I saw this movie about six weeks ago before I went to Italy and after being in Rome for a couple days I went and spent time in the Tuscany area. If you’ve never been to Italy and visited the Tuscany area, this film is what you think the Tuscany area is about. Am I going to dissuade you from that notion? Am I going to tell you that Tuscany like that is gone, washed away by a modern era that no longer allows any corner of the world to go undiscovered and untouched by everything new and techy? Hmm… maybe I won’t answer that in the first paragraph. What a Debbie Downer I would be if I did that. You’ll have to read a little more my friends…
It is possible to adequately see Rome in a couple days, if you’re willing to get your steps in, and then go see the Tuscany area. I did both in 8 days, including flying to and from the States.
Visiting Rome is akin to visiting New York City. There’s always a billion people there and unless you get up very early, which I have a habit of doing, you’ll never see the streets empty or quiet. In spite of that, I’d go back and visit Rome a third time. That’s my ringing endosement that everyone should see Rome at least once. Now, let’s go to Tuscany!
If you want this kind of view, the kind that sucks all the stress out of your body and mind before you even get out of the car, then Tuscany is for you.
One thing to be aware of is that in getting to the Tuscany area, which is about 2 hours north of Rome, is that the Tuscany area is mountainous and because of the mountains, the drive is constant S curves for about an hour straight. Literally, once you’re off the highway, the roads are just one sharp curve after another where you can’t see what might be coming until it’s mere meters in front of you. In Italy, you don’t have to worry about the speed limit. It’s a mere suggestion. It’s the curves that will get you.
Yeah, Italy seems big on that metric system. There were times I was driving 110 kilometers per hour and had no idea what that was in American time and distance. That put’s us Americans at a disadvantage to the 90% of the world that was smart enough to all use the same measurment system. It’s a shock to me that our current “president” hasn’t gone to war against countries that use the metric system.
I love that the stone built barn says DANCE FIRST, THINK LATER. That’s the vibe you get when you’re in the Tuscany area. Life really does slow down.
This is me at a little cafe at 9:30 in the morning. Yes, Italians know how to make great coffee literally anywhere. In bustling Rome the coffee is great. In a tiny mountain top town, like the one I was visiting in this picture, the coffee is great too. And on a Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., nothing else in this little mountaintop town was open.
While I was sitting here drinking my delicious coffee, across the way was an older Italian woman leaning out a second floor window making conversation with whoever walked by down on the sidewalk. And yes, all the streets were cobblestone and I didn’t see a single skateboarder all week.
This little mountaintop town is called Peccioli. I’ll never forget it and I might even move there someday. The town has a kink for creative art and it’s everywhere. Sometimes it’s visual and othertimes it’s audible.
I walked down some stairs into a bunker from World War II, and as I was reading a little plaque explaning the history of it, suddenly air horns were sounding off and the lights were blinking as if the place was being bombed. Scared the heck out of me for a few seconds. There was no warning, but once I figured it out, it was kind of cool. The random art in the pic above this paragraph is not in the bunker, but is elsewhere in the town. I could post so many pictures from this town.
This particular town is not unique. There are several more “left behind the world” type towns in the mountainous areas of Tuscany. You know what else the Tuscany area does well is wine. Do yourself a favor and take a winery tour while you’re there. Not only do you get a nice amount of samples, you also learn a lot about how making wine is not just waiting for grapes to ripen.
One more thing you need to do when you visit the Tuscany area is to visit the Pisa area. That will allow you to do a corny picture where you act like you’re holding the Leaning Tower of Pisa up and it will allow you to go to an absolutely beautiful beach about 25 minutes west. It has the gorgeous clear blue water that you see on Instagram posts and in every film about the area. Go to the Pisa beach, swim, dry off and hit up one of the several great restaurants along the boardwalk. And yes, the coffee there is great too!
That’s my mini-review of some of Italy. If you have any questions, feel free to put them in the comments. What’s next…how about Key West? I’m going to try to determine where you can get the absolutely best piece of Key Lime pie.
Thanks for reading and safe travels!
Phil
