Ciao from Italy!  Chad and I are now expert olive pickers.  We have been staying at an olive farm in Cortona, Italy.  Every sunny day (you can’t pick olives when it is raining or they will mold) we go out into the fields, set up a net under an olive tree, and use a rake until all the olives are cleared from the tree.  This means at least part of the time is spent climbing up the tree to reach the olives growing on the top branches.  Once you get into the routine, there is something quite peaceful and lovely about olive picking in a place as beautiful as Cortona. 

The family we are staying with (Pietro, Josianne, and their son, Joshua) treat us very very well.  Josianne is originally from Australia, where they were living up until last year when they moved back to Italy.  Every day we get to try some new and delicious traditional Italian meal; lots and lots of different kinds of pasta but also polenta, porketta, and amazing gourmet cheeses and chocolates.  The food has been pretty spectacular.  We have learned the olive oil way of living and we now put it on pretty much everything we eat.    

We have yet to see a cinghiale, the huge and dangerous wild boar that roam about these parts, but we are always watching for them!  Our host family has been telling us all sorts of stories about these giant animals and Chad and I are determines to catch a glimpse of one.  The family gets really into it for us and they always keep their eyes open when we go out at night because they know how badly we want to see one.  So far the closest we have come is hearing a boar snort not far from where we were gathering our olive picking supplies one night after dark.  Also the dogs have gone crazy barking in the middle of the night just outside the garage where we sleep, which means that one has found its way onto the property.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that we get to see one from a very safe distance and not too up close and personal.