A View of Tuscany (2 weeks late)

While I did fall in love with Michaelangelo’s David, the region of Tuscany offered so much more than just that. About 2 weeks ago, We were fortunate enough to stay in an incredible villa in Lucca, about 45 minutes outside of Florence. This villa is owned by friends of my professor. They had large group dinners for us every night, giving us the feeling of a true Italian family dinner.

The first day we arrived we spent the majority of our day in Pisa, a cute little tourist town, home to one of the worlds most famous pieces of architecture. On the first night, I was able to help out in the kitchen. I learned how to make homemade pasta (which, according to the Italians, means I am ready to be an Italian housewife. Guess I have no real reason to return to the United States now!). Each meal was enough food to last for days, but of course the dinners here tend to last about 4 hours and have 4 courses.

The villa in which we stayed in was located on a farm. 8 of us shared one house, 10 people in the other house. Every day on the farm included ten minutes of playing with the goats, who were not only adorable but are surprisingly intelligent and gentile animals. There was also a pool with an incredible view overlooking the mountains. The only time I was able to go swimming was at 7 am, meaning the water was rather frigid, but being able to watch the sunrise over the mountains and through the trees made it worth it. Swimming was of course followed by yoga by the pool, completing the perfect morning.

Sadly, we were only able to go to Florence for one day, which made for a rather stressful trip. It is a city which is meant to be seen over 7 days, not 7 hours. However, we made great time and got to see many of the major tourist sites Florence has to offer.

And than, of course, the highlight of my trip. Our last day in Tuscany was spent on a vineyard, learning how they make wine and olive oil. We ate lunch there, complete with delicious Tuscan Chianti and olive oil on just about every piece of food. The view from the vineyard was breathtaking, a picturesque version of what Tuscany looks like. I wish I could say making wine was my life calling, but it is an incredibly delicate process, so I am thinking my next best bet is to marry into a wealthy Italian family move to a Tuscan vineyard with them.

The best part about getting out of Rome for a weekend was that hardly anyone in Lucca spoke English. In fact, the woman who lives on the farm didn’t speak a single word of it, so when I sat down to have a cafe with her, I was forced to speak Italian (which came much easier than I thought it would). I find that my English is getting worse as my Italian gets better, which can only be a good sign.

After my weekend in Tuscany, I have come to realize that each city in Italy offers something unique. The art, the scenery, the people, the food, each element varies depending on the city, which makes me wonder if 3 months is enough time to see Italy.