Shipwrecked & Comatose

Autumn.  It seems to be everyone's favorite season.  This time of year seemingly everyone is waxing poetic about the crisp air, the turning leaves, and the supposedly perfect weather.  I am beginning to think I'm being sold a worthless bill of goods. I'm tired of these autumnal worship sessions.  I think these constant homages to the perfection of fall are over the top and they tend to forget everything bad about this time of year.  Well, I'm here to say that fall isn't all that. How do I hate fall?  Let me count the ways: It's Cold - "Crisp" air, my spleen!  Celery is crisp.  How the heck can air be crisp?  It's just a euphamism for "really chilly."  Fall makes people talk wistfully of cozy sweaters, warm blankets and fireplaces.  Do you ever wonder why you are thinking of those things?  It's because it's cold outside!  Sure there might still be days in the 60s and 70s where i...

Day 6 - This morning we rode to Pacina Vineyards.  This is a totally organic winery that has been a vineyard as far as Etruscan times. The property has also housed both a monastery and a convent.  In order for it to be certified organic, they can't do anything with the grapes. Whatever nature does to the vineyards is what nature does to the vineyards.  It was a beautiful spot where Siena was visible in the distance. The make three wines at Pacina.  Their Chianti Collo Senese (named for hills of Siena that surround the vineyard) is from their oldest vines.  These are deeply rooted in the soil and the grapes have the most intense flavor.  Their Secondo wine is made from the younger vines and the flavor is less intense.  Finally they make a syrah as the owner of the vineyard decided to see how syrah grapes did in the dry, clay-like soil or their terroir and found they did quite well.  We had a lovely, leisurely tour of the vineyards ...

Day 4 - This was one of my favorite days.  The horse they assigned me this day was Jup, who got a good review from Kevin.  She was one of the most rideable horses at the farm. She turned out to be my favorite horse the entire week. We set out with Donatella leading us. We started out the day by riding to the vineyards of Tenuta Di Arceno .  The road leading to it was a typical Tuscan cypress lane.  We arrived at the vineyards and settled in for our tasting.  Before we tasted the wine we were given a brief talk on the winery and its history and property.  We also received a lesson in Chianti wine.  True Chianti wine must be at least 80% San Giovese grape.  It doesn't have to be all San Giovese because it's a strong grape that makes a very strong wine, so it's permissable to blend it somewhat.  Chianti wine is meant to be drunk with food so that something can counteract its strong acid...

Cue Music: O Babbino Mio Caro Although we only began planning this trip a few months ago, the genesis of this trip happened over 10 years ago.  Back in 2001 my mother had just received a copy of the now-defunct Cross Country International catalog and showed it to me.  Kevin and I were planning our honeymoon at the time, and this catalog was like the ultimate honeymoon wishbook.  It featured horseback riding trips all over the world. Ever since I took up riding as a hobby I had dreamed of trips to places like Ireland and Scotland.  I knew that riding vacations were abundant in those countries as they were mentioned often in the horse magazines I read obsessively.  I imagined rides over windswept hills, rugged coastlines, and seemingly enchanted forests.  The Cross Country International catalog had plenty of trips like that in the offering, but it also alerted me to trips in other countries.  The British Isles were not the only places t...