Some simple traveller's advice

I invited my aunt Mary to Florence, where I was spending several days as part of my seminary on rare plants in Italy. The seminary was part of the University of Florence joined project with Constantin University in Texas, where I have taught for several years. Anyway...My aunt is surprisingly young (there is a lot of difference between her and my mother) she is only 54 and she loves to travel. However up to this last time she had only traveled through the United States and Canada. It seems like the impact with the Old Continent made her feel just how good she has when she is at home.

I have always had a wonderful relationship with my aunt (I call her Squeeny from Squeezable Jenny, her first name...well Jennifer in reality) but Squeeny did not like my trip planning and the places, and the food and the people and so many things I planned for her that I was sure she would have enjoyed.

As soon as she got to Florence at the airport she had to complain why the airplane was so small and why she had to land in Rome and then get to Florence afterwards..I told her..well The airport in Florence is just getting bigger, plus, getting from Rome with the train to Florence is not bad at all, as the train takes you from Fiumicino airport with just two changes in two hours total!

Well, the roads were not large enough for her, as the traffic was too slow during rush hour..I told her that Florence is an old city and that the wider the roads the more the cars in it, so wider roads would have not sped up things. I suggested her to enjoy the cab ride from the very central airport to our hotel right by the Duomo of Florence square where the Campanile of Giotto is.

My aunt was surprisingly grumpy and critical of everything! I mean, this was Italy! and not only that, it was Florence! Well, may be she was just having a bad day or the jet lag got into her.

Next day I told her I had planned a nice stroll along the Rossi street in Florence and the Tornabuoni street, two of the most glamorous streets in Florence. She was not particularly in love with the idea, and did not change much the fact that at the end I was going to take her for a gelato in Piazza della Signoria...alright, a little cliche, but this was he FIRST time in Italy! A little cliche is good!

Wonderful food in Tuscany

All the products that you can at "Hosteria Vecchia Rota" are very good because the Oste only take the best products that he can find changing them depending on the season of the year. If you have the opportunity to be in Marciano in Tuscany in July or in August I would strongly suggest to ask for "Pici all Ocio". Ocio is a big withe duck that you can eat almost only in summer and it is really one of the best meat in the world!

Hosteria Vecchia rota has not got any website so unfortunately I can not put the link for you but if you wish to go I just put below the telephone number and the address.

Hosteria Vecchia Rota
Via XX Settembre 4
Marciano della Chiana

tel: 0575 845362
cell: 335 5912812

If you wish to go I would strongly suggest to call them and to ask for a reservation as it is a very popular Osteria and many locals go every day.

My best regards for all of you!

Simon

Joy Joy Joy, as the sweet season is Coming! Christmas in the Tuscan land!

The beauty of Christmas and New Year in Tuscany lays on the way streets in cities are dressed up, the way windows are adorned, the way people smile. In the countryside you will find that an evening dark sky that promises nothing but snow contrasts with the homelike feeling of snuggling up in front of a warm fireplace, and that is a wonderful feeling.
We have already rented a villa in Tuscany during the holiday season twice so far, and that is why I am telling you it is a wonderful experience. The first time when we arrived at the villa we found that the owners had gifted us with a Christmas tree, all adorned and lighten up, the fireplace was crackling nicely, and we immediately felt like we owned this villa and it had been our home for some time!

Having dinners around the table while outside it occasionally snowed (it is rare for snow to fall in Tuscany, and when it does it lasts a couple of days), enjoying nice discussions on the comfortable sofas, and coming home from a lovely daytour in Florence or San Gimignano to prepare our favourite dishes filled us with a sensation of relaxation and peace that is hard to find enywhere else.
Here below is a short version of the Cristmas Eve's dinner at our friens' house. The gravy on the mashed potatoes could not be missing! Lovely! We will be in Tuscany again this year, let us know if you wish to have a hint on how to choose the right place! And even though it might be too soon...Merry Christmas!

Italian and Tuscan Forever Weddings

If you are dreaming of having a memorable wedding, Tuscany is undoubtedly one of the most romantic wedding destinations with its beautiful cities full of art and history, the fascinating countryside, enchanting hamlets, old farms and delicious food and wines.
Forever Weddings in Italy it specializes in arranging weddings and events in Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Certaldo, Lucca, Pienza etc...They can assist you with every aspect of your wedding from the legal procedures of ceremony to the single services required for receptions such as flowers, music, transportation, photography etc�
They will help you choose the right venue and suppliers for your particular needs and budget but we will not take over your wedding; we offer tailor-made services and advise on all aspects of wedding etiquette and traditions. Their wedding coordinators will be present on the day to make sure that everything runs smoothly for you from beginning to end so that you can relax and enjoy your dream day.
Forever Weddings in Italy arranges civil and religious ceremonies, blessings, renewal of vows and family get-togethers. Imagine a ceremony in a romantic setting hidden in the Chianti area or in a marvellous Renaissance villa or again in a Medieval castle where you might also stay with your families and friends for a few days and feel like at home.

