Christina Cup XII - Chiusi / Sarteano in Tuscany, Italy
- jcapurro1
- Jun 7
- 20 min read
Updated: Jun 29
I know, my faithful friends and readers are wondering why I didn't finish the last blog! I will, I promise and will also add a quick note about the family's quick jaunt to Las Vegas!
Meanwhile, we leave tomorrow for a gathering of eighteen family members, more and less, during a three-week stay at Le Buche Villa Wine Estate in Sarteano. This is a beautiful property in the province of Sienna, atop a hill in the midst of vineyards. We will be drinking lots of wonderful wines . . . Montepulciano, here we come!!!
Monday, June 8 - SFO to Rome - Tuesday, June 8
Well, we began with a challenging morning. We usually travel with the "family" dog, actually belonging to Rose and Stephen. He was with us on our last jaunt to Italy. Those of you who have travelled with dogs to foreign countries know that you cannot apply for the proper papers more than ten days prior to departure. Rose did that, with a promise from the authorities that her papers would arrive by last Saturday. Well . . . . they didn't . . . . FedEx promised but didn't deliver. So at the last minute, Rose arranged with a friend to take Aristotle. We are all bummed that we had to leave him behind.
So, on to the airport. Upgraded Alex to business class - he was the only grand traveling with us. His seat would not recline, but he did have a great meal. ITA airlines had a very gracious crew, and the food was quite tasty. It is already in the works to get a refund on his upgrade. Nice if that works!
Flight delayed almost two hours, time made up enflight so that we arrived in Rome only about an hour late. Sofia's flight from Austin was also delayed - three hours, so she missed her connection. American Airlines rebooked her in New York and sent her to London, and then a connection to Rome. She arrived only an hour and half after our flight landed, but her baggage never made it.
Trent, traveling from Phoenix, was awaiting our arrival at the Rome airport. My brother, Ray and Debbie, and niece, Laurie were due in at around the same time as we. Soon we were all in separate cars finding our way to Sarteano, about a two hour drive from the airport.
Our problem, John's car, was being able to find our way out of the car rental facility and press the right button to lift the bar so our car could go through. We followed all instruction, but after John got out of the car and went back to the office, we were told to try again. Apparently, the lady who was to answer our query at the gate, was off eating ravioli!!
What a beautiful setting, this thirteen bedroom (each with its own bath), Ville Le Buche Wine Estate. Surrounded by old olive trees, cypress, grape vines, we are instantly transported to the gracious life style of Tuscany. It was time to open the wine and rejoice at our good fortune being together in such a beautiful environment.
John and Sandi made a quick trip to the grocery store for the bare necessities. Tomorrow we will make a huge grocery run. Meanwhile, they arrived back with delicious cold cuts, fresh bread and cheeses. That was our dinner (with lots of wine!)
One more late arrival this evening - McKenna coming in from San Diego. Because of the late hour I arranged a Blacklane pickup for her at the Florence airport, and believe she arrived a little after midnight. I didn't last to greet her, but some of the others played cards, drank wine and visited until the wee hours of the morning.
Wednesday, June 10 - Villa Le Buche Wine Estate and Spa
Everyone is sleeping in this a.m. - 'cept for me! Was awake at 4:30, and watched the sun come up.
A couple of us went in to Sarteano to shop some grocery necessities. It's so much fun, and most interesting to grocery shop here. Always lot of veggies and fruits, and the meat (particularly the veal) is divine!!! I found Italian string beans, which Adolfo and I used to grow. Can't seem to find them in our grocery stores at home. I should try the farmer's market in Marin. At any rate, those beans are going to be the center piece for dinner I'm cooking tomorrow night.
We kept dinner very simple tonight - a huge salad with veggies, and grilled chicken and Italian sausages. Delicious! . . . and lots of wine . . . Next time we use the grill, will take photos. It's most interesting!
Thursday, June 11
Some of us are off to sight see. Believe Montepulciano is on the list. Others are staying put, using the pool. I, along with Debbie and Ray decided to try a grocery store in Chiusi. It was okay, but still not the kind of large store I wanted. We loaded up anyway. This group is going through cold cuts and fresh bread for lunches at record speed!
