In 2015, our daughter, Christina, learned that she had a recurrence of her glioblastoma (malignant brain tumor). We'd all lived on the edge of a precipice for a year and a half knowing that historically, it would take about this long for the ugly disease to reappear.
Christina knew that she probably would not survive the recurrence, so made a request of the family. . . . that we rent a home in the wine country, gather the immediate family and create a weekend of games . . . . which we did . . . . or rather, I rented the home and she and her youngest brother put together a weekend of games, trivia and cooking contests. This first "Christina Cup" took place the weekend of July 4, 2015.
The weekend was so memorable as we watched grandchildren pair up with adults to form teams The most fun were the cooking challenges. This would be the beginning of some wonderful cooking experiences for the youngest in our group.
We lost Christina to heaven on December 23, 2015 and though, initially, we had no intention of repeating the first Christina Cup, the family decided that we would make this an annual event . . . a very special way to remember Christina, and especially her fighting spirit.
Every summer since that 2015 July 4th weekend, we have gathered together. My brother's family has been added, and if nothing else can be said, we are a loving and feisty group ready to compete with our teammates (different each year) to see whose names will be added to the perpetual trophy - THE CHRISTINA CUP!!
The tenth Christina Cup had to be a special one, so I rented a villa in Chianti, just 40 minutes outside Florence. On Friday and Saturday, the family will be leaving for this destination - Villa Benedetta - a beautiful villa sitting on a mountaintop amidst vineyards and near the wonderful old town of Greve in Chianti. Let the games begin . . . .
Friday / Saturday, June 7 and 8 - Travel, SFO to Frankfurt to Florence, Italy
Really smooth flight on Lufthansa. Ari, our dog, was with us once again and did really great for such a long flight. Lufthansa did not make it easy to prepare on line preflight for the dog, but it was sorted out at check-in, and then resorted once we were to board our connecting flight to Florence.
Stephen, John and Alex, all waiting for their hiking boots to be scanned at airport.
Our six hour layover in Frankfurt turned into an almost seven hour layover. We were so very tired, but finally a little after 7:00 p.m., we landed in Florence, to find McKenna, Rich and Laurie also there waiting for their luggage. Also there were Sofia and Bridgette who come in from Ireland, via Amsterdam. All luggage accounted for, save one small "carry-on" of McKenna's, that Air France insisted she not carry on to the plane in Paris. Of course, they lost it, and as of this writing three days later, no word received as to its whereabouts - UGH!!
Because there were so many of us arriving at the same time, Steve opted to get a car and driver used by Villa Benedetta to transport three of us immediately to our destination, together with some of the extra luggage. It was a good thing that we were able to get going almost immediately because getting rental cars for Steve and John took over one hour!!! Avis understaffed, and generally slow . . .
Arriving at Villa Benedetta was beyond my expectations. What a gorgeous setting, atop a hill, surrounded by vineyards -picturesque to the ultimate! We arrived to find my brother and sister-in-law enjoying wine and bites with Margaret Ann (Rose's sister) and her nephew, Pasquale. He'd generously brought Margaret Ann up to the Villa so that she could be there at check-in time, together with loads of bottled water, food and wine. A really lovely welcome, especially with Margaret Ann being totally fluent in Italian and able to converse easily with the housekeeper, Donatella.
Rich and Laurie, who'd had little difficulty with their car rental, arrived shortly after us, and then a rather long wait for Steve and John's cars. But, finally, we were all there for today. Two more arriving tomorrow.
Sunday, June 9 - Villa Benedetta
Villa Benedetta
I'd gotten to bed shortly before midnight, so had a fairly good night's sleep and was up to discover the villa and the grounds in the sunshine. Even braved a swim in the very cold pool, with my brother!
Gradually all surfaced, and we drew cards to see which teams would cook on each night. Our team drew number three, so Wednesday is our day. That means that Tuesday afternoon we will be shopping and planning a menu to cook on Wednesday, and feed eighteen people! We will be graded on authenticity (it has to be an Italian meal), difficulty of preparation, presentation, wine pairing, etc. We must complete four cooking challenges, i.e., Antipasto, Primo Piatto, Secondo Piatto, and Dolce, i.e., appetizer, starter, main course and dessert.
Our team's menu is not yet set, because part of it will depend on being able to procure certain items. For our main course, Margaret Ann, is going to ask the butcher whether or not I can get a certain cut of meat - more on that later. If not available, we have alternative ideas.
Seven of us went over to Castello Verrazzano for a wine tasting and a look at the beautiful views from the Castello. After the tasting we bought some wines to take back to the Villa.
View from Castello Verrazzano to adjacent hill.
This wine is totally "Chianti", even to the fact that instead of the wine aging in French oak barrels, this wine is aged in chestnut barrels, manufactured in Chianti. It's pretty good wine.
