Priestly



On the Corso, 30 Maggio, 2012

Even the priests look good here!

The History of Gelato

Bernardo Buontalenti

"Hard to know whether it was Ruggeri, the poultry dealer and amateur cook, or the fine artist Bernardo Buontalenti, but we do know that the origin of gelato can be traced back to Florence.  No research or essay on the origin of gelato could ignore the primary importance of the Tuscan city in the invention of gelato in the form that is closest to what we enjoy today. That was the era of the great inventions and the rebirth of art and culture, evidently in cuisine too: that’s the Renaissance.

The Gelato Mojito was yummy!

They were the first decades of the XVI century, according to the history books, when a poultry dealer and amateur cook named Ruggeri took part in a contest set up by the “Signori” of Florence, the Medici, on the theme: "the most peculiar dish ever seen". Ruggeri resorted to some old recipes to prepare a frozen dessert which immediately conquered the judges, who awarded him victory. The fame of its recipe of "sugary and scented water ice" spread all over Tuscany and when Catherine de' Medici, just fourteen, was about to move to France to marry Henry, Duke of Orleans and future King, she made it perfectly clear that Ruggeri should’ve followed her along with the best cooks of the family.

The Gelato Festival, in Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
13,000 kilos of gelato served; 220,000 cups used

In 1536 Bernardo Buontalenti was born in Florence. An eclectic and versatile artist, painter, sculptor, architect, scenographer, gunsmith, he was also in charge of the organization of the court parties for the Medici family.  Appointed by Cosimo I to supervise the set-up of the inaugural banquet at "Fortezza del Belvedere", in 1559 Buontalenti stunned the guests with a frozen cream made with milk, honey, egg yolk, just a sprinkle of wine, and flavoured with bergamot, lemon and orange.

An estimated 400,000 people visit the Gelato Festival.
That's pretty much everyone in Firenze.

Thus, if the Florentine art of gelato had been exported to France thanks to Catherine de' Medici, the delicious frozen dessert prepared by Buontalenti was introduced in Spain by some Medici’s Spanish guests who had enjoyed it in Florence. Thereby, in few decades Florence became renowned for being the cradle of gelato, laying the foundation for a tradition which still today boasts success in the culinary field."

The History of Gelato is compliments of the Firenze Gelato Festival, which owns copyright to the text above.

Bellagio - Part 2

A typical street in Bellagio

Day 2 in Bellagio was nice and relaxing, in large part because there is not a lot to do in Bellagio.  That’s what makes it such a perfect get-away destination – that, and the fact that it is stunningly beautiful everywhere you look.

The view, looking North

We walked to the very tip of the town to admire the alpine views. We had mid-morning cappuccini along the waterfront.  We strolled the streets and the shops. We had drinks on our hotel’s roof-top deck.  We ate lunch at a wonderful enoteca called Cava Turacciolo (cava in Italian is quarry or pit; turacciolo is a cork, or a stopper) where we sampled (naturally) the local wine and shared a big board of antipasti. 

I love the fact that you can drink anywhere in Italy - even in an elevator

On the Hotel du Lac rooftop deck

HELP! I've fallen and I can't get up.

On the Bellagio waterfront

Lunch at Cava Turacciolo

Our evening aperitivi was a bit of a tour of the local establishments.  It started out at our hotel for Happy Hour, proceeded to Livio’s bar for a single glass of prosecco, and then on to the stylish Princess Glam Bar & Restaurant for a cocktail.  We shared a couple of pizzas for dinner while sitting outside under the largest umbrella I’ve ever seen.  I can’t remember if there was wine involved with dinner, but I’m pretty sure there must have been. I do remember drinking about 5 litres of water!  Another ending to another perfect day.

Being Happy at Happy Hour

Glamming it up at Princess

Day 3 was an early start at the breakfast buffet at Hotel du Lac, followed by a morning stroll over a hill to the other side of Bellagio – a quaint little place called Pescallo. It afforded an entirely different view of Lago Como, so we sat with the ducks and had cappuccino at the local bar/hotel. 

