Tusker2: You say tomato - we say Metato

Yesterday we went into Pisa to meet Jean at the airport, and despite an iffy forecast, we had a sunny trip back to Barga. After a glass or two of Prosecco, a jolly reunion was had by all.

Today dawned foggy and colder than of late, but the fog cleared, and we headed off to do the "Metato" walk nearby the village of Sillico. It was in the cafe in Sillico that we experienced the earthquake last year, so we feel we have a bit of a bond with the staff there - formed as we customers and staff all rushed out into the open air together! Today, it was our first visit this year, and they were very welcoming.

After the (compulsory) cappucino, we headed off through the ancient village on our walk. Metati are ancient stone buildings used historically to dry the chestnuts at this time of year. The chestnuts can then be shelled and made into the flour which was a staple in times gone by. Most metati are now in various states of disrepair, or actually in ruins. Today, however we were heartened to see smoke rising from the tiled roof of one of the buildings. There was no-one around, so obviously the process had been left to go on by itself. All the communities in the valley have some sort of chestnut festival around this time, so there is still a demand for chestnuts and their products.

The rain held off all day, so we were able to fire up the oven and have pizza for tea!