Monday, October 4, 2010

Some closing thoughts...

Things I've learned on the farm:


First off, its a "fattoria" not a farm.

"Breakfast" has two different categories, cookies and coffee, and cookies and juice.

Fly swatting and smoking are expected at thedinner table.

Mother nature is boss.

Bed bugs don't usually bite.

Hand washing and hang drying your clothes is surprisingly fabulous.

Perhaps apart from popular belief, Techno DOESNT grow on you.

Christian Bale.

Simpsons in Italian is just as amusing.

Disney channel's, "Camp rock", is not.

Katy Perry's California Girls never gets old despite the repetition.

Allora (ah-loh-rah) can be placed anywhere, anytime, with any kind of inflection in a conversation and is completely acceptable.

The louder you are, the more right you are.

Headbands and sunscreen is REALLY all you need.

Contrary to my previous beliefs…you CAN survive on minimal food until 3pm.

Sirah is the best because the grape is higher on the vine(back pain wise).

Skype.

Conversations are the number 1 form of entertainment.

Hand gestures are worth a million verbal expressions.

Love can always be understood.

Tuscany sun rises are everything.

Any kind of pasta after a day in the fields, is the best kind of pasta.

Hard work is expected and unrecognized, despite it's sacrifices.



Grape stains and back pains, in time, all go away.


Traveling is essential.

Experiencing a different culture is a necessity.

And realizing how similar we all are in the end, is inevitable...



Signing off for the last time, thank you to all who helped make this trip so amazing and everyone else who has kept up on our crazy adventures. See you in the states!!

Goat Experiement


Goats Like:
Tree leaves
Grass
Melissa with the above in hand
Making noise
Wagging their tails
Escaping captivity


Goats Dislike:
Grape vines
Weeds
Melissa with the above in hand
Human touch
Thunderstorms
Sharing
Activities that don't involve eating
Getting their heads stuck in the fence


Sunday, October 3, 2010

Small small world...

Funny little story...met my fellow Wwoofer and roommate for the next few days from the U.S. yesterday. He not only is from California, but grew up in So Cal (Newport Beach) and is currently living in Nor Cal (San Francisco), kinda like me! ALSO, he used to play volleyball. Pretty funny how we ended up talking so cal club volleyball and techniques for reading the block while picking grapes in Tuscany. Small small world...Had another long day in the fields, but pretty sure I'm getting in "farmer" shape because though the hours don't really change day after day, my tolerance for them does! Ohhh humans are so adaptable.. :) Here's a photo of the assembly line we crowd around after every harvest, picking out the vines/leaves/and insects that aren't weeded out in separating machine. This specific harvest was the Sirah, and the really really good Sirah...hence the oak barrel its delicately being put into. Yummy! :)