I am sure you can recognize the Rialto Bridge in Venice. What a beautiful city!! We walked for HOURS...but loved every minute of it. It was the most beautiful day to be out. Bought a few trinkets...did NOT buy as mask....yet. Since we are going to be back there on Friday, we decided to wait till then. Less to be shuffling around. But I am pretty sure we know the one we want!!! Hopefully it will still be there on Friday. 
A pic of us on the gondola. How fun was that??? I had told you the gondolier didn't sing. But enjoyed it anyway. Some of the bridges are so low and it had rained so much, he had to duck while going under a few of them. Ow!!...my aching back. Not an easy job....for sure!!!
We left Venice Sunday morning on our way to Florence about 2 1/2 hrs away. You know you are in Italy and especially Tuscany, when you see the vineyards from the highway! Look how big the branches are!! Those are some O-L-D grape vines. Scot now thinks he wants to grow grapes......in Austin, Texas. Ok...can't wait to see how that goes!
Ahhhhh... the rolling hills of Tuscany. What a beautiful place. Huge mountains...most with snow on them.....tunnels carved into the sides of these mountains. It is like a painting. The grass is green and the people are very friendly. Got to ride on the Autostrade. The Italian super highways. It's funny..with all the metric here...the 110 kmh we were doing seemed a lot faster than about 70mph!!!
Last night ....we decided to walk up the block as they were having a block party. Lots of street vendors. It was crowded. We were looking for a place to eat...silly us...most restaurants here don't even open till 7. It was 5:30. These Europeans sure do eat late!!! ;) We walked the block then decided to go back to the hotel and "wait it out" in the lounge. Scott had THE BEST Chianti wine. I didn't think I would ever like it...but this was wonderful. Obviously, the wicker covered bottles we see is not quite the same!! I loved the local white wine I tried. Guess we will be walking the "Italian wine" aisle in the stores more often! We decided to stay at the hotel and eat. Boy am I glad we did. I had the most wonderful dish.......Beef Baked in Chianti. Scott had fresh made Pasta with Boar. Wonderful. We spilt a dessert. Chocolate mousse layered in between crispy phyllo. YUM!!
So....the big day has arrived. We got up, had breakfast and headed out to drive to the Villa Pandolfini, where in the "Torre" of a 12th century castle.....we were to have our 5 hour Tuscany cooking class. Marizio, the instructor, met us in the kitchen where we learned...get this......we were the only ones in today's class!!! A private lesson!! We sat and had a cup of coffee and talked briefly about the day. Then... we were off an running.
The menu for the day!! We made 3 different toppings for crostini. One was a chicken liver pate. Not my fav...but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. See.. I made a promise to myself that this opportunity was a learning experience...and I would try EVERYTHING!! We made our own ravioli dough and filled it with spinach and ricotta. Now.. the next item...risotto with zucchini and fresh Parmesan cheese was to die for!! He then opened a bottle of red wine...cut each of us a hunk of the parm cheese, poured a little reduced balsamic vinegar over top and toasted our accomplishments so far!! (This was amazing, by the way...) But there was a lot of cooking still to do. We made a "bardo"... a veg broth that found it's way into just about every dish. Fried artichoke. Yup...you heard me....we quartered the hearts...soaked them in lemon infused water....breaded them and fried them. I loved it!!! We made a truly Tuscan dish with chicken thighs, caramelized onions and olives.... I will be making that one!! And for dessert we made a panna cotta, with a fresh strawberry/reduced balsamic vinegar syrup.The wine was a nice taste to sip on all day. Too bad it all had to end. Scott and I each got a cookbook..that thankfully all of these recipes are in...and an apron...PLUS memories to last a lifetime. So as my title implied....we are stuffed and VERY happy. Ill post more pics later in the week. I am beat. Time for bed. Going to tour downtown Florence tomorrow!! Then its off to Montepulciano!! Ciao!!
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