Farewell Toscana & Some Food

Our group had now learned a few Italian phrases, pronounced with various degrees of accuracy, but the point is that they were trying.

They loved Toscana. How could one not? Between the food and wine, the Crete Senesi and Val d’Orcia (two famous valleys), the landscape with castle-topped tors and Medieval “cities” dripping down steep hillsides, there is no chance of mistaking this for other parts of the world.

We had final critiques and were much impressed with the caliber of work presented. Everyone, even our most seasoned alumni, made great strides forward.

There was the last picnic with prosciutto, salamis, cheeses, fruits, and breads.

And then, farewells, as there was no doubt in everyone’s minds that everyone would meet again.

Our Italian friend commented on how we are all family. Indeed, we are.

I promised some photos of food. I am not what one would call an iPhone photographer. I was born in the last century, and I am clearly a Luddite.

The idea of holding a camera anywhere but right up to my eye is foreign to me after decades of making sure it was as stable as possible.

That said, I must admit there are times for that little creature. Dinnertime is one of those, where the big camera is a bit intrusive and one has to cope with settings, etc. There were many throwaways, as my finger was in the way, or I had an exquisite shot of my skirt or the palm of my hand.

At any rate, I did manage a few samples of our dinner tables.

Many people have food allergies, and it can make travel challenging at times. I merely have an intolerance to gluten and soy. In Italy, land of pasta and breads, one might think this could be a real problem. Quite the contrary. In Italy, they are very aware of problems with gluten, and we found all restaurants had items on the menu that worked for people like me.

The one above is not one of them, and I should have taken out the smart phone before Arnie dug into it, but I could not resist showing you a typical Tuscan pasta dish with prawns.

This represents our typical selection of libation. Most of us had wine, usually the Brunellos from Montalcino; one stuck to waters; and one loved beer and became quite fond of the Italian birras. Always, there were coffees and cappuccinos.

One night, Arnie had a cheese plate with marmalade! It was a very tasty combination.

For our last night, Arnie and I met friends for dinner. We went to our favorite restaurant up in Cortona and were greeted warmly.

“Ah, Contessa! Buono sera!”

We had arranged for a table out on the tiny, narrow terrace, overlooking one of the side streets.

We ordered this Brunello which was served in a beautiful decanter with a heart design. The last time we were here, the wine was decanted into the more common vessel with the narrow neck and wide bottom.

Arnie and I had the most amazing cheese fondue with truffles, Mine was gluten free and came with gluten-free bread.

And for dessert, we shared a glorious panna cotta to end our final dinner in Toscana!

As we paid il conto (the check), we were presented with a beautiful linen table runner from the restaurant, prettily folded with a ribbon holding it together. We were very touched. Some of you may remember that on our last workwhop here, I was given a signed photograph of Ava Gardner, the original Barefoot Contessa from the movie of the same name. The staff at the restaurant had signed it on the back, too!

“A la proxima,” we said.

“A la proxima, Toscana.”

We will return in 2015, first in February for Carnivale in Venezia, then again in May/June, probably to Sicily, and perhaps to the Lake District … to be determined.

Meanwhile, “A la proxima, Italia!”

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