WARNING: there are a lot of pictures in this post!
(sorry if you've already seen them all on facebook)
This past Saturday we went to Volterra and San Gimignano for the day.
Our first stop was the Museo Etrusco in Volterra which was really interesting with lots of Etruscan jewelry and alabaster urns. I love looking at ancient jewelry pieces, partly because you hardly find them on display in museums and mostly because jewelry is just awesome.
They had some amazing gold rings that I would definitely wear, and they had some intense chains. I foresee some Etruscan influence in my future work...
After that museum we were free to explore the lovely city of Volterra. I wish there was a way other than by bus or car to get to Volterra because it was one of the coolest little towns. There was a market set up when we got there in the more central "city" area, but if you move through the town a little further, you get to a quieter area with small shops and restaurants. I found this cool pepper shop with tons of hot sauces that had about a seven-scale hot-o-meter.
Check out the little faces above the door...that's what happens when you eat each type of hot sauce, apparently. There were also different types of flavored olive oil and salsas at that place and jars of olives...I should have gotten jars of rosemary, basil, and garlic flavored olive oil. But I didn't. Sad day.
Besides pizza for lunch, the only other thing we did in Volterra was sit on the ledge of a stone wall overlooking the Tuscan hills and enjoyed the sunny day and beautiful landscape.
San Gimignano was pretty nice too. It was less of a small town and more touristy, in my opinion, but still a great town to hangout in.
We visited a cathedral, the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, and saw Taddeo Di Bartolo's The Last Judgment...probably one of the most gruesome and disturbing paintings I've ever seen. So after that was the perfect time to lift our spirits and eat what was supposedly "the world's best gelato"...."WORLD CHAMPION"...I disagree.
I mean it was delicious, yes, but hardly world's best. The places in Siena or Florence could top that in a heart beat! Good gelato, though :)
I had pistacchio, cinnamon, and this vino flavored one that tasted like egg nog. yum. Most of us enjoyed the afternoon sitting in the sunny piazza with our gelato cones. Always a winner.
On Sunday, my friend Taylor and I had decided to plan a brunch because for weeks now we had been craving breakfast food! Mainly pancakes. So, brunch time happened and it was a success! Everyone who wanted to partake had to make and bring something so we had a nice plethora of breakfast dishes.
I made pancakes and others made omelets, hash browns, fruit salad, pound cake and meat pastries (which we scarfed before anything else was finished cooking...delish).
I should mention that everything we baked or made was homemade and, due to our lack of measuring utensils, we guestimated all of the measurements and everything was fantastic!!! Are we good or are we good?
Hopefully there are more brunches to come because pancakes need to happen again.
Sunday night we were invited to the ceramics studio so we could help paint bowls that were going to eventually be filled with food and given to a charity.
La Meridiana, the ceramics studio, is in a gorgeous location. It's still in Certaldo, but a drive away. Everything was beautiful there and they have a wood burning stove outside so we were able to make homemade pizzas as we watched the sunset.
It was a great evening, especially when I made my nutella/banana pizza! and then sat by the prepared fire chatting for hours. My kind of night.
MONDAY we had enameling class in Florence and went to Alchimia Jewellery School and the family silversmithing workshop that's been passed down in Fabrizio's family for generations.
Alchimia was very close to my dream school (I'd like to actually be in the hills/mountains...but can't complain).
...Living in the residential area of Florence, making jewelry, learning from famous artists, and entering contests.
I'm seriously considering applying there in the future. Here that, mom? I haven't mentioned this to you yet...but there ya go! We'll talk later.
Fabrizio's family studio was a little hole in the wall place. Seriously, you just go into one of the doors on the street--looks the same as all of the other doors--walk in, and boom!
It's a cute little silversmithing studio with displayed finished trinkets at the entrance, four men banging hammers and torching metal at their benches, and two women making silver fur to go on the silver animals at their benches.
I can't even imagine making those detailed figurines daily. Amazing.
I don't see a reason for having a bone still in an inch long piece of meat. Such a weird meal, but Emily had a great time laughing at me and Caitlin struggle to chew the meat and spit out the bone.
Caitlin's fork broke...
Quite the experience. A while later, I finally enjoyed the gelato at this place that Linda and everyone raves about.
I think that gelato and the gelato in Siena are at a very close tie. Bests.
Since then I've finished my brooch series, planned for future projects, BOUGHT AN ESPRESSO MAKER (possibly the best and worst market buy...I had close to 5 cups today), bought a 16 € euro suitcase (win), and planned for SPRING BREAK!! Three days until we depart for Naples, Pompeii, and Amalfi. AND THEN a group of us are going to SICILY!! Cannot wait. Hoping for the warmest Spring Italian weather possible! Unfortunately I still have a project to work on and a test to study for...
I'm thinking a jam out/study session while waiting for my laundry to finish will occur tomorrow in Basso.
THREE DAYS!
No comments:
Post a Comment