Phil and Lisa arrived early this evening. Now we were all here until the last week, when grandson, Trent, will join us. Tonight we opted to go down into Greve in Chianti for a pizza dinner - which turned out to be much more than a pizzeria. Really lovely food, and a menu that was so extensive it was difficult to make a choice. We had lots of really good wines. Here are some . . .
Allesandro is the owner of the restaurant, and this is his wine - good!
The pizzas were wonderful, with paper thin crusts. Also ordered were a variety of pastas and salads. Everything was really tasty, and we brought home the left over pizza for lunch tomorrow.
Brother and sister having a giggle!
Another really late night (or should I say early morning!) for most, but I once again got to bed around midnight - thank goodness!
Monday, June 10 - Villa Benedetta
Villa Benedetta
First team to cook today is Team Rich/Sofia/Bridgette - they were out very early to get to the grocery store when it opened. Two and a half hours later, they are back and beginning their preparations. They cooked all day while others hiked back and forth to town and ran little errands in Greve.
One of the "errands" was to touch base with the local butcher who has quite a wonderful reputation. All those who went to his shop said the meats were beautiful, the shop was clean and he was most entertaining and helpful. Margaret Ann ordered for me three breasts of veal to make a cima (pronounced - cheema) and that meat probably wouldn't be in until Wednesday afternoon. It would be tight, but I would have everything else ready and the stuffing made by the time the meat arrived. Steve also ordered his pork roast for tomorrow, as did Margaret Ann order her pork roast (a different cut) for their team meal on Thursday. I think the butcher was very happy we were in town. He'll pay the rent this month!!
With the arrival of Lisa and Phil late afternoon, we are all gathered here, save for grandson, Trent, who can only join us for the last week of our stay.
We have set up a group on WhatsApp, and it's been a most convenient way to communicate. Team Rich/Sofia/Bridgette sent out their menu. They have set the bar for all of us to do menus. Theirs looks wonderful!
Sofia, Rich and Bridget
Tuesday, June 11 - Villa Benedetta
One of four living rooms at Villa Benedetta
Today Steve, Ray and McKenna are in the kitchen. They were up early and at the big market, Essolungo in the town of Galuzzo. Since my team would be cooking tomorrow, we decided to take the drive to Galuzzo and get our shopping done a day ahead. It was about a thirty minute drive - so we had to be certain that we got everything! Although there is a smaller grocery store in Greve, which is a mile down the hill from the villa, the choices are not as great.
Essolungo is such a market - HUGE!! . . . and of course, the added challenge of not really knowing what we were looking for (what did it look like?), nor what was it called in Italian and in which part of the giant store? . . . and then we had to weigh and pre-tag anything in produce that was not pre-packaged and already priced. We had a lot to learn! . . . . and we had to pay a euro to get a grocery cart.
It took us a while to complete our list and then we had to pack the fairly small car that
already had five passengers in it. We found that we could store some groceries in the spare tire well!
Back at the villa, today's team was hard at work in the kitchen.
The kitchen in this beautiful villa is what one might expect in an old Italian home - small and compact and very old! This one also has a propensity for an ant invasion on the outside wall, so we had to be careful not to store items that might be attractive to the little buggers!
The fairly small stove has five burners (which all run hot - unable to turn down the heat), but trying to get five pots on the stove at once is a challenge. The oven is a mystery, also runs really hot (even while taking into consideration the differences between celsius and fahrenheit), and we're not certain what all of the little symbols mean. What we are finding out is that it almost always runs on convection and perhaps there is only one symbol that operates the oven as a regular oven.
Today's team found it an expensive lesson. Everything was delicious for their dinner, but the roast was overdone. Here's their menu:
S T A R T E R S
LIGHT BITES
Italian baguette: Extra virgin olive oil, Ponti balsamic glaze, garlic confit Caprese salad: Tomatoes, burrata, Tuscan basil
WINE PAIRING
Meriggio~Fontodi
APPITIZER
Ragù di maiale su polenta cremosa
Pork ragu over creamy polena
WINE PAIRING
Ca’ Di Pesa~Chianti Classico Reserve
M A I N
ARISTA PILLOTATTA
Pork loin in the style of porchetta generously seasoned with garlic, sage,rosemary, and other aromatic herbs and spices ACCOMPANIMENTS
Fagiolini saltati con scalogno
Sautéed green beans with shallot
Pomodori bolle
Blistered tomatoes
Patate arrosto alle erbe
Herbed roasted potatoes
Orzo tostato con parmigiano e pomodorini secchi
Toasted orzo with parmesan and sun dried tomatoes
WINE PAIRING
Ricasoli~Casalferro
D E S S E R T
TORTA AL LIMONE DI AMALFI
Amalfi lemon cake topped with cream and lemon syrup
WINE PAIRING
Pallini~Lemoncello
Wednesday, June 12 - Villa Benedetta
Villa Benedetta
Today's the day for team Sandi/Lisa/Jeanne. Only Sandi stayed up last night to begin her cooking after midnight! She wanted to make the ricotta early, and marinate the wild boar overnight. The rules prohibit our starting food preparation the day before and Sandi wanted to go to bed knowing that the ricotta had worked. . . it did! So while I slept she prepped the meat and ricotta. When I got up around 7:30 a.m., Sandi was already in the kitchen baking. The untoasted crostini, desserts and the cinghiale were her territory. Lisa had the bread and I had the polenta and cima.
