2nd Europe Entry & Easy Recipe

The days are so full and the evenings short, as we’ve been eating at 8:30 or 9pm, rather late for us. Lunches have been around 2:30 or 3:00 due to sightseeing and traveling. All is good. However, after a late dinner, I’m not up to blogging, so I keep putting it off.

We loved St. Paul de Vence in the mountains above Nice. It’s another medieval city, with all up and down pedestrian streets. We’ve been getting a real workout. We Floridians prefer flat terrains. Oh well, I guess it’s nice for a change. We liked St. Paul even more than Eze. Each has its own flavor and both are charming, but St. Paul had a whole plethora of art galleries with tons of bronzes, each shop showing totally different works, as well as other interesting art. That’s only one of the reasons for our preference.

Our next stop was Cinque Terre, a group of five medieval towns, south of Genoa, nestled into cliffs that go right down to the water. So, we were finally in Italy and were lucky in that the weather was beautiful and the sea relatively calm; so, we were able to travel to the towns by boat. Friends, who were at the wedding, had been to Cinque Terre before joining us in Switzerland, and couldn’t go by boat, due to rough seas; they traveled by train, short hops between the towns. It was great being out on the water. I had thought that we’d ride the train too, on the way back, but the timing was good for boat rides, so that’s what we opted for. It was so picturesque arriving by sea, seeing the buildings getting bigger and bigger with more details visible with each passing moment. Each town was so different as we approached. We took the boat to the furthest town, Riomaggiore and got off there. After walking the town and finding some natural suntan lotion, I had left mine in our room and I really needed some, we walked between  Riomaggiore and Manarola, the next town, along the cliffside on a walk called Via dell’ Amore, Lover's Lane. Going onward to the next town after exploring Manarola and having lunch, we took the ferry to the next town and thereafter.

We stayed near Bonassola, about 10 minutes from Levanto where we caught the ferry, only two nights and then went on to Lucca, the northern part of Tuscany. We loved Lucca, which has a walled medieval city, all on flat ground. Our kind of town. Yeah! We didn’t get the chance to explore as much as we wanted to, as part of our time was taken up working on our communications, phone and internet. We’ve decided to go back so we can browse around some more. That evening, we went to a concert at the greenhouse in the Botanical Gardens within the walled city. The singer sang in English and talked in Italian between songs; it was a bit strange but wonderful. We decided to stay in Lucca so we could get to Greve-in-Chianti, near where we are staying, for the Saturday market which was only open until 1PM. However, plans changed, as Lucca had an organic farmer’s market; so we stayed and went there instead, arriving in Montefiorella closer to 5pm than 1pm. We’re in a charming little one bedroom villa, attached to the owner’s home, a young family with a two year son. Lovely, warm, welcoming people; Simone’s father gave us gifts of small bottle of home made olive oil and gorgeous delicious tomatoes. We are smack in the middle of Tuscany, amongst olive trees and vineyards. I will be downloading my photos soon and hope to post a few so you can share the eye candy we’ve been enjoying.

Today we went to Panzano-in-Chianti, about 9 minutes away, for their farmer’s market, as I still wanted a few items. The produce is gorgeous and delicious. It's another delightful town and has a small triangular town square, where the market was held; the older part of the city is up a steep hill.

We are having difficulties with our internet connections and phones, so we’re off to Sienna tomorrow, Monday, to take care of it all. We don’t have internet service here at the villa, but we had bought an internet key, which was suppose fix that. It hasn’t. Hopefully, by tomorrow night, we will be set with communications the way we want them. Sienna was on our list of places to go, so it’s now first on that list. We plan an early start so we can sightsee too, as it’s an important medieval city to visit.

Did I mention all the wine and olive oil tasting places in each village or town, and in between them as well? I’m olive oiled out. We bought a bottle for cooking, a plain but fruity one for salads, and one with truffles in it for salads as well. All delicious. We could spend a fortune on olive oils! Art has enjoyed all the wine tastings. I’ve had a bit too. 

A fast recipe, originally from Denise, my dear friend (actually from her daughter-in-law, but I got it from Denise). It's perfect here in Italy with all the wonderful olives.

Olive Tapenade

1 jar Kalamata olives (always use good olives)

2-3 cloves garlic (or more to taste)

Olive oil

Put the olives and garlic in a food processor and as you're blending them, slowly add a bit of olive oil to smooth out the mixture. 

It's easy and delicious. I serve it with both gluten-free crackers and with veggies.