Lovely late start to the day. Opened up my shutters and said "Buongiorno to Chianti!!!"

Others, from NZ, South Africa and USA arrived around 9:30am for our cooking class. Today's menu: pizzettes, gnocchi alla salsa agli aromi, Tuscan chicken and Tiramisu. Great pizza dough that was soooo crunchy, the best gnocchi I have ever eaten and the tiramisu so fresh and light at the end of a big meal. When serving the gnocchi, Paola also served some with a gorgonzola sauce (definitely getting the recipe for that one as well) All during most of the cooking we were working our way through many bottles of Chianti Classico, produced by their neighbors.

The family have a small olive grove that produces enough olive oil for them to use and some extra to give to neighbors for a year. They also grow most of the vegetables and herbs used int he cooking classes. Today we had some fresh figs picked straight from the tree, something I have not eaten like this before and they were delicious.

This afternoon Simonetta took me for a drive through the area and we visited two small villages - Radda and Vertine. Along the way we saw Castle Brolie, the only one in the immediate area. This area is so beautiful. It is what I have always imagined and dreamed of visiting. While I loved the tour and visiting many parts of Italy this is by far the highlight. Paola has warned me that I may relax so much that she will have to wake me on the third day for the cooking class!!!

Tonight I have pleaded for something light for dinner so we will have a salad with a few different Italian cheeses.