Central Tuscany (close to Siena)

After a fairly epic day searching for a campsite in central Tuscany, we finally found one on Monday evening in the famous wine growing region close to Montalcino. We were happy to find it since we were very tired, and we had been worried that perhaps the signs we were following was a wild goose chase! Despite the long journey we were thrilled with the location and the layout. It is a classic Italian Camping Village set-up with a crazy amount of amenities -- three different pools, volleyball, a soccer pitch, ping pong, fooseball, a cafe and a restaurant, and a huge quantity of sites for camping in every manner. That said, the place is family owned and they have proven to be very friendly and generous in how they have helped us settle in. We think we will stay here for awhile and use this as a base from which to explore the entire region. It actually turns out that it is just 25kms away from Siena and it is very easy to access the city from here. The kids are also loving all the other kids and the fun stuff they can do here!
We came to this region because we were looking for the quintessential Tuscan experience. Also, this area is particularly renowned for its wine. The wine that this region is most famous for is called "Brunello" and it tends to be quite expensive. The bottles above are "out-of-control" expensive, but we can buy great bottles for around 5 Euro's . . .
The town of Montalcino is at the heart of this wine country. It has a great old center and we stumbled on our favourite pizza to date: a thin, chewy crust with tomato sauce, boccancini, fresh arugula, parmesan shavings, and cherry tomatoes. Wow! What an amazing, mouth watering combination.
As you can see, the MASSIVE pool is a hit with the kids.
This is a little buddy the kids made whose name is Stephano. It is great to have some other kids for Kai and Pippin to hang out with after a long dry spell. Stephano is the grandson of the woman who runs the camp ground and his dad is one of the chefs at the restaurant -- it is obvious he loves coming to this camp every summer.
A typical rural Tuscan driveway. The Cypress trees lining the road in this way is very common and makes for a distinct Tuscan feel.
We are still finding all these funky little cars. We would kill for one of these tiny little numbers for Victoria. We could practically park three of them next to our boat of a vehicle.
It took us a few days, but we finally made it to Siena. We were amazed how easy it was for us to get in and out from where we are camped. We are literally 25 kms away and the amazing thing about the south side of Siena is that there is no city sprawl. One literally drives right to the edge of the old city, goes to a parkade, walks out of the parkade and is in this stunning ancient city. It truly is one of the most beautiful cities we have visited yet. It will be interesting to visit its counterpart/rival -- Florence. We intend to do that on Sunday and brave the city in a vehicle. We will just get as close as possible and then bus if need be.
For those who have never been to Tuscany. There has been a rivalry between Siena and Florence for centuries. They are only 80 kms apart and for many centuries each city was dominated by strong families who warred with one another for control of land. The result is that even today there is quite the rivalry between the two cities and people seem to have strong opinions about which of the two cities is better than the other. We shall see which side of the fence we stand on after experiencing both!
The shops everywhere are beautifully laid out, and we could easily get carried away if we had a few extra Euro's. Instead we have been happy to just shop with our eyes and take in the visual feast.
The central church in Siena is world class. It has the same kind of impact that Notre Dame has when one approaches it. It is a stunning piece of art. It is ornate as all get out, and all done in marble. We didn't go in -- not only was the line-up to get tickets long, but it was pretty pricey per ticket. We've seen so many spectacular churches on this trip, just seeing the outside was enough for us, this time.
It is hard to get away from the gelato theme in these blogs. They still tend to be a central theme in our days. The fun thing is having a new flavour everyday and comparing how the Gelaterias are different from one another.
The central plaza in Siena is also quite something. It really evokes a feeling from one of those E.M. Foster novels. One can so easily imagine people in dress from other eras walking the streets of this marvelous square.
Kai worked hard to hold up the tower. He is so strong!
Pippino is not bad in the strength department either.
The food ... the food ... the food. It easy to visit Italy just for the culinary experiences.
On that note, we will move on with our day. Not very wordy in this entry but we are sure that the images will leave you all well fed.
Love and hugs. Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin

Southern Tuscany (Maremma)

Last Saturday we finally tore ourselves away from Genova. We knew that we would be back there in a few weeks time to do some further exploring, before heading home to Canada. Our drive south was quite seamless and really quite short (given the immense distances we are used to in Canada.) The amazing thing about Italy is how mountainous the country is -- apparently 75% of the nation consists of mountainous terrain. The consequences of that topography on the road system is that one passes through more tunnels (and incredibly long ones) than any of us have ever experienced. Kai and Pippin usually play a game where they see if they can hold their breath for the duration of the tunnel -- many of the tunnels here were just too long!

