From Tennessee to Tuscany

Let’s go to the Fair!

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Melonie

Once again this year we visited San Gimignano (the town of towers) located in Tuscany so we could experience the fun of Ferie delle Messi or Harvest Festival. It is an easy drive from Florence or Rome, a walled city with plenty of shops, food and towers to climb. But the festival is worth planning your trip around. This year was no exception-they even added several extra events.

This Medieval Festival dates back to 1255 and includes over 500 townspeople, wearing costumes, banging drums, dancing, competing, offering music, drama, arts and crafts, parades, games, and of course food.

Put on each year by the Association of the Knights of S. Fina, it is organized every June-a two day, all day gathering of the four contradas (neighborhoods). The green, red, blue and green flags represent the contradas of San Giovanni, San Matteo,Castello, Piazza. The competition is fierce. Tug of war, fencing, jousting on horseback. Even the ladies get into the action with the medieval “braid” competition. Why? To win the Golden Sword of course! The Sword represents wealth and fertility to the winner.

The Festival (only 6 euro’s) begins on a Saturday with a HUGE drum, horn and costume parade through the town into the piazza, where the townspeople line up on the Doumo’s steps with their appropriate “color” flag. They introduce each “rider” or competitor for the group -who arrive on horseback with a cape! Although many of the games are in a group fashion-this “rider” will be the final competitor in the jousting, accepting the Sword for his entire contrada.

I have so many pictures to share. I will break this up to many posts…

Let’s first focus on the parade and cast of characters….

I hear the drums!!! Here comes the parade!

Men of all ages!

This year’s “maiden” was lovely-the rider’s will try to win her affection.

The “rider” is presented with their horse at the foot of the cathedral steps.

The San Giovanni (blue) dark curly haired man was who I cheered for this year!

Hubby has cheered for this lovely grey haired charmer for two years-he is an amazing horse rider…

One more pic of my guy…ha !

This young man was not a “rider” but participated in all the group events-we called him “Superman” because I thought he looked like Clark Kent.

This young drummer in red was also a drummer when we were there 3 years ago-he was nicknamed “Taylor’s boyfriend” because she thought he was cute and he still is!

The Master of Ceremony was very good-the horns announced we were starting the weekend’s festivities.

The parade participants lines up on the steps of the cathedral…we will see them all weekend -they really work hard!

The audience!!! There is no room to spare…it seems as if the entire town is in the festival yet there are hundreds left to watch!

The “riders” get blessed….Isn’t his horse lovely!

All the “riders” are now ready for an exciting weekend of historic competition!

Posted in Chianti, Family, Florence, History, Italy, San Gimignana, Things to do, Travel Tips, Tuscany, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Egg’cellent

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Melonie

So I admit I read a lot of recipes. I am a dreamer that someday I will actually make something I read about…for years I have read every Italian book on making fresh bread and pasta, thinking to myself…I could do that. But as I have never cooked anything much I never give it a whirl. I am married to an Italian Chef so you would think HE would have taught me something…but no, when he is off work, he doesn’t want to dabble in the kitchen.

This summer we were entertaining some American friends with kids in Tuscany and I thought it might be fun to finally make fresh pasta. We found a pasta maker, bought some eggs and flour and got to work….Hubby was amazing and really had fun thinking of the childhood memories of his Mom making pasta. We all marveled at how YES it was easy and tons of fun. Asking ourselves why hadn’t we done it before? In our 1000 year old home in Tuscany we used a broom stick to dry the pieces of pasta the kids churned out of the machine.

We even stuffed ravioli and the kid made it pretty on the edges with a fork. The ravioli doubled in size so we only ended up being able to eat like five per person. The pasta was like “butter”, so fresh and yummy. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to try something new! What a special memory from our summer this year…

It’s crazy what an a little egg can turn into….

Simple…

Knead for about 10 minutes….

Crank it out!

This was just a start…we filled up the entire broom stick!!

