Ceci n’est pas un Blog

I’m back!! Italy was, in short, amazing. The rolling hills of Tuscany were almost too idyllic to believe. We stayed at a historical farming community called Spannocchia.

The community is very well organized, tending to three large gardens, several herds of pigs, an educational program for young Americans, and hosting several houses for guests. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with a basket of fresh vegetables from their organic garden and a fresh loaf of bread. The house we stayed at had a fully equipped kitchen and I was thrilled to get the chance to cook with such newly picked ingredients. Fresh garlic is for example surprisingly different from dried ones — milder, sweeter, and more fragrant. They also raise pigs there and cure their own salamis, procuittos, etc. During the pig tour, they gave us different cuts of meats to taste. One of the salumis they make is called the “headcheese” which contains essentially all of the left over meats. Unfortunately, mine had a patch of small black hairs sticking out. I ended up cuting out that part, though I felt bad for being such an American. It was just a little too unpalatable.

Aside from lounging around at home, stuffing ourselves with bread and salumis, cooking, and sleeping, we headed out to various towns and cities. On route to visiting one of the many hilltowns, we drove by the signature fields of uniformly grown sunflowers. It was so idyllic and perfectly Tuscan! I wish I got a decent picture of them.

While I do adore Italian food, I found myself intensely craving rice and noodle soups when we got back last night. After a week of no internet, I’ve also been sorting through hundreds of emails and catching up on my normal life. Apparently Michael Jackson and Billy Mays died…Who knew celebrities’ livelihood depended on me staying in the country??