On the way to Pescallo

We caught the 10:23 ferry to Como and I think it was safe to say we were all sad to be leaving.  We had time in Milano for a quick bite of lunch and by 16:30hrs we were home again.  Buzz and Lori were leaving early the next morning, so our final dinner together was at Obika (there’s one in Toronto at BCE Place) followed by a stroll through the 3^rd Annual Firenze Gelato Festival.

Pescallo

Of course, Gelato was invented here in Firenze during the Renaissance at the beginning of the 16^th century (read my blogpost “The History of Gelato”) and Italians, and others, have been making and eating it since.  We strolled through Piazza Santa Maria Novella, where there were about 28 gelato makers providing tastes of their singular creations (one flavour per “gelartiste”.) I can’t remember what flavour I had that night, but I know I went back several times during the weekend and tasted some truly amazing gelato!  Before we knew it, the night was over, as was their visit to bella Italia. We said our goodbyes early the next morning, and suddenly, the apartment was very quiet and still.  Quiet, that is, until my sisters arrive in mid-June!



With Lori, at Obika, in Firenze

Bellagio - Part 1

Every trip deserves a theme song. David and Geoffrey taught me that.  So for my Italian odyssey, as friend and colleague Kevin S likes to call this sojourn away, the theme song was Be Italian, from the musical Nine.

For the road trip to Montepulciano with Buzz and Lori, we listened to Diana Krall, but also a group called Manhattan Transfer.  It wasn’t a theme song, per se, but rather, theme music.  When I was a wee baby gay growing up in Ottawa in the late 1970’s, my best friend Patrick (Raef) Mikhail introduced me to Manhattan Transfer, and right then and there, I knew what kind of music I was going to listen to my whole life.

For the trip to Barcelona, there were not one, but two theme songs.  The first was a duet from 1987 with the late Freddie Mercury, of Queen fame, and opera diva Montserrat Caballé celebrating Barcelona and the 1988 Summer Olympics.

The second was also a duet from one of my favorite musicals, Company.

What to do about a theme song for a 3-day escape to Bellagio with Buzz and Lori?  Well, Bellagio is located on Lago Como, in the northern part of Italy.  The northern part of Italy is mountainous…and we were going to the Alps.  So…I started channelling Julie Andrews, and this became our official theme song for the voyage.  And what a wonderful voyage it was!

 

Getting to Bellagio was a bit like “Trains, Planes and Automobiles”, but with a substitution of planes for a boat.  A cab took us to Firenze’s main train station where we boarded the high speed train to Milano.  It was only Buzz and Lori’s second time a train, and while we didn’t quite reach 300km going to Milan, we certainly did on the return trip!  We changed trains in Milano for the city of Como, which also required a change of train’s en-route. 



Buzz and Lori, on the train to Bellagio

Our connection in Saronno was only 15 minutes, and we were gabbing on the platform and enjoying the warm weather and waiting for the train which didn’t come at the appointed time.  Trains in Italy are seldom late.  With a minute before we were supposed to leave, I said to Buzz & Lori, “I think that train over there is our train.”  Sure enough, we were waiting on the wrong platform, so we RAN to catch the correct train only to have it pull away as we reached the top of the stairs.  Luckily, service to Como is every 30 minutes, so we laughed it off and had a café in the station.  All the while I was kicking myself for having stood on the wrong platform. I should have known better.



Do we look like we missed the train?

Our third train was a real regionale, probably built in the 1970’s, and full of high school students, locals, and a few tourists heading north.  A double-track became a single track, and our ears started to pop as we climbed higher in elevation. 

A lakeside villa on Lago Como

With each break in the trees and around every curve, the snow-capped Alps grew larger.  I kept threatening to break-out in our theme song, but Lori said she’s throw me off the train if I started singing!  It’s a good thing I can’t sing.



Bellagio - lower right corner

Once in Como, we RAN to catch the high-speed ferry boat to Bellagio – with NO time to spare. We hopped aboard and the ferry departed for a lovely 40 minute ride up Lago Como to Bellagio. The scenery departing Como was beautiful enough, but once on the lake, it kept getting better and better.  We made 5 or 6 quick stops along the way, and once Bellagio was in view, Lori pointed and said, “That’s Bellagio over there!”  From a distance, it was a tiny monochromatic town of beige set against towering mountains of green.  If the Amalfi coast is a slice of heaven on the Mediterranean, Bellagio is a slice of heaven in the Alps!

