A dirtbag tour through Tuscany
I’m sitting on the ground, in the dirt, on the side of the street, under a tree, at the top of a hill. Everything in my bag and everything I have on is dirty. I’m covered in mosquito bites. I smell. My feet hurt. I look up see San Gimignano, our destination for the day, only a short 10km or so away. It’s one of the most romantic, beautiful and pristine Tuscan villages. I’m overlooking manicured vineyards, beautiful trees, and the most breathtaking landscape in the world while I eat a leftover focaccia sandwich with spreadable Parmesan that’s been in my backpack for the last three days, added and spread with a plastic spork I carry for just such a situation. I carefully open a can of Italian style Pringles and think of the juxtaposition. I am a dirtbag walking through one of the most beautiful and elegant places on earth.
Yes, we’re trekking through Tuscany now, from north to south, after taking a few days off to rest and enjoy some travel, culture, and friends. We left the Way and traveled east to the Dolomites and then down to Emilia Romagna before heading to Tuscany to continue our walk.
Here are a few notes on our break…
Trento
If I ever live in Italy, this is where I’ll live. Trento is medium size town in the Dolomites of NE Italy, just north of Verona and just south of the Austrian border. It’s the Italy we love. Beautiful, with incredible mountain culture, cooler temperatures, rich, good food everywhere, and still wanting to be Austrian from it’s time in the Empire about 100 years ago or so, so it’s definitely cleaner and managed better. Cafes and al fresco dining and drinking are everywhere, the shopping is epic, and everywhere you look there are mountains. Who knows where we’ll end up? It’s a mystery to us all. But, if given the chance, Trento would be it. Of course, we entered Trento on the weekend of a sparkling wine festival, so there’s that, too. #serendipity
Modena
After Trento we hoped a series of trains down south to Modern in Emilia Romagna. Modena is arguably the heart of Italian culinary culture. It’s right in the middle of where Parmesano Reggiano comes from, same with Prusciutto di Parma and balsamic vinegar. The landscape is littered with farms producing the best produce and, because of this, there are no good vineyards, so the wine situation is relegated to Lambrusco…which is just fine with me. It’s clean, has great restaurants, and really good life. We were there specifically for Massimo Boturra and his Osteria Fransiscana, one of the best restaurants in the world. It didn’t disappoint. Of course, neither did the cheap-ass Pizza Taglia we enjoyed the next day for breakfast. It’s a cool town. Restaurants were enjoyed, Lambrusco was consumed in embarrassing quantities, parmesan and balsamic vinegar factories were visited, as was the one of the best European food markets and the Ferrari museum. That one we could have skipped.
Lucca
Simple and short. Lucca is a great town…that I never need to see again. Never have I heard more English spoken in a foreign city. Yeah, it’s a great Italian village, walking the walls is cool, it is super accessible, and is quintessential Tuscany…as far as Americans know. I much prefer smaller towns, unspoiled by the crush of tourists and that haven’t changed their espresso method to cater to the Starbucks crowd. Too much milk, man. Too much milk.
Back to Tuscany. It doesn’t disappoint. I might be alpine at heart, but the Tuscan hillside is a close second. And the food? Jesus, it’s good. More on this in later editions.
Ciao for now.
Cheers. Clink!
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