The Lure of Tuscany, Part One

Part One:
Italy is the only country I have ever traveled to where I’ve said to myself, “You know, I think I could actually live here.” And that’s saying a lot. I’m as American as they come: I love cheeseburgers off the grill, fly a flag on the Fourth of July, and believe that football is a game where oversized men in padded jerseys crush one another executing intricately devised plays. All this being said, however, the friendliness of the Italian people, the beauty of the countryside (especially Tuscany), and the food (naturally!) made me wonder how hard it would be to pack up all my Earthly belongings, quit my job, and just settle there. Seeing “Under the Tuscan Sun” shortly before going didn’t help, I suppose. Either way, it wasn't at all surprising to learn that Italy is the most visited and re-visited country in the world.

Mind you, how I ended up there, imagining an alternate life among the olive groves, cobbled, medieval streets and vibrant hillsides is not the stuff of romantic adventure and it’s not going to be made into a movie any time soon. But that’s ok. That’s just the way I like it.

In fact, the whole thing started with my stepmother, who had never been to Europe and it can be said with no amount of exaggeration, hates to spend money. My father, on the other hand, was born with a wanderlust that knows no bounds and had been moping around for years longing for an adventure. After sharing my photos from a recent trip to England, she got to wistfully talking about the places she's like to visit before she died. Of course we knew she would talk until she turned blue, but if left to her own devices, it would never happen. She mentioned Italy a few times and so my dad and I pounced. After with some clever cajoling and plenty of reminders that we only live once, we managed to convince her that taking a trip could be good for the soul. Of course, at the time this could have been an indulgent gesture on her part to shut us up!

That night we hopped around online looking at villas (knowing absolutely nothing, I might add!) as my dad reminisced about meeting my own mother there and the time he spent with her in Florence. Though I had no plans of joining them, I took notes and helped them weigh their options. Did they want to go the next fall (it was March at the time) or the following spring? Did they want to fly into Rome or Florence? Did they want to train it or rent a car? Did they want a villa only or stay at some hotels, too? My stepmother, still a tad non-committal, promised to go to the library and check out some books or videos, while I volunteered to research more into villas on the internet the next day. When I left that night, my father was smiling broadly. His engines had been started.

Initially, the only thing they could agree on was when they wanted to go: October, harvest season. But over the following months, and after viewing several videos, reading many books, and visiting countless websites, they managed to solidify a plan. To save money (at least that’s what I think!) they also invited me along. Sure, I’d rather be there with someone I was madly in love with, but with such an adventure dangling in front of me, how could I resist? ;)

We decided that while we wanted to see Rome and Venice, from the outset we wanted to spend the bulk of our time in the Tuscany region. Our decision was made mostly because it has long been popular with Americans and many of the things it offered were already familiar to us: its history, museums, wine, quaint hill towns, rolling countryside and cypress-lined roads. For myself, I wanted to visit Florence because I’d read “A Room with a View” in high school and had spent my childhood thumbing through the art books my mother had gotten there. I also read a newspaper article about Siena a few years ago and the race it holds in the town square. I remember thinking at the time, “These people are mad! Sign me up!” It just felt like the right place.

Needless to say, it was the right choice for us. Because it has become such a popular destination, there is a wide array of agriturismos to choose from, and I found that the infrastructure for finding the right one on the internet was surprisingly robust. And the number of Tuscan villas available is just staggering. Searching for just the right one can be time-consuming and eye-strain inducing, but for me, the hunt is half the fun!

More later...