This is serious business!!!

They all got a turn to crank the pasta maker, one kid couldn’t wait and had to have some cereal to tie him over! ha

Got to get it just the right thickness….

Ravioli making…

We must have just started…the table was still fairly clean.

Now we’re talking….

The pasta is so yellow because of the eggs.

Attack of the giant ravioli!!!

add a little sauce and it’s dinner time!!!

So grab an egg and get to work!

Posted in Bagni Di Lucca, Family, Food, Lucca, Things to do, Travel Tips, Tuscany, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

While we’re on the subject of cheese….

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Melonie

The song says “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go”…well, in the hills above Lucca in the Garfagnana it would say…”Over the river and UP through the woods, and up and up and up…to Gemma’s house we go”.

Gemma and her husband have been running “Cerasa” farm for years. The popular hilltop location is the home to dozens of sheep that at one time were almost extinct. The Bianca Garfagnana sheep (the white sheep) now has a population of up towards 50,000 thanks to the efforts of the commune and Gemma’s years of hard work. The dogs help her bring them around the mountain to graze…we enjoyed watching her yell “andiamo” (let’s go) to the dogs as they ran around getting the sheep to the proper place.

When we arrived at the farm she had already been up early milking the sheep. The milk had been on the fire for an hour with the renant added waiting for us to come watch the grand making of CHEESE! I will not even try to explain the process of the cheese making but I will tell you it must takes years of experience to know just when the time is right to stir, cut, lump, drain, mold, dry, salt, wash and age this fresh cheese. Of course my dear friend and tour guide Heather from Sapori-e-Saperi took us to this delightful cheese adventure where we sampled the cheese throughout it’s many stages.

The amazing thing we have learned a few times at different cheese makers is the “left over” makes ricotta! So ricotta is not cheese at all…it’s…well, leftover -and boy is it good served with Gemma’s fresh jam!

We were also allowed to see the low ceiling, cool, spooky cellar where the cheese sits on wood boards and gets washed and turned daily as it ages. Hanging around the edges were the family’s special salumi, aged to perfection with about 6 inches of mold covering the good stuff inside! I of course batted my eyelashes and begged them to sell me a hunk, which we took home and ate alllll week with pleasure (after hubby sliced off all the icky stuff).

The farm is a landmark. They have lovely accommodations for the sheep, many barns, sheds, amazing views, olive and fruit trees. They also have 500 year old chestnut trees that are named and handled with great care. You can even adopt a tree , then come enjoy the harvest at chestnut time in the fall.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch with several new friends we met that day also on the tour. We walked the farm, gathering herbs and ingredients for a cooking class later that day. It was another fab day with Heather doing what my kid loves the most-eating cheese!

Added the renant and turn up the heat….

The “paddle” spoon is standing up in the milk, getting close to cheese now!

Cutting the curds…

Look at that HUGE hunk of cheese!!!

Pressing it into the molds…as the “whey” drains out…

Now we try the ricotta made from the whey…

The cheese ages in the cellar-isn’t this a great picture?!

Gemma turns the cheeses every day.

Yes…I bought one of these treasures hanging to “age”.

The sheep had been sheared and were grazing peacefully in the shade of an old chestnut tree.

The dogs worked as hard as the humans!

She had a surprise for us…

Pups!! They looked like little bear cubs!! and they really wanted to get out and help herd those sheep.

This dog served as the doorbell-telling Gemma we had arrived.

The dining room is perfect for a large group-the story of the Bianca Garfagnana sheep laced the walls, as did samples of the sheep’s wool made into lovely rugs, scarves, socks, made by Gemma’s daughter.

The wool is dyed using natural ingredients around the farm.

The chestnut trees were immense…

This one dates back to the 1600’s!

A special farm, with a special cause, making special products by a very special lady!

Look it up next time you go to Tuscany…or better yet…

Look up Heather at www.sapori-e-saperi.com .

