Chilling in Tuscany

Tuscany.  It was so many things.  It was lazy days at our Air BnB in the countryside, making delicious food, learning to ride a bike, sword fighting, pasta making, reading and relaxing.  It was taking it slow and savoring the Tuscan sunlight and fresh air.  It was riding through town on bikes and walking in walled cities.  It was also not many things that we normally think of when you think " a week in Tuscany".  

We drove by Florence on our way to the Air BnB, during our drive from Rome.  It was late in the day and we thought, "we'll come back." We didn't.  We thought about going to Sienna.  We didn't.  We read about cute little towns in the hills of Tuscany and towns on the coast.  We didn't go.  But that is okay.  What I slowly, slowly have realized this year and accepted (some days more gracefully than others) is that to do this kind of trip with a family, for this long, some of the more famous tourist destinations are just not the right destination for us, at this time, on this trip.  It may be that they are expensive, or busy, or simply require too much planning.  Or maybe we just don't have the interest at this moment to see another museum or famous building.  And that is okay.  Because you know what, instead we get to live our lives in a beautiful setting and experience the little joys.  We get to go to the local grocery store and figure out how to buy groceries in Italy.  (You wear little plastic gloves to buy the produce and you weigh them all yourselves!)  V gets to finally learn to ride a bike in a safe open green space.  He rode and rode in the back yard of our house and the joy that emanated from him was better than any museum stop we could have planned.  He will forever remember learning to ride a bike in an olive grove in Tuscany.  Sol made pasta in an old Tuscan farmhouse kitchen and the kind elderly Italian woman who lives next door, happily shared her rolling pin so he could roll out the pasta.  Lu got to ride a bike and jump on a trampoline and play with the host's dog.  Leo and I caught up on our reading and perfected making and savoring brilliantly orange aperol spritzes. There was so much we could do and did do by not trying to do it all.

We chose to stay just outside of the walled city of Lucca in an old farmhouse.  We thought, correctly, that after six weeks of living in urban areas we would appreciate the green space of this spot.  The family who owns the house live on the property in an adjoining house, and one of the people is an elegant Italian woman who welcomed us with a big smile and broken English.  She was often seen out in the big yard gardening early in the day, looking put together and chic while pulling weeds.  The light in the backyard was soft and warm and we were fortunate to be there as the weather started to warm up.  We really enjoyed the simple things in life: good food, fresh air, physical activity, play, laughter.

Squeezing oranges for fresh orange juice.

The AirBnB even had a Mickey Mouse Press ... We used it for pancakes

There was lots of running around, being kids, being active, feeling free to roam.  It is not to be underestimated, the importance of open green space that is accessible and safe.  We are so fortunate in our regular lives back in Canada to have this literally in our own back yard.  On this trip, when we were forced to stay contained, whether due to safety, heat, access or an urban environment, the energy of all of us, but especially the younger ones, started to shift and tighten.  The opportunity to run and play with swords, and jump on tires, and bounce on trampolines, ride bikes, and doze in the sun was incredibly therapeutic.

Bike riding was a highlight of our week.  V learned to ride a bike and we all got to spend time peddling around Lucca.  The town of Lucca is known for its bike accessibility and indeed as you ride towards town you see lanes for bikes and people of all ages riding into and out of town.  Once within the walls of the town bikes are directed down narrow streets and along cobbled roads.  The ancient walls that surround the city are big and broad and invite biking or walking along them.  We spent one evening, as the sun set, walking on the wall, peering down into the city and out to the countryside. 

There was a bike just the right size for V that needed a little TLC to get up and running.  Our host happily brought us a new inner tube and Leo played bike mechanic. 
Doing a mundane chore like getting a bike tire fixed up was a pleasure.

Just before takeoff!  

And he's off! 
He found it hilarious that he had to avoid Olive trees.

Riding into town.  Still no helmets.  Sigh.

Entering the old town through the wall.

Inside the walls of the town.

We visited Lucca a few times and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the town.  We had fun weaving our way through narrow streets and under arched entrances. I loved looking at the exuberant flowers adorning windows and walls.  Exploring the city by bike and foot meant that we could appreciate the sights and smells and sounds as we walked.  As we walked by a music school the sounds of a cello wafted in the air.  It was such a moment.  Taking detours and letting our curiosity lead the way led us to squares filled with people sitting enjoying a drink, and then along quiet residential streets.

The ever present Italian water fountains.
Thank you ancient aqueducts!

Gelato.  Good, but not as good as Rome.  

Our only meal at a restaurant in Tuscany was at a little place nestled among historic buildings, smack dab on the corner where narrow streets meet and bend.  We had to move our chairs to let a car go down the narrow road behind us, feeling the metal brush as it passed.  The decor of the restaurant was dark and motorcycle-punk, the servers were tattooed and pierced, the tables had checkered clothes and the food was delicious!
  

This is the house wine. And that is a drawing of the owner.

