Livorno

Originally we had planned to do a tour to Lucca, but at the start of the cruise we heard there was space on one of the Culinary Tours at a discounted price, so we switched. It turned out to be an incredible day! There was a group of 24 of us, plus Chef Kelly & Chef Evans with 3 staff from Oceania, and a local tour guide.
First we went to the Livorno market, being a Saturday it was packed with local people, I think we were the only tourists. There was both an inside and an outside market selling everything under the sun. Beautiful produce including artichokes, asparagus and zucchini with their flowers which were all in season. Then there were the meat shops with both the fresh and cured meats. Lots of fish and shellfish, and of course cheese and bread. The building itself was beautiful, and situated on a canal where the goods used to arrive by barge.
We had a tasting of prosciutto and mortadella, then drove about 1/2 hour out of Livorno to the farm named after the Pitti familiy.
We had a quick tour of the winery, then a tour of the farm by horse-drawn cart. The lane was lined with cypress trees, and the fields had many pheasants and hares in them. At one of the old farm buildings we had our cooking lesson at the outdoor kitchen with a wood stove. Chef Davido taught us how to make focaccia, pizza and cantucci (a type of cookie) all the time trying the various wines from their winery. We then sat at outdoor tables and enjoyed our food with yet more wine.
Truly a day to remember!