Trekking

The Italian landscape is so gentle, the environment kind, all which makes trekking here enjoyable. We headed out of Talamone to the top of a ridge that forms the southern trail sytem of the natural park of the Maremma. On the well-maintained trail we often had views of the sea on one side and the hills and mountains on the other. As I walked along I thought not only how beautiful on this sunny day, but that there wasn't really anything ferocious to fear, most specifically bears or mountain lions. Then we visited a little nature education center in the woods just off the trail (a "didactic"). My eyes quickly settled on the viper, part of the fauna in the park--a poisonous snake that slithers around these parts. As it turned out, we only had one wildlife encounter and we think it was a little red fox but as it darted across our path quickly we didn't get a good look. The wild rosemary completes the experience. It grows everywhere on the trail and I picked some using it for a delicous white soup that I make whenever we need something quick. Here's the recipe:

White bean soup

Several cloves of garlic, chopped fine
Several sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped fine
Can of white beans, such as Cannelli
One liter of water
2 cubes of vegetable or bouillon cubes
Pasta, whichever you prefer
Olive oil

Saute garlic and rosemary in olive oil
Smash half of the beans and cook with garlic and rosemary
Add the water, the rest of the beans and bouillon cubes
Bring to boil
Add pasta until cooked















Now this is the way to finish a hike. Note the two cappucinno's--one with a four-leaf clover and the other with a star.


Clear skies interrupted temporarily with systems passing rapidly through has given us these beautiful cloud formations.



We've had a full moon this past week. It's so unbelievable bright that when it finally goes down in the morning it looks like the sun.