November 1, 2008

Yes, it is true! My parents traveled all the way from Alabama to see me in Italy! It was so good to finally be able to show my parents where I have been living for the last 3 months! We had such a good time together.

I joined my parents in taking an Italian cooking class! It was so much fun! We all learned a lot that we did not know before. We had a great teacher/chef named Roberto. Now I feel like I have a few cooking tricks up my sleeve... but I guess we will see!

We also went to the Chianti Region of Italy to Castello del Trebbio, a family run castle. They produce and bottle their own wine and olive oil. The family actually lives in the castle and we got to take a tour of where they live and taste their wine and olive oil. I loved the way it was decorated. It was an old beautiful castle but it was decorated with contemporary furnishings. There were great big sofas and several beautiful oriental style rugs. Although it was a big castle it still had a cozy and homey feeling. I loved it. The castle sits in between the Tuscan hills and has the most breathtaking views. 

Along with the castle came the game keeper... and he was absolutely adorable. He was dressed in his uniform and has been working at the castle as the game keeper everyday for over 50 years... well, he took 10 days off of work for his honeymoon! He is 81 years old now and when you look at him and see his smile stretch across his wrinkled skin, you almost wonder if every one of those wrinkles has a story to tell. I feel honored to have met him. I don’t even know his name but he was precious.