The theme for the day is marathon. We began ours by learning that the start and finish line of the Firenze 1/2 Marathon was right outside our bedroom, so we had a bird's eye view of the festivities while we got ready for the day, which was a marathon in and of itself....
On Friday morning, we woke up to no hot water. We contacted the owner of our Airbnb, and through the course of the day learned that the whole building was effected. Saturday, still no hot water. Today, the same. Given that the morning weather has been in the 40s (Fahrenheit), the water coming out of the tap was freaking freezing. Thankfully, we've got a big iron bathtub, so we've been filling up two pots and a big bowl with water, then heating them in the kitchen on the two burner stove and in the tiny microwave and pouring them into the tub (the bathroom is as far away from the kitchen as it can possibly get, so that's fun! Lol). To get the tub to about half full, this process takes about an hour, but thanks to the iron tub the water stays nice and hot so we've been able to manage, but getting ready is a bit of a chore. We were updated in the morning by the owner that this will likely continue until Tuesday sometime. Ugh.
Once we were ready, we headed out to meet Maurizio and Maria Christina, who were picking us up for the day. Because of the marathon (the real one, but the bathing one), most of the streets around us were closed to vehicle traffic, so we had to walk about 20 minutes to the Porta Romana which was as close as they could get. It meant walking through a part of the city we hadn't yet seen, so we didn't mind at all. Much of our walk was also along the marathon route, so we got to enjoy participating in that a little as we went!
Once we had connected with our cousins, we headed out. First stop, Impruneta. This is a small town in the hills above Florence, about a 20 minute drive through an interweaving of forests and vineyards - gorgeous.
Since the middle ages, Impruneta has been the center for production of terracotta. All of the bricks on the Duomo in Firenze are from there, as well as pretty much anything else terracotta in the region. There is also a 1000 year old catholic church there - the Basilica on Santa Maria in Impruneta. Legend has it that St. Luke the evangelist created an image of the virgin Mary, and during the time of the persecution it was brought to Florence for safekeeping. It was buried among the pines "in pruinetis" (hence the town name), but the location was lost. In 1060, locals decided to build a shrine near where the church is currently located, but in the night all the work that had been already completed was destroyed by unknown forces. The stones were loaded into a cart pulled by oxen. At some point the oxen stopped and knelt down, so they began to dig on that spot and found the image. This is where they built the church. It's really pretty on the outside, but due to covid it's only open for mass, and we'd just missed that so we weren't able to go inside. We did however have coffee and chocolate at an adorable little Cafe across the square from the church. It's a cute cute town.
From there we went on to Montecapri. There's a lookout there where you can pretty much see to the other side of the world, and we spent a few minutes in the sun, the breeze on our faces, just looking out at the vast beauty of Tuscany. It was breathtaking.
We then moved on to San Casciano, where Maurizio lives. It's on a tall hill, in a heavily forested area and the view is amazing. When we arrived, as we approached the front door, it flew open and Margi, Maurizio's wife greeted us in perfect English, welcoming her American guests to her home and telling us how happy she was that we were there. What a wonderful way to be greeted!
We were treated to a tour of the house, which is gorgeous. My favorite part? The second kitchen in the basement. That's right... They have two full kitchens... #jealous
After the tour, we were escorted to the patio of their beautiful garden for aperitivo with spritzes, polpette, the most delicious jalapeño poppers I've ever had, fries, and something else I can't for the life of me remember - I think zucchini, but could be wrong. After aperitivo, Maurizio brought out a bottle of chianti he's been saving for a special occasion. He and Frankie had the first taste, and both agreed it was good, so down to dinner we went!
Just before the first course was served, we were given a special treat... This time of year, farms are harvesting their olives. The greenest olives have the least acidity and give the best flavored oil. Getting a sampling of this first pressing, called new oil, is a big deal. Maria Christina's husband Matteo was able to secure some, and everyone got a taste! So so delicious! Definitely different than any olive oil I've ever had. It had it's own unique flavor, and you could definitely taste all the flavors of the region within it.
And then... It began. Dish after delectable dish was served, paired with wines. One after another they came, all better than anything you could get at the most impressive, well recommended restaurant. First was Torta Pasqualina, which is similar to a quiche, but way way better, and now that I've looked at a recipe, way way way harder. I thought it included hard boiled eggs, but no. It turns out you have to get the vegetable mixture just right so it's thick enough to make hollows in it that will hold the yolk of 7 eggs without letting them seep out, and without making the whole thing soggy. Holy cow, that's impressive!
