Italian Picnic

August 24, 2018

Sponsored by Blue Diamond.

Greetings from Italia! Less than an hour before a torrential rainfall, Kiel and I set up a small picnic on a gorgeous hillside next to the villa we rented with friends and family a little outside of Cortona in Tuscany. It was the last night of our vacation and we really wanted to watch the sunset from this nearby overlook. I was expecting Tuscany to be almost completely flat and was pleasantly surprised to see mountains looming above endless hills of green and gold. Olive trees, sunflower fields, grape vines and Italian cypress trees made up a good portion of the landscape. I will never forget the beauty of of this region.

We filled a basket with bread, assorted meats, cheese, fruit and wine. I loved stopping in the local shops to pick up food. I also included two varieties of my favorite Blue Diamond Crafted Gourmet Almonds. I brought them over on the plane for a snack and ended up using the remainder to accompany my cheese board. I love to enjoy the almonds with cheese and wine. The gourmet almonds are available in four flavors — Rosemary and Sea Salt, Pink Himalayan Salt, Black Truffle, and Garlic, Herb and Olive Oil. For this trip I brought along the Black Truffle and Rosemary and Sea Salt. They really enhanced the flavors of the pecorino cheese and cured sausage we were enjoying.

For a perfect picnic the only thing necessary is good food, good company, and an idyllic setting whether it be in your own backyard or an Italian hillside. The setup for our picnic was minimal. Kiel and I hunted around the house for a basket, cutting board, and wine glasses. We used a couple of table cloths to sit on and I brought the flowers that were left in a vase when we arrived. The food was a sampling of what remained in our fridge. We basically ate cheese, pasta, and prosciutto all week long!

For those wondering most of this picnic setup could have fit into the cab of the Vespa. The cab is not featured. We rented the bike out for the week and Kiel was planning to return it shortly after this picnic.