Cima is what I grew up with, so believe it might have originated in Liguria. My grandmother, Nonna Piccina (little nonna) made it a day ahead of serving. The breast of veal is pocketed, stuffed and roasted. When chilled, she removed the ribs from the breast of veal, and then thinly sliced it, serving it as a part of the appetizers. Nonna Piccina's stuffing was spinach based, so the filling was a dark green.
Though I hadn't had cima for years after my Nonna passed, it surfaced again at the table of my mother-in-law, Linda. But this was a new way to cook and serve it. The base for Linda's stuffing was butter lettuce - a lot of butter lettuce, so the filling was a lighter and prettier green, and I feel the flavor much more balanced with the mild meat of veal. It was served hot and cut so that each slice had a rib attached. Absolutely delicious. This was my aim for today.
But alas, the butcher thought he knew better, and sent me three rather large pieces of veal taken from the back thigh of a cow!!! There was so much meat! What was I to do? I pocketed it best as I could after cutting off narrow ends of each slab (and freezing them for later use). Rather than a very delicate bit of meat around the filling, this would be more like a veal roast with a bit of stuffing inside . . . I ruined our main dish . . . and the oven helped me, we know now, by cooking it in convection style. The meat was tough.
We worked very hard, made the dining table beautiful, and were so very tired by end of day. We decided not to eat with the gang, but rather serve each course and join them for dessert.
Mercoledì 12 Giugno 2024
Infuso d’acqua naturale con arance e rosmarino
(Still water infused with oranges and rosemary)
Le olive erborinate di Bisnonna
(Bisnonna’s herbed olives)
Appertivo della Sicillia
Tris di pane e companatico con ricotta fatta in casa. Insalata mista con ricola
(Trio of topped Italian bread with homemade ricotta cheese. Insalata mista with arugula) v Compote of dried fruit, Umbrian white wine and thymev Fresh Calabrian Dottato figs with balsamic and basilv Grilled young asparagus with lemon zest, honey and toasted pistachio
Wine Pairing: Campanaro Fiano di Avellino Riserva 2021
Il Primo Piatto e Contorno del Chianti
Ragu di cinghiale con polenta di porri e formaggio e foglie di salvia fritte, e rosette se broccoletti (Ragu of wild boar with polenta of leeks and cheese with fried sage leaves, and a rosette of broccoletti) Wine Pairing Choices: Petra Hebo 2021 Red Blend, orBolgheri Rosso Campo Alle Comete Stupore 2022
Il Secondo e Contorno di Genova
Cima Genovese - vitello ripieno di verdure con contorno di patate in due modi
(Cima Genovese - veal stuffed with greens with a side of potatoes two ways
Wine Pairing: Cabrera Il Borgo 2020
Dolci di Siena e Firenze
Zucotto di Firenze infuso al brandy con lamponi, nocciole tostate e ganache al cioccolato fondente
(Zucotto of Florence infused with brandy, with raspberries and toasted hazelnuts, and a dark chocolate ganache)
Panforte di siena con mandorle, nocciole, frutta secca e pepe bianco
(Panforte of Sienna with almonds, hazelnuts, dried fruit and white pepper)
Wine Pairing Options: v Limoncello
v Vecchio Amaro del Capo v Vin Santo v Grappa
Molte grazie per la tua considerazione- Squadra Numero Uno (Jeanne, Lisa, Sandi)
Gruppi di sei o piu perosone, mancia sara inclusa
(Parties of six or more, gratuity will be included)
Thursday, June 13 - Villa Benedetta
View from living room at Villa Benedetta
Today we were joined by an unexpected and unwanted guest . . . more on that later in the day.
This was the day that the team of Rose, Margaret Ann and Joe would take over the kitchen. I slept in, and when I surfaced, they were in full swing. Those not cooking took a variety of side trips to nearby villages and towns, or did local hikes in and around the vineyards surrounding our beautiful villa.
