Tuscan dining

Thursday, June 5, 2008

You know those Italian meals you hear about? The ones that go on forever, course after course, accompanied by rivers of wine and then more stuff? Well, we had one of those last night. And miraculously I didn’t die. In fact I’m awake enough at 9:00 in the morning to tell about it! No hangover. No headache! I do believe in miracles.
So yesterday (Wednesday) was a conference outing day. There were about 50 of us – maybe 44 mathematicians, 5 spouses, and a lovely tour guide called Laura. We spent a big part of the day in Lucca which is separated from Pisa by mountains (Monte Pisano). We learned about the great rivalry between the folks of Lucca and those of Pisa. Pisans hate everyone, we were informed. In Lucca we walked along the city walls – a 4 km stretch with great views and lots of greenery, but we only did about a km. Then we entered the old city and took in the highlights. Narrow streets, beautiful piazzas, towers, Roman and medieval architecture and Renaissance churches make this little town really charming. It’s also the birthplace of Puccini which excited me and this year it’s the 150th anniversary of his birth. There were cafes with names like Turandot and Tosca.

We spent the late afternoon in a little village called Montecarlo which is perched on the slopes of a mountain. From here there are sweeping views down to the plains. We got a tour of the imposing fort which is now someone’s private home.

Then, at 6:30 we got taken to a wine farm just outside Montecarlo. This was where we were booked for a prepaid dinner. Again, views from the farm were quite stupendous. Lush fields (it’s been raining a lot), vineyards, olive groves, wildflowers like broom and red poppies. The air was heavily scented with star jasmin, white lavender, and a special lemony mint bush which seemed to grow everywhere.
At the farm we were seated at long wooden tables in a ‘cave’. At each table of about 15 people there were 8 bottles of wine – whites and reds – produced right at this farm. We were invited to do a ‘tasting’. So we dove into it with gusto, having been hard at work sightseeing all day. Plates of antipasto arrived – bread accompanied by cold-pressed olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, bruscetta, sundried tomatoes, olives, prosciutto, and slices of cheese. After this came a Tuscan soup – ribolleto – delicately flavored and delicious. This hearty soup is made with cabbage and lots of veggies, and thickened with white bread. I was now on my 4th wine – the 1st red – and loving it. After the emptied soup bowls were taken away, the primi piatti – pasta course - arrived. Of course it was home-made pasta – parpadelle – with a light tomato sauce for the vegetarians. Heavenly as would be expectd. I tried to get through as many of the reds left to sample through this course. A robust red was on its way for the main course!! The company around me was getting increasingly animated. They seemed to have no trouble chugging down the wine. The main course arrived – a mushroom terrine (I think - it was brown and tasted meaty, but we were assured it was vegetarian!) for the vegetarians. Meats of various kinds for the carnivores. The robust red – a pure Merlot – arrived. It was quite special – dry, a little smoky, with hints of blackberry on the nose. Excellent food, and bloody good wine.

At this point me and the folks at my table were engaged in a long discussion about Obama and Hillary. Sitting beside me were a German mathematician living in Illinois (Champagne-Urbana) and a woman mathematician from New York who was an ardent Hillary supporter. Across from us were three young male mathematicians - a Polish, a Belgian, and a German from Berlin. I can’t remember anyone’s name. The woman was pissed that Hillary lost. She was convinced it was because of sexism. When I pointed out that Obama had trouble clinching the nomination because of racism, she denied this. “Oh no. Hillary had a lot of supporters, that’s why the race was so close.”
“But, look who voted for her, and look who voted for Obama?” I pointed out.
She wasn’t budging.

The three Europeans were quite intrigued by the whole affair. They related stories of meeting Americans who claimed not to be racist, but said to them, “I can’t bring myself to vote for a black man.” They laughed. “Americans don’t even know when they are being racist!”
But, clearly, this exciting period in American politics is causing a lot of excitement in Europe.

By now my tummy felt like a lump of lead. The main course dishes were cleared away. Bottles of Vin Santo - a dessert wine – and plates of biscotti for dipping in the wine arrived at our tables. We obliged. And just as we were about to collapse the grappa arrived. We were told that grappa is a digestif – necessary after a meal of heavy eating and drinking. So, of course, we gulped down the grappa. Finally, shots of espresso came around. Not for me – I don’t do caffeine at night. A meal that started at 6:30 and ended at 10:30!

Now here’s the funny thing. I had no trouble standing up and walking to the bus. I didn’t feel tipsy. My speech was still fine. And I don’t have a hangover this morning. Go figure!

Photos of the trip will be on Facebook. If you aren't my "friend" yet, you may ask to be invited!

Ciao!