Day 5 Tuscany 

It makes me sad to write that actually, knowing there’s only one day left on our Tuscan adventure. 

Pick up was at 10 this morning so I decided to run up the hill to the village to see if any shops were open around 9.  Most of them say they open back up at 4:30 in the afternoon but we have found that they are blasé about it, maybe we will or maybe we won’t. We’re off tourist season right now and this little village really isn’t a big tourist spot anyway (for which we are very grateful!!!) 

The produce market was open. 

Beautiful produce that’s all local. 

Look at the amazing tomatoes on the top right. She told me the variety but there’s no way I could possibly understand it. 

Bakery was open as well as the butcher. 

I took these pictures because I think it’s funny that this is called the new, modern part of town. I guess because it wasn’t built in the first century???

We are back at the “birds nest” for today’s pasta class. Today we are learning how to make filled shapes. 

But first chef Oli shows us how to properly clean truffles (as if I’m ever going to have fresh truffles). 

Just a bit of clean warm water and a NEW toothbrush trying not to get them too wet, just get the dirt off. 

On to making the pasta. Same setup and process as before. 

Mix it, knead it, beeswax (or Saran) wrap it, let it rest all while enjoying amazing weather, views and listening to old Italian love songs (like “that’s amore”). What could be better than this?

While it’s resting, take a break on the terrace while someone brings you all kinds of snacks and coffee or tea. Hmmm, wonder who’s going to do that at home. 

Fresh figs

Fresh pears

Chocolate dipped biscuits. 

Dried plums

Sharon enjoying the swing. 

Side of the house 

After the pasta has had its rest, we come back to make the shapes and fill with pumpkin ricotta filling w/truffles. 

Making ravioli

Roll over the filling. 

Press out any air bubbles. 

Cut around the filling. 

Making tortelli 

Not too bad. No judging. 🤣

Tortelli, cardinelli (cardinal’s hat) and the tortelli with the flat brim in the very front is the peasant’s cap. 

This is Kim's pasta. At the top right you will see his innovative italitex shape. Chef Oli says he needs to add it to his repertoire. 🤣

Once we’ve made all the pasta we want, we have a few minutes to wander around the property while chef Oli puts our lunch together. 

A guest tent. They used it for air BnB during COVID to help keep them afloat. Mostly their friends and family stay in it. 

Fig tree

Vineyard 

Chestnut tree, they have many many chestnut trees, used for chestnut flour. 

Rosemary and sage. 

Vegetable garden 

The palette sofas on the terrace. 

Fresh tomatoes with herb oil and mozzarella/creme. 

 

Two types of Italian sausages 

Our pumpkin filled pasta cooked in a hazelnut, butter, sage and truffle sauce with shaved truffles on top. 

Zabaglioni with plum sauce. 

Back through the grape arbor to the inn. 

A different variety of grape that’s not quite ready. 

Poggio Oliveto Roccastrada, a beautiful family organic olive oil producer and agriturismo. 

After a short siesta (for some) we were driven to the olive groves for a tour and tasting. 

The site was once a medieval hamlet, complete with a communal chapel, oven and well. 

Filippo and his family now grow 115 hectares of olive trees, and the resulting oil is fantastic. 

We walked among the olive trees, learning about the green and black olives

About a fly that lays its eggs in the olives and destroys the fruit. Because Filippo is an organic farmer there is nothing he can use to kill the flies and larvae. 

And all about how they use this ancient equipment to cold press their olive oil. 

Filippo’s father made the stained glass windows in the production room to represent the time it takes to make the oil. It was very difficult to understand the meaning as his English wasn’t so good. This is the morning. 

This is noon

Afternoon

And night

Amazing original marble sink in the production room. 

Pomegranates

Lemons

This is Maria Valria Cittadini. She is the president of the olive oil tasting association. She gave us a very detailed lesson in tasting the oil and what to look for in an extra virgin olive oil. She and Filippo are both very passionate about their work. 

This is our setup for tasting the oil. 

We hold the cup of oil in both hands, swirling it around to warm it. Oh, but first we eat a slice of apple to cleanse our palate. 

Of course we had to purchase a bottle. It is very pungent and peppery. A little goes a long way. 

lol

You turn the hot and cold water on with the pedals on the floor. 

After our tour and tasting of the olive farm, we are off on a bike ride through the olive groves and vineyards on our way to another winery. It is Tuscany after all. This is Riccardo, our cycling guide, fitting Kim’s helmet. 

Below are many pics from the ride. 

This was the best part of the road. We actually started off on a VERY rocky downhill trail and lost two of the ladies right off the bat. They were ok and carried on but had some scrapes and bruises. The ride was supposed to be about an hour but due to the injuries and our lack of riding skill it took us about one and three quarter hours. 

These are cork trees. They scrape the bark off the lower trunks every 12 years to process. It is very regulated and serious trouble if the 12 years are not followed strictly. 

On the mountain top is the village of Roccatederighi, where we are staying. 

This is an old castle from the 1st century. 

It is so beautiful riding along the roads, simply breathtaking. I had to keep stopping to take pics. 

Kim said I needed to add these pics of me riding so here ya go.

Yowza some of the uphills were rough. This is a baby hill. 

In front of the castle. 

You can see here one of the rougher parts of the bike trail ( not the rockiest by far).  

We arrive at Podere Ristella Vineyard after about 12.4 km (~8 miles) on the bike. 

Castella di Montemassi on the hill. 

And here we are. The fearsome eight 🤣

Ristella is a beautiful, small-scale and traditional organic family wine producer. 

The mother of the family team, Daniela, treated us to a selection of local dishes, along with their great wines. This was the starter. 

Then we had wild boar as a second. My phone died at this point so I didn’t get a photo of the main, also wild boar but cooked like a roast with fried potatoes on the side. All followed by ice cream and berries. There has been no lack of food on this trip and I have yet to eat a salad, and I can certainly tell. 🙁

We arrived back at our apartment at 11:15, completely worn out from a long, but wonderful day in Tuscany. 

Ciao!