Yes my darling, I think you should get a farm in Eatly! Just like Fattoria Dianella.
Fattoria Dianella is located on the sweet rolling hills of Vinci, the native town of Leonardo da Vinci.
The Medicean villa Dianella dates back to the end of the XVI century and was used by the Medici as a country house for hunting. Its name, Dianella, comes from the name Diana, hunting’s goddess.
It is made of a few houses, the church of “S. Michaelis de Aliana” of the XIII century and the Villa, built at the end of the 1500 and used by the Medici family like a hunting house. In 1700 the village became property of the Marchesi Federighi family and later of the Fucini. Here the poet Renato Fucini composed most of his works. He mentions it several times in his sonnets and wrote a novel “A Dianella” of the collection called “Foglie al Vento”. The Villa is one of the 54 “Houses of Memory” of Tuscany. At the beginning of the 1900 Dianella was bought by the Billeri family who personally attended the long and accurate restoration of the whole farm, aiming to recreate the typical warm atmosphere and the sense of hospitality that always marked the villa. And boy did they hit the mark. The property is stunning.The Estate has an extension of 90 acres of which 25 acres are vineyards placed on hilly, calcareous grounds-perfect for grape growing. The vineyards, in organic conversion, have a density of 5500 plants per acre and a spur cordon training system.
Francesco and Veronica Passerin d’Entrèves follow all the stages of the production from the vineyards to the cellar, offering a selection of products made in respect of the tradition and of the philosophy that the wine must be expression of its “terroir”.
Rows and rows of manicured vines. Pleep asked, How many countries in Europe? 44. How many monarchies? 8.
Let's get this show on the road...what about the cooking class?
A "former" hunting lodge- Bubs likes it immediately.
Boca goes pale learning EVERYONE has to participate in the cooking class.
Well, what the heck, put on that apron (a first), chugged a house vino and away we go.
Bubs, is that a feather on the egg? Bringing new meaning to fresh.
Boca tries her hand at rolling pasta-she will never complain about the price of fresh pasta again- this took a lot of time and a some muscle. Isn't there a machine that can do this? It's playing hell with my manicure.
Our darling Chef teacher is proud of our collective spaghetti efforts.
On to the desert- did somebody say Tiramisu? Maybe Boca will be better at desert making?
Don't forget the fresh pesto sauce. MMMM Bravo fellow Chefs!
Boca got invited back to the kitchen for some special tips from the chef... Mrs. Boca, I hope you married a man who can cook. Good point.
That's right Bubs, on to the cellar...
Bonjourno Mrs. Boca, we have been waiting for you and your American Express. A couple of cases sent home never hurt anyone! The wine should be there when you arrive. Gratzie!
On the bus, off the bus- next stop Pisa. To get to the leaning tower the requisite tourist tschokes abound. Per Bubba to Pleep and Boca- "Keep walking".
Several of the vendors are from Senegal- part of that immigration nightmare Italy has "created". Last year between Italy and Greece over 180,000 refugees swarmed these two countries. The drought in north African (basically no rain for the past 4 years) had a lot to do with the problem. We saw shacks at the port in Naples (like we saw in Africa- made of cardboard). In the paper we read about the Priest and the Mafia that were arrested for stealing over 1/3 of moneys (100's of millions) given by the United Nations and the EU.
Pleep got a kick out of the Micheal Korrs knock off or shall we say copy?
The tourists, from all over the world, buzz Italy during the summer. Are they thinking they are going to the basement to scrub the floor? Even Bubs commented on the tourist dress code. Note to self: if you have "outgrown" a top- give it up. Does this gal have a mirror?
Loved our tour guide- part Henny Youngman and part Rodney Dangerfield- an absolute delight. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most remarkable architectural structures from medieval Europe. The marble tower stands at 185 ft tall. Although it was designed to be perfectly vertical it started leaning during construction.The tower is one of the 4 buildings that make up the cathedral complex called Campo dei Morcoili (field of miracles).
The first building constructed was the cathedral (or Duomo di Pisa)-very impressive marble. The next building added was the baptistery, then the the the cemetery then the campainile. Quite a splendiferous complex.
A guard at every tourist venue.
And there it is- Hey Roberto, this tower was leaning more when I was here in 72?? Yes, Mrs. Boca, it sure was. Until 1990, it was leaning at about a 10 degree pitch.
Although only a third as high as the Washington Monument, it was a miracle of medieval engineering and probably the tallest bell tower in Europe. It has 207 columns ranged around 8 stories and per Pleep looks live a massive wedding cake knocked precariously askew by a clumsy giant. The construction of the tower began in 1173 and continued for about 200 years- with those pesky wars getting in the way. Till today, the name of the architect is still a mystery- go figure. The top of the leaning tower is about 17 feet off the vertical. The tower is also slightly curved from the attempts by various architects to keep it from leaning more or falling over. Many ideas have been suggested to straighten the tower out, including taking it apart stone by stone and rebuilding in a different location. In the 1920's the foundations of the tower were injected with cement grouting that has stabilized the town to some extent. Until recent years tourists were not allowed to climb the staircase inside the tower but today they can. And of course Pleep had to check it out. But as Roberto shared, if we straighten the tower out then how would we make money? No tourist would come to see us!
And again we see more tourists can't read...
everyone is looking for that iconic shot of holding up the tower
You go girl!
And you too!
Nice balance buddy.
Pleep's personal fav.
In process...
looking like yoga madness...
and then, loud whistle blowing. Here come the po-po and every one starts running off the lawn.
Quite the stampede for what appeared to be a routine hourly whistle blow.
Enough of Pisa, back to the cool and comfortable "coach". Wake up Bub and check out that aqueduct.
How much more can I take?
I asked Bubs where the heck the map was? Oh, I must have left it in the suitcase. Great, at least your socks know where they are going.
Pleep just loves loves those tiny cars- no more than an enlarged go cart. Brave souls to drive on these highways FILLED WITH TOURIST BUSES AND SEMI TRUCKS barreling along- all graduates of the Mario Andretti Driving School, I am sure. The law in Italy does not allow trucks to drive on the highway on Saturday or Sunday and boy does it make a difference in traffic and safety. Not sure how that cuts into commerce?
Pleep liked the way this Italian used under the bridge for his storage shed. Tools, garden supplies and more. Better than sleeping homeless?
32 fires are burning in Italy. One started near Rome yesterday- intentionally.
Per Bubs.....when do we get a cold beer?
