A great discovery yesterday! A superb, gastronomically speaking, little restaurant out in winelands north-west of Arezzo called the Osteria dell’Acquolina.
We were treated to lunch there by two American friends, Rino and Valerie, for whom I had tweaked their website last year. And a perfect long and lazy lunch it turned to be! The Osteria is off the road from Arezzo to Loro Cuiffenna, a few kilometres after Castiglion Fibocchi. Alternatively, coming from the the Valdarno exit on the A1 motorway, you pass through Terranuova Bracciolini and take the road to Casamona. The Osteria is signposted down a dusty ‘white road’ – just gravel – a few hundred metres down which there is what looks like a large private house – you have arrived!
Paolo, the owner and head chef greeted us and wheeled us into the conservatory-style dining room, set for a good number of people – it was Saturday and there were some large groups expected. Like all good country restaurants in Italy, there is no menu: Paolo or one of the other waiters explain the choices as the meal progresses…
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David Italy, Useful Stuff
Suddenly it’s 6th May and there has been nothing on this site for over a month! Whoops. I guess April was busy with leaving Phuket, sojourning in Dubai, a side trip to the UK and then getting back to the house in Tuscany where a jungle seemed to have been transplanted into the garden! Actually it wasn’t that bad but it all seems a little daunting when you’re confronted with it after many months away. Fortunately our trusty Franco, who had been left to keep an eye on things, had done some clearing in the woods, pruned a lot of trees and even cut some of the grass. Trouble is the stuff just keeps on growing!
Got up early this morning to catch up on computer stuff – Red Bubble is time-consuming, but fun – and sitting here in the kitchen tapping away at the keys I noticed some movement on the terrace outside. It was a young hare who lives in some bushes in the garden taking a morning hop and looking for something scrumptious for breakfast. Last week, we were treated to a couple of cavorting red squirrels eating their way through the blossom in the trees just beyond the terrace, so life back here in the Tuscany hills ain’t all bad!…
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David Italy
March 29, 2009. The Andaman Sea. A calm, clear and hot day. Perfect conditions for a spot of fishing.
Never having been sea fishing with the proper gear, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I took up the invitation of three Swedish friends staying at Phuket Garden Home to join them for the day on the good ship Tail Walker owned by Englishman Kurt Lewis. They’d hired Kurt and his boat and crew on several previous occasions and they assured me that the fish would be virtually jumping into the boat.
We set off from Chalong pier around 10.30 a.m., heading at a steady 8 knots towards the two islands Racha Noi and Racha Yai south west of Phuket. Only a few minutes after setting off, Kurt and the crew were sorting out the five rods for general use, two of them linked to outriggers and baited for squid, the others aimed more towards tuna and other larger fish. A sixth rod was set up for Terry, one of the Swedes, who is disabled and has a special rig that enables him to use the rod when something bites…
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David Phuket
The previous post was about pampering through various forms of massage, a passive experience that you just lie back and enjoy! If you want to improve your physical well-being you may wish to take a more active role. For me, the perfect way to do this is through Pilates.
Pilates
Pilates currently enjoys world-wide popularity. As an exercise programme designed to achieve and maintain core strength and stability it is universally beneficial. Indeed, one of the best things about the Pilates method is that it works well for a wide range of people: athletes, dancers, seniors, women rebounding from pregnancy, and people at various stages of physical rehabilitation. What’s more, Pilates isn’t just for women!…
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Gail Phuket, Useful Stuff
Thai Massage – yoga for lazy people!
If, like me, you were born before the invention of “me time”, you may have a lot of catching up to do in the pampering department. Thailand is just the place to make up for those lost decades at prices that would have seemed very reasonable even thirty years ago!
Far from being one of those hot, “new” treatments, Thai massage (Nuat phaen boran) originated in India about 2500 years ago. It is more rigorous than other classic forms of massage with the therapist using her hands, elbows, knees, legs, and feet to move you into a series of yoga-like stretches. Muscle compression, joint mobilization, and acupressure are also used during treatment. Thai massage is both relaxing and energizing and has often been described as “yoga without the work”!…
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Gail Phuket, Useful Stuff