Travels with Pia
Travels with Pia
What better way to spend the 4th of July away from the States than a road trip! Our friend Pia is from New York and has traveled to Italy for the past 3 years. She fell in love with the beautiful Valle Maira town of Morenesio and purchased a retreat house there. She has never once ventured outside of the Piedmont Region, so I decided to take her on the road and show her as many regions as we could get to in 5 days.
Lazio – Sun, Sand, Seafood
Summer for many Italians means July & August at the beach in one of the small seaside towns. We saw far more happy grandparents minding their grandchildren than bikini clad model types.
We got John dropped off at the airport in Nice about 4:00 and headed down the Autostrada past Savona and Genoa without a hitch. We were surprised that we arrived in Cinque Terre before sunset. I am happy to report that the views along Cinque Terra are as beautiful as ever, and sad to say that there is an increase in the amount of tourists. Sad because I wish that we could experience this incredibly beautiful Italian seascape without having the sense that we were all being endured because of the money we brought to the local economy. It seems to me that the impact of large numbers of tourists drawn to a single place is the overall dumbing down of what would normally be a rich and unique experience. As I lamented these observations to Pia, she looked at the sea and back at me and said, “Oh, to hell with it, let’s have a Nigroni – I’m buying”. I knew I liked this girl!
Because you can’t drive to any of the towns, and rather than hauling our bags down for what was only going to be a one night stay, we decided to stay up on the hill above Riomaggiori in a cute old hotel called due gemelli – two twins. Twin sisters married twin brothers, they are now in their 80’s and still run the place with the help of some of their middle aged children.
The next day we decided to move on to less known fronts and took the slow road down the coast.
The cabana lifestyle of the Italian seacoast is fascinating. Many beaches are organized by the color of the beach umbrellas to signify the end of one cabana fiefdom and the beginning of another. The cleanliness, crowdedness and elegance vary from beach to beach and one cabana business to the next. The idea is that one can rent a beach chair and a changing room for a day, week, month or summer. They typically have a cafe/bar on premises to keep their guests fed and happy. Often there is a plastic or wooden walkway all the way to the water to avoid as much sand as possible. Many Italians don’t actually swim, they wade and splash. The most organized child watching cabana dwellers have their small locked room stuffed with an array of potential toys for their charges, and the most exclusive of the businesses have swimming pools so patrons can enjoy the perfect day at the beach without getting close to the actual sand or surf.
We had a fantastic day of people watching, squinting in the sun, enjoying beautiful vistas, alternating between sweating and appreciating the comforts of a/c and eating fish with a Ligurian white wine while mapping out our next adventure. Sienna.
Tuscany – Beautiful Landscapes
Pisa – It’s all about the Tower
Getting back on the main roads, many of which carried interesting code names FI SI PI (FIerenzi, SIenna, PIsa), as we approached the intersection to go towards Sienna, we decided that it would be wrong to drive past Pisa without so much as a drive by for a photograph of Pia with her arms outstretched holding up the leaning tower. Silly girl, she thought she would be the only person in Pisa on a Monday afternoon with this idea. After a few failed attempts driving around the city looking skyward for the tower from the road, we finally double parked outside the tourist office and got directions, good thing because #1 we were WAY off base regarding the location, and #2 you can’t see the tower from the road.
We found a semi legal parking place and just to be certain we purchased an expensive bottle of water from one of the nearby vendors. As we made our way through the crowds many of who wore badges to indicate the tour bus they should be returned to if found lost. We finally found the tower in the distance. Since it was Pia’s camera and it WAS her adventure, I begrudgingly stood somewhere in the vicinity of the leaning tower and had my picture taken. Once I got control of the camera, I filled her memory card up with various options and perspectives of her and the famous building. On our way back to the car we passed a ratty looking stuffed lion outside of one particularly tacky gelato/souvenir stand, I smugly said, “I would rather have my picture taken with my head in that lions mouth than stand for one of those pictures”. Let’s just say that I’m a woman of my word and leave it at that.
