This week we took a cooking class at Querceto, an organic vineyard in Tuscany. The class is held in the kitchen of the family matriarch, Laura. First, we met her in the center of Castellina in Chianti, to do some shopping for the menu we were making. This was a big plus for us, because getting to shop with Laura and ask her questions, and see how she goes about it, was a golden opportunity.

We’re always looking for those authentic, traditional and authentic places to eat, whether they be fancy upscale restaurants, or (more often, and preferred) modest family-run places that serve traditional recipes handed down through generations.

Toda was a home run: Just outside of a beautiful little Tuscan hill town that we love to visit (despite the fact that it’s very well-known and heavily touristed), we were delighted to find this little family place. 

I’m an animal lover - whenever we travel, we miss our three cats, so I always carry a bag of treats with me to feed the inevitable village cat (or herd of cats) that we encounter in small Italian towns.

But I also notice animals in the context of artwork - Renaissance frescoes, paintings, statuary, and simple home decor. They’re everywhere. 

Here is a sampling of the animals - artistic and otherwise - that we saw on a recent trip to the Val d’Orcia in Tuscany - Pienza, Monticchiello, Buonconvento, San Quirico, Montalcino, and a dozen or so other towns in between.