Next was pasta with a ragu of duck, beef, and pork, which sounds like it might be heavy, but was actually very light and the flavors complemented each other perfectly. You had the richness of the duck, the lightness of the pork, and the beef which was right in the middle. Then add to that tomato, balancing out the sweetness of the duck and pork. It really was a perfect combination.
Then came the main course - guinea fowl stuffed with pistachios and I think mortadella and cheese, and rabbit. This was my first time having either, and while I loved them both, the rabbit was my absolute favorite. So so good. These were accompanied by a side of roasted potatoes, and this thing that's difficult to explain. It was a kind of a flan-type of dish, but it was made with pumpkin, and then a cheese sauce with a mixture of different cheeses in it was poured over the top. Super tasty.
And then, dessert... Dessert was very special for me, because it started with Maurizio presenting me with the prettiest champagne box I've ever seen. It was a special edition of Winston Churchill's favorite, Pol Roger. I took a picture of the story, y'all can read it if you want. It's pretty cool. Anyhow, that was neat enough, but then I was given the honor of popping the cork. No pressure... Lol. Thankfully, I was not channeling my inner Krista, and opened the bottle without incident, so no deportation for me today, thank you very much!
For dessert we had panforte, a traditional dessert from Siena that dates back to medieval times. It's made with dried and candied fruit, honey, spices, and nuts.
Additionally, we had New York cheesecake with berries. Or at least that's what they called it, but I'm not buying it, because I don't like cheesecake, but I loved this. It was so light and creamy and not at all tart or biting, which is what I don't like about cheesecake. The crust was made of "digestive biscuit", which I assumed was the name they have here for Graham crackers, but a quick Google search revealed it to be similar, but different, which I find interesting so I thought you might too. Anyhow, all of it was flipping delicious, and not at all like cheesecake back home, so as with everything else here, it's obviously magic... And here's the kicker... Margi made all of it. From scratch. That lady is amazing. I mean, some of you can attest, I can throw the hell out of a dinner party, but this one far surpassed anything I've ever done. Just unbelievably impressive-every single detail was carefully planned and perfectly executed.
Wow.
We had brought Vin Santo and Cantucci with us, as is the custom here, so after dessert we all had that. Added to it were fig Cantucci that a friend of Maria Christina had made. Those were fantastic! And then, we got to taste creme di limoncello that Margi had made. Like seriously? Is there anything this woman can't do? It was so good!
After dinner, Maurizio and Margi took us for coffee in Breve in Chianti. This is the town where Giovanni da Verrazzano is from, and also the birthplace of Chianti. Which, you know, I mean sure... Famous explorer, blah blah. Bridge in Manhattan named after him, blah blah. Sure. He's cool. But can he beat chianti? Not in my book...
Anyway, also in the town is a famous butcher shop called Antica Macelleria Falorni. We stopped in there and saw three things of note... 1- a wine vending machine (see pic), 2- a cheese cave. Literally, a cave under the store for cheese, and 3- kids trick-or-treating. For prosciutto... Now, I love candy, but I think given the choice, I'd ask for prosciutto too. We had seen salumi made with chingiale (boar) in a shop in San Gimignano, but didn't buy any. They had some in this shop so we picked some up. Maurizio thought we should pair it with cheese, so he bought us a wedge of pecorino. Tomorrow is a holiday, so we'll likely do most of our eating at home. That will make a nice snack!
We had coffee in a little shop on the square, and then headed back to their house. Before we headed home, they gifted us with two jars of Margi's homemade preserves (yep. She does that too...), and a bottle of wine that looks like Vin Santo but isn't. Can't wait to try it all out.
We bid farewell to Margi, with so many thanks for such a wonderful, perfect day, and piled into Maurizio's car with Maria Pia and Mauro, whose house was on the way back to ours. When we dropped them off, Mauro went inside and asked us to wait. When he came back out, he had two jars of Maria Pia's famous pomodoro sauce, so between that and the cheese and salumi we're all set for tomorrow.
Mauro dropped us at our flat, and our marathon day was done. I don't run, but I've seen coverage of enough marathons to know that after a marathon, you rest. So now, we rest. After a perfect day such as this, that seems in order.
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