Podere Marcampo is a newly constructed agriturismo located on the road towards Pisa, about four miles outside of Volterra. My friend, Genuino del Duca, and his family have labored countless hours to present a first-class lodging opportunity. They rent out three fully-equipped apartments containing a full kitchen, living room, spacious bathroom, and a large bedroom. Additionally, there are three standard-size rooms with a bed and bathroom. All rooms have air-conditioning and heating, as well as Wi-fi. Here is a web link to Podere Marcampo.
Volterra – Podere Marcampo
On the property, Genuino carefully tends a prized vineyard from which he makes his award-winning Merlot wine, Giusto Alle Baltze. Genuino breaks from planting the traditional “sangiovese” grape and works with merlot instead. The result is a well-balanced wine loaded with hints of berries and the unique terroir of Le Baltze.
The grounds are decorated with flowering plants, roses, stone walls, and pathways to match the decor of the surrounding countryside.
Podere Marcampo is located in what we might think of as an unusual landscape of Tuscany. This area, known as Le Baltze, or the sandy cliffs, have been known to slide and swallow up entire buildings, dating back to Etruscan times. Of course, Genuino’s place is safely constructed on solid ground!
Marcampo swimming pool
If you are planning to travel to Tuscany, don’t miss the opportunity to visit Volterra and Podere Marcampo.
There has been a tradition in Italy for many years in which two lovers secure a padlock to famous sites. The symbolism here is that their love is forever joined together at the site by the act of locking the padlock. Pretty romantic, eh?
Over the years, I have seen this tradition spread to the far reaches of Europe. I don’t know if the tradition has made it to the USA yet, but I bet it will someday. I first ran across these padlocks in Florence, on the Ponte Vecchio. Here there is a bust of Cellini, the famous goldsmith of Florence, and all around it were padlocks secured to the railings. Recently, I’ve noticed the city of Florence has placed a sign on the site stating, “It is illegal to put padlocks here.”
In the Cinque Terre, there is a path known as the “Via dell’ Amore” (the pathway of love) connecting the villages of Riomaggiore and Manarola. Along this pathway, there is a “graffiti wall” where lovers leave their own graffiti scribbles and mark their special spot with a padlock. Lining the path are thousands of padlocks marking the site where love was securely locked in the hearts of two lovers. There is even a hardware shop in Riomaggiore that sells specially engraved padlocks with the Cinque Terre logo.
Originally, there was a wall of “lover-themed” murals along one section of the pathway. These were beautifully crafted designs by artists commissioned for the project. Almost as soon as the murals were completed, people began adding their own bit of graffiti. As you can imagine, this small amount of graffiti turned into a big glob of graffiti completely covering the original works of art. This went on unchecked for many years. In June, when I arrived in the Cinque Terre for the first time this season, I noticed the walls had been completely whitewashed, totally obliterating the original murals and the countless thousands of individual graffiti. Now, in August 2011, the whitewashed wall is filling up with new graffiti works, by new strolling lovers, leaving their marks of fame.
Yesterday, as Charlotte and I were walking this “lover’s lane,” we noticed a new tradition has sprung up. Apparently, it is a cheaper alternative to the padlock and has spread like wildfire along the path. The two lovers, instead of “locking thier love” with a padlock, now simply tie any object in a knot, symbolizing “tying the knot.” Unfortunately, this has created an ugly appearance at the once charming “Via dell’ Amore.” Now it has the appearance of trash and rubbish collecting along the path.
Trashy Love?
The matter is even more complicated in that the National Park has no direction and few employees as a result of scandal and corruption. Hence, there is no one to “police” the area and keep it clean.
A couple of days ago, Charlotte and I visited Lucca, one of the few places in Tuscany I’ve never seen. In order to get a “feel” for the city, we rented bikes and rode around the Renaissance-era city walls. The walls are 100 feet wide, flat and paved. As you can see in the video, much of the path is lined with shady trees, making for a pleasant riding or walking experience. It is about 2.5 miles around the top of the walls, so you might want to really consider renting a bike ( 3 euro per hour all over town).
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These walls are unlike any I’ve encountered in my travels. Most often I’ve seen medieval city walls built of stone and only a few meters in thickness. However, the folks in Lucca built their walls in the age when canons were beginning to be used in battle. The walls took about ten years to complete and actually were never employed to defend the city because invading forces realized it was a waste of time to attack such strong fortifications.
This photo is taken from inside the walls. Notice the gentle sloping embankment leading up to the flat and tree-lined wall.
