Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the world,
Well, we finally made it over to Tavernelle for lunch, after far too long staying closer to home!
It was lovely to be back at Osteria La Gramola and to see Massimo and Cecilia again. We became friends years ago, even meeting up in London for an Italian meal whilst they were on holiday. Massimo is front of house whilst Cecilia, an award winning chef, does all the creative and delicious seasonal meals in the kitchen. Cecilia made some home-made gluten free Pici especially for me, that’s fat spaghetti, tossed in pepper and pecorino cheese; it was absolutely yummy! The Pici pasta recipe originates from Siena. http://www.gramola.it
The walls of the restaurant are covered in paintings by Patrizio Landolfi, a brilliant local modern artist. I fell in love with his David Bowie picture, but he gets very high prices for his work world wide. His original Bowie selling for around seventy- thousand dollars to a Canadian billionaire! One day, when I have sold a lot more books, I will treat myself to one of his very small pictures…….http://www.patriziolandolfi.it
What next? Well, the weather has turned and it is cold, yes cold! We have a quilt on the bed now and I am wearing cosy slippers. I know, you imagine my looking like a rock chick all the time. You’ll be glad to know that I never stop thinking like one. And, we have had some pretty scary storms over the last few days too, lots of thunder, lightening and rain. What! I hear you exclaim, you were thinking that Tuscany was the land of wall to wall sunshine; go on admit it. No, we have four definable seasons just like northern Europe; whilst the climate has become less predictable, you can be assured of a much less damp atmosphere during a cold weather and when the sun comes out it is never a watery one, always bright and hot! Also, the light here is very different. Most mornings the countryside takes on a 3D effect, each tree and ridge becomes clearly defined, as if you were looking through a telescope. it’s quite breathtaking, but difficult to photograph. That’s why artists come here in droves, hoping to capture that special essence of Tuscany on canvas. We are so lucky!
Ah, my man has just wheeled the air conditioning unit out of the sitting room, clearing the front of the fireplace! So, we can look forward to lighting the log fire soon! I love a log fire, but we will try and wait until October at the earliest!
Well, enough for now. it is Sunday and whilst we love Italian food, I prefer that the Italians cook it! So, I will do spinach and feta Ceci pancakes for my man, who loves them and if my man is happy then all is well with the world.
Have a great week and do stay safe. Drop me a line and tell me about your part of the world. june.finnigan@virgin.net
Salute June x
PS Visit my website at http://www.junefinnigan.website
Welcome and Benvenuti to all my Lovely Followers around the World,
But on a much brighter note, whilst reading the news with my morning coffee in Fiano, I found an article about one of Italy’s favourite Rock Stars, Luciano Ligabue, who has written a book about his life. He is now fifty-nine, poor thing. But here in Italy we aging rock singers are very popular, as you know, so I don’t know what he’s worried about. Luciano is a good looking guy, if you like your man a little rough around the edges, and is a great guitarist. The Italians love his voice, which is gravelly and shouty, not my favourite sound but nevertheless his live performances certainly have an all embracing wall of great sound. 
Oh yes, nearly forgot, a friend just reminded me that tomorrow (Sunday) is an evening of entertainment at the Old Cinema in our local village of Fiano. There is a great theatre group in the area and you will enjoy this play even if you don’t speak Italian. There is still time to pop into the bar and get a ticket! Enjoy!
And, last but not least, we are relieved to have Paolo and Gaia back at Ristorante C’era Una Volta just up the road in Lucardo. They had been off on a three week break visiting Instanbal and some other places, where they acquired a nice golden tan! We were presented with the most delicous platters of pasta with generous shavings of Tartufo Bianco (white truffles) over the top. Found locally in the woods, Paolo’s supplier of this food of the gods really knows where to look! Bless his woolly socks and truffle dog. Yummy!
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