It’s no secret that I heart Italy, and most things Italian-including one very specific Italian whom I’ve spent half my life with. About 10 years ago, his parents moved back to their home village in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. No complaints from this gal, as we go there twice a year to visit (except during the pandi, but that’s a whole other story).
We typically take a trip in the spring and one in the fall, and being that it’s spring now-well, we just returned from a visit. To add to the adventure, I just started a new WFH job in January so this was a trial run on what WFH looks like at Pop’s place.
We usually take a few days to get to our little village in the mountains, picking a new place to explore each time. This time, we couldn’t help but return to a fav, Lucca, for a few days-and luckily for us, it’s not too far from our parts. But before Lucca, we decided to spend a few days in Siena, also in Toscana. Of course, in order to spend a few days in Toscana, which is roughly five thousand miles away from casa mia, you gotta get there. And this time, getting there proved to be slightly challenging and a bit (one day) delayed.
Now, if any of y’all have flown anywhere post pandi, you know it’s a bit of a shit show. The world just doesn’t work like it used to, and we all just gotta get accustomed to it. We live in Charleston, South Carolina-which has an “international” airport, but the only international flight I’ve ever been interested out of CHS doesn’t even exist anymore, so you’ve got to go somewhere else before you go to Italy if you live where I live…ok, not a problem. Here’s the thing-I don’t love flying, so the less I have to do of it, the better. So, the hubs and I try and take the smallest number of flights possible to get to the old country and then just train it, or rent a car to get where we want to go. All that to say, the easiest way and the fewest number of flights for this trip was: Charleston to Charlotte, Charlotte to Rome.
I know what y’all are thinking, oh Rome! How amazing, what sights did you see?? Did you go to the Vatican? The Colosseum? The answer to all that would be-nothing, we saw nothing in Rome because we got the hell outta there ASAP when we landed. I have zero interest in going to Rome in the spring with the 100 million other people-carting around my backpack and tote bag as I try not to get pick-pocketed and swindled. No thanks, I’m more of a small town gal. I’m not saying Rome is bad, but we arrived in the am, and we were tired, and we couldn’t check into a hotel until later and I’m just not dealing with all that. I’m more of a “go to Rome in the dead of winter” kinda gal- but again, to avoid getting robbed in Rome, you gotta get there, and the travel gods did not smile upon us on May 1.
I’m not really one to go online and bitch about a specific company/service. Look, it’s 2023, you’re lucky to be going anywhere other than work, so quit your bitchin and you’ll get there when you get there-so I won’t tell you the airline we flew, but I will tell you that when they had to put us up in a hotel over night after spending a LOT of time on the tarmac and then getting off the plane twice (which was a bit difficult for this gal, because of the aforementioned fear of flying, I had already drugged myself when we boarded the plan the 1st time, so good times for me-lessons were learned-no drugging yourself until ALL wheels of the plane are off the ground), they put us up in one that had a toilet that was duct taped together and we had to share a cab with a super angry Italian couple who had been delayed for the 2nd day in a row by the not named airline.
Anyhoo, we ended up befriending the lovely, and as it turns out, rightfully irritated Italian couple (we’ve since exchanged emails and will stop and have a coffee with them in the fall hopefully) and shared a cab, coffee, and a laugh with them the next morning on the way back to the airport to try the whole thing again. The fun part of travel is the adventure and the humans you meet. So, our new friends, and our seat mates, a lovely Roman couple, and another RN, who was so young and full of life, and I, and the Italian, and a couple hundred of our newest friends FINALLY took off. As cheesy as it was, we all clapped when we got in the air, and the pilots had a good laugh. I drugged myself AFTER we took off, and before you knew it we were in Italy.
We touched down in Italy and hit the train immediately heading north to Siena. The hotel http://palazzettorosso.com was nice enough to change our reservation as we were delayed a day, and luckily we were able to keep our kick ass room for 2 days-which was a perf little get away in this beautiful equine obsessed town which has great food, great architecture, a rich history, a crazy horse race through the piazza, a saint’s head (and finger too!), and all the Tuscan charm you can stuff in your carryon (because in this family, we check NO BAGS-that is the first cardinal sin of travel).
