A day in Tuscany

When we went to Italy we knew we had to go on a wine tour. One of our favorite movies is Under the Tuscan Sun, and we just knew we were going to recreate it, buy a villa, and live happily ever after in Tuscany.  :-)  OK....maybe not, but it was still a must-do. I never knew Tuscany was a region in Italy. I always thought it was a city of its own, but it is actually 9000 square miles of history, landscapes, and the best smelling earth I've ever smelled.  The capital of the Tuscany region is Florence and that was our home base for our trip.

We chose to go on the Chianti Classico Wine tour with Florencetown Tours. With most tours, especially wine tours, it's always nice to have someone else do the driving! We met at the tour office, and we hopped onto a mini-bus with ten of our new friends for our day in the countryside. The scenery was breath-taking -- rolling hills, villas, Italian cypress tress, rows of grapes and olive trees. Our first stop was the Principe Corsini winery.

We toured the cellar and our guide took us "on the land" to see the grapes. Another fact I didn't know, is that what makes the different types of wines is the length of time the grapes age. The longer and more complex the process, the higher quality of wine.

 

 

We ended this visit with an appetizer of cheese, bread, honey, and three different tastes of their wonderful wine. 

 

Heading on to our next stop, we drove through the beautiful countryside. We drove about 25 minutes to the town of Montespertoli. It's a very small town surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, old villas, and castles! 

 

At our next stop, our guide wanted to show us a "quick thing" and he took us to this building and up the stairs to this loft that was used for various things for producing wine. (Not sure we were supposed to be up there or not!). He opened a side door that led to a porch where the views were incredible! On one side you had the rolling hills and vineyards; and on the other, a view of the little town -- the picture you have in mind when you envision Italy.

Our last top was at Castello Sonnino. It's a historic wine estate that overlooks the Chianti Hills. They are one of the leading producers of Chianti Montespertoli D.O.C.G. and the highest quality of olive oil. Lucky for us -- this stop was for another tasting and a light meal! We went down to the dining area, the table was set and the doors were open and the breeze and smells and view was perfection.This picture below is looking into where we dined and had a marvelous time!

 We started with bruschetta and meats, and cheeses, and peppers & onions and a few types of wine.

After the antipasti, we had a pasta course -- simple penne with tomatoes. So FRESH.

 

Full and happy we left our Italian countryside and headed back into Florence. It was a wonderful day and a great way to experience the wine country and taste and sip some of the finest wines in the world. Definitely check out Florencetown tours to experience the best of the Tuscany region!

Ciao and Arrivederci till next time!

Foods of New York Tour - Greenwich Village

Earlier this year we went to New York for @mkmaddox's work and extended it into a long fun weekend for both of us. One thing we love to do on our trips is take a food tour. You learn so much about the food/history of the area, try restaurants and shops you would never know about, and get a full authentic meal in the process! We had heard great things about the Foods of New York tour. They offer six different tours of various boroughs, and we opted for the "Original Greenwich Village Food & Culture Walking Tour".

We bought our tickets and were given exact directions where to meet in the Village. Our tour guide, R.J., met the group, and we did a little meet & greet with everyone before starting our journey. Our first stop was Joe's Pizza. Authentic. New York. Thin Crust. Joe's has been a Village institution since 1975, so they must know how to make a slice. It was the perfect ratio of crust, to sauce, to cheese. If you want to try a true NY slice, you can't go wrong here!

Our next stop was Oliviers &Company (O&CO.) - a boutique olive oil shop! YES, PLEASE! The company was founded in France in 1997 to share the tastes of the Mediterranean. It opened its first boutiques in the U.S.A. in early 2000. At this stop we learned about various types of olive oils and balsamic vinegar. We tried various grades of olive oil as well as several flavored oils. Our favorite was the lemon! We bought some to cook with and have used it on everything. Head to the website to try your favorite flavor! 

 

From here we moved on to Faicco's Italian Specialties (Pork Store). I would classify it as a deli/butcher shop. It's been open since 1900. Yes, 1900! Some say it's the best sandwich you'll find in the city. We got to try some meats, but we would definitely come back for a Italian sandwich masterpiece!

 

Next stop on our Italian food journey was Trattoria Pesce Pasta. The talk and rave here was all about the meatball. Unfortunately our picture does not do the ball justice, but stop the press. It was amazing. This stop is exactly why we do food tours. We would never have had this restaurant on our radar, but if you are in NYC, add this one to your list. So authentic, so good, and reasonably priced.

 

We walked off the "main street" learning history along the way heading toward Rafele Restaurant. Even though we were able to sit down at our last restaurant, this was advertised as our sit-down, order a drink, portion of the tour. Rafele's menus is authentic Neapolitan flavors. Fresh ingredients, fine wines....our kind of place.

We loved the layout of this restaurant. It was very open, and indeed had an "open kitchen". There was a chef's table we sat at as they were preparing our tastes.

Have you ever hard of Melanzana? We hadn't. It's layers of eggplant with cheese, basil, buffalo mozzarella, and homemade tomato sauce. It was perfection. You could not tell you were eating eggplant. It tasted like a pasta dish. (And the homemade focaccia bread was the perfect complement!)