Prior to our trip I did some searching for the best pasta brands in Italy, and luckily found one on my list today - Voiella. These particular cuts were small mostaciolli pastas, and would be perfect for my cooking today.
The Italian string beans, brought to mind what my mother used to cook often. It is a Genovese dish with pasta, Italian string beans and boiled potatoes, all tossed together with basil pesto. Had some help from Debbie and Ray prepping the beans and peeling potatoes. Had bought some fresh basil at the market, and supplemented that with basil picked outside the kitchen door!!! The pesto, which I extended with some fresh cream, was so delicious. I didn't take a photo, though, so guess I'll have to make it again before we return home. If I can find those beans again . . .
An added plus for this vacation is that my friend, Elin from Toronto, has a home within thirty minutes of our villa. When she learned we were coming, she changed her return to Canada on Monday. She will be joining us for dinner on the next three evenings. It is wonderful having this visit. We are only sorry that her husband, Pete, had to return home on June 8 - the day we were arriving.
Before we ate dinner, the Le Buche Wine Estate arranged a wine tour for us, followed by a tasting. All we had to do was walk down the hill to the winery and tasting room. Such fun, and an opportunity to taste all of the wines we haven't opened yet. More on the Olivi wines here later in the blog.
Friday, June 12
Christina Cup competition begins today. First up in the cooking are Team Mona Lisa, Trentino and Raimondo. Will be certain to take photos of all the good food.
Had a wonderful morning around the pool, made some tomato and basil concoction for french (Italian) bread, like a bruschetta but didn't toast the bread, had a 45-minute nap, and am now blogging. Such a wonderful day so far . . . .
Team Mona Lisa is busy in the kitchen.
Delicious dinner of veal and chicken Marsala, roasted potatoes with herbs, and an assortment of wines which I forgot to photograph! All delicious, followed by a beautiful and traditional Tiramisu that was the best! I'm not a fan of that dessert, but this was light and wonderful after our dinner.
Before I go on to the next day, a word or two about this kitchen. Totally stainless steel, this is a commercial kitchen. We are all on a learning curve, as we investigate the right buttons to switch prior to cooking, and prior to using the gas side of the stove - the main burners being the usual glass top electric variety , converting celsius to fahrenheit, and trying to find the proper pots, cooking utensils, etc.
Missing for us in this kitchen are some large platters and bowls, as we are used to making our cooking presentations as pretty as possible. So, we have changed the rules. The presentations will be rustic, serving right out of the pots and pans. How else to do this cooking for sixteen people?!?!?!
Saturday, June 13
Elin is leaving for Toronto on Monday, so today will be the last day we will have her company. She has invited us over to see her Italian home. Six of us arrived there to be greeted with glasses of bubbly, and a board of meats and cheeses. We toured this delightful house, and enjoyed the views of more vineyards, olive groves and a lake in the distance.
The house has quite a history. It was bombed during World War II, and the largest home in the neighborhood was taken over for Nazi headquarters, because of its grandeur and the views all around. Elin's home was original built in the early 1800's, and was an abandoned property when she bought it. The book of photos showing before, during and after rehabilitation is quite remarkable, and the finished gem is wonderful. Thank you, Elin, for your hospitality!!
Jet lag hit us today, and we decided to go back to the villa for a very little rest and then meet Elin in Chiusi for dinner.
Plans changed today when Laurie announced that she had five tickets for a rock concert near Bologna. So, off they went - Laurie, Daniel, Sofia, Trent and Alex. They trained to Florence to spend a few hours before getting back on the train to Bologna. Duane joined them for Florence - then he came on back to Ville Le Buche. The kids continued on to a rock concert featuring A Perfect Circle - don't know them! Kids overnighted in Bologna.
We arrived at the chosen pizza restaurant in Chiusi to find they had a sign on the door - they were closed for two weeks! After choosing another bar/restaurant for a cocktail, Stefano found a good restaurant within walking distance, and we adjourned to Restorante Tartare.
