Fagno

Sam has a place in Fagno, this little village up in the mountains.

We ate such nice Italian food. Three courses-you must expect.

An uncle used to be a collector of antique cameras and through him I inherited a few great pieces for mine, so that was the topic of broken Italian for the day. 

I naturally took off by myself through the little stone streets to explore the rest of the village. I came across some juicy apple trees alongside an old shed with some ferrel cats in hiding. And of course an amazing view from above.

Pistoria

I stayed with a friend, Sam, just 20 minutes outside of Florence in a little town called Pistoria. It was a small community where everyone knows each-other and not a place you would visit as a tourist. Sam and I went for drinks in the central piazza a few times, and I was even lured into a dark corner by a smooth-talking Italian boy one night. 

I loved being immersed in the language, speaking to his family in Italian over delicious 3 course meals each evening. We celebrated Sam's mothers birthday one evening with a beautiful torte topped with a variety of glazed fruit- Tanti Auguri!

FIRENZE

Day-to-day Florence is crowded with Tourists. Every street is polluted with people pushing and trying to make their way to the next land-mark or nearest cafe'.

However, the city is so beautiful after midnight.

The Cathedral of S. Maria del Fiore, The Baptistery standing alone with its large bronzed doors- engraved with scenes from the Bible, and the Belltower- towering over both monuments- note: tower, are illuminated in the Piazza del Duomo at night, without a sound or sign of civilization. 

It was then that I took in the beauty of the buildings for the first time without the distraction of hoards of people.

We crossed the gold-ridden Ponte Vecchio, the first bridge built in Florence across the Arno river, and visited the Piazza della Signoria. Not far from was The Uffizi Museum- which after less than a third way through the largely Renaissance gallery each painting of The Virgin Mary started to resemble the last. 

I was however fortunate enough to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus and his Primavera, traces of gold revealed along every drapery, two of his many delicate and graceful paintings.

Pistoria Cemetery

It was in Pistoria that I discovered, just down the road from his house on a late afternoon stroll- my first European cemetery. It is the most beautiful I've seen, now in comparison, to the ones I came across on the rest of my trip. 

All the locals from the town are buried here.

This one in particular had something dark and delicate about it, from the burnt glass cross to the dead flowers lying across each grave.

Comfort Cooking

I went for a late lunch at this homely restaurant, similar to a little Italian kitchen, in the centre of Pietrasanta one day in July. They served small portions of Primi, Secondi and Digestivi along with a carafe of red wine- the many courses traditional of Italian culture.

For starters, as shown in the picture above (taken with digital G12), we were served Melanzane alla griglia, torta e bruschetta con salsa di pomodoro e picolo polpette. And many wonderful things to follow. 

Village Green

Riding through Forte Dei Marmi and into Pietrasanta, occasionally I would wander through shaded side streets, past crumbling-stone mansions and under tall bristling trees, along open wheat fields and past soundless glassy rivers. The cool breeze and endless roads were a relief from the hot sun and long hours of working and I would try get out often.

My Gran had a loaded apricot tree in her back garden where her neighbours hung their washing, all preen and pegged, and I thought the image was so characteristic of Tuscan society.

I collected a few apricots, washed them and put them in a bowl on the kitchen table where they glowed in the sun. 

The Girls

There are a few glass candy jars placed around the house- the kids always used to stick their little fingers in there and pull out a lollipop (chubachuba- Italian for lollipop), coloured gummy bear or pink sugar-coated marshmallow before giving a little persuasive grin.

The girls were constantly having to be kept entertained, most days we went to the beach -Bagno Annetta, one of the most revered beach clubs in Italy-  and played in the sand and swam. They had a large wicker basket full of toys- buckets, spades, plastic boats and multicoloured animal moulds.