. . . and then it was time for dinner . . . and our unexpected and unwanted guest. Covid had arrived! Laurie and Rich were the first to succumb and were isolated in their room. Food was brought up to them, though am not certain they were very hungry.
Here's the menu for tonight.
After dinner, Ray and Debbie retired not feeling too well, as did John and Sandi. Ray had a very bad night, but luckily, they'd travelled with Paxlovid - that would certainly help them.
Friday, June 14 - Villa Benedetta
Laurie and Rich are feeling a bit better, Ray and Debbie, perhaps (not certain), and we didn't hear from John and Sandi all day. UGH!!
Steve took a hike and picked up ordered meat from the butcher which we threw into the freezer. Not certain when we can continue the cooking competitions while team members are ill. Rose, Margaret Ann and Sofia went to Montelupo to check out the ceramics there. I spent most of the day in the kitchen getting odds and ends out of the refrigerator and making a quick soup. It was to be the favored food for four of the sickies. We now refer to it as "sickie soup". John and Sandi ate nothing.
Then put together a dinner for tonight using leftovers that could be reheated and would take care of the few of us that were still healthy.
McKenna is down for the count. Lisa has supplied her daughter with lots of liquids and snacks and McKenna is resting, also isolated in her room.
Margaret Ann is not certain whether or not she is getting sick, or perhaps has an allergy. She has tested for Covid but has come up negative. Later determined that MA has just a cold or bad allergies . . .
Saturday, June 15 - Villa Benedetta
Ray and Debbie spent some time in the garden out in the sun this morning. Steve has been playing waiter to everyone bringing mugs of soup and cooking light breakfasts. Rose is in the kitchen making another soup - this time a minestrone. The villa smells great!!
Wine is running low, so Rose and I went down to the "cantina" to taste local wines and some others and did some purchasing. We had fun. Then to the grocery store for some more supplies and back to the villa. Lisa and Phil have gone down the hill for dinner and will bring back a variety of pizzas for the rest of us - nice - and delicious!!
Still no sign of Sandi and John - perhaps they've jumped out of the window and returned home!!!
Sunday, June 16 - Villa Benedetta
I finally slept a long time. Stephen woke me to let me know that he, Joe, Alex, Margaret Ann, Rose and Sofia were leaving for San Gimignano where the guys would depart on a three-day hike covering 45 miles. Believe they will wind up in Sienna where they will be picked up either Tuesday or Wednesday. Margaret Ann, Rose and Sofia will be spending the night in Sienna and returning to the villa tomorrow.
Out in the garden was a gathering of the "sickies" - and finally a sighting of John and Sandi who reported that they'd slept for three days and were finally feeling somewhat better.
Sandi, John, Ray, Debbie, McKenna, Rich and Laurie. - "the sickies"
It will be an easy day as everyone gathers strength. Hopefully, some will be able to have an outing tomorrow. Personally, am very content to sit in the garden, listening to my book, soaking up the Italian ambience and listening to the old church bells toll in the distance.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - June 17, 18, 19 - Miscellaneous Side Trips.
The last three days were a combination of people getting stronger as they recovered from Covid, and side trips to Siena, Lucca, Volterra, San Gimignano, CInque Terra, Arezzo . . . and a 40-mile hike from San Gimignano to Siena, over a three day period, by Steve, Joe and Alex. See a mixed jumble of photos following.
Pavlova with Lemon Curd
Risotto with Chianti, pistachios and Parmesan Reggiano Cream
Ristorante Il Gallo Nero
Lisa and Phil
The Hike
Alex and Joe
Joe
Steve
Joe
Cinque Terre
A Quiet Moment in the Shade - Ray and Debbie
Sisters - Lisa and Laurie
The Hike
San Gimignano
Joe and Alex
Ancient Christina Cup
The Hike
After The Hike
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre
Rose and Steve
Brother, Ray and my son, John
Thursday, June 20 - Villa Benedetta
Yesterday I began to be concerned about the freezer full of meal that had been intended for two more cook-off meals, but the chefs had come down with Covid. The meat was waiting to thaw for whenever someone would cook. There is also a huge pork roast all of which wasn't used in a previous meal, and a rather large amount of veal from my team's meal.
Everyone was out for the day. Rose and John had driven to Siena to pick up the hikers and bring them back to the villa. McKenna, Phil, Lisa, Laurie and Rich were returning from their three-day jaunt to Cinque Terre, so everyone would be here for dinner.
I thawed out the veal, trimmed and cubed it and dredged it in flour. Pan fried it to brown and tossed it into a roasting pan. What next? Time to be creative. Sauteed shallots, deglazed the pan with white wine. Added to the roasting pan with artichoke hearts, whatever fresh herbs were available and lots of fresh rosemary sprigs. Also drained pitted black olives which would be added at end of cooking. Then into oven to roast until meat was tender. While that was cooking, chopped fresh garlic and cooked it in olive oil, added chopped parsley, basil and set aside. That would be tossed with pasta to serve with veal.