Amfiteatro – Lucca
Within the town walls are the small medieval and Renaissance city. Today, this area is mostly traffic-free, making for a perfect location to shop and explore. Above, the town “square” is constructed on the site of a Roman amphitheater, hence the oval-shape appearance.
We began the tour early one morning in Glasgow, Scotland. By the early afternoon, we had toured the Scottish lowlands, Stirling, the Trossach’s and the Roy Roy and William Wallace historical sites. In Oban, I discovered THE TEMPLE RESTAURANT, quietly located away from town in a small bayside park. Luckily, I arrived by about 5:00 and made a reservation for 8:30; otherwise, we would not have gotten a table. While dining, we learned that the present owners had just taken over the restaurant two weeks before. The meal featured platters of what was fresh on the day’s catch. We ordered two of the platters featured above. Pam, on the right, was not a fan of shellfish or seafood, but this platter convinced her otherwise. All the ingredients were fresh from the sea, with such an amazingly clean and sea-salty flavor. There was a lot of food, but yet none of us were uncomfortably stuffed upon leaving. As of this moment, THE TEMPLE RESTAURANT does not have a website. Eilidh (pronounced like Kaliegh) the proprietor, can be contacted by telephone at 01631 566000.
ENOTECA DIVINO is located three floors down in the wine cellar of a popular Italian restaurant in Edinburgh. I was lucky to find this place and even luckier to get a table. The “enoteca” (that’s Italian for wine merchant/bar) featured authentic food and wine in a high-tech environment, yet comfy cave atmosphere. We ordered a tasty “antipasti” mixture for our first course, that consisted of fresh mozzarella, crostini, pate, several kinds of cheese, prosciutto, cured ham, salami, and bread. Everything tasted first quality, just like eating it in Tuscany. We all chose something different for our “secondi” and it must have been good because, by the time I got around to taking a photo of the food, it was all gone!
A few days later, we flew from Edinburgh to Dublin. For dinner, I booked us into my favorite French Restaurant outside of France. LA MERE ZOU is nicely tucked into a basement just across from Stephen’s Green, the huge city park. I found La Mere Zou many years ago and have been coming back ever since. Our starter consisted of succulent Duck Confit on a bed of fresh greens and topped off with a tangy vinaigrette; even the folks who had never tried duck were impressed and gobbled it all down. We continued with a roasted lamb shank cooked in the style of “beef burgundy,” with plenty of juices. Finally, we finished off our dinner with a variety of desserts.
OLIVER ST. JOHN GOGERTY is a favorite pub on Fleet Street in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. We dined here twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. On our last evening in Dublin, I slid down a dozen raw oysters drizzled with a little red wine vinegar and lemon. Gogerty’s serves food all day and has music on all day as well. Go here for good food, good music and good craic!
The Biggest Wine Glass ever!
Actually, this was the decanter for our “Vino Nobile de Montepulciano,” a masterly crafted Tuscan wine that is smooth as velvet on the taste buds. RISTORANTE RINUCCINI is without question, my best pick for Italian food outside of Italy! Like “La Mere Zou” in Dublin, I discovered Rinuccini some years ago and have been coming back ever since. I booked us a table for the “early-bird” menu offering three courses for about € 30. Again, I don’t have any pictures of the food because we all were too busy eating it! However, I do remember my menu: fresh Wexford mussels steamed in fresh tomatos, garlic and white wine, fillet of chicken in a cream sauce of mushrooms, and pancetta and white wine and creamy Tiramisu for dessert.
Fresh wild-caught salmon – Out of the Blue, Dingle, Ireland
Several years ago a friend recommended I dine at OUT OF THE BLUE the next time I was in Dingle. I did and have never had a better seafood experience! Consequently, I keep coming back! However, it is a small place so reservations are strongly advised. “Out of the Blue” is only open when and if there is fresh fish brought in that morning. If there is no fishing, there is no food! This particular evening, we all decided to pick one item off the blackboard menu (they have nothing in print because the menu varies with the fresh fish caught that morning). I ordered the Monkfish (pictured above) which was fresh, clean and flakey, but firm enough to stand up to the pepper sauce. The other five plates were met with yummies and silence as we ate.
I did not think to take a photo of the fresh fish menu, but we did get our waiter to pose with the dessert menu.
I don’t want you to think we ate gourmet food every night. We mixed it up with a variety of exceptional “pub grub,” featuring this Irish filet of beef and onion ring, hamburgers, beef and Guinness pie, mixed salads, fish and chips, and even some tasty black pudding with goat’s cheese!
