We’ve made it to Italy!  And are truly enjoying the incredible dulce vita of Tuscany.  We’re staying at the agriturismo working farm of Alberto and Roberta Bennati outside of Castiglion Fiorantino.

Kai: I’ve noticed lots of encounters with most drivers in Italy are a bit dangerous.  This was especially true in Florence (Firenze).  But where we’re living is nice and quiet.  Our hosts own 12 horses, one donkey (assino), one cow which is going to have a calf in 6-7 days, chickens, rabbits, pigs, and sheep.  They also have two nice dogs; Dado is my favorite, and I love to scratch his back and tummy.

Naomi:  They also have a kitty.  I really liked our horsey ride today.  I rode on Amour, Kai rode on Armando, and Mommy rode on My Lady.  It was my first time riding a horse all alone by myself.

Kai:  The horse ride was quite nice, though at times Armando stopped to eat some grass.  But I got used to getting him going again, and one time I nearly got to galloping.

There’s a really nice soccer field and a natural, spring fed pool, which does occasionally attract frogs.  At first I didn’t quite want to go in, but after I saw other kids going in it, I said, “Hey, I want to go swimming!”

Naomi:  The water is very cold.  I can’t reach the bottom.

Celebrating Castle Montecchio’s 1st 1,000 years

Kai:  We got to go to a really, really cool castle (Castello di Montecchio) that someone actually lives in (learn more about it HERE).  You can see it from the farm.  We met a woman named Xenia who’s making a film about the castle.  She gave us a tour.  The castle is marking its 1,000 year birthday this year.

Naomi:  Yesterday we went to Cortona, and had two flavors of gelato with two round cookies sticking up like Mickey Mouse ears.  The city is built on a hill, and we hiked to the top of the steep streets and could see for miles across the great valley (Val di Chiana).

Tonight we’re helping to make pizza with Roberta.

Ciao for now!

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