Pisa only chewed up about an hour, so back on the FI SI PI road in the direction of SI. We only then realized that we had officially entered Tuscany. It came to my mind seeing the first arbor vide lined road next to golden fields dotted with rolled hay. A perfect romantic Tuscan picture. When friends tell me they want to come and visit us in our new home in the Piedmont Region, if they have never before been to Italy, I tell them that before they can come to the Piedmont, they must first take a trip to Tuscany. My reasoning is that while it is possible to fall in love with Italy anywhere, it is certain you will fall in love with it while looking at the gorgeous landscapes of the Tuscan countryside. Once smitten, you are ready to explore another layer of the proverbial onion.
Sienna – I would love to go back in the autumn when it’s quiet
I approached Sienna with confidence. It is not a city I know well, but remember that you could drive in and out of the center pretty easily. After overcoming a bit of my initial disorientation and finally finding a parking space, we walked to the center piazza. I found myself repeating that “the last time we were here…” so many times I couldn’t stand myself. Basically because the last time I was in Sienna, there weren’t so many tourists.
The perfect moment of the day came when we stopped in a shop that sold beautiful papers and journals. I needed some regular business envelopes, the proprietor explained that there were many choices and disappearing to the back room, I began to regret my foolishness for stopping in an obvious tourist zone for such a mundane item when the gentleman returned with several samples. I picked one, he placed them in a small bag and told me there was no charge. I protested, feeling especially guilty because of my presumption that he would overcharge me, he softly pinched my cheek (on my face not elsewhere as Pia asked!), patted my hand and assured me it was his pleasure. Ego stroked, we braved the Piazza Duomo!
As we approached the center piazza, the number of tourists increased to a distracting level. Pia tried to tempt me with the Negroni ploy again, but seeing the sea of tables in need of drinks I knew we were looking at a time commitment, and, since we had not really decided where we were going to stay that night, as tour director, I announced, “If we stay for a drink, we are staying the night, otherwise we push on and sleep in Perugia”. Perugia is about an hour to an hour and a half away from Sienna. We walked a bit more while she contemplated the options and decided that it was on to Perugia!
Perugia – My favorite big city in Italy.
I have said more than once, that if I get to choose, I would like my last meal on this earth to be at da Ceserino in Perugia. For the record there is a restaurant in the Piedmont called DA CESARE is a perfectly acceptable alternative, but that is another story.
I love Perugia and particularly the restaurant da Ceserino because they are both so….. Italian. The restaurant is not fancy, it’s not high cuisine, and it is quite simply a perfect representation of the food of the region and perfect for its simplicity. The town of Perugia gets it’s share of tourists, but it is in no way is defined by them. There are very few shops specifically directed at tourists, therefore, one feels like a voyeur into the day-to-day life of the city that goes on the same with you and without you.
We arrived to a less than satisfactory check in to the hotel with a tour guide and front desk clerk shepherding what appeared to be a large group of 16 and 17 year olds to their rooms. We tossed our bags into the room and headed out to the main square straight in the direction of the fountain at the top of the city. I was beginning to feel jinxed when we stopped for a ritual Negroni at Sandri, but it was closed – it was Monday, their normal day off. Sandri is a famous bakery that serves café and incredible sweets in the morning, panini at lunch and snacks and cocktails in the afternoon. It is set right in the middle of town and situated perfectly for people watching. I had to stop myself from hyperventilating while we swiftly walked in the direction of the restaurant and began to relax only after seeing that da Ceserino was in fact open and doing a hopping business. I was downright giddy when most of the wait staff was the same from previous trips and we seated us at an outside table. I knew what I was going to order without looking at the menu. Their Chicken Diavolo is absolutely perfect. The outer skin with all it’s spices is burned dark and crispy, while the inside is perfectly moist. We didn’t want to slow things down, so we asked the waiter for his recommendation on wine fully expecting to pay more than two girls on a road trip normally spend, and were pleasantly surprised that dinner for two with wine and cocktails was about $53 Euros. Even though we were not the last people seated, somehow, Pia and I ended up closing the place with the waiters breaking down the tables all around us talking about their evening. They didn’t think we could understand them and hearing their banter was as fun as any movie.
