Some street signals in Fucecchio on via Francigena

One is my fave... Guess which one?!?!?

It is Christmas time in Gelsa!

Yesterday late afternoon I went to Gelsa and I could not help but take a picture of the simple but effective Christmas tree, just in front of this bar / pizzeria / grocery / deli / newsstand / at al, a very important resource if you forget to buy something at the supermarket! Not only Gelsa Store is almost always open, here the hospitality is warm ans every single time you visit, there are big smiles for you! Well done Laurino Brothers!

The Christmas tree in Gelsa

It happens in Tuscany... 2 rainbows after a rainy day

It is not always sunny in Tuscany! Today we had a lot of rain but... Even the worst weather doesn't last for long!

2 rainbows in Fucecchio

A walk along the Padule di Fucecchio

I like being outdoors, but I am lazy! So I need motivation and companionship. After parking my car in Ponte a Cappiano and hitched a ride home, I force myself to walk back to the car accompanied by my mother.

2 local pilgrims

Did you know that adventures in Tuscany are just outside your doorstep?

Da Marisa e Ottorino

Frantoio - Vendita Olio - Oil Mill - Oil Sale

San Miniato National White Truffle Market

The last three weekends of November there is a "must-attend" food festival for all gourmets and gourmands in Italy and abroad... The San Miniato National White Truffle Market!

The official poster of the 42nd edition

I decided to take a walk on a Saturday morning also because this issue has a special bond with Fucecchio in general and Torre in particular!

Olive picking in Tuscany

Our extra virgin olive oil is the product of a recipe of ancient gestures, loud and shiny modern oil mills, observation of the sky, of the wind (some years there is a wind, tramontana, that makes you worry your fingers will be cut off soon!) and year-round, constant weather concerns (it is always raining too much. Or too little).

Olives on the nets

In these days of Indian Summer (in Italy it is called "Estate di San Martino", a period of good autumn weather that "dura tre giorni e un pochinino", lasts three days and a little more) takes place one of the most delicate phases of the cycle, the olive harvest.

The olive collection here is made spreading large nets under the trees and shaking the branches with a stick if on the ground or directly from the branch if you climb on the tree. Then, like country fishermen, we retreat the nets, concentrating the olives to choose them, discard those that do not look good and put the good ones in the bags. Soon after it important to go to the oil mill, because it should not pass too much time (more than a couple of days) from harvesting to olive pressing. 

Hand made olive pick up

We, in Fucecchio, Tuscany, have a few trees, its number does always seem too short! And maybe you get only a flask out of a bag of olives, the ratio is 5 to 7 kilos per liter but, trust me, it is the best extra virgin olive oil in the world!

Olives in the bag