One thing about northern Italy that is striking after Southern France, is how much more industrial it is. The result is that between all the wonderful age and character are many very unattractive industrial zones. The land here is also more densely inhabited, making it feel less rural than Provence. That said, apparently the further south one goes the more agricultural it gets. This has certainly been the case as we have edged into Tuscany.
Our initial plan was to consider heading to the southern coast of Tuscany, but when we got there we realized that it was not at all what we wanted. The coast was jammed with endless strips of "Club Med" types of camp grounds with way too many amenities and too much throbbing holiday action. It felt a little like Durban at the beach or even Southern California -- and it was all so kitschy. We came to Italy to see the aged villages, and so we decided to head inland close to a series of ancient villages called Pitigliano, Sovano and Sarano. This southern Tuscan area is absolutely ancient, first having been occupied during neolithic times and of course everything else that followed. It is most famous, however, for the best preserved Etruscan sites which all predate the Roman era.
This picture above is the town of Pitigliano -- it is build on a tufa rock cliff face. As you can see in the first picture of this blog entry, part of the city wall is actually part of an ancient Roman aquaduct! The area below the town is riddled with old catacombs and has an ancient underground city dug into the cliffs. Another amazing thing about this old city is that it held one of the largest Jewish communities in southern Europe during the medieval period. While Jews were persecuted in many surrounding areas at the time, in Pitigliano they were welcomed and it became a sanctuary. In fact, Pitigliano was dubbed "Little Jerusalem!" Of course, the Second World War changed all of that, but now the area has been revamped and seems to be a celebrated part of the community again. It is an amazing, ancient place!
All around the town are ancient sites with antiquities and ruins. Shown in the picture above is a long dug down structure (from the Etruscan period) with a strange central groove -- to this day archaeologists do not know why they were built. It would have taken tremendous amounts of labour to dig these passageways out of the rock. So the question is what was their purpose? Along some of the walls are dug out caves and also inscriptions. One of these inscriptions was exactly like the Tibetan swastika (turned in the opposite direction from the Nazis) and for the Etruscans was believed to be a symbol of peace. Interesting how the same symbol from the Himalayas may have made it all the way over here, or it was universal?!
We found a great little campsite on a farm about 6kms from Pitigliano and we ended up being the only ones there. It was a tad lonely, but we enjoyed the space tremendously. It was set high on a hill with a great view of the rolling Maremman countryside (Maremma is the southernmost region in Tuscany.) There was a pool (which is a priority for us since the days are hot and it provides a good outlet for the kids in the sweltering afternoons) and all the other essential amentities.
This is a cat that the kids got very attached to while we were camping. We were not sure if she was homeless (but suspect she was given her scrawniness and level of constant hunger.) She was one of those hyper friendly cats and the kids instantly fell in love with her. She also seemed like she could be pregnant, so we took it upon ourselves to feed her rich creamy milk and cheeses to help her milk production along. There were big tears when we left -- probably a sign that the kids are missing that feeling of being attached. The kids will definitely be ready to return to their beloved Canada in a few weeks time. Best of all, they now know what Canada means to them and are not likely to take it for granted again in a hurry.
Of course the funky little Italian car/motorbikes are a source of endless entertainment for the kids. These are used everywhere in Italy!
The rhythm of small villages in Italy is wonderful. Town elders are sitting everywhere on chairs, chatting to the neighbours and watching life pass by. The "Gucci-factor" (as John Herrmann likes to call it) has not hit many of these characterful villages like it has in Provence. I think we mentioned in previous blogs how the old Provencal culture seems way less prevalent these days as homes in Southern France have been bought up by city dwellers. This does not seem to be the case in Italy. It still has a very provincial feel.
The churches in Italy also live up to their legend. They are ancient, cool havens -- a perfect escape from the sweltering sun! This fresco was from a church in Sovano, a tiny village in this Southern Tuscan region. The church dated back to the 9th century. The frescos were unbelievably beautiful and detailed, real works of art!
Well, that is about it for this entry...
We will leave you with this lovely image of a curious village woman checking life out through her window. It seems that life here offers real simplicity to the local inhabitants.
With love from us all. Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin

Oh Mama Mia! It's Another Gelateria!

For all you folks who have ever been to Italy this is old news, but for us newcomers -- it feels a little like we have recently been "inducted" into the cult of Gelato. It is absolutely the most exquisite culinary experience on the planet! Oh my God . . . it is like we have died and gone to heaven!

We have been enjoying it so much in fact, that on some days we have had gelato twice in one day. Somehow the Italians manage to get the absolute essence of whatever flavour they are creating into the Gelato -- it is like pure pistachio, or pure peach, or pure chocolate . . . you get the picture. We are all very intrigued with how they are able to achieve this amazing concentration of flavour. Is it possible to learn this culinary magic? You know us, we are always trying to hatch some market scheme, at least in plan, though usually it is just talk! Still . . . it would be fabulous to know how to create this deliciousness at home.
People tend to takes sides when it comes to the kind of gelato they like to eat. Some of us like the fruity sorbet kinds and then others like the rich, luxurious, creamy ones. You might be surprised who likes what . . . Ronato seems to think that by eating the fruity ones, he can get away with eating as much gelato as he wants.
So far we have only frequented the Gelaterias (this is what they are called, we're not making this word up) that say they are artisanal -- it seems to truly be an art -- but even within these, we have definitely found a few that rank in the sublime realm. One of these just so happens to have been two buildings away from Ugo and Deborah's, and then today the one we tried in Montalcino was fantastico, as well. Favourite repeat-eat flavours so far have been: pistacchio, yogurt, limone, cioccolato, and crema, just to mention a few . . . Mmmmmmmm. Skye has decided that it is her personal mission to try as many flavours as possible, while still managing to sneak in her favourites. Hmmm . . . sounds like 2 gelatos a day is definitely going to be necessary! The good thing is that for no extra cost, one is able to have more than one flavour per serving. We thought all of our food loving friends would appreciate our enthusiasm for gelato.
By the way . . . we have been in Southern Tuscany for the past few days. We will devote a post on that stint shortly.

Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin

Camogli in a snapshot

Hello again from glorious Italia. We just had a lovely afternoon outing and so thought we would add a short post with some pictures of Camogli -- a coastal town just south of Genova. Our hosts, Ugo and Deb are quite actively involved in grass root community issues and were instrumental in organizing a literature event for writers from countries outside of Italy. The event was being held in Camogli and so they suggested we stay here another day so we could look at this stunning coastal town and see some of the festival. It involved a 20 minute train ride along the coast in the direction of Portofino (a world famous tourist destination). The train ticketing process was a little adventurous for us because the infrastructure here is a little funky -- broken ticket machines with few instructions and all in Italian. Luckily the Italians are quick to help and came to the rescue.
The festival had a Roma theme (as in Gypsy) and so there was a little procession before the readers took to the podium. Of course, it was all in Italiano so we just had to kick back and enjoy the scenery.
The buildings in this area are all painted with the most incredible detailing -- which must take absolutely forever, adding a lovely rustic feel. Then there are all the aged buildings with laundry draped in all directions, making it look oh so authentic.
Pippin having a little pout because we (parents) made the terrible mistake of not bringing swimsuits. It was a serious oversight because the bay in Camogli was lovely and it was very hot. Silly us!
Kai and I enjoy all the dilapidated graffiti art and take every opportunity to document it.
Well there you go -- a very short entry just for some visuals of Camogli. Hope this finds you all well.
Off we go to Tuscany . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin

Gelato and pizza in Italia

We have finally made it to Italy, the last country in our six month journey away from home. The great thing is that none of us have ever been here before. What a great way to end this adventure -- with something completely new!

We arrived in Genova, Italy two days ago and it has immediately lived up to our expectations. It really feels like we are in Italy! It is amazing how those stereotypes we have somehow developed in our heads have kicked into place. The Italians are SO exuberant, gregarious and friendly. It is quite the contrast to the more reserved nature of the French people we have experienced in the last few months. Not that we are making a judgement -- it is just a very big contrast.

