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hey guys,

Here are some posts I wrote when I didn't have 'net access. Photos aren't far away.

Podere Finerri, Tuscany, Italy

Getting to Podere Finerri

Amazingly I’ve been on holiday for 10 days already and my head is still spinning a little.

My four days in Melbourne were really nice. I got to meet my lovely nephew and while there were a few ‘gnome face’ moments, he was a joy.

Then it was onto the long haul portion of the trip. The flights were cramped, long and exactly what I expected. 23 hours later I arrived in Nice (France) where Mum, Dad and Liz (my aunt) were there to pick me up. The rest of the day is a total blur of driving, a couple traffic jams and a little sleep.

We spent the night on the Ligurian Coast in a small town called Rappallo. Nothing much of note really, and even if there was I was far too tired to pay any attention to it.

By now it is Saturday morning and it was back into the car and time to make our way into Tuscany. We jumped onto the autostrada and zoomed our way down the motor way. Italians drive exactly how you’d expect them to. Fast and with very little consideration for anyone else on the road. After three crashes in about one hour I’m just glad I wasn’t expected to drive!

Tuscany is beautiful. We got off the autostrada to make our way into Chianti for lunch. The road winds its way up and down the Tuscan hills and through numerous picturesque hill top villages. We stopped for a lunch in a classic Chianti vineyard and trattoria. After lunch (antipasti and these amazing spinach ball things and gorgonzola sauce) Dad and I nipped into the tasting room for a taste of the local Chianti Classico. It was fantastic and so a dozen bottles later (plus one from 1981 to be drunk on my 30th birthday) we made our way back to the car and tried not to get caught up in the traffic around Siena. We managed that successfully and after only one wrong turn and an unfortunate meeting with a small ditch made it to the beautiful Podere Finerri.

It is a beautiful old farm house that has been restored and is perched in the midst of the Siena Hills. The view is spectacular and it gives a new meaning to the term all day sun. The people who own this idyllic spot also happen to live here. I can certainly think of worse spots.


Podere Finerri day 2

Sunday dawned clear, sunny and not overly warm. We had a slowish start and by unspoken agreement decided to have a day of lounging around and reading. We also got our hosts, Malcolm and Daniella, to impart some of their local knowledge so that we can hopefully find a few gems that are off the beaten path.

I also decided to give bread making a go, seeing as the bread we have had in Italy so far as been pretty dire. So if you are interested in having a bready taste of Tuscany give this a go:

Tuscan flat bread:
2 tsp Dry yeast
Warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs Salt
Coarsely chopped rosemary
150ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
400g flour
Extra flour for rolling
Optional – 1kg black olives or grapes

Combine yeast, sugar and enough water to dissolve it in. Stir and set aside until a little frothy. Warm oil and rosemary in a saucepan. Heat it gently and once warm set it aside to cool. Place flour and salt in a big bowl. Form a well in the middle, add the yeast mix and half of the rosemary oil (add 400gm of the olives/grapes if using) and mix well, adding more warm water until the flour is all combined. Then turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky. If it feels too dry add a little more water, too wet a little more flour.

Return to a now clean and oiled bowl for either 2 hours (until twice in size) or overnight in the fridge.

Divide the dough into two large metal dishes (brush with the remaining oil and rosemary first). Flatten the dough into the pan (push remaining olives/grapes onto surface) and rub a little more olive oil, rosemary and salt onto the surface. Allow to rise a little in the pan. Bake for 20 min at 220° then reduce heat to 180° and bake for a further 10 min. Serve warm with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a fine glass of Chianti Classico!

So after a long, large lunch and a little more sitting around reading we went into the near by village to have a look at the Sunday market. Unfortunately there was not a lot on offer. However I did have my first (of many no doubt) gealato which was just as good as I remember them being. I now feel sufficiently rested and ready to take on Siena tomorrow!

Ciao!


Day 3 – Siena

It was up and out today for our first proper touristy day. We had decided that breakfast would be had in Siena so we set out full of the joys of summer.

The road works and traffic on the motorway certainly did their part is dampening our spirits. However by the time we walked into the Piazza del Campo, which was bathing in Tuscan sunshine, all was well again.

After a quick coffee and Italian croissant it was off across the square to the town hall or the Palazzo Publico. Annie and I decided that the best way to go would be to head straight up the bell tower and have a look at the roof top view of this beautiful city. Once again however queuing got in the way a little and so I spent a bit of time getting into my trigger happy mode.

The tower is 83 meters high and to get to the top there are 400 steps. In some parts it is also only 52 cm wide and 150 cm high, which meant that for my Dad there were a few tight squeezes.

In actuality the climb was pretty gentle and we made it to the top with out much trouble. After looking around for about 15 minutes it was back down to the bottom and over to the museum.

For any one who has studied Italian Renaissance art, the paintings shown in these rooms are utterly a must see. The Allegory of Good and Bad government, in their original context, are just fantastic. As are the paintings by Simone Martine of the Maesta.

Amazingly by now it was time for lunch, and as it was my Dad's birthday we headed off to a lovely resturant for lunch in the sun.

Then it was off to the Duomo which I have to admit I like more from the outside than the inside. It is a spectacular buliding and would have been even better if not for the scafolding on the outside.

We headed into the adjacent museum to look in on Duccio's magnificant Maesta and head up on to the ramparts of the unfinished nave. More fantastic views of the city's roof tops and photo opertunities I just couldn't pass up.

By this stage we were all a little touristed out so it was back into the car to battle our way back to our small slice of Tuscan paradise.

The rest of the week was taken up triping around the local area, spending another day in Siena and also heading sightly further a field to Assisi and Arezzo.

But first some photos!