Inside the Villa

Buon Giorno!  Welcome to my home. My dream home, when I spend a number of weeks every year in Tuscany.  Of course, I only fly first class, and am not surrounded by energetic senior citizens in sweat suits on the way there.

 I know I've talked about my intense love for cured meats before, but this love became rather obsessive during my 10 days.  Under the guise of foodie-ness, I let my love for salamis, prosciuttos, and sopressatas to reach new heights.  Seeking out glasses of wine or cappuccinos every early evening to have more antipasti?  Well, I need protein right? Part of my diet.  Damn straight.  Oh and olives?  A girl's got to have some vegetables healthy fat sodium in her life.

We can all agree that calcium is very important for bone density and good health.  Hence my copious cheese consumption.  As always, I am a paragon of health.

 Mama and Emily obviously agree!  Red wine for heart health ladies!

 This is the lovely kitchen of the "kids' apartment", right around the corner from my parents' place.  I made lots of frittattas from the fresh eggs and leeks left on our counter every morning.  Don't worry ladies, I was very conscious to pronounce them "FREET-TA!-TA!" Giada style.  I'm so damn authentic.

 Our living and dining room.

And Hubs and I's 15th century bedroom with a 16th century bed.  When the lovely proprietor told us that the bed had been in her family since the 1500's, Hubs looked rather askance, while I dreamed about Romeo and Juliet. Yep, just a bit romantic with the arched ceiling and chandelier.

My parents, brother and sister in law to be, and Hubs, combined with an assortment of olives, cheeses, cured meats and delightful cheap wines?  Basically a dream night for me.  Especially when you add Mama's homemade spianch gnudi for dinner, and sleeping off my jet lag in my romantic arched ceiling lair.

Oh, and the mysterious plant?  Brussel sprouts!