So now we're back to "Hello!"
Just wanted to write that we both arrived home safely last night -- although my 27+ hour day was REALLY L-o-n-g, and I know Linda's was too!
Great trip -- many incredible memories! Now to recover from jet-lag!
Bye all, until the next time!
Much love,
m
x
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Heading back home!
Ciao, All!
Unfortunately, no pictures, as it was a pack-up, check-out and head to Rome's airport kinda day!
Jeanette, our hostess at Casa Chilenne in Cortona made everyone wonderful little meringue ghosts in honor of Halloween -- we got to take ours with us! It took us about 4 hours to get back to Rome's airport and find our hotel -- which, while close to the airport, is REALLY hard to get to! We've already lost it twice!
So, we are ready to head out VERY early tomorrow; my flight to Frankfort leaves at 6:05 a.m....
More when we get home!
Lots of love!
m
x
Unfortunately, no pictures, as it was a pack-up, check-out and head to Rome's airport kinda day!
Jeanette, our hostess at Casa Chilenne in Cortona made everyone wonderful little meringue ghosts in honor of Halloween -- we got to take ours with us! It took us about 4 hours to get back to Rome's airport and find our hotel -- which, while close to the airport, is REALLY hard to get to! We've already lost it twice!
So, we are ready to head out VERY early tomorrow; my flight to Frankfort leaves at 6:05 a.m....
More when we get home!
Lots of love!
m
x
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thanks, Jeanette, for a TERRIFIC cooking class!
Ciao on Sunday!
Wow! Where to begin?? We had dinner last night at Fufluns Pizzaria, after it turned out our first choice, Osteria de Grotta, was full. I had a bresaola salad on arugula with parmesan cheese; it was delicious, and followed it up with a pizza marguerite. Linda started with ravioli, both green spinach and white, flour, stuffed with ricotta and served on a bed of freshly grilled vegetables. Her second was a plate of grilled vegetables! (Obviously she really likes veggies!) Add a half-carafe of red wine and a bottle of sparkling water and we were out of there for about 31E for the two of us! Back to the B&B and in for the night, not forgetting to set our clocks back one hour, which happened last night.
Up around 6 (or 7, depending on where you are…) and breakfast at 8. We both had some scrambled eggs today, Linda with roasted tomato, and me with a slice of bacon…also a bit of bread, cheese and prosciutto as well as a piece of Jeanette’s apple torta – yummy!
Decided we would go for a walk until our cooking class with Jeanette at 11 a.m. Headed almost straight UP this time, to various places unknown – WOW, what a place! There are very few level places in town, but where there are you can find rows of grape vines planted or olive trees! There are also several convents as well as a monastery or two spread out among the various churches – some very, very tiny, but most very beautiful in their decoration. Got back a few minutes before our cooking class was scheduled to start.
I can only say, VERY, very fun class! Jeanette’s kitchen is truly amazing – besides an 8 burner professional stove, and three different refrigerators, she also has a real wood-burning grill! Wow! Would love to have that in our kitchen!!
We made the following meal: Jeanette made a starter of white mushrooms thinly sliced with olive oil, lemon zest and parmesan cheese, served with a rose pinot grigio – yummy!
This was followed by our hand-made pici pasta – which was hilarious to make, with a spicy, smoky tomato sauce hardy enough to stand up to the pasta. Great fun in making it, and I can’t wait to show R how to do it when we get home!
Then came the main course (and we were already getting full!) which was an incredible Tuscan steak cooked on the indoor wood-burning grill, then sliced thinly. This was served over arugula with olive oil and lemon – fabulous! This was also served with our grilled vegetables – red and yellow peppers, zucchini, egg plant, tomatoes and fennel – and I’ve probably forgotten at least one! This was served with an excellent Cortona Syrah.
And finally, when we were thinking we were going to burst, came desert! This was molton chocolate cakes (very small) served with freshly whipped cream with a strawberry…whew…all I could do to stagger up the steps to our room!
