When I think of chestnuts or castagne as they are called in Italian I always think of winter. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose… But here in Italy chestnuts mean fall and if you a lucky enough a chestnut hunt. On M’s family land we gathered our friends for an afternoon of hunt chestnuts! This was my first official hunt and I was thrilled. We all spent the better part of the afternoon hunched over in search of the perfect chestnuts for roasting. Some had their own versions of a divining stick; while others,like me, just kept their heads down and hoped for the best. As a novice I was picking up chestnuts that were too small but I eventually got the hang of it and did pretty well for myself. After a couple of hours running around in the woods we came to the best part of the day. After the hunt when we roast the chestnuts drink wine and hang out. I can’t imagine a better way to spend a fall afternoon.
Wonderful fall day.
Still in the trees.
They fall and...
pick them up!
Ready to roast.
Getting the fire going.
M and R doing the roasting.
Gathered and waiting for the roasted nuts.
My favorite part: eating and drinking!
End of a lovely day.
The sun setting through the chestnuts trees.
