May 9 we left for the Chianti countryside, driving through the gorgeous vineyards and hills of Tuscany. Our first stop was to the Pruneti family owned olive oil mill. This was the state of the art mill with machines that accomplished all the steps in the process of producing extra virgin olive oil. Since mid October through December is the time when this is done, we could only hear about it through a lecture by an enthusiastic guide.

In order to have truly extra virgin olive oil the olives have to be pressed, by mechanical means (not chemical) and below 27 degrees Celsius. They first press the green olives, then the purple/brown, and last the black olives.

This is an organic company so they follow all the regulations needed. Each of the six machines did something special to the olives such as:
1. Takes off the leaves, stems and anything else that came in with the olives.
2. Washes the olives in cold water.
3. Cuts up the olives, stone/pit included. The pit is important for the taste. This machine mixes that into a paste.
4. This machine is a five stage mixer that slowly turns the paste until it becomes shiny, indicating the oil is coming out
5. The paste is then pumped into the last chamber where it is spun fast to extract the oil. 20% of the oil is extracted to this point.
6. The final state is to filter the oil to be sure all the particles of the stones, etc. are removed. All those byproducts are used for biofuel or burned in the winter.

Needless to say, the really good extra virgin olive oil is not cheap. There should be no sediments in the bottle and the acidity should be less than 0.02%. The olive oil is bottled with nitrogen in the dark bottles to keep out oxygen and help preserve it. The rule of thumb is that it should be used up before the next year's harvest.

After the explanation of all the process and machines, we were taken upstairs to some tasting. A question was asked about "Light" olive oil. Since all oil is 100% oil, the word light just refers to its taste and has nothing to do with calories, etc.

When tasting olive oil there are three things to try to sense.
1. Is there a grassy green taste?
2. Is there a spicy taste which would be the antioxidants?
3. Is there bitterness in the back of your throat?

This mill sells their oil at their location and also at some specialty shops in the US. Some of our group bought bottles and cans to take home. This was a very informative stop.

The next stop for the day was to visit Christina at her 400 year old farm house for a cooking lesson. Those who wanted had a chance to participate in making the dishes we would have for lunch. The end result was delicious.

This was another event filled day.
Grace and Paul

May 6, Carrara Marble Quarry north of Lucca

Did you ever wonder where they got all those huge pieces of marble used to carve statues, like the David in Florence? Well, we found out first hand.

May 6 was a lovely day and we left at 9:00 to drive north along the coast to the town of Carrara. We transferred into two 4-wheel drive Land Rovers for the trip up into the mountains to see the marble quarry in action. Heiki was our guide, and as she drove the first vehicle, we could listen to her narration through sets of headphones. The mountains hold a series of working quarries so we were on the same roads as the large trucks that moved the stones down the mountain. At the first stop we could look over a pit and see the diamond studded chains being set, preparing to cut the huge blocks of marble.

From there we drove further up the mountain along narrow steep winding roads, making room for oncoming trucks when necessary. From that vantage point there was a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. Next we drove back down to a road that broke off and went through a very long tunnel. This was where the trains used to run. Those trains took the marble down the mountain. From inside the tunnel we could see several underground quarries, which have been around for quite a long time. There will not be any more underground quarries started because they are expensive and do not produce better marble.

Some of these quarries were started in these Apuan Alps by the Romans. There have been at least 650 sites opened though the years. Each quarry is privately owned, and the work is very hazardous. The marble ranges from white to a blue-grey and is very high quality. It was from these quarries that the marble for the famous David statue in Florence was harvested.

Once back down the hill, we made a stop where we could look at two of the bridges used in the area. They were quite stunning with their arch support design. Back into the city of Carrara, we took a short walk to a local restaurant for lunch before heading back to Lucca.

In the evening some chose to go back into Lucca to have an "Aparativo." This means you buy a drink and it comes with some food; enough for us to call it dinner. From there we walked the short distance to the old church where we attended an evening concert. This particular night there was a soprano, a tenor, and a pianist. They performed a number of Puccini arias. It was nice to participate in a local cultural event. Such concerts go on there every evening.

That concluded a very interesting day.
Next we left for Florence and the Chianti region.

May 4 was another nice day as we left Parma and headed directly west to Lucca. This takes us through the Lunigiana Valley and the Apennines Mountains which are very scenic with some old towns on the hills. Our first stop is in the charming medieval town of Pontremoli where a local guide walked us through the narrow streets. There were several squares in this hill town and we were fortunate that is was market day, adding some interest to the visit.

Before leaving the area we made a stop to visit Gratziella at her home bakery where she specializes in making the local bread called Testaroli. This is made from just flour and water: no eggs. She gets up very early in the morning to make these flat rounds of bread to sell to the locals and local restaurants. She has sixteen iron skillets where she has a system that allows her to make from 300 - 400 a day. She uses about 200 lbs of flour a day, with about 10 oz. in each piece.

We were served three kinds of Testaroli for lunch. One kind had pesto sauce on it, another had Parmesan cheese, and another tomato sauce. We ate out on the back patio and Gratziella was kind to sit and answer questions and show us where she stored the flour she uses. For desert she served us a very good cake called chumbeloni.

After lunch we headed further west to Lucca, arriving at the Hotel Villa La Principessa, an old palace. We had plenty of time to get settled in to our very large room, and explore the grounds before meeting at 6:30 for the "Welcome" drinks and food. The pool was large, but unfortunately it was being refinished, so there was no water in it. This is when we met the two new couples joining our group for the "Main Tour." We met outside the oldest part of the palace, on the patio next to what were the stables. The whole place was furnished with period pieces and made us feel like we were living in the distant past.

Tomorrow we venture into Lucca for the day. We look forward to this, as we only had a brief few hours there in 2001.

The adventure continues,
Grace and Paul

May 3 was very different from the rainy day before when we took the walking tour of Parma. The weather was sunny and warm for our excursion to the Po River area, and to visit the home area of Giuseppe Verdi. We picked up Stephano, our local guide, who drove around with us. He told us about Verdi's life, where he was born, and where he came back to live for the majority of his life. Verdi came back to the area and purchased lots of property. We drove by several of these places, including his home where he lived for at least 50 years. It had beautiful flowers in the front. There was also a mill which was in very bad shape.

There was a small river/creek beside the road, which was the bounty between the Province of Parma and the next Provence. That was the boundary between where they could make Parmesan cheese and a cheese they had to call something else.

The Po River is the biggest in Italy, and the 4th largest in Europe. It is 450 miles long and goes all the way from the western border with France to the east where it flows into the Adriatic Sea near Ravena, south of Venice. It is responsible for the vast wide plain that makes this area so rich for agriculture. It cannot be used for large boat navigation because it is not very deep, and the sediments shift around. Sometimes it floods and in 2000 there were over 40,000 people who had to leave their homes. They have a major problem with an Asian Catfish which has taken over the waters. This fish is very ugly and can grow to be 9 feet long.

This area is famous for raising pigs and cows. We stopped for a walk to see the black pigs that are unique specialty. One of the byproducts of these animals is Bio Gas from all the methane. We visited a very old Salumificio where they produce the traditional Culatello Parma ham. This very old castle has a Michelin star restaurant, but more important, it has a cellar where they age the Culatello ham. This is made from the best part of the rump of the pigs. It is smaller than a regular ham and put into a pig's bladder before being wrapped in a string bag and hung to cure. There were special pieces for the king of Monico and for Prince Charles. Each ham weighs about 4 kg, and costs about 400 Euros.

Next we boarded Stephano's pontoon boat for a leisure ride up the Po River to an island where we had a special picnic lunch, provided by the restaurant. It consisted of Parma ham, sausage, bread, lettuce and a desert pudding. It was delicious. Somehow a conversation started between Paul and the gal serving us, only to find out she was from Romania and spoke Russia. They carried on quite a conversation. We walked over to a fishermen's shack where there were a number of guys just hanging around. One of them makes fish traps from fine twine, and he showed us several models and explained how they work. This is just a hobby for him, but he was very proud of his producers.

After the leisure drift/ride back down the river to the landing site we boarded the bus for the ride back to Parma. What fortune to have this be a beautiful day.

For the evening, although dinner was on our own, Ben never disappoints, and he had a suggestion for a good place close to the hotel. Not only was it close, but the food was good and we were able to get individual checks. The only bad thing was that we couldn't get in until 8:00. So goes evening life in Italy. During dinner a very noisy thunderstorm passed by, but was finished by the time we were done and ready to walk back to the hotel.

Back in the room we had to get everything ready to depart Parma for Lucca in the morning.

That's it for now,
​Grace and Paul

May 1, Bologna to Parma
The morning started with an early departure from our small unique Porta San Mamolo Hotel for the bus ride to Parma. Along the way we made several stops for what OAT called "Learning and Discovery," The first stop was near Castelfranco Emilia, in an agricultural area to visit a small producer of Parmigiano cheese. This is the only area where true Parmesan cheese is made, using cows fed designated grasses and other specific agricultural products.

We met Giuseppe and his wife, Luisa, who work as a team during the whole process. We arrived just as the fresh milk had been off loaded from a small transport tank, into two deep conical vessels used for the first step in making the cheese. The milk was churned and heated to about 31 degrees centigrade. Throughout the process, Giuseppe explained, through our guide, exactly what was happening and what he was looking for in the process. At one point early in the process, Luisa added enzymes which had been saved from the batch the day before. This started the process of coagulation.

As the curds began to form, Giuseppe and Luisa stirred the vats with huge wire frame whisks to keep everything in suspension for a while and break up any large pieces. Eventually the milk separated and the heavy parts fell to the bottom and the top became clear. At this point, Luisa took off the enzymes that would be needed for the next day's batch. When all of the curds had settled and formed into a mass, Giuseppe and Luisa used large wooden paddles to ease the mass up to the top where they surrounded it with a large piece of cheese cloth. They suspended the mass to begin draining it.

