Under the Tuscan…Never Mind

I saw the film Under the Tuscan Sun a few years after it came out, and I thought it was utterly terrible.  Like, The Last Airbender bad.  The script, the acting (though I was a fan of Diane Lane at the time), the directing, everything.  Awful.

Juliann told me that the book was worse, though I can’t imagine how.

There was one thing from that film, however, that made an impression on me, and I imagine it’s the same thing that’s struck millions of others.

Tuscany.

The warm, alluring images of a sun-drenched, golden countryside buried themselves somewhere deep in my psyche and I couldn’t get them out.  As we were planning our Italian itinerary adding Tuscany was a no-brainer, and we searched for the perfect little farmhouse where we could sip wine on a sunlit terrace and watch Braeden play in the shade of olive trees.

Blow-Your-Mind-Beautiful:  Phuket and the Phi-Phi Islands

Juliann dove into AirBnB and found a few places.  One in Cortona, a town with a little hillside village southeast of Florence, seemed like a winner.  We booked it, and three months later we were in our shiny rented Citroen with Auntie Leslie, speeding along the E35 and watching the countryside go by.

Doing some late travel-day shopping in the village
Dessert our first night, at Gozzoviglio. It was as good as it looked, particularly the Panna Cotta.
Sunset from Auntie’s terrace

Our host, Nicholas, met us and led the way to the house.  We drove  up rocky dirt roads from the main street up into the hills, twisting and turning through groves of olive and citrus trees, until we arrived at the gate of our new home.

The place was perfect.  Nicholas’ family owned most of the hillside, it seemed, and the house we were renting was right in the middle of their farm.  Every plant on the property produced some sort of fruit, vegetable, or herb, and in the coming weeks as we explored we discovered cherry, apple, and apricot trees, lavender, mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, a huge vegetable garden, melons, and more.

Quality Time with Elephants in Chiang Mai

And of course, the ubiquitous olive trees.  The house itself was a tad disheveled, but it was charming all the same and had far more space than we required.  Juliann, Braeden, and I took rooms on the first floor, and Auntie had the entire second floor “apartment” to herself, complete with her own terrace.

The view out our front door, including the olive trees
The front of the house. Our terrace and the table where we had all of our meals is right behind the big olive tree in front. We played hours of “football” on the gravel drive.
Our terrace and al fresco dining room. The umbrella was a lifesaver.
The view from Auntie’s terrace

Auntie was only with us in Cortona for a week but it felt like a nice, long, languid vacation.  We explored the village of Cortona, which was beautiful and filled with friendly people and amazing restaurants.

Another day was spent touring a couple of vineyards in Montalcino and Montepulciano, which was a wonderful way to see Tuscany.  The first vineyard we went to, Fanti, was absolutely incredible.  Our guide was so friendly and helpful, and she showed us around the place before setting us up for a tasting of their amazing wines.  We sheepishly walked out armfuls of some of the most delicious wines we’ve ever had, including a Brunello that I still remember a little too fondly.

The second vineyard couldn’t compare to the Fanti experience, but the real treasure of the day was driving around the Tuscan countryside.  It’s so breathtaking, so utterly gorgeous, that we can’t wait to get back and spend more time there.

More of the village of Cortona
Out for a walk in the village
All the casks of goodness at Fanti in Montalcino
Sisters-in-law sampling some fine grape products
The abbey Sant’Antimo, right across the road from the Fanti winery
Auntie and the amazing countryside
Putting the tripod to good use for a family shot
The abbey, where we went for a short visit
You can really have a lot of fun with a camera in Tuscany. They turn the “picturesque-ness” knob up to eleven here.
View from a hillside
We saw a field of these beside the road, and J thought it would be great to get a shot of the boy right next to one. I pulled over, grabbed him, gracelessly leapt across a 6′ drainage ditch in my flip-flops with him in my arms (and almost missed), and deposited him next to the bale while the locals drove by, shaking their heads.

