World Travels with Craig and Tina

Italy: The olive farm

Weeks Two and Three

Thursday, December 01 2005

Our second week on the farm began with us having the day off which we took advantage of and headed north to Sienna. We started our tour around the old city and quickly came up to Piazza Del Campo which was a great place to get our bearings and people watch. Since Christmas was on its way the entire area and its surrounding streets were decked out with plenty of twinkle lights. Once it got dark it was quite stunning. During the afternoon we toured the spectacular Duomo. Both the exterior and interior are decorated with striped marble and the entire cathedral has been well maintained and it a great sight to see. After wards we did some shopping for a couple of necessities. Craig got new walking shoes and gloves and I bought some wool tights to keep my tootsies warm day and night.

Week three began with a trip to the hot springs nearby but none of us got in because they were really small and very crowded. Instead Craig and I walked to the small hilltop village of Pari and enjoyed the gorgeous setting. Another day allowed for an afternoon trip to the beach in Follonica followed by a fun stop in another village. Vetulonia is the village's name and it doesn't see many tourists which made it even better. The 5 of us enjoyed a nice carafe of red wine and some bruschetta while enjoying the environment of the olive oil mill turned bar. The third Friday on the farm meant homemade pizza night. Ever since I can remember Friday nights were homemade pizza night in my house so I tried my hand at making one for everyone. I had just gotten the recipe from Raffa who makes a killer pie so I was winging it a bit. Fortunately it turned out and with the wine and yummy salad Uli and Solange made dinner was excellent!