Bonus-you can eat and drink all you want because Siena is hilly AF and if you live below sea level, like this gal, you will huff and puff all your pasta and vino right off your chubby ass. The hills are worth it though, because the views are dope. And they make you want to sell everything you own and never come home, ever…until you try and find a Target.
We wandered the streets, had drinks and gelato in the piazza, ate a lovely meal made by a chef who once won the famous horse race, and whose restaurant was decorated with all the neighborhoods’ racing gear. This place has charm in spades. And the food, chef’s kiss of course, you won’t find better food in the world than in northern italy. Toscana and Emilia-Romagna have some of the best food in the world, and the best of it may be served to you on a paper plate…and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again-if you pay $100 US dollars for a meal (including wine and don’t get an expensive bottle, the local stuff is just as good if not better) for you and your partner-you are paying too much. Go and find another place with cheaper prices, food in Italy doesn’t cost as much as the food, say here in Charleston, where lunch costs $100 for 2 people. Anyhoo-dinner was fantastic, and the chef came over to say hello. It was small and quaint and perfect for our first night in town. http://ristorantebagoga.it
We walked back to our hotel, up and down hills and stairs-thusly counteracting all that food I just ate-and speaking of-don’t go and not finish your plate…I know you are full, I know you have ordered 3 courses, but you did that, you ordered it, and now you eat it, and I mean every last bite or you are going to offend the human that made it for you AND they might say something to you about it…don’t be surprised, you’ve been warned. In Lucca, just a day later, we had a first happen at a restaurant-but that’s a story for another time. So, we walked back to our hotel and it was lovely and SAFE, which is another thing I love about Italy -people are out and about at night, families, children, people, and it’s safe to walk around at night-I’m not saying that you won’t be asked for money, or that you should leave your purse on a table, but I’m saying you are not going to get shot or stabbed on your way back to the hotel…and since I would never be dumb enough to bring or wear anything valuable when I travel, I don’t really worry about getting robbed even when walking alone.
In the morning we got up early, and literally had the whole town to ourselves. We went to the main cathedral, and got a glimpse inside before it opened, and all I can say is wow. The incredible amount of work and attention to detail requires a passion for something that I’m not sure I’m capable of understanding. The only Italian sculptor I know, Dario-who is incredible BTW-spent 365 days, rain-snow-sleet or hail, carving something insanely incredible out of a single slab of marble, and I just don’t think I can comprehend that level of dedication to something. Though Dario wasn’t around when the Duomo di Siena was made, his work and explanation of his process has given me a new appreciation for these massive homages to Christianity (More on Dario later as he’s the one who did the artwork for Pop’s chapel).
Then we headed over to the Basilica San Domenico which has a very special (well two special) relic situated inside the church. Now, I’m not an asshole, so I didn’t take photos inside the cathedral where St. Catherine’s head is located (and also her right thumb)-because there were signs that asked you not to, and I’m also not saying that people weren’t inside said church taking pictures of her head- so you can look it up online if you’re curious-but I respect the rules, because I’m a rule follower and again, not as asshole. Both the inside and out are extremely impressive, and Italy BTW is rife with relics and mummies and severed fingers under glass-they are big fans of keeping stuff…no wonder I can’t get the hubs to get rid of stuff-his people have been keeping stuff for hot minute now.
Back in the piazza, snacks and apertivo time (my fav time of day) are a perfect opportunity to people watch and chill before dinner where the chef yelled at me because the hubs wanted some grated parmigiana reggiano so I asked for some and he was like “if the dish needed cheese, I would have brought cheese to the table” and I was like, “it wasn’t even for me, it was for the actual italian” and then he calmed down a little, but the food was good and the wine was good and the sign on the bathroom door amused me because in America it would get you cancelled. We had a wonderful time and once again walked it all off on the way back to the hotel. The next morning we were off to Lucca where we experienced some food firsts, walked a helluva long way up some tiny stairs for a view, and fell even more in love with that walled city even more…but that’s a story for another time. Ciao y’all.
Ciao Y’all 