The first oil of the year

The olive mill

It’s raining. That means day off. I’m in my room with a big, hot cup of coffee. I can sit down and sort my thoughts out. I guess the rain makes you turn inwards, dive in your soul and find what is worth and what’s not. I feel much better today so I'm gonna continue with my story...

  

So…

...taking off the leaves...

The day before yesterday, I went to the olive mill. It was their first day and everybody ran around to make sure all the machines work properly. Lorenzo’s olives were the first to be pressed and there was an excitement in the air. 

The olive mill is an old, two floor, stone building. It started milling back in 1911. On the top floor, the olives are separated from the leaves which will become food for livestock. They then proceed to the ground floor to be washed and then pressed for about twenty minutes by two HUGE millstones and be made into pulp. There are several machines between that and the final product. I’m waiting for Lorenzo to explain to me what happens in these machines. The ground floor was filled by a sweet, fruity smell which came as a surprise to me. I don’t know what I expected, but this smell was fruitier than anything I ever knew. 

 

...washing the olives...

After an hour or so, the oil started flowing. I couldn’t wait to go home and taste it! On the way back the full moon was shining bright and I felt so tired! Four days of hard work in the fields made all my muscles hurt…

...crushing the olives...

And then we were home. Jim had prepared some bruschetta – which is plane toasted bread really – and we tasted the fresh oil on it. Its color was green and it still had a fruity smell! The whole procedure was so interesting and fulfilling for my senses…  And for dinner we had the most comforting food I ever had… Bull’s meat in tasty brown gravy with carrots and the tastier potato puree I ever had in my life! It was buttery and so light, like tasting clouds from the sky!  Thank you Jim, for making the most amazing lunches and dinners! Thanks for making food such a great experience full of tasty surprises! I wonder if food is so tasty in the rest of Italy…

...the new oil is ready!

Every night I go to bed and I have so much to recall, it’s difficult to keep the pace. Every night I remind myself that I am here because I had a dream to see the world. And just now, I am doing exactly that. And I love myself for doing it. And is my choice to stay, to leave, to change, to do whatever I please. Thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, thanks for everything!