I have found through my travels that the best places you see are always suggested to you by the locals. A couple of days ago Jenny’s son, Nicholas, told Kara and I about this place where they sometimes go for lunch on top of a mountain.
The restaurant is called Chiassia and was near a town called Loro Ciufenna, which was about a 20 minute drive from Rendola. The drive was mostly climbing a mountain and swooping through back country roads. The ancient village that the restaurant was in was extremely small, so small that we were unsure if we were in the right place at first. We got out of the car and wondered around for a few minutes before a lady came out of a building and said “Chiassia?”
She lead us to a building where the inside looked like a tiny deli. The deli had all sorts of meats, sauces, fresh vegetables, cheeses, and sauces. But most importantly, it had what is called Schiacciata, which is a thin type of bread that reminded me of Chiabatta (but better). Chiassia is known for making sandwiches out of all of the ingredients in the deli. Kara got a sandwich with mozzarella and tomato.
I ended up getting a sandwich with fino corna (a salami type meat with fennel – a huge Tuscan tradition), bufalino mozzarella (made from buffalo), and crema fungi (mushroom sauce), with the Schiacciata scaldereo (warmed). A bite of the fino corna filled my mouth with flavor, while the crema fungi and bufalino mozzarella complimented it, and the crunchy , yet fresh bread added the perfect combination of textures. Every ingredient was incredibly fresh and you could tell that they were made or grown within the village. Remember how I told you that I had the best sandwich ever when I arrived to Italy and Luca made me a sandwich? It has been outdone by Chiassia – the new best sandwich ever!!! My mouth is watering thinking about it.
The village was extremely peaceful, as we were the only people really there, other than the lady who served us. We were located on top of a mountain and surrounded by a panoramic view of the mountains and Tuscany. All we could really hear was the wind whistling through the trees and the birds singing. I felt so at peace, relaxed, and happy.
The lady ended up giving us free samples of the fruit tart that she had made.
So other than this amazing restaurant, life has been the same here in Tuscany – amazing, yet tiring. I am mostly very exhausted, but it is good for me because I like to be busy, rather than bored. I even stayed in and relaxed on my day off. Yes, I relaxed, believe it or not! Today I jumped Packita for the first time. She did wonderful and has an incredible jump! I feel so accomplished. =)
Tales of the Travelbug 
Katie,
Your Dad just forwarded all your tales and I would like to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading about your travels. I traveled to Tuscany about fifteen years ago and your tales are bringing back so many memories that I haven’t thought about in so long. I signed up to follow you and will share this with your PopPop Ben. I would also like to say that you are an accomplished writer, keep it up! – Diane
Thank you Diane! Tuscany is such a beautiful place. See you soon!
Katie
Hi Katie,
Another unique spontaneous adventure – sounds/looks like a place I used to go to in Germany – ancient, quiet, unspoiled by lots of tourists – where you really feel and experience the true originality of the place. I was excited to read about the buffalo mozzarella – at Lively Run we just made our first trial batch of buffalo milk cheese (a blue) last week (there is a guy here with a herd of Italian water buffalo and we are going to make his cheese) – can’t wait to see how it comes out. When you guys come home you must try it!
Steve
Oh my gosh, I am so excited for the buffalo cheeses! It make me excited to get back to the USA (hard to believe right?).