Onward to Radda
We stand waiting for our water taxi to come and take us to the train station- back to land with roads and cars- my metaphorical reality. We are off for the second leg of our journey- a group tour based out of Radda in Chianti, a town in the province of Siena in the region of Tuscany. I am breathless with anticipation at the same time that I am saddened to be leaving the city voted the most romantic in the world.
We board the train leaving Venice and head for Florence. The countryside is agricultural for the most part, and lovely. Soon though the greenery starts to give way to buildings and we near our next stop. We catch a taxi to the airport and meet up with our fellow travelers, eventually boarding a bus, leaving Florence and heading to our new home for the week. On our way we stop at a winery where we have lunch and are tutored by an Italian sommelier on the art of tasting and appreciating wine. We learn to smell (I learn the nose I currently sport is purely decoration as it is not at all functional when it comes to smelling wine), and how to taste (also my taste buds are only capable of picking out raspberries and pepper, which is great as long as I am tasting red wine and not white . . . sigh). It was fun though and the food was amazing. Wait- the food- so Ron and I are both somewhat undisciplined when it comes to eating when we are on our own, sans children- the steady whining of children complaining of hunger normally keep us in line on trips, but, on our own, we decline to coffee and once a day meals. This portion of the trip however, being set up by an outside party, we are at their gastronomical mercy. I have never eaten like this in my entire life- I am not kidding! Don’t get me wrong- I do like to eat, I just tend to get distracted, but when it’s done for you, handed to you and presented well . . . I weaken.
Eating is an art form in Italy. We all know that, or at least we think we do, but you never really understand it until you are there and doing it the way you are meant to when you are there. So our meals with the tour kind of resemble this menu- You begin with the Antipasti- the appetizer- which can be cheese and regional meats. Next is your Insalata- the salad- we ate Caprese salad- which was fresh mozzarella made from buffalo milk layered with fresh tomato slices and basil drizzled with olive oil. Next is the Primo- the first course- which can be either a risotto, soup or pasta. Up next is the Secondi- or what we would think of as the main course- the meat, poultry or fish. After this, or with this depending on your preference, is the Contorni- the vegetables. Don’t even think about missing out on the Dolce- the dessert- which can be anything from chocolate sin to fruit salad with cream. Did I happen to mention that you have likely consumed one if not two bottles of red wine by this time? Which means you are definitely ready for the after dinner coffee. Meals usually last for a couple of hours, which explains why restaurants don’t usually open at night until 8 p.m. Fortunately for me, I operate under the mindset that intercontinental calories just don’t count.
Okay so the wine tasting and lunch is over, we hop back on the bus and head for our hotel. We get there and it is everything that we thought it would be- rustic but modern, quaint with it’s cobblestone streets and little lane ways, but abuzz with life- don’t even think about stepping off of that sidewalk without looking both ways- twice!
We get to our room, have enough time to shower and change before we head downstairs for our pre-dinner cocktail. Dinner is served on an outside deck with wisteria climbing up the posts, overlooking an olive grove. Life is good!
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