Adventures in Italy with Momma
Nov 25th, 2014, 07:51 PM
#41
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So sorry I disappeared… when we got home I was thrust into a million projects at work, but am bound and determined to finish this report, so here we go…
Day 9:
Morning came and I found Momma outside at a little white cast iron table near our front door. She turned to me with the sunniest smile I’ve ever seen. Walking out into the sunshine to get the full view of the place all at once - spectacular! And really just about worth arriving in the pitch dark. We were the only ones there at the moment, so we walked all over the property and drank in the beauty. It really is an amazingly gorgeous place. There are three different outdoor seating areas of different sizes and views, so even when there are people staying in the other apartment, there’s plenty of room for everyone to enjoy. We both felt incredibly fortunate to have found this little paradise.
We took our time, assembling a make-shift breakfast of fruit and cookies and ate out in the sunshine, trying to count the number of colors of green there were in the surrounding hillsides. The apartment came complete with a Nespresso machine, which I quickly become addicted to (I’ve since purchased one for myself at home and I can’t remember ever making a purchase that I’ve enjoyed more).
As the morning wore on, it became obvious that I had picked up a rather severe cold, which in and of itself is not the worst thing in the world. But as a lifelong sufferer of asthma, I’ve learned to pay attention to such things and not let them get out of control. So we decided to stay relatively close and maybe just pop into Siena for a bit. By the time we got there, it was pretty late in the afternoon and parking was almost impossible to find. We finally found a metered spot and wandered into town, looking for an open restaurant. We found a little bar and ordered a couple of sandwiches - nothing fancy, but hit the spot. Unfortunately, the search for parking had put us into the middle of the day and nothing was really open and we were still in need of finding a grocery store before it got too late in the day.
So we got back in the car and with a little luck found the Pam grocery store in the Piazzale Roselli and stocked up on everything we would need to hold us for the next several days. Luckily, there was also a pharmacy in the mall next to the Pam and with my broken Italian and trusty phrase book, I was able to convey my symptoms to the pharmacist and left with a supply of antihistamine, cough syrup and vitamin c. I laughed as the pharmacist praised my Italian - I didn’t want to tell her that I was only picking up about every 6th word she uttered! Later on, I was able to translate the packaging on my purchases and discovered that the cough syrup had an extra special ingredient - essence of snail. Not sure if it was more of a potion or a medicine, but in the end it was a really good cough syrup, so no complaints here.
We made sure to get back to the Podere well before the sun went down and had fun whipping up some pasta (my favorite Pici with a tomato base sauce) and some grilled and marinated eggplant, along with Elisabetta’s simple tomato crostini for dinner. Though we didn’t do much and missed most of the historic sights of Siena, it was a simple and welcome entrance into our stay in Tuscany.
Day 9:
Morning came and I found Momma outside at a little white cast iron table near our front door. She turned to me with the sunniest smile I’ve ever seen. Walking out into the sunshine to get the full view of the place all at once - spectacular! And really just about worth arriving in the pitch dark. We were the only ones there at the moment, so we walked all over the property and drank in the beauty. It really is an amazingly gorgeous place. There are three different outdoor seating areas of different sizes and views, so even when there are people staying in the other apartment, there’s plenty of room for everyone to enjoy. We both felt incredibly fortunate to have found this little paradise.
We took our time, assembling a make-shift breakfast of fruit and cookies and ate out in the sunshine, trying to count the number of colors of green there were in the surrounding hillsides. The apartment came complete with a Nespresso machine, which I quickly become addicted to (I’ve since purchased one for myself at home and I can’t remember ever making a purchase that I’ve enjoyed more).
