Having yet another cafe break in our ambling kind of day. Nothing like seeing great works of art, window shopping and eating enough gelato for a week!
Sunset on the river
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Florence Weekend - continued
View on the way up to the roof of the Duomo
Having yet another cafe break in our ambling kind of day. Nothing like seeing great works of art, window shopping and eating enough gelato for a week!
Sunset on the river
Having yet another cafe break in our ambling kind of day. Nothing like seeing great works of art, window shopping and eating enough gelato for a week!
Sunset on the river
Weekend in Florence - spring
We had a great weekend away with Karen and Matt. We rented a car and drove down to Milan, retrieved M&K from the Malpensa airport and carried on down to Tuscany. Thanks to a tip from friends I booked us the most adorable B&B just on the outskirts of Vecchio, an hour out of Florence. The name of the place is Le Due Volpi - run by Heidi and Lorenzo, it is small and beautifully set up with the most ridiculous views of the rolling countryside. This first photo is from the awesome al fresco dinner we had at the B&B. Unbelievably good home made food, good company, and from what I hear, good wine.
Though rain was forecasted for the whole weekend we arrived in Florence on Saturday to find glorious blue skies and sunshine. What a blessing to be able to walk around the city in such great weather. We did plenty of wondering and of course saw the major sights. The duomo is as impressive as it seems.
This last photo is taken after we climbed 400 and something stairs to see the frescoes on the ceiling. So worth it!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Spring and Neysan come to TASIS
Gorgeous spring blossoms on campus
Neysan's visit was way too short but it was great to see him for the 20 hours he managed to spend with us here in Lugano. The rain was courteous enough to pause for his brief stay.
Neysan near one of the town churches
Blossom detail
Neysan's visit was way too short but it was great to see him for the 20 hours he managed to spend with us here in Lugano. The rain was courteous enough to pause for his brief stay.
Neysan near one of the town churches
Blossom detail
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Paris Pictures
Ju and Nu - In Paris - Aww!
Some of the best hot chocolate in Paris - Isle Saint Louis
Boat tour on the river
Angelina's for some more fantastic hot chocolate. Be warned - don't order food as well!
Moulin Rouge - too bad the show was sold out!
Some of the best hot chocolate in Paris - Isle Saint Louis
Boat tour on the river
Angelina's for some more fantastic hot chocolate. Be warned - don't order food as well!
Moulin Rouge - too bad the show was sold out!
Spring Time in Paris
I love Paris. It's probably one of my favorite cities (so far). So the chance to spend some time there with my best friend was an easy choice. We lucked out with a fantastic apartment of a friend of hers in the 8th Arrondissement very close to L'arc de Triumph. We were there over Easter making it tricky to know what would be open when, but despite our bad timing to many places, we had a grand time. Some tips in case you should travel over this same weekend some year - the catacombs are closed. No, they are not just closed earlier in the day than 5:30pm when we finally found our way there after nearly 2 hours of walking. They are in fact closed from January, February, March and yes, maybe even into April. We had to find out the hard way from a crepe making lady. We took it decidedly well and instead, as it was Easter Sunday, decided on a new mission: to find a cabaret show. This too resulted in a big fat nada, but I can tell you for a fact that the Moulin Rouge is open on Easter Sunday and was PACKED. I'm glad we all have our priorities squared away.
Far more important than our thwarted missions (and there were more - like our attempt to see the Musee D'orsay (lines were too long to contemplate waiting) and the Museum of Anthropology or whatever it was (closed!) - we still managed the essentials like hot chocolate on Isle Saint Louis. Yum. And Hot chocolate - L'Africain - at Angelina's near the Louvre. We appropriately ate pain au chocolat, pastries, crepes and tasty sandwiches. I even had a good old croque Monsieur - always greasier than you remember them to be. 
Nifty find - Pomze - a very sweet and well-decorated restaurant in the 9th with the theme of apples running through the menu. Live piano and tasty cocktails (apple inspired of course) followed by a tasty meal made for a lovely evening out of the rain.
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
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