Such a good meal - want to repeat this dish when I get home, but can't get the quality of veal like in Italy. Might try it with chicken.
During the night I woke around 1:00 a.m. and noticed an email from travel agent, Eric of Goldring Travel, stating that Explora II inaugural cruise had been cancelled. WHAT!?!?!?! . . . and just seven weeks away? Not again! Explora Journeys has six new ships in the pipeline. The first ship, Explora I, was delayed twice. Now this one - UGH!!! It was to be a culinary and cultural cruise, organized by Eric. These jaunts are always wonderful and I look forward to them annually.
Made the mistake of reading all of the information and then couldn't sleep. There were alternatives proposed by Eric. It seems that several have chosen alternative Number One, which is to transfer our cruise over to Explora I which will take place in just about the same time/date frame, but instead of Barcelona to Barcelona, we will depart from Venice and end in Istanbul. There are a couple of stops that will be new to me, so look to the next blog in August which will take place on Explora I.
I will probably not be making any reservations on Explora Journeys for their new ships on their inaugural sailings. It's just too chancy. What a lot of work for Eric to redo everyone's hotel and flight reservations!
I finally got to sleep after 4:00 a.m. and slept until 1:00 p.m. Missed Lisa and Phil leaving for Florence where they will spend the night before going home tomorrow. So sorry not to give hugs of farewell!
A group of us went up the road to a "Castello", known as Badia a Passignano, and enjoyed a wonderful tour led by a Benedictine Monk (from India).
The Abbey of Passignano belongs to the Benedictine Order of the Abbey of Vallombrosa. It was founded in 1049 by San Giovanni Gualberto and the current structure is a picturesque monastic complex fortified with towers at the corners. In the mid 15 C, the monastery was enlarged and a cloister and a wall were added. The monastery church has interesting paintings by Domenico Crespi (known as Passignano because he was born in the neighbourhood around 1599). In October 1810, the congregation of Vallombrosa was suppressed and the Abbey of Passignano was closed. In December 1825, the community was re-established, but was again removed in 1866 when the Abbey became the property of the Italian government. The monks remained to take care of the church. In October 1870, the Badia a Passignano was auctioned off by the government to a private individual who was responsible for some of the faux antique fortifications. Finally, in October 1986, the Abbey of Passignano was restored to the Benedictine monks of Vallombrosa.
Friday, June 21 - an Outing to Marchese Antinori Winery
What a fun and spectacular day! In two cars some of us went to visit Antinori winery and do a bit of tasting. We'd tried to make reservations a couple days ago for a group tasting and reservations at the restaurant for lunch, but all we got for our efforts were lots of "no's" and a "goodbye". Undaunted we decided to try for the store on premises where we could do informal tasting at the bar and see what we could of the winery.
Believe we are a charmed group, because Laurella, at the store, took a liking to us and on the spot arranged a formal sit-down wine tasting for seven of us, and then also got us a table at the restaurant for lunch! Here are the wines we tasted.
This is the prettiest water glass with a bit of Venetian glass grapes in the center!
The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries since 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member, of the “Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri”, the Florentine Winemakers’ Guild. All throughout its history, twenty-six generations long, the Antinori family has managed the business directly making innovative and sometimes bold decisions while upholding the utmost respect for traditions and the environment.
It is my understanding that this particular facility was built in 2012 at an approximate cost of $110 million, and is an architectural wonder, with floating staircases (constructed of iron and cement), light wells dug atop the mountain to get light to the rooms below. Here's a photo from the air. You'd never guess what's underneath! The restaurant is at the cluster of umbrellas where we lunched, and you can view the path leading to it as it comes up out of a floating stairwell. Really amazing and breathtaking.
This was perhaps the most spectacular (yes, that word again!) wine of the trip for me. We only ordered one bottle and tasted - because we did have to drive the twisty-turny roads back to the villa.
Front label
Back label
You can see from the back label label that we drank Bottle No. 6454 our of 7056 bottles! It also came to the table in a beautiful box, which we gave to Margaret Ann for her collection.
Gals in the kitchen made a wonderful assortment of nibbles which we enjoyed out on the back patio, of course, with more wine . . . and that was dinner!
Saturday, June 22 - An Outing to Montelupo
We are back to the cooking challenges. Today's chefs are Laurie and Alex. They were busy early in the morning. Sandi, Rose, Sofia and I were graciously chauffeured over to Montelupo by Rich and he was absolutely wonderful as we traversed many ceramic shops. "Patience" was his middle name!