Posted in Family, Food, History, Italy, Lucca, Things to do, Travel Tips, Tuscany | Leave a comment

Some Yummy Stuff!

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Melonie

There are a dozen posts I could write about the amazing city of Bologna but as a good Southern I will start with a very important topic…FOOD! We enjoyed this vibrant city this summer, filled with market places, museums, and more. But what really turned my photographer kid’s head was the amazing displays of food located at Mercato delle Erbe.

Head towards the main Piazza Maggiore, stand in front of the lovely Basilica, turn your head to the left and walk….keep going…keep going…BAM-stalls and stalls and shops and shops of delectable items. Bologna is known as the Food Capital of Italy which may come as a surprise as most travelers never even get to this lovely portico filled town. I had heard of bolognese sauce before arriving and it did live up to it’s reputation! But what you can not leave without is trying the tortellini (wide very yellow strips of fresh pasta), also famous for lasagna and tagliatele(tiny little pasta knots with surprises tucked inside).

NEVER have I checked a bag while traveling to Italy…well, Bologna changed that. I bought oil, wild boar, pasta, more oil…cheese (but we ate it before we left!) and more oil.

Here are a few yummy pictures the kid took…I just walked around and ate.

The kid’s favorite food…cheese…fresh pecorini to be exact!

Fresh vegetables are everywhere you turn.

I just want to bite right into these to see what is inside.

So many places you go up to the counter and make a plate to eat now or take away…including a pound or two of fresh mozzarella.

And don’t forget the bread.

I spent some time in this shop!

The wild boar came from this inviting shop.

We have a serious cheese fetish.

The “Dolce” are always beautiful.

How do you eat this? Pure sugar-we would call this a “meringue”…but this one is huge!

You could take some pasta home to share?

Only “tourists” take these home as no Italian would ever eat colored pasta….but they do make fun gifts!

One last salumi purchase and my suitcase is stuffed!

so tired from shopping we had to stop to eat!

and there is plenty of vino and olio..but alas, we are shopped out…

If you are ever in Bologna-find this market, you will not be disappointed, and will not go hungry.

Posted in Bologna, Family, Food, Italy, Things to do, Travel Tips, Uncategorized, Wine | Leave a comment

“Master’s Hand” in Naples…

Posted on July 12, 2012 by Melonie

As early as 300BC Egyptians wore cameo’s as jewelry, on helmets, and rings carved out of stone and precious stones. They were usually worn by men to signify their family or military branch, and it’s importance.

While Queen Elizabeth of England made them popular as “jewelry”, even during the Renaissance era Pope Paul II was an avid collector. During that time tourists were also flocking to Pompeii and the local craftsmen had started the tradition of using shells to hand carve lady’s profiles.

Enter…”Chero” (pronounced Cheer-Oh)…a second generation craftsmen of cameo’s in Naples. His shop is right by the large Fort Saint Elmo’s and he will be happy to show you how he carves his master pieces! The passion he has about his craft is apparant and his shop

He uses two different shells, small hand tools and an amazing vision. He had cameo pins, earrings, necklaces…even clip on earrings! His partner “Renalto” was a wonderful story teller as well. He pulled out the real treasures once he realized we were really going to shop and were not “just looking”.

Stop by and see the treasures they create….

Chero explains the different shells.

He uses white, peach and grey-all are found in one shell-he doesn’t waste any of the shell.

These were the “real treasures”! Aren’t they beautiful?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A few Money Tips…

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Melonie

Don’t leave home without it…no, not your American Express…your Euro’s-the money of Italy!

Depending on where you are traveling you would be wise to show up with money in hand. Cash is key, and credit cards are not used everywhere. I find that all hotels and touristy type places take credit cards but remember-there is a FEE for the credit card company to make the exchange. You will see it on your monthly statement. If you use your debit card which is what most travel agents tell you to do..also a FEE. You will be charged a few bucks on your end and the machine you are using (I find this annoying because how can you balance your check book without knowing the exchange? You really can’t until you get home?).

