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Skiing in Tuscany
Did you know that you can go skiing or snowbording in Tuscany in winter? Abetone is a popular destination between Pistoia and Modena. It has 34 ski tracks for beginners and advanced. You can eat Tuscan food during your winter holiday and perhaps you even have some time to visit Florence. For information about Abetone, take a look at this site
Pappa al pomodoro - tomatoe breadsoup
A genuine Tuscan plate: Pappa al pomodoro
The ingredients for four persons:
400 gr fresh tomatoes
250 (old) Tiscan bread (best is non-salted)
4 leaves of basil
garlic
1 spoon of concentrated tomatoe
800 ml. vegetable broth
half a glass olive oil (extra vergin)
salt and pepper
Make a small cross with a knife on top of each fresh tomatoe and cook them for just a few moments in hot water. After cooling down you kan easily peel of the skin and than you cut the tomatoes in small pieces.
Fry the garlic and 2 leaves of the basil in a saucepan. Add the concentrated tomatoe and the fresh tomatoes after a few minutes. Add salt and pepper according to your taste. Cook this and add the vegetable broth.
Cut the bread in thin slices and cook this with the rest for 3 minutes. Switch off the fire and leave the sauce pan covered for one hour.
After one hour you can heat the pappa a little, but you can also eat it cold. Finish the plate with some fresh basil and a bit of extra vergin olive oil. If you wish add some grated Parmesan cheese.
In 1964 Rita Pavone sang a song about this plate!B& B in Verona
Occasionally I would like to recommend a nice B& B in Verona!
Last Thursday I was in Verona with my family to pick up my Dutch passport and the passport of my youngest son. Nowadays you have to scan your fingerprints for the new passports and that is not possible anymore in Florence. So it was a good opportunity to make a trip. On the internet we had found a B& B close to the arena. The room was spacious and nicely decorated, at a friendly price. The owner was very helpful and the breakfast was fine (you eat the breakfast in your room). Click here for the website.
We want to get married in Tuscany, now what?
You have decided to get married in Tuscany. But where to start?
These are the very first steps:
- choose where to get married
- make a (provisional) guest list
- take a look around where you would like to stay (with your guests)?
- stabilize an indicative budget
- contact a weddingplanner
to be continued with the next steps!
Buon anno!
According to the tradition most Tuscans will have dinner at home or somewhere else, the 'cena di San Silvestro'. Dining all night long and to conclude a nice 'dolce' pannetone or pandoro. Of course the new year starts with a good glass of Italian spumante!
tuscanemotions wishes you a nice New Year's Eve and all the best for a happy, healthy and fantastic 2010!
Marc and Mariska
Last August Marc and Mariska got married in Lucca, in the wonderful "Sala Verde" in Palazzo Orsetti. These are their own words:
On 7 August 2009 we got married in beautiful Lucca in the presence of our darling daughter Jasmijn, dear family and friends. It was a fantastic experience which we can warmly recommend to everybody.
To us it was really a dream which has come true. We wanted to get married abroad, but where exactly……..we didn’t know yet. Until we found Renske’s website; we immediately knew it would be Tuscany. We had a lot of contact with Renske by mail, skype and telephone about the day’s programme. Renske came up with very good ideas, possibilities, alternatives, if needed. And in reality everything was possible. Nothing was taking it too far. Renske’s support in organizing our wonderful day was really super.
On 2 August we arrived in Agriturismo Massarella, a wonderful accommodation with very friendly and welcoming people. That night we arranged our wedding dinner together with Renske. Two days before our wedding we gave notice of the intended wedding in Lucca and this was also perfectly organized by Renske.
Because of this the wedding day itself has run smoothly. After the wedding ceremony in Lucca we went to a restaurant with our guests and we enjoyed an excellent lunch. The dinner in our accommodation in Masserella was also superb. Carla, the owner is a real top chef !
All our guests (over thirty people) stayed in the accommodation which we had booked. Fantastic ! After our guests had left, we newly-weds enjoyed all beautiful Tuscany has to offer: lovely people, delicious food, beautiful towns and villages and of course glorious weather !
When we arrived home after two weeks our documents were already available, so that we could register our marriage in The Netherlands right away. All was taken care of perfectly. Every day we still enjoy the wonderful experience which also thanks to Renske is unforgettable to us all. Thanks a million !
Kind regards,
Marc and Mariska Zeeman-Doffer
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