A Volterra con le mie Amiche

I didn’t get to build a sandcastle. Instead I saw a real one in the ancient alabaster town of Volterra, which was hosting a tartufa (truffle: the mushroom) festival. It didn’t take much to convince Rachel and me to abandon our original plan and a rainy beach to go with Rita’s family to sample bianci e neri tartufi. Dio, those fungi are expensive! I bought a thimble-sized jar of acacia honey with white truffles for 6 euros. I’m saving it for a special occasion…no idea when that will be. On a non-truffle related note, I also bought an alabaster wine stopper. We’re all winos in this apartment and we have more open bottles that we would like to disclose, so this gift (for me) has meaning and purpose.
What else about Voltera? There is a Museum of Torture! We just visited the lobby. Rachel doesn’t have the stomach for these things. The poor girl is allergic to gluten, soy, dairy, and gore…poor thing. In accordance with our already extra-feminine weekend (we watched a chick flick the night before) we skipped in the park surrounding the castle. But joy of joys, Rita’s father challenged the Americans in a foosball match, Italy vs. the U.S. Thanks to my legendary defensive skills...America lost horribly.
I made sure my boss knows it is my Spring Break and that I am available all week, all day—not sure why I did this. Consequently, Nerina is skipping school today and we are taking Polla (her pug puppy) for a posh bath at a place near the Pitti Palace. While Polla is being pampered, Ne and I are going to the Bardini Gardens; they are right behind her house and I have still not been. Then…non lo so…whatever we want. Gelato is definitely on the agenda. We also need to pick up a soccer ball (Ginevra wouldn’t let us take the one from the country house). So now I need to get ready for my adventure. I am expected to report for duty at 9:30.