We’ve been so busy the last couple of days I haven’t gotten much writing done. As beautiful as Tuscany is, this is after all, a writers’ retreat. So, the writing I have done in the last two days has been on my memoir, with a new section I’ve started, titled, “Autumn.”

When I told Steve I hadn’t had time to do a blog, he suggested just listing highlights so that I’d still have something to reflect on later. Here are the highlights over the last couple of days:

Day 2, 10/1/2024

Much of the day was free time as we waited for other attendees to arrive. We walked around the estate and got to know the attendees who had already arrived. There are women from all over the United States, as well as Canada and France.

Around 4:00, we boarded a bus and headed for a town called Lari. We stopped at a large grocery store to pick up snacks, etc. Shopping at an Italian grocery store where very little–if any–of the labels were in English, helped me to empathize more with immigrants to the United States who do not know how to speak English. I was able to figure out what kind of cheese and prosciutto I wanted by the clear packaging, but I basically guessed what kind of milk to buy for my coffee, unsure if it was cream or half-and-half, or sweetened, etc. I wanted plain, whole milk. Fortunately, I guessed correctly. 🙂

After our grocery store adventure (not sure if it was more of an adventure for us, or for the grocery store! Imagine what the other customers and store employees thought at the sight of a busload of American women entering their market!)we went to a family-owned family-style restaurant called ll Frutteto Lari. There, we had toasts with various toppings, salad, lasagna, Tiramisu and of course, wine.

Aleka, owner of Insiders Tours and our wonderful, patient, and VERY organized tour leader, educated us the proper way to toast:

• Never toast with water. It’s an empty toast that means nothing.
• Always toast with the left hand, because it’s closest to the heart.
• Always look the toastee in the eye when you make the toast. This is to wish each other passion.
• Tap the wine glass stem on the table, for the people no longer with us.
• Never let your glasses cross the path of another’s toast.

I never knew there was a proper and improper way to toast, but this certainly added more meaning and substance to each toast!

As you might imagine, with the combination of good food, good conversation, good wine and jet lag, when I sat down in front of my laptop upon returning to our apartment, I literally started to fall asleep in my chair!

Night 2, I slept like a baby.

Day 3, 10/2/2024

This day began with a couple of workshops. The first was presented by Rhonda Penders, co-owner/editor of The Wild Rose Press. Her workshop was to stimulate our creativity. She presented us with a table full of items, from which we chose 3 to write a story about. She gave us 20 minutes to write a story set in Italy.

I chose the bracelet, corkscrew and fan, and wrote a story about a girl reflecting on stories her grandfather used to tell her about the grapes during walks through the vineyards.

It’s pretty rough right now, but I like the story that popped into my head, and who knows what I’ll do with it down the road? I like writing prompts like this, where inspiration is given either by words or objects to include in story, and more importantly, a time limit.

After Rhonda’s workshop, Sam, editor and marketing whiz for The Wild Rose Press challenged us to design a book cover for the story and write the blurb for the back cover of the book. This was fun, but challenging, since the four pages I’d written hardly constituted a book.

Later in the day, we toured the estate with a guide who gave us some history of the vineyards, the building, and the family who has owned the vineyards for six generations. It’s an organic vineyard and the Poggio al Casone wine is now sold internationally, including in Trader Joe’s in the U.S.

A lovely wine tasting on the patio overlooking vineyards in the valley followed our estate tour.

Well, this has turned into more than highlights, so it’s time to wrap up Day 2 & Day 3! We hopped on a bus and headed to Il Borgo dei Borghi (Village of Villages), Peccioli. This is a Medieval village steeped in history but modernized to accommodate tourists.

Finally, after exploring the village, the pièce de résistance was a delicious dinner at a tiny restaurant called Enoteca Ristorante. Everything was garden fresh and handmade. The owner described each dish to us as it was served.

The main dish was an air-fried chicken filet rolled in a corn flour coating.

I stopped and got a vanilla with shaved chocolate gelato cone. As Steve and my grandkids know, I will never turn down ice cream, and especially not gelato! With a tummy as full as the days’ events, there was no better way to end Days 2 & 3!