This afternoon, after lunch and a tour of the gardens, Chef Claudio had a tasting for us.  We tried three different peccorino cheeses.  The first is twenty days old.  The second is aged for six months.  The last has been aged for a year.  It was also wrapped in herbs while it aged.  The difference was amazing!  The first was good when it was the only one you ate.  It is mild, soft, and creamy.  The rind is good.  The second is a little firmer and stronger.  The last, though, is very good.  It spoils you for the others!  Not only did the aging add so much character, but the herbs enahnced the flavor a lot.  I was sure that I tasted dill specifically.  With it we ate the best cantaloupe!  I haven't had a good one back home yet this year.  The ones I've cut at work have been unripe and flavorless.  I would have happily eaten this whole melon!  We also tried three different charcuteries.  I only took a picture of the first.

I am very much coveting the Cuban rums!  I wish we could have them at home.

I don't know how to spell his name, but it is pronounced Waheem.  He's a mess!

For Peggy & Sandee

Here are just a few of the pictures of the gardens and flowers that I can't stop snapping.  This place is amazing.  Flowers are everywhere and the air smells like them.   I wish I could record the smell somehow!

I tried to shoot the hummingbird moth that was flitting around this lavender but he was never still!  Cool little guy!

Happy face

Chef Claudio grows grapes and olives.  He presses his own olive oil.

When you see paintings of Tuscany, this is the view.

Guess who has been in the garden?  Wild boars!

Lemon verbena, lavender (is there anything that smells better than those?), and yummy wild raspberries: