A Lesson on Italian Hospitality - Ospitalità.

When there is a table, there is a table.

I’ve been taking business trips internationally for over 22 years, and have done a lot of dining alone. A big fan of MFK Fisher, I’ve learned to boldly entertain myself, take my time, order what I want, enjoy the view or read a book.

But when it is tourist season in Chianti, I try to watch for lines at the door. Particularly when I know the owners. No sense in lingering at a table for four when it’s just me.

In Italy, tables are normally booked for dinner for the entire evening…it’s expected that meals will last 2-3 hours. But still, the tourist season is shorter than they might wish, and I find myself being uber-sensitive. Not a bad thing, but twice on this trip I found that I had forgotten the sense of hospitality here.

The first time, I sat in the piazza in Volpaia late on a hot afternoon, at a table for 4 (so that I could spread out my work) having a beer and working on my computer. The afternoon wore into evening, and I ordered my favorite Bar’Ucci meal, simple pasta pomodori and a fresh green salad. While I was seated, a crowd of 10 people came up, and started arranging chairs and tables around. There was only room for 6, so I felt guilty, and got up to pay the bill and leave. At which point Paola tells me to stay here, where it is “fresca”. “Your house will be hot”, she says. I tell her that the other people could use the extra table, and she says…“Quando c'è un tavolo, c'è una tabella.” When there is a table, there is a table.

She then brings me a glass of Chianti Riserva on the house.

Next lesson, same situation, but at Pizzeria da Michele. I am trying to get a check. There is a line of people at the door waiting to sweat from the heat of his pizza oven, which turns out amazing stuff. I’m not in a hurry, but… Michele comes up to me and apologizes because he thinks that I am getting frustrated waiting for his son to bring the check, but I explain that I want to free the table. And he says, “Non ti preoccupare. Saranno aspettare". Don’t worry…they will wait.

I enjoy the sunset and stop worrying. Ah…Italia.

Ciao for now!

To be busy. I am idle.

Sfaccendre...to be busy. Sfaccendato...I am idle.

Go figure.

The bells are ringing in the castle in Radda. Not ringing, actually, but singing. It's 7 in the evening at Pizzeria da Michele. And yes, still hot. The pizza oven is not exactly cooling things off!

I started the day with another walk up the hill. Almost 30 degrees C at 8am. A quick espresso while Paola and Lina helped me work on the word for "sweaty". Paola used a word that sounded like one of the above. But she is never idle. So I'm confused.

I met early with my colleague, Valeria, and then took a personal moment to go to the Sunday market in Panzano. I was thrilled that the guys at the fruit and vegetable stand recognized me! And the cheese guy too! It's the little things in life that make the difference...something that Italy is always reminding me. I bought some fresh mozzarella to go with the huge, ripe tomatoes left on my door by our caretaker in Volpaia.

I'd originally planned to shoot a promotional video today, but the heat beat me back. So I decided to visit Willie, a colorful character and a fixture at nearby Monte Bernardi winery. I'm especially fond of him and his wife; his son and daughter run the winery but today Willie was on tasting duty. We chatted for a while, and then 2 groups of tourists poured into the air conditioned tasting room. And I was in for an education...he was on a roll.

A wine must meet these 3 criteria in order to be a Chianti Classico and display the round Gallo Nero label (the Black Rooster is the symbol of Chianti):

1. It must contain at least 80% Sangiovese grapes (this one I did know);

2. The producing vineyards may not be irrigated, in the belief that vines must suffer to be a true Chianti Classico (at this winery there are two containers where they proudly display the rocky soil); and,

3. No screw tops are allowed, the wine must have a cork (I like this one. Screw tops bring up memories of Spanada and Mad Dog in my high school days).

Monte Bernardi produces only organic wine, called "Biologica" in Italy, which carries the additional requirements that no chemical fertilizers, insecticides or sulfates may be used. And the grapes are picked by hand, not by machine...evidently machine harvesting scares all of the critters, lizards and whatnot into the vines where they end up in the harvest, hence the need for sulfates to destroy any possible bacteria. Eeew. Monte Bernardi uses stinging nettle juice to control insects, and nutritious plantings between rows are plowed under to provide natural fertilizer.