Had a good meal of some different pastas. But the highlight of the meal for me was what they designated as Artichoke Souffle - not in fact a souffle, but more of an individual terrine.
I messed up not taking a photo, but it was delicious. And a pistacchio souffle for dessert - again no photo. Blame it on too much wine!!
Ray's risotto was beautiful, and he loved it!
While we were having cocktails prior to dinner, took a photo of the group. Everyone burst out laughing, until I realized because of the very good cocktail, I'd hit the reverse button on the camera and came up with one big EYE! . . . . my eye!
Sunday, June 14
Team Sofia, Trent, and Daniel are cooking today. This morning they will shop, and this afternoon the kitchen will heat up.
Others who are not involved in the cooking contests are busy traveling to wonderful little towns like Pienza and Cortona, and some of us are not busy at all, but just lazing in the pool. It is quite hot here, with some cloud cover for a part of each day. The clouds add decor to the beautiful surroundings - they are white, puffy, dramatic, and offer a bit of shade here and there.
The kitchen here does have its challenges, as I mentioned earlier. The oven needs a series of buttons pressed, switches on the adjoining wall set, and then a clever brain to look at the smart oven to determine which type of cooking one desires. When all that is done, we must convert to fahrenheit from celsius!
Also, a professional dishwasher - don't even ask me how it runs. A couple of our family understand it, so that is their territory!
Monday, June 15
Team "Matriarche" is cooking today - Jeanne, Debbie and McKenna. We shopped at the PAM super market in Chiusi, and had our "beagle" (McKenna) with us. She'd been at the store once before and knew where everything was located - thankfully we were in and out of the store in one hour. Any of you who have shopped at super market grocery stores in Italy know that this was a coup!!
Our menu: Our center dish was an old recipe of the Capurro family. Adolfo's aunt Delphine used to make this chicken and it was always enjoyed. So, we decided to repeat it. It's chicken breasts marinated in olive oil and garlic, then dredged in crushed cornflake, grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley . . . baked in a foil lined pan. It comes out really crispy, and although cornflakes might not be Italian, we found lots of them in the Italian market. With that we served a tomato caprese salad, made with local cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, black olives, red onion and tossed with a really good olive oil (from Elin's olives) and a balsamic glaze. Additionally, a pasta with lemon ricotta sauce that was really good! For dessert we roasted apple halves in a local sweet wine, and served the apples with Panna gelato, topped that with a maple syrup sauce and chopped pecans. Because I was cooking there are no photos in my camera, but hopefully someone else will send me photos of our finished products.
After dinner we played Jeopardy - head to head - team against team. The categories all had an Italian theme. The best category was "Cursing in Italian", which grandson, Alex, ran for a total of lots of money (points)!!
In between we are playing charades and Scopa, an Italian card game. In one game I played there were four coin cards in the center (that never happens!), but if you know Scopa, then you'll be amazed at these four cards just waiting to be picked up!
Tuesday, June 16
Team Stephen, Laurie and Phil cooked today. But first . . . .
There was the usual trekking into local towns by those family members who were not cooking today, and then there were the rest of us who continued to take refuge from the heat in the beautiful swimming pool.
Wednesday, June 17
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Team Sandi, Rose and Duane are in the lineup for today. As I write this, the kitchen is very busy. This was the team to beat in the cooking contest . . . no one did!!
Most of the teams did not do menus . . . the theme this year was rustic and family style (too many of us were lazy!), but the menus are a wonderful touch, and certainly elevate the meal.
So far, there are no photos of the dessert, but it was so fine!!
All points from all games totaled, and the winning team is Team Sandi, Rose and Duane.
Congratulations! Well done and well deserved!
Thursday, June 18
Thinking of Adolfo today. It would have been our sixty-sixth wedding anniversary.
My parents made it to seventy-one years! I just threw that in, 'cause it makes me happy!
