I used to like Fall. After living in a small Tuscany village, I learned to love fall. After the sun had done it’s work, the late summer showers provided the final dose of energy for the vineyards. Now that 80% of the garden has been either eaten or canned, the upcoming grape harvest (vendemmia) was on the mind of many. As Jill and I walked Montanare’s gravel one lane road …
In the northern most reaches of Umbria, rest the beautiful agriculture village of Castiglione Fosco. From a half dozen miles away, the 12 story brick clock tower guided us through the valley to this small borgo of 200. The area looked vaguely familiar, in part, because we traversed this land looking for a place to live in 2004. About half way between the hilltop villages of Paciano and Tavernelle, our …
Daniela was intrigued by an onion yesterday. We had all the ingredients to make a favorite salad mix, a recipe gifted to us by our very special British friends Bill and Tina more than a decade ago. Although they have simplified their lives by letting someone else care for Villa Donata in Ossaia (five miles from Montanare), what they left behind for us is a beautiful set of memories. Many …
Piero stood from 50 feet wondering who was passing the large gate in an unknown Renault. As we came to a rest, his simpatico smile met the one I was showing. He and I have done this exchange more than a dozen times and I love it more every time. We are home. Not because the area is familiar. Not because the 650 square foot, restored apartment hasn’t changed. Not …
Looking back, our very best memories in Montanare always include at least one table under the giant olive tree. Rosy, Amy, Luisa, Piero, Francesca, and many more have created some of the best food we’ve ever put to our lips at this table. Rarely is it a single table. It usually begins with two rectangular wood tops and at least two round metal tables on either end. Piero would never …
We could easily create a popular cookbook from all the recipes Ame and Rosy have taught us in Montanare. Be it Crostini, penne al fumo, or tiramisu alla Rosy, each one allows us an immediate return to the rectangular, dark wood trestle table at Ca’ di Maestro. Stateside friends, the beneficiaries of this cooking, ask us for the recipes nearly every time we share them. So far, I’ve been able to dodge these requests …
Young Reflections Photography Once I told publisher, Ethan, and book designer, Sonja, that I had a date for the book launch, the drive to the finish line required a bit more gas pedal. A book release without books would be rather anti-climactic. Phone calls to confirm details from months past became a priority. The twenty-nine details about how the book would be printed, bound, and packaged all became unintended obsessions. …
The mood seems to change every year at this time. “Ultima Giorni” Rosy reminds us from the back seat as we exit the Outlet Mall. This shift isn’t foreign to me but it is my least favorite part of preparing to exit the spot which is responsible for much of who I am and will always will be. Every friend here (dear and not so) knows our departure is near. Each …
Friends are such an important part of life, especially when they are enthused about a shared passion. Cortonese, Ivan Botanici caught it and said yes to helping me produce a bi-lingual, Ten Years in Tuscany book launch event in Cortona. Trying to use the past three launch events a model wasn’t an option. I’m in a foreign country, 7500 miles from my resources. My biggest fear: Would anyone come? Like …
[ Sotto Montepulciano ] There’s a push, a tangible draw coming from within this Ryan Air 737-800. It’s time to create. For this short window, I’m free of the norm, to take chances while I occupy land that nearly built the act of creativity. Feeling the need to up my artistic game, this trip has to be big on discovery. Not necessarily new destinations, although that is tempting. The surgeons …