A Chianti Classico Riserva, then, must have at least 95% Sangiovese, and it is oak barrel-aged.

A SuperTuscan is a relatively new appellation designed to accommodate the great blends being produced that were reduced to a "table wine" category because they did not meet the Chianti Classico rules. Think Nobilo, Brunello, Sassicaia...These world-renowned wines must be 45% Sangiovese and are blended with Merlot, and other varietals.

Willie ends the tour with a great marketing line..."Our wine is made in the fields, not in the cantina".

Yum. I bought a few bottles as gifts and go on my merry way. Tomorrow back to work.

Ciao for now!

To sweat. I am sweaty.

Today’s word is “sudare”. Sono sudata. The sweating is easy, but remembering this word is hard…don’t know quite why. To illustrate, at least twice today I have told someone “I am a sweaty guy”. Sudato. Sudata. Mamma mia!

But whatever problems the heat is imposing, I am having no issue adjusting to the pace here. It settles my soul.

I’m sitting in the Ristorante Spadaforte in Siena, on the shady side of Il Campo, if there is such a thing today. Bright white gargoyle-wolves look down on the tourists, snarling in the heat. There is a crowd clustered in the shade of the enormous, narrow tower…anxious to climb thousands of stairs at 43°C. They move over as the shadow shifts on the red bricks.

Il Campo feels like the center of the universe at times, with its radiating white spokes and limitless horizons as seen from the tower. I’ve given up on capturing the warm brick and pink tones, but find a nice Tuscan gold.

I order a bottle of water as soon as I sit down, primarily to hold it’s icy goodness on the back of my neck.

It’s hard to imagine this plaza crowded with thousands in the full sun for the Palio, arguably the strangest race in the world. High noon. Sweaty horses (Sudati?). Bareback riders in silk pajamas. No discernable rules. A horse can win the race riderless.

Most of the neighborhood flags have been taken down since the recent race, but I can still see where the packed earth from the track resides between the stones. I wonder how they remove it the dirt. My guess is a backhoe, which the Italians seem to use for everything. Maybe one thousand “sweaty guys” on backhoes! The image cracks me up. That crazy Americana is laughing to herself again.

Ciao for now!

Increasing my Vocabulary

I arrived in Firenze yesterday afternoon and am out for an early morning walk, jet lag having taken control about 4am.

Unlike my visit in June, August is hot. Caldo, caldo, caldo. As I head out past Bar’Ucci in our little town of Volpaia, Gina and Lina greet me; Gina whips up my beloved cappuccino, and declares that I need a hat. I respond that I need some “colore”, and off they go…my professori. And the word for the day is ‘abbronzare’. To tan. Something I don’t do very well, but I repeat after them…”sono abbronzata”. I take off down the road, repeating my word for the day up and down the hills.

Make-up melts and runs down my neck as I walk to the bank in Castellina. But it’s not stopping the tourists. French, German, Japanese and Chinese this month. Funny how the nationalities shift around throughout the tourist season.

I spend the day meeting with real estate agencies, with a new twist. At the request of several clients, my company will be offering private tours designed to guide buyers through the intricacies of finding and purchasing a home in Italy. This is in addition to our fractional home business, but feels like a synergistic service considering our concierge staff already in place.

The real estate market is down, as in the U.S., and there are great deals to be had in this buyers market. But even brave souls with a passion for Italy need help, and that is what we plan to do. Give them an objective view, work only with reputable agencies and pre-screen houses, speak English, and make their house hunting trips less stressful, more fruitful. It’s supposed to be fun, after all.

I catch a wonderful photo on the way back to Volpaia, and once again have a conversation with myself about getting some professional training. But it’s nice to just be able to capture the beauty, even if it’s a mere snapshot. Back to Volpaia to sleep, and meet up with my colleague later this evening for dinner.

