Wining and Dining Our Way Through Tuscany

We cooked a fair bit while we were in Tuscany, though often it was just putting together a simple salad or a cheese and charcuterie plate with a lot of fruit.

 This was a winning bucatini with Italian sausage and garlic in a tomato sauce:

 We made sure plenty of chianti was on hand for sipping while cooking, and for pairing with our meals too.

 On one of our first days there, at the local coop (their only chain supermarket, it seems), we happened to bump into a Chinese woman and her Sicilian husband and their daughter.  She was a total sweetheart, showing us the best eggplants (pictured below, it truly was so tender and sweet) and pickled onions and explaining how to weigh all of the produce.  She also asked for things for us in fluent Italian when we didn't know where to locate it.  It's funny how I meet Chinese people wherever I go in the world.  It's a powerful diaspora.  Whether it's Argentina, Russia, or Italy, it's always a treasure and a delight to be able to communicate with a local fluently!

 On one of the nights, we grilled up a lot of sardines and paired it with peppery string beans.

We didn't cook every day and night though, sometimes we got takeaway from the local restaurants (I found a winning carciofini combination that I liked, consisting of tomatoes, black olives, artichokes, and ham) or we also filled up at wine tastings.

Speaking of wine tastings, my sister and I went to check out the large chianti winery, Antinori nel chianti classico.  It was very commercial and large, and after going to that one (with very strict, measured pours and exorbitant charges per pour) I felt it made more sense to try more local family estates.

 

 

But the landscaping and sculptures were beautiful, and worth seeing.

 

 

 We explored and tasted wine at a little enoteca in the enchanting Barberino Val d'Elsa, a tiny medieval walled village (as so many of them are) sitting atop a hill.   We were there when the church bells rang as the clock struck five, and it was a grand, long, loud and proud affair.  It felt very magical.

entrance to the old town

 

 

 

We even inadvertently matched in stripes!

 We sampled various white and red wines, olive oils, and had a small plate of cheese and fresh grilled vegetables.   The bathroom in the wine shop had the most amazing view! 

After our wine tasting, we walked through the little town some more, and I am delighted to report that at one moment, we walked by an open window where we heard an opera singer warming up with arias.  My sister and I both cracked up because, I mean, how can you even plan that - we felt like we were on a movie set.

 

I love how much pride and care the Italians take in decorating their front door, which shows especially in their flowers and plants.  And those bricks, and wooden shutters, and paved stone streets... certainly don't hurt the look either!

 

On our drive home, we also caught some lovely scenes of the Tuscan landscape, at that lovely magical hour when the sun was setting and casting its glow over the rolling hills.