Our lovely days in Toscana finally came to an end, and we must say we were a little sad to leave. It was fabulous to be in one place/region for 10 days - it really is true that at times less is more!The longer we stayed at the campsite, the more connected we became with people, making for some fun times all around. It is amazing how building relationships tends to make the traveling experience the richest. The campsite was run by a really lovely Italian family and the staff were wonderful, friendly, and helpful. Italians seem to like to engage with foreigners, and this was no exception. When our campstove ran out of fuel and we couldn't find a matching fuel cannister anywhere, they loaned us one of their campstoves. When Pippin got locked in the bathroom, they were there to get her out, and if we needed information on anything from driving instructions to wine recommendations they were there to help out. We were made to feel like welcome guests.
As the days went by, we fell into a kind of routine -- we would intersperse our outings to various towns and sites with some good old 'down time' around the pool. There we would invariably have a fantastic cappuccino (against all Italian traditions -- apparently they only drink cappuccinos in the morning for breakfast, while we were always having them in the afternoon!) We got to know our barista Josef as well as we could given the language barrier (he spoke almost no English). He was very curious about us as Canadians given that 99% of the visitors to the campsite tend to be other Europeans. Here is a picture of Skye with Josef.
And here is a picture of the oh-so-delicious cappuccinos that would arrive at our table . . .
As you may have noticed from our previous posts, sometimes it takes us awhile in our new locations to figure out how things work. After spending exorbitant amounts of money on little pre-made paninis from the campsite, we discovered a local bakery and started making them ourselves for a fraction of the cost. One our favourites ended up being a marinated eggplant and potato chip conconction (not very Italian we know, but it was so tasty!)
As the days went by in the campsite, spots would fill and empty with various people. Then some days after we arrived, a lovely Dutch family "moved in" right across from us. We immediately connected. They had two kids the same age as ours and they were immediately friendly and fun to hang around with. Despite the language barrier, the kids found all kinds of games to play together -- crazy games in the pool, table tennis, board games, beach ball, soccer . . . you name it.
After our daily outings, we would all gather around their table (we didn't have sitting options at our site), drink wine or some other beverage, snack on yummy nibblies and have good chats about all kinds of things. It was great to get to know another young family. As the days rolled on we spent more and more time together and we were sad to have to say goodbye.
On our way to the Cinque Terre, on the advice of various friends, we stopped in the pretty town of Lucca in Northern Tuscany. It was a baking hot day and it was lunch time, so we thought why not? Well what a treat -- this old walled town was a lovely diversion for a couple of hours. We wound our way through the old streets and soaked up the sights. Lucca had a very similar feel to Siena in that it is a manageable size and it has a similar historical feel. Having seen paintings and pictures of it, Skye wanted to see the Piazza Amphetheatre and thus began a bit of a wild goose chase -- we didn't have a map and we kept getting turned around in our directions. Just when we were ready to give up, there it was (see picture below.)
Well after all of our hunting, we were hungry and we found a new delicacy. In Lucca it is called Cecina, in Genova and surrounds it is called Farineta -- either way, this delicious chick pea flour specialty is to-die-for-delicious! All it is is chick pea flour, salt, water and olive oil -- the trick, it turns out, is the hot, wood-fired brick oven that it needs to bake in. We could hardly get enough of this treat!
The journey back up to the coastal area not far from Genova was a smooth affair. Gone were the relatively quiet rural Tuscan roads and on came the throbbing Mediterranean coastline. July at the coast is quite a scene in Europe.
We will continue with that thought in our next blog. Until then . . .Ciao,
Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin
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