Tuscan Tour

It rarely comes handy a great website to organize a tour in Tuscany.
The majority of sites have been able to design some tour in Tuscany, but few pay so much attention to the detail such as those of See Italy for Tours in Tuscany.
As soon as you get to the homepage you have the highlighted tours of the season. Each one is simple to understand, down to the chase and able to let you discover hidden treasures of Tuscany. A few tours in Tuscany are:


-Cooking & Touring Tuscany Tour (7 days)
-Cinque Terre and Tuscany Cooking Tour (5 days)
-Siena Cooking & Spas Tour (5 days)
-Tuscany Wine long week-end (4 days)
-Tuscany Cooking & Touring long week-end (4 days)
-Tuscany Autumn Cooking & Touring long week-end (4 days)
-Tuscany Truffles Autumn Cooking & Touring long week-end (4 days)
-Tango & Art Weeks in Umbria (8 days)

These are just a few, many others are to bound at See Italy.org.



Also by See Italy is Florence travel, a section that is specifically dedicated to Tourism and hotels in Florence.

I would suggest also another site about services in Siena:2 be in siena. where you will find useful information such us accommodations in Siena, Chianti wine tours, bike and Vespa rental and everything you will need traveling in Tuscany

Tagliata Senese di Maiale - Sienese Pork Chop

The cinta senese breed, native to the Montagnola Senese area and the Chianti area, is the mother of all pork breeds in Tuscany.
The Etruscans already reared it and then it was among the Romans during their migrations; the farmers of the Middle Ages survived plagues and famines thanks to this animal.

Video preparation of Tagliata of Cinta Senese pork chop


It was a good reserve of food for everybody as it could be reared in the wild state for its resistance to bad weather.
In the past times, for the slow growing up of this breed (slaughtered after 12 months from its birth), quicker growing up breeds were privileged.
Following the trend of the most recent times towards a re-discovery of ancient values and tastes, the Cinta Senese is now breeded again.
The "Cinta Senese" breed is reared in a wild or in a half-wild "controlled" state.
The breeding area must be characterized by woods, sowable lands and grasslands; the feeding is integrated with vegetable origin flours as barley, corn and fava bean flour.
Nowadays every pork is registered in the Genealogy Book (as it is for Chianina breed) existin ever since 1934 (date of first breed selections); the Book is kept by the Agriculture Itinerant Chair of Siena.

The Cinta Senese meat is homogeneously veined of fat, while in the other breeds the fat side and the lean side are sharply separated.

For that reason the cinta senese meat is extraordinarily scented and tasty.

As the old saying goes, "of a pork, you never throw anything away"; so many different salami products can be prepared: bacon-fat, bacon, hogs jowls, ham, sausages, coppa and many others.

Pisa events and the Folkloric Tuscany

Many important folkloric events take place in Pisa along the year, like: the Luminara di San Ranieri (the night of 16th June, the whole town is illuminated to celebrate the patron saint of Pisa




The Day after you can see the Palio di San Ranieri ( 4 teams race a regatta on the Arno, representing historical events). The Regatta of the Old Seafaring Republics (takes place on May and June, preceded by a parade that represents the four Republics: Pisa, Genoa, Venice and Amalfi).




But certainly the one that is more in the heart of Pisans is the Gioco del Ponte. It is a curious game between two teams � which means that the city of Pisa is divided in two rival parts: Tramontana and Mezzogiorno. It consists in two different parts.
First, there is a parade along the Arno river simulating a military procession. Then, there is a battle that takes place in the Ponte di Mezzo. During this battle both teams must give proof of their physical strength, reason why there is a hypotheses that this game has its origins on the classical antiquity.



The first known edition of the Gioco del Ponte more or less as it is now comes from the 1568. Ponte del Mezzo is the seat of the battle and the aim is to conquer a part or the entire half of the bridge occupied by the �enemies�. There are actually many teams of 20 men representing each faction, Tramontana and Mezzogiorno, and they fight in turn.




The fighting is represented by a cart in the middle of the bridge that must be pushed from both sides, till all the opponents are moved back to the end of the sliding rail. The winner is the faction that conquers more number of matches. It is interesting to observe that the cart didn�t exist before 1935, when the pushing was made with physical contact.