New Olive Oil Tuscany Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

The new olive oil is here in Tuscany now and it is delicious! My padrona Doria shared some with me last week when her nephew was visiting from north Italia. Honestly, before I lived in Italia, I had no idea that olive oil was green! I had only seen the yellow variety in the States. Ah, but that is “old” oil. And the oil Doria bought from a Tuscan-living Italian friend is so good I was licking it off of my plate – not behavior my mother taught me!

This past weekend in Piazza Santa Croce here in Florence, Italy, there was a festival celebrating Tuscana’s organic olive oils and wines. There were also hand-made salsas and soaps in this “XXXVI Rassegna dell’Olio Extravergine di Oliva di Reggello” that celebrates “Oro verde” (green gold).


While everything was good that I freely tasted, I sometimes wondered if the vendors were making poor choices in the breads for dipping in the oils. There is not much Italian bread that I am fond of and I worried that their qualities might influence the flavor of the oils. No one else seemed to mind though. I wrote down prices and information for this blog, but now cannot seem to locate it. My room is chaos!


Anyway, in a bottle that is similar to a gallon (probably 5 liters), olive oil could be bought for around 50 euros. (What is that now - $70 US?) I must admit I was not able to purchase anything, but dreaming and tasting was fun. An interesting side note for me was that one of my friends from Algeria said that they do not celebrate the new olive oils as they do here in Italy. They actually prefer the older oils, like a good wine, I suppose.

Buon appetito!



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Light and Shadows in Florence Italy

Before Lisa and I ended up at The Art Bar in Florence last Friday night, we stopped in at a friend of a friend’s attic apartment to buy some sheets for my new room. (Oh, yes, I forgot to say that I found a nice room vicino the Teatro Verdi, not too far from my room with Grazia. I moved in early to help the situation with my old space and am now sharing with a cute young couple studying design here in Florence.)

But, I digress, as I often do. After we purchased the sheets I needed, Lisa and I did some exploring on the lower floor of this woman’s building. If I told you the address, I might have to kill you. (Nice, huh? Gotta protect the private.) I love going into all of the Italian homes and business spaces in central Firenze. This one surprised us both. While I was still photographing shadows in a hallway with a large vase and plant and looking for other hallways to explore, Lisa was curious about some beautiful wooden doors.

We were both delighted with the view below that Lisa discovered after she opened the doors. Pictured here is the beautiful window with a simple floral design that only partially hid a warm Tuscan-colored floor behind it. This is one way to add a bit of nature to a city of stone and concrete!

But then, look at the cast lighting from the hall lamp hanging from the ceiling. Lisa can definitely spot the cool stuff! The way the light hit the floor made the wooden floor look fluid. I hope you enjoy the images I took of the water-rippling floor and a bit of Lisa’s door on the left, as well as the image of the light that cast such a hypnotizing pattern. While the ceiling’s shadow is not quite as interesting, the contrast between it and the floor’s design is fun. So, when you visit Tuscany, do not forget to keep your eyes open for even the smallest pleasures. And definitely peek into open doorways!