The Day "Off"

Wednesday was a day “off” for me to adjust. I slept for 15 hours… straight! No waking up, no tossing or turning, no wondering “where in the hell am I?”. Pure, uninterrupted, glorious sleep. It was the best night of sleep I have had since the summer, before all my stress of this trip was omnipresent. Ahh. When I woke, I opened my window and looked out and saw this…

Yes, that’s right, you are looking at vines and olive trees with the sunlight streaming in! Can you say… BEAUTIFUL? Wish you were here! I have my own bedroom…

And bathroom…

And this is the view of Montalcino (up on the hill) from my private entrance!!!

I got showered, dressed and went to the kitchen, just in time for a lovely “easy” Tuscan lunch. Spaghetti with warmed ricotta cheese, grated lemon rind, salt and pepper. Delicious! Simple, yet perfect!

We all loaded in the car and drove the whole 1 mile UP THE HILL to town. I wandered (limped actually- I sliced a chunk out of my toe the night before I left) around the empty streets of Montalcino while they visited with friends. It was cold and I was glad to have my gloves, scarf, fleece and long sleeve wool shirt. I found some of the same shops and enotecas (wine bars/tasting rooms) that Ryan and I had visited nearly 2 years ago.

Bought some Pecorino and bread and ate them in a park while watching the sunset over the Tuscan horizon. Love it.

The Arrival :) :)

On January 11, 2011 (1-11-11) I arrived in Italy! My passport was actually stamped in the Paris airport (bummer) but it does say 1-11-11 J  My job is to now take in all of the Italian food, vino and culture I can stand in the next 89 days! My backpack was delayed in arriving to Florence by 3 hours, so I waited patiently…what else did I have to do? J I felt a little like Tom Hanks in “Terminal”, where he is stuck in the airport for a few weeks (or months?) because his passport isn’t valid. I kept seeing new people get their luggage, meet up with tour groups or friends and then exit the airport, while I just stayed there. 


My backpack finally arrived and I was fully loaded with all 65 pounds of my “light travel” essentials. Took the shuttle to Santa Maria Novella train station and bought a ticket to Buonconvento via a transfer in Siena. Before leaving the station I bought a pizza margarita and a split of Tuscan red wine for the road! This is the beautiful thing about Italy and riding the train, you don’t have to drive! And you can drink discretely while on public transportation. 

Safely arrived to Buonconvento where I was to call my host and ask him to pick me up. A seemingly easy task when one has a cell phone with an Italian calling plan or if the pay phone worked.  Key word ... “IF”… the payphone worked. But it did not, so after getting an Italian girl to verify that the phone was broken, she directed me to another pay phone. I ended up in a small grocery store and there were 3 Italian ladies being, well, Italian, complete with large hand gestures, loud talking and very serious looks. I gave them my best “I’m a helpless American girl and don’t speak Italian, but could you please help me” smile and mustered up the best of my “grammatically lazy” Italian to ask if they could help me make the call. One of the ladies took pity on me and offered to call for me on her cell phone! Bingo! 


30 minutes later Pierre-Jean (yes, he’s French) was there to pick me up and away we went, zipping along the dark, NARROW, windy roads back to the house. I was met by Kalyna (Italian-Canadian wife), Eliah (3 yrs) and Noah (1 yr) who had just flown back from 3 weeks in Canada the day before. We were all a jet-lagged bunch! Dinner was a beautifully roasted bone-in rack of pork (pork chops? Not sure how to call this), and roasted potatoes drizzled with house-pressed olive oil and freshly cut rosemary! Seriously. Amazing! I couldn’t get to bed fast enough, and a bed in my own room with my own bathroom no less! I had been up for 33+ hours. SLEEP! 

The Plan :)

Here’s the plan for Part 1 of the Italian Adventure . . . (all farms are in Tuscany!)

January 11^th- February 11^th

Casa Raia

Pod. Scarnacuoia 284

Montalcino, 53024 Siena

http://www.casaraia.com

This is a small vineyard and olive grove that produces strictly organic Brunello di Montalcino and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. They also produce Rosso di Montalcino and an IGT red wine of Tuscany. All pruning, planning, and harvesting is done by hand. They are 1 mile from the town of Montalcino and you can see the town from their home! The family is a French husband, an Italian-Canadian wife and 2 kids (ages 1 & 3). I have my own room & bathroom in a beautiful Tuscan villa that is surrounded by olive trees and vines. My job is to help with whatever is needed from pruning vines and olive trees to helping bottle the Brunello di Montalcino (2006)!

February 11^th- March 6^th  

Aztenda Agricola A. Santaniello

La Molla di Soto

S.S. 321 Sud no. 30

Cetona, 53040 Siena

http://www.suziesyard.co.uk

This farm specializes in single grove pressed olive oils. This means that each grove grows a different olive tree and each grove is pressed separately, creating artisan Tuscan EVOO.  This farm is also experimenting with lavender oil, faro, Italian kamut and herbs. They are planning an organic vineyard this fall. They are located south of Montepulciano, near the border with Umbria.  The family is British and Italian and has 2 kids (ages 4 & 12).  I will have my own room and bathroom. They have also co-founded a local CSA (Community Sustainable Agriculture) group and are involved with Italy’s Slow Food Movement. In addition, they export their olive oil to farmer’s markets in London. My job is to help with whatever is needed, from pruning olive trees and farm maintenance to indoor activities like marketing and helping with promo materials.

March 6^th- March 12^th

Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, San Gimignano, Siena, and the wine country of Tuscany! I will be touring my cousin Jennifer and her husband Bill all around Tuscany for a week. The want to see all that this region has to offer in terms of culture, wine and food! I can’t wait!!

