Italy, The mini novella continues...

Okay, this is the last Italy post, I promise! We had such a wonderful week at Spannocchia that I can't help sharing a few more photos so that I can really remember everything about our trip.

We had the coolest little house on on the farm where we would relax in the evenings and during some of Anna's naps.

Here's a snap of our little farm house with two non-cooperative photo bombers in it!

Every day we made a fire, and either our fire building skills need work or that old beaut of a fireplace didn't draft very well, because when we came back, all of our stuff was smooooookey. It was totally worth it though!

One of the best parts about this place was that there was very little wifi on the property, so we let go of our devices and really embraced the farm life. There was so much to explore, it was just perfect.

We were there a week before the olive harvest and the farmers had just trimmed the trees. The olive branches provided hours of "nest" making and fun for Quinn and Anna. 

The kids were thrilled when they found a lady bug in their nest!

Kevin brought his trusty bike, and went on a daily ride exploring the hillside towns and soaking in the tuscan countryside.

Anna took a few rough falls at the beginning of the trip and her poor little face was pretty banged up during our stay, but this did not dampen her spirit, she had the most fun playing chase with the interns and farm dogs and following her brother around for many adventures.

I love this one of the two together, just look at that sisterly love and the brotherly tolerance. Ha!

Italy Part Two- Cooking at the Farm

A major highlight for me was taking a family cooking class with Loradona one of the cooks, who was born on the farm and has spent her life feeding the hungry workers and guests there. We made so much food, but learning to make gnocchi, and tiramisu was the most fun. Here are a few pictures of us in action.

Kevin learning to make his beloved gnocchi. Just look at that concentration.

Our kids love to cook, and Loradona let them do everything, so cool!

Loradona doesn't speak English and our Italian is not quite up to par, so one of the kitchen interns kindly translated for us. Quinn, upon hearing Loradona speak, immediately assumed that since she did not speak English she must speak French. Logical, since this is true for everyone in his world. During the class he jabbered on to Loradona in French and she replied to him in Italian and for the entire four hours, they had a perfect understanding of each other. It was amazing. From what I could tell most of their conversations went like this, (but I could be wrong since I don't speak French or Italian...)

Quinn in French- Can I have that cookie?
Loradona in Italian- Yes of course you can have that cookie, you're so cute you can have all the cookies. Here, give one to your sister too.
Quinn in French- Can I use that giant knife?
Loradona in Italian- Of course you can, all children should have giant knives. (hands him a knife)

During so much of the class I was amazed at Loradona's ease in the kitchen while preparing so many dishes at the same time. She moved seamlessly through all of them. In fact she has been cooking here for so long that when I asked how hot she had the oven for something, she said something like "about like this". After, the intern pointed out that the farm oven did not actually have a temperature gauge, so really everything she makes is "about like this".  She is truly a pro who has made it her life's work to bring people joy through her food.

The family style dinners each weeknight at the farm were a reflection of this when the thirty or forty guests and interns would join together to eat and talk about their day's and their lives. The dinners go on for hours, kids change seats and laps and fall asleep at the table to the happy sounds of new friends and families joining together. Loradona's food was truly part of the magic that seemed to permeate Spannocchia. We will always hold this experience close to our hearts.

Italy

This year during the kid's October break from school we packed our bags and headed to a farm! We really have enjoyed living in a little city during the last year, but thought that it was time to head to the country and get a taste of farm life. What a taste we got! This post is pretty long so I've broken it into two, good luck to all those who make it all the way to the end... After all, you know what they say about looking through other people's vacation photos..

We spent five nights at an agroturismo farm just outside of Siena in beautiful Tuscany, and it was truly an experience we will never forget. The farm, Tenuta di Spannocchia is a working farm dating back to the 12th century. We stayed in a rustic tenant cottage with a long history of sheltering hard working farm families under its roof. Look at that cool turret!

Our days were spent biking, tromping around the farm and gardens, eating delicious farm food, and "helping" the farm interns with their work. We did take a few day trips, but by far our best times as a family were spent at Spannocchia.

One afternoon we took a walk hoping to find an old church on the property.

While we never actually found the church, the country roads were a little tricky...

We did come across Spannocchia's heritage cows and pigs in two far away pastures and had a great time trying to get them to come over for a visit.

We also came across several groups of truffle hunters looking to spice up their evening meals and Quinn snapped this of their loot. I was hoping for a dinner invite...

 I think that day we walked about three miles around the property and Quinn walked the whole way most of the time carrying a giant dinosaur egg shaped rock with him. Somehow this rock made it all the way back to Switzerland with us.

We took lots of rest breaks and Anna had a nice nap, but it was hard to keep the little guy on solid ground with so many neat things to explore.

Back at the farm, Kevin and the kids had so much fun feeding and checking on the chickens and pigs. One day the pigs escaped and they bravely rounded them up and put them back into their pen. This was by far Quinn's favorite part of the trip, I hid behind a tree while the brave ones in the family got down and dirty with miss piggy and her friends!

Here are the hunters in action searching in the olive groves for lost pigs.

Apparently these little ladies are very "food motivated" and with a small handful of feed were easily coaxed back into their pen, I don't blame them.. after all who isn't "food motivated"?

I love Quinn's power stance above, and Kevin bravely showing his "farm" hands after the pig wrangling.

At last the ladies are safely back in their home.

One day we ventured off the farm and spent a great day showing the kids around one of our favorite Italian cities, Siena.

That Piazza del Campo is the best place for people watching, kid chasing, and gelato eating that I've ever been to, I could spend hours there.

This picture might be my favorite of the bunch because it shows the shear dedication and love that these two have for a good bowl of pasta. Mangia!

Another day we took a drive to the Abbey of San Galgano which is a massive skeleton of an old monastery, such a sight!

 While it has fallen into quite a lot of disrepair over the centuries, it's awe inspiring to walk inside this massive roofless building.

The Abbey was built as a tribute to Saint Galgano who gave up his violent early life for peace and solitude when he stuck his sword in a stone and the two became one. We hiked up the hill to have a look at the Italian sword in the stone and yup, it's still there..

While the sword was a fun story, the views, local wine and playground at the top of the hill piqued the interest of our group!

One of the perks of staying at Spannocchia was the farm box that arrived on our kitchen table at the beginning of our stay. It was so fun to cook with all the fresh vegetables and meats from the farm each day, we used their recipe book and made some terrific meals.

Oh Italy, take me back. I'll continue this lengthy vacation saga in another post so as they say...Arrivederci!