Friday, June 19
Today is the feast day of my dear friend, Sister Gervaise. Wishing you all kinds of blessings this day, and thanking you for your years of prayers and service in our community!
Margaret Ann trained in this morning from Rome. She is Rose's sister and is teaching in Rome this summer. We are happy to have her for a weekend.
Today I checked the refrigerator and was alarmed at the amount of leftovers that we were piling up. So . . . Debbie and I combined where we could, added from the market, and made a nice sauce for lasagne al forno. Dinner tonight was enjoyed by everyone. But we are a little sad because Sofia and Alex left us after dinner to take the train to Rome. They have early flights out tomorrow morning. And . . .tomorrow morning, Lisa and Phil are departing early to catch their afternoon flight home. Our numbers are dwindling.
Saturday, June 20
Ladies Day today. With Rose driving, Sandi, Margaret, McKenna and I went to Cortona. I had not been there before and had a wonderful morning. This was my first day away from the villa (except for grocery shopping) and I enjoyed it very much. Margaret Ann made reservations at a local restaurant and after that good lunch, we drove back to the villa and all jumped into the pool.
In speaking with one of the shop owners in Cortona she mentioned that five years ago, there were five thousand permanent residents in Cortona. Today the residents number around one thousand five hundred. It has become a town of old and retired people. The young people have all gone far afield to find their paths. Sad, but I guess, a natural progression. Hopefully the elders can hold on and the younger ones will return.
Beautiful food stand in Cortona where dried and candied fruit and nuts were featured.
While I'm looking at fruit in Cortona, John is in San Rafael, checking out my house and picking ripened peaches and apricots. So happy they are not going to waste, or to the local raccoons!
The weather has been quite hot - in the mid to high 90's. The swimming pool has been our salvation. The cooling off was enhanced by Stephen running a "Name that Tune" contest with teams in the water. We all have such a fun time together!!
I have been gathering photos that others have taken and will be interspersing them wherever I think they fit, so you'll see some photos that I randomly place - mostly family photos.
Sunday, June 21
Sandi has had problems in her room with the largest insect that's a cross between a potato bug and a giant prehistoric cricket. It was in her hair in bed, and when she jumped up, it was all over her bed. She did fiinally send it to its rest. The next day we discovered an article while trying to identify the creature, that seventy of these things had been released into the environment, and it was on the endangered species list. In Sandi's own words: "One down, sixty-nine to go!".
Monday, June 22
What a day today! Hardly know where to start, so I'll start with Ray and Debbie, who got up very early to take Laurie and McKenna to the train station. They would be spending the next two nights in Florence prior to returning to the villa. Timing was confusing, so the drivers were up early and ready before the training girls were even up! Okay. . . . off to the train station. Laurie and McKenna were on the way to their adventure in Firenze.
Ray and Debbie would then go to Perugia, have a bit of breakfast and wait for Stephen, Rose, Sandi and I to meet in Perugia. The reason for Perugia? Marni and her daughter, Avery, had arrived the night before, and would be spending the next week in the villa with us.
Have you ever driven in Perugia? Not knowing where Ray and Debbie were, we wanted to be parked so that we could then ask and meet them. However, believe we circled the city on various levels at least three times, went on streets so narrow that it's a miracle we didn't dent the rented car. Stephen suggested that he park the car and stay in it - because we were in a no-park space. He said he would stay with the car while the girls walked the city and met Ray and Debbie. I immediately took the opportunity to say I'd stay with Stephen!
All I'd seen on our travels around the city were steep hills, steps, and sweaty travelers.
We called Ray and Debbie. They'd had a similar experience, though they had found parking. When we suggested that we leave Perugia and meet in Assisi, Debbie's answer was profound. . . "All I want is to get the F&*#* out of here!" We all began laughing, because Debbie never swears! No way were they going to Assisi and she stated so. They were heading back to the pool at the villa so the trauma of Perugia could be mended.
Later Debbie admitted that she'd had a total meltdown trying to navigate the streets, and that Ray had to be tough with her to calm her down. Debbie was close to tears. The final straw for her was when they ended up in a street where they couldn't go forward or backward. Everything was so very tight. Ray ended up getting out of the car and directing her a few inches here, and then a few inches there. When Ray exited the car to help, he heard Debbie mutter, "I have the worst navigator, ever!" They finally escaped Perugia.
We did go to Assisi and laughed all the way recounting not only our driving adventure in Perugia, but reliving Ray and Debbie's adventure. Can't tell you how many times we repeated Debbie's lament . . . "All I want is to get . . "!!
Don't know what the title of this bit should be, but there have been suggestions . . .
Escape from Perugia
Debbie Does Perugia
Perugia Does Debbie (probably the most popular)
Stephen, Rose, Sandi and I never got out of the car. We can say we've been to Perugia this trip, but never set foot in the city. Glad I've been here before - forty-six years ago!! We contacted Marni and Avery. They were to meet us in Assisi for lunch . . . providing they could escape Perugia.
Assisi was wonderful, albeit very hot. Apparently we are in the middle of a heat wave in Italy - of course we are!
We had a nice lunch at a tiny restaurant named "Nonna Nini". An American chef from Vermont is their cook. When asked how she landed in Assisi, her answer was "For love, I married the original Nonna's grandson!"
Assisi is filled with sweating tourists. I can remember in 1980, being here with Adolfo. Believe we were the only people in the churches, and then again with Adolfo and Stephen in 1987 - very few tourists.
Thank goodness I had Stephen by my side walking up the hill in Assisi, but even more important when, coming down, my legs turned to rubber! Made it to the car. . . slept all the way back to the villa. It's not the climbing, it's the heat!
After dinner I had a swim before turning in - slept very well!
Just before I went to sleep, Sandi texted that over her bed, there was a map of Perugia!
Tuesday, June 23
Some are off to Montepulciano. Debbie has decided to chain her leg to the swimming pool!! Ray, Debbie and I are are swimming most of the day. Think Stephen is hiking today in the Montepulciano area, while the others shop and drink wine.
After Elin read my account of Perugia, she wrote that she had a special parking area there, at the bottom of the town. People could then take escalators up to the main square, while passing hundreds of years of Etruscan history - if only we'd known!
The area around the Villa Le Buche is so picturesque. Know I'm using some of the same superlatives too much, but really, sometimes there are no other words! We often retire to a side patio prior to dinner, and take in the lowering sun, and the changing of colors on the countryside. We just enjoy . . .
Wednesday, June 24
Laurie and McKenna return by train this afternoon after two nights in Florence. They had a great time there. We missed them and are happy to have them back at the villa.
Meanwhile, the rest of us. . .
Thursday, June 25
More trips to beautiful towns in the surrounding area, but brother and sister continue to hang out by the pool.
Having lots of trouble with the commercial oven in this kitchen. It is temperamental. . . and that's putting it kindly! I have two picanha beef roasts that I'd planned to cook in the oven, but alas, have had to rethink this. So, am using those roasts to make a bolognese that is quite like Adolfo's mama used to make it. Though it will be different . . . . and it was. But, it was good. Stephen's idea to shred the meat into the sauce was treated enthusiastically by all diners. That left over pasta will be used for breakfast, lunch and snacks the next couple of days.
Friday, June 26
Marni and Averi are off early this morning to drive to Florence and won't return until dinner time. The rest are doing on local treks, and the usual group is hanging out by the pool.
Today am in the kitchen making a chicken saute with artichoke hearts and black olives. It turned out pretty well. Accompanying that was a white wine risotto - good!!
We have pretty much given up eating in the long porch area because the afternoon sun heats it up pretty good! This is much cooler!
Stephen has a portable movie projector that's quite small and connects to his iPhone. Over the last four nights we've watched all three Godfather movies. It's amazing how well those movies stand up today. Such strong performances by so many. Such a sad and awful story.
Saturday, June 27
Another day by the pool. My cooking days are finished. After two days on the hard stone floor my body is complaining. So it's leftovers for the remainder of our days, unless someone wants to go into Sarteano and bring back pizzas!
