This morning…I am sitting out on the balcony of our agrotourismo apartment overlooking the most surreal landscape of Tuscany. Barga is directly in front of us, situated on a hill with the church tower as the centerpiece. We are sipping coffee that we learned to make with an Italian percolator…strong…sweetened with Francesca’s honey from this perfect, picturesque place…Al Benefizio where she makes Acacia and Chestnut honey as well as olive oil.
This area is magical, I don’t know how else to put it.
You awake to the sounds of cars beeping their horns to alert others they are coming as they wizz along the most narrow, curvy roads, church bells chiming at regular intervals, the occasional donkey interjections from the 2 resident donkeys, Jubi and Leo, and the barking of dogs investing the happenings of the morning. Sun is streaming in our windows with earthy yummy smells in the air. A man drives down the driveway in his bread truck and beeps his horn to alert us that he is here for his daily delivery of whatever you desire for the day…fresh foccacia, croissants, and various types of loaves of bread. Magic!!! Tuscany is simply breathtaking and seemingly on a very different schedule and pace.
Yesterday we walked to the small town of Barga to explore the village. This 2 – 3 km walk required a keen attention to the sounds of potentially passing cars, trucks and buses as the roads are windy, very narrow and without sidewalks. The town of Barga is quaint with a fair number of English speaking tourists. The local shops sell produce, cheese, wine, touristy knickknacks, clothing, etc.
People sit and enjoy espresso or sparkling wine outside at cafes. Old men and women stand at the entrances to their shops or homes and just watch the happenings around them. Time seems to slow down a bit. The hours of shops are posted with a gap of 2 or so hours in the early afternoon for siesta…a break in the middle of the day and people just know and accept it. How wonderful! We ate our first pasta at a yummy little trattoria. Luckily for us they spoke English…we are working on our Italian but so far we are limited to the likes of “ciao”, “grazie”, “bonjorno”, “mi scusi”, etc. Jesse had the best lasagna I have ever tasted and I was able to enjoy penne pasta, half with pesto sauce and half with a bolongnais…a taste of both…yummy!
The streets of the old part of Barga are windy, narrow and cobblestoned where one would think that only pedestrians would venture but the small Italian Fiats and Peugots do make their way up these pathways! Steep stair cases hide between rows of terra cotta roofed apartments with large shutters on the windows. Flowers are displayed in window boxes everywhere and the flower of choice at the moment seems to be the geranium.
My Bambi Lurvey would approve! After a steep trek up through this maze of streets to the church at the top, you are awarded the prize of a view of the city below and the mountains and valleys surrounding Barga…no words can describe.
On our way down what could cap off this first stroll in a Tuscan town better than gelato?!? Chocolate in a cup for Jesse and a wafer cone with chocolate and vanilla for me. Later we enjoyed dinner outside with more pasta, local olives, house red wine…You can just take in the locals as they slowly flock to the restaurant and linger over a drink with loud, energetic conversation and then slowly gather to enjoy their feast. No one is in a rush…living the moment!
– source – Out of Bounds