YOU WERE A QUEEN

You asked me if I was scared and I laughed and said no, definitely not. You took me by the hands and looked into my eyes and I could see the specks of gold and black in them like universes and feel the tiny hard bits of your fingers pressed into mine and it seemed as though I could fall into you, become you, as though you had opened yourself up to me and I had only to respond. I remember looking past you at the dusty green hills that blurred into the dusty blue sea and your smell of olive oil and lavender and wondering if this could really be happening, if anyone was watching. Are you sure? You asked slowly, your eyes with mine. Yes.

BRINGING HOME THE BACON

Enrico and Luisiana raise two pigs per year who seem to eat as well as the rest of the family.  In fact, the concoction Enrico mixes for them twice a day is a vegetarian’s dream. 

SPAGHETTI AGLIO OLIO

So I thought I would share a recipe that showcases olive oil.  How could I go past the classic Aglio e Olio.  So simple, yet so delicious.  It is hard to call this a recipe because it is quite basic.  But like all Italian cooking, it is the ingredients that make the dish magnificent!

OLIO OLIVA

We came to the land of olive oil, the place where the landscape is coloured with dusty greens and smoky blues, the place where the sun lingers just a little bit longer and rosemary and sage seem to grow as easily as grass: Tuscany.

DEAR DIARY…TODAY I TORE THE HEAD OFF A CHICKEN

Dear Diary,

Today I tore the head off a chicken. Enrico our host had done the previous two chickens, but apart from these examples he gave me no direction or advice. He is just so damn relaxed!

I put the chickens head to the ground, put a foot on one end of a stick and laying it over the neck, then quickly placed the other foot on the other end of the stick.

I FORMAGGI ITALIANI SONO BUONISSIMI!

Cheese seems to be an important topic in Italy, you can watch grown men talk about it for at least twenty minutes without either one batting an eyelid or changing the subject.  Growing up in Australia my first experience of ‘Italian’ cheese came from a small green jar labelled ‘Parmesan’ in bright red letters.  It would last forever and didn’t seem to even need to be refrigerated!  The worst thing about it was the smell, I know most of you will be able to recall this smell immediately.  It wasn’t uncommon around dinner time to think “did someone just open a jar of Parmesan or throw up?”  It’s a memory we all have to live with.

OLIVE PICKING IN TUSCANY

Ciao bello! Ciao bella!

Finally our blog has caught up with us! We are currently at this farm in Toscano, Italia called La Serre. It is an organic olive farm, and the video below is just a quick look at what the work is like.

We have had the pleasure of working with some great people here, but in all honesty we have the most fun with Enrico, who owns the farm. He likes to spontaneously sing Bob Dylan songs while we pick, hence the song choice for the video. And he also says many very funny things, like “the pigs are smart… they eat twice a day… we eat three times… we are the pig.”

And when one of us tries to climb a little too high trying to get olives, Enrico yells out “we leave some for the birds!” It’s his nice way of saying “don’t try and be a big shot, get down from there before you hurt yourself and I am involved in some complicated litigation for medical expenses.” What a guy.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY ALL YOU CRAZY LOVE BIRDS

Happy Valentine’s Day! This is a cover of God Only Knows by the Beach Boys I recorded a few years back for my Casio Covers project.  I hope you enjoy. PV

OLIVE PICKING IN TUSCANY

Ciao bello! Ciao bella!

Finally our blog has caught up with us! We are currently at this farm in Toscano, Italia called La Serre. It is an organic olive farm, and the video below is just a quick look at what the work is like.

We have had the pleasure of working with some great people here, but in all honesty we have the most fun with Enrico, who owns the farm. He likes to spontaneously sing Bob Dylan songs while we pick, hence the song choice for the video. And he also says many very funny things, like “the pigs are smart… they eat twice a day… we eat three times… we are the pig.”

And when one of us tries to climb a little too high trying to get olives, Enrico yells out “we leave some for the birds!” It’s his nice way of saying “don’t try and be a big shot, get down from there before you hurt yourself and I am involved in some complicated litigation for medical expenses.” What a guy.

SO WHAT IS WWOOFING?!

This video is our entry into the WWOOF Canada 2013 Video Competition. The task is to make a video that shows what WWOOF is all about. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms, and it is only because of this wonderful venture that we have been able to travel the world and share it with you all.

If you could hit the thumbs up ‘like’ button on the video on Youtube, you will be helping us to win the competition, and at this point in our journey the prize money would make a huge difference! Your help would be very greatly appreciated!

GEGANTS I CAPGROSSOS

One last La Merce video from our time in Barcelona. This one is of the ‘Gegants I Capgrossos’ or ‘Giants and Big Heads’! The parade involved giants walking the streets, all to converge on an old castle they entered. The event had a magical air, and also a very good sense of fun. The kids were excited to throw confetti at people, but the adults also took the opportunity to be silly and have a laugh. All in all, Barcelona knows how to have a good time!

BARCELONA FC

While in Barcelona it felt only appropriate to get to a Barcelona FC match. Apparently under the reign of Franco the colours of the Catalan people were banned from being displayed in public, so the Barcelona FC strip took on a heightened significance as a symbol of Catalonian pride. I attended expecting louts behaving badly, this was european football after all! But turns out I was thinking of English football. You could not buy alcohol, everyone filed in just before kick off, watched the artistry of Barcelona FC as they destroyed Real Sociedad 4-1, then just as quickly went home. So darn civilised! I’ve honestly never been to a sporting fixture quite like it! The video is just a little way to share the experience with all my football crazy friends back home.