Ciao!
I felt like Diane Lane yesterday during my drive through the Tuscan countryside. I can understand why "Frances bought a house in Tuscany". It is absolutely beautiful.
Italy is broken up into regions. Firenze and Siena are in Toscana-- the region of Tuscany. Within Toscana is Chianti. Chianti isn't a city, it is an area of Tuscany which, you can tell by the name, has a lot of vineyards. I learned yesterday from our wonderful tour guide, Franco, that "Chianti" the wine as we Americans call it, does not exist. It is simply the name of the region. I also learned that Italians do not name their wines by the fruit it was made from. So Merlot does not exist in Italy. They name the wine by the maker. The government controls all wine making and they each have a special code.
So passing through Chianti in the beginning of our trip we were in the valley, but instead of seeing grape vines, we saw corn. Franco informed us that good soil = bad wine. Bad soil = good wine. Why? Moisture. The soil in the valleys collects too much water from runoff, so therefore the soil is better for corn. If you tried to grow grapes there, you wouldn't get bad wine, you wouldn't get any wine at all. Up on the hills, however, where the rocks can filter out the water is a much better place for grape growing.
So along the way to Siena we stopped at a beautiful villa/resort/hotel, Borgo Scopeto, where the guests were taken around the property by an Italian writer/former Chianti tour guide and then were treated to an amazing 4 course lunch. I was fortunate enough to join them on both parts. The scenery was beautiful. Surrounded by rolling hills, Cyprus trees, and of course, the Tuscan sun, it was great to get out of the city.
The food at lunch was amazing. Best I've ever had. We started with polenta and goose salami, and then had a mushroom dumpling with boar sauce. Next came veal with potatoes, and a chocolate moose for dessert. Of course it was all served with great wine. I couldn’t finish it all I was so stuffed by the end.
I'm learning that tomato sauce is not traditionally Tuscan. They use olive oil in their dishes, which is also grown in the Chianti area. The olive oil I had at lunch was the best I've ever had. I’ve never tasted anything so good.
At lunch I met Salah, a concierge at the Continental Hotel in Siena. A long time friend of Mr. Purpuro, Salah has taken care of many of Larry's clients. He has been given instructions to look after me when I return in September. Salah is originally from Egypt so he speaks Arabic, English and Italian. He is so kind and told me that I have to learn to speak Italian while I am in Italy. He said it would be a shame to leave Siena after four months and only know how to say hello and good morning. Salah says Americans travel in big groups and only speak English so I have to meet many Italians when I come to study. He said he would arrange for me to meet different people.
Franco, Salah and all the other Italians I meet think Siena was a perfect choice. I wanted a smaller city and Siena is just that. Rome has 4 million people, Florence- 400,000, and Siena 60,000. So Siena is roughly twice the size of Westfield. I think I made the right choice.
After lunch we went on towards the city where outside the city walls we met Elena our tour guide. She gave us a quick history of the "Palio" which is the big horse race next week. The Palio is held twice a year once in July and once in August. Siena comprises of 17 districts. Each district has a distinct shield, color, and church. There are rival districts and therefore makes for heated competition during the race. The race only has 10 horses that run 3 times around the Piazza del Campo-- Siena's main Piazza. There are no rules and the horse does not need its jockey to win. The winner of the Palio gets great honor and receives a trophy (a piece of silk), which is also called the Palio.
Elena took us to the Piazza del Campo. It was incredible. The piazza is cut off to all motorized traffic and bikes so people spread out on the cobblestone everywhere eating gelato, talking with friends, painting, etc. I will be spending a lot of time here when I come back in the fall.
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