Monday November 05, 2007 
Monday November 05, 2007 Before getting pulled back completely into work, a few reflections on the splendidness of vacations.
We flew home last night from Italy, after two wonderful weeks wandering the the Tuscan hillsides, hiking the Italian coastline through Cinque Terra, visiting (and enjoying) numerous wineries, and taking Italian cooking lessons. We return to Los Angeles renewed, relaxed and (at least for me) more than a few pounds heftier than when we left - and well worth every gram of fat.
What did we do? We followed Gina Losco-Valotta's advice (my Italian-born colleague) and we simply "let Italy happen." So when we got to rainy Florence and found the the museum workers on strike - no Uffizi Gallery for us - we found a little cafe on the square and drank espressos, under the protection of a table umbrella, as we figured out what to do instead. It was lovely. And speaking of rain, our first week was "Under the Tuscan Glum," not sun. It didn't stop us for a minute, as we explored medieval towns and the charms the countryside has to offer. And at night we retreated to our charming 11th century farmhouse for cooking lessons from "the grandmothers of Tuscany" - Tutti a Talova. Highly, highly recommended....
In La Spezia, we rented a villa with friends and we spent a much sunnier week walking down an extremely steep hill to catch the Number 3 bus into town, or to the train station to head to the Cinque Terra. Back in our villa every night - after walking back up that very steep hill - we and our friends tried out what we learned the previous week in our cooking classes. (Not too modestly, I will now state that I have the killer recipe for what is possibly the most fabulous lasagna ever.)
Oh, and did I mention the wine? We visited about a dozen wineries while in Tuscany, and bought over 40 fantastic bottles of wine. (Note to self: always travel with oenophile - you can't go too far wrong.) Which we drank - with our meals. Now before you think me too big a lush, I hasten to point out that there were six of us, but even so...
I learned two important Italian phrases. "It's easy!" "No problem." These seemed to be applied to all circumstances, from trying to find our villa, which was not only hidden high in the hills above La Speza but came complete with incorrect driving directions - to figuring out how to make the world's best tiramisu. While the task was rarely easy and it was always somewhat problematic, the cheerfulness with which the advice was given made us smile, and somehow we did always figure things out in the end.
We finished out the holiday at Lake Maggiore, near Milan. We had a memorable meal - fantastic, really. At least until we got the bill and found that the four of us had eaten 10 grams of white truffles - at 24 euros a gram. Let me do the math for you - that's $360 worth of fungus! I know, I know. Next time ask that charming waiter, who is happily shaving truffles over the homemade tagliari, what the damages will be.
Or, do what we did. Laugh and let Italy happen to you. You'll be glad you did.
Posted by terrymckenzie ( Nov 05 2007, 08:00:00 AM PST ) Permalink Comments [5]
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Sounds like you had an absolutely wonderful time, Terry! Welcome back!
Posted by Sheira on November 05, 2007 at 12:03 PM PST #
Now I HAVE to go back. Not that I haven't want to ever since we visited ... oh, my god, it's been five years! Too, too long. Please add some pictures to your post.
Posted by Al on November 06, 2007 at 09:27 AM PST #
I love that sentiment -- "Let Italy happen." Sounds like you did, and had a wonderful time.
Posted by Greg on November 06, 2007 at 03:33 PM PST #
Brava! I'm so glad you had a wonderful time. Italian memories are some of the best and it sounds as if you and your friends made some great ones and really got into the dolce vita!
Gina
Posted by Gina on November 07, 2007 at 10:25 AM PST #
"Let Italy happen" -- perfect. The key, i think, is to keep some of Italy with you here.
Posted by Mark on November 14, 2007 at 04:37 PM PST #