We wandered from one end of the city to the other, I was happy to see that many of the places I remember were still there. There was an increase in the number of young partying crowds in the streets that I attributed to the time of year, in the past John and I always traveled to this region while school was in session, now in the middle of summer it had more of a party atmosphere.
The next day we headed straight to the Sandri Bakery, several of the same staff were still there and the window was filled with beautiful sweet cakes and the local tradition the marscapone eel with candied cherries dotting his back. We weren’t satisfied with one cappuccino, so we had a second, and a third small cookie to share before we headed off to city walk, people watch and of course…. Shop!
We weren’t sure where we were going next, but determined that forward motion was in order, so we checked out of the hotel and headed to Lago Trasemeno to the town of Passigiano. It is only 15 km from Perugia, but a necessary stop as it has a beautiful view of the lake and several small shops that sell affordable Deruta ceramics.
Perugia and Lago Trasemeno are in the region of Umbria and in this area the landscape changes subtly between Tuscany and Umbria, the hill towns seem to jut out of the land more dramatically and the landscape is more rustic. Umbria is known for it’s farro, lentils, cured meats and black truffles and it gets more forested and mountainous further to the East. But here on the border between the two regions it is easy to imagine the various fiefdoms on their respective hills in the great periods of Italian history.
Gubbio – One of the many beautiful hill towns.
There are many beautiful and fascinating hill towns in Umbria; Assisi, Citti di Castello, Todi, Bevagna to name just a few. There is also the town of Gubbio. Pia had been told that Gubbio was a town worth seeing, so we decided that since we couldn’t see them all, Gubbio would be our stop. I had been to Gubbio once before with a friend who told me about their Palio and how as a part of the… festivities, that the men of the town have a competition where as teams of 10 or 15 people, run up the VERY steep hill behind the town carrying an enormous log. Now this sounds interesting as a conversation point, but, I was astounded when I saw photos of the throngs of people lining the streets and the actual size of the log, huge is not an exaggeration. I am placing bets on the local doctors being the ones who started this event in the first place with the logic that those whom the effort did not kill…. It might just make healthier!
We happened to arrive on the day that a volleyball tournament made up of 5th through 8th grade students. Watching the kids compete was as enjoyable as the architecture, shops and views.
We decided that Gubbio was too small a town to pitch in for the night, so we pointed the car back in the direction of Tuscany to the town of Montalpuciano.
Montelpuciano – Pienza and the Val d’ Orca
We drove around Lago Trasemeno following the signs to the famous hill town. I had visited several times, but never stayed, so we decided to act like tourists and check one of the books we had in the car. We went to look at a hotel on a small side street that was simple and right in the middle of town. What we didn’t plan on was that starting at 7:00 the next morning the small little side street actually became a major thoroughfare for the town, so, trucks and horns and motorcycles. I had to remind myself that I needed to be happy it didn’t go on all night!
Where Perugia is a city, and Gubbio a village, Montelpuciano is a quintessential town. The village life goes on side by side with a very regular flow of tourists. The wines from this region are everything a bottle of wine should be - easy, full, and fruity. We did not have anything memorable to eat, but we sure did enjoy the local grape juice!
I wouldn’t let Pia purchase any cheese here because the cheese town of Pienze was going to be our lunch stop that day.
