CARRARA MARBLE

It's obvious to me that I have become WAY too disorganized to write about our vacation last fall in chronological order.  Somehow my days seems to be even fuller than they were in Italy, and the idea of a schedule seems too much to handle.  So, I'll just write about whatever place or adventure pops into my head.  Today I'll tell you about Carrara.

Carrara, yes, the place where the marble comes from, is at the northwestern edge of Tuscany and we never figured out how to visit it when we lived in Italy.  Still, it was at the top of our wish list, and when we decided to visit the Cinque Terre, a stop at Carrara made perfect sense. 

As usual an internet search and some questions on the Slow Travel message board helped.  I found
Fantiscritti, a marble quarry that's located deep inside the mountain, and decided that because we'd be there on a Sunday this might be our best option.  We knew we probably wouldn't see much work going on, but the tour would let us get a little closer to the marble in it's natural state.

Once we entered the marble 'cave', we learned that each company is assigned the right to excavate by the local government.  I don't remember how many different companies are active right now, but I was surprised to find out that there was another company excavating just ABOVE the 'cave' we were in, and another one below it!  Of course there's quite a bit of space left in between those layers, but for me it was still rather amazing to think of the weight of the marble itself, combined with all the heavy equipment, and to wonder what would happen if the floor of the cave collapsed.

The inside of the cave looks like an ice cave.  It was much quieter on a Sunday than it would have been on a workday.  The walls of the cave hold the noise in and make it echo, so ear protection is a must - but I wonder if it really helps?  Because the 'rooms' of the cave are so huge, they are often used for filming commercials or hosting exhibitions.  One of the fancy car companies, maybe Ferrari or Lamborghini, shot an ad campaign inside the quarry and there was an exhibition of very large, rather strange marble scuptures going on while we were there. 

There was of course the requisite gift shop, which was simple but effective, as well as an outdoor display of old tools, some marble sculptures and a little history about the marble of Carrara.  For me it was not only interesting to see Carrara, but the idea of a cave made it even more appealing.  Had we had some extra time I would have also enjoyed visiting a real cave in Tuscany, la Grotta del Vento, but I guess that will have to wait for another trip.

Here's a slideshow of all the photos we took that day:

HOTEL MEDICI - FLORENCE

I'd really like to keep this hotel a secret, but because they always do such a good job, I have to give them some public praise. We first discovered the

HOTEL MEDICI about 9 years ago, when we made our first independent visit to Florence.  It was January, and we'd requested a room on the 6th floor with a view of the Duomo.  Although it was too cold on that visit to sit on the terrace and enjoy the view, just opening the shutters and seeing the Duomo  - Giotto's bell tower and Brunelleschi's dome! - right there - almost close enough to touch, was magical. 

Although we've checked around for other hotels in Florence, we always seem to end up at the MEDICI.  For our most recent trip , which was a very impulsive, last-minute trip, I'd emailed to request a room on the 6th floor, but one around the corner from the Duomo.  I did this because the weather was still mild, and I knew there'd be people outside on the terrace, probably later than we'd want to be awake.  There's just no way to know who'll be on the terrace, or how noisy they'll be, so I figured it would be better to be around the corner where it was quieter. 

When we arrived at the hotel, Gabriele greeted us as old friends, as is his style.  He looked so sheepish and said to me "Do you believe it?"  I was puzzled - believe what?  What was he talking about?  After a long pause he finally continued - "Can you believe that the one room you DIDN'T want is the only one available?"   Because we'd made our request only a few days earlier, how could I complain?  As it turned out, the room he had for us was the very room we'd stayed in on our very first visit, the one at the very end of the terrace, closest to the Duomo.
 
In the last few years the hotel has undergone a complete renovation.  I asked Gabriele if they had added any rooms, not knowing if they had used all the floors previously, but he told me no, they still have 40 something rooms, but now, after the renovation, all but three are ensuite. 

We stopped by PEGNA on our way back to the hotel one afternoon, where they carry lots of British groceries.  I was hoping to find some cheddar cheese for a special treat, and I was in luck!  We bought a few slices of red wax cheddar, some goat cheese, crackers, and a bottle of red wine.  We hadn't brought a corkscrew with us, but the cashier at the checkout gladly opened our bottle for us!  They also have the smaller bottles of wine, as well as wine in a box. 

The HOTEL MEDICI includes a continental breakfast - coffee, tea or hot chocolate, juice, and rolls with butter and jam.  They also sell wine, water and soft drinks, and provide wine glasses, should you want to have a snack in your room or on the terrace. 

Like all hotels, the staff at the HOTEL MEDICI will be happy to make reservations for you at all the local museums, and to recommend restaurants.  They also speak several languages.  If you're every looking for a hotel in Florence with location, location, location, then the HOTEL MEDICI is the perfect choice.  When we stayed there in October our room, with ensuite bathroom and direct access to the terrace cost €80. 

FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!

Okay, I'm a foodie. I love food. I love to cook food, to eat food, to read about food, even to look at food. Because of this, no trip to Florence is complete without a visit to the Mercato Centrale, Florence's large, permanent market with fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, fish, preapred and packaged foods and restaurants. It's a food lover's paradise!

The ground floor of the Mercato features the restaurants and permanent food sellers, while upstairs are the fresh fruit and vegetable stands. The upstairs is currently being renovated, so the fruits and veggies are temporarily located in a huge tent right outside the mercato. Needless to say, I enjoyed looking at the seasonal foods like the porcini mushrooms.