While we were in Cortona the townsfolk were having their Giostra dell’Archidado, an annual weeklong medieval festival that culminates in a “joust”, or crossbow tournament.  We took a day and headed up to the village to see what was going on, and it turned out there was a full-on medieval-style market underway.  We browsed the stalls of Dark Ages-inspired goods for sale, like leather accessories, actual halberds (!), and cute but completely functional crossbows for the kids.

We tried our hands at some archery, listened to a little music, and then struck off in search of lunch.

One of Leslie’s last days with us in Tuscany we drove over to Castiglion del Largo, a town built around an old castle overlooking a nearby lake.  We wandered the town, took some photos, and snagged a table at an amazing little restaurant, L’Angolo del Buon Gustaio, where we finally shared a “board” with Auntie, complete with cheeses, Italian meats, olives, and bruschetta.  She had been listening to us babble on for nearly two weeks about the boards we had enjoyed in other parts of Italy and was relieved, I think, to finally shut us up.  And the food was incredible.

Getting medieval in Cortona during the Giostra festival
CHEESE! After Italy I have a whole new respect – no, love – for parmagiano reggiano cheese.
On the steps of the clock tower, right in the center of town
Taking a whack at some archery. It’s been about 35 years since I held a bow, but I didn’t embarrass myself or wound anyone.  That’s a win.
Braeden learning a little archery
Ummm, we could use one of these at home for timeouts
Looking out over the lake
In the courtyard of the castle at Castiglion del Lago
Cooling off in the fountain at Castiglion del Lago

Our two weeks with Auntie went by in a blur, and then it was time to say our sad goodbyes.  We had been through the trying process of bidding farewell to family before on the road, and I knew it was going to be painful, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Juliann and Braeden said their tearful goodbyes to Auntie, and she and I hopped in the car to head to the airport, where we hugged and said our farewells.  I was filled with sadness as I watched her walk away, but I was incredibly grateful to have been able to spend so much time with her.

We love you, Auntie!

At a Picasso exhibit in Castiglion del Lago
Looking out over the castle courtyard
The courtyard

After Auntie left, the big farmhouse felt empty.  But we had a week left in Tuscany before moving on to Venice, and we made full use of it.

Our mornings were work, homeschool, and breakfast on the terrace.  I would head to CrossFit Perugia to work out in the afternoon, we would take a family nap, and then dinner.

Braeden and Juliann finally got to work on a paper mache volcano project that they had been discussing for weeks.  We hung by the pool, played soccer in the front yard, and spent hours cooking yummy meals.

One of our last days in Cortona we headed over to the village to watch the “Joust”, or crossbow tournament.  We arrived to find huge crowds in the tiny village, and we managed to find a place to stand and watch the competition.

Each “county” had a team of two archers, and there were six rounds in the competition.  In each round an archer from each county would fire an arrow at a target perhaps 50 meters away, and the judges would score all the shots at the end of the round.

It was fun to watch, and the crowd was very much into it, with large contingents cheering on their county for each shot.  After the tournament was over the crowds hung around to celebrate and we ducked into a pub to get a bite to eat.

After a week of work, it was time to test the finished product!
The flag-tossing displays in the square, part of the weeklong medieval festival
Another random shot from the side of the road
The procession before the competition. Each county had its own contingent of 20-30 people in full medieval dress.
A group of locals taking time to watch the joust
One of the archers setting up her shot
Enjoying a post-joust bite at a pub
Our last sunset in Tuscany

 

A day or two later we were packing up to leave.  It was not easy, and we wanted to stay a few more months.  In just two weeks we had settled into a soothing routine and met some great people at CrossFit Perugia, at the little market down the street where they made us feel at home, and Juliann’s new friend Chef Ryan and his family, with whom she took not one but two cooking classes.It was time to go, though, and we sadly took our leave of the wonderful little farmhouse on the hillside and pointed our dusty Citroen north, to our next destination…

Venice!

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