A Room With a View in Tuscany!
A view from The Castle Only God Knows in Tuscany. Formerly a Roman military outpost, it now sits alone in a stunning forest setting. It takes about an hour to hike to -and it’s so worth it!
My mother and I went to a heavenly writers retreat in Tuscany last July. Tuenta di Spannocchia is a villa located on an expansive beautiful heritage farm that has existed since the twelfth century! Before we arrived at Spannochia, we spent four glorious days in Florence where we enthusiastically took in the museums. Seeing the art I studied in art school was an amazing experience. One of my favourite mental snapshots was watching a brilliant orange sunset going down on the Ponte Vecchio while enthusiastic Italians walked by us with banners and Italian flags singing out songs in support of their team playing in the World Cup finals that evening. A vibrant and memorable night!
I took some notes on my experience in Italy. Here are some samples:
-Teeny tiny vehicles; including garbage trucks
-vocal appreciation towards the fairer sex readily expressed
-gypsy women in long skirts begging for money while checking to see if your camera or wallet is easy to steal
-very few fast food restaurants (not missed)
-a hundred year old building is considered brand new
-Italian youth much better behaved after the devastating loss to Spain in the World Cup (Pay attention Stanley Cup hooligans!)
-a nun in a pure white head to toe habit texting on her iPhone
Wine on the front deck at Tuenta di Spannocchia. The property goes out as far as the eye can see.
Bellisima!