This afternoon we had our own mini-bus and driver to take us into the Chianti area just a few miles from Florence. Our first stop was the beautiful and serene World War II American Cememtery. Then it was on to the Castello Verrazzano for a visit to the estate grounds and winery. Giovanni Verrazzano was the first European explorer to come into the Cape Fear River back home in 1524. The special treat was tasting five of the wines made there. Our guide was Simone who gave us a lot of information on the history of the Verrazzano family and the production of Chianti Classico wine. A short visit to the charming town of Greve ended a beautifully sunny day here in Tuscany! More later . . .
I HAVE SET UP A NEW PHOTOBLOG SITE FOR THE 2014 TOURS. YOU CAN STILL SEE PHOTOS FROM 2008 TO 2013 HERE. TO VIEW THE LATEST TOURS GO TO: WWW.INTUSCANYWITHPATRIZIA.BLOGSPOT.COM
Cooking in Florence - May 1
Today is Labor Day in Italy but everything seemed to be open like every other day. We had a "free day" to do whatever was on our personal agendas until late afternoon when we went to our Tuscan cooking class. There was rain this afternoon, so we took a taxi rather than walk to the other side of the Arno. Fabrizio and Francesco were waiting for us at InTavola Cooking School to begin two hours of creating our four-course dinner. We made our own papadelli pasta, a ragu sauce, eggplant appetisers, turkey with mushrooms and a delightful chocolate mini-cake for dessert. Then we went down to the wine cellar to taste our efforts. You will enjoy seeing the photos of our culinary adventure. A young Japanese couple joined our group too. The rain had stopped when we left the class about 9 o'clock so we enjoyed a refreshing walk back to the residence. More later . . .