The Big Night

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Woke up under the Tuscan sun yesterday and today. It's cold and crisp but warms up in the afternoon. We have had our breakfast and enjoying the last hour at the villa before driving onward to Rome. It takes about 3 hours to the airport where we will drop our car off but we may stop one more town - Orvieto. We originally planned to go as far as Volterra yesterday but instead we slowed down the pace and shopped in the 3 closest hilltowns which all had something to offer. Pienza and Montaicino. Lots of cathedrals, shops, and a fortress which we explored. The rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves are beautiful. Warren shopped for a white wine for his cousin from San Gimignano and I bought a small wheel of pecorino and truffles to smuggle home. We made it back an hour before our cooking class.

What a fun night we had!!! We both spent 3 hours preparing dinner for the villa with the chef and his son. We also had a host who helped transulate. What a great experience but I wish I had studied more Italian. Nevertheless, we had so much fun and Warren did a great job. I took notes on the recipes, we have pics and a few video clips that I'll have to go through later. We made eggplant parmesan for an appetizer, home-made egg noodle pasta with ragu, chicken stuffed with bacon and carrots and cooked with broth and white wine, potatoes baked with more wine and rosemary, and panna cotta and berry sauce.

After dinner we kicked back our heals and socialized by the outdoor firepit. We met a guy and his son from Calgary, a German couple, and caught up with the Texans about their wine tour. Great fun but I could have done without the cigarettes.

Time to hit the road for Rome. pics of Tuscany later after we arrive and settle in tonight. Cheers friends, Warren and Tami.

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