Anyone can google “exchange rate” and find out what your poor little US Dollar is worth in Euro’s but all that really goes down the drain depending on where you trade.

After trying every way known to man-here is the cheapest I have found so far…Get the money from your bank 10 days before you leave. I can trade in 1,000’s for less than 20 bucks! People think exchange rates change according to location- but they are really standard-it’s the fees that change. Worst place-airports and those little kiosks on high traffic roads in tourist towns. If you get to Italy and run out of money try to find a local bank to exchange your money. The fees are very fair. You will need your passport and a smile. The bank hours are usually 8:30-11:30 and then a few hours after lunch like 1:00-3:00.

Euro’s are lovely, colorful bills starting at $5 and going up. They feel like play money. But once you realize how bad the exchange rate is you will hold on to them for dear life! As I write this I got 75cents to my US dollar yesterday-what a drag….could be worse, could be the sterling pound which is 50cents to my dollar, which is why I will not be going to London any time soon.

Remember one and two Euro’s are in the form of coins. You can not generally exchange these when you return! So the last few days use these up first. If you think you will ever return just keep what is left or find someone that is going and exchange money to save you from getting hit with more …FEES!

A few other things that may help when you travel regarding money….

Have coins ready for the toll roads. If you have plenty of coins you may drive through the lane marked with a sign showing coins. If you will need change get in the lane marked with a sign of a person’s hand holding out change.

Need to go to the restroom in a train station or where they are charging you a fee? These are usually one euro. Find yourself without any change?-look around for a change machine-you will need to lift the silver lever up and insert you bill for change.

Use the dimes and nickels to tip the lovely guy or gal who made your amazing latte at the bar. .20c is usually the fair tip for this.

Stuck in a parking garage or lot?-push the button to get your ticket first, then reinsert the ticket as you leave and place coins in accordingly.

Take TIME TO PLAN!

If you know how much your hotel is going to be, how many museums you want visit(research the fees online), tourists menu’s range from 5.50 for lunch to 11e for dinner, add some extra for coffee and gelato daily and attempt to come up with a figure you may need.

The only thing you can not pay for in cash is your rental car. You must have a tried and true credit card for that-NOT a debit card.

Money is hard to come by so make the most of yours! Don’t be afraid to carry cash, unless you are in Rome or Naples you are generally very safe. If you are in those areas carry an inside travel wallet (you can get at Wal-Mart) or an over the shoulder small purse that zips!

Quant’e=how much is it? Learn this and a few other phrases and you’ll be fine!

Posted in Bagni Di Lucca, Family, Florence, Italy, Lucca, Things to do, Travel Tips, Tuscany | Leave a comment

Pope’s Retreat…

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Melonie

About an hour train ride from Rome is the ancient walled city of Viterbo.

On the way we saw the three volcanic crater lakes and the main crops of hazel nuts and olive trees growing. The city is known today for it’s many thermal spas. Tourists come to take in the healing waters that have been in the area since the Etruscan and Roman times. There are even some ancient Roman baths still intact!

When we arrived, we entered the medieval gate entrance Porta Romano (points towards Rome). The town dated back to the 600’s but became a city in 1000BC! Every year on September 3rd they have a huge festival called “Macchiana di Santa Rosa”, honoring the Patron Saint Rose. Legend has it she was a 19yr old girl who wanted to spread the gospel and was thrown out of town, when she died her bones didn’t disintegrate-the people were amazed and she was sainted. We walked the mile walk that every year 100 strong hero’s from the town walk carring a huge 70-80 foot tower in honor of Santa Rosa.

The walk began at the gate near the Gothic style church Santo Sisto, down the street to Piazza del Piebiscito (the people’s piazza) where the main clock tower and government buildings are housed, then up to the 12c Romanesque style church of Santa Maria Nouova. This walk is up and down hills and the men stop several times for breaks. The festival usually brings about 50,000 visitors in addition to the 60,000 in population to Viterbo’s normally quiet town. Parades, food, medieval costumed events happen all weekend but the “walk” is at 9pm as the sun is set adding even more difficulty to the affair.

