Tuscany

Buongiorno. Today, I am sharing our trip to Tuscany (Warning: picture overload!) and I am glad you are here.

    Tuscany is celebrated for its breathtaking natural beauty. The simplicity of the land dense with olive groves and vineyards, cypress, and pine was thrilling. The beautiful views of the lush valleys evoked a sense of tranquility and awe.

. This view is from our nontraditional hotel L'Olmo which is near Pienza, a walled hilltop town in Tuscany. 

Our hotel was surrounded on all sides by rolling hills. Search L'Olmo, Localita Monticchiello on Google Earth and you can see the vast rolling hills surrounding it.

Hurray for modern technology. This is a screenshot from Google Earth of L'Olmo.

L'Olmo is a converted stone farmhouse, circa 1600, with a courtyard terrace and an outdoor pool.

When we arrived at L'Olmo there were storm clouds on the horizon. 

A view of the fertile fields surrounding L'Olmo, where semolina wheat is grown.

This is a zoomed-in picture of the hilltop town, Pienza that you could see in the distance from our hotel. It is very hard to get a good picture from a moving car on the curvy roads.

Another view of Pienza.

Our bedroom at L'Olmo.

We were surprised but pleased the staff offered to serve our dinner in our room our first night. Our breakfasts were served outside under the arbor near the pool area. The staff went beyond the call of duty to ensure we all felt safe.

The spacious rooms were lovely view and had a great view from the second story.

Antipasti-

Tagliata al Rosmarino/Tagliata Beef with Rosemary
I  remember the meal being delicious and must have stopped taking pictures after this course because I don't have any other pictures of the meal. Italian menus include:
 Antipasi/Appetizers Primi Piatti/First CoursesSecond Piatti/Second CoursesContorni/Side Dishes  Desserts
 But for us, that is too much food. Often we shared courses or skipped a course. You can find L'Olmo's menu here: www.olmopienzaIf you are interested you can search their Instagram page at olmopienza. Their pictures are fabulous showing the different seasons.

The sunset from our room was glorious.

This iconic farmhouse on the hill viewed from our window was beautiful at any time of day but especially as the sun set.

Italian breakfast (prima colazione) under the arbor.

On our first day, we visited two wineries and an organic farm and restaurant called Podere Il Casale.
This link has beautiful photos from Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/podereilcasale.pienza/ This is an aerial view from a drone that shows the extraordinary view.They add videos often so scroll down their site to see more videos.

Instagram link is here which is also intriguing. Since I've been home from this trip I realized I could have prepared more before the trip using Instagram sites and Facebook sites. All hotels and venus have them now. 

This picture does not do the beautiful view justice. This panoramic view is stunning of the Val d 'Orcia valley. When we were there in September the fields had been recently plowed ready for a new crop of wheat. I can just imagine how beautiful this is to see miles of golden wheat growing. 

Our lunch of different cheeses and organic tomatoes, all processed and grown on-site at Podere ll Casale.

We could not resist buying this cookbook from Podere II Casale. It tells about the owner's dream thirty years ago of growing their own food organically and sharing it with others. Sandra and Ulisse have raised five boys on this podere(Italian for farm) and have fulfilled their dream and more. 

The yummy chocolate pistachio cannoli along with an expresso ended a fabulous lunch. The expresso was so good we bought a bag of their organic beans to bring home.

Use your imagination here because the picture doesn't do justice to the venue.  Beyond the canopy is a  view beyond words. 

Our host and guide, the unforgettable Sandra, explained how her famous pecorino cheeses are made. 

 

Cypress trees line the road near Monticchiello, Tuscany. 

The hilltop towns of Pienza, Montepulciano, and Monticchiello were near L'Olmo where we stayed in Tuscany. These hilltop towns date back to the 1500's.


Tuscany Dolce Vita- Link to Rick Steves Tuscany on YouTube - This is a fabulous overview of Tuscany. A must-see. ( click on the link and then click again on next prompt)

Gelato in Pienza.

We missed the opportunity to visit La Foce Gardens because it was rented out for a private party. I was very disappointed but I have recently ordered this book in the English version. I can't wait for it to arrive.

Our travel agent, Destination Europe, does a tremendous job of finding great hotels and tours. This is our Italian guide and driver Chiara from Montalcino Wine Tours. We finally got to see each other's faces after mask-wearing all day. This is the fifth trip Destination Europe has assisted us with travel plans and we highly recommend them. Thank you, Kayla and Sarah.

The grapes were almost ready for harvest.

This was a family-owned winery that has been in the same family for generations.

Pienza region is famous for its Vino Nobile. 

This was a gorgeous view of the vineyards of La Berne winery through the window inside the tasting rooms. The owners are delightful and so interesting. Again the picture does not do it justice.

We also toured Croce Difebo in Montipulciano. It is an organic vineyard and they work very hard. They do not use chemicals on their vines. Particular care is taken to prune the vines and grapes for a better harvest. 

Monticchiello- La Porta Osteria

Stunning sunset.

Our dinner at La Porta in Monticcheillo was delicious and the view on the balcony overlooking the rolling hills and sunset was memorable. 

When we explored Montepulciano, I had the best dish of the whole trip.

It was tagliatelle ragu with black garlic. I would love to have the recipe. Have you heard of black garlic?

A pasta-making lesson would be extremely fun.

Grazie Mille for staying with me reading this long blog post! There was so much more!

