Under The Tuscan Sun

Tuscany is filled with villas, gardens and vineyards decorating the hills.  I stayed in the small town of Lucca which has a medieval wall protecting the town, and inside the wall are many villas painted yellow with green shutters.

Tuscan countryside.

Villas of Lucca, Amphiteatre Piazza.

About 1 hour from Lucca by train is Pisa, which we visited as a day-trip.  I was shocked with how much the tower leans!  The photos don't accurately represent the 4 degree tilt which has resulted in a shift greater than 4 meters.  About 10 years ago, steel counterweights were installed to prevent any leaning catastrophes.  Only 30 people can climb the tower at one time.

Leaning and sinking tower of Pisa. 

Florence was also visited as a day-trip from Lucca.  Firenze has the postcard views that I believe are typically Tuscan.  Florence is famous for the Duomo, also known as the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.  This cathedral is unique in that it is created out of pink, green and white marble.

Florence Cathedral.

Florence's Old Bridge, known as Ponte Vecchio, is a bridge constructed to include shops and stores like the Pulteney Bridge in Bath, England.  The shops were originally famous for selling gold, but now it is overrun with souvenir shops.

Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio is full of shops.  Just incase you need more souvernirs.

There are still a few jewellery shops on Ponte Vecchio.

After several day-trips from Lucca, we decided to add some spice to our itinerary.  In our apartment, we were able to have our own private Italian cooking lesson.  Eight people from my tour group had a fantastic night learning the art of Tuscan cooking.   Local chef and new mom, Lorena Carro, put together a tasteful menu with delicate flavors that created a savory combination.

Our chef and instructor, Lorena. 
(Behind her, Bruce is busy mixing the dessert.)

Tuscan cuisine is traditionally 'peasant cuisine'.  There was often not a lot of meat, so many of the dishes are vegetarian.  Our class started off with Panzanella.  Well, actually...we started off with several bottles of wine but I'll keep this discussion focused on the menu!  Panzanella is a salad that uses dry Tuscan bread, tomatoes and cucumbers.  The use of bread that is no longer fresh prevents the bread from being wasted.  The salad was delightfully simple and was dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. 

Making Panzanella with Gordon, Kerry and Joan.

The entrée was homemade pasta with mushroom sauce.  It sounds much tastier in Italian:  "Tagliatelle all'uovo con sugo ai funghi porcini" or when Lorena says with her melodic accent:  "Ve arre noau goeen do make zee tahgleeahtelly".  I finally understand what the fuss is all about.  My fresh pasta literally melted in my mouth - and was fun to make.

Somehow this pile of flour and eggs will miraculously become Tagliatelle.

Using the pasta maker to prep the dough. 
Jenny and Gordon look worried...they have heard about my serious lack of culinary skills.

Ta da!

The main course was pork ribs with tomato sauce and olives (Rosticciana in umido con olive).  I learned to keep the ribs moist and to how to enhance the mingling flavour of herbs like fennel, bay leaves and rosemary.

Pork and herbs before...

Savory Rosticcana after.

For dessert we made our own Tiramisu, made creamy with eggs and mascarpone cheese.  The traditional Italian dessert uses espresso, but we learned that strawberries instead of coffee  makes an enticing alternative.  Did you know that the Italian regions of Piemonte, Lombardia, Veneto and Toscano all claim to have invented Tiramisu?

Michael, Joan and Gordon.

Jenny, Bruce, Judith and Kerry enjoying the first bites of the Panzanella.

 

The group gathered around the apartment table to enjoy our feast with wine.  It was a fabulous evening with mouthwatering food and engaging company as the day finished and we said goodnight to theTuscan sun.