After weeks of 90 degree temperatures, suddenly summer is over.  The bands have packed up, everyone is back at work, the streets have emptied of tourists as families prepare for school, the grape harvest is about to begin, and the familiar “Che caldo!!” has given way to “Che freddo.”  Of course it’s not really cold.  Today it’s 70 degrees and beautiful.  But it is a bit of a shock after walking barefoot over the cool tiles of the house to wake up one morning and find them freezing.  Along with the chill came rain.  We’ve had a week of grey and drizzle and showers.  I can see that soon I’ll have to close my windows, and already I smelled the first fireplace at work.  And as much as I bitch about hanging my laundry outside, I hate to think about the winter days when I’ll be forced to dry it inside without the benefit of the Tuscan wind and sunshine working their magic.  Today as I hung out my sheets, you could see steam rising off of them in the cool, crisp morning.

I did my usual scan of the mercato today and began looking at winter shoes and coats.  I’m not ready to buy them, defiantly determined to wear my sandals for at least a few more weeks, but I must at least get prepared.  When I pass a table with slippers, I can’t resist.  The thought of a winter of cold stone floors has me grabbing for my wallet.  The man with the slippers points out that they are perfumed and invites me to sniff them.  They do have a lovely coconut fragrance that Cinder seems to enjoy.  As for me, I’m just happy to have my feet toasty…even if it means I just took my first step toward becoming an Italian housewife.

Now that I’ve been here five months, a trip to the mercato is much more pleasurable than when I first arrived.  I spend time each week chatting with my favorite vendors and catching up.  Pippo, the fruit vendor that my neighbor, Marinella, introduced me to when I first arrived is back after being gone all summer.  I have a bit of a dilemma now since while he was away I became friendly with another vendor.  Now I try to give them both a little business, but if I’m honest, Pippo’s produce is better.  He was gone all summer because he was cultivating the fruit in Sicily that I get to buy now.  I know it’s crazy to wax rhapsodic about apples and peaches, but honestly they are amazing!  Pippo gave me a peach as I was leaving today, and when I had to return to the market later in the morning with Marinella, because she’d given me a ride to get some paperwork accomplished, he presented me with a bag of grapes.  Some men give you flowers and others…fruit!  Mi piace!

Cinder and I walked home on a pretty wooded path where the leaves are beginning to turn, and look forward to experiencing another season in Italia.

Meetings for the cooking school continue.  I met with Iacopo earlier in the week and he outlined his menu ideas and basic program and then I typed it up for Saverio.  Then yesterday, we all met at the Agriturismo.  I still had some reservations about how this is all going to work and if, at the end, Iacopo and I are going to make any money, but I kept reminding myself that at least I’d be learning some secrets of Tuscan cooking.  Saverio’s excitement was contagious and after a few minutes we were all readily trying to nail down a menu that will be fun to learn as well as delicious.  Just to give you an example, one day we will make crostoni, pici pasta con ragu, ribollita, cinghiale and a torta della nonna.  These are all classic Tuscan dishes and I can’t wait to learn the recipes.

Saverio let us know that there is a large group coming in October who is interested in the class.  It will be three afternoons over a weekend and we basically have a month to get ready– if you saw the current state of the kitchen we are working with, you would see why I’m a little worried.  It’s not exactly what you’d call professionally equipped.  Iacopo looked depressed after spending five minutes in there.   He also kept muttering something about all the dishes we’d have to wash…I hadn’t even thought about the clean up!  We did ask Saverio to get us a real work table for the center of the kitchen.  The little table there is way too low.  I think we succeeded on that front, but the oven is a little dodgy also.  Iacopo thinks we are fine using the wood oven outside, so I’m going to put my trust in him.  I suggested we try a practice weekend with friends before our debut, but I wasn’t clear if they thought that was a good idea or not.  Should be interesting!

After we finished up the business side of things, Saverio took us on a tour of his wine operation.  After seeing the huge operation last week at Francesca and Anna’s house, it was interesting to see a small-scale one.  We saw where the wine is bottled and stored, and then we walked through the vines and he showed us the various grapes that are just about ready for cutting.  He tested the sugar levels of the grapes with a little instrument that you smoosh the grape onto and it gives you a reading.  Most of the grapes were around 22 and when they get to 24 it’s time to make wine.  Saverio’s enthusiasm for the process of wine making is evident and he has plans for expanding his operation as the years go on.  He gave Iacopo and me a bottle of his chianti to try, so I look forward to sampling it!

We parted with plans for Iacopo to write some descriptions about all the dishes he will be teaching and for me to transcribe it into English.  Then the hard work begins…getting the kitchen ready.  I see a lot of scrubbing and heavy lifting in my immediate future.

