La Bella Vita

La Bella Vita. The Good Life. It’s hard to begin when there is so much to tell…

We recently returned from the vacation of a lifetime. Two weeks in glorious Tuscany, Italy. To celebrate our 40^th wedding anniversary, Rob‘s partial retirement, and the beginning of a new phase in life. A trip that was long in planning and even longer in dreaming about and imagining. Two weeks under the Tuscan Sun. Breathing in the life of The Beautiful Country. Magnifico!

As a general rule, I like to be the design engineer for our adventures. Sure, we’ll do a turn-key trip from time to time. But, what I love most is getting to know a region by reading, researching, digging, and looking for those special X-factors that highlight the character of the area. I look for signature traits. I like to fall in love with the destination before I even get there. I like to uncover places and activities that speak to us, that give us a variety of experiences, that make memorable lasting impressions.  Adventures that will help us grow and change and absorb the nuances of the culture. And then, once we do it all, I love to share those experiences with the likes of you.

Can’t stop. Won’t stop.

So. Italy. One of my top two Forever-Been-Pining-To-Go-There locations. As a quick primer, the region of Tuscany spans Central Italy around the city of Florence (Firenze) and surrounding countryside. Tuscany. That’s where we concentrated the majority of our time. To cover a lot of ground on our own terms, we rented a car. Caution--driving in Italy is not for the faint of heart, but Rob mastered the art of not getting us killed. Kudos to him.

Our trip was divided into three parts:

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• 1st - Coastal Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre was a picturesque collection of five quaint cliff-hugging villages overlooking the Ligurian Sea on the Mediterranean (the Italian Riviera), just outside of Tuscany.  Each village was unique and intimate. The views were simply stunning. A local train, the Cinque Terre Express, connected all five villages with nearby La Spezia, where we rented an Airbnb. There were also walking paths and hiking trails between the villages for those who wanted to trek on foot. The area was awash with charm on top of charm on top of charm. During our visit, there were many tourists, but the open-air expanse made us feel completely at ease. We were free to move between the villages, to stroll and hike and climb and gawk and photograph and eat and drink and be merry without any interference. We loved our visit to Cinque Terre. It immediately put us into a relaxed frame of mind, ready for more adventures.

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• 2nd - Florence and the Chianti Region.

This was the on-the-go portion of our trip. We selected an Airbnb on the outskirts of Florence so that we could spend days walking around the city, then spend nights relaxing at our farmhouse in an olive grove in Strada in Chianti. Busy days bustling about the city, calm nights decompressing in Chianti. The 20-minute drive to the city wasn't bad, give or take. This was our homebase...

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Florence was a spectacular city full of art and architecture and food and history. And people. People everywhere. It was unbelievably crowded, tourists in every corner, but we braced ourselves and dove in headfirst, knowing we would be rewarded with fantastic sights and sounds. We packed our days with activities, exploring the treasure trove of significant structures and prizes, Renaissance and otherwise, that Florence proudly displayed.

I'm not ashamed to say that I am slightly obsessed with the avante gard Medici Family who ruled Florence for 300 years, using their wealth and influence to usher in arts and humanities that changed the course of civilization. Were the Medici ruthless? Yes. Brutal? Yes. Controlling? Yes. Vindictive? Yes. But, they were visionaries, none the less. Fascinating to study. Their footprints were all over Florence, The Cradle of the Renaissance.

In Florence, we hit museums, gardens, cathedrals, a cornucopia of arts and sciences, looking left and right, learning everything that we could. Educativa!

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While we loved visiting Florence to absorb the culture, we also craved more time to unwind and feel the Tuscan vibe. So, next we headed to our final destination...

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• 3rd - Southern Val d’Orcia Countryside

The southern part of Tuscany, the Valley of Orcia, was a UNESCO World Heritage-listed region full of rolling hills, stately cypress trees, medieval villages, vineyards, olive groves, and miles and miles of breathtaking scenery. We rented a small Airbnb apartment in the hilltop village San Quirico d’Orcia, where we woke every morning to dozens of birds chirping the dawn at the 11^th century stone church towers just outside our balcony. We fell into the rhythm of Tuscany as we drove around, explored, and investigated as much as we could. Cooking class, castle tour, wine tasting, farmer’s market, hidden discoveries….we soaked it all in. Che meraviglia!

I'ma save those pics for another time--they are too good to rush through.

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Two quick stories…

We had scheduled our time in Florence so that we could attend Lo Scoppio del Carre Easter Sunday Celebration. Legend has it that during the First Holy Crusades in 1099, a prominent Florentine knight scaled the walls of Jerusalem, bringing glory to his feuding city. He brought stone fragments from Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre back to Florence to commemorate his victory and lay groundwork for a centuries-old ceremony.  Today’s Lo Scoppio del Carre (Explosion of the Cart) ceremony reportedly uses the ancient flint stones to create a blessed fire and celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Morning. Blessings abounding.

Anticipating large numbers of people, we arrived early to get a good viewing spot. We stood just outside the famous Piazza del Duomo, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. As Easter Mass service began inside the cathedral, we watched a regal parade of costumed characters, drumlines, flag bearers, animals, and dignitaries gather outside in the piazza.  There were two hours of preamble before the official event began. An elaborate explosive-laden 30-foot tall 17th century Cart was drawn by enormously large oxen and wheeled into the piazza. While workers connected The Cart to various metal wires and poles, music and incantations were piped outside via speakers, so that we could hear the progression of Easter Mass service that was happening inside the cathedral.

As the choir’s divine Gloria in Excelsis Deo reached its melodic climax, inside (out of our range of vision), the Archbishop stood at the altar and used the sacred fire to light a fuse stick on a metal dove. Then, he triggered the mechanical dove to soar along a high wire, flying above the congregants, and shooting out the front window to the piazza where we stood. The dove touched down on the top of The Cart, transferred the flame, and ignited fuses which set off a myriad of explosive devices on The Cart. I kid you not. Booms, Bangs, Fireworks, Whizzes, Sparklers, Roars, Crashes, Whistles, Firecrackers, Screeches, Eruptions, Blasts, more Booms. Concussions and explosions nonstop for about 20 minutes. It was quite astonishing and very festive. I’ll say this, it was as impressive an event as I have seen. Very, very cool. An excellent start to a marvelous Easter Morning. Cerimonia gloriosa!

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Hang with me for one more story, per favore.

Throughout our vacation, the Italian people were extremely helpful and kind, proud and steadfast.

Case in point: I discovered that a nearby small village, Impruneta, was the hotbed for the most prized Terracotta pottery in the world. Long-lasting, porous, and sturdy, owing to the iron and other rich minerals present in the clay. We stopped at a large fenced outdoor showplace cluttered with rows and rows of Terracotta pots and décor, hoping to find a small pottery piece for our garden.  Only, we didn't realize that it wasn’t a retail business. We had accidently stopped at a company’s wholesale inventory grounds, where all their wares were spread in the sunshine awaiting shipping & delivery. Instead of shooing us away, the owner, a 5th generation artisan, took us inside, showed us around their operations, and then ushered us into the clay studio to introduce us to the little old Italian potter who was hand-throwing beautiful Terracotta vases. Amid vats of clay, firing kilns, and furnaces, with certifications and awards posted on the walls. He told us the history of the company and described the organic features of the raw materials that they harvested nearby. Realizing that we had no business being underfoot, we apologized profusely for wasting their time, but they would have none of it. They were most gracious in explaining their business and sharing their culture.

This happened not once, but TWICE, if you can believe it. Yes, after our first blunder, we stopped further down the road at a second business, thinking we had actually found a legit retail location. Google Maps said it was. But, it was not. There we met the owner of another longstanding Terracotta operation whose family had been handcrafting specialized pottery for generations. He spoke highly of their competitors and described the unique craft that all of the local family businesses shared. That kind owner chuckled a bit as he let us peruse the wares stacked all around their vast fenced property. Take your time. Enjoy! Producing handmade pottery to ship worldwide, he would not normally handle one small isolated purchase at that facility. But, after introducing us to his family, the owner generously agreed to let me buy one tiny garden decoration, a lion plaque, for 20 Euros cash. He even cleaned, handwashed, and scrubbed it before wrapping it carefully for transport. Going above and beyond, for sure. Grazie mille!

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Enough for now. I’ll circle back later to share more stories of our adventures in Italy. Like I said, there are many memories to pull from. They will be front and center on my mind for a long time to come. As will the delizioso food and desserts that we devoured.

Ciao, amici! I'll Tira-mi-see-you later!