Home Now

Blackbird at the Villa:


I am home now, but I will catch you up on those last few weeks where I was too busy to post.

The Villa:


Road to the Villa:


After my last post we went to an enoteca and did some wine and olive oil tasting, which was a fun experience. Afterwards as we were going over the little river in Greve we saw a Water Vole swimming through the water and eating grass. On the way back from Greve we stopped at a little winery, that was also a saffron farm which was very cool.

Water Vole:


Saffron Flower:




Monday for dinner we made a mixed grill of these delicious italian sausages, chicken and pork with a Pearl Barley, pea and lettuce broth (naked chef recipe), which is much yummier then it sounds.

On Tuesday, Julie and Declan arrived, it was so wonderful to see Julie again and to finally meet Declan. We went on a tour of the castello de Verrazzano's wine making/cellar and had a wonderful tasting afterwards and it was very fun. Prior to all this occurring Matt went to the markets in Florence and he bought fresh quails, a fresh white truffle and a variety of other goods. That night for dinner we had delicious fresh quails grilled over coals with roasted fresh beetroot and potato and asparagus. Followed by this we had some poached peaches with a splash on vin santo. With Julie and Declan there, it was quite the celebration, and some of us stayed up drinking and talking until quite late......

Still I got up out of bed Wednesday looking forward to our planned trip to Sienna, and eventually Declan was dragged out of bed by Julie and off we set. Sienna was a lovely little town, and I would love to be there for their famous horse race and see the whole town come to life with excitement. That night Matthew made a beautiful truffle and porcini mushroom cream sauce with a spinach and ricotta ravioli. It was so divine. The smell of that fresh truffle was amazing.

Truffle:



The next day Matt, mum, dad and I set of for Florence. Me to shop, them to see stuff. So we sort of did a mixture of the two. I saw the statue of David (the real one, not the replicate), and to think how long ago it was done, and out of a single piece of marble, it truly is amazing. I also looked in lots of shops..

Neptune's Fountain, Florence:


Florence:


Friday was Matthew's mother's birthday, and we had a late lunch. We made a mixed antipasto of fresh bread; grilled bread; proscuitto; cooked italian sausages; tomato with basil and olive oil and balsalmic vinegar; cheeses. Matthew made a pork ragu with papardelle pasta for second course. For third course we made a beef stroganof with roasted potatoes and roasted beets and green beans. For dessert we made a caramel panna cotta (Stephanie Alexander) - which I think was the real hit.

The next day we packed and went to Rome. In Rome Matt and I basically walked everywhere, roaming the shops, stumbling on fountains and famous landmarks. We went to the Zoo and had a fun time there. We did a tour of the collosseum and some other old places. We did a tour of the vatican, saw the Sistene Chapel, Caught sight of the Pope as he blessed people in the square, walked to the top of St Peter's Basilica, got a great view of the city and the Pope's Gardens.

Zoo:


Zoo Starfish:


Zoo Rhea:


Zoo Peacock:


Zoo Octopus


Trevi Fountain:


Doctors and Nurses:


Colloseum:


Grim Reaper:


At the vatican, we climbed the dome of St Peter's, after we saw the Pope blessing people in the square.

Inside St Peter's:


Mosaic in the dome:


Pope:


View of the Pope's Gardens from the top of the dome:



View of St Peter's Square from the dome:



Cranium is wrong, the sun doesn't have to be at your back to see a rainbow, here is my proof (you may need to enlarge it to see the rainbow, but it's there!: