Back to Tuscany and Agriturismo

March 23, 2012

After another long day of traveling back to Cagliari by bus and then back to Tuscany by plane, we checked in to our hostel around 9 and headed out to find a pizza place the hostel recommended. Easy enough to find, the pizza place restored my hope of Pisa possibly being a nice place to visit. It was late, but the restaurant was packed (every table was full) and all were italians; no tourists here! Unfortunately I can't remember the name of it, but it's off of Corso Italia if you ever wanted to have a nice bite to eat in Pisa. We shared a mushroom and Magherita pizza and a couple of foreign beers. I've said it a lot, but that was definitely some of the best pizza I had ever had. Heavy-eyed we walked back to the hostel where everyone was still up. We sat and chatted with someone from Michigan who worked at the hostel and another guy from Manchester, who was traveling the world...by himself and then meeting up with friends in Mexico. It was rather typical "everything is wrong with our society" conversation, so after 45 minutes or so, we headed to bed. 

March 24, 2012

We woke up that morning to get ready to head to Lucca for a bike ride on the walls before being picked up by the owner of the Agritourism farm we were staying at. Problem. Both of us had packs that were much too big to control a bike with (I guess, if you wanted to try...) Change of plans. Austin hadn't seen the tower yet (or it had been quite a few years). Either way, we headed to go see the tower and sit in the sun for a little while before it was time to go to Lucca to be picked up. Once again a little underwhelmed and a little overwhelmed with tourists, but it was a beautiful day and the field of dreams provided the perfect place to lay in the grass and relax. Austin also was able to get his own cheesy tower pic (a must when in Pisa if you ask me). Look his feet are climbing the tower! What? You didn't fall for it? Damn. After 45 minutes or so of relaxing, we were off to Lucca for lunch and a little gelato. I fell in love with Lucca yet again, and Austin decided that it was the first place he could really see himself living in Italy someday. So once again, 5 stars for Lucca!

It was time to meet Federico the owner of Agricola Biologica Nico, who kindly offered to drive us to the farm because we lacked a car. Upon arrival and after an semi-awkward car ride of trying to make conversation when none of fully knew the language of the other, we arrived at a beautiful home in the middle of the Tuscan countryside. They had a basket-weaving class in session when we arrived and Austin and I decided that there was no cross cultural divide in granolas, as everyone there would be welcomed with open arms in Asheville, NC. The first day there was spent exploring around the home, having the neighbors get mad at us (didn't know there were neighbors?), and a lot of reading. We decided to have a nice dinner there (because we couldn't go anywhere else...) in their restaurant "Il Giusto Gusto". Elena (the wife) prepared the best and most filling dinner I have ever had. We started eating at 8:30 and didn't stop until 11. She served lettuce soup with croutons and olive oil (despite how it sounds, it was SO good), homemade gnocchi with cauliflower and olive oil, a type of hard cheese and honey, a baked cheese custard with salad, and for dessert a cream pie with chocolate. I actually couldn't move afterwards, but it was all so worth it. I have also decided to design my kitchen off of there, as it was the most beautiful room I have ever seen. Very full and sleepy, we headed to bed. 

March 25, 2012

The next day, Elena was nice enough to drive us up to a mountain top about a mile away from a hike. Starting the hike, the desire to do nothing finally started to kick in (at the wrong time no doubt.) And after walking a mile or so, the clouds stared to move in and the sound of thunder was rolling in the distance. Thankfully, Austin was okay with turning around and heading back down the mountain. We walked back up the highway to where Elena had dropped us off and then turned down another road that supposedly took us to Lucca. After an hour and a couple of sweet and short springtime showers, we were still walking through the countryside of Tuscany following signs to Lucca. It was exactly what I wanted to do with my time there and a great time to just unwind, chat about life, and finally relax (not caring where we ended up). Another hour or so later, we finally hit the main road that the farm was off of. 

But instead of turning right (like we were supposed to), we turned left (and kept on walking to Lucca.) Finally we realized that this wasn't the way to go, and decided to walk into a small bar and ask to use a phone (mine was, of course, out of battery). We connected with Federico and about 30 minutes later we were back at the farm inside, happily exhausted from the day. We could only laugh about the adventures we get ourselves into. That night, Federico and Elena invited us to come and eat dinner with their family. They have a two year old named Cloe, 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 donkeys. (We only ate with Elena, Federico, and Cloe). I was amazed by their hospitality and the food was yet again incredible. I sang to Cloe jingle bells as Elena pretended to be Santa Claus (lost in translation, I had no idea why we were doing it, but Cloe seemed to enjoy it). Federico and Elena offered to take us back to Florence the next morning because they had an appointment there anyways. Did I mention they were nice? Our stay at Agricola Biologica Nico was the perfect last hurrah before heading back to the busy city. I learned a lot from Nico and Elena, and I was more than appreciative of all their help.

It was also so nice to be around animals again and I couldn't finish this post without introducing the ones we met.

Austin and I might be cat people after this spring break. We saw more cats than dogs during the week, but this guy was the sweetest. The first day he jumped into our bed and didn't want to leave. He also let me carry him when ever my heart desired. I don't know the name, but he greeted us with open arms!

They had two donkeys at the farm. One was named Nella, the other I don't know. They liked to go on walks (however we never took them out). They enjoyed eating Austin's hand as you can in the picture. I think they ere upset that we never had food to give them.

Tobia was one of the dogs we met and the other was Deda. We didn't see Deda after the first day, so we assumed she belonged to one of the basket weavers. But Tobia kept us company, and at every meal he plopped down next to me on the floor. I think the owners thought we were both crazy, because we paid more attention to Tobia than, well, everything else.

If you are ever in Lucca or wanting a good place to learn abotu farming in Tuscany, this is your place. With the incredible hospitality, beautiful home and views, and wonderful animals, it will go own as one of my favorite experiences so far!

Wait, are we still in Italy? Sardegna and Pedra Longa

March 20, 2012 - March 23, 2012

The next day we finally decided to head out and really explore what Santa Maria Navarrese offered. The sky was pretty cloudy and as we walked down to the Marina, we learned that we were two weeks too early for the excursions to start. Without a car and easy public transportation we were confined to SMN and I started to worry that maybe I had chose the wrong destination for Spring Break. 

Of course, I tried to make good of the situation, but after the long days of traveling, I couldn't get out of the funk I was in. But as we continued to explore, and Austin continued to show me the great things of the town and tried to reteach me the beauty of doing nothing. Slowly, but surely my bad attitude lifted and so did the clouds. We walked up to the top of a long winding road that advertised a panoramic view of the town. It really was beautiful, and I started to see the beauty of the small town we were staying in for the next 3 or 4 nights. Good news kept coming when we continued walking behind a (possibly closed?) hostel and found a sign with the words "Pedra Longa" carved in it. Still a little tired from the day before, we decided to spend the rest of the getting more acquainted with the town and do more research on the Pedra Longa that night. 

Walking back to the house, we were greeted by a very small dog who lived next door. She ended up coming out of the house and letting us pet her each time we passed the house, and I swear by the end of it all, she wanted to come home with us. On the last day, as we were leaving, she another puppy came to wish us goodbye, and I was very close to picking her up and placing her in my pack. She was one of the friends we met during the trip (there were VERY few people in SMN, and even less who spoke any sort of english).Our second friend we met was the lady at the bread section in the super market (we have named her Pan lady); we claimed that she got excited everyday when we came into the market to clumsily in Italian ask her for bread. (And that when we left the island, she was sad to see us go...)

Anyways, on March 21, 2012...

We woke up a little later than usual, and spent the morning cooking a big breakfast fit with Pesto eggs, Hashbrowns, and the fresh oranges the owners had left us. A lazy morning led to an incredible day of hiking and sight-seeing. We decided to head back to the Pedra Longa sign and see what was behind it. I really had no expectations at all, and if I did, they were low (maybe a view point? a pretty outlook onto the water?) But I was completely blown away by the beauty that hid on top of the mountain, behind the somewhat closed hostel, and homemade gate. Every step gave a different view of spectacular beauty, and the day? It couldn't have been better weather. I soon began to realize the trip to the island of Sardinia was definitely worth (the little) money we had spent and more. The hike was a perfect mix of ups and downs, as well as rocky and grassy. It was not easy by any means, but incredibly satisfying. What was also great about the hike, was that our destination was easily visible from afar, and as we kept walking Pedra Longa slowly became larger and larger. We were the only ones on the trail for a while, until we began to hear cowbells in the distance. Slowly the noises became louder and louder, until we looked up to 2 mountain, long-haired goats peering down on us! Could this get any better?

Of course it could! The views continued to look even more photoshopped and the trail opened up to even better lookout points with incredible widescreen snapshots of the Mediterranean. We only saw two other older couples during the whole hike, and both of them seemed to be from Eastern Europe. After 2 and a half days in Sardinia, we had yet to meet any Americans or those who spoke english. It was nice to feel like we had the whole island at our disposal and by the end of the 4 days, it started to feel like we were a part of the community (besides the fact that our best friend was a dog.....)

After 4 or so miles, we started to hear the cowbells again, but this time much louder and ringing at a faster pace. Looking to our left, we discovered a goat who seemed to be running for his life. For a split second, we both thought he might actually charge us. But instead, he stopped, looked at us politely and continued on his way. Austin suggested he was just on his daily run, I thought he may have been looking for another goat. We will both never know; but after a while we did feel silly being afraid of the goats, as each time we came across them, they would politely walk off the main path and let us pass. 

We finally made it to our destination and hung out there, exploring around Pedra Longa.  here, we also learned a little history about the famous Sardinian rock formation. PL is a "pyramidal monolithic" rock (any geology majors out there?) that rises 128 meters straight out of the ground. It is made out of calcareous-dolomitic rock and dates back to the mesozoic age! Ancient sailors used to use it as a direction point of the Supramonte region. Needless to say, it was a very perfect day and to top it all off, we came home with sunburnt faces and perfectly sore legs. That night we cooked dinner (basmati rice with sauteed mushrooms and red pepper and steamed broccoli with bread and olive oil) and happily reflected over our day well spent.

 On the 22nd, we decided to make cookies for the owners (share with them, an easy american dish?). Well, it turns out my italian did not expand to the reaches of the cooking products world, so the baking powder was more like cake mix and our cookies turned into cakeies. Also, putting extra white sugar does not make up for the lack of brown sugar Italy seems to have. I ended up liking them and decided that we made some sort of very sweet type of blondie. Whatever you want to call it, all you have to do is mess up a very easy chocolate chip cookie recipe and voila! You've got cakeies! (Or really think chocolate chip pancakes, or blondies, or...) Nevertheless, we left a pile for the owners... hope they liked them! frown had definitely disappeared and I overall very much enjoyed our time in Sardinia. After, weekend after weekend of traveling to big tourist sites and not having any time to just sit down, I had grown accustomed to have jam-packed days. But in Sardinia, I was able to go back to the mindset of pure relaxation and enjoying the natural world. The last couple of days were spent hanging out on the beach, reading, and reminiscing. It really had been a perfect week so far and with last minute planning, our adventure was not over as we were off to Lucca and an Organic Agriturismo farm in Lucca on Saturday. Stay tuned.

88 Thoughts About Paris

Ahh, Paris. It was the first trip in a long time where if you asked me "How was your trip?" I would not have shrugged a bit and wouldn't have just said "oh, it was good." and leave it at that. No. It would be more like... "Paris was great, it was so great, why don't you just sit right down and listen to hours upon hours of me telling you how great it was. In fact I'm going to tell every person I met, every thought I had, and every sight I see... sound good?" Not the answer you were expecting, was it? Paris was so perfect, it still feels like a dream. Did we really see all of that in 2 and a half days? Wait, I saw the Eiffel Tower? No... I couldn't have, it was just a weekend!

