Tour of the House

We have been having some lovely lunches in the home of our hosts, and so I have taken a few pictures of their home and our meals to share with everyone. The bird’s nests are ones we have found while picking and brought to Emanuela.

Visitors…

Today we had a large gathering with an Italian actor as our guest of honor. He fell madly in love with our new wwoofer Diana, and wants to take her on a date tomorrow. We will see! We spent the morning picking but then it began to rain so we came inside and prepared olives, met Vittorio, and watched him prepare mushrooms he had foraged in the morning.

The New Wwoofer is Here!!

Diana has arrived. She is beautiful and so much fun and reminds me of all of my friends at home rolled into one. We are all having an amazing time together, Isaac is enjoying girl talking, but mostly listens to audiobooks when we are picking because he doesn’t want to listen to us gab. We made brunch together the other day for everyone, and olives today. We all went to Pitigliano together too, and saw the cinghiales that have been preserved, the duomo, and the view again.

Isaac Makes Tomatoes

Roberto has a special tomatoe preserves recipe that Isaac is obsessed with, so now he has learned how to make them! Hopefully we will be able to recreate them when we get home.

Fresh Fields

We began picking olives that are part of another grove today. The trees are much bigger, and older, but harder to pick without ladders and machines. To get to the orchard we have to walk a little ways away from the house, but not too far.

The Lake

We went to a small lake town yesterday afternoon because it was still to wet to pick olives. Lake Balsena is fairly large, and the town accompanying it is very lively in the summer. It was once a castle I think. We had a quiet walk through town and down to the shore. Emanuela and Roberto showed us a spikey fruit that we ate.

The Storm

There was a two day thunderstorm that occurred on Sunday and Monday. It left behind a lot of water, some flooding, and a lot of overflowing rivers. In order to drain the field we had to build little streams by digging trenches. When we went for a drive yesterday there was still water pouring onto the road.

Yesterday

Yesterday we had the farm to ourselves so we took a walk to Pitigliano. Along the way we saw a lot of sheep, even some trotting down the road. Once we got there we did some shopping, and had lunch. Then we walked home, and took care of the dogs and cats.

Creatures

One day last week when we were picking olives we found many curious things. There was a pastel colored caterpillar, a mushroom the size of my hand, some eggs, and a lizard.

Isaac Cooks, Other Food, and Chestnuts

After the market this week Emanuela enlisted Isaac to help her in the kitchen. We had bought fresh sardines, so Emanuela cleaned them, and Isaac dusted them with flour and fried them. We also ate a linguini and clams pasta that was my favorite dish at this farm, and had roasted chestnuts made by Roberto.

Market Again

We went to the market again this week to buy food for lunches and dinners. I found a really nice sweater and skirt for only six euros combined. I wore them both on our walk to Pitigliano you will see later. The markets are best for buying fish and cheese, but also clothing.

Etruscan Tombs in our Backyard

Roberto and Emanuela’s land includes a vineyard and lots if olive trees, but what is most interesting are the pieces of Etruscan history. Emanuela took us on a hike one day where we found apples, walnuts, and mushrooms. We also found two tombs, which most likely hold several Etruscan bodies

Sovana

The other neighboring town is called Sovano. We take our olives there to be pressed, but also sometimes stop for a snack or drink. Roberto took us to a church one day while we waited for our oil, and also to get some prosecco.

Pitigliano

The town nearest to us, within walking distance is Pitigliano. It is rich in Etruscan history, and is also extremely beautiful both during the day and at night. The houses and buildings are literally carved out of the tufo, as you will see in the pictures. There are caves that you can take walking tours through that the Etruscans dug, but we have not done so yet. The town has a lot of restaurants, museums, and markets for a small area.

Olive Press

We have been lucky enough to get to visit the olive press on several occasions, and watch the olives we’ve picked turned into oil. The olives are first sorted through, and all the stickes and leaves are removed. Then the olives are weighed then washed. The. They are ground and out through the centrifuge; this separates the oil from everything else. Then they are poured into our container, and afterwards bottled. Then we get to taste it!