The picture shown above is the beach right in front of the place in Genova where we are staying with our friends Ugo and Deb. We met Ugo through Cam and Cristina over a decade ago when Ugo came to visit Canada. During his visit, Ugo came to stay with us in Victoria for a few days. Ugo and Deb are such a lovely warm couple -- they have been nothing but kind and wonderful to us!
Just to back track back to France a little, for a moment. Here are some departing photographs, below, of Provence before we left. We just had to sneak a picture of this women with her two dogs at the Tuesday Cucuron market. The French really like their dogs!
Then we also chose to take some departing pictures of us all looking out of the quintessential Provencal blue shuttered windows at our place in Lourmarin. Such a good memory!


The night before we left Provence, we had a little visitor to our room. This was the second scorpion we encountered in Provence. Apparently they have a bit of a sting (check out the poison-pouch at the end of the tail) but nothing lethal, or so the locals say. That said, we were not keen to experience the sting.
Okay, back to Italy! Here is Skye and Pippin on our first morning in Genova. The windows from Ugo and Deb's apartment look out over the Mediterranean. It is great for people watching and the setting is just so Italian, with the colourful buildings set tightly together overlooking the water.
This is a picture taken of Kai on Ugo and Deb's terrace (on the rooftop of the building). They often prepare their meals in a little terrace-top kitchen, and then settle in to eat and enjoy the evenings up there -- the cooler air makes it a great place for hanging out. Again, it feels so European!
Ugo and Deb's apartment is also great. It has the appeal of an old building, but has been upgraded with all the modern amenities. The floors are marble (apparently original) adding a cool feeling in this warm climate, and they have created a very open, minimalist asthetic. It is tres chic!
The beach experience here is also quite a trip. As we like to say in Canada: people are "tooth to jowl" on the beach! It makes for great people watching and makes the beach a much more social experience. We got right in there, swimming and lapping up the sun.
Last night, after some hours on the beach, we went down to basically the basement of the apartment building to a family owned pizzaria for what was undoubtedly the very best pizza we have had in our lives. The crust, the toppings, the flavours, the wood burning oven all made for a fabulous culinary experience. Ugo and Deb know the owners well, and so they put on a real show and made us feel very welcome. The owner's name is Franco and he has been making pizza for over 40 years. Ugo kept talking about Franco like he was an artist and how he put "so much love into his food." Well it showed. The Italians are so passionate! Below is a picture of Franco, his family, Deb and Ugo.
Franco insisted on demonstrating how he opened up the pizza dough. We are not exaggerating when we say that it took him a mere 30 seconds to go from having the ball of dough in his hands, to twirling it in the air so that it quickly became a thin Italian pizza base ready for the oven. It truly was like a work of visual art. When we make pizza at home, it takes us half an hour of working the dough to get it so nice and thin. We might need to come and study with the master!
Here is a picture Pippin took of the after dinner glow.
To help us digest, we then went on an evening stroll through the neighbourhood. There is a lovely walk along the water and along narrow lanes through what was previously a fishing village. The evening was warm, it was already 11 pm, and the streets were bustling with energy. John and Bay were here recently and kept saying that the Italians like to have a good time -- well now we know what they meant! People were out everywhere enjoying the moonlight shimmering over the ocean. Skye and I had a good chuckle because (just like the stereotypical visions in our minds') there were endless numbers of smooching couples, clutching their motorcycle helmets in one arm and each other with their free arms, all romancing along the way, reinforcing our view of the romantic Italian ways. Added to that, there were droves of teenagers and young people milling about smoking, visiting, and having a late night gelato. Which brings us to the topic of gelato. Let's just say we are already mourning the loss of the gelato that will come when we leave Italy! It is the most ambrosial, delicious thing we have ever experienced, in terms of ice cream. The best part about the gelato is that it is almost half the cost of gelato/creme glacee in France. We will be having at least two a day while we are here! Get ready to roll us off the plane when we arrive back in Canada.
Well that is about it for now. We have another day here before we venture south in search of the perfect site to set up camp for awhile. We shall see where we end up!

Until next time . . .

Arrivederci

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin