Thurs 19 – Mon 23 Nov 2015

Yes, it’s true, we’ve already been to Graz but we thought as we left Italy and before we moved onto our next workaway adventure we would stop off and visit our friends again!

It was too bad that we weren’t able to stay with Gisy and Alex because we knew we wouldn’t get to see them as much as last time but they had a full house of roommates. So we booked a very cheap Airbnb room in a flat right in the heart of Graz – all of the attractions were right on our door step.

Our journey began with a 7 hour drive from Tuscany and we arrived outside of the city for a free park and ride at around 8pm. After getting the bus in we met our host, Cest, who was very nice and friendly. We ventured out to meet our friends but we had no internet and didn’t know exactly where we were going so we went home and got some fries from the food truck on the way (little did we know this would become a nightly ritual). It was nice to get outside for a walk after being in the car for 7 hours.

The next morning we headed back to the neighborhood of our friends so Matt could get his hair and beard a much needed trim from a Turkish barber! Luckily we ran into Alex on our way, he showed us their flat and we said hello to Gisy and other roommates. After a crash course in backgammon – Matt won his very first game in style – we went to get Matt’s hair cut and then back to the flat for the most delicious, homemade Indian lunch. Matt went from the ‘stranded on a desert island’ look, to a groomed and respectable looking citizen. After that we went to explore the Christmas markets…

Natalie did some research before going and discovered that there are 14 Christmas markets in Graz, all within easy walking distance and they started on the same weekend we were there! Being a Christmas market junkie, Natalie insisted that we visit all of them over the weekend. So on the Friday evening we headed to the main square for one of the big markets. There were lots of stalls selling mulled wine and some selling food and chintzy Christmas directions. We visited two more markets that night and stumbled across one by mistake (but they were just selling mulled wine and all of the proceeds went to charity). We went back to Gisy and Alex’s to have a few drinks and hang out. Then we headed back home and stopped for a bratwurst and mozzarella sticks.

On Saturday we slept in a bit and then went to do some toiletries shopping. As we were heading to Switzerland for 4 months and it’s really expensive there, we stocked up on toothpaste, shampoo, etc. to take with us. We also went to H&M to stock up on warm gear like hats and gloves. Then we headed over to Gisy and Alex’s to say hello and then back out to a few more Christmas markets. By this time we had discovered that since it was the first weekend they were open, the markets weren’t in full swing yet and were a little sparse. But Natalie was still determined to see them all! We decided that we would collect mugs that our mulled wine came in as souvenirs and not worry about looking for hand crafted decorations and ornaments (which we couldn’t really afford anyway). Then back to Gisy and Alex’s for a few hours and watched a hilarious Johnny Depp movie; Mortdecai. Then home again with a stop for an extra long hot dog.

By Sunday it was time to get serious – our last day and 5 more markets to visit! We got up and went by the first market that had an ice rink and it wasn’t really a market at all. We checked out the price and decided to go back later for a skate! Then we walked to the top of the Schlossberg. There we found a few market stalls and it was feeling very Christmasy. Matt had the great idea to go a bit further as he saw a few more stalls in the distance. It turned out to be a huge market and everything we could have wished for, complete with a brass band. After a good look around we headed down for a cappuccino in the cafe that is situated in the middle of the river. Then it was off to a market to buy pretzels for that day and the next day’s lunch, back to our flat to bundle up for skating, then off to the ice rink where we had a great first skate of the year. After skating we dashed through the remaining three markets and went to our friend’s place to say goodbye. One last stop at the food truck for another bratwurst and then off to bed.

On Monday morning we packed up and headed off for a 6 hour drive to our next workaway destination in Switzerland!

Sat 14 Nov 2015

Siena was another city Natalie had on her wish list for a while and didn’t think we would ever get there! It was a beautiful city – almost better than Florence (but not quite). We arrived in the afternoon and again our hosts told us where the free parking was! The city itself is rather small with lots of rizty shops. The two main attractions were the campo (main square which was a semi-circle shape – very unique) and town hall. The duomo was absolutely stunning and perhaps the best cathedral we had ever seen. The outside was pink, black and white marble and the inside was so ornately decorated. We were lucky that we arrived just as they were letting a whole group of people in so we just tagged along. Come to find out that there was a private confirmation ceremony taking place so we quickly dashed about snapping pics. We stopped at a very special cafe for a lovely cappuccino with a cannoli and elcair. Then Matt saw the most delicious hot chocolate so we got one of those too (to share!).

We loved our four weeks in Tuscany. It was so great to explore different areas that we didn’t think we would get to see. We loved the famous towns and city and we loved our volunteering experiences.

Sat 7 Nov 2015

We were lucky enough to be working so close to Florence. We both wanted to visit the city but we didn’t think we would get there this summer so it was a great bonus!

Our hosts told us of a free place to park at Piazzale Michelangelo which gave a spectacular view of the city below. We did our own little walking tour by starting with a walk down towards the Ponte Vecchio, through the Uffizi gallery courtyard to Palazzo Vecchio. In the plaza there were great statues (not the original Michelangelo’s David but there were some original statutes from Roman times). We had a picnic in the main square with the Tuscan sun beating down. Then we headed to the famous Duomo which was an amazing sight. We poked around other areas of interest in the city and stopped for pizza and sangria at a little trattoria.

Once it was dark we went back to the main sights to take some night photos. We had such a wonderful day in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe!

View of the olive grove

Matt getting the high up ones

Natalie getting the low down ones

Almost finished

37 creates!

On the truck going to the mill

Off loading

At the leaf seperating stage

Natalie dropped her wine glass into the leaves and had to recover it

Getting a bath

Pulp being taken away

The frist few drops of oil

Flowing into the jugs

Jugs that can’t be used anymore due to health and safety

At home with the goods

Chucking wood

Wed 28 Oct – Thurs 19 Nov 2015

We spent three amazing weeks at this lovely agriturismo (basically a small farm or holding that has holiday accommodation). Adela and Mauro (and Bounty and Nelson, their dogs) were great hosts and we had such a great time and really enjoyed the work!

We arrived in time for the olive harvest but it rained on our first day so we had a bonus day off. But then the weather cleared and we had warm and sunny days for two weeks. This year’s harvest wasn’t as good as it could have been as it was too hot for the olives this summer. Some trees didn’t produce anything while others dropped quite a few olives before we arrived. With the help of Adela and Mauro’s son, we spent 3 and a half days harvesting the crop. The mill was booked for a Monday so it was important to harvest as many tress as possible. It was very enjoyable work – a bit sore on the neck from looking up a lot but other then that we loved every minute. We managed to collect 37 creates of olives which worked out to be 778kgs which produced 109L of oil!

We were lucky enough to see the entire process of turning olives to oil. Firstly, a man from the mill came to collect the olives and drove them to the mill while we followed behind. Then they were dumped into a pit and taken by conveyor belt to the ‘leaf separating station’ (not the technical name). Once the leaves were separated they were washed and pressed and the oil started to flow. We couldn’t believe the colour – we had never seen olive oil so green! Once we poured the oil into our jugs we took them home to be stored. We were even given some oil to use during our stay.

After the big harvest we had a few days off. Then we collected the remainder of the olives that we didn’t have time to do before the mill appointment. We harvested another 4.5 creates which turned out to be an additional 12L of oil. The following day we rolled up and stored the nets, gathered garden furniture and then started on our next task…the wood storage. Adela and Mauro have a wood burning furnace that heats the hot water and central heating system so it is very important to gather enough fuel to burn through the winter. Luckily they have a few acres of forest which is where they get it all. We started by moving some logs from the storage below the house to a space near the furnace. Then we moved last years collection into the space below the house. The rest of our time was spent in the forest gathering as much wood as possible. We loved this work because we were able to poke around in the woods and it was a great weightlifting workout. Matt spent a lot of the time looking for dead tress to fell and with the beard he made a great lumberjack. After we took down the trees, Mauro used his chainsaw (when it worked) to cut them down further and we chucked them to the roads throughout the woods. Then we would pile them into the wagon and off load them into the store near the house. After two weeks of this, we must have gathered enough wood for several winters to come!

On our days off we went to the nearest town and spent time in the circolo (working man’s club/cultural centre/bar); drank cappuccinos, played Foosball and cards. We had a day out in Florence and Siena which was a great bonus as we weren’t planning on being able to see either at the beginning of our trip. More to come on those two outings later.

Overall we just loved our time here; great weather, our own apartment, the Tuscan countryside, being out in nature, cheap cappuccinos, the dogs and tasting all of Adela’s pasta dishes!

Our apartment (back of the house)

Views from our patio

Montecatini at night

Rolling the cheese race in Volterrra

Back of the cathedral in Volterra

Truffles!

Sun setting over Tuscany from Volterra

Mon 19 Oct – Wed 23 Oct 2015

After a 4.5 hour drive south we arrived at our next workaway in Tuscany. It was great to be back in a different part of Tuscany and the weather was so much warmer and sunnier! We stayed with a lovely Dutch couple, Lucas & Truus; we were their first workaway-ers! They had a lovely property with a stunning view of Volterra in the distance.

We arrived in the early evening and Truus made us a lovely pasta dinner. We were shown to our very own separate apartment with kitchenette and large bathroom – very welcomed after going outside to get to the the bathroom for two months at our last place! The fridge was already stocked with food. We made our own breakfasts and we had a light dinner in the evenings. Truus made the most delicious lunches that kept us full into the evening.

We worked from 9-2 each day and had a coffee break half way through. Lucas and Truss worked right along side us and taught us new skills in the garden and doing DIY. Natalie trimmed a lot of hedges and bushes for a few days and then helped Truus do a deep clean of the main house. Matt worked on a few maintenance jobs like painting the car ports, maintaining the stone path, replaced valves on the watering system, cleaned the storage sheds, helped with the cleaning of gutters and making a bonfire.

One afternoon, after we finished work, we walked up to Montecatini and poked around the little village. On our day off on Sunday we visited Volterra which was the site of an Etruscan settlement. We were so lucky to arrive during the cheese and truffle (not the chocolates unfortunately) festival! We watched the cheese rolling race – which was a hoot and then explored the town. We came upon a little market where locals were selling cheese, truffles and olive oil – we had lots of samples! As the time had just changed it got dark rather early so we decided to return the next day to see the other side of the town which we had missed, that included the Roman theatre.

We were originally planning to stay for two full weeks but our next place had asked us to come early in case the olives were ready to be picked! So after eight days we were on our way again.

Second BBQ – Matt made the burgers 🙂

Wed 9 Sept & Thurs 17 Sept 2015

Our final post on this crazy ‘Centro’ experience are photos from the two BBQs we had during our stay. As all of our provided meals were vegetarian, we were all very excited for MEAT every once and a while. But as time went on we got pretty used to not eating meat but we won’t give it up all together. For the first BBQ, Barmichael put on an amazing spread. He was a great cook and we loved it all (especially the chicken and lamb). For the second BBQ we bought our own meat from the tips that were left for us from a group. Matt made the burgers and we grilled some sausages too. There were vegetarian sides as well but….not important (hehe). We had lots of drinks, music and dancing and they well into the night – good times!

Thank you to all of the wonderful people whom we’ve met – the stories we’ve shared, the laughs we’ve had and the memories we’ve made, we will keep with us forever!

Working Guests: Hamish (Australia) – Louis (Australia) – Fran (Chile) – Christine (Brazil) – Alicija (Poland) – Fabienne (Switzerland) – Lennart (Germany) – Maeva (France) – Rita (Hungary) – Shannon (USA) – Ash (Australia) – Jess (Australia) – Natasha (Australia) – Hana (New Zealand) – David (New Zealand) – Jakub (USA) – Elina (Latvia) – Selim (UK) – Paul (UK) – Nancy (Germany) – Becky (USA) – Michelle (Canada) – Zoya (Canada)

Staff: Michael (Ireland) – Kitija (Latvia) – Barmichael (USA) – Robert (UK) – Bodhi (Germany) – Oma (Italy) – Viramo (Italy) – Arne (?) – Loredana (Italy) – Kirtan (Germany)