The most popular attraction of Viterbo is the “Palazzo Lorenzo”. A large area that has the amazing “Palace of the Popes”. This building is where the Popes would come to take retreat from busy Rome. It was also where the new Pope was selected up until the late 1300’s. Legend says the church had a side “loggia” hall where they would lock the doors until a decision was made, dropping food into the top of the Castle! The columns for the building came directly from Rome. The St Lawrence Cathedral and Bell Tower are also beautiful. I loved the 3 doors depicting several stories of the Bible and History. I even found a little tiny fresco in the corner that has been recently discovered. This church was actually built atop old Lombard ruins. The piazza housed a nice drinking fountain, a school for priest’s and views to die for! As you walk the city of Viterbo you will see a Lion , the town’s symbol for courage against the tough Papal historic wars fought throughout the town.

I really loved Viterbo-we ate lunch at a place I may never find again and the food was insane, the city was clean and well kept and the amount of history here was overwhelming.

My favorite part was the small plaque erected by the fountain overlooking the valley (outside the People’s Piazza) that stated the city was freed from Papal rule…for a whopping 30 days…oh well…may we all learn to enjoy our small victories.

The Gate entrance into the walled town of Viterbo.

The main bell tower, notice the lion on the corner of the building.

The last turn of the mile walk towards the Santa Maria Church-this picture points you to the church.

Every year a new tower is designed and built for the men to carry-this statue represents one from years ago….

Plazzo Lorenzo with the cathedral and the palace in the foreground.

The roman columns of the Palace for the Pope’s were stunning.

The cathedral.

Interior of Cathedral.

All three doors told a story.

I saw this tiny frescoe in the corner of the church…barely lit with a small bulb…a treasure as I didn’t see anyone else notice it-it was far back in a dusty spot so I reached in and snapped a picture.

The cathedral bell tower.

20 days of freedom…

Posted in Family, History, Italy, Rome, Travel Tips, Viterbo | Leave a comment

Napoli starts off with an “Ahhhhh”…

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Melonie

After a 10 hr plane ride, 2 hour train ride, 30 minute walk, my group from Tennessee arrived at our Naples Hotel….and all I could say was..”Ahhhh…Ohhhhh…Ooooo”.

Weekend a Napoli, known as WAN, which you can view at www.weekendanapoli.com was a private, off the main drag , lovely home away from home. After getting through the 3 security doors (this is Naples after all)..the garden , lobby, and room was so nice and fresh and pretty and clean and…..”Ahhhh”. I dropped on the bed and wondered if I laid there too long I may miss the next activity!

The owner’s son showed us to our rooms and the breakfast room where we would enjoy the next few days. My room looked spanking new, lovely tiled bath, plenty of amenities, fresh bottled water (fizzy and natural), windows I could open to the street, and my own ac unit! Wow..this place was nice. Paolo, the owner explained it was his old home place and that he bought the building back some years ago to restore the 3 story home to the many rooms and apartments today. He also took time to literally walk me around the neighborhood to show me the safe places to run.

I ran every morning and enjoyed an amazing view of the historic center and looking down on the port of Napoli. The breakfast was insane…homemade cakes, pastries, cereal, fresh fruit, juice, coffee-much more than the standard B and B fare.

I highly recommend WAN if you ever visit Naples-there is a lovely market right next door and on Friday they come out full force with their produce, fish, flowers, olives…everything you could imagine. It is also close to a bank and the metro train line. On my run I found the “upper end” shopping street witch is pedastrian only at night and leads you to the lovely water view.

I recommend the coffee across the street at Bar Mexico (I know that sounds funny doesn’t it)…serious espresso at this place…a bit further down is gelato and an amazing bakery!

