Agricola Buccelletti

Last summer before we left San Diego, Michele Buccelletti gave a presentation to our House of Italy group about about his family's estate in the Val di Chio near Castiglion Fiorentino.  This week we visited the estate and heard a fascinating story.  The estate has been in the family since 1625, producing wine and olive oil over most of that period, but fell into disuse in the 20th century.  Michele's mother Lidia and her sister-in-law Roberta saw the opportunity for boutique wine and gourmet olive oil production, as well as agri-tourism, and set out to restore the estate.  They started by doing serious homework, studying winemaking in France and California's Napa and Sonoma valleys. Coming back to Val di Chio, they met resistance as the only woman winemakers in the region with untraditional ideas about organic farming and fruit selectivity.  Lidia told us their first year, 1996, "was vinegar."  In 1999 they achieved a decent wine, and in 2005 produced excellent ones.  Also serious about olive oil, their 5000 olive trees are harvested by hand.



Roberta took us on a tour of the wine cellar.

After the cellar we went to the old mill building.  It is not used for olive oil production any longer, but it was fascinating to see the old grinding machines with huge stone grinding wheels.  The olive oil poured from the grinders into large earthenware urns.

Then it was time for a tasting--the table was set with a bianco and three rossi (you can see them at their website).

Part of the estate's rich history is that the family included a small chapel that was eventually consecrated and served as the church for the people of the valley.  A plaque on the wall has the family crest and a patriarch's grave is beneath the chapel floor.

Leaving Agricola Buccelletti with our purchase of wines and olive oil, we drove south to Lago Trasimeno for no other reason than we had seen a big lake on the map and were in the vicinity.  The day had turned blustery and we only made a short stop.

To get everyone caught up, we went skiing/snowboarding again at Abetone last week.  Unlike the first time, it was bright and sunny, which brought out hoards of Italian skiiers.  For a local mountain, Abetone is quite large, so we still were off on runs by ourselves and never waited in a lift line.  Here are our phone-camera pix from this trip:

And finally in closing, I am very disappointed that nobody has responded to the little contest I proposed--probably because it is buried in my reply to John T.'s comment in the Castello Gargonza post.  Come on people, it is TOO EASY for anyone who grew up with rock'n'roll;-)

Madrid (finally!)

Yes, we have been a little distracted by snow and skiing/snowboarding, and it has been two weeks since we returned from our trip to Spain and Portugal.  Sorry for the delay, but here is the final installment - Carmen's first return to Madrid since she graduated from high school (and Gary's first visit ever).  

From her four years in Madrid while her dad was in the Air Force, Carmen had an insider's knowledge of both the grand, must-see attractions as well as the little places.  On our first day, we went to the Prado, one of the world's great art museums.  They had a special exhibit of Goya's paintings set in the context of his contemporaries, showing how they treated similar themes.  Of course, no pictures allowed inside.

The Prado

Exiting the Prado, we wandered through the Botanical Gardens next door.  This being January, the outside gardens were sparse, but the greenhouses were a profusion of plants ranging from beautiful to weird.

Near Plaza Mayor there are a number of basement taverns referred to as las cuevas (caves).  We set out to find the one in particular that was personally notable because (1) it was a favorite haunt of Carmen's family, (2) we have a framed pen-and-ink drawing of it back in California that is an heirloom from their time in Spain, and (3) it was where Carmen got drunk for the first time.  The exterior shot below is aligned to be close to the drawing.

Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas

The Plaza Santa Ana was our starting point for walks.  Here is a night view of the Hotel Reina Victoria at one end of the plaza:

On our second day, we decided to take a free three-hour walking tour, and it was well worth it.  Tatiana, our guide in the green jacket, was very knowledgable and took us places we never would have discovered on our own.  We highly recommend them:  Ogo Tours, www.ogotours.com.  

Botin, the world's oldest restaurant (since 1725)

(left) Botin interior and their wine cellar.  (right) Earnest Hemingway's table in a back corner.

After the tour, we walked to the cathedral and Palacio Real.

Catedral de la Almudena, started in 1879, completed in 1993

Palacio Real de Madrid.  No flag on the right signifies that the King is not in residence; the King's coat of arms

A palacio ceiling

Wherever we go, we see fascinating architecture.  Madrid seems to favor elaborately painted exteriors.

The favorite of the Spanish sweet tooth is churros and chocolate.  On our tour, Tatiana showed us what she considered the best chocolateria, and I dragged Carmen back there.  The chocolate is served hot and syrupy thick in a cup, an order of churros is a plate of seven.  Even I, the confirmed chocoholic, found this to be over the top.

To close, some things are the same the world over, including seagulls being disrespectfully ignorant of the great men on whose statues they perch.

Neve!!

The last post from our trip, about Madrid, will have to wait.  It has been overtaken by events - it is snowing this morning!  Here are a few scenes of our place in the snow:

The view from our porch

The Game-of-Thrones stairway in winter

We are also happy to report that we went skiing/snowboarding two days ago for the first time in Italy.  We discovered that we have a very good local mountain, Abetone, here in Tuscany.  It is about a two-hour drive from home.  Abetone has really good snow, long runs, and comfy high-speed quads with windshield canopies.  We had a light snowfall all day.  Here are a few phone-camera pictures from our day on the slopes:

Ski bunny, abominable snowman, and the long run

Sevilla and Portugal

Our departure from Malaga was delayed by Carmen's emergency root canal, so we only had one evening in Sevilla.  To make the most of it, we went out to a Flamenco show.  The walk to the show went past the massive gothic Sevilla cathedral, all lit up at night.

The Flamenco club was small with an audience of about 30 people on folding chairs.  We were front-row stage right (with glasses of wine purchased from the tavern across the street;-).  Carmen captured the intensity of Flamenco - guitar, vocals, and dance - in the club's low light (no flash allowed).

Early the next morning, we caught a bus (the only way to get there) to the Algarve, the south coast of Portugal.  We picked up a rental car in Faro so we could explore the coast over the next two days.  The Algarve is a big summer destination and all the locals we dealt with speak very good English.  Our lodgings at Quinta do Mar in Luz were wonderful: we sat on our balcony with a sea view snacking on the plate of cheese and meat they gave us (plus the bottle of vinho tinto de Portugal that we brought), basking in the warm sunshine.  Their breakfast buffet was complete, hot and cold, and included in the price (less than 50 euros/night - I am sure that is an off-season price).  When we go back to the Algarve, we will stay there again.

Algarve beaches are broad and sandy, set in coves between spectacular cliffs.  On our first full day, we set out exploring them.

We drove out to Cabo de Sao Vincente, to the lighthouse at the western tip of the Algarve, then turned north and explored the beaches on the windy west-facing coastline.  We had been told that  some locals like to fish by rod and reel from high on the cliffs because there are fish that are only caught that way.  When you see them actually doing it, however, you wonder why evolution has not eliminated anyone with a disposition for it.

We even found a surf spot.

After two full days in the Algarve, we took the high-speed train to Lisbon (a travelers' note:  Portuguese high-speed trains are much slower than those of other European countries).  We only spent a day in Lisbon, and went to the historic Baixa (lower town).  We were intrigued by how many buildings were decorated with tile facades.

King Joao I gets no respect from seagulls

Our last stop was Madrid.  Stay tuned for the next post!