March 12^th- April 8th

Borgo di Casignano

Localit Casignano 212

Cavriglia, 52020 Arezzo

http://www.casignano.com

This farm is located on top of a hill that has a 360 degree view of the Arno river valley…beautiful! They make organic Chianti wine and extra virgin olive oil. My responsibility will be to help in the vineyard, olive grove, perhaps in the vegetable garden and to learn as much as I can about wine-making. They are located between Florence, Arezzo and Siena- a perfect location for my last farm! High-speed train gets me to Florence in 20 minutes.  I will have my own room and bathroom in one of the houses on the property!

Even though these farms all have websites, I would encourage you to also google them to get more info on what they look like, and offer. Although my Italian teacher would not be pleased, I am happy to say that all farms speak fluent English! I did bring my RosettaStone and plan to use it nightly… starting tomorrow.

So this is the plan… for now. But who knows what may happen with a hotel, a winery, or … ? 

First farm contact!

I heard back from my first farm today! YEAY! YEAY! Hip Hip Hooray! :) It is the #1 listed farm below- Casa Raia in Montalcino. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Stay tuned for (hopefully) more farms to come! :)

Let's start WWOOFing!

Tonight I emailed my first set of inquiries to farms! WOOHOO! Or maybe I should say, WWOOFOO :) (I know, I am such a nerd ... but that's one of my best qualitites ... you know you like it!). I really hope to hear back from them this week and I am also hoping that all of them will have room to have me at different "3 week chunks" between January 11th- April 8th of next year.

Here is the basic information on each of the farms I emailed tonight:

1. Casa Raia- Montalcino: 7 ha farm overlooking the Sienese hills, 1.5 miles from Montalcino. They need help growing Sangiovese grapes to make Brunello di Montalcino (!!!), in the olive grove, vegetable garden and wine cellar. Accomodation in own room and healthy organic meals eaten together.

2. Riecine Loc- Chianti: Riecine is the type of grapes grown here in the town of Gaiole in the Chianti Classico D.O.C.G. region (!!!). Located in the hills of Tuscany, the property has vineyards, olive groves and a wine making facility on the property. Organic farming practices.

3. La Torre Antica- Gambassi Terme (between Gambassi Terme & San Gimignano): Produce olive oil, wine and there is also an agritourismo. Located near the Casciano river. Accomodation in room with bathroom especially from Sept - March. Check out the website at http://www.latorreantica.eu/

4. Castello di Potentino- Grosetto: Farm & renaissance castle restored from medieval origin. They grow D.O.C. grapes, have olive groves, cooking opportunities and there is a commercial wine cellar. They offer experience in wine and olive oil production. Accomodation in own room. Check out the website at http://www.potentino.com/

Many great options and a great start to getting this adventure rolling! I'll keep you posted on which ones I hear from.

Grazie

How do you say thank you to your entire life? I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude this evening. Although I always thought I had a grasp on the opportunities that have been presented in my life, I have recently realized just how loved and supported I am.

When I made this decision to leave, I didn't really comprehend all of the emotions I would be feeling and how randomly they would come on. In the past few weeks I have oscillated from exuberation, to extreme loss, to overwhelming stress, to contentment, satisfaction and longing for peaceful simplicity. I have cried many a days while driving into work, realizing how many wonderful people I will no longer get to see every day or be a part of their daily lives. I am sad that I will not be a supportive and knowledgeable resource, helping people learn, develop and grow. And although silly, sad that I will not be looking at the magnificent front range with the purple and pink sunrise glowing upon the majestic peaks.

In this past week, I have experienced extremely generous support and encouragement from people who are not obligated, nor really have the time. But knowing that they see and support this potential in me, just as they did 5+ years ago, brings tears to my heart. I am so fortunate. Fortunate to have learned, trained and interacted with some of the most amazing people in this industry and to have them backing me up now as I make this leap ... away from them ... and toward my dream ... the landing will feel much stronger. And to know my friends are right there with me too, spending many special moments with them lately and cherishing those that we have shared over the last 5+ years. My life is so rich because of these wonderful people who have been involved in it. Tonight I bought 65 thank you note cards. I want to write a thank you note to every person who has touched my life, my heart and my soul. 65 won't even begin to cover it. WOW. Does it get better than this? I guess I will find out.

A year ago this week, I celebrated my "29 and a half" birthday and also shared a sad experience with a friend who suddenly lost someone very close to her. Yesterday, another very close friend experienced a similar sudden and tragic loss. I find the coincidence of these events intriguing. My heart is broken for these families- to never see their loved one again, never celebrate a holiday with them, or just be able to call them on the phone and hear their voice ever again. It was these types of situations that pushed me to make this choice for my life at this time. And every time I question myself, these events remind me of why this is important. No regrets. I don't want to wake up every day and wonder if I would have gone to Italy. I could be gone tomorrow, anyone could. And I need to know what happened when I went to Italy. I need to know that no matter what else happens, I will always have this and will never feel that I let it pass me by because it was hard. And let me tell you, this is hard. But most things that are worth getting are hard to get. That's why it's worth it.

The Price of Life

It is November 1st. I officially leave Colorado NEXT month. It feels so strange to say that. Even more surreal is that I am now surrounded by price tags on all the stuff I am selling in my house, which is almost everything. I am literally surrounded by the cost of my life. To be honest, it feels good. I am beginning to feel more free, lighter and I am starting to get excited about this new chapter in my life. I am actually looking forward to owning less and becoming more. My mom always used to say, "less is more". She was trying to encourage me to listen more and say less. But we all know how that turned out! :) I am putting those words of wisdom to use in a different way in my life at this point. Although it feels scary to be letting go of so much of my stuff, letting go of comfort and control, it also feels empowering at the same time.