Ciao for now!

Italian Beds

It's Sunday, and this morning I leave for my walk at 7:30 or so. As I pass Bar-Ucci, the door is already open, so I poke my head in to say "buongiorno" to Gina. The steamer roars to life the instant she sees me, and she says, "Ecco". I guess I'll be having my cappuccino before my walk:) The familiarity makes me smile. She's like..."drink it, I made it for you, I have things to do". A very busy lady, is Gina, always helping her two daughters in their respective restaurants and bar. It's totally cool by me. I'll do just about anything for her coffee.

Today's walk is wonderful, up the hill this time, and no llamas in sight! I have a full days work ahead of me.

Which brings me to the subject of...Italian beds.

Anyone who has traveled in Italy knows what I'm talking about. Italian mattresses are hard, hard, hard. Worse than the Marriott.

In Casi di Sotto, our guests and owners are very lucky. The owners have imported U.S. California Kings and memory foam mattresses over the years. It is heaven. I've replicated that comfort in Casa in Volpaia.

There are four steps to this "conversion", though...

First, make them comfortable. Foam toppers here are outrageously expensive and hard to find. So I haul one over on the plane.

Second, bring nice, high thread count sheets from the US. Because in Casi di Sotto, Italian sheets do not fit the American beds there. In Casa in Volpaia, it's because there are two types of sheets in Italy. Really bad ones, in very intense colors; and Fine Italian Linens, which cost a fortune (and I'm sorry, Frette, just don't last long enough to justify the price). We will reserve an Italian set for the owners, but for rentals we need something nice but durable as well.

Third, make everything fit. I've got my scissors out, cutting the King-sized foam to fit an Italian matrimonial mattress. I'm using fluffy mattress covers (also hauled over on the plane) to increase the depth to make the deep pockets work. I'm washing a bed cover in hot water to make a U.S. Twin shrink to fit an Italian "Singolo".

Fourth, make it look wonderful. Making bed skirts, which are a pain in any country, look good with the help of Bed, Bath & Beyond "Bed Skirt Pins". Thank you, Lynn Stanek at Ambience Staging Designs, for this and other great tips! I'll bring over a bed cover on the next trip, but we are almost done!

After this, Valeria and I share a bottle of wine while we stage the study at Casi di Sotto, she goes home to her daughter and I head to Osteria le Panzanelle, which is a story for another day.

Ciao for now!

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.

For more information about our properties:

Casi di Sotto

Casa in Volpaia

Turbo Shopping in San Gimignano

Always a crowd-pleaser, San Gimignano is hard to resist. Famous for it's many towers, for me it's like a big candy store. It is true that it can be crowded with tourists, but for a woman on a mission, I can think of few places were you can buy any type of local product (with dozens of stores for each...ceramics, leather, art, wine, olive wood products, linens, etc.), it's the Tuscan version of power-shopping in a mall. The prices are really no higher than in Firenze or Siena, and the shopping is on a single main street...much more compact.

My favorite ceramics store (Il Borgo Ceramiche) never disappoints on that score, and I've become a regular.

Not always the case, tho. There is a wonderful store that sells exclusively bowls and other items made of beautifully marbled olive wood. It can be "cara" (dear, or expensive). As I buy a small wooden salad bowl as a gift, I ask for a discount (Ce un sconto?), the owner gives me what amounts to a 2% discount. He jokes and says "Here's for your coffee" as he hands me my 2 Euros. But hey, that's parking, and at the end of the day it all adds up. So I tell him it is to pay me to visit his store. I get a laugh out of him, and ask for a restaurant recommendation for lunch.

Family-owned La Stella is two doors down. The diet is down the drain, I'm starving for some great food. Tagliata (freshly grilled steak), fresh "insalata verde" (in Italy this means lettuce only...but it satisfies due to the fantastic freshness). Vernaccia (called the "Pope's wine) always pleases me, and after last night and this morning in the Siena hospital, I determine that it is well-deserved:). La Stella is a find.