Local festa in Sarteano attended by Rose, Sandi, Marni and Averi - they had a great time, brought us back pizzas which we scarfed down after a couple of hours playing Pedro (an Italian card game) and drinking way too many cocktails!
Debbie kept going to fridge looking for leftovers to make little snack sandwiches on fresh baguettes - she did such a good job! That was before the pizzas arrived but it didn't stop us from cleaning up those three pizzas!
Then Stephen promised the remake of The Naked Gun, which he failed to download and instead we were watching something about Eurovision - had watched it once - not good enough to watch again, so off to bed!
Marni and Averi leave tomorrow, spend the day in Rome, and then fly home on Momday. This beautiful Italian respite is too fast coming to a close . . . .
Sunday, June 28
Trying to watch some movies in a room that's a bit light, but we'll probably all be out at the pool once again shortly. Meanwhile Rose and Sandi have gone off to another small town to visit and probably shop.
Minimum cooking today as there are still leftovers - thank goodness!
Monday, June 29
This is packing day - we leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Have to go down to see the manager and settle our wine bill. The wines on this estate have exceeded our expectations, and the two featured below have been our favorites. In fact, have ordered four cases to be sent home. Even with shipping and duty, the price is more than right!
That pink bubbly rose is awesome!
Using up food today. Rose made a good risotto for lunch, to which Sandi added a potato and onion frittata. Both were wonderful. We can finally see what resides in the two refrigerators. I settled our wine bill - we did well!! So did the winery do well!!
This morning, Ricardo Olivi (son of Giuseppe), came to my room to thank us for being guests of Villa Le Buche, and wished us a safe trip home. He hoped to see us again in future.
When in the pool for the last time this afternoon, one of the owners, Giuseppe Olivi (father of Ricardo), came down and presented me with a bottle of his best wine to take home. He thanked us for being his guests and wished us a safe trip home. All the while during the conversation, I was in the pool - awkward. He bent over and took both of my wet hands in his and delivered his sentiments. How lovely! Said he would leave the bottle of wine for me in the house.
I can't say enough how wonderful all staff and family owners of Villa Le Buche have been during our stay. The wine fridge has been restocked daily . . . how could we not drink it!
At every turn when I couldn't operate the blender, or we had trouble with the stove or oven, Gergana (the onsite manager during day hours) was here within minutes to help us solve problems with smiling face and generous attitude. All of this because of What's App. As good as a direct line!
I would come back here in a minute, except for a couple of considerations:
1. Villa Le Buche is really off the beaten path. At least one hour or more from towns like Assisi, San Giminangnano, Pienza, Siena, Florence, etc. That's a lot of time in the car, back and forth. If you take the train from Chiusi, it's almost three hours. Rome is a good two hours by car and longer by train.
2. There is a wonderful super market in Chiusi (PAM), but it takes longer to get out to the main road, than it takes to then go to the supermarket. Sarteano, in the other direction is a few minutes from the villa once out on the road, but again, a very small town.
The weather has been unseasonably hot for the month of June - at least ten degrees hotter than prior years, so the pool has been most welcome.
We are now deciding whether or not to cook dinner. We're all full from lunch. McKenna left today for Rome, and flies home tomorrow, so there are just seven of us in residence until tomorrow morning.
There is a storm moving in tonight. The wind is blowing a gale and the house is cooling off - nice. Sandi reports that there will be some rain storms the next few days - I think we're leaving just in time.
WOW! Did we get a show from the heavens tonight! Thunder and lightning! Strong winds! . . . and HAIL! . . . BIG HAIL! Temperatures dropped thirty degrees and the hail and rain inundated the surrounding olive groves and grape vines. Can't remember ever seeing a storm like this after temperatures all day had hovered at nearly a hundred degrees!
The rain and hail finally stopped after at least one half hour of steady storm with the sky seemingly divided into clear skies and cloudy skies. The lightning continued and we could often see bolts streaking through the clouds.
I think we're leaving Tuscany just in time!
Tuesday, June 30
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