P11April 23 - 29, 2009

The Epoch Times Travel

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By JASLEEN KANDHARI

“Ciao, mi chiamo Jasleen, sono Indiana, vengo dal Kenya.”

Introductions over, it was time to get cracking as I spent a couple of weeks in the historic medieval town of Siena learning Italian at the Scuola de Leonardo da Vinci. I could not have picked a more charming town in the heart of beautiful Tuscany or “Land of the Etruscans.” The atmosphere is enchanting with its majestic Gothic architecture and narrow cobbled streets lined with ancient brick and stone towers surrounded by rustic medieval walls.

Indeed, the homey accommoda-tions where I stayed provided views of sprawling vistas with brick and stone houses set against Tuscan rolling hills. Views of Siena from the Terzi di Siena, and of Florence from the beautiful In Piazza della Signoria were an ideal treat for the eyes while I gorged on Tuscan breakfasts.

Each morning was filled with intensive language classes taught entirely in Italian with the emphasis on the spoken word, followed by an hour or two of homework to fully reap the benefits.

“Ripetere, ripetere” (“repeat, repeat”) was the mantra of our teacher, Julia, and I discovered that I learned Italian much faster than expected when discouraged to speak in English. When learning a foreign language, it is advisable to immerse yourself in the entire cul-ture of that region as I experienced through the culinary and wine tutorials as well as the historic tours delivered in Italian.

Culinary highlights“Inpastare a lungo,” exclaimed

Chef Roberto at our culinary class in instructing us to beat out our handmade pasta. I learned to make lemon and zucchini tagliatelle, cheese tart on cheese fondue, and panna cotta dessert at his quaint, family-run osteria, Sottolefonti. Tiera di Siena’s culinary claim to fame resides in its preservation of Etruscan culinary heritage from ancient times. Indeed, it has been claimed that Tuscan cuisine origi-nated in the province of Siena.

Needless to say, I sampled a whole array of tasty local dishes in the plethora of restaurants and traditional trattoria in Siena. This included typical Sienese dishes like Crostini di Siena, which is toasted bread spread with chicken liver, olives, and truffles; Pici al Cinghale, a special pasta unique to Siena in wild boar sauce; and la Bistecca Fiorentina, which is grilled Chi-anina beef savoured in the charm-ing, rustic setting of La Finestra restaurant.

I also sampled fine Mediter-ranean seafood like Scorfano (tomato scorpion swordfish pasta) and Melanzane alla Parmiggiana di Mare (eggplant in parmesan with cuttlefish) paired with Italian white wines as part of the Il Menu di Pesce or the menu for wild fish tasting in the elegant ambience of

the Tre Christi restaurant.

Fine winingYou cannot leave Tuscany with-

out savouring the rich red wines of Chianti Classic, Brunello de Mon-talcino, Nobile de Montepulciano, and at least one Super Tuscan wine. Their distinctive ruby red colour and full-bodied flavours form an integral part of the Tuscan lifestyle.

I was fortunate to savour all of them at Il Masgalano where the res-taurant owner, Giuseppe, paired Il Sambucco Chianti with the assorted antipasti or Tagliere Misto. He also paired Fonterutoli Chianti Classic with Gnocchi in a four-cheese and truffle sauce called Tartufo, the DOC-controlled and guaranteed Vino Nobile de Montepulciano with Pappardelle al Cinghale or wild boar sauce, and the most recent Brunello de Montalcino from Anti-nori vineyard with Osso Buco alla Senese—a delicious veal-based dish in rich tomato sauce. (Note: The DOC, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata, is an Italian wine tast-ing committee that evaluates a wine before it can be bottled.)

Spending time at the Il Mas-galano restaurant, with its outdoor

terrace overlooking scenic views of the San Domenico church, proved to be a most relaxing way to spend the afternoon. After all, “allentamente” or “slowly, slowly” is how the Tuscan life is meant to be lived, I thought as I polished off the homemade Pinolata dessert coupled with a traditional Cantucci biscuit dipped in the dessert wine, Vin Santo.

“Wine appreciation is a subjec-tive experience and it also depends on the style of wine,” exclaimed Francesco, the sommelier at Enoteca Palazzo Piccolomini. The palazzo is a 30-year-old wine selling establishment in the heart of Siena where I attended a wine tutorial and tasting of my favorite wine, Chianti Classic. There are 600 wine producers in the Tuscan region of Chianti stretching between Siena and Florence, with wines made predominantly from the Sangiovese grape varietal uniquely found in Tuscany.

Excursions to Tuscan wineries and the countryside further enhance your appreciation of “la dolce vita” or the good life. I learned this while experiencing the Chianti and Brunello wine-producing regions with Tour My Tuscany experts on half-day escapades into the heart of the scenic rolling landscapes peppered with cypress trees, Romanesque churches, and castles which characterize the Tuscan countryside.

Brunello is regarded as one of the finest wines in the world, and the Il Paradiso Di Frassina winery on our tour incorporates an innova-tive approach to the winemaking process. They play Mozart’s music into their vineyard 24 hours a day through Bose speakers in order to encourage finer grape growth which, according to the owner, Giancarlo, is being researched at universities in Tuscany.

