The Party

I meant to post these pictures on the 29th but alas when I got home from work the internet was down...probably because of the ferocious thunder storm we had. But they're here now!

Here I am with my big goodbye card and the most amazing gift from Tobey:

One of many Tobey-Revanna hugs that night. (See that beautiful dress Tobey is wearing? I want it.)

Me and Samuele (Petraia's server)....a classic Italian 20 year old:
Me with Carlotta and Emanuela (Petraia's housekeepers):

Susan and I:
(Are you getting sick of seeing pictures of me yet?)

Cake time!

Giuliano and I! (He got his hair cut before coming...I wish you could have seen his hair before...gorgeously curly.

It was the perfect place to spend my last hours as an 18 year old and my first minutes of being 19.

Sneak Peek

I just got back from my birthday party and it's 12:14 am here...which means in Italy I'm 19. Happy Birthday to me! I have many more pictures to share but 6 am is going to come fast so I'll leave you with this preview

The Rain

I have four days left....and it's raining. It's supposed to be raining all weekend. But I'm happy.See you soon!

Bye-bye Zagara's Pizza.

Last night was my last Zagara's pizza. That's sad. It was delicious...but sad. I wonder how long it will be until I forget how good Antonio's pizza was and be able to order pizza in a restaurant in Canada.

Orbetello and Orvieto

On Sunday we were supposed to swim. I was going to break in my bathing suit for the first time this season. It didn't happen. We did drive around an island and eat a delicious lunch in Orbetello, but it mostly just looked like this:
I was glad that I had got to see Orbetello in the sun with Brenda when she was here, because we barely got out of the car!

After Orbetello we drove to Orvieto and on the way we saw these:

So, while I didn't get to have the first swim of the season I did see my first sunflowers. Gorgeous. This is Orvieto:

One of the most prettiest towns I've visited in Italy.

With a Duomo:

And gelato. Of course.

And the most beautiful view:

It's now Wednesday and I will be going home exactly a week from now...so begins my last week in Italy. It's been named "The Funnest Week Ever" and I'm planning to enjoy and embrace it completely.

Time to say goodbye.

There are only 9 days left. I've started saying goodbye to places and things. Yesterday I took the train into Florence one last time.

I said goodbye to the fake David.

Ate my last gelato. I mean last gelato in Florence. Whoa, if you think I'm going 9 days without having gelato you are so wrong. This was a special gelato because it was a scoop of gelato in a blood orange granita. It was like a ice cream float...but a 100 times better.

I also had the classic Florentine Bistecca. A 2kg steak. One of the best steaks I've had in my life.

Of course I didn't eat the whole 2 kg myself...they were other people around.

It was sad to leave Florence, it's a beautiful city with yummy food and tons of great shopping. Hopefully someday I'll get a chance to go back.

And now we are off to Orbetello (a town by the sea) for the day....it's overcast out with the occasional boom of thunder, but I'm still bringing my bathing suit.

The best advice I can give...

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. "
-Howard Thurman
I am a firm believer in following your heart, after all that is what brought me to Italy. It is so important to do what you love and stop making excuses for why you aren't. Quit and start over. That may seem naive to some, but maybe they're just not open to the possibilities. I have witnessed more than one person change paths...and do it successfully. They are an inspiration.
Right, so where am I going with this? Well, I got an email from the woman I am working for yesterday saying that she had been in touch with Corzano & Paterno (the sheep cheese farm I visited...and loved) and asked if they would be interested in having an intern next year. Me. And get this, they're interested if I'm interested. Trust me, I'm interested.
And then came the tears. It started with tears of joy. How can I be so lucky? Even though I don't have the internship yet, the idea is enough. How is it possible my life is working out like this? Providing the next step all the time. Then came the sadness. The tears for all the people who don't follow their heart. Who don't realize that loving who you are and what you do are the most important things. Because when you do realize this, and when you do start taking steps forward towards your dream and your love, things have a very magical way of working out.

(I've sent an email to Corzano & Paterno inquiring about next year...I'll let you know what comes of it.)

Oh my.

I have this terrible habit...whenever I am in a place that is incredibly magical and enchanting to me I don't pick up my camera. It's like I want to respect the place and keep all that I have seen completely to myself, almost as if it were a gift. And yesterday I experienced something that nearly brought me to tears...I got the chance to visit a sheep farm that produces cheese for the area as well as all the fancy restaurants in Florence. Seems rather normal. It wasn't. This isn't a big commercial operation. This is a family business. There are a total of 10 people in the whole operation that are not family members. There are 3 houses divided between the family (involving uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters, brothers, etc) and they all live together.

Sibilla, the daughter of the owners, gave us a tour and hosted the cheese tasting. She was born on the dining room table of the house we had the cheese tasting in...her mother says that this is why Sibilla has such a hunger for all things food related.