As the morning wore on, it became obvious that I had picked up a rather severe cold, which in and of itself is not the worst thing in the world. But as a lifelong sufferer of asthma, I’ve learned to pay attention to such things and not let them get out of control. So we decided to stay relatively close and maybe just pop into Siena for a bit. By the time we got there, it was pretty late in the afternoon and parking was almost impossible to find. We finally found a metered spot and wandered into town, looking for an open restaurant. We found a little bar and ordered a couple of sandwiches - nothing fancy, but hit the spot. Unfortunately, the search for parking had put us into the middle of the day and nothing was really open and we were still in need of finding a grocery store before it got too late in the day.
So we got back in the car and with a little luck found the Pam grocery store in the Piazzale Roselli and stocked up on everything we would need to hold us for the next several days. Luckily, there was also a pharmacy in the mall next to the Pam and with my broken Italian and trusty phrase book, I was able to convey my symptoms to the pharmacist and left with a supply of antihistamine, cough syrup and vitamin c. I laughed as the pharmacist praised my Italian - I didn’t want to tell her that I was only picking up about every 6th word she uttered! Later on, I was able to translate the packaging on my purchases and discovered that the cough syrup had an extra special ingredient - essence of snail. Not sure if it was more of a potion or a medicine, but in the end it was a really good cough syrup, so no complaints here.
We made sure to get back to the Podere well before the sun went down and had fun whipping up some pasta (my favorite Pici with a tomato base sauce) and some grilled and marinated eggplant, along with Elisabetta’s simple tomato crostini for dinner. Though we didn’t do much and missed most of the historic sights of Siena, it was a simple and welcome entrance into our stay in Tuscany.
Nov 25th, 2014, 08:52 PM
#42
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Day 10
When we woke up on Sunday morning, it was immediately evident that my cold had gotten worse. Over breakfast we decided that between my cold and Momma being a bit travel-weary, we should just spend the day soaking up the Tuscan sunshine and resting before our cooking lesson that night.
It was tempting to just push through and keep going in order to see more of the lovely towns of Tuscany, but in a sense, I was glad for the opportunity to relax and soak in the beauty and the atmosphere surrounding us at the Podere. We had all we could want and literally lounged around outside, reading, napping in the sun and just enjoying the view.
At about 4:00, Enzo and his sons Duccio and Max showed up to start prepping things for the cooking class. This was a very different experience from the cooking demo and dinner in Florence, both in menu and in style. It was a little more hands on and yet fancier than the family style meal at Carla’s. We would help to prepare a course and then be seated at a candlelit, white clothed table to be served the course with the appropriate wine, and Italian opera playing on the stereo.
The meal started with some nibbles of goat cheese with spices and a glass of sparkling rose wine. We prepped a lemon sorbetto and popped it in the freezer to - well, freeze - before moving on to a traditional bruschetta, with more of the sparkling wine. We then prepared the Malfatti - a spinach and ricotta hand made pasta served in a sage and butter sauce, that looks more like meatballs than pasta, but is delicately rich and tasty. Served with a lovely white vernaccia, it was simple, yet amazing and a little went a long way. Next up was their version of Saltimboca - “jumps in the mouth” - and it did! This time with a red wine. And on top of the cold, I was now seriously fighting drooping eyelids.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the lemon sorbetto had not completely firmed up, so Max (the most fluent English speaker) talked us through how to finish preparing it so that we could enjoy it the next day. Of course, there was a ton of leftover food, so the guys packed it all into the fridge, washed up and put the kitchen back in order - what could be better! The guys were really great - a lot of fun (I just wish I hadn’t had the cold this particular day). It was a lovely experience and a fabulous meal - in fact, Momma wants to put the Malfatti on the menu for Christmas dinner this year.
As soon as the guys said good bye it was a hot shower and bed for me - what a day!
When we woke up on Sunday morning, it was immediately evident that my cold had gotten worse. Over breakfast we decided that between my cold and Momma being a bit travel-weary, we should just spend the day soaking up the Tuscan sunshine and resting before our cooking lesson that night.
It was tempting to just push through and keep going in order to see more of the lovely towns of Tuscany, but in a sense, I was glad for the opportunity to relax and soak in the beauty and the atmosphere surrounding us at the Podere. We had all we could want and literally lounged around outside, reading, napping in the sun and just enjoying the view.
