Last day in Rome

Sadly our last day here. Yesterday we visited a church to see Bernini's stunning some say erotic Ecstasy of St. Theresa. It was in a chapel which made it all the more amazing.



After lunch, we had a private tour of the Borghese art museum with Francesca who will complete her Ph.D. in art history in January. So many stunning works of art, especially the Bernini sculptures - my favourite being his beautiful Apollo and Daphne - see photo below. We had an excellent tour guide who added much commentary that enhanced the whole experience.



We visited two churches today. There is so much beautiful art in the Rome churches that one could spend months touring the almost 900 churches that exist within Rome. Before the churches however we toured through the Barberini Palazzo, home to a massive art collection. Here we are with our favorites - Carl with King Henry VIII by Hans Holbein and me with LaFornarina by Raphael.







Then on to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.





After that over to San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains) where a large crowd had gathered awaiting the 3pm opening. At 3 pm people began banging on the door - quite strange. The church claims it has the chains used to tie St Peter in his captivity by the Romans - see below. However the high point of the church is the sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo which was created for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Also took some photos of other funerary monuments in the church - some of a more macabre nature, as you can see below.












Then back to the hotel to pack followed by a pizza dinner at a nearby restaurant. Sad to leave Rome. It truly is the eternal city.

Arriverderci Roma!


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Sistine Chapel and Vatican Tour

One of my favourite experiences in Rome is being in the Sistine Chapel, but in the past that has not always been very enjoyable. Massive crowds and guards yelling "silenzia!" do not allow for much peaceful reflection on Michelangelo's masterpiece. So to counter all that we booked a private tour that takes place after the Chapel has closed. Expensive but definitely worth it. We had an excellent guide who took us on a 2 hour tour of all the Vatican museum treasures and then brought us into the Chapel for 45 minutes with absolutely no one else there ! The guide explained all the wall frescoes and the entire ceiling. What can i say, a once in a lifetime experience.

Today we visited the Caracalla Baths - enormous Roman baths built around 200 AD and now nothing but magnificent ruins. Fascinating to tour through, and even though now only ruins, you get a real sense of life in Ancient Rome.










We also visited Trajan's Column near the Forum. A marble column commissioned by the Roman Emperor Trajan beautifully carved, depicting Roman battles against the Barbarians.









Statue of an angel on one of the many bridges spanning the Tiber river.


A view of the Tiber river.

Delicious dinner tonight at L'Arcangelo restaurant in the Prati. Definitely recommend to anyone coming to Rome.

Beautiful weather continues here.

Ciao for now.

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Rome

Two glorious days so far in Rome. We're staying in the Prati district very close to the Vatican. On Sunday we did a whirlwind tour of three churches to view some Caravaggio paintings. The churches close at 12:30 until 4:30 so we had to move quickly. At Santa Maria di Popolo we saw The Conversion of St Paul and the Crucifixion of St Peter. Then on to Sant'Agostino to see his Madonna di Loreto, and finally the dazzling St Matthew cycle at San Luigi di Francesi.






It's impressive to see these paintings in the churches for which they were commissioned instead of viewed in museums.

We've walked several kilometres around the city visiting many of these familiar Roman sights.




Castel Sant Angelo on the Tiber river.



The Colesseum


Looking toward St Peter's.


The two identical Santa Maria churches at Piazza di Santa Maria di Popolo.




Strange looking fountain we encountered while walking around.


The famous fountain at Piazza Navona.



Inside the Pantheon.

Had a wonderful dinner at Trattoria dal Cesare's - we were the only non-locals there- delicious Roman cooking. And of course there are the daily gelatos-they are impossible to resist.

Weather very hot here. This is the summer we never had in Toronto!

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Last day in Tuscany :-(

We're having a fantastic time here...both cooking and getting to know the people on our cooking team - they're a lot of fun. This morning we visited the Agriturismo Belagaggio, a beautiful farm, where we cooked with 3 very talented women from the same family - the grandmother Ada, her daughter Antonella, and Antonella's daughter, Gloria. We made fiori di zucca (zucchini flowers in batter deep fried and filled with melted mozzarella and a single anchovy), pasta al forna (essentially lasagna with the most delicious meat sauce) and tiramisu - all delicious of course. Here are some photos of the little house used only for baking pizzas. That's quite a fire they have going in that building.






Here are three of my fellow cooks getting the pizzas to the oven.


Here's a view from their farm looking out toward the village of Montefollonico nestled on the hill.


While we cooked all those delicious dishes Carl and Alec visited two wineries Avignonesi and Palazzo Vecchio. Both agreed the wineries were "top rate ".









After lunch we headed to the Regale winery for a wine tasting with the owner Flavio Andreucci. The winery has been in his family for over 300 years and he showed us a bill of sale his family made to Napoleon. Flavio provided us with several glasses of his wines and then took us through many hilarious stories of his travels in the USA.



Flavio owns an enormous Mastiff dog with gorgeous fur. I had to have a photo with him.


Tonight is the farewell dinner. I will post all the details tomorrow. Then on to Rome for a week.
Ciao!


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More blissful moments in Tuscany

This week in Tuscany has been perfect. Every morning we meet with the women from the village to learn their cooking techniques and cook up the most delicious lunches Today we made eggplant parmaggiano, ribollito soup, roast pork and panna cotto for dessert...and this is just for lunch! Here are a few of the cooks.



On Monday evening we dined at La Porta ristorante in Monticchiello which was excellent. Here is a photo of our group at the restaurant.


On Wednesday we spent the day in the historic city of Siena. As you can see from these photos, just a beautiful city to tour around.









Visited the Siena cathedral - one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Built in white and dark green marble - a very unusual striped appearance. Here are some pics from both inside and out of the cathedral.






The Il Campo in Siena where the famous Palio horse race is held each year.




Here's our tour bus that takes us all around Tuscany.



Does anyone remember the scene from Gladiator where Russell Crowe is reunited with his wife? Here's where it was shot.



And here are more scenes from Tuscany that need no further description.









Ciao for now!

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Tuscany!

We flew from Dublin to Rome last Sat. On Friday night we were out at a wonderful restaurant in Dublin, Trocadero, with Richard, Niall, Carina, Petrina and Mom. Didn't get back to our hotel room until 1:30am and we had to get up at 4am for a 7am flight. After our week in Ireland our livers need detoxifying - had a great time but, my God, it was exhausting!

Met our friends Jennifer and Alec at the Rome airport and now we're in the lovely Tuscan town of Montefollonico - a small medieval hilltop town. The cooking school is located here. The scenery is just stunning!















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Needless to say we are being fed constantly here at the cooking school which is situated in a 300 year old farmhouse and operates out of a Michelin starred restaurant, La Chiusa....the food is excellent...wonderful people running the school. The classes are a combination of observation and participation...you can be hands on as much as you want. Learned today to make ravioli and "pici" - the local Tuscan noodle. Every meal is 4 courses so it will be impossible not to put on a few pounds here. Yesterday Carl and I walked from Montepulciano to Montefollonico - a distance of 7 kilometres, all in an effort to burn off a few calories. Weather here is perfect. Apparently it rained everyday last week.

Each night we dine at a different local restaurant. Last night was 13 Gobbi and tonight was La Porta in the charming town of Monticiello. Carl and Alec are off on a wine tour tomorrow while we cook up another delicious lunch. Life is pretty good here.

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