Day Two:

I awoke this morning (Yawn:))....oh what....at about NOON....well, a good Etruscan gourmet meal will do that to you! OK, babes...yah, I'm not going to do all your homework for you....go google "Etruscan" and then come back. Kay....as I was saying...had the most amazing Etruscan meal last night....I mean it was freakin totally unbelievable. All natural ingredients, most grown locally...no preservatives....oh my gawd...just simply the most amazing stuff I've ever put in my yap! The BEST food by far I've indulged in since I've hit the continent....and yes, the best wine so far. Papa Gardino...the proprietor who loves me so....he has been pulling out "the good stuff' since I got here. His cellar boasts 32,000 bottles of wine.,...and he saves the good stuff for the babes from California....of this I am sure. Because the wine he put (sans label) last night....well, it made me cry. He set it down on my table. Just a big bottle, no label. And he winked at me. He said in a big broken baritone English accent....Try theeeeese bella..... you veeel like. And he smiled that sexy smile that only an 80 year old Italian land baron can get away with... you know? I melted....took a sip. Melted again...Jesus, Mary and Joseph (yah, well 12 years of Catholic school will do that to you...but besides that!)...holy cow! It was exquisite! Not like any chianti I have ever had before. And here's what I love....in their brochure....which is rather elaborate....you know, the one that says they are in "Greve"....Hahahaha....well, sort of...it's our little secret!...they say they have wines from 1911 to 1986....and that they have true chiantis from these years that are only the years of the true chiantis....after that...they say....the chiantis were "bastardized" by the likes of "brunellos di mantalcinos" and FRENCH WINES." Now, for those of you who know wines....you are probably pulling yourself up off the floor right now (hey, I like both brunellos and French wines...it is an OUTRAGEOUSLY arrogant statement)...and even if you don't know anything whatsoever about wine...you have just got to love the outright cockiness of the Tuscan winemakers! Ha! To blow off....like...the ENTIRE French wine-making community....is like....SHIT! Hahahah... that is just....too funny! I am bringing home several brochures...to like FRAME. No one will even believe this.....yah, I love the Italians. They invented SELF-CONFIDENCE. Love em. These are my people! (well, actually I am Irish and English. But I am a big fan!!!). OK, so back to dinner last night. Sigh....we started with the wine. And my prima course....which was enough to feed me and a very hungry date, which I didn't have unfortunately. But it would have been enough for TWO. Big plates. Man oh man....So it was this amazing house specialty that was mushroom ravioli in truffle oil...a house specialty. And you need to get your head checked of course if you don't order the house specialties when at these establishments. Next was wild boar. Yep. Not something I would order normally. They picked it for me. And man. It was WILD. Great. Wow....really good. Tasted like chicken. Kidding....Tasted like really good lean pork...just delicious....in a rich red sauce of some sort (I will review this in greater detail in the restaurant review section...). With it was a side of some kind of beans....like fava beans and they had the most unusual herbs...wow, really different and I couldn't stop eating them...just incredible with the boar....a meal to remember. The piece de resistance?....their Tira misu.....BEST I mean BEST I've ever had. Ever....sweet and thick custardy on top over hard core espresso cake on the bottom...almost bitter....the combination was just trippy....i was actually buzzed afterwards which I understand is the gold standard for REAL tira misu....a good espresso buzz when you are done....wow...yah, AMBIEN time when it was all over....counting sheep big time! It was just a meal to remember....which is of course....why I slept until noon today! Well fed, well rested....and ready to hit Greve......(remember, "Greevay").

So the reason Greve is on the map at all....other than being just a charming little village 20 clicks outside of Firenze...is supposedly, it is the city that ultimately gave birth to "the slow food movement." Another one for readers to google...but here is a quick primer....Supposedly, a few years ago, there was a backlash against the "harried" life of people hustling and bustling through life and eating and drinking quickly....and supposedly this town started to specialize in restaurants where you could pull up a seat at a table....and essentially.....stay there.....for hours.....like camp out.....for days....if the mood so struck you. In fact, it was expected, that if you took a table....you were absolutely, not leaving anytime soon. I met a gentleman in Florence, just before I left for Rome who told me all about this. He was an ex-pat who had dual citizenship (US and Italian)...had lived in San Francisco, New York, Germany...spoke perfect English....and saw my camera...and said..."Nikon D-50 or D-75?" I actually get that question all the time.....just not in Florence. So it was nice to share some vino and some English with a new friend....who gave me some good photography tips (always appreciate those...he actually has published with the New Yorker...lucky me)...on navigating around Florence...especially some local day trips....and gave me the low down on the "slow food movement" in Greve. The minute I heard about it...I knew I was coming back to check it out. And alas...I am here. Well, not exactly...I am in Paso dei Pecorai....but hey, details, details. And I went into Greve today. It was really cool. My pics will be posted on my pbase site (see my address site posted on this blog coming soon). It is a fabulous little town....i didn't end up getting a table actually...I had so much walking around I wanted to do....I snapped about a hundred photos..and had a lot of internet catching up to do at the local internet café....but instead...went to the local co-op....well, it's not like the Boise co-op, but kind of close....and commandeered some chicken with herbed potatoes, a bottle of chianti, some mozzarella, and some herbed crackers and I had a lunch fit for a queen....i sat out in a park....and just did some people watching....totally cool....nice change of pace....even restaurants in heaven can get old :) Besides, after last night...I mean, who can beat that, right? Greve can't touch my homies back at Paso dei Pecorai......I would so like to see them try....