Casale Hortensia

Well I made it to Casale Hortensia in Orte and what can I say, there are no words to describe how beautiful this place is. I uploaded some pictures, but they just don't do it justice. The farm is about 15 minutes from the train station and on top of a hill. When I say farm I don't mean giant farm like you would find in Iowa, I mean cherry trees, vegetable garden, raspberries, chickens, herb garden, and olive trees. Here it is a self-sustaining organic farm where almost everything eaten is grown here. There is a solar powered water heater and very little waste. It is not really a farm but more of a large house with everything else on the side, I don't know what to call it, but it's good! My host is Elisabeth and her daughter Caterina. Right now there are two other helpers here, Lauren and Keenen, but they are leaving in the next few days. Everyone is fantastic and there are really just no words.

I got here yesterday at 1:30 and had a great lunch with everyone and then dinner was great as well. I'm learning so much about how to cook and eat healthy, and just tips and tricks around the kitchen. In between Keenan and I painted an old bedroom and cleaned it up quite a bit to make it actually a place to sleep in.

Today we have been picking cherries by hand from the cherry tree, getting up on ladders and just picking and eating cherries all day! Quite the life! Just relaxing now on the patio, it feels good to sit and take it easy and do something different after walking and going non-stop in Florence and Rome. I'm definitely enjoying this way more than I thought! Buona giornata a tutti!