Fast track through Italy: From Tuscan Kitchens to Turin Streets
When you travel at the speed we did in Europe, it is important to take rest days - this is something my mum has learned from her mother. If you don’t rest, it is hard to actually enjoy the sightseeing, the culture and all the new experiences that are coming at you because you are too tired to appreciate it all. To this end we had another rest day after our day in the Vatican.
This next adventure has us utilising a hire car. David had to ‘puzzle’ the number-of-days we spent on trains, so as not to use up all 10 of our ‘Eurail days’ to early. So we needed to get off the railway and on to the motorway for a little while. The car option turned out very well in the end, as it allowed us to see the Italian landscape via a different mode of transport. We left our accommodation at 7:30am, picked up a rental car and drove out of Rome.
At 10:15am we arrived at Cortona, a very small town, for a cooking class with Gida. This was very different to the other cooking class we did. This one was in an Italian lady's home, overlooking the landscape of Tuscany. It was only the four of us with her, so it was quite a unique experience. We learned how to make Focaccia and Pizza and listened to Gida’s stories about how she learned to cook from her grandmothers. It felt as though we could feel the culture through this cosy little house learning the recipes that have been passed down for generations. For me it was such an honour to have this opportunity to get to know the local people in a much richer way.
Back in the car, after the cooking class we then visited a nearby town of Foiano della Chiana (a small castle-town on a hilltop) located in a rural area, it is known for fine Tuscan wine, olive oil, and authentic restaurants. In this town it was very quiet we were basically the only people walking around the town at that time of the day. After our strolling in this small Italian town we drove another two and a half hours to the seaside town of La Spezia. We got our groceries and I had an early night, while David, my mum and brother explored the city a bit. La Spezia was a beautiful city and in hindsight we could have stayed there a lot longer. Instead, next day we rushed to get out the door now back on the train again and made our way to Torino. This was a simple train ride without stopovers, getting us there by early afternoon.
We settled into our apartment, which was five floors up with no lift. But there was beautiful view of the distant Alps from our balcony. Later that evening, we heard this really loud rumbling noise coming from outside which kept getting louder and louder. We looked out of the window and saw many thousands of people marching down the road protesting for a political issue whilst singing the ‘resistance song of Italy’ (Bella Ciao). While writing this blog I did some research into what the song Bella Ciao actually meant. The song is an Italian folk song that became a symbol of anti fascist resistance. The song talks about resistance, sacrifice, and the fight for freedom.
The march kept going for a good 40 minutes and was an incredible sight. It was the first time I saw something like this, for me it made world issues more personal, hit closer to home, I could see how world issues brought people together- frustrated people, and how the Europeans walk the streets to show their frustration about issues they disagree with.
The next blog will be about how food connects us.
