Tuscan Tradition

After a couple days in Florence (side note: so sorry to disappoint our wide reaching fan base, however there will not be a post about Florence. It was great, we can send you pictures upon request for a small fee. As we are currently in Croatia, payment can only be made in Kunas. Thank you for your consideration), we picked up our Alfa Romeo (why are rental cars so much cooler in Europe?) and headed to meet up with Julie, Richard, Jon and Lauren at an Agriturismo (an agriculturally based operation that hosts visitors and tourists) named Cretaiole just outside of Pienza in the Tuscany region of Italy.  We rolled up to this site and immediately fell in love with the ambiance and scenery. 

 

Cretaiole in all her glory, another "cute on cute" situation

Little did we know between large meals, copious amounts of wine and meeting new friends we would also gain firsthand knowledge and respect for the history and people of Tuscany. Which, perhaps, makes this place the most special of all.

Our first night on the farm the patriarch of the family (Luciano Moricciani) came knocking on our doors around 10pm. He doesn’t speak a word of English, but he was holding a bottle of homemade Grappa in one hand and a bottle of his Vin Santo (dessert wine) in the other. This, we have found, is a universal language. He wanted to share the fruits of his labor (literally) and we were mesmerized by his generosity and passion. We spent the next 4-5 hours using Google translate to try and learn about Luciano, join him in a few awkward slow dances and finish off his welcome gifts… as we did not want to insult him… We woke up the next morning groggy and severely dehydrated (as an FYI, do not combine the sugars from vin santo dessert wine and the high alcohol content from grappa. Hangover probability equals 100%). I'm not sure if Luciano is half human or there is something in the Italian water, however he was up at dawn working his farm and preparing for our visit later in the day. A true testament to the Tuscan work ethic and ability to consume alcohol. 

The charming Luciano

Luciano making his own feed for his farm animals

Luciano’s daughter-in-law (Isa) is from Milan and is very impressive. When the family decided to turn the farm into an agriturismo she, understanding the desires of travelers and market competition, pushed very hard to put a pool on the property.  Our new pal Luciano, who was born into a family of sharecroppers, argued that pools are not natural to the land and that he would plant a beautiful vegetable garden for the guests to use during their stay instead. From where I stand, pool does not equal vegetable garden. However, for Luciano it is more important to respect the land and provide gifts through the land than to give the people what they want.

When the scenery looks like this, who needs a pool?

When the veggies look like this, who needs a pool?

We indulged in a ton of activities during our week stay at Cretaiole. We went wine tasting more than once, we ate and cooked amazing dinners, we soaked in natural sulfur baths, we hung on Carlotta's every word during educational tours and we even stumbled across a Banjo look a-like during a truffle hunting excursion. However, my favorite activity was when all of the Cretaiole guests joined the Moricciani clan in a Pici making class followed by a communal dinner under the stars.

Isa dishing out piles of Pici (photo cred: Cretaiole webiste. I was too busy stuffing my face to take pictures

In this moment, I felt we experienced Tuscany in its purest form. We came together to make simple dishes by hand, filling the room with laughter and sharing stories from our packed week. Each guest brought a salad or dessert to share, which strengthened the sense of community. We made new friendships and added more memories to current ones. And this time, we knew to gracefully pass on the grappa and vin santo.


Fun Facts (because 2 is sometimes better than 1):

1) Here is a picture of our crew. Jon and Lauren are long time friends of Richard and Julie and we were lucky to have them join us for this amazing week!

Our Cretaiole Crew! Jon hates fun.

2) There are a ton of natural hot springs in the Tuscany region. Some are completely natural and can be found in the woods, others have been transformed into hotel pools with public access. We checked out both and will always have a soft spot for the bathing cap requirement at Bagno Vignoni. 

Such a good look on us...