This is a big week for Montepulciano.  The streets are crowded with tourists and most are here for one reason: the Bravio delle Botti.   This is a week long festival where the eight districts of the city, Le Contrade, compete against one another with the culminating event being the barrel rolling up the main street today.  My contrada is called Gracciano and apparently we’ve won the barrel rolling 5 times in the past.  This is not a good record, but it means I get to cheer for the underdog.  Bonnie’s contrada Poggiolo hasn’t fared well either; they’ve only won twice.  Why barrel rolling?  Well if you’ve ever seen the Palio in Siena you know that they have a little more room and so are able to have their big event as a horse race.  Apparently this used to be the case here too, but as  matter of public safety it was stopped in the 1600s.  I’m guessing someone got trampled in the narrow streets.  My friend Louise found a youtube recording of the race from 3 years ago so if you want to take a look at my town or our annual race…please do.  It covers the whole length of the town as the “pushers” make their way up the steep climb to Piazza Grande.  The barrels are not light, weighing in at 80 kilos.  I’ve been watching the practice rounds all week at night, and it’s pretty impressive.   In the video during the first minute of the race, you can see the section of town where me and my friends hang out on the “stoop.”  (There is little yellow Singer Sewing Machine sign that’s above Gabriella’s bookbinding shop.  Caterina and Antonella’s shops are here too!)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP6IOOj1TqA

The highlights of the pre-party events are dinners every night at the different contrade and a candlelit parade that I went to on Thursday night.  All the contrade were represented in period costume.  The dinners are less formal and are basically big barbecues with live music.   Gracciano‘s dining area is REALLY close to my house so I’ve been serenaded each evening.  We have a Queen cover band here in town that is pretty good so I’m guessing if Gracciano wins, we will be sure to hear “We are the Champions” for the thousandth time.

Thursday night after the parade, and after Henry had a bit of a scare as he stepped in one of the candles on the parade route, Bonnie and I had a girls night.  We walked all over town and attempted to see some of the ceremony at the Piazza but apparently you need to get there really early.  We settled on having wine outside and people watching.  Antonella had her husband take over the grocery store for a while so she could join us.

On Friday night, Antonella and Caterina invited me to join them for dinner at a contrade called Le Coste.  Apparently Gracciano is not known for having the best food so it’s perfectly acceptable to choose another one when it comes time for dinner.  I did feel a bit guilty when I saw my other American friend Robert setting up tables and wearing his Gracciano scarf and had to pass by on my way to meet the girls.  We sat in a little garden under olive trees feasting on local specialties.  I tried the spareribs, or costole, while Antonella went for the liver, and Caterina had gnocchi.  The food was delicious.  It was a lovely relaxed evening and I saw pretty much everyone that I know in town.

Today’s events included a big parade to kick off the barrel racing and a ceremony in Piazza Grande.  I met Bonnie and Mark in front of their building and we took in the medieval procession that heralded the barrel racing this evening.  The participants took it quite seriously and despite the high temps didn’t seem to be suffering much in their heavy costumes.  The barrel racing this evening was quite exciting.  Everyone was pushed onto stoops or steps so that no one got run over by the humongous barrels careening up the street.  I did step into the street for a few pictures.  I watched it with Antonella and of course rooted for my contrada, Gracciano.  After the barrels past us, we raced into Antonella’s store and everyone crowded into her back room to watch the rest of the race on tv.  Gracciano came in second!  I was the only one cheering for them in the room full of Pogggiolo fans! (they came in 6th)

It was a great end to a very fun and festive week.

One of the amazing things about living in Tuscany is that you develop a real appreciation for what is in season.  In the beginning this can be difficult because if you’re craving asparagus and it’s now summer, well you’re just not going to find it.  But if it’s late August and you feel like having a fig or twenty, you’re in luck because that’s when the fig trees are abundant.  My neighbor Marinella invited me over the other day as she plucked some of the beautiful green fruit from one of her many trees and sent me home with way too many “fichi.”  The green figs are delicious and almost delicate tasting compared to the darker figs I am used to.  Some I just peeled and ate, and to some I added a little fresh ricotta…Mmmm.

I also was fortunate enough yesterday to witness some other frutta that had just been harvested.  While the Sangiovese grapes that Tuscany is known for won’t be ready for a few more weeks, the ciliegiolo from Maremma are being harvested now.  On Monday afternoons, I have two students whose family owns a winery here in Montepulciano.  After our lessons each week, I am invited to dinner with the family and everyone practices their English.  But yesterday, with the grapes from Maremma being prepared, my student Francesco and his mom Anna interrupted our lesson to take me on a tour to see how the grapes were separated from the stems.  The work is being done just a short walk from their house and the backdrop includes acres and acres of grapevines.  It’s a truly beautiful setting.

Anna explained to me that these grapes are sweet and are added to some of the varietal wines.  The whole process is automated and when I saw those huge machines doing their work I couldn’t help but think how hard it must have been to do that job by hand back in the day.  Imagine having to pluck off the stems from each grape.   The actual cutting of the grape bunches is still done by hand and it’s quite a laborious job.  Anna invited me to participate when the actual harvesting of the Sangiovese grapes commences in mid September.  I can’t wait.

