I spent a delightful week in Tuscany in a watercolor workshop. The group, organized by Il Chiostro, that runs a variety of programs in Italy and elsewhere, housed us at Borgo San Fedele, near Radda in Chianti.
Restored Borgo San Fedele
The Borgo, once a large Romanesque church that had fallen into near total disrepair, has been entirely restored. The marble stairs throughout including those up to my attractive second floor room provided an excellent workout. The property hosts private and corporate events, workshops and weddings.
Between bouts of painting we went to several nearby Tuscan towns including Gaole in Chianti, (near where my husband and I rented a villa for our family twenty-two years ago), Castellana and Radda. One mildly rainy day we drove to Sienna where I went inside the Picolomini Library, tucked into the black-and-white striped Duomo.
In Picolomini Library (These folks got the memo about matching outfits)
Inside the Library are manuscripts and terrific frescos including one depicting Raphael, the painter, in chic maroon tights. The cathedral itself is a jewel and the library a special treasure.
At a vendemia, (grape harvest), we watched workers wielding scissors to clip bunches of grapes off the vines before dropping them into plastic buckets. Filled buckets were tossed into a tractor-truck heading to the mechanical crushing area, Gone are the days of barefoot grape stomping rendered so hilariously by Lucille Ball.
Who did not love Lucy?
There is a newish (2006) archeological museum in Castellina exhibiting finds from Etruscan burial mounds. The museum is next to the fortress that has a walkway at the top for a wonderful view which I skipped as time ran out. Vaguely scholarly note: the Etruscans, who peopled ancient Italy, passed on many cultural and artistic traditions to the Romans and occupied
Ancient Etruscan settlements
what is now Tuscany and a great deal more of modern Italy.
During the week I ate lots of pasta, gelato, various riffs on salami and what I’ve incorrectly been calling biscotti for years. Biscotti translates as ‘cookie’; cantucci are specific ‘cookies.’ (Think of ‘cookie’ being the category and ‘chocolate chip’ the specific kind of cookie.) The traditional way to eat cantucci is to dip them into Vin Santo, a sweet dessert wine, but I happily inhaled them out of the bag.
Here’s a video of making cantucci although the presenter refers to them as biscotti.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx9FnQ0G0t4
Typically, biscotti are very hard – a treat for the dentist, hence the classic dunking. To complete your experience, corral a bottle of Vin Santo and listen to a snatch of Italian opera, maybe something by Puccini. Think of the rolling hills of Tuscany.
Most of the players were men in their mid-years with a sprinkling of teen boys and a few young women. Good playing all around but due to the heat we left after five innings.
Once in ‘town’ we browsed the shops buying nothing although there is a new store with pretty jewelry and woven baskets. We passed lots of restaurants, mostly noisy and full of beer-drinking young people, as well as a few realtors and other businesses.
My “tea’ came in a paper bag with a plastic glass of weak iced tea
interact {with}. ” (My interactions with plants were limited to getting them into the ground, weeding, watering, and cutting them. We rarely spoke.)
Crimini mushrooms
Makes 1 cup
Culture Lab operates in a large converted warehouse with two galleries, a theater and an outside venue and is open Thursdays through Sundays starting at 5 PM. There are concerts every Saturday night, dance and comedy presentations, and opportunities for artists to participate in many ways. For more: 
the performance that brought her well-deserved fame. (I’ve had a long affinity for her as people used to tell me we looked alike or ask if I was her. Back in the day there was a sort of resemblance; now she’s been nipped and tucked so that she no longer retains her essence. On the other hand, she’s 90 so she can do whatever she wants.)
remotely snuggly and that, combined with Dick’s depression and Dorothy’s haute approach to life didn’t add up to a cheery childhood.)
The Palm Springs International Film Festival has a certain rakish charm. According to people met on line prior to seeing films, PSIFF, now in its 35th season, is much more organized than in the past. My friend and I stayed at the Palm Springs Hotel, a fifteen room, quirky spot that doesn’t have a restaurant but has a pool and hot tub as well as old-fashioned metal room keys that defeated me for days. The hotel is within walking distance of Rick’s, a popular restaurant for breakfast or lunch; nearby is another Rick’s serving dinner.
The very new Agua Caliente Cultural Center includes a permanent outdoor exhibition with native plants, rock formations and water features; inside are galleries incorporating digital animation, projections, some in a theater setting, and displays of artifacts, all stunning and dealing with the Cahuilla Nation, As Easterners very conscious of saying “Native Americans,” we were struck by the use of “Indian” everywhere including the Palm Springs High School where the team name is —you guessed it—the Indians.
