I first met Chris Goodhart coming out of the vineyards at Castello di Potentino. He was dressed in well-worn work clothes, sturdy mud-caked boots, and had just finished a long day tending the vines.
Winter - Sommelier Chris Goodhart at Castello di Potentino in Tuscany
Walking through Florence’s city center, I find it almost physically painful when I see tourists being served up heaping helpings of pasta at a tavola calda (a buffet-style cafeteria-like place) or getting gigantic portions of unnaturally colored gelato which was made months ago somewhere far far away.
How NOT to eat in Florence
The morning I went to Frassanelle, a wonderful agriturismo near Venice and Padua, I wasn’t feeling quite 100%, maybe it was due to the change in season, or because I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.
Katharina and me (Marla) having just had the falcon Naguall land on our fist (Trust&Travel)
Amongst the less well-known gems in Tuscany’s vivid mosaic is a region in the south which straddles the provinces of Siena and Grosseto. It is majestically presided over by Monte Amiata (1738 m), a mountain near-mystical to the Etruscans, which forms part of an ancient volcanic complex.
If you one day manage to get to the top of Monte Labbro you will come upon the evocative circular "David Tower" built by Davide Lazzaretti and his community (Susan Fateh)
Children playing outside at the Chateau de Boulains Summer Camp (L'Envol)
Paris, France – On February 12, 2011 the American Women’s Group in Paris (AWG) held its traditional annual gala. Each year the non-profit organization holds an auction as part of its gala in order to raise money for good causes. In years past they have donated to a number of charitable organizations including L’Envol, a non-profit organization that hosts European children with chronic illnesses at a free summer camp.
During the Christmas holidays, I went to a lovely dinner at a friend’s house near Saint Germain. She is an excellent hostess, and I was immediately struck by her beautiful table-setting – an elegantly simple linen tablecloth in muted purples and reds, with matching napkins – lit up by small votive candles floating in antique brass bowls. The linens’ color scheme seemed to have been taken straight from a Piero della Francesca fresco (one of my personal favorites is the Madonna del Parto – to conjure upthe tablecloth’s colors, simply look at the reds in the two angels’ wings!).
(Busatti)
While the Maremma is known for its unspoiled coastline along the Tuscan Mediterranean, sometimes you want to heat things up. Nothing relaxes the body and soothes the mind like a soak in a hot bath. The ancient dwellers of this land knew that well, and their sacred spa remained a well-kept secret until rather recently.
The Hot Sulphourus Water cascades are freely accessisble (Waugsberg, Wikimedia Commons)
“All that I can do is to foster within myself something that is not merely fear, resentment or bewilderment. Perhaps it might be useful to try to clear my mind by setting down, as truthfully and simply as I can, the tiny facet of the world’s events which I myself, in the months ahead, shall encounter at first hand.”
Antonio and Iris Origo at La Foce with their second daughter Donata
You will see Carla making her pizza at one point of this video. Enjoy!
Who doesn’t love a delicious Italian homemade pizza? If you want to experience having someone make the “real thing” for you, you should come to Il Mulino on the estate La Badia where Carla, the cook of the estate, will be delighted to prepare pizza and other delicacies for her guests.
If you want to try to make the pizza yourself, follow the simple instructions that Carla has agreed to share with us:
Corzano e Paterno
Italy Tutto
Lospicchio
Memorie di Angelina
Truffle Pig