Our lovely hotel was about 20 paces in front of the ferry dock (pontile) so finding our hotel was not a problem.  We checked in, admired the view and the rooms, and then headed out for a drink. It was a long voyage and we were all thirsty.



Arrival Drinks at San Remo, Bellagio

Two rounds of beer (Buzz and Lori) and half a litre of wine (me) later, we strolled up into town and stumbled across a lovely little bar.  There was an empty wine casket-cum-glass-topped-table in the front window, so we made ourselves comfortable.  We enjoyed some great antipasti, managed to drink two bottles of prosecco, and Lori found a new boyfriend-cum-barkeep called Livio.  Livio works 8 months of the year keeping bar, and spends the off-season travelling the world.  Tough work, but someone’s got to serve the tourists!



Lori and Livio

We regrouped for aperitivo at the bar at Hotel Florence and then dinner at a restaurant called Far Out, where I got to sample the local Lago Como fish, Lavarello.  It was yummy and the perfect ending to a long but satisfying day.

Smooching at Livio's bar

What's a day in Lago Como without a mention of George Clooney

Luxe

Luxe is both a noun, as in luxury or elegance, and an adjective, as in luxurious or deluxe.



Luxe is a simple dinner in my kitchen.

Luxe is a new wallet from the Prada outlet.

Luxe is waking up to this view from the villa.

Luxe is sharing my morning café/bar with the people I love.

Luxe is having time to sit and read.

Luxe is a roadside full of poppies.

Luxe is two nights at the Four Seasons Firenze

Luxe is having the Organic Lavander treatment
at the Four Seasons Spa. Actually, it was more than Luxe, it was BLISS!

Luxe is dinner at Cantina Barbagianni

Luxe is going to Bellagio

An Overnight in the Country

Buzz and Lori's Villa, outside Panzano

Buzz and Lori were with me exactly 24 hours before they jumped into their rented car and drove south for a week in Tuscany.  Their villa was just outside a town called Panzano – deep in the heart of Chianti country, and they invited me to join them for their final day/night to celebrate Lori’s birthday.  How could I say no?  Actually, I could not say no!

Buzz and Lori, in Montepulciano

So, I boarded a SITA bus one Friday morning and an hour later, I was in Panzano, having a cappuccino at a cute little bar and getting an insider tour of the village.  The destination for Lori’s birthday lunch was La Grotta in Montepulciano, a 2-hour drive south of Panzano.  Buzz drove; Lori navigated, and I sat in the back seat enjoying the beautiful countryside roll by.  Good thing I don’t get car sick ‘cause there were almost no straight parts on any of the roads we took!

Buzz and the birthday girl!

The birthday lunch was very nice, and La Grotta sits outside the walls of Montepulciano beside a beautiful church called San Biagio.  We sat in the garden and fêted Lori on her special day.  After eating the most scrumptious deserts, we walked up the hill and into town, which was surprisingly quiet for a Friday afternoon at 16:00hrs.  It was nice to re-visit Montepulciano after about 17 years, and like most things here – it hasn’t changed much.

Admiring the view in Montepulciano

 We headed back to Panzano taking the A1 autostrada, and it was not long before I was napping in the back seat.  We had a simple dinner and an early night, and left the next morning for Firenze.  On our way, we stopped in Greve-in-Chianti  to shop the local market (Saturday’s market day) and buy dinner.    It was a quick trip into the beautiful Tuscan countryside, and just the beginning of Buzz and Lori’s visit with me.

Dropping By for Dinner



Eric & Susan Storey, nella cucina, 16 Maggio, 2012.

I don't often have friends or acquaintances who are randomly in Firenze, but my colleague Susan Storey and her husband Eric were in Italy; they were at the Festival del Fundraising (Susan presented), and they were travelling through Firenze on their way from Venezia to Roma, and then home.  So, I did what any good alien resident would do, I invited them for dinner. I picked them up at their hotel, and we walked the now-familiar streets to my apartment. We had a lovely dinner of salmon and salad, and then we went for a long walk back to their hotel. It was fun having a colleague become a friend; meeting the husband; chatting about almost everything, and then showing off my adopted city.

