A Walk (and a Meal) to Remember

Monday, 6/20

We awoke before dawn and prepared for an early morning hike. By 6:30 we were gathering with other guests in front of the house to meet our guide. Though it was mighty early by vacation standards, Greg and I opted to take a three hour hike of the Val d'Orcia (Valley of the river Orcia). Why so early? Firstly because it gets hot later in the day, so the cool morning or the evening is the best time for a walk. Secondly because it is easier to spot animals in the early morning. We saw pheasant, crane, and the leavings of a porcupine (several quills littered our path). Mostly we saw impeccably beautiful landscapes. Our guide shared a wealth of information with us and even gave us a little booklet at the end of our hike to remember the adventure. It did turn out to be much more of a hike than a walk, up the hill, down the hill, repeat. Our guide was in his seventies, but set a very optimistic pace. We returned to our room to shower up and prepare for another extracurricular activity, a tour and vegetarian lunch at a local organic farm. After seeing the cheese kitchen, the sheep dog puppies, the ram, the donkeys, the chickens, the bees (this time in a wooden enclosure), the vegetable garden, the vineyards and so on...we sat down to our first true Italian lunch. We had been warned, so we paced ourselves through the salads consisting of fresh greens, marinated chickpeas, wilted chard, thin zucchini slices, barley salad, grilled eggplant, and tomato with mint, basil, and feta. Then came fresh ricotta, made that morning, still warm, with bread, olive oil, and vinegar all produced at the farm or another farm within the valley. Fritatta with eggs from the hens we had met only minutes ago and then pasta. No, not done yet, at least eight kinds of cheese including fresh, medium, and aged peccarino, goat cheese with vegetable ash, a creamy camberra, peppercorn and rosemary studded cheeses, and a very stinky but delicious variety, all served with amazing honey from the farm. Still not finito, chocolate chestnut cake and cappuccino with sheeps milk foam. Did I mention abundant local red and white wine, frequently passed around the table? After along post lunch chat under the veranda with guests, some of whom were veteran teachers of twenty and thirty plus years, we sleepily approached our cars for the trek back to the agriturismo, only to find a male peacock had fallen in love with his reflection in our Fiat. We quickly got in as he admired the front hubcap, but as Greg slowly pulled away, Mr. Peacock lurched at the driver side door, pecking and squawking. We managed to escape the love sick bird and made it back to the farm for an afternoon rest, which turned into a very long nap. After our huge lunchtime meal, we knew we were destined for a very light dinner. We headed off to the Co Op to pick up some basics. An interesting fact for those who have not traveled in Italy. When buying produce you must put on plastic gloves to select your fruit, then bag it, weigh it yourself and print a sticker from the scale that indicates your price. Another tidbit, you bag your own groceries after the checker rings them up. It is easy enough to learn these small cultural difference by watching the locals, but it makes a trip to the local grocer fun and unique. Tonight we finally got an internet connection and were able to post about our first two days here, we are hoping we can post again tomorrow. We ended up dining on cornflakes with milk and sliced fresh peaches around 9:00 in the evening. That was all we could manage after the epic lunch of a lifetime. (A view of Cretaiole from across the valley)