The drive from Montelpuciano and Pienze can be approached from several roads, I prefer taking the less direct, but more scenic route going past the town of Montecchello, a tiny little borgo that has over the years developed into a sweet sophisticated village with a summer theater company and a good restaurant. John and I have a favorite hike from this town to Pienze to work towards a lunch at the 4-table restaurant of la Rosetta. Pia and I didn’t have time for a hike, and unfortunately, it was Wednesday, and the restaurant was closed for their regular day off. We still enjoyed walking through down and doing our best to support the local economy. Pienze has a reputation for Pecorino, a sheep milk cheese, very pungent when fresh and complex when aged. Unfortunately, all of the product in the various shops look the same, so if you move from shop to shop, it takes some effort to “sniff out” the best choice. But sniff and taste we did!
We knew that once the cheese was in our hands, we would be hauling it into every restaurant, café and hotel to be sure it would not suffer from the heat, but we realized that sacrifices needed to be made!
The trip home – Gradoli - Bibbona & back to Nieve
We also knew we would have to begin planning our return trip, so map in hand we determined that returning via the coast would be best instead of straight up the A-1. Having learned a thing or two from my partner John over the past 16 years, I declared that we would not drive back the same FI,SI,PI road we drove in on, so we headed a few more miles south towards the town of Orvieto and then cut across to the town of Gradoli, that sits next to Lago Bolsena and is the town where John’s grandfather was born. We blasted through Gradoli just before the Cooperative of olive oil and wine closed up and we filled our car with more goodies to bring home. Pia loved the town and I was happy she had a chance to see the town of John’s heritage. Gradoli is in a small section of Italy where Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany meet called the Tuscia.
Just prior to leaving on this adventure, I asked a friend Marco Foreneis of the restaurant la libera in Alba, about a restaurant he once told me about that sits right on the ocean along the Tuscan coastline in the town of Marina di Bibbona. He gave me the name, la Pineta and their phone number. I calculated that we could make it there in time for dinner, and fortunately, we are in Italy, so 9:30 is still considered dinnertime!
We almost passed the turnoff as there is no Bibbona sign on the highway, but we figured it out and called to make sure we could get in. Each time we were ready to give up and ask directions, another small la Pineta sign would magically appear on the road side. We kept thinking that we would run right into the ocean when finally we found it. Not knowing what to expect, but the fact that the recommendation came from one of the best chef’s on the face of this earth, I knew it was worth the effort, what I was not prepared for was it was a very classy white linen kind of restaurant. Coming directly off our pretty long road trip, we stumbled into the place dressed more casually than I would have liked, but once we freshened up everything was simply fantastic.
The only problem looming on the horizon was the fact that we had no idea where we were going to sleep and by the time we finished dinner it was almost midnight.
We asked at the restaurant if they could recommend a hotel nearby and they looked at us blankly, saying something about the city on the highway. Pia mentioned that she saw a hotel very close bye the restaurant, again they gave us a somewhat blank look and said “yes, signora, but that is a 5 star hotel” Ouch! Obviously we didn’t freshen up enough!!!
We back tracked along the beach roads to where we saw the 5 star hotel and seeing how it was midnight and if they had any available rooms, they would not be slept in that night so we played good cop/bad cop it try to get a discount. When that didn’t get us very far we cajoled and finally got them to cut the room rate in half.
The next day we understood the appeal of this hotel. It had huge grounds and a considerable staff. They also had a swimming pool and a private beach area. The resort was focused towards families and we spent the morning people watching and swimming at the beach.
We knew we would be back in Neive that night, and if we drove straight it would take 4 hours at the most, so, we decided to explore a bit before we took off. What we didn’t know at the time is that we were in the middle of the Tuscan wine region were Gaja is building a new winery but also where some very formidable wines are grown. The small town of Bolgeri is the quaint center with what looked to be wonderful restaurants. Too early to think about lunch and not yet ready to hit the highway we decided to drive along the coastline until we hit Livorno and where we would hop back on the main road and blast back north to our home town of Neive where a festa of summer at La Gibbigiana awaited us.
We were happy to end our road trip as we started it, snaking along the Italian coastline enjoying the views along the way. What a beautiful country this is and how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy it!
Ciao
Donna