“Grapes that dance to the music of the vine give top vintage,” claims Giancarlo. This must be the luckiest winery in the world.

Creative pursuitsFor the aesthete, Siena’s rich

architecture and figurative arts of the Sienese school at the Pina-coteca Nazionale and the marble “illuminated Bible” mosaics on the Duomo’s floor delight, while

Florence and its glory is only a bus ride away.

Since Florence is the capital of Tuscany as well as of Renaissance culture, you cannot visit it without venturing to the famed Uffizi gal-lery, Bargello sculpture museum, and Accademia to see Michelange-lo’s “David.” However, what I found most intriguing was the Palazzo Strozzi, a cultural exhibition space located in the prior residence of the Strozzi family.

“We are passionate about creating visitor experiences rich in emotional moments of potential transforma-tion,” the director, James Bradburne, claimed. They do this while main-taining academic integrity in their creative exhibitions and innovative public programs and accompanying publications.

Currently on display is the exhibi-tion “Galileo: Images of the Universe from Antiquity to the Telescope” to mark the 2009 International

Astronomy year as well as the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s invention of the telescope. It encompasses a broad range of media from manu-scripts of astronomical and astrologi-cal treatises relaying the history of astronomy to scientific instruments, including fine Islamic astrolabes and Galileo’s famed first telescope.

It is worth mentioning that Meridiana Airlines provides the most cost-effective daily flights from the central hub of the world, Lon-don, to Florence within two hours. Is the province of Siena the loveliest in Italy, as some proclaim? I found myself pondering on the return flight.

You shall have to visit and experi-ence this region Under the Tuscan

Sun, where culture has become an attraction and part of contempo-rary heritage, in order to decide for yourself. I, for one, have signed the Terre di Siena charter for sustainable tourism to become an honorary citizen and ambassador of Tuscan culture.

Jasleen Kandhari flew with Meridiana airlines, www.meridiana.com, +39078952682, learnt Italian at www.scuolaleonardo.com, toured Tuscan wineries with www.mytours.it, and dined at www.ilmasgalano.com, www.lafinestraristorante.com, www.trecristi.com.

Jasleen Kandhari is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

La Dolce Vita in Toscana‘The good life in Tuscany’

DELECTABLE DELIGHTS: Tuscan breakfast presented on the balcony with the charming Italian town of Siena in the background. Jasleen Kandhari

MAKING SUPPER? The author with Chef Roberto making pasta and antipasti with local Tuscan wine and Montereggioni olive oil at the family-run osteria, Sottolefonti. Jasleen Kandhari

Even today there is an exclusive private park for residents who hold a key to Fitzwilliam Square in South Dublin.

The Epoch Times

Geography GuruTM

“Growing your geography knowledge”Quiz #212

Answer for Quiz #213:

Read The Epoch Times next week for the answer!

MANY NEIGHBOuRS: Two middle-sized U.S. states in the middle of the country each have eight border states. HINT: Both of these states have Arkansas and Kentucky as neighbours.

ANSWER: Missouri and Tennessee.

U HAVE IT: Match the nation on the left with its correct geographic location on the right.

UgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUzbekistan

Central AsiaEastern AfricaEastern EuropePersian GulfSouthern South America

Across

1 Melt5 Ordered9 Allotted14 Seep15 Eager16 Chip at17 Parlay18 Dwell19 verdant20 Find21 Roman Catholic devotion

23 Cabana24 Rich person26 Telegraphic signal28 “To the right!”29 ___ book, church music31 Disappointed34 Loud advertising37 Rumormonger39 put aside40 Stray41 Sympathize with42 Lion group44 Individuality

47 Yea48 Green Earth advocate, Al ____50 Spark51 Summit52 Mortarboard embellishment56 Egg-shaped fruit59 Baby poweder63 Adam’s wife64 Mid-Eastern dwellers66 Wild pig67 Jimmy68 Legitimate69 Ca. University70 current of air71 Writing72 Fee73 Girl

Down

1 Make hot2 Dear3 Ancient Indian4 Teensy5 Bosh6 Tel __7 Plunge into water8 Eve’s garden9 Microgram10 third planet from the sun11 Ash12 Poetic “evening”13 Nick21 Christmas carol22 Admiral (abbr.)25 Eyed27 Some29 Drove30 Past

31 Annoyance32 Attorney (abbr.)33 24 hours34 Nude35 Car rental agency36 One who inherits38 Sagas39 Snoop43 Self45 nothing added46 Streetcar49 Choose51 Bone53 Brownness54 Levels55 Allows to borrow56 Vegetable57 Spring flower58 Western Athletic Conferences60 Connect61 South of the border crazy62 Shout65 Pigpen67 Night bird

Crossword

Today’s Solution

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22 23

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28 29 30 31 32 33

34 35 36 37 38

39 40 41

42 43 44 45 46

47 48 49 50

51 52 53 54 55

56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

64 65 66 67

68 69 70

71 72 73

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

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GEEHYMNSADBALLYHOOYENTA

SAVEERRPITYPRIDEIDENTITYYESGOREARC

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