spent time with Nana, and when my mom wasn't working, with her too. The rest was a mash of shopping, more shopping, social engagements, meeting Shirin's friends, and generally hanging out and eating. Again lots of good food - more on the homemade front with Shirin and her dinner parties. All in all, exhausting but great trip. We arrived back after the interesting flight described above, and made the mistake of taking a nap in the morning. Jet lag followed, and we spent the following few days trying to recover. We had just 2 and a half days before ski week which was not a whole lot of time to get our minds in school mode. We made it through though, and more on that to come!
Three in a bed...
First stop London for 3 days. We had a nice stay at Sonja and Theo's and I was very happy to spend a little time with Julie every day. Our first night she had us all over for dinner and cooked a spectacular multi course meal. After 3 months of TASIS food I was really done with bad food by the time we left, and that meal was the start of a good food vacation.
The weather was crap as it tends to be in England. We took a walk in Hyde Park only to find it getting dark at 3:30pm. It also felt freezing to us after our balmy Ticino weather. And of course there is the expense of everything in England - Outrageous! Still, when friends and family are around everything is that much better.
Dinner at Julie's place
On the 19th of Dec we arrived in New York after a pleasant flight over with BA. This is especially noteworthy when we compare it to the Alitalia flight back from Boston to Milan. Besides the terrible turbulence which perhaps wasn't their fault, there were no individual tv screens and then no movie on the main screen. We had no choice for dinner - they had run out of chicken and so fish was shoved apon us. Later for drinks we discovered two options - coke or water. Breakfast was no better. Didn't sleep a wink and arrived to find some other passenger had grabbed our hand luggage and left theirs. The airline didn't take their bag from us, and instead just incouraged us to find them before they disappeared... Great. Lucky for us we discovered an old guy with it about to go through to a transfering flight. That could have been a disaster.
But back to New York - it is all a bit of a daze as we tried to schedule in as many friends and family members as we could. Much revolved around meal times and our mission to eat at all our favourite spots was more or less accomplished. Oh the bliss of eating sushi again! And Cuban. And chicken wings. And ribs. And burgers. Wow the list goes on.
Also in New York I got my first mani pedi since July thanks to Karen and her packing procrastinating. We did get round to doing some packing and moving for her and Matt and we even had a chance to see the house they bought. Very cool. We also had a chance to catch up with Jamie and John and hear about the wedding and honeymoon. We had dinner with Felice catching her right before her own trip to Australia, and we saw an awesome performance of Alvin Ailey. We had dinner with a student's dad and girlfriend, shopped at Century 21, walked around Soho, and had Christmas Eve and day with James' family. All this and more in just 6 days.
Meeting up with John and Jamie
Christmas Eve with the Family
Karen and Matt in front of their new house
We thought Boston might be more relaxing, but it turned out only slightly so. James' parents drove us up which was very sweet of them and also gave them some extra time with James. With Sonja also there visiting, we spent the rest of the week bouncing back and forth between Shirin's and my mom's places which was quite disorienting. The first night we tried sleeping all three sisters in one bed, and lets just say that it didn't work out so well! Bugsy and Samba eventually started to recognize James and I again and then permitted us to pick them up, but at first they were very put out with all the new bodies in their home. It was good to see them all adjusted to their new home though. We spent time with Nana, and when my mom wasn't working, with her too. The rest was a mash of shopping, more shopping, social engagements, meeting Shirin's friends, and generally hanging out and eating. Again lots of good food - more on the homemade front with Shirin and her dinner parties. All in all, exhausting but great trip. We arrived back after the interesting flight described above, and made the mistake of taking a nap in the morning. Jet lag followed, and we spent the following few days trying to recover. We had just 2 and a half days before ski week which was not a whole lot of time to get our minds in school mode. We made it through though, and more on that to come!
Three in a bed...
Monday, December 3, 2007
Thanksgiving - family time
Having my sisters around is always such a joy and a blessing. Though the weather refused to cooperate all week, I still had a wonderful time. The great thing about hanging out with my sisters is how easy it all is. There are no expectations to entertain and I can count on them to do a lot around the house so that I almost get a break!
I feel like I should have a great list of things we got up to, but really just spending time together was the highlight. Sometimes we were together eating, sometimes sleeping, sometimes getting ready to go out, sometimes playing with leo, but all the time getting to talk naturally and freely. That's what counts most really.
Leo has changed so much since we last saw him in August. He is really becoming a little boy with curiosity and facial expressions to match. As he starts discovering sounds with his voice and you can sense the desire and the frustration at not being able to talk yet. Even more than talking is his desire to walk though. He's young to be so eager, but he's very strong.
James, as the sweetest husband, ended up driving us all sorts of places including making the trip to Malpensa Airport in Milan not once, but twice. I love that I can count on him for that kind of support and understanding.
What was really healthy was taking some time and space away from the campus and routine of work. It felt more than good and I am looking forward to more of that over Christmas break. What I realize in those odd moments when I stop, is how much we are still doing and involved in even when we are not "working". Forcing myself not to touch the essays I had over the whole week was tough, but refreshiing. And now that all that excitment is gone I am shocked to see the end of year in full view. It's somehow managed to get to December without me knowing it. Pretty soon I will be a year older, have made it through the first semester at a boarding school and will be on my way back to the States. Wow, that's a lot.
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