Tuscany

Of the parts of Italy, we saw on our Italian Adventure, Tuscany was my favorite. This region is just beautiful. You have Florence right there with more culture and art and university students than you know what to do with. Drive about 30 minutes south, and you are in vineyards. What more could you want?

We stayed in a small village outside Florence, and we had 3 of our meals at Bellavista in Impruneta. We weren't the only ones repeating here either. Their homemade ravioli with truffle sauce was to.die.for. I am getting hungry just thinking about it! The Florentine vegetable soup was out of this world. The three of us that made it to Easter Lunch enjoyed eating a "blessed egg," which is in fact a hard boiled egg that has been blessed by the local priest. Confused? Intrigued? We were, too, but as they say, "When in Impruneta..."But the best part is that by the end of it, we felt like family with the owners. (And you can see them on their website or visit their blog!) So, if you are in Florence, it is worth your time to go to Impruneta and eat at Bellavista. You will not be disappointed!

In our free time, we enjoyed walking down this hill between olive trees and towards vineyards collecting sticks and going on adventures. Twice we happened upon pheasants who swished out of the brush or tree and flew away. When it happened when I was there, it was literally in a tree a foot away from us. Wil, the hunter, was of course drooling over those birds.

We sampled a local wine (and ordered a lot of it) at their winery which is housed in what we might call a castle. Dreamy.

View from said castle. Can you imagine washing dishes and looking at that everyday?

Wil was perhaps happiest amongst all the wines in the cellar. Red wine galore here, friends. And good. We often just had the table wine at the restaurants as we read that it is often really good if not better than your pricier options. If you even remotely enjoy wine, this area is for you.

And that is how the Griswolds do Tuscany.

Ash?

I don't see any ash from this point of view...do you?

Happy Sunday from Hyde Park!

{and ash, if you could relocate asap, I have a friend who really needs to be here now. thanks.}

Today's Delivery

This box of organic fruits and vegetables arrived at my door today thanks to Abel and Cole.

Abel and Cole is an organic delivery service that tries to use as much local (UK) food as possible. According to their FAQ, when they cannot get the produce in the UK (out of season or bananas) they have independent producers they use. From not using air freight produce to asking customers to give back the boxes to be used again, Abel and Cole tries to be as green (and good) as possible. I can log onto the website and shop for meat, fish, other organic items, along with fruit and veg. Each week, they list what fruits and veg will be packed in the boxes. And best of all, if I don't want something random (like Kohl Rabi...what is that?) in my box, or I always want bananas, I can tell them. In this first delivery, I got celery today instead of Kohl Rabi.

So what's in my box today? Pears, oranges, bananas, potatoes, carrots, apples, onion, celery, green lettuce, cabbage, and leeks. Yes. Leeks. I don't know what to do with them, but I'll let you know how that goes down.

This lovely box, combined with my Whole Foods trip today leaves this girl (who never foresaw any affinity for organic anything) feeling ever so slightly greener!

{Are you in the UK? If you sign up now using Easter50 code, you can get a 50 GBP credit after 4 consecutive weekly deliveries of 15 GBP or more. Not bad, huh?}

The State of Things

We are back in London! And as it tends to do, spring has arrived in bloom while (whilst) we were gone! Don't you remember leaving for Spring Break, only to come home to your car covered in pollen and blooms on the trees and in the flower beds?

I have mounds (literally) of laundry in our room. The washer/dryer sounds as though it might take off any moment now. The suitcases are still out. Wiley's clothes are in piles on my bed. The floors are dusty. Perhaps spring cleaning got its start because we all leave town only to come home to a house that is desperate for a good scrub, and well, you might as well clean out the closets and clean the baseboards as well!

I am happy to say, I reorganized my little closet. I moved 3 sweaters to the left side of the closet, deeming them "too hot" to wear now. Notice, that they are only to the side, not in storage (pretending I had any). I wouldn't doubt London to pull spring out from under my feet and put me back in my cashmere and wool blend sweaters (God love them.) In place of my 3 sweaters, I have added 2 shorts, a white skirt, one "going out" top, and 5 short sleeved shirts. My flats are in use again without leaving my feet numb, however I still don't have any open toed sandals out. And I don't think I'll be brave enough for those for another month.

This morning, through our little Venetian blinds in our room, sunlight was peaking out. I remembered distinctly the first time this happened two days in a row. Maybe in mid- February. Our room was brighter and golden rather than its normal cold, grey tones. Before even getting out of bed, I could tell the day was already going to be better than usual--perhaps to the park, vacuum and mop, do 10 loads of laundry, teach the English to abandon beans and toast along with mushy peas, bake, cook dinners for the rest of the week, blog, solve the world's problems, write 20 handwritten notes, read...anything and everything was possible!

And then it happened again. Astounding! The sun did not forget us!

I woke up to darker shades the next day, and the story continued, a few glimpses of the hope of spring followed by a reminder that winter might not be through with us yet.

