Villa in Chianti

I'm sitting in bed on a lovely morning in Chianti.  It is slightly cooler up in this region as we are higher up in the hills.  The landscape has changed from rolling fields of crops to forests of oak, pine, and the trees that cork comes from (can't remember the name)... And vineyards.  Our home for the last two nights of our tour with Backroads is in this glorious villa with two horizon pools overlooking the hills of Chianti.  Sting is our next door neighbour with the villa next door, and by next door I mean a kilometre and a half away.  Dario said, "we might not see him, but he always leaves a message in a bottle for us."  Ah, tour guide humour.

It has been such a beautiful experience so far, though, I must admit that this introvert has had about as much human contact as I can handle.  So I am hiding in my room for another hour until our group cooking class, which I am so looking forward to... I just wish it were private!  Wherever you go, there you are... I wish I could leave my personality behind sometimes and call upon my inner social butterfly more easily.

The morning at the farm yesterday was so dreamy for me.  It is owned by a Swiss family who fled the cold winters of Switzerland 25 years ago to become farmers, a totally new venture for them.  They started with 4 sheep and have grown to 140 sheep, some goats, a couple of donkeys, a few chickens and two or three peacocks.  They produce gorgeous cheese.  Grow olives and grapes to produce organic olive oil and wine.  They grow wheat to make their own pasta for their restaurant.  And host tours every Sunday to supplement their income.  Farming is hard work and a financial struggle with weather, pests, predators and the market to battle.  They will try their luck with saffron, which can have great returns if all goes well.  Fingers crossed.

Ulysses (not his real name, but I've forgotten it and he said a lot of people call him Ulysses mistakenly, so it will work for the purpose of this entry) spoke with such passion about the hardships of farming and the deep connection food has to the land, environment, diet and well being of the animals on any given day.  When lambs are born, they stay with the mothers for four weeks, which is a huge investment in the happiness of the animals.  I love that.  He is willing to give up four weeks of milk from the ewes.... He described an arrangement with the animals, he gives them a good life, good nutrition, homeopathic care and they give him food or milk or wool.  He reminded me of Carmen and Glenn and their passion for organic, local food production.

They have just switched to machine milking, though Ulysses prefers the shepard's way... He would go out into the pasture, catch a sheep and hold it between his legs and milk it bending forward.  He described his strong back and showed us his muscular hands.  The kids can't do it.  This generation is soft.

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Off to make pasta and focaccia for lunch, then a leisurely afternoon by the pool and maybe a bike ride in the hills before our final group dinner tonight.