Florence, Siena, Cinque Terre, Pisa... Tuscana Italia!

Sienna & Florence, Italy 

(…for Pisa, Genoa, and Cinque Terre, scroll down!)
Friday, September 27 – Saturday, September 28, 2012

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore

A girls’ weekend in Tuscany was the perfect cure to my traveling hangover induced by a busy ten day break, launching into our first week of class with our new professor in Supply Chain and Operations Management, Lance! Ali, Kacey, Melanie, Gretchen, and I arrived in Florence on Friday afternoon. I was both comforted and welcomed to the city by watching a pickpocket sprint away from a pursuant as I exited the train. With my satchel gripped in my hand, we headed down the street to be met by market which stretched longer than a football field. We admired Italian leather, jewelry, Italian ties, clothing, hundreds of scarves, and other artistry. I bargained for a certain gift for a certain someone -- marking my second successful bargain. In our afternoon trip to Florence, we saw the Ponte Vecchio (translated to The Old Bridge), Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, and both a line to see the real statue of David formed near a fake one.

Sitting in front of the Ponte Vecchio; the bridge is mentioned in documents as old as 996 AD

Torre del Mangia

Our prime destination was Sienna; after an hour train ride, we arrived at la Villa Piccola, our bed and breakfast for the weekend. Pining for a hearty Italian meal, we caught a bus into the main town of Sienna and did just that. The main city is surrounded by the old walls of a fortress. These walls now mark to boundaries of the main city of Sienna. I basked in the magnificence the architecture of the city boasted and noted Buildings are probably older than my country (something that still amazes me every time I travel). Not only were the streets of Siena (spelled the Italian way) clean and the walls of buildings free of graffiti, the rustic and serene echoes of voices I heard as we walked the streets searching for the perfect place to eat were an excellent change of pace from the streets of Florence. The weather was perfect and despite a sky that was dark by 19:30, the darkness added a greater feeling of much needed tranquility and peace to my night. While I like going to tourist destinations (there's a reason all those people go to the same place isn't there?), I've come to find I appreciate the quieter, shy towns more. We reached la Piazza del Centro: a huge circular area with a mighty clock tower, known as the Torre del Mangia, other medieval architecture, and restaurants. Alas, we had been waiting for: we were able to sit outside, order food with pesto, and listened to a man who walked up to us with his guitar and a great voice and sang about America. Though I'm sure it would appear differently in the day time, the nestled area was romantic and respected, with no sounds of yelling or loud voices and people moved at a leisurely pace.

Duomo di Siena; said to have one of the most fascinating facades in Italy

Quiet Sienna streets at night

Although I was unable to walk the city by day, I'm more than sure I appreciated the narrow streets, accented by cozy lighting, more at night than day. Maintaining the theme for the night, my favorite minutes came as we sat and admired the Roman Catholic Siena Cathedral, or Duomo di Siena in Italian. I enjoyed the silence that surrounded me as I took in the magnificence of the cathedral, standing strong since the 1200s. I felt a pang of unease as I questioned the likelihood a structure so ornate would ever be constructed in the present day. Instead of dwelling on this, I went on to admire the saints and angels decorating the church and relished the joy I found taking in everything around me by myself in silence.

After a good sleep, we woke up and headed back to Florence. We had booked a Chianti wine tour which would comprise half of the day and take us through Tuscany. To read more about this tour, keep reading! …Or skip forward one day to Sunday: Pisa, Cinque Terre, and Genoa!

On September 29, 2012—just before harvest season—Kacey, Ali, Melanie, Gretchen, and I went on a Chianti wine tour. Starting in Firenze, known to us as Florence, we took a bus through Tuscany, which stopped in the little town of San Bridgeta and saw her church, and then arrived at the Castello del Trebbio. As we traveled, our bus tour guide provided us with some basic history. Only four years after Florence joined the kingdom of Italy, from 1865 to 1878 Firenze was the capital of Italy in the time gapping Turin and Rome as the capital’s location. Though Florence is no longer the capital of Italy, it is the capital of one of Italy’s twenty regions: Tuscany.

