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The People of Venice, Part 1
I enjoyed Venice the first time I visited five years ago. It's one of those places that you need to see once, to take a gondola ride, to get it out of your system. The city is beautiful, the buildings are old and creaky, and the canals have water.
But Venice is a one of a kind tourist trap. And this time around I had a realization; that the Gypsies are the only ones in Venice that are honest and up front about trying to take your money. Everything is absurdly expensive and crowded, and most of the Venetians are simply rude. It was really a night-and-day difference from Tuscany.
But for me the saving grace of Venice was the people watching. Watching the daily life of Venetians on their boats: taxi drivers, gondoliers, delivery men, crane workers, firemen, policemen. Such an interesting sight.
We've all seen the glorious photos and paintings of Venice canals and gondoliers, now much tougher to get with the throngs of tourist in the way. So as the theme for this trip started, most of the Venice photos will be of the people, and not the city.
More tomorrow.
Osteria dell'Acquacheta, A Real Tuscan Steak Place
Above: Osteria dell'Acquacheta's owner Giulio Ciolfi hacks through a slab of meat.
Just got back from Italy yesterday so I'll be posting the rest of the photos from the trip daily for the next few days.
I thought I'd try my hand at a little food photography, and no better place to do it than a restaurant in Montepulciano called Osteria dell'Acquacheta. The word osteria in Italian means an informal type of restaurant where you can find simple service but great food, and that is exactly what Acquacheta is. The restaurant is known primarily for its Tuscan Steak, which is hormone free and humanely raised. Besides the food itself, part of the restaurant's allure is that you can watch its owner Giulio Ciolfi, who looks like a David Carradine and George Carlin hybrid, hack his way through huge slices of beef, eventually bringing your bounty table side to show you before it is cooked. Needless to say, the meat is cooked very rare, with olive oil, salt and pepper.
There is this other amazing food that I discovered in Tuscany called Pici, or Pinci, depending on what area you are in. By far my favorite Tuscan meal, Pici is a very thick and chewy spaghetti in very long strands that is always served al dente and usually with a fresh tomato or garlic sauce. Pici's claim to fame is that it is the largest type of pasta there is without a whole in the middle.
Pici with fresh tomato sauce and peas.
Onion Soup, heavy on the cooked onions and cheese and light on the soup.
Pecorino cheese baked with Pears. Ridiculous.
Home made Ricotta cheese with chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Tartufo
Pienza
Pienza is a gorgeous little Tuscan hill town located in between Montalcino and Montepulciano. It's a town known for its cheeses, and has a quaint feeling with a tiny ancient church in the center of the town and a small park where old Italian men hang out.
Besides the view, the allure of Pienza is the amazing food stores that are peppered throughout the town. Each store is filled with hundreds of different wheels of fresh cheeses, cured meats, olives and olive-oils, and jams and spreads. It makes me so jealous to think that these locals have access to this quality of food every single day.
I wish I had taken photographs of this, but let me tell you, grilled cheeses that night with pecorino and salami were the best thing ever.
Engaged On The Swings
Wonderful news, I just got engaged to my girlfriend Sara two days ago! We were in the famous wine town of Montalcino and found a small playground overlooking the hills of Tuscany. I told her that I wanted to bring some wine and photograph the sunset from that spot. But instead, I just took photos of us swinging on the swings. It was a quasi-engagement shoot without her knowing. Then as the sun set I got on one knee and asked her to marry me on the swings.
Sara I love you so much, and I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world. Good luck to you now that you're stuck with me!
Oh and please help me convince Sara to let us register at B&H photo-video. :)
More photos from the trip soon. Have been a little preoccupied and there's been a lack of internet connection. A lot more to post soon.
Vignamaggio Winery
The wedding is at a 700 year old winery in the Chianti region named Vignamaggio. For a wine to be called a Chianti wine, the grapes must be grown, processed and every step of the formation of the wine must be completed within the borders of the Chianti region.
The Chianti region is prime for the growing of the grapes because of many reasons. The soil is extremely nutrient rich, and the weather is warm enough, but not too warm because of the cool winds.
Global warming has even begun to affect this process. In the last hundred years, because of the warming, the alcohol content in Vignamaggio wines has risen from 12% to 13.5%, a huge jump. While in the short term this is great, it is a scary long term thought since the grapes need such delicate conditions to thrive.
Each grape is grown in different areas of the winery, depending on which area gets the best sunlight. Different grapes need different amounts of sunlight, care and maturing time and so each area is split up and different grapes never cross paths on the way to becoming wine.
The normal Vignamaggio wine is aged in wood barrels for a year. The barrels allow for air to slowly seep into the wine over time to help oxidize it.
The special Vignamaggio reserve wine is kept in smaller barrels in the back and aged for two years. The reserve wine is kept to such high standards that it is not even released during certain years if the conditions were not perfect.
Well water is still used, although the soil has such a great composition that it does not need to be irrigated. Different soil compositions help to add different notes of flavor to each wine, although my palette is not very refined. I am not very good at noticing 'plum' or 'white pepper' notes in the wines.
Some More Florence
As part of the wedding, we all did an evening trip to Florence for the rehearsal dinner. Took a bunch of shots I liked so I thought I'd post them. Much more Tuscany Photos soon.
The shadow of the reproduction of Michaelangelo's David outside of the Uffizi
Through the window of one of the many jewelry shops on the Ponte Vecchio bridge.
Chianti, Part 1
So we've been in a villa and winery called Vignamaggio in the Chianti region for the past 3 days for Lia and Rob's wedding. The area is gorgeous and the wine and food are incredible. I've probably drank more wine in the last three days than I have in the past three years. Here's a few photos from the first day here. Haven't yet made a concerted effort to take a bunch of photos yet here, but wherever you go you get a great photo op. Will post more as I find the time.
Florence, Day 3 and 4, Last Photographs
Here are a last few scenic and people shots of Florence. Heading to the Chianti region and Siena for Lia's wedding. I expect to take more scenic photographs there.
Florence, Day 3, Bikes are King
Bikes are king here. Men and Women ride everywhere, in white pants and expensive shoes, most with sunglasses and satchels or purses put in a front basket.
Florence, Day 1 and 2
So all of you have probably already seen the obligatory photos of Florence. The Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, etc. And the last time I was here I took them. Lots of them.
This time around I wanted to focus on something a little different. The people. The people of Florence are some of the most interesting and well dressed that I've ever seen. Florence is a mix of an old world city with a new world 5th avenue. Fashion is king here.
Oh, and there will still be a few obligatory Duomo photos here. Scenic Photographs at the end of this post.
Happy Tourists
Outside of the Uffizi
The Most Fashionable Man in the World (above)
Lost
Gelato!
Where else can you see a pizza advertisement sticking out of an enormous ancient door?
