Tales from the Tuscan Table

Buona Pasqua! I said goodbye to Tamara this morning when she headed back home. I’m sorry to see her go. We did some serious Tuscan eating and now I only have myself to quibble with about where I should eat. Not really sorry to see Florence disappearing down the train track on my way to Ravenna though. It was just as crowded and hectic as Rome but in a smaller space.

The little wool cardy that was too warm in Rome turned out not to be warm enough in Tuscany. So the coat, which I had hoped would remain buried at the bottom of the suitcase until Switzerland at least, has been worn most of this past week. But with all the snowstorms whirling around back in Canada I won’t complain.

Tuesday in Florence, I took a 30 minute bus ride out of town to Fiesole to see the Roman ruins of a theatre, baths and temples. Funnily enough the crowds didn’t follow me there! I picnicked in the theatre overlooking an olive tree-filled valley and Tuscan hills, then hiked up the other side of town to view the red roofs of Florence in the distance. A very thoughtful boy around 12, who was there with his family, offered to take my picture. He did a pretty decent job considering his subject matter!

Wednesday, Tamara and I met up at the Florence train station and headed for Lucca, a smaller Tuscan town to the west where we had booked a little apartment for three nights. It was, of course, on the top floor of the building with some ridiculously steep stairs. But it was great with lots of space. We got there around 5 with time to settle in and then go out to eat at 7:30 when the restaurants open. We went to a different restaurant each night and they got better every time. Seafood carbonara, pistachio semi-freddo, pasta filled with pear and cheese, ricotta torta, roast lamb, lots of salumi (meats), wine, wine, wine, risotto with asparagus and parmesan, cantucci with vinsanto, and you get the picture. Eat, eat, eat. I won’t/can’t keep it up, now that she’s gone, but how could I refuse my daughter in her short time in Tuscany?

Thursday, we got up early and caught 3 trains to Siena to go on a food tour we had booked. In my early morning stupor I chose to buy our ticket from a human as opposed to the machines that are all over the place, thinking it would be quicker. We had two ways to get to Siena, 2 trains via Florence taking longer or 3 trains via Pisa with shorter connection times in between and faster. Of course we wanted the 3 trains but when I said “no” to the Florence train the ticket seller decided that was the way we were going and gave us that ticket. We were in a hurry so ignored this and went for the train to Pisa. In our hurry, we also did not validate the ticket. A big no-no worth a 50 euro fine. I think we both sat for the first half-hour ride praying no official would look at our ticket. Tamara smartly validated it while we ran to our next train. We were fortunate no-one looked at our ticket on any of the trains, unlike on our way home (with a correct validated ticket) when we were checked on 2 trains. Only buy from the machines.

Tamara didn’t believe me when I said our choice for getting into Siena from the train station was by bus or escalator, but yes we took escalators up into town. At the Tuscan Wine School, it turns out we were the only ones on the tour which was led by Sarah from Sweden. We went to a deli and tried local Siena meats and cheeses, then to a coffee shop and had Italian coffee explained, then to a pasticceria (pastry shop) and had the most delicious almond cookies, specialty of Siena, and two types of pan forte. Then back at the shop we tasted different types of local wine, olive oil, truffles, balsamic vinegar and honey. MMMMM! Then we bought things we tasted. Money was spent, suitcases are heavier, is all I’m saying.

Friday we stayed in Lucca and walked all through and around the town. Lucca was originally a Roman fort/town (not Etruscan) and had a Roman wall. Later it had a much bigger and thicker medieval wall. Today the wall, encircling the town, has been made into a walkway/park and is used by walkers, runners and bikers, and is really quite nice.

The Roman amphitheatre in Lucca remains standing as an elliptical piazza with “modern” buildings around it. It is quite unique. In a few places around the exterior you can see a few stone traces of the amphitheatre, most of its building material having been scavenged over the centuries.

Saturday we were back in Florence where we stayed on the “calmer” side of the river near the Pitti Palace. Did Rick’s Renaissance Walking Tour in the rain (only day of rain so far) and at night saw a little medieval parade through the streets, which I’m not sure was for Easter or just something that is always done.

I have no ancient mosaic for you today but will leave you with modern mosaic eggs I saw in a store in Ravenna in honour of Easter. Ravenna is a Unesco World Heritage site renowned for its many, many mosaics dating from the 5th century and later. So I will soon inundate you with mosaics.

Now here it is, your moment of mosaic.