Let the Mallorcan Driving Adventure Begin!

At least it's not that big of an island,

And this is my final destination, http://www.laserrania.com/.

I could go for some of this right now...

It's the depths of January and London is freezing. I haven't gone to bed without making a hot water bottle (or two) since November, frozen shampoo, fox invasions, and seeing ones breath inside our house has become the norm. I am off to Mallorca this weekend, this time last year I was soaking up the sun in Los Angeles. I am sure that Spain will treat me just as well.

Christmas at the Glebe

Taken in as an oprhan by the C-M family, I was lucky enough to spend Christmas this year at their home in Worcestershire. In desparate need of escaping our un-insulated Georgian house in London, I was thrilled at the idea of a family home, and able to not think of the heating bill for a week! As I'm sure that you've heard the UK has been battered with a very cold winter, Frozen Britian has become the news anchors favorite phrase and as usual I had the luck to land myself in the coldest place in the UK on Christmas day, minus 18 celcius - one for the record books. We kept warm in front of the aga, the fire, or by going on long walks through the fields and along the ice covered roads.

These photos were taken on Christmas Day, the brightest days I've seen all winter, and the last day before the freeze let up and the snow began to melt. Turning the roads and fields into treacherous expanses of mud.

Thanksgiving, London Style

Pit Stop: Switzerland

Lucca, Italy

Olive Picking 101

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When asked to spend eight days in Tuscany in exchange for three or four days of labour, would anyone say no?

We drove from London to Lucca in a day, 18 hours to be exact. The next day we were in the fields, harvesting the olives. There has been little progression in the olive harvesting methods or technology since the Romans - you lay out nets beneath the trees, then methodicaly run your hads down the branches popping off the olives. Small rakes are used to reach the upper brances. When the tree is sufficently barren you gather the nets, empty them into crates and move onto the next tree.

Oil gains the Extra Virgin lable with a specific acidity level, most easily achieved when the time from picking to pressing is less than 72 hours. We picked furiously for three days and then were off to the presses the following morning.

Tuscany in early November is stunning, fall colors, crisp cool mornings and evenings where you can still be outside in just a sweater.