It has been raining since Monday, bad news for visitors and vineyards alike (see my interview with agronomer Achilli coming up next). Everything is glistening wet, the grass is rampant and there are snails everywhere; you can’t take a step without hearing the crunch. Marco already has the children trained to “harvest” them and threatens a chiocciole dinner as soon as we have enough of the creatures.

For a table of ten we will need circa 700 snails, provided, of course, that the guests are amongst those who appreciate this delicacy. My mother-in-law will be in charge of purging them for 3 days. The snails are then stewed in a tomato sauce with beef mince, hot peperoncino, pancetta in pieces and garlic, destined to be eaten one by one with the aid of a toothpick. For those who are already revolted, I should clarify that I just deleted the worst parts of the preparation.

On the other end of the speed spectrum, this Saturday the MilleMiglia vintage car “race” will be firing past Buonconvento. The race starts at lunchtime in Bologna today. It is terrifically exciting. This year I shall be trying to spot Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay in a 1954 Maserati A6G/54 whizzing past… For more details on this year’s participants and vehicles there is a great article on: http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/rome/2010/05/04/fasten-your-seat-belts-and-gear-up-for-italys-millemiglia/ For those who love the sight of an old car, this race is the business.