This holiday is passing terrifyingly quickly. I can’t tell you what we did on which day, but somehow we have left Tuscany behind and are now in Cinque Terre. I think what happened is we ate a lot of very good Italian food, drank a lot of delicious wine, and slipped into a time portal? I can’t be sure, but that’s what it feels like.
Tuscany was amazing. We could have spent a lot longer there, and should have. Bitti adored the farm, especially her little kitten mate. She had to bid her farewell on the last morning and managed it without too much emotional turmoil after I promised that we shall return to see her again (!). Personally, my favourite animal was the horse, who at one point clip clopped self-importantly around the pool area where we had reclined in banana lounges, stopping to eyeball R and I in turn, as if to say, ‘what the fuck are you doing in my garden?’.
We visited Montepulciano on one day, and I piggy backed Bitti up and down more hills than I care to recall. At this town there was a bit of a show going on in the main square, with a double bass going up against a flute in some sort of musical combat from opposite sides of the piazza. Tourists were stopping to see what it was all building up to, gelato in hand. Then the bell tower chimed for noon and about 20 people fell to the ground and the musicians put their instruments aside to hold up signs advocating for action on climate change. The square remained full of inert figures for the full 12 chimes, then the tourists clapped politely, as if it were an unsolicited but reasonably good street performance. Many of the protesters got up after the bells fell silent but one dedicated sitter-inner stayed lying in a painful looking yoga pose for at least the length of time it took Bitti to wind up and down from a full meltdown about her chocolate gelato getting on her hand.
We found a playground for Bitti that day, and she had a good slippery dip session. And actually I think we found her one the next day too. We had been self-catering for dinner, R was cooking up some fresh pasta and sauce with a rocket salad, we were contributing by eating it. We got the cheapest wine we could find in the supermarket and it was amazing. For dessert we had a 2L tub of gelato that we polished off over two nights and lemon biscotti. It was very cosy in the farmhouse sitting down to a home cooked meal.
Our last day we went to another town called Saltearno and had the best meal out yet. A little family-fun cafe serving hand-made pasta, with the friendliest waiter ever. He brought Bitti a special half serve of spaghetti with bolognese, which she ate almost all of. A group of workers came in to eat not long after us, so we knew it must local-endorsed. The Tuscan bread leaves a lot to be desired, mostly salt. It’s not very tasty at all, we can see why it ends up in Pappas Pomodoro. But the pasta was fabulous, and A ordered gnocchi and got a plate full of these tiny fat balls, so light and satisfying.
Each night we would walk down to the pool area, sit on the banana lounges and demolish some cheese and crackers, with wine, watching the sun set across the fields below. Bitti would bring the kitten down and she’d amuse us, the horse would drop by for a gander, chickens were rambling around and it was all so relaxing. It really is a beautiful place in the world.
Two Little Travellers 