TuscanaFeb 23, 2008
|
|
| Hey All, It has been awhile since I last wrote, largely due to the fact that I have been away from computers (a good thing) for the last few weeks. I have been all over Tuscany..Firenze, Lucca, La Spezia, Cinque Terre (technically not Tuscany, but a similar enough climate), Cecina, Saturnia. It has been wonderful...the highlights have been Cecina, where Sam, Alex and I were hosted by Federica, an Italian girl we met in Barcelona. We showed up unannounced, and she instantly welcomed us into her home. an hour later I found myself in a Cantina nestled in the Tuscan hillside, at the head of a huge table of 20 plus Italians. Her family and family friends were all eating the "leftovers" from a wedding celebration the previous day. If what we ate were the leftovers, I cannot imagine what the actual wedding feast was like...the meal was bigger than any Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner I have ever enjoyed. Sam and Alex and I sat astonished, as course after course was set before us. Salad and fish and pork and quiche and too many other things to remember. The most memorable course was Octupus Pasta...before that night I could never have imagined such a dish...and it was surprisingly delicious. The whole affair was slightly overwhelming after weeks of dining off of salami and cheese sandwiches three meals a day. I was absolutely floored by the hospitality presented to us, three scraggly foreigners. After two helpings of cake (the second bigger than the first) we performed a couple songs for them, Sam tap-dancing, Alex on guitar, and I playing the mandolin. Quite fun. The other most memorable experience came after we left Cecina and headed south. Our original plan was to head to Rome, but we could not get in contact with a place to stay, so, on the spur of the moment, we decided to check out some hot springs near Saturnia. With only a vague idea how to get there, we headed to Orbetello, where we thought we could catch a bus to Saturnia. At the Orbetello train station we started talking to a German couple, Stefan and Maryanne from Munich, and ended up inviting them along. It turned out to be three buses to get to the hot springs, but we made it there in the end, largely due to Stefan's Italian. We arrived after dark and witnessed the most beautiful sight...the full moon illuminating the white river, steam rising into the chill air. It was magical. We spent two days there with our new friends, sharing meals together, playing music, hiking, relaxing. It was so good to be settled in one place, to be away from navigating big cities with a big backpack. That first night we met two Italians, the only two other campers there. When they saw that we intended to cook past over a campfire, they insisted we use there RV and in the end, ended up cooking us pasta, and giving us half of the food in the RV's pantry. One of them was a baker, and he brought a couple of his loaves down to the campfire and cooked us Bruscheta over the flames, seasoned with a little salt, olive oil and vinegar. simply delicious. Now we are once again on the road, in Pisa. We saw the leaning tower (not much else to see) and now we are about to go out and busk and make some money for our train tickets to Torino. Sam and I plan to head north through France and Belgium to rendezvous with Ben and Nate in the Netherlands, and then we are all going to head to the Czech Republic. i cannot wait to return there! I love you all, have a great rest of February...spring is around the corner! Love Corbin |
Advertisement 
|