By chance we went into a store that turned out to be one that supplies Biordi's in North Beach, San Francisco. Cannot believe the prices of Italian ceramiche here in Montelupo - amazing! Sandi, Rose and I love these beautiful products of Italy and our homes have some lovely pieces - to which we added!!! This plate below will be in my garden toward the end of the year.
I have two pots in the pool area that are designed with the lemon motif in the center of this plate and it turned out that although I special ordered them at Biordi, they are the design of the owner of this shop and made by the father. The son, Matteo, was so pleased with that information!! Was also able to order two pots for either side of my front door, done in the desired antique finish. These will be made and shipped to my home, together with pieces bought by Sandi and Rose. Probably won't see them until before Christmas.
Montelupo was in the middle of a ceramics festival so there were tents and booths everywhere, with artists at work. Most interesting, and not too crowded, nor too hot.
Rich also walked into an art gallery and found two wonderful paintings by artist, Rosa de Domenico. These will also be sent home when Rosa's gallery show is ended.
Topped the shopping off with a lunch al fresco. Ordered pici pasta with a rich roasted tomato and onion sauce - delicious.
Someone suggested a wine tasting at the Cantina in Greve, and some of us were off once again . . . . me, too! Didn't find more wine, but was able to purchase two bottles of yesterday's Ampio. Big Splurge! These will be saved for Monday night's dinner when we eat left overs and snacks. I can't wait for another taste of that Ampio. Believe this one is a vintage two years older than the one we tasted on Friday.
Then we walked the square over to the Macellieria (butcher shop). Another Matteo - famous butcher of the region. Have never seen a butcher shop quite like this one. There are salumi, prosciutti, and all assortment of meats hanging from the ceilings, about 7 to 8 rooms which each boast their own specialty and include a deli where you can order a fresh sandwich to go. Stephen does this daily stating that this is his "happy place".
Bought some wonderful cheeses and salumi to share on Monday night. Had a bit of conversation with the butcher and wished with all of my heart that we had a shop like this at home. The veal here in Italy is such that I've not seen in many years in the United States. We even shared a quick sandwich of cinghiale salami - just that and fresh bread - wonderful!
How we could come home hungry is a mystery, but the smells emanating from the kitchen had our mouths watering. Alex and Laurie had been hard at work. We sat in the garden, performed charades challenges (part of the cup), and waited for dinner to be announced. The menu for tonight is:
Waiting proved very difficult for Stephen and John who tried to peek into the kitchen to see if they could speed things up a bit.
Another new dining venue tonight. Per the chefs' request, the guys moved the patio tables around the villa into the center courtyard, where the chefs set a beautiful table.
Tonight's Chefs - Laurie and Alex
. . . . and then, the food . . .
This is the best arancini anyone has ever tasted! Great work Alex and Laurie!
Finished off the evening with more charades challenges - so funny. We provide our own entertainment. Have to include this one photo of John trying to convey the word "dragon".
So much fun - so much laughter!
Sunday June 23 -
Team Debbie and John are cooking today. For the rest of us it's an easy day at the villa, and for a few, a trip to the high-end outlets and a wine tasting. I stayed at the villa bringing the blog up to date.
Here's the menu for tonight:
This is one of the best red wines we've had on this trip - delicious! Comes from the Folinari family who own our villa
Another fabulous dinner! Who would have thought when we began this tradition in 2015 that we'd be producing these dinners, and that the youngsters would be a large part of their success.
Just noticed that "dessert" is spelled "desert" on the menu, to which John's son, Alex, responded: "Gee, Dad, it wasn't that dry!"
Monday, June 24 - The Villa and Siena
A few of us stayed in today. The skies have opened up here and it's pretty wet outside. Steve and Alex went for a long hike in and around the vineyards - rain or no rain, Stephen hikes! Laurie, Rich, McKenna, Ray, Debbie, John, Sandi and Trent went to Siena and from the photo sent back to us, it looks like they have sunshine and clear skies.
Tuesday, June 25 - Outing to Certaldo
One of the most evocative historic villages in Tuscany, Certaldo still retains a magical atmosphere that has also enabled it to receive the Touring Club's Orange Flag recognition.
Home to settlements since the Etruscan era, Certaldo's development began in the early Middle Ages. Its name derives from the Latin cerrus altus or from the Germanic cerrus aldo, descriptions of the oak-covered hill on which the village rests.
Also making the town irresistible is the fact that it was the birthplace of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), one of the fathers of the Italian language and literature, author of, among other things, the Decameron.
The tomb of Giovanni Boccaccio rests on the floor of the center aisle of the Church of SS. Jacopo and Fillipo. It's a rather stark, unadorned interior, but the altar piece is beautiful in its simplicity.
