A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure |  | Author: Marlena de Blasi
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Seller: gdwil
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 10095
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 5.4 x 1
ISBN: 0345481097
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.59455
EAN: 9780345481092
ASIN: 0345481097
Publication Date: September 27, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
They had met and married on perilously short acquaintance, she an American chef and food writer, he a Venetian banker. Now they were taking another audacious leap, unstitching their ties with exquisite Venice to live in a roughly renovated stable in Tuscany.
Once again, it was love at first sight. Love for the timeless countryside and the ancient village of San Casciano dei Bagni, for the local vintage and the magnificent cooking, for the Tuscan sky and the friendly church bells. Love especially for old Barlozzo, the village mago, who escorts the newcomers to Tuscany’s seasonal festivals; gives them roasted country bread drizzled with just-pressed olive oil; invites them to gather chestnuts, harvest grapes, hunt truffles; and teaches them to caress the simple pleasures of each precious day. It’s Barlozzo who guides them across the minefields of village history and into the warm and fiercely beating heart of love itself.
A Thousand Days in Tuscany is set in one of the most beautiful places on earth–and tucked into its fragrant corners are luscious recipes (including one for the only true bruschetta) directly from the author’s private collection.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
 A Feast for the Heart and the Soul......... July 4, 2005
Susan Desisto (Orange, CA)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Do yourself a favor and read de Blasi's "A Thousand Days in Venice" before embarking on the sequel "A Thousand Days in Tuscany". It is not required reading, but you would be missing out on a delightful and unusual love story which sets up this book so perfectly.
Do not mistake this book for a cook book. It is so much more. De Blasi's writing is a feast of sumptuous descriptions of not only food, but life in Tuscany and the joy of knowing she is living her life exactly as she wants to. After reading the book, I was taken aback to find how strongly I wanted to meet this person and be a part of her circle of friends. She is as warm and senuous as the olive oil drizzled on the crusty, roasted, tuscan breads. This book could have been filled with photographs, but they weren't necessary. De Blasi's descriptions will fill your mind's eye with amazing visuals of life in rural Tuscany. I hope when you finish the book(s) you will feel, like I do, that your heart and soul have been amptly nourished .... and your taste-buds truly inspired!
More Enjoyable than Frances Mayes' Books September 15, 2005
Italian Dreamer (Herndon, VA USA)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Having lived and worked in Italy during the 60s and early 70s, I found Marlena De Blasi's recounting of her time spent in a very small town in Tuscany more in sync with what actually happens in such a place. It was easy for me to bring forth a picture in my mind and actually feel as if I was there. Mrs. Blasi's characterizations of persons encountered was complete.
I would highly recommend "A Thousand Days in Venice" as an accurate interpretation of what happens in Italy on a daily basis.
A Thousand Days in Tuscany is wonderful May 18, 2005
S. Warfield (Maryland)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
By the time I was halfway through A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi, I wanted to get up at six each morning and bake the day's bread with rosemary and olive oil. I wanted to walk up a hill and go to breakfast at a local bar and chat with the duke, a local man who took Marlena and her husband under his wing and showed them what life in the Tuscan village where they settled for a thousand days was really like.
Reading this book was a wonderful experience for me as I followed this couple through their days of integrating into the life, lives and especially the foods, wines and cooking of this area of Italy. Harvesting grapes for wine, picking olives and chestnuts are all part of a way of life that hasn't changed for centuries in this part of the world, and de Blasi does an excellent job of taking us in our armchairs into that world. The natural romance of the area just adds to the romantic relationship that de Blasi and her husband have, and as the reader I experienced every lovely minute of their time in Tuscany.
The only thing I would have liked in addition to de Blasi's lyrical writing was a collection of photos from her time there, but maybe the imagination does a better job.
De Blasi's Tuscany...a peaceful, descriptive masterpiece March 16, 2006
R. Nicholson
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
A small gem!
Every once in a while a book comes along that really moves me with its quiet beauty; "A Thousand Days in Tuscany" fits easily into this category.
Wonderfully written and easy to read with its soft descriptive prose; the words transport you from your comfortable sofa to a magnificent area of Italy that is renowned for its people and its unique landscape.
The book follows two new arrivals to the Tuscan region of Italy and tells of their interactions with the local residents; people who soon become part of their daily routine. Each chapter is a small vignette describing a situation (usually with a local personage), a trip and, above all, food; in fact all chapters get around to the discussion of, or preparation of food. Most chapters end with a recipe for the main dish that was describe in the chapter involved.
All in all, a warm, quiet and beautifully descriptive short book about an area of the world that all of us would probably love to visit at least once in our lifetime. Highly recommended.
Have some wine, sit down, stay awhile and read this book! October 26, 2005
Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Marlena de Blasi follows up her Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance, with her newest book, A Thousand Days in Tuscany.
This begins with the arrival of American food writer Marlena, and her Venetian husband Fernando, in the small Tuscan village of San Casciano de Bagni, where they rent an ancient farmhouse, with no telephone, central heat, or television. Fernando has given up his job in a Venetian bank; and they will be living on their small savings and Marlena's earnings for her writing.
Her children are grown and settled; now they are on their own grand adventure. On the day they move in, the villagers gather around, and help them clean and unpack; then there is an impromptu potluck party in the piazza around the town bar, with fired zucchini blossoms as the main feature. They become especially close to Floriana and old Barlozzo, who regales them with tales of the past; of instructions on how to bake, build an outdoor oven, gather and forage; and who imparts much of his wisdom.
We follow them when they harvest grapes for wine as well as figs, olives and chestnuts. They forage for spring greens and truffles and harvest eggs from under chickens. This is a beautifully constructed symphony of words, philosophy, sounds, scents, tastes, wonderful characters, beautiful rustic scenery, history, and of course love...love for Fernando, Floriana and Barlozzo, the villagers, the food, for Tuscany, for Italy, for life.
Interview with the author and reading group guide are located at the back of the book.
Armchair Interviews warns: You will immediately want to have wine with each meal, and drizzle bruschetta (brew-sket'-ah) with olive oil and a pinch of salt, and simmer some beans along with herbs and maybe some pancetta.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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