Linda went for a walk, and then we will head to a local wine shop for a liqueur tasting…if I can manage the stairs!!
Tomorrow will be our packing out day, and heading back to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport for early plane rides on Tuesday! So – more tomorrow!
Much love,
m
x
Wow! Where to begin?? We had dinner last night at Fufluns Pizzaria, after it turned out our first choice, Osteria de Grotta, was full. I had a bresaola salad on arugula with parmesan cheese; it was delicious, and followed it up with a pizza marguerite. Linda started with ravioli, both green spinach and white, flour, stuffed with ricotta and served on a bed of freshly grilled vegetables. Her second was a plate of grilled vegetables! (Obviously she really likes veggies!) Add a half-carafe of red wine and a bottle of sparkling water and we were out of there for about 31E for the two of us! Back to the B&B and in for the night, not forgetting to set our clocks back one hour, which happened last night.
Up around 6 (or 7, depending on where you are…) and breakfast at 8. We both had some scrambled eggs today, Linda with roasted tomato, and me with a slice of bacon…also a bit of bread, cheese and prosciutto as well as a piece of Jeanette’s apple torta – yummy!
Decided we would go for a walk until our cooking class with Jeanette at 11 a.m. Headed almost straight UP this time, to various places unknown – WOW, what a place! There are very few level places in town, but where there are you can find rows of grape vines planted or olive trees! There are also several convents as well as a monastery or two spread out among the various churches – some very, very tiny, but most very beautiful in their decoration. Got back a few minutes before our cooking class was scheduled to start.
I can only say, VERY, very fun class! Jeanette’s kitchen is truly amazing – besides an 8 burner professional stove, and three different refrigerators, she also has a real wood-burning grill! Wow! Would love to have that in our kitchen!!
We made the following meal: Jeanette made a starter of white mushrooms thinly sliced with olive oil, lemon zest and parmesan cheese, served with a rose pinot grigio – yummy!
This was followed by our hand-made pici pasta – which was hilarious to make, with a spicy, smoky tomato sauce hardy enough to stand up to the pasta. Great fun in making it, and I can’t wait to show R how to do it when we get home!
Then came the main course (and we were already getting full!) which was an incredible Tuscan steak cooked on the indoor wood-burning grill, then sliced thinly. This was served over arugula with olive oil and lemon – fabulous! This was also served with our grilled vegetables – red and yellow peppers, zucchini, egg plant, tomatoes and fennel – and I’ve probably forgotten at least one! This was served with an excellent Cortona Syrah.
And finally, when we were thinking we were going to burst, came desert! This was molton chocolate cakes (very small) served with freshly whipped cream with a strawberry…whew…all I could do to stagger up the steps to our room!
Linda went for a walk, and then we will head to a local wine shop for a liqueur tasting…if I can manage the stairs!!
Tomorrow will be our packing out day, and heading back to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport for early plane rides on Tuesday! So – more tomorrow!
Much love,
m
x
Saturday, October 29, 2011
A Lovely Drive in the Country!
Happy Saturday!
Before I start with last night's dinner, here are a few pictures looking up and down just a part of the stairway, as well as an interesting shot of the door in our shower!
Okay, let’s start with last night’s dinner! We headed over to one of the local piazzas to the Antica Trattoria, which opens at 7:30 p.m. We were, of course, the first ones there…so what else is new? Because of getting laundry done, we missed lunch, and had to make due with some gelato from the next door gelateria...it wasn’t a problem, but we were ready to eat dinner! We started by sharing bruschette mixed, which included one with olive tapenade, one with tomatoes, basil and garlic, and one with mushrooms and a smoked cheese – great! Linda ordered risotto with radicchio, mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I had ravioli stuffed with cheese and spinach and served with a truffle cream sauce …wow. For dessert, we broke from tradition and each ordered our own …which we then shared! Linda had a torta with red fruit, and I had some cream puffs with chocolate, all washed down by two bottles of sparkling water and a nice bottle of local red! All for 41E for the two of us! Hard to believe that such wonderful meals are so incredibly well priced! Back to the B&B and to bed about 10:30 p.m. after a very lovely day!
Awoke about the usual time (7-ish) and went down for breakfast at 8. Jeanette makes quite a breakfast, let me tell you! Not only did she have the usual – prosciutto, salami and two types of cheeses, with wonderful rolls, she had cakes, pastries, AND was offering home-made waffles, eggs and bacon! Several guys staying here at the B&B ordered it ALL! UGH! There was one couple here from Georgia, and two couples from Minnesota; also a single gal from China.
We hit the street about 9:30 to stroll through the weekly market and head to the Etruscan Museum at 10 when it opened. I thought the San Gimignano market was better; this seemed to focus primarily on clothing and shoes (although an interesting booth selling undies!), although there were several cheese trucks, one or two vegetable vendors, and a fresh fish vendor who was actually frying up calamari and shrimp all morning! There were also several full-size pigs or boars that had been cooked and were being sliced up for sandwiches for lunch!
The Etruscan Museum was fabulous, but unfortunately, yet again, NO photos! GRRRRR…..We saw things that we’ve not seen before, such as portable handles for jars and pots made of metal in the form of deer with antlers – just magnificent! There was also an amazing bronze chandelier that had ports for 16 separate flames that was incredibly detailed and was believed to hang in a church or temple. We really literally had the museum to ourselves – and if it hadn’t been for the security cameras that were watching us, I would have definitely broken that rule!! From there, we headed to the Diocesan Museum which is famous for a beautiful Fra Angelico painting of the Annunciation. His angel had the most beautiful gold wings! Again, really wish I could have provided it for you to see! When we stepped outside after Museum #1, it had gotten just incredibly foggy here in town! Just amazing – like it did one morning in San Gimignano, but quite a bit thicker! We hoped it would burn off as it did yesterday.
We wandered through some interesting shops here in town, including a very interesting antique shop – they had all sorts of stuff – good and junk – for sale, including some beautiful Venetian Murano glasses going for somewhere between 300-400E EACH! Whew! Then back to the B&B for a brief rest – good to get off the feet every now and then!
Out again about one, this time to go for a ride in the countryside! We programmed Emmy (our GPS) to Montepulciano, and headed cross country and then UP to the city – yet another charming hill-top town. Parked the car and took a nice walk – along the wall; beautiful views; hazy a bit, but the day has turned out to be really beautiful! Visited several churches, then headed back and out. Linda suggested going to Lake Trasimeno, so we pointed the car east. Really a terrific idea! The lake is just beautiful! We parked the car at a park on the lake, and had a nice walk along the quay. Not too many people on a really lovely afternoon, but there was one man who brought a radio-controlled helicopter (probably 2 ½ feet long) and scared all the seagulls! Whatever!
From Lake Trasimeno we headed back to Cortona, arriving about 4:15. We actually found a very tiny parking space, and between Linda’s guiding, and my driving, got into this little parking spot between trees! UGH! Back up the hill, stopping for more gelato (is there a pattern here, do you think?) to take us through until dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Now having a bit of a rest – watching SKYTV and actually watching ESPN’s College Game Day! Lots of football games today – no idea if we’ll be able to watch any of them, but just having more than three channels in Italian is kinda nice!
More later!
Lots of love!
m
x
Before I start with last night's dinner, here are a few pictures looking up and down just a part of the stairway, as well as an interesting shot of the door in our shower!