Inside the food hall I saw foods and fish and meats that I was unfamiliar with, but which were gorgeous and interesting to look at none-the-less. While wandering the aisles I did see one familiar site: our good friend Judy Witts Francini, aka DIVINA CUCINA! (You can keep up with Judy on her blog, OVER A TUSCAN STOVE.)  Judy was explaining all about porcini to English chef GARY RHODES.   Chef Rhodes is apparently filming the standard 'travel around Italy to sample all the regional foods' shows, and the focus of that day's filming was porcini. 
 
After buying a few porcini for ourselves we stopped by BARONI’S, where they always have something interesting - and delicious.  Rumor has it that they sometimes have cheddar cheese, but I didn't see any that day, and since we'd already treated ourselves to a few slices the previous evening from PEGNA's just down the street from our hotel, I didn't need the fix.
 
If I lived in Florence I think my days would go like this:  head out to the Mercato Centrale in the morning.  Buy something different, somthing new, talk to the vendor about what the food and how to prepare it, then go home and spend the rest of the day cooking and searching the internet to learn more about my new food/ingredient.  In the evening I could take a passiagiata, get something simple for dinner like a gelato- and bask in the fact that I lived in Florence.  

FLORENCE: SANTA CROCE AND THE CAPELLE MEDICI

On our recent visit to Florence we were trying to visit some places we'd never been to, or places we hadn't been to in a long time. Santa Croce falls into the second category, and just recently someone told us that the church had been completely renovated and we should be sure to visit it the next time we were in Florence. I wish I could remember who told us this, because either they have Santa Croce confused with some other church, or maybe they thought it would be years before we re-visited Florence. Can you guess where this is going?

Things have changed since we were last at Santa Croce - now you have to pay an admission charge, and you enter thru a side door rather than the main door. LIttle did we know what else had changed.....
As we walked into the church I was expecting an "OH WOW!" moment, but what I got was an "oh dear..." moment. Scaffolding was EVERWHERE! the main altar was hidden somewhere under a wall of scaffolding,
and a closer look revealed people on platforms within the scaffolding doing their restoration work.  Who knows how many years this restoration might take, but at least the work is being done!  Just in case you're wondering, yes, photos are allowed inside the church.

Of course there were still many beautiful things to see in the church, including Michelangelo's tomb, several side altars and assorted chapels, as well as the outdoor space and the museum. 

Our long-overdue visit to the Medici Chapel was also quite a let-down.  I hesitate to say that it was a disappointment, because we did get to see part of it's splendor, but the overall effect was certainly dulled by all the scaffolding within the chapel itself.  We had been warned about the restoration by a large sign outside the entry, but it really hadn't prepared us for the extent of the restoration works, or how that first step into the chapel would be such a let-down, especially when you could just glimpse the spendors hidden behind the scaffolding. 

No pictures were allowed inside the Medici Chapel, so you'll have to take your chances when or if you go to Florence, or perhaps there are some websites that might show everything as it was meant to be. 

IN CORTONA FOR THE GIOSTRA DELL'ARCHIDADO

Last Tuesday, a holiday here in Italy, we drove to Cortona to see the Giostra dell'Archidado, a medieval crossbow tournament. Just as we arrived in the city this group, representing one neighborhood in Cortona, was marching into the main piazza.




Before the crossbow tournament began there was a demonstration of flag throwing, a medieval art that's been kept alive in many cities throughout Italy. Unfortunately I was at the back of the crowd and this is all I could see:




I'll publish a slideshow of all the pictures from that day shortly.

THE ADLER THERMAE SPA

Not far from Montalcino, the tiny village of BAGNO VIGNONI is home to thermal springs. What could be more decadently relaxing thatn soaking in the warm waters during the middle of winter? Although there are several hotels, surely none is more luxurious or over the top than the ADLER THERMAE SPA. We took a walk around the facilities, feeling slightly out of place...not rich enough or thin enough, but certainly appreciative of the views. Not bad, huh?

TUSCANY IN NOVEMBER

The shadows are long, and I couldn't resist playing with the colors on these pictures of LA FOCE. Can't you just imagine this as a field of poppies in May?






Gorgeous hills...






More photos photos on OUR FLICKR PAGE.

AGRITURISMO AIOLE

We recently joined friends at their favorite place to stay in Tuscany, the AGRITURISMO AIOLE, located just outside of Montalcino, and in the gorgeous Val d'Orcia. The setting is incredible, the rooms large and comfortable, but what makes this place really special is the people!

Our friends return to AGRITURISMO AIOLE year after year, and have developed a strong friendship with the owners, Paolo and Noella and their family. Not only is this the third time our friends have traveled to Italy to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with Noella and Paolo, they've also hosted Noella and Paolo when they visited the United States. Obviously this family is special, and now we understand!

Our double room was a large corner room with great views. We had a great night's sleep in the wrought iron bed, and our own ensuite bathroom. There are six double bedrooms, some large enough to accommodate a child or two, and if you have a large group you can rent out the entire facility which will also give you your own kitchen and living/dining room!

Although our friends Paul and Mer took care of most the the cooking for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner, Noella and her sister-in-law Cecilia are excellent cooks. Noella even gives cooking lessons if you're interested! If eating out is more your idea of a great vacation, Noella's sister owns one of the best restaurants in nearby Montalcino, Il GRAPPOLO BLU.

The pictures below are postcards of the agriturismo, and in the lower right hand corner you can see the room we stayed in. You know how much we love Umbria, but honestly, Tuscany's pretty special too, and the AGRITURISMO AIOLE would be at the top of our recommended list!