Then suddenly, the sunny days happened 5 days in a row. 5 days of turning toward the window to assess the day ahead, and perhaps get a forecast of my mood: good and even better. I heard birds singing again. Was I being dramatic, or did they really stop their song for the winter, insisting on waiting until the warmth came back before they paused on soon-to-bud branches and heralded the news: Spring is here.

Perhaps I missed winter's last stand while (whilst) in Italy--the land of milk and honey, erm, sunshine, pizza, and red wine. I certainly hope so. I don't even want to know actually for fear that it hasn't happened yet. All I know is that at the park this morning, the daffodils were out, the camellias were in bloom, and a few new curious yellow blooms caught my eye.

The sun was peeking through the edges of my blinds this morning. It's been a day that begs you, implores you, to go to the park and stay for awhile.

And in London, I harbor the fear that,perhaps, in the next 5 days only rain would pitter patter outside my blinds. So today, we go to the park. In the morning. In the afternoon.

In between, I conquer the laundry and dust bunnies. But this time with my windows open.

Siena

Siena was a great day trip for us. It was a bit crowded, but I can see how much fun my sister and Wil's brother, David, would have loved the city. There were tons of students sitting in the Campo having lunch, a drink, and just visiting with one another in the sun...and in view of such neat and historic buildings. The Duomo was perhaps the most beautiful one I have seen. We decided to climb a bit higher though to get the best view of Siena. Even Wiley climbed up with us!

While this view is good...

If we climb up a little higher...

We really get a bird's eye view of Siena and the Tuscan countryside...

Wiley was so brave! I didn't go up this high at first (I don't like heights.) But Wiley did. When Wil finally coerced me up there, I was horrified that my little boy had gone up there.

But he loved it!

Medici Rules.

It is appropriate to illustrate how we have eaten through Italy. Literally. Truffle pasta, Florentine Steak, bread, pizza, red wine. All things I will not be partaking of for at least a month. Carb overload. We ate at Buca Lapi in Florence, known for its Florentine Steak. After we watched some Asian women take their picture with the chefs, we got in on the action. We told him it was like Ratatouille (but in Italia). I think that chef actually kind of looks like the character (if only he had red hair).

The doors of the Baptistry at the Duomo. These illustrate major stories from the Old Testament. Really beautiful and so neat to look at. The real ones are being fixed up, so these are replicas.

You are supposed to touch this boar for good luck. Wiley went the extra mile and picked his nose. Thank you Alessandra for holding him up so he could further examine the nasal cavity of the lucky boar. You can also get a feel for the amount of tourists from this picture. I was clutching my purse closely. We did,after all, see the King of the Gypsies in Florence.

And sometimes after walking around a new city for a long time with an-almost-4-year-old, it makes you feel like this:

Or this:

And especially this:

(Feelings are those expressed by my sweet husband's face, not my spunky child)

the River from the Ponte Vecchio

Did you know that Michelangelo is actually buried under the scaffolding to the left of his tomb? He didn't really want to be buried in Florence, but the Medici family insisted, sent a family member (nephew, maybe?) to Rome to get the body. When the nephew brought it back, those sneaky Medici told him they wouldn't pay for his tomb/monument. So Michelangelo was subtly buried in Santa Croce to the left of where his tomb is, until the family member got enough money to build the proper tomb. Cool, huh? Thanks to Alessandra, our awesome tour guide, for these cool facts. Did you know, too, that the reason these churches are so beautiful (like Santa Croce) is because the businessmen were making so much money lending money and charging high interest, that these elaborate tombs and artwork were ways of paying off the church for turning its head to the lending scheme (once it was done by a proper bank, it was okay) as well as showing off one's wealth. Ah, the story behind the art. (I hope I got that right.)

And here is the main thing I learned in Florence: Medici Rules.

You know, like O'Doyle Rules. (Billy Madison)

(insert courtesy laugh)

I also learned the Colin Firth goes to the Uffizi Gallery. Wil was looking at a painting, noticed a British accent just behind him, turns around (similar to maybe when we hear American accents in foreign countries. Sees Colin Firth. Thinks: face and voice are familiar. Double take: COLIN FIRTH. And like a good husband, pulls me to another room, and hisses that Colin Firth is in the next room. I tried to play it cool. I really wanted to say I love all your movies, and tell him how Marge and I love to watch Bridget Jones with his Christmas jumper, that he is the best Mr. Darcy, and that Hugh Grant has nothing on him. However, I am almost positive his son was with him (if it wasn't him, it was a look-alike Colin Firth bodyguard), and you hate to mess up father-son bonding. He darted around looking at paintings and pretty soon I lost him. When Wil asked if I would remember the Raphael I saw, or Colin Firth in the Uffizi, I felt a bit judged. (I did enjoy the art, mind you.)

So, for the rest of the time in the Uffizi, like a good wife, I made Wil wear his jacket like Colin Firth did (slung casually over one shoulder). Too bad I couldn't find any glasses like C.F.'s for him to wear.

Happy Easter!