I had arrived at the first WWOOF farm Casa Lanzarotti, up on the north Appeninese hills 15 mins away from Borgo Val di Taro, a short train ride away from Parma. It had been truly amazing these past 3 days. Along with the 2 other younger Americans - Katie and Ben, our routine started very early at 7am (freezing!) when we'd stuff our sleepy faces with a nourishing breakfast of cereals and bread with homemade jams, and got on with our daily routine of sorting out the onions (my first task!) and feeding the pigs (Porky & Penny), smelly sheeps, chickens (Henry & his brood) and the lone horse.
As the sun warmed up the hills, I'd peel off an extra layer of clothes while at work. Here, our host Iris put us to good use as we'd be spring-cleaning the house one day or weeding and harvesting the fresh vegs, raspberries and blackberries in between stolen bites from the fields. Another day, we'd yank the bunches of tiny elderberries from the trees while shooing off the greedy sheeps who'd poke their heads into our wheelbarrows. Iris then showed us how to separate the elderberries to make into marmalade at the lab - a painstaking process but the thick luscious jam was worth it.
We were constantly grateful to Iris and Gianluca for their generous hospitality, providing three full and hearty meals daily, consisting of delicious homemade pasta to steaming spelt risotto, organic salads with cheese, ham and wine (loved the sparkling red Lambrusco!). On our time off in the afternoons, we'd explore the nearby towns, walking everywhere for hours because the public transportation was not regular and reliable. Normally I might have felt the strain but it helped that the scenery here was soooo gorgeous and the weather perfetto.
I felt like Heidi on the Hills, living in our cosy caravan (which me and Katie had nicknamed the 'spacepod') in the backyard overlooking the lush hills and plains. We were literally on cloud nine every morning as the mist hovered around the peaks and blanketed the valleys. The first 2 mornings, I nearly froze my tits off in my upper bunk next to the thin plastic window shielding me from the cold outside. By the 3rd night, I had learnt to pad the window with 2 fluffed pillows and 3 blankets!
I had arrived at the first WWOOF farm Casa Lanzarotti, up on the north Appeninese hills 15 mins away from Borgo Val di Taro, a short train ride away from Parma. It had been truly amazing these past 3 days. Along with the 2 other younger Americans - Katie and Ben, our routine started very early at 7am (freezing!) when we'd stuff our sleepy faces with a nourishing breakfast of cereals and bread with homemade jams, and got on with our daily routine of sorting out the onions (my first task!) and feeding the pigs (Porky & Penny), smelly sheeps, chickens (Henry & his brood) and the lone horse. 
As the sun warmed up the hills, I'd peel off an extra layer of clothes while at work. Here, our host Iris put us to good use as we'd be spring-cleaning the house one day or weeding and harvesting the fresh vegs, raspberries and blackberries in between stolen bites from the fields. Another day, we'd yank the bunches of tiny elderberries from the trees while shooing off the greedy sheeps who'd poke their heads into our wheelbarrows. Iris then showed us how to separate the elderberries to make into marmalade at the lab - a painstaking process but the thick luscious jam was worth it.
We were constantly grateful to Iris and Gianluca for their generous hospitality, providing three full and hearty meals daily, consisting of delicious homemade pasta to steaming spelt risotto, organic salads with cheese, ham and wine (loved the sparkling red Lambrusco!). On our time off in the afternoons, we'd explore the nearby towns, walking everywhere for hours because the public transportation was not regular and reliable. Normally I might have felt the strain but it helped that the scenery here was soooo gorgeous and the weather perfetto. 
I felt like Heidi on the Hills, living in our cosy caravan (which me and Katie had nicknamed the 'spacepod') in the backyard overlooking the lush hills and plains. We were literally on cloud nine every morning as the mist hovered around the peaks and blanketed the valleys. The first 2 mornings, I nearly froze my tits off in my upper bunk next to the thin plastic window shielding me from the cold outside. By the 3rd night, I had learnt to pad the window with 2 fluffed pillows and 3 blankets!
No comments:
Post a Comment