At about 4:00, Enzo and his sons Duccio and Max showed up to start prepping things for the cooking class. This was a very different experience from the cooking demo and dinner in Florence, both in menu and in style. It was a little more hands on and yet fancier than the family style meal at Carla’s. We would help to prepare a course and then be seated at a candlelit, white clothed table to be served the course with the appropriate wine, and Italian opera playing on the stereo.
The meal started with some nibbles of goat cheese with spices and a glass of sparkling rose wine. We prepped a lemon sorbetto and popped it in the freezer to - well, freeze - before moving on to a traditional bruschetta, with more of the sparkling wine. We then prepared the Malfatti - a spinach and ricotta hand made pasta served in a sage and butter sauce, that looks more like meatballs than pasta, but is delicately rich and tasty. Served with a lovely white vernaccia, it was simple, yet amazing and a little went a long way. Next up was their version of Saltimboca - “jumps in the mouth” - and it did! This time with a red wine. And on top of the cold, I was now seriously fighting drooping eyelids.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the lemon sorbetto had not completely firmed up, so Max (the most fluent English speaker) talked us through how to finish preparing it so that we could enjoy it the next day. Of course, there was a ton of leftover food, so the guys packed it all into the fridge, washed up and put the kitchen back in order - what could be better! The guys were really great - a lot of fun (I just wish I hadn’t had the cold this particular day). It was a lovely experience and a fabulous meal - in fact, Momma wants to put the Malfatti on the menu for Christmas dinner this year.
As soon as the guys said good bye it was a hot shower and bed for me - what a day!
Nov 26th, 2014, 05:50 AM
#44
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I'm so glad you liked the Podere. We liked it a lot but people's tastes are different so you just never know for sure. I know it's crazy but I felt a little responsible for your decision to stay there because of the good things I wrote about the Podere in my report.
I'm really enjoying your report. It sounds like you had a wonderful experience. Lucky Momma and lucky you for having such a Momma. Good luck with your million projects and I'm looking forward to the rest of your report.
I'm really enjoying your report. It sounds like you had a wonderful experience. Lucky Momma and lucky you for having such a Momma. Good luck with your million projects and I'm looking forward to the rest of your report.
Nov 26th, 2014, 06:16 PM
#45
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YvonneT - yes, they really are! The funny thing was that my Mom ended up "appropriating" the snail syrup because it was just that good.
John - you are so sweet, but you were 100% right on about the Podere. We were chatting with the group that moved into the upstairs room about how some places don't live up to the hype or photos, but that this place was actually better than the pictures - it was really amazing and I think was the favorite part of the trip for my Momma! So thanks for the recommendation and you can enjoy being responsible for making her incredibly happy.
John - you are so sweet, but you were 100% right on about the Podere. We were chatting with the group that moved into the upstairs room about how some places don't live up to the hype or photos, but that this place was actually better than the pictures - it was really amazing and I think was the favorite part of the trip for my Momma! So thanks for the recommendation and you can enjoy being responsible for making her incredibly happy.
Dec 14th, 2014, 05:23 PM
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I hope you can take a break from your projects to finish this trip report - even if it is just a quick overview of what you did. I'm curious about what your Momma liked so much. Believe me I know how time consuming writing a trip report can be but even a little bit would be great.
Dec 19th, 2014, 09:48 AM
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I am so happy that you came back to continue your lovely trip report!
Sometimes we need to be forced to slow down and just enjoy the moment - I'm sorry it took a cold to do that for you, but it sounds truly wonderful.
I do hope you find the time to continue at some point, but I have loved what you have written so far.
Sometimes we need to be forced to slow down and just enjoy the moment - I'm sorry it took a cold to do that for you, but it sounds truly wonderful.
I do hope you find the time to continue at some point, but I have loved what you have written so far.
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