Since we don't have hours upon hours to sit here and chat about Paris, I compiled somewhat of a list about my happenings in this beautiful city. I like lists, but not the lets plan out my whole life list, or these are the things I must get done in the next hour lists (unless I have lots of things to get done in the next hour of course). No... more like the irrelevant, sporadic thought lists that make more sense in my head than down on paper. I will do my best to give you the full experience of my weekend in my 50 thoughts about (my trip to) Paris list.

1. Ryan Air isn't as stressful as I thought it would be.
2. I'd like to see what Beauvais (the place, 1 hr outside of Paris, that we flew into) is really like.
3. Peanut M&M's are the travelers paradise
4. When you have 3 people, a taxi isn't too expensive (for one ride)
5. Our hostel was one of the most lively place I saw in Paris.
6. Late night food shouldn't ever consist of Kabobs (but we didn't have any dinner...so it's okay, right?)
7. You should stay away from dorm style hostels if you snore, just a thought.
8. Dorm style hostels are actually really great, minus the snorers that don't stay away from them.
9. The French DO actually serve a baguette at every meal, and not JUST as a side.
10. A French baguette IS actually the greatest bread you'll ever taste.
11. Ascending from the metro station to the Pyramids outside of the Louvre was a great treat.
12. The Louvre almost looks like a shopping mall inside.
13. The Mona Lisa is actually really small.
14. Wait, the Code of Hammurabi is found at the Louvre? AND the Sphinx?
15. A vegetarian sandwich= green beans, cheese, potatoes, beets, and "salad" enclosed in a baguette.
16. How many baguettes do you think restaurants in Paris go through a day?
17. The Museo d'Orsay was the most amazing Museum I've been to.
18. You're not allowed to take pictures in the Museo d'Orsay.
19. I did. (Found the sign at the end of my visit...I promise!)
20. Toulouse Lautrec is deemed my favorite artist, sorry Degas and Rauschenberg.
21. With a student visa, we got into all of the Museums for free (except for one...)
22. Shakespeare & Company is actually the most beautiful bookstore you will ever see.
23. Fact: You don't have to be a descendant of the great writers to work there.
24. Question: Well then, how in the world can you?
25. Paris IS almost as wonderful in the rain.
26. The Pompidou Museum is incredibly hard to find, if you follow the signs. So don't follow the signs.
27. The Pompidou was our third museum of the first day.
28. Duchamp's Urinal has gone missing. (but really... where the **** was it?) Oh well...
29. If you don't know French, you should probably ask for an english menu.
30. Soup and bread (with butter) on a cold, rainy day is even better in Paris...
31. I just found out that Pain Perdu is french toast.
32. I had Pain Perdu with chocolate, fresh mint, and a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
33. It was not french toast, but rather my favorite dessert I have had in Europe.
34. Sadly, I did not see Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the other greats at Midnight.
35. Breakfast of Champions: Half of a baguette with butter and jam and Black Tea with milk.
36. The Eiffel Tower is more beautiful than I expected it to be. (That's saying something)
37. I took too many pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I'm keeping all of them.
38. The walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe was lovely.
39. Champs Elysees wasn't as fabulous as I expected, thought I don't know what I expected.
40. Although there was huge line outside of Palace "Abercrombie and Fitch" Why? I don't know.
41. You could smell the infamous A&F cologne from the streets though...
42. I'm really glad we ended up going into our fourth museum, The Orangerie.
43. Monet's water lilies provided serenity and time to think. They were incredible too.
44. Menu: Sandwich Emmental: Baguette (of course), butter, and Emmental Cheese.
45. What it really meant: Sandwich Emmental: Bread and whole stick of cold butter.
46. St. Germain was probably my favorite district we saw.
47. Even in the winter (with no leaves or blooms) the Luxembourg Gardens were beautiful.
48. Once we got the hang of it, the metro system was incredibly easy and useful.
49. Pigalle (or Pig Alley), where Moulin Rouge is, was an interesting sight to say the least.
50. (But) the area includes a house of Van Gogh, studio of Toulouse Lautrec, and the cafe in Amelie.

