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Published: December 22nd 2004
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TUSCANY
So, here we are again. It’s been a long time since our last entry. Apologies to those who have been waiting. It was next to impossible to update things while we were in Africa. We are going to catch up as fast as we can, so the blogs will become a little more compressed. We hope to be up to date by New Years. We hope everybody is having an excellent holiday. Merry Christmas from Thailand.
We travelled the short train ride from Como to Milan where we met up with Tracey’s relatives on Sept 24th. Having married an Italian, Tracey’s grandmother Giovannini (aka Nanny Jo) has always wanted to visit Italy. So for her 93rd birthday, she made the journey accompanied by Tracey’s mom and two aunts (Jean Anne and Ethel). We spent a night in an airport hotel and the following morning, headed for our pilgrimage to the Giovannini home in Bagna Di Lucca, Tuscany.
Tracey’s great great grandfather came to St. Lawrence, Newfoundland from Italy with his brother and their families, leaving behind one brother in Bagna Di Lucca. The house belonging to the brother who stayed in Italy is still owned and lived in
by Giovannini relatives, Giovanna and her sister-in-law, Antoinetta. The families on both sides of the pond have maintained contact over the years. We travelled to the home with Giovanna’s son Antonio.
The drive through Tuscany is beautiful; the rolling mountains are so plush, they look like velvet. Imagine the two Giovannini brothers’ first comments as they arrived on the barren, rocky and undoubtedly foggy and dreary Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland.
Bagna Di Lucca is a sleepy little town, located in a valley, with beautiful old houses and a mountain river travelling through the main square. Translated, its name means “ the baths of Lucca”. Apparently, the hot springs and casino in Bagna Di Lucca drew a questionable crowd in its hayday. However, I doubt that they have seen much action or scandal for many years; the hot springs have been converted to a high-end spa and the casino is now a museum. However, Jason gave the locals something to talk when he was almost arrested in the main square. He was rushed by four police who upon realizing that he didn’t understand a word they were barking at him, and at least understanding that he was from Canada and
The Whole Gang
Front to back, left to right:
Giovanna, Nanny Jo, Ethel, Antoinnetta, Jean Anne, Tracey, Mrs. Dobbin and Antonio not who they thought he was, drove away. Jay received some interesting looks and snickers during the rest of our stay.
We spent three nights in Bagna Di Lucca with daily outings to the surrounding medieval towns of Lucca and the charming, mountain top town of Barga, where nanny Jo made the impressive walk up the endless stairs to the church at the top of the town. We spent the evenings at the old house, enjoying delicious multi course Tuscan meals prepared by Giovanna and Antoinetta and learning about the history of the house and the area. It took a few meals of overeating before we clued in not to take a meal sized helping of the pasta (course one).
Walking into the house feels like a walk back in time; it is still furnished with the original pieces, the library is filled with books up to 500 years old, there are old whisky bottles and relics (old corkers, war posters) in the wine cellar and many old paintings and pictures from the area covering the walls. During WW2, the Germans occupied the house, forcing the family out. Although the house was left entact, the top story of
the barn was blown off. Undoubtedly a traumatic experience. Giovanna, once a German teacher, could no longer remember a single word of German following the war.
ROME
Following a fantastic visit with the Italian relatives in “the old house” , we headed by train for Rome on Sept. 28th. Despite it being crowded, dirty, and congested with the craziest drivers, there is something wonderfully inviting about Rome. From a historical point, Rome contains one of the world’s greatest collection of historic art, monuments and ancient ruins; there is marble at every turn. Many sidewalks are even made with marble. While in Rome, we did the tourist thing and explored the Forum, Palantine Hill and Coliseum, and were awed at the timelessness of these structures; it was incredible to see ruins dating back to 4 BC. We toured the Vatican (St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Sistine Chapel) with a former political science teacher and learned the accurate and bloody history, not the RC church version, of the smallest, most opulent city in the world. And of course we visited the many other significant monuments and squares around the city (Trevi fountain, piazza Navona, and hundreds of marble statues). In four
"Devil's Bridge" in Bagna Di Lucca
Massive trouble in contructing this bridge led the builders to strike a deal with the devil. The first soul to cross the bridge belonged to him. After it was complete, the people sent a dog across it. The Devil was not pleased. days, we only scraped the surface; you would need a year at least to see it all, if you didn’t get “marbled out” first. We spent the rest of our time gorging ourselves on amazing Italian food and wine while watching the locals vibrantly go about their daily lives…need we say more?
AMALFI COAST
We said goodbye to nanny Jo and company in Rome and set off by train for the Amalfi Coast on Oct. 1st. First stop: Naples. If you ever find yourself in Naples, go directly to the nearest train station/bus terminal/airport, hold your bags tightly and get the hell out. We took the bus to Agerola, a tiny, quaint town in the mountains and home to the cheapest accommodations along the Amalfi Coast. We rented ourselves a tiny little bungalow. The pre-fab kind where you buy the whole thing in one box and put it together in one day. The roads weave through the mountains, allowing for amazing sight seeing of the area (a free tour). The Amalfi coast is covered in lemon trees and is apparently quite a sight and smell during the lemon bloom. Although we just missed it, we saw many of the
The wine cellar in the old house
Some bottles in this room are hundreds of years old. Wine, rum, you name it, there's vintage stock here. lemons at the markets (they are huge) and enjoyed many lemon treats (gelatti, ices drinks etc).
During our stay on the Amalfi coast, we took advantage of the opportunity for some down time to recharge. We spent our days relaxing, doing laundry, and eating amazing wood oven pizza with a day-trip to the town of Amalfi. Like many Mediterranean towns, Amalfi is an attractive town set on the ocean around a main square. Although it was low season, the town was crowded with camera touting tourists and locals. We spent the day walking around the narrow back alleyways (you need to be able bodied to get around the endless steps of this town) and enjoyed some local fare before heading back to the tranquility of our bungalow for a final feast of Italian pizza. We hopped on a train to Brindisi on Italy's east coast. Next stop: Greece.
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When in Rome...
I hope you two are collecting recipes!!! - Levi