Under the Tuscan Sun

Ciao miei amici,

Writing to you from the beautiful province of Tuscany. It's one of those places that lives up to the postcard image...simply beautiful.

I spent my first week in Italy with my awesome friend Lynn. Lynn and I went to Douglas College together and were editing buddies practically from day one. Her husband is from Germany and they spend a month of every summer visiting his family, so we took advantage of the opportunity and Lynn came down to hang with me for a week before I went to the farm.

We had the BEST time, staying in Pisa at the coolest budget accommodation ever...a campground where we had a small bunglaow with an outdoor kitchen, access to a pool where we spent some lovely afternoons, and we were minutes away from a supermarket and the train station. Every night we stopped at the supermarket and assembled ingredients for dinner the most important ingredient obviously being the €1.49 bottle of wine, which was great! It's truly dangerous how cheap the wine is here. There's not much to see in Pisa, besides, obviously the leaning tower and the gorgeous piazza. We climbed to the top of the tower and it was the most bizarre sensation because when we got to the side of the tower that was leaning, it felt like we were walking on flat ground, even though we were still climbing stairs. Fabulous views.

While we were staying in Pisa we visited Lucca and Florence. In Florence we checked out the Duomo and the markets, crossed the famous Ponte Vecchio (a bridge that has small apartments built along it -- see photos, as it's hard to explain). I didn't love Florence. It felt too big and busy, and sort of felt like just another big city. We then left Pisa and stayed in Siena for a few nights, and I totally fell in love with it. Siena is one of those charming walled cities, with a jumbled maze of streets that are just fun to wander and get lost in. Around every corner there was some lovely church or cathedral. While we were in Siena we did a little tour of the surrounding countryside, saw a bit of the Chianti region, and a small town called San Gimignano (which Lynn continued to call San Chimichanga, even after we learned how to pronounce it properly:).

Part of the tour was going to winery where we got to sample several of the region's wines, which were all wonderful -- the Brunello emerged as the favourite at our table, but at €40 per bottle, we didn't pick any up! We had great table mates and with every glass of wine the noise level increased until it was approximately a dull roar and our winery host had to yell at us to shut up and listen to him describe the next wine. Our host, by the way, was the best character I've met in Italy. Really, he belongs in a movie. And our tour guide was a man from Colombia who reminded me so much of Angel from Dexter I couldn't help be surprised every time I looked at him that it wasn't actually Angel. He kept calling the fields of sunflowers "sunnyflowers" which is I think what I will call them from now on:)

After Lynn left, I headed to the farm in northern Tuscany. The farm is owned and run by a woman named Viviana and her daughter, Valeria. There are two other kids in the family, another girl, Violaine, and a boy, Verner. And yes, everyone in this family's name begins with a V...Valeria's daughter is named Vevi. Viviana's husband died suddenly of a heart attack in '03, so it's just the girls running it now. When I arrived, Valeria was on holidays so it was just me and Viviana. I found those first 10 days a bit lonely, as Viviana's english is quite limited, so I really had no one to talk to. There isn't much to do at night, as the farm is relatively isolated, so I read a lot and wrote a lot... I had a small tv in my room but all the shows are dubbed in Italian, rather than subtitled, so I was reduced to watching anything on MTV that happened to be subtitled, which essentially meant subjecting myself to the most heinous reality tv in existence (I'm sure there is something trashier than Tila Tequila's "Shot at Love" but I don't ever want to see it).

Valeria came back on the 26th and it's been great having her here. Her english is a vast improvement and she's quite close to my age so it feels more friendly with her and I'm more comfortable around her. In the afternoons, when it's too hot to go outside, we hang out in the living room and watch english language movies -- yay!

The weather has been totally perfect...hot and sunny, mostly clear blue skies almost every day. I think there has been one night of rain since I arrived. The farm is in a gorgeous location -- and the general area is scattered with those charming little red-roofed towns that are so *Italian*!

I have been enjoying the food...lovely pastas, cheeses, meats. At the farm they make their own olive oil, sausage, and cheese, so it's not too rough:) It is, at times, a little too carb-heavy for my liking, and sometimes I find myself wishing for more veggies. But next week
the tomatoes should be ready for harvest, and the zuchinnis will be ready to be picked too.

Robin arrives tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her and having her company on the farm. There's going to be another wwoofer there as well, so it's gonna be a party!

Obviously I am loving Italy. The food, the weather, the absolutely stunning scenery and charming towns. Really, what's not too love? I think the nicest thing about the weather is you can walk around at midnight in a tank top and be totally comfortable -- or even a bit too warm sometimes. I hear Vancouver is having quite the heatwave, but I also hear its rained every day in July in Dublin, so I feel for you guys, after last summer...and the one before. I'm sending you sunny thoughts...

Anyway, I should send this off now, though I'm sure I've forgotten things I had in my head that I wanted to include. I'm actually in Rome right now as I finish this up, but I'll save that for the next email. Suffice it to say, I am suitably awed by this incredible city and I have enjoyed every moment of the weekend.

Ciao,
Tessa

Photos of Tuscany are on my Flickr site:)