To follow my trip, photos, and journal from the first day, you can begin at Leaving Home and follow the links at the top of each post.

Sandino Galore at the Arno River in Firenze, in front of the Ponte Vecchio.

I just wrote a short research paper for my class, you know, the one that went to Italy? Turns out that we had to do something other than drink wine and eat heartily for credit. Bummer! Now I can get back to writing up my journal. Here’s part of my paper. The other part is…

Li vedrò questa estate. I will see you this summer. Domenica, 22 ottobre 2006 I arose early and took some final shots of the farm and the main buildings in the morning mist. We ate a quick breakfast and bid a sad goodbye to this wonderful place, boarding the same private bus that took us…

Saturday, 21 ottobre 2006 “It rarely rains in Siena…” ~ Rick Steves, Florence and Tuscany 2007 Guess we just got lucky! I kind of enjoyed the rain. It was the good drenching kind that gardeners and ducks appreciate, and it gave me a different perspective. When we arrived at Spannocchia, I noticed that it was…

Saturday, 21 ottobre 2006 This was our typical breakfast, except that breakfast this day featured bread baked by Stefano in the brick oven the day before. The granola is made after the last pizzas are baked in the brick oven on pizza nights, left in the warm oven overnight to bake. Here it is served…

Friday, 20 ottobre 2006 (Continued from A change in the weather.) Friday arrived still damp and threatening more rain. The agenda for the morning was baking with Stefano, a professional baker who took a day off to show us his artistry with dough and a wood burning brick oven. The first step was for Charlie…

Thursday, 19 ottobre 2006 (Continued from Working at Spannocchia) That afternoon brought a chilly drizzly rain. Sandino did a big load of laundry that morning, and since Spannocchia does not have a dryer, we ended up hanging damp clothes all over our room. These wouldn’t get dry until the morning we left. Debby led an…

Wednesday, 18 ottobre 2006 We returned to Spannocchia that evening, where it was pizza night. Pizza night was a big deal at Spannocchia, when the wood-burning brick oven was fired up that afternoon and interns dressed up a bit for the evening. We sang happy birthday to my friend Deb Bettini, who celebrated a big…

Wednesday, 18 ottobre 2006 San Gimignano is called the “medieval Manhattan” because of its many towers. It is one of the most beautiful Tuscan hill towns, making it a mecca for tourists. The city itself was lovely, but the views from it were absolutely stunning. Our bus parked near the bottom of the hill and…