Earthquake!

I got up this morning at 04:02 to have a pee, and went back to bed. I heard what sounded like a door opening, and I thought - OH, Buzz or Lori's up having a pee too. Buzz and Lori are staying with me.  I was lying on my back, when my bed started to shake. Odd, I thought, since I was alone in bed.  Then it shook some more, and then some more, and I thought to myself, this is an earthquake!  It stopped about a minute later, but it was strong enough to shake the closet doors, but thankfully, not damage the apartment.

I said to Lori first thing this morning, "Did you feel the earthquake?"  "No way!" she exclaimed, and we went online to find out what had happened. Sure enough, there was a magnitude 5.9 earthquake 36km north of Bologna. There is lots of damage near the epicentre, and 6 people were killed.  I am fine, and we are staying calm and carrying on! It was not great news to wake up to this morning.

Click Here for some pictures.

Tuscan Road Trip

Tom & Deanna, at Teatro Del Sale

Road trips are fun, especially when they are in the Tuscany!  And so it was two weeks ago when three dear friends and I piled into a Mercedes B200 and ventured forth to Montalcino, home of the famous Brunello di Montalcino wine.  The friends in question were Tom & Deanna, who were visiting me for 5 days before heading south to Amalfi, Calabria (to visit family), Sicilia, and then Basilicata and Pulia.  Roger W from New York City was already in Italy for a holiday with his husband Michael, and he finally arranged for the weekend in Firenze before heading to Switzerland for work.

Roger, at Teatro del Sale, Maggio 2012

Our sunny Saturday drive commenced about 09:00hrs when we left the city and headed south for Siena. We zipped along the autostrada, admiring the countryside, and landed in Siena 50 minutes later.  Like most towns and cities in Tuscany, Siena is not “car-friendly” but we managed to find a great parking spot about one block from the Il Campo – Siena’s main piazza and site of the annual Palio. After a washroom break and some café and dolce, we walked the ancient streets admiring the architecture, the shops, and the history that surrounded us.

The Three Muskateers, in Siena

 

Palazzo Pubblico (City Hall), Siena

Our next stop was San Giovanni in Poggio, a very tiny town south of Siena where Tom had arranged to meet the owners of a villa which was recently renovated into 5 apartments for rent.  The owners had done a first rate job on their property and the 360 degree hilltop views were spectacular. How to market the property was the question of the day and, quite naturally, we all had opinions about the answers.

A lovely bank, in Siena

The next stop was Montalcino, another hilltop Tuscan town, where we only had time for a quick lunch at a very local trattoria. Yummy food, great views, then back in the car for a 20 minute drive down into the valley to our final destination – the Castello Banfi wine estate.

Banfi's Enoteca

Until about 35 years ago, the region around Montalcino was poor and forgotten – that was until the Mariani family (wine importers from Long Island, NY) bought 7,000 acres, planted vines, and started making wine.  The rest, as they say, is history (read all about it by clicking here) and today Banfi produces some of the finest wines in Italy, which are exported around the world.  Through a long-time friend of Tom and Deanna’s, we had a private tour of the production facility and, naturally, got to taste some truly delicious wines in the enoteca. 

Castello Banfi

The tour was particularly interesting for me since it was my first one. Wine making is a bit like fundraising – lots of science, lots of process, but sometimes in the end, chance wins out and you’re just surprised with the results. Wine making is also very complex process and the number of variables that go into making a good wine is staggering.  It was fascinating to learn about the French oak caskets, how each casket is marked with the name of the forest where the oak comes from, the very important role nature plays in wine making, and how the final results are not known for many months (and sometimes many years) later.

Castello Banfi was the highlight of a spectacular Tuscan road trip, and I could not have done it without Tom & Deanna. Thank You!  The day was capped off by me making a funghi porcini risotto for dinner, and T&D packing for their early morning departure. We all crashed into bed early, happily exhausted from the day’s adventure. Such is the Tuscan road trip!

P.S. I would have taken more pictures, but my camera battery died on me.