September 29, 2009 – Greve in Chianti, Italy
I am back in my “office” this sunny, warm Chianti morning. It is getting busy here on the terracotta steps of Poggio Asciutto. There is another couple (from Vancouver!) that are also wired while on holidays…what’s with us Canadians…can’t leave home without the “Mac”? Oh…now the Canadian couple is gone and their chairs has been taken by a gentleman with a computer and a cell…speaking a strange language…
From where I sit, I have a view of the breakfast/dining room of Poggio Asciutto…I enjoy the mornings here, watching the B&B business (while I sip my cappuccino) and listening to conversations in Italian, German, Swedish and (thankfully for me) some English.
……much later…
My morning relaxation was interrupted by Mr. Videographer needing my assistance in filming the neighbour’s grape harvest. The neighbour happens to be Villa Vignamaggio (where Mona Lisa was born and where the movie “Much Ado About Nothing” was filmed.) Sad for us the grapes at Poggio Asciutto will not be ready to harvest until after we are gone…sigh. On the other hand…it is hot here and I witnessed how hard the grape harvesters work under the rather warm sun, clipping grape bunch after grape bunch, filling their large red buckets over and over again, only stopping for a lunch of (you guessed it) pasta. Instead, my job is just to assist Mr. Videographer (which means staying out of the way!) and then … off to the pool at Poggio Asciutto to cool off. This is really hard….
Ahhhh…Luigi was sitting in the shade with me as I was writing when Eva just gave him a job….to take a basket out to the vineyard and collect grapes for the cooking lesson (his name for the day is now “Red Riding Hood”)…yes…I will be taking part in a tuscan cooking lesson this afternoon with Eva…more about that in a later post.
Lets see…we left off last time we had been in the town with all the towers (the one I still cannot pronounce OR spell 
. After that, one morning I went horseback riding with Eva (who is a certified equestrian guide) and the “Honeymooners” – a great young couple from Toronto celebrating their honeymoon in Italy. I was initially reluctant to intrude in their romantic horseback ride, but the minute they said it was ok… I hopped on . The view of the vineyards, olive groves and Chianti hills from horseback is a huge deposit to one’s memory bank…huge. Near the end of our journey we rode across an old roman bridge that dates back to about 50 AC, then rode past a house and watermill from the 14th century (Poggio Asciutto also dates back to the 14th century). I am sure we must have some pics to post at one point…I saw the camera guy in the bushes waiting for the right photo opp.
After cooling off the horses Luigi and I decided to cool off in the pool… mammamia! …the water was a little too refreshing!
Friday evening was another Poggio Asciutto supper cooked by Massimo and Eva…the usual five course meal and lots Chianti Classico wine…a perfect end to a perfect day.