Making my way home, I stop in Panzano. Panzano sits on the saddle of a road on the way to Greve, of Chiantistrada fame. The famous wine-producing region spreads out on both sides. It is a quiet day, and I walk up to the old church at the top of the hill, searching for an iron workers' store that I had heard about. A stop at Dario's famous meat market and a bit of his meatloaf for dinner. Dario is famous. Not only does he run a successful butcher's shop, but 3 restaurants in, above and across the street from the shop, where he has been known to quote Dante while extolling the virtues of beef! And yum. He has a point.

I take the local dirt road from Panzano to Volpaia. This local road follows the high ridge, not the valley and hillside, and offers stunning views. I pass the pig farm where my children and I took all our table scraps during our summer stay.

It's a nice reminder of the simplicity of life here, for residents and visitors as well. It is a replenishing, reflective, warm feeling, and a perfect way to end the day.

Ciao for now!

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.

For more information about our properties:

Casi di Sotto

Casa in Volpaia

Italian Healthcare, Up Close and Personal

The birds here in Volpaia start singing at 4am. I probably shouldn't know this, but I've been awake since 2:30am, wondering if I should do anything about a stabbing pain in my calf.

Type A response: "No, I have appointments this morning. Take 2 aspirin and go back to sleep."

Sleep alludes me, but I go on to my meeting with the pool contractor at Casi di Sotto. Shared owners of this home will want a pool in the summer, but it is not a trivial project. We discuss the intricacies of obtaining a pool permit, and he explains that in Gaiole, it should not be too bad...only 5-6 months! But his idea of the pool location and a surrounding terrace will blend well with the design of Casi di Sotto, and it's a very simple and cost-effective design. And, the work itself would be done by next spring. So this is good news.

In Volpaia we discuss a water feature that will enhance what is already a beautiful terrace.

Alas, the pain persists. I drive to Castellina and am scheduled to meet Valeria, our onsite property manager, for meetings in Siena. But by lunchtime, I am getting a tad freaked out. Enough to suggest to her that I was not up to getting lost (the last time I drove in Siena I ended up being photographed illegally driving through the Piazza del Duomo), and plan on going back to Radda to see a doctor, just in case.

Many travellers wonder what would happen if they or a member of their family were to get sick in Italy. You hear stories. You wonder how you will find the hospital, or how to call for help. So, it works like this.

We are in the countryside, and the doctors in the area float from town to town, and share duties like an on-call system works in the U.S.

I wait for Valeria at Pizza Pie (obviously a favorite). Luigi forces me to eat (of course), and Valeria makes calls around to locate the nearest available doctor. Today there is a doctor in Radda, between the hours of 4 and 6pm.

Going to the emergency ("Pronto Soccorso") is always an option, but I resist, so we go to the local office and wait our turn. Italian healthcare is socialized, and there are no questions about insurance, how you will pay and no HIPA forms. A welcome experience, but strange.

By 5pm, the doctor as well as the paramedics next door have recommended that I go to the hospital in Siena (on a Friday night!), and I resist. A quick call to my internist back home convinces me that it is the best course.

Let me define a friend. One who tells you the truth. One who understands (and listens) to the reasons that you want to be stupid. One who puts your needs above their own and waits SEVEN hours in the lobby while you get poked, prodded, and left to succumb to TB amidst dozens of hacking, elderly women late on a Friday night.

A full 17 hours later, I have been diagnosed and medicated for a blood clot in my leg. Again, at no cost. Even as a foreign national. And yes, it took a while, but there was no question about being properly cared for, despite the language problem.

And this is how I spent Friday. I was lucky. And I have good friends.

Ciao for now!

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.

