On this morning, I had to get up and drive myself to the San Quirico pharmacy for another ‘tampona’ test. I’m required to test every 2 days for the green pass that allows me to take part in any indoor activities. Fernanda (the new helper at the farm) had made me a 9am appointment. I arrive at the pharmacy 10 minutes before they open, and really, the idea of an ‘appointment’ here seems like a stretch. Again, there are several Italians waiting out front of the pharmacy for the same test and no one is calling out appointment times.
My turn comes up and I’m required to go to a side door that is really like a little closet and sit on an upside down plastic bucket. The door closes, and I’m sitting there in this little enclosed holding area wondering. ‘How many additional germs am I exposing myself to in this moment? How many actual positive tested people have been in here today?’ It doesn’t make sense to me that I have to do this every other day – it seems like more risk to purposefully sit yourself in this environment every 48 hours. An old man that looks similar to Doc from Back to the Future, all decked out in hazmat gear approaches me with the little mascara tip of a swab and motions for me to tip my head back. My eyes water as he twirls it in the first nostril further than I expect, and then when he goes for the 2nd nostril, I instinctively draw my head back to help balance out how deep this test is going. He says, ‘no’ as in push my head back down, and so I do. It’s over in less than a minute, but still – the feeling of it in your nose stays with you long after the test.
I wait for my results and pay my 25 Euros and then I’m given the magic Green Pass that is good for another 2 days. After all this, I decide to treat myself to a cappuccino and a mini-croissant before I head back to the car. I enjoy each sip and each bite and ponder all the tests ahead this week and decide not to think about it too much.
As I walk back to the car, I am sharing the road (in this ancient hill town), with this 85yo man (at least) in a tiny stick shift car that he is revving up and trying to get what seems oriented with – he keeps starting and stopping. He is so close to me, I could reach out and stick my hand in his window. I think, how is he even driving around this place? It seems loaded with hazards. I watch him go through this a few times and then just like that, he gets moving and disappears in his tiny car between an archway, headed who knows where, but he seemed determined to get there. With that, I head back to car and return to the farmhouse.
Our group total is 14 (12 reunion folks and 2 new invitees – Heidi and Jeff). Prior to the week, we all selected our preferences on group activities. Pretty much everyone signed up for everything that was part of the ‘Dolce Vita’ (Sweet Life) package. You pay extra for the cost of this package, so you don’t want to miss any of it. The next activity would be at 11am. A hike, this time with Carlo, in the Val d’Orcia near Cretaiole.
As the time came closer to the hike, folks were opting out one-by-one, needing more rest that morning or wanting to do other things with their day. Heidi texts me, ‘So, would it be horrible if we skipped the hike today? I woke up with a sore throat and Jeff just wants to rest.’ I say, ‘Not horrible! Rest and take care of yourself. It’s your vacation, you should rest if you need rest.’ So they opted for that rest as they still weren’t quite sleeping well and now Heidi seemed to be catching something. I wasn’t surprised, a couple of folks showed up to our trip with head colds on Saturday night and odds were this was sure to be passed around given the lack of sleep, colder weather, and continued exposure to one another. I was hoping this would pass quickly for Heidi – as it does diminish things for you when you aren’t feeling well.
Five out of 14 of us showed up for the hike with Carlo at 11am. Given the full day of activities on Sunday, I wasn’t surprised. The freedom to join or not join the activities of the day is the beauty of a week that is curated for you, but that you can also opt in and out of as you feel you want/need to as the week goes on.
The hike with Carlo took about 2 hours and was on another beautiful day that started out misty and cloudy, even a little windy, but it eventually warmed up and the clouds parted. Carlo’s English isn’t as good as Isabella’s – it’s very limited. Even so, he is able to communicate just enough so you get the important take-aways about his property, adjacent property and his family’s history on the land. You feel a bit like you are walking around with Braveheart of the Val d’Orcia – a man of the earth, who could probably snap a wild boar in half with his bare hands and then proceed skin it, grill it or hand it over to his mother to turn it into a nice ragu for you as a pasta topping.
As we walk, he will pick at wild little plants or small berries and that grow on the plants. He describes these things that he picks, similar to how cave men talk (with the limited English). ‘This good. Small fruit. Skin here. Healing.’ Then he pops it in his mouth and keeps walking as if he expects us to also do the same. We just keep walking. I’m already potentially fighting what is likely a head-cold coming my way soon, I don’t need to add the ‘the backdoor trots’ to the list at this time.
He tells us about how it has been a really bad year with no rain and that much more rain is needed for good crops next year. He then shows us the clay that the wheat grows in explaining, it’s a 3x rotational process for planting because the earth is so thick. He does all of this in the cave-man talk, but somehow we are all tracking with him. He also told me at some point that he worries and wonders about the future of his family business. He has two sons, and hopes one of them will want to carry on the traditions of several centuries of the family farming business.
We make it back to the farm, and they have a little brunch all ready for us with pastries, champagne, orange juice, coffee, fruit salad, quiches, cheeses, meats, focaccia with tomato sauce. I think hmm, wow, nice way for me to completely counteract the benefit of 2 hours of hiking. Still, I find myself picking up a big croissant with a berry filling and some quiche and water. I’m not quite ready to start drinking. Tonight is the 7-course dinner at Andreucci. I did this last time and know it is the eating and drinking event of the week (including Thanksgiving – so THAT is saying something). We’ll be taken over to the winery in vans and leave a sea of wine glasses, like you’ve never seen before in your life, at the end of the night. Time to stick to a light touch on this round.
After the brunch, I went back to the room, built a fire and enjoyed the afternoon in my kitchen/living-area – doing some writing on my book and blogging. That’s one of the hardest parts of the week at the farm, to find time for writing. The schedule is so full, but this Monday afternoon was the perfect time and I know that in the future I will often think of this little cozy nook every time I want to write. There is a book marker that is a gift for the week. It says, ‘Real luxury is to have time, space, and silence.’ So there I sat that afternoon enjoying my time, space, and silence.
It wasn’t long before we were loading into two buses that were going to take us back to Andreucci winery for the 7-course wine/meal tasting. I remember this experience clearly from last time as a highlight of the trip. Not only the exquisite wines, I still can’t get out of my mind the lasagna the grandma made and hoped it would make a return appearance on the menu. Once we got there, they explained to us how the evening would roll out. I felt like we were at champion tournament for wine/food, listening to the rules of play, and we all were eagerly waiting at the starting line to get going. With a few explanations under way, it was time to take your marks, get set, go…..
Out rolled 7 tastings that they prepped on a table in the room. They prepped each wine tasting glass with an actual swirl of the wine to prep the glass. They wanted nothing but the wine to lace all sides of the glass. It was quite a process – like a chemist laboratory – with each tasting that we eagerly awaited in addition to the mini-courses of food that paired with each wine. We feasted on delicate appetizers atop bruschetta, a wonderful little creamy soup with croutons, gnocchi, lasagna (yay!), a small beef course with spinach and heavenly focaccia bread, a little chocolate ball, and finally tiramisu. I don’t have any idea where we all put it, but I’m thankful they were small portions – just a few bite tastings of each, which was perfect.
We headed back to the farm late – happy and with full stomachs. I may or may not also may have ordered a case of wine to send home. Already dreaming of menus now to share with friends as they taste these wines. I find as I get older – it’s experiences that I love to gift to friends vs. things. The experience of Italy is what I am most looking forward to sharing with friends when I return home. And well, that’s going to take some wine, lots of good wine.
