FIELD TRIPS!!!

Last Friday we had our first field trip of the year to Volterra, San Gimignano and Machiavelli's house. Volterra is famous for being the center of Etruscan civilization, a civilization that predates the Romans in Italy. One of our first stops was an Etruscan museum. The museum had a huge selection of amazing artifacts that were created by a civilization that today still remains a mystery. It was so amazing to actually see all these things, all of the things that have been found... pots, jewelry, coins, things that look like toys, tools, stone carvings...everything, because these were things that weren't meant to be seen in museums but were meant to be used every day. It was a pretty interesting place and the view from the city was amazing.

San Gimignano was a little more turisty, but just as beautiful. The view of the city, as you drive up reminds me of a modern day city but when you get closer, you actually realize that this is not a modern skyline but a medieval skyline with buildings made of stone. It was pretty cool, but by far my favorite part was going to Machiavelli's house.





For dinner we drove to the house that Machiavelli lived in when he was exiled from Florence. This is also the same house that Machiavelli wrote his famous book "The Prince" in. The house it's self is beautiful. It's located in the countryside surrounded by vineyards and when we drove up it was just starting to get dark and rain. It was the first rain we have had in Florence and everything smelled wonderful and fresh. After we arrived, we took a tour of the house and the cellar where they actually produce wine. This part was really interesting, but at the time I was incredibly hungary so all I could thing about was food. When we finally sat down we had bread waiting for us and a few minutes later we were served Antipasti (Appetizers). For this course we had about 5 different bruschetta (1 with pate, 2 different olive kinds, 1 with tomatoes, and 1 with a cheese and meat). Being the curious person I am, I tried them all, even the pate...which was I must say very delicious. After a while Primi Piatti (first course) was served. For this we had a very traditional Tuscan soup with beans, spinach, and little pieces of bread. It was a very thick soup, the kind of soup that warms you from the inside out. For Secondo Piatti (Second Course) was had mixed meat: chicken, beef and sausage with a side of potatoes and some house wine. By now, I was getting a little full, but I'm a marathoner, not a sprinter so I'm in it for the long run and the last course, dessert is something I always have room for. Dessert was simple, we had little shot glasses of carmel colored dessert wine and biscotti. The dessert wine was a little to much for me a first. It tasted a little to much like liquor, and not wine but after dipping a few biscotti in it, the flavor grew on me.

All in all, dinner was the favorite part. Just sitting down and taking our time to enjoy the food and the company is something we don't do much in America. Food in Italy is an event and I like food.