Tuesday 24 February 2009

Tuscany, Italia- Part 2

Our trip to Tuscany began with a beautiful bus journey from Florence to San Gimignano, Tuscany. Tuscany's heart are the vineyards and olive groves, which are more charming than we expected in the winter season (it is really warm for us). Tuscan people are even more captivating than its landscape. San Gimignano is a quaint village in Tuscany that use to have over 100 towers during the medieval time period. Currently, it only has 18 towers. San Gimignano rose from an ancient etruscan settlement around a seventh century parish and a castle gave to the Volterra’s episcope in 929; during the XII century became a city-republic. Its first walls were born in 998, when San Gimignano became a business center. While we were in San Gimignano we decided to stay at a bed and breakfast farm (agritourismo) on the outskirts of town. We first wanted to rent Vespas to go the bed and breakfast however, the rental shop was closed for lunch, which commonly in Italy means the entire afternoon until about 4pm...plus we looked at the prices and they were outrageous since they were the only shop in town. So we decided to hop into a taxi and go. When we arrived at our bed and breakfast we were greeted by our host and she informed us that we were the only guest staying there for the night. We asked our host what time dinner was served and she also informed us that they do not cook dinner for guests in the off season (not mentioned on the website of course).

However, she has a plan. She pointed at a town miles away from the house that we could see in the distance from our hillside bed and breakfast. She said we would find dinner down there and we could walk it. To our amazement, she thought this was a brilliant idea. Of course as we were walking on a windy road in the unknown hillsides of Tuscany with no shoulder, we thought different. This proved to be a great adventure that led to a wonderful dinner and a late night plea for a taxi back to the bed and breakfast that Monica had to negotiate the price in her best Italian effort. While traveling in Italy, every naive tourist needs a bit of grease in order to glide through each sticky situation, as there is no shortage of them. Thus, the words of our generous tuscan restauranteur echoed inside of our heads, 'It's not Tuscan cuisine without olive oil." Indeed there was no shortage of olive oil too. The next morning we arose to a beautiful sunrise and walked back into that same town miles away to take a train back to Florence. Here are some glimpses of this romantic region...

The Town we walked to in Tuscany, starting the trail through the olive groves...



Our Tuscany Agritourismo...









San Gimignano, Tuscany....













Monday 2 February 2009

Italia- Part 1

Our first few days we spent in Rome touring around. Then we went to Tuscany and stayed for one night. The last day and night we spent in Florence. Somehow we managed to speak close enough Spanish to Italian to get around without missing any of our trains, planes and busses. While I would not dare negotiate on a bicycle the hair-pinned turns, impossible road construction and the unquenchable testosterone of young Italian men behind the wheel of a Fiat Panda Jolly, it is essential to go by car or vespa (motorbike) if you really want to enjoy Tuscany. A combination of Monica's uncanny knack for making the best of any difficult situation and my simple refusal to let exhaustion, inconvenience, pain and peril get in the way of a formidably relaxing holiday kept us in high spirits indeed. If it werent for these divine gifts of patience, persistence and bliss, Monica and I would have had the worst time of our lives. But how can we? After all, it is Italy! Indeed, we had one of our greatest times traveling together in Italy. There was never a dull moment. Allow us to enlighten you by providing a couple of tips before you journey to that dreamy land we foreigners call ITALIA....

First day in Italy...If you've ever spent an entire day or two touring on foot in another land, you will, as you know, develop a raw spot where your upper thighs meet your middle torso. The inevitable friction of skin rubbing against skin and the irritability caused by a combination of dyed boxer shorts and suspenders, doused with a bit of hard-earned sweat can make a leisurely walk in a nice place like Tuscany feel like the semi-aquatic life of trench warfare. While Monica retired to the shower, I was charged with the task of going to the local pharmacy to retrieve some chaffing ointment. As soon as I entered I was approached by a middle-aged Italian woman with a pleasant smile. Taking a quick glance around in the interim, I could tell I was not going to get far without the help of a local. 'Bonasera' I said, as the lady in the white coat quickly realized that I was either an American, Canadian or flamboyant Englishman. I felt that if this lady had been trained as a pharmacist, she could probably understand, if not speak, a bit of English.

Hmmm diaper rash ointment...that probably is going to translate in a very curious way. After a few attempts of saying diaper rash ointment in English and broken Spanish, I ended up having to act out the necessity of diaper rash ointment for her. I somehow had a brilliant thought of rocking a make belief baby in my arms while trying to signal pain in the baby's bum, using my own as a model. At this point the kind Italian woman still was not getting the message and took matters into her own hands. She called over another staff member and I found myself acting out the same scenario for him. There was a hesitation in his face but then he sheepishly said 'ahhh...rasha'! Yes! RASHA! I could hear a Hallelujah chorus... It was a miraculous breakthrough. They almost collided with one another as they dashed to the shelf that held the prized diaper rash ointment. Of course, I was feeling a bit sheepish myseIf and rather vulnerable so I felt the need to tell them it was for "our baby" (the one we don't have). I mumbled something about our 'bambino' and thanked them profusely, wishing them a good evening as I waddled out the door like a limp and severely chaffed penguin. By the way, for future reference, the name of diaper rash ointment in Italian is...'Pasta di Fissan.' Pasta!? What! I thought this was just a food. Not in Italy. Our first night was already so eventful we could only imagine what the rest of the trip was going to hold. Here are some of our pictures to highlight this amazing place...

ROMA-

The Vatican







Fontana de Trevi



Colloseum













Gelato!!!




Rome Sunset

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