After reluctantly farewelling Ireland we took the car ferry to Cairnryan we spent a very pleasant evening in a delightful B and B just a few minute… Read more “Nearly on the home stretch”
Month: October 2016
Beautiful beautiful Ireland
We only had a week in Ireland so were determined to pack a lot in. We cruised over on the car ferry, which was a rather nice… Read more “Beautiful beautiful Ireland”
Tintagel to St David’s Cathedral
On our way out of Cornwall we visited Tintagel Castle (legendary birthplace of King Arthur). Windswept and grim, I again had to clutch onto a railing… Read more “Tintagel to St David’s Cathedral”
Goodbye Italy, hello UK
Bit of a shock coming from the balmy skies of Italy (although it was raining as we took off) to the grey and cooler welcome of Heathrow.… Read more “Goodbye Italy, hello UK”
Two days in Venice is not enough (part two)
We packed a lot into our second day in Venice. Starting with breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, looking out onto the Grand Canal, I thought… Read more “Two days in Venice is not enough (part two)”
Two days in Venice is not enough (part one)
We came across from Rapello through Verona. I liked Verona very much although passed on the option to eat horse or donkey ragu, instead enjoying an excellent seafood… Read more “Two days in Venice is not enough (part one)”
Beautiful Cinque Terre
I’m going to jump ahead (will write about Pisa and Florence in a later entry hopefully) to a day I had been looking forward to very very… Read more “Beautiful Cinque Terre”
Galileo said it perfectly
A low-key but lovely morning was spent getting our sleeves rolled up and cooking our own lunch. We did this in the midst of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscape – it was almost impossible to tear our eyes and cameras away from the scenery stretching out in front of us to go inside.
A simple menu of bread salad, pasta with vegetable ragu and tiramisu kept us concentrating for the morning. We got to keep the recipes as well, so once I am home I’ll probably make some of the menu again and post the recipes if they still taste this yummy!
It’s easy to forget how easy it is to throw together perfect silky smooth pasta, even without the help of a pasta rolling machine. We were a mixed group cooking skills-wise, so the cooking school did well to keep everyone happy and also make sure we served ourselves edible food.
The meal was matched perfectly with accompanying wines as the cooking school was (surprise surprise) attached to a vineyard. We treated ourselves to a beautiful red and I also bought myself a tee-shirt with this beautiful quote from Galileo Galilei.
Wine is sunlight, held together by water
Perfect!
A vineyard with serious history
The beautiful villa where Machiavelli was under house arrest, spending his time writing , fuming and plotting – now a wonderful vineyard. The house still has much still intact from Machiavelli’s time including some magnificent furniture. For us it was a chance to absorb yet more history, check out some local wine, sample some local food, and relax in the perfect afternoon sun. Not quite sure how I am going to go back to my ordinary existence!
(A very random aside. Those of you who are Black Books fans will appreciate my photo of the cheap and dusty wine! )
Tuscan meanderings
I’m quite behind in keeping up to date with everything we have been doing so will do a few mainly photographic entries in an attempt to catch… Read more “Tuscan meanderings”
This Much I Know 