Getting there was a bit of a problem for our car. Once getting to Certaldo, we found it impossible to find the road up to Certaldo Alto, which is the medieval city that was our destination. After trying several different routes, we kept ending up at the same construction zone that showed our way to be closed to traffic. So, we travelled around the mountain to tackle our ingress from the other side.
There was only one road, which turned out to be a private / no entry road. Being desperate to meet up with the rest of our gang we decided to go anyway. The roughest road I've ever been on in a car, but it did take us to a parking lot that gave us access to the back side of Certaldo Alto!! Our driver, Rose, navigated not only the bumpy, pot-filled road, but also the narrow twisty, turny roads to get to the bumpy, pot-filled road! Thank you, Rosie!!
Also in the church of SS. Jacopo and Fillipo is the body of Beata Giulia della Rena
(1319 – 9 January 1367) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed member of the Order of Saint Augustine in its third order branch. Della Rena was orphaned sometime in her late childhood and sought work as a maid in Florence where she soon became a member of the Augustinian tertiaries. The religious then returned to Certaldo due to the negative Florentine economic and political climate where she became best known for rescuing a child from a burning building.
The body is not in tact, as are some saints' remains, but is clothed in her nun's habit which hides the skeleton and all but the bony remains of her face. Did not take a photo.
We climbed around the picturesque town, had a bit to eat at a local osteria, and headed on back home - this time finding the better road for our exit!
Don't know what these are for, but they sure were cute!
More beautiful and unique ceramics.
Finishing the day with a bit of games, announcing the winner of Christina Cup X . . . . and the winners are . . . Sofia and Rich!! Congrats to Sofia and Rich, but have to say that all "chefs" did an incredible job on the food. Meals just get better every year.
Wine brought home from the local COOP and certainly an answer to Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck - One liter of wine in a box for ONE EURO!!! Wasn't worth anything more!!!
Wednesday, June 26 - A day in Florence
Everyone but me went into Florence today. I stayed home with the dog and rested. They had purchased on line tickets for an early time at the Uffizi, and then an 11:30 a.m. appointment at the Bargello Museum - one of my favorites. The group thoroughly enjoyed the tutelage of Margaret Ann and were grateful for her knowledge. They then convened for lunch at Mario's - a favorite of our family - especially if you are interested in Bistecca Fiorentina!
In Florence, the steak is king!!
Our numbers are diminished by three today. McKenna stayed in Florence to catch an early flight home tomorrow morning. Sofia is staying with Aunt Margaret for two more weeks in Florence before she comes home to pack and move to San Antonio for her new job.
Thursday, June 27 - Outing to Volterra
John, Sandi and their sons went to Volterra.
The rest of us went down to our favorite pizza restaurant in Greve, enjoyed a wonderful lunch and a bit of gelato - only my second one of this trip. Then back to the villa where we bid goodbyes to Rich and Laurie who are staying at an airport hotel in Florence so they can catch a 6:15 a.m. flight home tomorrow morning. Our numbers have dwindled! There are only ten of us left.
The last of our meat is being roasted tonight - part of the porchetta roast that was not used and frozen earlier in the cooking competitions. The local butcher in Greve is certainly going to miss us!!
Friday, June 28 - Leaving Villa Benedetta
Bags packed, met with the housekeeper, Donatella, for any final charges that must be met – we are okay.
For lunch, met everyone down at the Macelleria in Greve for an assortment of wonderful cured meat delights. We will all really miss this wonderful butcher shop. After lunch, Ray, Debbie and I went to a hotel near the Florence airport, so that we would be able to get to the airport early the next morning. This would also free up some room in the two cars remaining for seven people, a dog and all their luggage.
We spent the afternoon at the hotel bar, then had dinner and an early night.
Saturday, June 29 - Florence, Frankfurt and home (Maybe!)
We’d been told by Laurie and Rich who left on Thursday, that the lines at the airport were huge and that it would take two to three hours to get checked through. So we’d ordered a taxi for 2:45 a.m. (we had 6:00 and 6:30 a.m. flights). I woke at 12:30 a.m. and didn’t go back to sleep. Had set two alarms – one for 1:45 and one for 2:00 a.m.
Went down to the lobby a little early to find that the desk had ordered our taxi for 7:45 a.m.!!! Oh, great! Realizing their error, they immediately ordered a taxi which did come in about 10 minutes.
So, the three of us were off to the airport to find the airport closed – yep, CLOSED! It wouldn’t open until 4:00 a.m. You’ve got to be kidding! So we waited for an hour and a half for the doors to open. The crowds began to build outside and line cutting Germans wormed their way to the front unphased by our searing looks. We watched people who arrived at the doors, which didn’t open, plow right into them with a bump – funny.
When finally opened there was a stampede. One small elevator to the floor above for check-in. Escalators were not working. Thank goodness for the boys who hoisted my luggage and climbed the stairs. Business check-in was easy . . . . well, almost easy.
