Eating here, there, and everywhere!

The Funsome Fivesome decided early in the planning of our trip that we wanted to experience the wonderful food and wine in local restaurants, but we also wanted to experiment cooking in our own kitchen in Vitiana.

Happy cookers!

Olives...high end appetizers!

Chianti & Coke Light... with spaghetti and garlic bread on the side for our first meal.

I know I can do this...                                                                       I think I can do this...

I did do it and it's  all mine!

Pesto Pasta and Leftovers

Fancy appetizers tonight!

It doesn't get any better than this!

The cooks share gelato in our own kitchen.

Doesn't everyone cook with leopard?

We were told that in the village of Vitiana, we would be able to obtain home-grown vegetables and fruits, red and white wine from local vineyards, a variety of fresh cheeses, and meats such as salami and proscuitto.

Vitiana village store

I'll take the butcher, you can have the prosciutto.

Mother and son with fresh fungi.

Oh my, you look much too happy with that salami!

Are you going to share it with us?

    

A small bakery van would visit each morning in the piazza with a wonderful assortment of breads, pizzas, croissants, and a selection of Italian cookies and other delicious goodies! Our first "Happy Hour" of the day was held in the morning at 9:00 a.m. when we heard the honking of the bread truck.

Matching coffee cups and smiles while waiting for the bread truck.

Big Red brings the bread!

One of everything, please.

Five croissants, 3 loaves of bread, focaccia, pizza, cookies, etc.

Milk "frother friend" in the Funsome Fivesome

Soon the aroma of coffee and the morning sunlight was waking even those who were sleeping in the "matrimonial bed" on the second floor. You really had to be there to understand the full significance of this morning ritual, and the sleeping arrangements.

Who's calling my name?

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, what happened to your long hair?

We all became addicted to unlimited cups of coffee made with a French Coffee Press brought from Phoenix by the earliest riser in our group! 

Fresh fruit, croissants, coffee, and a bottle of wine on the breakfast table.

I bet I can't eat just one!

Finding the right door to knock on for our food and not being able to speak Italian as our translator wasn't with us, would only add to our adventure as we anticipated shopping for groceries at someone's home at the end of our little parking lot.

Knock three times and say the magic word.

We could see the sheep in the fields, the goats in their pens, and the cows being milked in the barns.

One more amenity was the little bar located in the lower piazza of Vitiana. Every evening around 5:00 p.m. the local villagers would arrive to socialize and befriend the tourists. It was a "Kodak moment" to be included in the community life of Vitiana. Men at one table, women at the other table, and children of all ages riding bikes and kicking a soccer ball in the piazza and off the walls of nearby buildings.

                                                                                                             

                                                           

Typical American tourists

Antonio's bar in Vitiana

Curious waitress wanted to peek inside the beaded entrance!

Our other option (an hour trip plus time for shopping) would be to drive back down the winding roads to a  large grocery store near Lucca and stock up on some basic provisions for our three weeks in Vitiana.

Adding to this trip was the experience of "threading the eye of the needle", affectionately referred to as "the Bidai of the Weeble". This very narrow, uphill or downhill, curved passageway was necessary to navigate with a stick shift car, side mirrors pulled inward, and all passengers holding their breath, each time we entered or left Vitiana. Literally, two or three inches was our margin for error! Important information, don't neglect to buy additional insurance at the car rental agency because you will at some time scratch your car! You might also experience a flat tire like we did, and the costs without insurance is worse than a visit from the mafia.

One very helpful device that was brought from home was a Garmin Navigational System with the downloads for Italy. Without our  GPS, also named "Carmella", we might still be driving the roundabouts and back winding roads in Tuscany. We did hike uphill to Tereglio, one very small town nearby and drove to Barga, another very small but fascinating walled city. The city of Collodi, home of Pinocchio, brought out the inner child in some of us more than in others.  Bagni di Lucca, a small town along the banks of the Lima river, was known for its thermal springs since the Etruscan and Roman eras. To us, it was the closest town with an internet cafe and a delightful family restaurant that had the best quattro formaggi pizza. The idea of being lost in Tuscany now sounds wonderful!

"To do nothing and rest afterwards" was our plan for most of the days spent in our "villa". Because we wanted to take one and two day trips, we created our own itinerary for places like Siena, Assisi, Chianti Country with our favorite town being Radda, Padua, Venice, Ravenna, San Gimignano, and Cinque Terre. Coming back to Vitiana, surrounded by chestnut forests and breathtaking scenery, was a surreal experience of peace and comfort. Forgive me for saying it over and over, but it was a profound experience to be with wonderful friends that daily experienced, Non c'e di maglio, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

Too many travelers muddle the map.

Here it is or is it here?

Whenever we felt the urge!