On Monday, March 26, it was back to reality. I taught all day, and Chip used the opportunity to catch up on some work. During the day, while checking e-mail, I discovered an invitation for dinner with Richie and John Bologna, the parents of one of our students, John. We gladly accepted!
But before dinner, we had signed up to attend a wine tasting class given by Todd, owner of Tuscan Trails. This wine tasting class focused on specialty wines, including champagnes and dessert wines. And once again, Todd was a wealth of knowledge. One really interesting thing we learned is that the popularity of champagne owes itself to some slick marketing. You see, champagne grapes are actually grown in very poor soil and are basically subpar grapes. This is why champagne was made sparkling in the first place—to cover up the taste of the lousy grapes! We also learned how dessert wines such as Vin Santo are prepared, drying the grapes in dark, dank attics until a certain mold forms. And we always thought champagne and dessert wines were so special! Oh, well, we drank them anyway, under Todd’s careful gaze.
We enjoyed our class so much that we hired Todd to take us out on one of his wine tasting tours in the Chianti region. More on that later!
After the class, we walked over the Santa Trinita Bridge to meet Richie and John for dinner at Cammillo Trattoria, a wonderful place on Borgo S. Jacopo. Although the menu is Italian, the dishes are very different and clever, which is a welcome relief from the standard fare found in most trattorias in Florence. (Yes, I must admit that I’m getting a big sick of Italian food, which is something I thought I ‘d never say!) Anyway, we met Richie and John at the restaurant at 8 p.m. Although I had met Richie before (we had lunch with Pauline at the Lark Creek Café in Walnut Creek shortly before I left for Florence), this was my first time meeting John. And Chip had never met either of them, so we were really looking forward to it.
They are such a delightful couple, and I can see where their son John Fabio gets his wonderful personality and graciousness (you might recall that John was the student who helped me carry my groceries home one night). Everything about the dinner was fabulous—the wine, the food, and, especially, the conversation.
After dinner they invited us back to their apartment for cheese and coffee. What a treat this way! You see, Richie and John had rented an apartment in a lovely building on Lunganro Torrigiani, directly across the Arno from the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio. Earlier in the day, they had returned to their apartment to discover that it had flooded due to some kind of plumbing problem. Wouldn’t you know it—the only place available to move them was to the penthouse. Wow! The place was amazing! Sometimes a little flooding pays off big!
We enjoyed some wonderful pecorino (our new favorite cheese) and espresso with them, talking late into the evening. John and Richie, we can’t thank you enough for treating us to such a special evening! Grazie mille!
But before dinner, we had signed up to attend a wine tasting class given by Todd, owner of Tuscan Trails. This wine tasting class focused on specialty wines, including champagnes and dessert wines. And once again, Todd was a wealth of knowledge. One really interesting thing we learned is that the popularity of champagne owes itself to some slick marketing. You see, champagne grapes are actually grown in very poor soil and are basically subpar grapes. This is why champagne was made sparkling in the first place—to cover up the taste of the lousy grapes! We also learned how dessert wines such as Vin Santo are prepared, drying the grapes in dark, dank attics until a certain mold forms. And we always thought champagne and dessert wines were so special! Oh, well, we drank them anyway, under Todd’s careful gaze.
We enjoyed our class so much that we hired Todd to take us out on one of his wine tasting tours in the Chianti region. More on that later!
After the class, we walked over the Santa Trinita Bridge to meet Richie and John for dinner at Cammillo Trattoria, a wonderful place on Borgo S. Jacopo. Although the menu is Italian, the dishes are very different and clever, which is a welcome relief from the standard fare found in most trattorias in Florence. (Yes, I must admit that I’m getting a big sick of Italian food, which is something I thought I ‘d never say!) Anyway, we met Richie and John at the restaurant at 8 p.m. Although I had met Richie before (we had lunch with Pauline at the Lark Creek Café in Walnut Creek shortly before I left for Florence), this was my first time meeting John. And Chip had never met either of them, so we were really looking forward to it.
They are such a delightful couple, and I can see where their son John Fabio gets his wonderful personality and graciousness (you might recall that John was the student who helped me carry my groceries home one night). Everything about the dinner was fabulous—the wine, the food, and, especially, the conversation.
After dinner they invited us back to their apartment for cheese and coffee. What a treat this way! You see, Richie and John had rented an apartment in a lovely building on Lunganro Torrigiani, directly across the Arno from the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio. Earlier in the day, they had returned to their apartment to discover that it had flooded due to some kind of plumbing problem. Wouldn’t you know it—the only place available to move them was to the penthouse. Wow! The place was amazing! Sometimes a little flooding pays off big!We enjoyed some wonderful pecorino (our new favorite cheese) and espresso with them, talking late into the evening. John and Richie, we can’t thank you enough for treating us to such a special evening! Grazie mille!
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