After the grapes are separated, leaving only the fruit, they roll along on a conveyor and then are sucked into a long tube which takes them underground.   I joked with Anna that this was where the women would stomp them, but in actuality huge steel barrels are waiting for them.  I haven’t witnessed that part of the process yet, but I hope eventually I’ll get to see how everything works.

Over dinner, we talked and enjoyed some of their wine.  I’ve always been a wine lover, but I now have a better appreciation of the process it takes to make each of those delicious bottles.  The dinner also included some seasonal dishes and when it was time for dessert I wasn’t surprised to see a familiar sight…figs.

August in Tuscany means vacation.  Stores you thought would be open are closed, while others, wanting to take advantage of the tourists, start keeping longer hours.  The evenings have a party feel to them and you can hear bands and music almost every night.  When you run into friends, the conversation inevitably turns to where are you going in ferie, or on vacation.  Everyone seems to be heading off for weeks at the beach.  Signs are taped to store windows proclaiming the happy fact that people are off enjoying their August holidays.  And for those of us who are staying behind, well…the supermarket has added Sunday hours through August for some extra excitement.  If you are one of the many Tuscans who can’t take a whole week off, day trips to the beach are the thing to do to beat the stifling heat of the day.  With the coast only two hours a way, people will pack up in the morning and be back by cena.  My neighbor, Marinella, does this at least once a week.

Since I have had three months of “vacation,” and have just started to get a little work,  I have felt no envy about all my new friends and neighbors enjoying themselves at the beach.  I’ve been getting plenty of sun at the park with the kids, even if we are always drenched in sweat after the heat of the day melts us.

But yesterday, the fates conspired to give me a real outing to the beach.  Bonnie has been trying to rent a car since her kids are all out school for a few weeks.  All of the big rental companies in Chiusi either didn’t have anything big enough for her gang of seven, or they wanted a ridiculous amount of money.  I put her in touch with a local guy who picked me up in Rome when I first arrived.  He has a little car rental agency in the next town over.  One email and one phone call later and Bonnie was enthroned in a Ford somethingorother and inviting me along for a celebratory trip to the beach.  My student had cancelled his English lesson for the morning, so I gladly joined the big beach excursion.   Well, really it was a trip to the beach at Lago Trasimeno, which is only twenty minutes away, but I grabbed towel and swimsuit and got ready for a day of fun and chaos with the tribe.

I’ve been to Lago Trasimeno a few times.  It’s peaceful, beautiful, and does boast a nice sandy beach.  It wasn’t crowded, but there were plenty of beachgoers of all shapes and sizes lying in the grass which was shaded, or frolicking in the three feet of water.  The lake is only about 15 feet deep at its deepest point so the water temperature is not exactly what you’d call refreshing.  More like a tepid bath.  I kept wading farther out, waiting for that moment where you hit the icy cool water, but sadly it never came.  On the plus side, it was perfect for the kids, who could go far from shore and still touch.

The day was filled with sandcastles, swimming, peanut butter sandwiches, and mosquitoes.  Not sure if it’s because the lake is so shallow or because we haven’t had any rain in a while, but the zanzare were out in abundance.  It was a delightful afternoon even with the bugs, and Bonnie and the kids are heading back today, now fully prepared with more sunscreen and bug spray!  As for me, I have to work.  English lessons in the morning and babysitting in the afternoon.  Hooray!

Before moving to Italy, my only exposure to the night of San Lorenzo was an Italian film called The Night of the Shooting Stars.  It’s a beautifully told story about war torn Italy and the folklore of wishing on the shooting stars on this particular night.  The shooting stars, which happen each year on August 10th (coinciding with the Perseid meteor shower) are said to represent the holy tears of San Lorenzo who was martyred in 258 AD.  (During his torture supposedly Lorenzo manged to quip “Turn me over, I’m done on this side,” and this is often quoted to explain why San Lorenzo is the Patron Saint of Comedians.)

It’s considered good luck to make a wish on one of the stars of San Lorenzo…not to mention a great excuse for a party.  In Montepulciano, the Calici di Stelle is a full day of feasting and festivities throughout the historic center of town.  I went with Bonnie and her family to Piazza Grande last night where we watched the Sbandieratori— this is a group of flag throwers that reenact a military like victory celebration to the accompaniment of drums and trumpets.   It’s an impressive display of precise movements, made even more so by the windy conditions in the piazza.  My student Michele was one of the drummers and I recognized one of the clerks from my supermarket as well!

After the flag throwing, Bonnie and I took the kids for gelato and pizza and then we made our way down the hill for the evening’s more adult festivities which involved wine from all the different enotecas.  Music went on well into the night and I noticed more than one shop that opened late this morning!  I’m told by Bonnie’s husband that the actual meteor shower has shifted over the years on the calendar to tonight so I hope to catch a glimpse  and, of course, make a WISH!