Barrels that hold 3000 bottles

We decided to tour the 900 year old Castello del Trebbio, a castle inhabited by a family who produces wine and olive oil, during prime Chianti wine harvest season. Chianti, a type of wine, uses specially selected grapes, must use all natural products, and is identified by pink labels which denote that it is properly prepared. One requirement of this preparation process is the use of at least 80% Sangiovese grape; the other grapes selected are generally French grapes to appeal to international buyers. If only Sangiovese grape was used, the wine would be really strong. Regardless of the type of grape, it must be produced in Tuscany to meet Chianti classification. Chianti wine also requires that it is stored in certain types of wood. At the Castello del Trebbio, oak barrels are used; barrels can be used for up to sixty years.

Castello del Trebbio

The Castello del Trebbio, the castle in which we toured the wine cellars and some of the ground level, has only been inhabited in recent decades. The castle, previously owned and built for the Pazzi family as a fortress, is most known for where the Pazzi Conspiracy was planned. In 1478, the Pazzi family tried to kill two brothers in the Medici family, the reigning rulers of Florence, in order to become Florence’s new reigning family. However, the attempt before 10,000 in the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, was only half successful and eventually led to the stripping of the Pazzi family’s possessions. The brother Medici brother who survived, Lorenzo, hung 200 corpses around Florence on the biggest buildings in 1448 and then attempted to delete the memory of the Pazzi family. For this reason, there are only two original Pazzi family crests left and they are found in the castle. In order to sustain his family’s power, Lorenzo Medici made his son, Leon X, the pope; Clement 7, the succeeding pope was also related to the Medici family. But in 1757 the last member of the Medici family died and new power took Florence. Contrary to the Medici family, there are still some members of the Pazzi family alive. The current state of the castle is responsible for the widow of a successful Portugese man. He bought the castle in 1968 for his wife before his death. Anna, the daughter of this couple, decided to restore the castle and has now opened it for the public. Anna is in charge of the castle’s wine marketing and olive and saffron production. As I noted when entering the cellars, labeling around the castle are in French: the language of love.

Pazzesco: dessert wine

Following the production guidelines, the castle produces about 300,000 bottles of its Chianti wine, which is aged for seventeen years, named Trebbio. The family also produces a younger wine named Super Tuscan. This wine is made with 50% Sangiovese grapes and only aged for three to five years. We were allowed to try both types of wine and in addition, a glass of dessert wine named Pazzesco. The wine is named this in honor of the Pazzi family but also is translated, in words of tour guide, “Woohoo! Great!” This wine was served with canducci, or what we know as biscotti. All wines from the castle and its’ winery are DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) certified. This means that in order to receive the labeling, the wine must be tasted by a committee and producing following strict guidelines. The implementation of the DOCG notation has increased the overall quality of Italian wines.

Yet, our tour was not limited to wine; our perky tour guide excitedly told us about her second favorite produce—oil. She then went on to explain the differences between the different types. Extra virgin olive oil is the best with the level of acidity below 0.08% is produced with only the juice of the olives in an all-natural process.  Extra virgin olive oil is the best for health containing the healthy omega fats; for this reason it is used to make shampoos, makeup, or lip balm like Kacey bought. By consumption, the oil is good for the brain and blood flow. Though extra virgin is the best type of oil, the most produced type is virgin olive oil; its level of acidity falls between 0.08%-0.2%. Be warned: companies take recollect oil and mix with 15-20% extra virgin olive oil; why sells as only 2-5 Euros rather than 20-30 Euros. The third level is made up with what is left now after three rounds of pressing and is called olive oil. It must be cleaned with 15%-20% chemicals. As our guide said, “I use about one liter of extra virgin olive oil every week, so 30-40 liters a year. If instead I cooked with olive oil and put all these chemicals into my body, I think that next year you would have a different guide. Maybe better for you and not for me.” To avoid this, when buying oil one should look at the year of the last harvest on the bottle while looking for the classification of “cold press.”