We were able to check in the five adults traveling business class, together with the three boys in coach. And then there was the dog! More papers to fill out and a fee to pay. Okay, that was expected. But when Steve used his Amex to pay, Lufthansa’s system didn’t acknowledge the payment. Steve brought up his Amex account on his phone which showed the payment – that wasn’t good enough. He was instructed to go to another ticket counter to pay and then come back for the boarding passes. They were holding ALL our boarding passes until he came back with a receipt for payment. Ari is definitely in charge!
By this time the lines for regular check-in snaked throughout the airport, down the stairs and out the doors. Standing in line at the second ticket counter, nothing moved. The wait was interminable. Finally, Steve got to the counter and was told nothing could happen unless he had his boarding pass. Steve indicated that he could not get a boarding pass without a receipt that the dog fare was paid. The bossy Italian women, most likely of Sicilian descent, treated the venerable and polite Stephen harshly, restating her most rigid position.
To everyone’s shock, she was unmoved by Stephen’s charming and handsome demeaner. Steve then dispatched John to go back to the Lufthansa counter to retrieve a boarding pass – she wouldn’t budge either. It appears that native Italian women are immune to the charms of Capurro men. But at least she would call the second counter to say that we had boarding passes. Steve ended up paying the fee a second time. He’ll have to deal with Amex to get one of the charges reversed. (all references to Stephen stellar behavior, handsome and charming self, has been written here by Stephen!)
Finally, we had all boarding passes and were on our way to security check. Because half of the Florence population seemed to be in line for the ticket counters, security was a breeze. We were through in minutes . . . oh no, somewhere in the process, Alex misplaced his boarding passes. He also has them on his phone, so we continued on.
So now, here we sit, waiting for our gate to be posted. What we do know is that our flight to Frankfurt is delayed almost two hours, which will mean that we probably won’t make our connecting flight to San Francisco.
Later . . . we are at our gate . . . we have a plane . . . our pilot is stuck in start of the Tour de France traffic!!!
How to describe the rest of the day is almost impossible. So, bear with me while I do some bullet points, and please rest because you are going to be very tired at the end.
· Plane finally took off from Florence to Frankfurt at 9:30 – a three hour delay. We would probably miss our flight home.
· Rumors about the delay included pilot being stuck in Tour de France traffic, and/or the fact that Air Dolomiti/Lufthansa did a pilot substitute and it took him a long time to get to the airport.
· At any rate, we did indeed miss our flight, even though the flight home was also delayed 20 minutes.
· Now what? We were told to find a Lufthansa Service Center and they would rebook us.
· While waiting in line (the first one of the day), we began receiving emails that we were automatically rebooked to the same flight the next day.
· Then we were told to find a “ticket counter” so that we could have hotel and meal vouchers issued.
· After a circuitous route through the much hated (by me) Frankfurt airport, multi desks where we were given disparate instructions, one route which I’m certain we repeated perhaps three times, we were directed to a line that snaked back and forth with almost seventy-five people ahead of us.
· John made certain that he found a chair for me while they waited in line. After an hour, Rose made contact with someone who directed us (business status) to someone where there was not a single person in line.
· We finally found a couple of people who were charming, knowledgeable, and efficient. We were given our vouchers for hotel and meals, and told to just walk across bridge over the street to the Sheraton/Marriott.
· These two people also rerouted our luggage to be on our plane tomorrow, and issued our boarding passes.
· Even with these bullet points you can’t guess how tired we were, nor how many steps we walked. Sandi reported almost 10,000 steps throughout the airport, and we weren’t finished.
After more walking we entered the hotel to cool, sweet perfumy air and felt immediately a bit refreshed. Got our rooms assigned by a lovely employee, Saskia. Now our only problem was to stay awake for the German dinner we hoped to have, and then to bed.
We played cards in the beautiful atrium restaurant, enjoyed libations, and finally crashed. We wouldn’t make it to dinner, so all ordered burgers (delicious) and French fries. Then to bed.
Sunday, June 30 - Frankfurt to SFO
Slept almost 13 hours. Had a light breakfast, met to wait in the atrium and then at 8:30 we were off to the airport. Once again, multi passport checks, a very long walk, Alex taken to a private security room – darn!! But they let him free and now we’re waiting for boarding time. If all goes well, we will be in the air in one hour. Will try to add a few photos once home. We are boarding shortly. YEA!!!!
I never really finished this blog, so some weeks later will try to recap.
So wonderful to be with eighteen family members, to spend time at a leisurely pace (except when cooking!). Special thanks to Margaret Ann, whose Italian liguistic expertise made so many decisions easy for us. I am blessed to be a part of this group, and look forward to Christina Cup XI in 2025.
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