Our wanderings delivered us to one of the landmarks of the city, the Torre Guinigi.  This is a tower dating back to the 1300s.  At that time wealthy families in Lucca built towers as a status symbol.  This tower is one of the few remaining and is open to the public (for a price).  It is known for the holm oaks growing at the top of the tall tower.

We decided to make the trek up the 232 steps to the top.  This was not as physically challenging as mentally challenging for our favorite family member with an aversion to heights and to open metal staircases.  This was a cruel trifecta of height, open steps and spiraling!  Just when they thought hiking and facing the fear of heights was behind them, we find a 14th century tower to keep the exposure therapy going.  The usual parental torment over how much to push and when to back down, when to cajole and when to bribe, played out in our hearts and minds.  There was a show down.  And refusal. Then determination and success.  And as usual, the self satisfaction when the fear is faced and the staircase conquered was the reward at the end.

At the top looking out at the town below.

Lucca from above.

One afternoon we returned to walk on the ancient wall that surrounds the town.  Lucca is famous for its wall.  It is broad and surrounds the entire old city.  Up on the wall you can walk and bike, there are benches and sculptures and many vantage points to gaze in all directions.  It was a beautiful place to watch the light change as evening pushed out the afternoon, and we could have spent hours exploring if we didn't have to bike home before dark.

While in Tuscany Sol was inspired to make pasta.  We signed up for a pasta making class in a nearby town, but while communicating with the teacher they said if Sol was already making his own pasta then the class would be too easy. So the 13 year old decided to simply get his hands dirty and perfect his pasta making on his own.  Armed with proper pasta flour, choosing from an entire aisle of different flours at the grocery store,  he took over the old farmhouse kitchen.  With the first batch he used his ingenuity by improvising a rolling pin with a wine bottle.  So Italian.  The next day he made another batch and borrowed a rolling pin from our elderly neighbor.  It was lovely to watch the kids, with the big brother at the helm, all work together to make delicious and beautiful pasta.  That was a moment that we remembered to sit back as parents and simply appreciate them for who they are.

Lu helped.  It was a labour intensive process without any machines. 
Everything was rolled and cut by hand.

Herbs picked in the backyard and added to the dough for raviolis.
Hand cut of course.

One of the reasons we chose Lucca as our stopping point was that it is ideally suited to do day trips to many famous Tuscan destinations.  As I mentioned, best laid plans are often scrapped and we didn't venture too far, but we did make the short jaunt into Pisa.  The destination was a mozzarella making class.  This was held at a small cheese factory and, other than sweating in the requisite plastic coverings, was lots of fun.  Sol and I wandered the streets while the other three took the class.  We enjoyed walking along the canal that runs through the town, checking out the architecture and wandering the streets.  We followed our nose and landed at a great mom and pop shop that was doing a brisk business selling home cooked food that was displayed on metal trays and warmed up in the wood oven behind the family running the place.  We weren't sure what to order, and they spoke as much English as we spoke Italian, so we pointed to lots of different things and ended up with a feast that we enjoyed perched on metal stools at a counter, watching people come and go to grab their lunch.  Once back at the cheese shop we heard tales of stretchy mozzarella and the brilliance of the Italians adding cream to mozzarella to make delicious burrata cheese.  You've got to love a culture that adds cream to their cheese.  Yum!

 

While in Pisa we had to go see the leaning tower, if nothing else so the kids can say "I've been there" when they see iconic pictures of it in the future.  Sometimes you do just go because it is the thing to do.  As we got closer to the tower the traffic got denser and there was a definite hum in the air to suggest everyone was there for the same reason.  While parking our car the the kids learned about entrepreneurship.  As we pulled into a side street a few blocks from the tower, a tall African man, who had been selling sunglasses on the sidewalk, waved us to an open parking spot, that had a parking meter. That is, it was a public spot on the street, but he was very "helpfully" helping us park the car.  The friendly man asked us if we knew how to operate the parking meter machine and then assured us that the car would be safe under his watch.  We saw men all over the street doing similar jobs.  The kids all laughed when we walked back to the car and noticed that the man who "helped us" had left his post by our car to go help a fancier car.  To be fair to the story, the man did come back over when he saw us to check in that we were happy to see our car looking fine (and to collect a tip).  It was yet another opportunity to practice reflection and gratitude, that hustling on the street so far from home was safer or more fulfilling or simply the only option, compared to staying in your homeland.  (And yes, we did give some money for an ingenious job well done.)  So parking the car was our first introduction to the tourist circus that is the leaning tower of Pisa, and just like a circus, it was kinda fun if you go with the right attitude and don't stay too long.
  

  

We went.  We saw. We took funny pictures.  And then we went home.  Back to our quiet retreat in the countryside.  It was just right.  Sort of like our entire week in Tuscany.  It was an ideal mix of seeing some cool sights, exploring a couple of towns, but mostly luxuriating in our quiet slice of Tuscan countryside.  Once again reminding us that doing less allows us to do more, and that taking it slow creates space and time for unexpected adventures.  Oh, and that I need to focus on all that we are doing, less on what we are not!