Paris 2013, Days 00-01

Bonjours, Paris

After a long day of travel from Cortona to Paris, we met our friends who had been with us both in Sicily and Tuscany. We were headed to a soirée held each week by an ex-pat American. Other friends who were staying in Paris for two months told us about this event and met us there. Usually, there is a chef friend who cooks the dinner for 40 or so people, but this night, the chef had cancelled, and a friend of a friend cooked. While it was tasty, it certainly was not of the caliber we were expecting.

That said, there were interesting people attending. Conversations were held in French, English, American, Italian, and any combination thereof.

I enjoyed chatting with Claude, friend of our host. It was good to practice my French again. I found, however, that I kept saying, “Si,” instead of “Oui!”

“C’mon, get your countries straight,” I thought, “We’re not in Sicily or Tuscany anymore!”

We were all tired, so we took a taxi back to our hotel and settled in for the night.

The next morning, the four of us walked around the corner to a café Arnie and I frequent and that the other two remembered from last year’s workshop here.

We sometimes forget that many French words were introduced into the “English” language back in the time of “Billy, the Conqueror” in 1066.

It was raining. Hey! It’s Paris!

There were parapluies galore. People walking quickly to gain shelter as soon as possible. At one point, the skies turned almost black.

We were sitting under the protection of the awnings, but our waiter, the same we have had every visit in Paris, kept looking up at the ominous skies, flashing with lightening, rumbling with thunder, and questioned our sanity as the winds picked up. We laughed, and yes, the waiter did, too! He remembered us from years past once he saw us with our cameras.

“Ahhh, les professors!” he exclaimed.

The lights from the café caught the raindrops in the image above, as the man sped toward safety.

Other scenes also presented themselves.

I loved the reflections in the wet sidewalk, the grates around the tree reminding me of

Tuscany 2013, Day 07

Farewell Toscana & Some Food

Our group had now learned a few Italian phrases, pronounced with various degrees of accuracy, but the point is that they were trying.

They loved Toscana. How could one not? Between the food and wine, the Crete Senesi and Val d’Orcia (two famous valleys), the landscape with castle-topped tors and Medieval “cities” dripping down steep hillsides, there is no chance of mistaking this for other parts of the world.

We had final critiques and were much impressed with the caliber of work presented. Everyone, even our most seasoned alumni, made great strides forward.

There was the last picnic with prosciutto, salamis, cheeses, fruits, and breads.

And then, farewells, as there was no doubt in everyone’s minds that everyone would meet again.

Our Italian friend commented on how we are all family. Indeed, we are.

I promised some photos of food. I am not what one would call an iPhone photographer. I was born in the last century, and I am clearly a Luddite.

The idea of holding a camera anywhere but right up to my eye is foreign to me after decades of making sure it was as stable as possible.

That said, I must admit there are times for that little creature. Dinnertime is one of those, where the big camera is a bit intrusive and one has to cope with settings, etc. There were many throwaways, as my finger was in the way, or I had an exquisite shot of my skirt or the palm of my hand.

At any rate, I did manage a few samples of our dinner tables.

Many people have food allergies, and it can make travel challenging at times. I merely have an intolerance to gluten and soy. In Italy, land of pasta and breads, one might think this could be a real problem. Quite the contrary. In Italy, they are very aware of problems with gluten, and we found all restaurants had items on the menu that worked for people like me.

The one above is not one of them, and I should have taken out the smart phone before Arnie dug into it, but I could not resist showing you a typical Tuscan pasta dish with prawns.

This represents our typical selection of libation. Most of us had wine, usually the Brunellos from Montalcino; one stuck to waters; and one loved beer and became quite fond of the Italian birras. Always, there were coffees and cappuccinos.

One night, Arnie had a cheese plate with

Tuscany 2013, Day 06

A Visit with Donatella and back to Cortona

There is an amazing lady, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, who owns two wineries in Tuscany, one for her Brunello di Montalcino that we very much like, and the other for Chianti Superiore DOCG. It is to the latter location that we go for our wine tasting.

Back along twisty roads flanked by the Tuscan landscape we drove. The Garmin does not always behave. Sometimes, it loses a signal. At other times, it is trying to catch up with itself, so we are not exactly sure where we should turn. After a couple of minor detours, we always make it to our destination.

We parked in the shade and headed to the tasting room. There were the steps where we had our group shot last time with Donatella.

I poked my head in one door looking for someone. Alessia’s familar face appeared, and she reconized me, too.

“Did you get my e-mail?” she asked.

“Yes, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.”

“Let me have a few minutes, and I will be back.”

So Arnie and I gave our group a quick tour of the garden and pool areas.

Soon, Alessia reappeared, and took us into Donatella’s house. It is a beautiful house, and the kitchen is very special. Because it is a private house, however, those photographs remain ours alone. We do not share them out of respect for Donatella and her privacy. She is gracious enough to permit us access to a few of her rooms.

Everyone was enchanted. But it was time to head down into the wine caves. Alessia showed us a room that was not open on our last visit. Rows of bottles, all wrapped in plastic to protect the labels against the humidity, reflected the light.

People spread out and found all sorts of wonderful shots.

The caves had been rearranged since the last time we were here. For us, that afforded us different views. I was struck by the shadows of the barrels on the tile floor.

It was a lovely afternoon, and Alessia was a wonderful hostess. It was time for tasting, and we sat around one of the larger tables, rehydrated with water, then learned about the two selections we were going to sample.

We started with the Chianti, a lighter wine made in the tradition of the Tuscan countryside. It would make a good picnic wine or paired with cheese and white dishes.

Our preferences go to fuller-bodied Brunellos, so we were delighted to taste the 2008. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and had seconds. Arnie and I, being designated drivers, had to just have a little taste. We knew we would have more later at dinner.

It was a great place for the group shot, and we had Alessia join us. Then, everyone made their purchases. For us, it was four lovely bottles of