For more information about our properties:

Casi di Sotto

Casa in Volpaia

A Wild Llama & a 12-hour Workday

Another beautiful walk this morning at sunrise, and warm enough to shed one layer of fleece. Down the road, I encounter some tracks, assuming that they are deer or "cinghiale" (wild boar). I round a curve, and startle…a llama. Not fenced in. Not, according to Paola, even claimed by anyone. A remnant of some former park, this one is friendly, but, evidently spits in your face if you get too close. I think I'll keep my distance.

At the Internet café in nearby Radda, I once again avoid the wonderful, but dreaded "cornetto". My favorite is filled with custard, so you can imagine the calories. I feel deprived enough to have a second cappuccino, and map out the day.

Valeria and I meet at Casi di Sotto where our job this morning is to tidy up the pantry

and reduce the glassware to make it easier to do inventory.

There is a wonderful old cabinet in the house, now used for glassware and storage, that once served time in selling dry goods. We've filled the glass-fronted drawers with all types of pasta and beans…

A quick lunch at Ristorante Galletto Briaco in Gaiole…the nearest town and Valeria's home. In the summer I love this restaurant, the proprietress is friendly and the piazza is a great way to spend a lazy summer day. Today it's locals and workers…Valeria and I laugh with each other as a table of young men plows methodically through pasta, meat and side dishes…and then dessert.

We then take the winding road down the hill to Montevarchi, where most of the serious stores are. Here you will find OBI and Bricco (both Home Depot type stores), nurseries, terra cotta yards, electronics, car dealers and the IperCoop. This is a gigantic, WalMart-type store, but with the most amazing produce, meat and cheese, along with everything else. I've been told that many Italians won't shop here because of its Communist-era beginnings. But I still find it worthwhile and fascinating. We buy curtain rods, coffee cups, pasta, zip-ties and fruit for publicity photographs.

The day seems young, so we unload at Casi di Sotto and continue to sort things out. I have plans to lay low in Volpaia tonight, so we work until Valeria needs to go home to her daughter.

La Bottega is one of 3 places to eat in tiny Volpaia, and is a 2 minute walk from Carrara's home there. Owned by Carla Barucci, it is always a delight, but this time, Carla has just returned from an extended visit to the U.S., taking courses in English and falling in love with California. She greets me warmly and sits at my table and we commiserate about the difficulties of learning languages. Carla is warm, engaging, and a great cook! Her restaurant is run like a ship, and such a tight and successful one that her wait staff returns year after year. The secret? Time-tested, local dishes. Fresh ingredients. Hand-made pasta and desserts. Reasonable prices. Beautiful views and ambience. I will eat here 2-3 times this week. I top off the meal with a panne cotta with berry sauce. A special treat after a long day.

Ciao for now!

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.

For more information about our properties:

Casi di Sotto

Casa in Volpaia

Dieting, dry cleaning and Italian banks

Ah, the first day with jetlag. And having just recently lost the weight I gained on my visit in November, I am determined that on this trip I will be more conscientious about my health… rising early, taking walks, and watching what I eat! I actually brought my bathroom scale with me. Seriously pathetic, but I have no inherent will power when it comes to Italian food. Absolutely bankrupt on that score.

So at 6:30am, after a very early, very animated conversation with my almost 11-year-old twins back home, I leave the house, turn the corner, and walk out…into the clouds!

Carrara's home in Volpaia lies above the clouds this morning! Only skiing have I experienced this sensation. The streetlamps are still lit, and the village of Radda is the only other thing that rises above. It's chilly, and I'm wearing 2 layers of fleece, but what a sight.

After a wonderful walk and a frothy cappuccino "alla Gina" (NO PASTRIES OR CAKE!), I hurry to Castellina to hit both the laundry ("lavanderia"), and the infamous bank.

Note: Here is my final word on the subject of dry cleaning in the Italian countryside. Don't do it. It will be late. It will shrink. Period. This is a manageable downside to life in the Tuscan countryside, but one you want to know about before you shrink your new Max Mara pants! (no, it was not due to weight gain).