So I've hit fifty... Did I mention that my special irrelevant, sporadic thought list is in no specific order (other than chronological)? We are only 3/4ths through the second day! This might actually turn out to be hours upon hours... I'll continue.

51. Kenan getting invited in to one of Pigalle's infamous...um...shops brought me to tears.
52. DON'T wait for a table at a nice french restaurant, people WILL pass you to the open table.
53. Salmon Quiche gave me my salmon fix without the price. Oh yeah, it was GOOD too.
54. Beef Tar Tar is actually raw. Like RAW, dog food raw. Kenan won't be ordering that again.
55. Amelie's in Charlotte came up in conversation at least 10 times (sorry Julia and Kenan...)
56. You can't get a drink (even soda and juice) for under 4 euro. Order tap water. They have it.
57. The most amazing couple from Napoli helped us get back to the Eiffel Tower at night.
58. We didn't get their name, but hope to magically see them in America (on their honeymoon...)
59. The Eiffel tower is just as amazing in the rain and even more incredible at night.
60. I took too many pictures of the Eiffel tower. I'm keeping all of them. (Oh, I already said that.)
61. For goodness sakes, GO to the bathroom before you wait in line to go up the tower.
62. The city is actually alive at night. Like the buildings were dancing and everything.
63. Number 62 was supposed to be joke, if you didn't get it move on to 64.
64. The sky at night on top of the tower was incredible, it lit up because of the stormy weather.
65. It's really windy on the tower, so try not to be blown away. Haha... double meaning.
66. There are little to no public restrooms in Paris when you really need them.
67. We made it to midnight (in Paris). Still, no Hemingway. (or Owen Wilson for that matter...)
68. The Notre Dame is beautiful. Inside and out.
69. They had a service going on, while hundreds of tourists walked inside to take pictures. Weird.
70. Unfortunately, I did not see Quasi Modo.
71. The Deportation Memorial was moving. Sadly, I did not get to the Holocaust Memorial.
72. I could walk around that city near the river all day.
73. The hot chocolate in Paris is not hot pudding like Italy, but liquid. It's really good, too. Big Surprise.
74. ALWAYS stop and sit in a dog park. ALWAYS. I've never been so happy. (Maybe...)
75. This guy was the awkward 6th grader who has already hit puberty. And the biggest dog I've ever seen.
76. I met a new dog friend who let me scratch his back in the sun for at least 30 minutes.
77. Paris is even more perfect with a blue sky and sun.
78. Don't just walk into a restaurant because you have to use the bathroom and expect to like the menu.
79. Too many of these thoughts have included the use of the word bathroom.
80. It was almost too hard to get on the bus to leave the city.
81. The ride back in the french countryside made it a little easier to leave.
82. Clouds are prettier in France.
83. French really is the most beautiful language in the world.
84. The Beauvais Airport gave me the least stressful security experience I've had. Thank you.
85. We met yet another friendly person from Napoli. Sadly, he advised me not to visit Napoli for an extended period of time. But people are so friendly there!
86. Paris, however, did help me appreciate the intimacy of Florence (a city I once thought was huge).
87. Either way, can I go back?
88. Just because the number 87 is too random I decided to add another.

There we have it... 88 Thoughts About Paris. I'm proud of you if you got through them all. As a reward, I will actually end this post with only a little rambling. It was an amazing weekend that I will alway remember. (It will be hard not to as I took approximately 726 photos... obsessive? A bit.) I really am starting to experience the beauty of studying abroad. Every weekend is a magical experience and I am so lucky and SO happy to be here. So... how cheesy did that sound?

A few Snapshots from Paris... 

Au Revoir! Ciao!