Okay, let’s start with last night’s dinner! We headed over to one of the local piazzas to the Antica Trattoria, which opens at 7:30 p.m. We were, of course, the first ones there…so what else is new? Because of getting laundry done, we missed lunch, and had to make due with some gelato from the next door gelateria...it wasn’t a problem, but we were ready to eat dinner! We started by sharing bruschette mixed, which included one with olive tapenade, one with tomatoes, basil and garlic, and one with mushrooms and a smoked cheese – great! Linda ordered risotto with radicchio, mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I had ravioli stuffed with cheese and spinach and served with a truffle cream sauce …wow. For dessert, we broke from tradition and each ordered our own …which we then shared! Linda had a torta with red fruit, and I had some cream puffs with chocolate, all washed down by two bottles of sparkling water and a nice bottle of local red! All for 41E for the two of us! Hard to believe that such wonderful meals are so incredibly well priced! Back to the B&B and to bed about 10:30 p.m. after a very lovely day!
Awoke about the usual time (7-ish) and went down for breakfast at 8. Jeanette makes quite a breakfast, let me tell you! Not only did she have the usual – prosciutto, salami and two types of cheeses, with wonderful rolls, she had cakes, pastries, AND was offering home-made waffles, eggs and bacon! Several guys staying here at the B&B ordered it ALL! UGH! There was one couple here from Georgia, and two couples from Minnesota; also a single gal from China.
We hit the street about 9:30 to stroll through the weekly market and head to the Etruscan Museum at 10 when it opened. I thought the San Gimignano market was better; this seemed to focus primarily on clothing and shoes (although an interesting booth selling undies!), although there were several cheese trucks, one or two vegetable vendors, and a fresh fish vendor who was actually frying up calamari and shrimp all morning! There were also several full-size pigs or boars that had been cooked and were being sliced up for sandwiches for lunch!
The Etruscan Museum was fabulous, but unfortunately, yet again, NO photos! GRRRRR…..We saw things that we’ve not seen before, such as portable handles for jars and pots made of metal in the form of deer with antlers – just magnificent! There was also an amazing bronze chandelier that had ports for 16 separate flames that was incredibly detailed and was believed to hang in a church or temple. We really literally had the museum to ourselves – and if it hadn’t been for the security cameras that were watching us, I would have definitely broken that rule!! From there, we headed to the Diocesan Museum which is famous for a beautiful Fra Angelico painting of the Annunciation. His angel had the most beautiful gold wings! Again, really wish I could have provided it for you to see! When we stepped outside after Museum #1, it had gotten just incredibly foggy here in town! Just amazing – like it did one morning in San Gimignano, but quite a bit thicker! We hoped it would burn off as it did yesterday.
We wandered through some interesting shops here in town, including a very interesting antique shop – they had all sorts of stuff – good and junk – for sale, including some beautiful Venetian Murano glasses going for somewhere between 300-400E EACH! Whew! Then back to the B&B for a brief rest – good to get off the feet every now and then!
Out again about one, this time to go for a ride in the countryside! We programmed Emmy (our GPS) to Montepulciano, and headed cross country and then UP to the city – yet another charming hill-top town. Parked the car and took a nice walk – along the wall; beautiful views; hazy a bit, but the day has turned out to be really beautiful! Visited several churches, then headed back and out. Linda suggested going to Lake Trasimeno, so we pointed the car east. Really a terrific idea! The lake is just beautiful! We parked the car at a park on the lake, and had a nice walk along the quay. Not too many people on a really lovely afternoon, but there was one man who brought a radio-controlled helicopter (probably 2 ½ feet long) and scared all the seagulls! Whatever!
From Lake Trasimeno we headed back to Cortona, arriving about 4:15. We actually found a very tiny parking space, and between Linda’s guiding, and my driving, got into this little parking spot between trees! UGH! Back up the hill, stopping for more gelato (is there a pattern here, do you think?) to take us through until dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Now having a bit of a rest – watching SKYTV and actually watching ESPN’s College Game Day! Lots of football games today – no idea if we’ll be able to watch any of them, but just having more than three channels in Italian is kinda nice!
More later!
Lots of love!
m
x
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