So go isit Weekend at Napoli or one of there sister properties on the islands surrounding Naples.

Tell them the Tennessee group said hello!

Welcome!

Bright and airy Lobby with tiled floors.

My room was clean and fresh!

Italians love tile-this is leading up to a garden area.

Out the door, take a left on the main rod and find treasure stores…like this bakery.

or a bunch of these…

or a couple of these…

Not a bad view for a morning run…

You could have your morning coffee inside or out…

Sparkly white marble baths…

Every door in Italy is unique-WAN’s was no exception.

Christmas in April

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Melonie

I’m back from my Mission Trip in Italy and had an amazing week discovering Southern and Central Italy.

Naples-a small city of about 4 million! is not really as I had expected. It has always been explained to me as dirty, rough, crime filled, …like NYC…but like New York it also has it’s beautiful areas, amazing historical points, great food and beautiful people!

One area I enjoyed and was actually amazed at the talent was “Christmas Alley”. A road in the historic city center that has nothing but Nativities…or items for your Nativity. We have several Nativities that come out during the Christmas season and one small one that is out all year. In Tennessee I say the majority of us have the following characters…Mary, baby Jesus, Joseph, an angel, some wise men and maybe a few animals. Some may go crazy and place some straw in the barn or manger, add a shining star above the stable…but that’s about it.

In Naples the tradition is to have something old (pull out Mary, Jesus, Joseph) and add something new each year. To do that you have to go shopping! No worries, you can find anything you want for your Nativity, (which is actually an entire village) on Christmas Alley! There is food, pizza, a pizza maker, washing women, butcher, bread maker, flower carts, etc. You can add flying fairies, angels, strings of lights, buildings, churches, shops. You can have all sizes too. You can get handmade items, and even watch local craftsmen hard at work. Most of the pieces are clay and painted, some ceramics and fired. All were different and unique.

Some were covered with a lovely protective glass dome with a pricetag NOT so lovely.

If I had somewhere to put a huge village I could have gone crazy shopping for the little trinkets-it was like a dollhouse for adults…anyway…here is what we saw.

This scene went around the entire store. Characters were very detailed and look at the expressions.

Need a women at the well scene? These have real water!

The people of the village.

This one came with a nice building.

Carving large animals from clay…Gieseppee let me help.

These were huge displays…

Choose your village, then add the people.

Don’t forget the food.

You can add a fairy or one of these billion other tiny objects on the shelves.

The street goes on forever…

and ever….

My disappointment was this…it became like a “where’s waldo?” game trying to find Mary, Joseph and Jesus…who should be the central focal point for a Nativity don’t you think?

Posted in Family, History, Hotels, Italy, Naples, Things to do, Travel Tips, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Dove’ il Bagno?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Melonie

In a few hours I board a plane to Southern Italy-a region I have yet to explore…I am excited to see the differences between the North and the South. I hear they are very boisterous and fun. I will have the best pizza ever. But there are always some common house keeping questions I have , like …do they have the batteries I need, will the hotel have a hairdryer…will there be anywhere to run? Then there is the important answer to the question above…”Where is the restroom?”.

Take a look at the above photo….this is sometimes the answer you get when asking the above question . You will notice there are no handrails to hold onto-you better have strong thigh muscles…where is the flusher? Sometimes they are buttons in the wall, maybe a pedal on the floor, or a string to pull.

One lesson Ihave learned…always take a few tissues in your purse….you never know! The plumbing is always interesting…see the one below-it wraps around the entire room!

I am excited that my little apartment has a new toilet and fresh tile-Italians love their tile. Looks like we have the built-in to the tank flusher…see below! We also have a new washing machine which is like….heaven sent!! We can wait to go see our new “bagno”!

Here’s another travel tip-If you are blond, cute or have a nice smile, buy a cup of coffee-the cafe owner will then direct you to the “nice” toilet with a seat!! BAM

Happy travels!