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!