This is the one picture I took. It was during the tasting. In the family courtyard surrounded by flowers.

Please follow this link and read the history of the Fattoria Corzano e Paterno...it is amazing. And maybe you'll see why I only paid half attention to what Sibilla was saying while my eyes wandered trying to spot a young, single, male family member.

A walk in the woods...

Today after work I went on a foraging class that was being held for the guests staying at Petraia this week. Giuliano was our fearless leader as we trekked into the chestnut forest on Petraia's land.

Giuliano knows alot about this forest...he did his thesis on it when he was in university. It's amazing what he knows about the forest and about the history of Petraia. Here are some crazy facts about Petraia:

• Petraia was settled 2000 years ago when the Etruscan's made a village on one of the hills. There are now ruins where their village used to be.
• The house that is still standing today was probably built in the year 1100. What!??! Is that not crazy!
• Up until 50 years ago 'peasants' still farmed Petraia and all of Italy...the system was still that the Property Owner recieved half of what the farmer made...but the farmer had to buy all of his own supplies, etc. So, the farmer was always in debt and the owner kept the books so the farmer had no idea where he stood financially. That is from the Middle Ages...but this law was only abolished in 1950!!

Giuliano told as a lot more...sadly, those were the only things I can really remember. Oh jeez, I'm getting old.

The walk through the forest was beautiful. There are many old, old chestnut trees, but this one is extra special...it's 5oo years old and has a cavity:

It was amazing. That's me standing on my tippy toes!

We talked about mushrooms, wild berries, wild boars, and wild greens...but the most talked about thing was the wild cherries. They were everywhere, and the trees were heavy with fruit.

The only problem is the trees are really tall and so the cherries turn a rosy red and then taunt you, 'cause there is no way you're getting them with out some kind of machinary.

We found a couple on the ground and they were delicious.

Giuliano and Michael were especially angered by the taunting cherries and tried their hardest to reach some...I told Giuliano to use his "Italian Intelligence" (his words) but it was hopeless. The birds will be very happy.

It was so neat to walk around the forest and listen to what Giuliano knew and hear the history of Petraia...it is simply unbelieveable.

Sad news...

This was where I was going to post my Taco night adventures...alas today's work schedule was changed and it ain't gonna happen. I'm taking the rest of this day off to mourn.

Another Friday Adventure...

Remember two fridays ago when I went to pick up bees for Petraia? Well, last Friday was another Petraia adventure...to Greve in Chianti to pick up some wine at this enoteca. An enoteca is a wine shop that specializes in regional wines. I went with Marco (Petraia farm manage) and Samule (server). This enoteca was underground, felt very medieval, and was FULL of wine. Ant, I thought of you the whole time....I even had this gift picked out for you. But 200 euros was a little out of my price range!They have a number of tasting stations where you insert a card you purchased at the front desk (for 10, 15, 20, or 25 euros) and are able to taste a ton of different wines.We went to the enoteca with the purpose of buying biodynamic wines, they only had two, but Marco (who knows ALOT about wine) said that they were two of the best biodynamic wines he's tasted.
There was a lot of this going on:

It was intersting to watch Marco and Samule...but it was hard because it was all in Italian and so I had no clue what was going on.

That was okay though, I wandered around the enoteca and found these corks:Imagine the cork board you could make with all of those!

And this really old crate of really dusty wines:

I love these adventures, I have been able to go to the most interesting places and see the most unique and wonderful things!

Eek! It's been a week!

I'm back. That was a brief and unexplainable hiatus. But here I am again. And it's Sunday. It's thunderstorming outside...a delicious down pour with cracking thunder. I combatted the gray skies by dancing to La Bamba and by making Onion Bread.

This past week has flown by....and I have a feeling the next three will as well. Everyday I have a few little countdowns that I wake up thinking about. This morning it went like this: "21 days till my birthday party. 22 days till my birthday. 23 days till I'm back in Canada. 1 sleep till taco night."

Now, I have to go shape my bread....I'll let you know how it turns out!

Happy June 1st!

There are so many wonderful things about the month of June, so many that they deserve a list:

Some of the wonderful things about June:

1. It is the gateway into the summer months and therefore holds a lot of anticipation.
2. I was born in June. (You knew that one was coming, didn't you!)
3. The Sun is up early...so I don't need to turn lights on when I'm up at 5:30am
4. This year June is an especially special month because it is my last month in Tuscany, and I'm going to soak every bit of it up.

And there is one good thing about June when its done...because when June is done and July 1st comes along it means I will be back in Manitoba, but lets save that for the wonderful things about July, because you really shouldn't think about rushing through June just to get to July. At least that's what my Ma says (I believe her...it's just easier in theory).

What do you think is wonderful about June?