It's then off to Casi di Sotto to solicit bids for some landscape enhancements. Casi di Sotto welcomes me like an old friend and the time since my last visit simply melts away. Well, maybe not "melts", per se. We have yet to turn on the utilities for the spring. But after spending almost two months with my family here last summer, I truly enjoy my homecoming.

Two meetings and a lunch away, my colleague Valeria and I grab lunch and a coffee and return to Volpaia to walk through the house and make notes on things that need to be done this week and throughout April and May. Where Donika, our caretaker and resident expert, has told me the heating system has a blockage due to the "calcare" in the water in Volpaia. I grew up with "hard water". Anyone else? As a kid, this made no sense, and it still cracks me up. But the water in Spokane, Washington has nothing on Chianti. When they say "hard"…they mean hard. This means that water softening (with salt, or "sale"), is a necessity. The calcium deposits are otherwise a nightmare to clean and a hassle to clear out of plumping and heating systems. And this, folks, is why we do a spring cleaning trip!

Since an afternoon espresso made by Luigi at Pizza Pie did not do the trick, I break a personal rule and bale on work at 5pm in favor of a 2-hour nap. Then, having promised my friends at Pizza Pie that I would return for dinner, I head there to work on my month-end reporting. Or try to. Luigi keeps walking by, shutting my laptop and telling me to "manga". No wonder I gain weight.

Ciao for now!

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.

For more information about our properties:

Casi di Sotto

Casa in Volpaia

Spring Cleaning

This trip is going to be a flurry of activity, as we prepare our Tuscan homes for the spring. We have several rentals booked in both Casi di Sotto and Casa in Volpaia, and scheduled inspection tours for potential shared owners.

Arrival in Firenze in early April to beautiful clear skies. Driving south to Chianti, I notice that the flora is much the same as in Portland. Fruit trees are just beginning to bloom, and although not prevalent, the occasional splash of yellow forsythia is a welcome sight. The oak trees are still bare of leaves, but climbing ivy provides enough green to satisfy my senses. The fields are green as well, and the ever-present Italian birds are singing up a storm.

My car this time is a little Lancia 5-door, and although it is not a great handling beast, it has clearance, is small and maneuverable, and doesn't shake too much on the highway. Thank you Hertz, for always having what I need!

Hungry and knowing that I will need to stay awake, I stop in La Piazza at Osteria alla Piazza (www.osteriaallapiazza.com), which always seems like a welcoming ritual. A bit too chilly to sit outside, I settle at a window table with a view of the vineyard.

As one of only 5 clients for lunch, I am amazed by the difference between the out-and-out professionalism here versus the viral apathy in the restaurant business in the U.S. This place is fully open for business, even though faced with the probability that their lunch crowd has maxed out. You have to be on your toes in a "foodie" culture and tourist destination like Italy. Flowers in pots adorn a patio not quite warm enough yet. The full menu is offered, but with an interesting variety of cold prep specials. Deciding to order one of these, I have sliced duck breast on fresh fennel slices. It was incredible.

I feel fortified enough to visit my bank in Castellina on the way to the house. As I walk up to the door, at precisely 3:34pm, the door is locked. Closed at 3:30pm? It can't be. My banker, Claudio, is visible through the window, and I wave. He walks over to the door and points at the sign with the operating hours, mouthing at me to come back tomorrow. Instead of being peeved (well, okay, I am a bit put out), I resolve to be reincarnated as an Italian banker. I swear, they work about 3 hours per day. And that is not counting days prior to a holiday, when it may be 1 hour.

Stopping first at the Coop for bottled water, a bit of cheese, and some salume, I arrive in Volpaia in time for the social hour. Gina and Lina are talking outside of the bar. I wave, get two big smiles, and drive to the house to unload. Then I hightail it back to the piazza to sit with Oriano and complain about the bankers. He tells me that until today, the weather has been "bruto"…with hailstones the day prior as big as "footballs". Right:)

Today is crisp, clear and gorgeous, and I'm back.

Ciao for now!

About Carrara, LLC

Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.

For more information about our properties:

Casi di Sotto

Casa in Volpaia