Full-Irish Breakfast
Finally, we had the option to begin every morning with a full Irish or Scottish breakfast, as pictured above, or a more reserved menu featuring ceral, oatmeal, fruits, and cheeses. On the plate above (beginning clockwise from 12) Irish Bacon, Black Pudding, Fried Egg, Orange Wedge, Tomato, Sausage Link and White Pudding in the center.
I like to eat fish, but often the European menu does not describe the selection in terms that I understand. Recently, I was in Dingle, dining at my favorite fish place. I came across a multilingual fish guide for travelers. I took a photo of the menu, added my descriptions and ended up with my “fishy-fish” chart. I hope it makes choosing a fish dish from a foreign menu less challenging.
This is the entire kitchen of “Out of the Blue Restaurant.” The restaurant has only a few tables, so it is important to make a reservation. Their policy is if there is no fresh fish caught in the morning, they will not open their doors at night. Each day, the menu is listed on a chalkboard; once the fish is “finished,” the item is crossed off.
For me, “Out of the Blue” is the best choice for fresh fish on the island! Oh yeah, the wine list is selected to pair specifically with fresh fish. One of the waiters is from France and has a lot of input in the wine selection process. I can’t remember his name (it is such a shame for me) but he has been around to help me out for three years now. If you are in Dingle, go to “Out of the Blue!”
MY FISHY-FISH CHART
English
French
Italian
Spanish
German
Description
Sole
Sole
Sogliola
Lenguado
Seezunge
Flat-fish family and mild in taste. Bottom-feeder and hides in the mud,
but don’t let that discourage you… very mild.
Cod
Cabillaud
Merluzzo Bianco
Bacalao
Kabeljau
Mild flavor, low fat content with a dense white flesh that flakes
easily.
Pollack
Lieujaune
Merluzzo Giallo
Abadejo
Pollack
An Atlantic white fish with a fairly strong flavor. Most commonly used in “Crab sticks.”
John Dory
St Pierresan
San Pietro
Pez De San Pedro
Peterfisch
North Atlantic cold water fish.
Firm-textured and white-fleshed. It has a mild, sweet flavor and low
fat content.
Monkfish
Lotte
Rana Pescatrice
Rape
Seeteufel
Firm in texture. Mild slightly sweet taste. Sometimes considered poor man’s lobster.
Brill
Barbue
Rombo Liscio
Rémol
Glattbutt
North Atlantic. Similar to turbot
in having succulent, slightly sweet flesh.
Lemon Sole
Limande-Sole
Sogliola Limauda
Mendo Limón
Limande
North Sea and English Channel.
Mild white fish.
Turbot
Turbot
Rombo Chiodato
Rodaballo
Steinbutt
Turbot are harvested in European waters from the Mediterranean and
North Seas to Iceland and Normandy. Prized
for its delicate flavor. Prepared
simply, such as baked or broiled.
Plaice
Plie
Passera
Solla
Scholle
Bottom dwelling white fish.
Commonly used in fish and chips.
North Sea to the Med.
Mackerel
Maquereau
Sgombro
Caballa
Mackrele
Its meat is off-white in color and has a strong fishy taste. Its
meat is darker than cod or Tilapia.
Hake
Colin
Nasello
Merluza
Seehecht
Haddock
Eglefin
Assinello
Eglefino
Schellfisch
Taste similar to cod. A white flesh fish with very low fat content.
Seabass
Loup de mer/bar
Brenzina
Lubina
Seebarsch
Semi-firm white meat with a sweet flavor. Great for people who don’t
usually eat fish.
Scallops
Coquilles/St Jacques
Capasante
Vieiras
Jacobs Muscheln
The edible portion of the scallop is the white muscle that opens and
closes the two shells and is called the “nut.” The reproductive
glands known as “coral” are also edible and widely consumed in Europe.
Anchovy
Anchios
Acciuga
Anchoa
Sardelle
Mussels
Moules
Cozze
Mejillones
Muscheln
Shrimp
Crevette
Gambero
Camarón
Garnele
Salmon
Saumon
Salmone
Salmón
Lachs
Mild distinct flavor with a soft texture. If your not much for fish,
Salmon is recommended. Wild-Fresh
caught is the best. Other varieties
are farm-raised.
The grounds are decorated with flowering plants, roses, stone walls, and pathways to match the decor of the surrounding countryside.
Podere Marcampo is located in what we might think of as an unusual landscape of Tuscany. This area, known as Le Baltze, or the sandy cliffs, have been known to slide and swallow up entire buildings, dating back to Etruscan times. Of course, Genuino’s place is safely constructed on solid ground!
