Day 7 put us on the road again. This time we had two stops before heading off to our Tuscan Villa.
Our first stop was at the Etruscan museum in Chianciano Terme (Museo Civico Archeologio). There we met up with our local guide, Roberto, for a tour of the museum and a chance to learn about the Etruscans. Roberto was my favorite local guide of the trip. He was very knowledgeable and quite funny. The Etruscans were a civilization that lived in the areas of Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria between 800 BC and 100 BC. They were quite an advanced society with its own language and system of writing. They were eventually taken over by the Romans. After the museum, we headed just out of town to La Pietriccia, an agriturismo run by Stefano and his family. We were welcomed with some wine and snacks prior to our cooking class. They try to use a cooking style that is 0 km - meaning that all of the ingredients are local. They also cook with all natural ingredients. We made several dishes and learned some good techniques to take home. I helped prepare the sausage. We were also given the recipes for all of our dishes (and a few more). I have not tried any out yet, but do plan to soon. The cooking class was my favorite experience of the trip. I love to cook, so it was nice to learn a few things and then get to eat all of the good food. Click the pictures below to enlarge. |