With our Year in Provence coming to an end, it was off to Italy for one last fix of pasta, pizza and chianti before heading north for England. Unfortunately our plans for a packed week of sight-seeing, eating and drinking were cut short......
We started off with three nights in Lucca, a beautiful walled city with so many narrow streets and lanes it was easy to get lost, which we did, several times. In fact, I tried on a jacket in a shop one evening, and when we went back the next day to buy it, we couldn't find the place! Serves me right for being indecisive!
Many of the shops have their original frontages with beautiful glass and stonework....
The weather wasn't great for two days, so to avoid the showers we ducked in and out of the shops, and cafes......the Italians do love their sugar and their carbohydrates, preferably combined in a couple of perfect mouthfuls.
Lucca is quite a prosperous city, so there were lots of interesting sculptures and artworks to be seen: you have to look carefully at this one, it was a bit hard to photograph.
A bus trip to Pisa was next on the itinerary. Travelling by bus means you can see over everyone's hedges and fences into their gardens - in comparison to the French, the Italians make much more effort with their landscaping and general appearance of their houses. While the French tend to plonk a semi-finished house down on a barren section then live like that for the next 20 years, the Italians are obviously big vegetable growers and like their properties to look homely and lived in.
Pisa was, as expected, teeming with tourists, most of whom are taking the classic photos of each other propping up the Leaning Tower. Sorry, not for us, you get the boring version!
It is quite spectacular in its vertically challenged state, but we didn't pay the 18 euros to go to the top, instead spending our tourist euros on going in the cathedral....
The Baptistry....
And the Camposanto, which is the cemetery....
We actually enjoyed the Camposanto the most, as there were hardly any people there, and there were some stunning paintings on the wall, and some great sarcophagi (stone coffins/tombs).
Moving south towards Siena, things started to go downhill....I got the flu! We spent a day driving around the Chianti hills, with me sleeping in the car all day, and Lew hopping out to explore each little village. The following day I was totally incapable of moving out of bed, so Lew abandoned me at the B and B to see Siena. Not much fun on his own, but someone had to see it!
Lew also very gallantly had to front up for breakfast each morning on his own, as I was beyond eating anything after day one....and what a breakfast it was! The tablecloth does confuse the issue a little in this photo, but breakfast consisted of cereals, scrambled eggs, cold meat platter, various fishy things platter, multiple cakes platter, basket of bread, crostini platter, juice, RED WINE, and the thickest hot chocolate imaginable! Lew did his best, but couldn't really do it all justice without me!
The staff at the B and B were wonderful when I was ill, constantly offering hot drinks, cakes and even a box of dubious sachets of something, which Mr Google told me were anti-inflammatories. However, things were not looking promising, so, rather than pay to see the inside of another bed and breakfast in Florence, we decided to pull the pin and go back to France three days early. Besides, Lew had had enough of shopping for his dinner in the supermarket and eating it off a plastic plate with a spork sitting on the bed! Florence will keep for another time.
During our ten months in France, we've visited Italy three times, and find ourselves loving the country more and more, and comparing it favourably to France. Why so?? Here are a few observations.
- Italians are more friendly. The French have the attitude of "we live in the best country in the world, and you, little tourist, are lucky to be here". The Italians attitude seems to be "we live in the best country in the world, and we want you to love it too...and love our food....and our wine....and our grandmothers....love us"!
- Italians are better drivers. Especially on the country roads, there were none of the suicidal overtaking manoeuvres that the French have perfected, and the Italians give you much more distance when travelling behind.
- Italians just look better, especially the men! They take more pride in their appearance, not just in their classy stylish clothes, but there were noticeably more men exercising - walking, running or cycling the country roads.
- Italians take more pride in their houses and gardens. Yes, the houses may be crumbling, but somehow its a better class of debris than France, and at least the crumbling house is surrounded by flowers and veges!
- Eating in, and eating out is much cheaper in Italy
- They are just as good at doors and knockers as France....
- Italian roads are in worse condition, and the signage is terrible: we managed to get lost several times despite map, GPS and signs!
- Food - now this can be regarded as good and bad, depending on your preference, but the reliance on sugar and carbohydrate was a bit much for me after a few days. Cake and bread for breakfast (with the exception of the one bed and breakfast above!), pizza for lunch, pasta/rice/polenta for dinner. However, the variety and quality of fruit and veges in the shops was amazing, so obviously home cooking must be different, we just didn't get to experience much in the way of plant matter when eating out.
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