We were definitely getting full, but we had a few more stops on the tour! It was sweet treat time! Right off Bleeker, in the middle of what seemed a residential area, is Milk & Cookies Bakery. It's owned by Tina Casaceli who is a pastry instructor at the French Culinary Institute. Let me tell you. She knows her cookies. I'm not sure if it was tour magic or just perfect timing, but they were pulling a warm pan of cookies out of the oven when we walked in.  

        

When they said the next stop was all about cheese, we got our second wind! Bring us ALL the cheese. Welcome to Murray's Cheese Shop. Founded in 1940, they have some of the world's best cheese. They bring new and undiscovered cheese from around the world to the U.S., so that we can try the best of the best! We each got to try three different kinds of cheese, a cheese puff, and some dried apricots. They were so creamy and smooth. It would be the perfect place to pick up some cheese and bread for a picnic!

 

Last but definitely not least was the final stop on our food journey, Pasticceria Rocco.  Family owned since 1974, this is the place for pastries and coffees and all the perfect endings! One thing in particular that they are famous for are their cannolis. It literally was the perfect ending to the perfect food experience! Look at that cream!

 

What an AMAZING journey. We can't recommend the Foods of New York Tour enough. If you can, try to schedule your tour early in your visit, so that you can come back and visit all of the restaurants and shops they recommend! It's a three hour tour, and there's no doubt you will leave full! Do this instead of a dinner one day - you'll get to try the best of the area, and learn more about the history and charm of the neighborhood!

Bon Appetit!

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival 2018 - the FOOD

This year, the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival lasts through the end of May. We happened to be at Disney the day it started back in February! If you've never been to the Flower & Garden Festival, we highly recommend. We enjoy it as much as (if not more than) the Food & Wine Festival. The weather is GREAT, the flowers are beautiful, and the crowds definitely seem a little lower.

If you are lucky enough to be going later this month, we thought we'd share what we ate at the various booths around the world. There was so much we didn't get a chance to try, but definitely some must haves, They have a little "passport" booklet you can pick up that tells you all the food and drinks options being sold at each booth. We had gotten ours earlier in the trip and did some homework to know which spots we wanted to try. We typically do this as our dinner one night. Sorry in advance for the darker pictures.  Let's go!

Rating: MUST STOP, IF YOU HAVE TIME, MOVE ON :-)

Fleur de Lys booth in France:

IF YOU HAVE TIME - "Tarte a la Tomate Provencale".  It was a tomato tart with sauteed onions, thyme, and rosemary on a pastry crust.  We all enjoyed this one. It was light and crisp. Almost like a mini pizza. 

Bauernmarkt: Farmer's Market in Germany:

MUST STOP: Toasted Pretzel Bread with Black Forest Ham and Gruyere Cheese.  This was a consensus favorite.  I mean, bread and cheese -- what's not to love.  Everything we got we split three ways, but I think we would have each devoured one of our own.  

MOVE ON - Potato Pancake with caramelized ham, onions and herb sour cream.  This dish sounded better than it tasted.  The flavors just didn't all seem to gel. It's not very photogenic, but it's nothing to write home about either. We'd cross this one of the list.

Jardin de Fiestas (near Mexico):

MUST STOP: chilaquiles served with chorizo, Mexican cream and cotija cheese.  Isn't this one so pretty? All amazing flavors in a perfect little bite. Creamy, yummy, we loved this one!

The Smokehouse - Barbecue and Brews 

MUST STOP: Beef Brisket Burnt Ends & Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue and a pickle.  This was probably the longest line of the night, but probably the most "recognizable" dish. The pork was so tender, and you could smell it smoking, "countries" away. It was a very filling dish. We picked up some popcorn to eat with it, and this was a perfect little meal. They also were serving a beer flight of various American beers that helped wash this one down. You can't go wrong with this stop!

Hanami, Japan

IF YOU HAVE TIME: Frushi - pineapple, strawberry, and melon rolled with coconut rice with toasted coconut and whipped cream with raspberry sauce on the side. Whew, that's a mouth full. This was probably the most fun and unique item that I believe was new to the menu this year. It was refreshing and fun to eat. Flavors was good -- but next time, we would opt for some other sweet treats along the way.

Taste of Marrakesh

MUST STOP: Fried Cauliflower with capers, garlic parsley and chili ranch sauce.  This dish was one of, if not the top highlight of our food journey. It was perfectly cooked, amazing flavors, and the perfect little bite. We could have eaten MANY more of these. Make this a definite must stop. I hope this was stays on the menu throughout the festivals!

Lotus House

IF YOU HAVE TIME - Fried Chicken Dumpling with peanut sauce.  There was nothing wrong with this one.  It had good flavors with a fun little sauce on top. And there were three, so if you are sharing, you do get a good little taste. Even if you don't particular like dumplings or have been hesitant to try, this would be a great one to start with. 

Whew! That was a fun journey around the world.  I wish we could go back and try something different from every booth.  There were SO many booths we didn't even have a chance to stop by. Let us know if there's something we need to add to our list for next year!

We definitely agree this is one of our favorites, so if you have never been, we recommend adding it to your "one-day" vacation list. It's full of all the Disney fun & magic with great food, drinks and a perfect atmosphere.

See you real soon :-)