Eventually, each large bundle of the now fresh cheese was put into a round mold to further shape and drain it. The insides of the molds contained embossed wording and the date. That information was permanently pressed into the outside of each round. The rounds weighed about 80 lbs. each. They are left in the white molds for 24 hours, then changed to a stainless steel molds for 48 hours, for further draining. After that, the rounds are moved onto racks and submerged in a brine for three weeks. This helps seal the outside of the rounds.

Once out of the brine, the rounds are moved to a storage room where they will be kept for two years before officials come to test them for quality. One testing method is tapping them with a small hammer. If the sound is uniform all the way around, it means there are no imperfections. During this time, the outside of the round continues to darken in color. After four years it is ready to be sold as aged Parmesan. When looking at pieces of cheese in the market, look for several things. One would be the official yellow and orange seal that indicates it is certified as authentic from this area. Another is to look for the small white dots, which is not mold, but an indication that the enzymes have crystallized, which is a good thing. That was new information for me.

After learning and watching all these steps, we were given a chance to sample the cheese. Some pieces had honey, or jam on them. Then there was the Ricotta cheese, which is a byproduct of this process. It is very light and was served with some fruit on top. The rest of the leftover milk - the whey - is fed to pigs in the area.

This whole process was labor intensive, and had to be done every day. After all, cows do not take a break. Giuseppe and Luisa occasionally take a day off, but they have others who can take over when they are gone. Giuseppe teaches students at the Agricultural High School and the students learn the whole process from raising the crops to making the cheese.

From now on, I'll certainly have a new appreciation for the "Real" Parmesan cheese.

Our second stop was to visit a family that makes "Traditional Balsamic Vinegar," and I'll explain that in my next post.

All for now,
Grace and Paul

April 28-29, Bologna, Italy

April 28th, our second day on our own, we explored Bologna by walking around a different area of the city center. Our guide, Benjamin, suggested that we might be interested in making use of a construction elevator being used in renovations of the San Petronio Church. The ride up at least ten stories in the rickety elevator cost 3 Euros, and we had to sign a release form before going up. After walking the last two flights of stairs, we entered a platform from which we could see out over the city of red roofs and tiles. It was a great view that included the hills north of the city.

We also found the market streets where merchants sold fruit, vegetables, meats and fish. It was clear that many locals shop of a daily basis for their groceries. Occasionally we found some produce that we could not identify -- something we don't have at home.

By evening the final four of our group arrived. We met for our welcome briefing and time to get to know one another, as well a get information regarding our whole pre-trip that goes from Bologna to Lucca.

The morning of the 29th we were met by a local guide for a half day walking tour of the city center. There is a lot to learn about this city, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. The town of Bologna was established in 1116. It is the home to one of the oldest universities in the world, established in 1088 and today hosts about 80,000 students. We visited one building now used as a library, but which housed the historic anatomy lecture room where they did cadaver dissections for study.

This is a city of many towers, including two famous leaning towers. The tallest, which is 318 ft. high, is the tallest leaning tower in Italy. They lean because the ground under them is giving away. Towers were built for a number of reasons; one was for safety in times of wars and conflicts, then there was vertical storage for possessions and supplies, and of course, there was prestige. Bologna was reputed to have the largest tower in the city.

Bologna is also famous for its many porticoes which cover the sidewalks. These are convenient to keep pedestrians away from the elements, but that wasn't necessarily why they originated. In order to increase the amount of living space on the second stories and above, builders started to build out further over the sidewalks, Eventually, these sections had to be supported by posts, and in that way, became porticoes. Many are very elaborately designed and decorated with arches.

Food is going to be an important theme on this trip, and today we had our first experience learning about the local pasta. Bologna citizens make their pastas with just eggs and flour; no water. We visited a shop where we went upstairs to have a lesson on how they make their famous tortellini, which is usually stuffed with pork. They were very emphatic that there is no spaghetti in Bologna, (it comes from southern Italy) and that a Bolognaise sauce should never be served with spaghetti.

After the lesson in pasta making, we stopped by a local shop where one could buy all kinds of meats and cheeses, and also get all kinds of food to eat for lunch. Most of us did not explore the place well enough first. We chose the first thing that looked good - salads. There were all kinds of other options such as sandwiches and hot dishes. It all looked delicious.

During the afternoon, which was scheduled as time at leisure, we chose to follow Benjamin. He took us back by the two leaning towers and on to the Jewish historic section of the city before heading back to the large famous Plaza Maggiore. From there we were free to do as we wished, but, since we had already been walking for almost seven hours, it was time to head back to the hotel. Resting for a while felt good before meeting in the evening for our "Welcome Dinner" at a nice restaurant just a short way down the street.

That is it for now,
Grace and Paul