I always learn more about the region I have just visited when I get back home and prepare a blog post. Is that true for everyone? Seems like I never research enough before we go.  I just googled Val'd Orcia and found beautiful pictures of the different seasons. You might want to check that out also.

Ciao,  🇮🇹

Fall Has Arrived

Fall has arrived! The leaves are falling, cooler mornings are enjoyable, and fall wildflowers like goldenrod are blooming. Spider lilies, sasanqua's, and mums are blooming in my garden. The stores are full of pumpkins, gourds, and mums of all types. The fall smells of pumpkin bread baking and hot apple cider make me know sweater weather is coming.  I set a fall harvest table for two on my patio today.

I love seeing goldenrod bloom in the fall. I decided to cut some for a centerpiece and it has held up extremely well. Goldenrod was the state flower when I was a little girl. It graces the roadsides and adds that golden color to the fall landscape.

The camellia is now Alabama's state flower.

The two antique chairs have been in my husband's family and are now passed down to us. I rather like them with my fall table.

I only bought two of these pumpkin plates a few years ago for a table for my granddaughter and me.  I have been mad at myself since then for not buying more. I haven't been able to find them again. 

The pear and apple napkin rings fit perfectly with my fall harvest table. I think of making pear preserves in the fall and remember fondly my friend's family making apple butter.

This is the table my granddaughter and I enjoyed several years ago.  See post here.

A few velvet pumpkins, dried corn, and bittersweet add texture and contrast to the shiny copper pitcher holding the goldenrod flowers.

The plates were purchased from Wal Mart and are no longer available. Please let me know if you see these plates available anywhere. On the back of the plate, it says -Way to Celebrate Stoneware.
Table Sources:
Floral tablecloth-Home Goods Rattan placemats- Pier 1 years ago.Gold flatware-Hobby LobbyVintage napkinsFruit napkin holders belonged to my MILGold Fostoria glasses -VintageCopper Pitcher-TJMaxx
What are your favorite scents and foods that say fall to you?My husband and I have been traveling and had a fabulous trip celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary. I hope to show you some pictures of our trip soon.

Have a lovely week. 🌻🍁🌻

Catching Up

I hope your summer has been nice. It has passed too quickly. Yes, I have been away from blogging with no explanation. I am sorry I had some issues so I needed to take a break. I have missed so many of your posts but I hope you will understand why I have been absent.
 So glad my hydrangeas bloomed this year. I did not have the usual amount of flowers but so much better this year than last year. All of the pictures I have included in this post were made before my bout with fatigue.

My theme for this tablescape was From the Sea. The tablecloth has a sea motif with sea horses and coral designs. The napkin rings are shells and the dish under the centerpiece is a fish. 

It was exciting to fill three buckets of hydrangeas that inspired the tablescape above. After several years of just a few blooms, it was encouraging to have enough flowers to arrange.

My gardenias did well this year also.  I rooted this bush and three others about the same size. They have grown so fast!

Since I had blooms in my garden I had to play with a tablescape and vignettes using my blooms and milk glass pieces. Don't you love this tablecloth? My friend, Rita, from Panoply, gifted this cloth to me and the milk glass cake plate when she downsized and purged her collections a few years ago.

This was a sunset through the trees in my neighbor's yard.  It was especially striking and I enjoyed taking pictures.I just returned from a great week with family at St George Island in Florida. The sunrises, sunsets, and starry nights were incredible. I hope to share some of those shots in another post. Have a great week and stay safe. All of those suffering from COVID are in my prayers. So many are sick and I know many of them in our town. Our county has a very high infection rate. My prayers are also with the medical personnel caring for so many sick people.

Patriotic Table by the Pond

Welcome to a Summer Tablescape Blog Hop today with 
Rita@Panoply at the helm. Welcome and thank you Rita for organizing this new season of tablescape hops.

Links to participant's tablescapes are at the bottom of this post. Please stop by and leave them a comment.

Summer officially begins June 20th but it seems like it has already begun. The fourth of July is just around the corner being a few weeks away. I set a patriotic table by a pond in our neighborhood. It is a simple table and easily put together. For a picnic, paper plates are always appropriate, too. The Fourth of July celebrates the birth of our nation.  It celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4,1776. It declared independence from Great Britain.

Afternoon Tea in Texas

Afternoon tea was introduced in 1840, in England, by Duchess Anna of Bedford. The Duchess would become hungry around four in the afternoon. Her evening meal would not be served until eight p.m. which is a long time between lunch and dinner.  The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter, and cake be bought to her room late in the afternoon. This became a habit and she began inviting friends to join her. 

Landscaping Project

April and May have been busy months in my garden.
For a number of years, our centipede grass has been declining due to shade and mole problems.  In April, we sought professional help with a landscaping project and replaced our damaged grass with zoysia grass which is more suitable for shade. I am especially proud of my new brick paver walkways. Today's post shows before and after pictures and the amazing transformation.

Very sad!

We have cut a lot of trees and replaced the centipede grass several times, to no avail. Finally, I knew we had to replace the damaged grass with zoysia.

Brick pavers standing ready for the walkways.

A huge trailer was filled with the old grass and hauled away. The area was leveled out better and preparation made for the new sod.

Paths were dug out for the walkways. Improvements were made for better water flow.

I was amazed it took five men only five days to complete the project.

Before

After

The pea gravel and crushed granite is a neater look and doesn't have to be replaced like pine straw. 

What do you think of the transformation?

I am enjoying the new walkways and having grass again. It has greened up nicely since these pictures were made. 

This is my happy place, tablescaping in my hydrangea garden.