Unlike wine, you do not have to age olive oil; the year on the bottle should be the same year as the year you buy it—the fresher the better. If one sees a bottle of extra virgin olive oil that says, for example, 2008, it is recollected and has been cleaned with preservatives but is still allowed to be called extra virgin because preservatives prolong the oil’s expiration. Another thing to watch for is the container: a glass or a dark metal, never plastic, container to protect from the light and what else is outside. The Pazzi family’s production of “Extra Vergine di Oliva Castello del Trebbio” is very fresh and the olives are squeezed very slowly using the cold press. Though we took this tour at the end of September, coincidentally the day that I decided to type up these notes falls on the same day that the olives are harvested at the Castello del Trebbio: November 8, 2012.

Tuscana, Italia!

Cinque Terre, Pisa, & Genoa, Italy 

Sunday, September 29 – Monday, September 30, 2012

Looking to stretch a three day weekend into four different trips in Tuscany, on Sunday, Kacey and I woke up early to go to Pisa and Cinque Terre. After some train trouble, we made it to Pisa. With our backpacks, sneakers, and leggings, we looked like classic young tourists as we snapped some quick touristy pictures in front of the Leaning Tower. When I pictured the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I imagined it to be set aside from the main town; however, it was right in the city's heart, next to the d'uomo. It was a quick stop in Pisa, then we headed on to Cinque Terre.

Best meal yet!

My Pinterest board didn't do Cinque Terre justice; I only hope from my pictures people can get a taste of the great day Kacey and I had in the beautiful towns on the Italian coast. When our train car popped out from the tunnel taking us to the most southern village, Riomaggiore, I joined in the unexpected "gasp" let out by all the passengers in our train car. After ditching our bags at Mama Rosa's youth hostel, a story in itself, we went up to our first scenic view to discover that our expected plan had foiled. Though we weren't able to hike from town to town because of the trail conditions, we made due with hiking where possible, but relying on the Italian trains.

Cinque Terre (& the closed hiking path)

 The second village we visited was the northernmost, Monterosso. With a glass of homemade Sangria in hand, we walked the narrow streets, talked to some locals, then continued to the village of Vernazza. My favorite village greeted us with caprese and pesto pizza (my favorite meal I've had so far)! We were able to eat at a table seaside and watch the sunset. While taking pictures of the beautiful sky, we met a couple from South Carolina and also a group of five men who had lived in Cinque Terre for 70 years! As ritual, every night possible, they come down and watch the sunset. Traveling with just one person allowed us to connect with so many different people, stroll at a leisurely pace, and take the train delays as the come as our plans slowly changed...

Christopher Colombus' house

A twenty minute train delay caused us to miss our train back to Riva San Vitale. Hoping to find a train at least back to Milan, we went from the main Cinque Terre train station, La Spezia, to a bigger train station in Genoa. Exhausted from a long day, we both fell asleep and were woken up at our stop by a train worker... We had both slept though the alarms we set for 15 minutes prior. Groggy and confused, we checked the train schedule to discover we were going to be spending the night in Genoa. When we woke up the next morning, we explored the coastal port town where Christopher Columbus lived. We saw his house, what we initially thought to be pirate ship but was really just one used for a movie, could've gone into the largest aquarium in Europe but did not, and bought some fruit at a large fresh fruit market held inside. We let out a traveler's sigh of relief when we finally made it back to the villa in time for dinner. In four days, we had see a lot and had an amazing time. This was my first time traveling as a smaller group and then with only one person. Though at night we missed our big group, we loved being able to be spontaneous and go wherever we pleased.

Beautiful sunset in Cinque Terre, Italia