Italia Lickety-Split

Well ... actually I'm, back in Mangakino. Just as exotic from some perspectives, not nearly as many Byzantine mosaic monuments.

I had a terrific time in Ravenna. I won't even try & describe the various churches and so forth - ask Aunty Google or any reliable guidebook, which will give you no idea whatsoever until or unless you go and see them yourself. Suffice it to say that I spent quite a lot of time walking round with a slack jaw and stunned expression. It was wonderful; it was a dream come true.

Of course, body and soul must be cared for and kept together amidst whatever kind of Stendahlian raptures. I was incredibly lucky with my choice of accommodation at http://www.albergoalgiaciglio.com/indexENG.htm - the dinners were spectacularly good, and the accommodations and facilities were excellent for the price. I'd go back.

There was a Christmas market starting the weekend I left, with various interesting things - mostly imported textiles (bags, gloves, scarves, etc) and jewellery. I enjoyed wandering round, and bought the next ten years' worth of shawls. There's a reasonable covered market with fruit and vege stalls and loads of deli, butchery, cheese and fish places. I didn't buy anything, but enjoyed the nativity scene, and check out the enormous sausage!

When I arrived in Italy I spoke almost no Italian. This might work okay in bigger places, but Ravenna is a fairly small city really - a hundred and thirty odd thousand people - and I encountered quite a few people who didn't speak English (I didn't try French or German, though the former certainly helped me understand stuff!) By the end of the week, I could fluently apologise for not understanding, not speaking Italian, and generally being foreign.

But by the time I was leaving, I was glad to go. I did get pretty homesick. I was apprehensive about the trip to Tonga, but it turned out beautifully, with lovely weather and reasonably serene internal weather. We got out just ahead of the cyclone, stayed a night in Auckland with my parents and then came down home.

I'm sure I'll think of more that I wanted to say about all this, along about the moment I hit 'publish post'...

Pisa and San Miniato

Pisa, though it does not smell very good, was interesting to wander round at night. I stayed about 2 blocks from the Piazza dei Miracoli, and saw the tower by dusk, by night and in the morning. Not in any sense tempted to climb it though.

I only had one night there, then took the train to San Miniato on Tuesday morning, to taste white truffles.

The train was straightforward, and the seats are both large and comfortable. I hopped off at San Miniato Basso, which is where the train station is. It's at the bottom of the hill; San Miniato is a medieval hill town, and it and its fort are at the top of the hill. The hill is, according to Aunty Google, 192m up. I felt every metre, as I walked up backpack and all. It was worth it though - I actually quite enjoyed the walk, though was both hungry and thirsty by the top. But I did see a feijoa tree on the way, fruit all over the ground. The views from the road were lovely, insert description here of Tuscany in autumn.

Then lunch, which was, after all, the point of this diversion. With eager anticipation I entered the little osteria, from which good smells were issuing. I ordered a starter of antipasto, the highlight of which was a stunning hot pate on hot hot hot toast. The pate was seasoned with anchovy and caper, and was really excellent. Then the main course, the piece de resistance, right?

Uh yeah, right. I had a risotto with saffron and white truffle, a classic presentation of white truffles. Should I have ordered a risotto in this region of Italy? Not sure. It was okay; I've made better. The truffles are pretty good - there was a generous grating of truffle over the risotto, which was what I expected - they taste a lot like puffball fried in butter, if that's a useful point of reference for anyone, and I realise it may not be. Actually the white truffle turned out to be somewhat haunting, that is to say repetitive, in a digestive sense. Altogether, choirs of angels did not sing ... but I would always have been sorry if I hadn't tried them.

Then I went and hung out on a balcony overlooking the valley, with an espresso and my journal.

Risotto with mushrooms:
butter
an onion
Some arborio rice - a cup or so
A generous three cups of good strong homemade unsalted stock, beef or chicken as you please, at a simmer on a back burner
dried mushrooms of various kinds, broken up fine
salt as needed
more butter
fresh mushrooms - oyster or phoenix tail are nice, but button are fine if that's what there is
herbs and seasoning for fresh mushrooms, e.g. thyme, origano, pepper
grated parmigiana to serve if liked

Boil a good 1.5 litres of water in the kettle and let it stand hot. Slice the onion as finely as possible and saute in the butter till cooked and starting to brown. Stir in the rice and let it take a little colour and start to smell nutty, then add a ladle of stock, the dried mushrooms, and stir. When most of the liquid is absorbed, add some more. When all the stock is gone, start using water instead, until the rice is creamy. You need to stir it most of the time, especially when it's at its drier points, but in between, slice the fresh mushrooms, saute in butter and season. When the risotto is almost done, check for salt - go easy if you are using cheese as well, parmigiana is salty. Stir in the mushrooms. Turn the heat off, cover and stand five minutes. Serve.

I took the bus down the hill to the station and caught the next train to Florence.

Why not edit a post four years later? Photo: