Hot Springs in Tuscany

     One of my dreams was to go to the thermal hot springs that are bubbling up all around Tuscany.  It's been 90 degrees in Florence and my Italian classes had ended, so I took advantage of the time to head to the country!  Nic had to finish her fashion classes, and none of my other friends in Italy could come, so I went solo.

     I wanted to make this as minimally stressful as possible, so I took the train to Siena and rented a car on the outskirts of the city.  There were no cars available in the category I wanted, so I got an upgrade to a little Mercedes, or at least that's what the rental man said.  Of course, I rented a GPS system, too and of course, I got lost right away as I headed out of the city.  The GPS system was useless because there were no street addresses where I was going--Petriolo Thermal spa, but my Hertz rental man gave me some directions and I found my way.
    Petriolo is a place in Pari where two rivers meet and there are natural hot springs there, but I went to the spa across the river.  Petriolo Spa is a gorgeous multi-layered structure built into the side of a gorge.  There are terraces that overlook the river valley,  little fountains, two big outdoor pools--one a thermal hot pool and the other a cool pool with bubbling jets--and there's an indoor hot thermal pool.  The thermal pools are sulfurous, but the smell is not too overpowering.
     My heart sank when I saw that most of the people around the pool were in couples, but after I had changed into my bathing suit, I found a comfortable chaise lounge and decided to enjoy my own company.  The hot sulfurous water penetrates muscles and bone and allows one's body to relax.  So, I would dip in and out of the hot and cool pools.  I had a great book to read and ordered tea and biscotti from a little bar by the side of the pool.  A nice young woman brought it over to me on a tray spread with white linen!  I felt very much taken care of.
     I decided to be social and began talking to a woman whom I assumed was Italian, but she was actually Robin from New Jersey on a honeymoon with her husband, Brendan.  The hardest part for me, in being alone, is eating alone and at 7:30 (very early for dinner by Italian standards), I went to one of the two restaurants open--Erica-the health food one.  I was the first one and only one.  A handsome Italian man who was with what looked like his mother came and sat at the next table.  I raised my water glass to toast them with a "Salute!" after their wine came.  We all sat in semi-comfortable silence.   Just then, Robin and Brendan from New Jersey sat down at the next table and invited me to join them.  It was at that point when the Italian man began talking to me in English.  We chatted a bit and then I politely excused myself in Italian and joined Robin and Brendan at their table and after we went out on the terrace under the stars to have some wine and dessert!  I made a mental note to always remember the kindness they showed me and to pay it forward by extending the same invitation to any person  I ever see sitting alone near me in a restaurant.  Two other women--one from Queens and one from Brooklyn, came and joined us and another couple from Ohio.  We had a raucous time.

    The next morning, after an overpriced, but very nice massage, I hit the road for Saturnia, about 1 and a half hours southeast in the middle of nowhere. The extremely helpful concierge had given me another set of directions to Saturnia, and again I got lost, but found my way by following signs to Grosetto, Scansano and then Saturnia.  (I would highly recommend the Petriolo Spa if you have some money to spend, by the way.)
   The drive in that area is absolutely stunning--bridges, high winding roads over green mountains (did I mention I have a fear of heights?)  I just talked myself through my fear, breathed, sang, enjoyed the views and squirted Rescue Remedy into my mouth whenever I came out of a switchback.
     Saturnia thermal hot springs is a natural phenomena north of Rome-- there are many photos of the water gushing out of the hill and creating cascades and little pools.  It's a public place, though, and up close, there is some litter and lots of people.  I still had fun crawling from pool to pool.
After, I stayed at the Hotel Saturno Fonte Puro, a little place with a small thermal pool--much more modest than Petriolo Spa.  Again- I was the only single person among couples--much older Italian couples.  It gave me a chance to practice my Italian, relax and walk down an old country road.  

     It's getting hot here and it's only May 23rd!  Fortunately, we have AC.  I know I mentioned this before, but one of the best things I like a about our apt. is waking up in the morning, throwing open the shutters, inhaling the fresh breeze and watching the swallows, pigeons and doves soaring against the backdrop of the morning sky.   There are no screens between us, so I can hear the variations of their songs and then the church bells chime in.
    

     Nicole baked me a delicious torte de mela (apple tort) for my birthday cake--one of the dolce we learned make in our cooking class.  It was a challenge using the oven which functioned as a microwave, too and reading the directions in Italian.
    
  This weekend, Esme came to visit from Paris where she is living and working in her uncle's fashion related business.  Esme is Nic's close friend from Porter's and is taking a gap yah (see youtube.com "Gap Yah") too. 

We went to an international fair called Terra Futura (future of the earth) in the huge Fortezza de Basso and here you see us trying on the head massager.  (Esme's long, red, flowing locks attracted lots of attention in the sea of brown capelli around Florence.)  I got a free 20 minutes foot massage.  There were booths where people were sprawled on mats on the floor receiving Reiki, Shiatzu, Thai massage--you name it--booths of clothes, food, sustainable energy, music, dance.  Gonzo (very cool).

We topped off the day with a visit to our FAVORITE restaurant Zeb where we ate homemade pasta and chicken and torte de pere chiocclato (moist chocolate pear tort--always sounds better in Italian) and chatted with Alberto and his Mamma, who own the restaurant.  It's on the way up to Piazzela Michelangelo and San Mineato, so of course, we had to sprint up the steep hill to work off those carbs.
     I am planning a trip down to Petriolo and Sarturnia to plunk myself in some thermal mineral springs before it gets too hot. 

Having a birthday in Florence

     The day began with learning il passato prossimo (past tense) in my language class, with Chiara and Maureen from California.  There are a bazillion grammar rules in Italian which don't translate into English all the time.  For instance, in English, we have the simple past tense, but in Italian, the past tense is formed with essere or avare ( to be or to have) and a past participle--at least that's what I understand---and I could be wrong, because the whole class is in Italian.
     Instead of studying, I came back and read The Celestine Prophecy (note to my book group at home!) and hung out in my sunny apartment. Nicole had bought me a bouquet of yellow daisies which she left in a vase on our white table.

    To celebrate,  Dawn, Monika, Nicole and I ate at il Gastone, a restaurant recommended by one of my cooking teachers.  I had a cod, eggplant, and pecorino cheese dish and chocolate cake for dessert.  I would describe the decor as modern, white and gleaming.  (Sorry, folks, but I have lost my English vocabulary.)  I have no new revelations except that Florence expects one to look beautiful (did I write this already?) And I am panicking because I only have a week and a half left here and want to squeeze every last drop out of it!!

Zeb and Bagno Vignoni

Sunday, I ate at a little gem of a restaurant called Zeb on the way up to Piazzela Michelangelo.  The house specialty was ravioli stuffed with ricotta and pear in a pear sauce and we also ate an eggplant dish stuffed with smoked mozzarella that just melted in our mouths.

  We walked up to San Mineato and took some pictures of the statue in the graveyard.  Dawn, a film maker, is filming a documentary of Firenze, so we shot some footage.  Above is an ancient fresco painted when the church was built, around the 10th century.
     Yesterday, I rented a car with Monika and we drove to Bagno Vignoni.  Getting out of Florence was very tricky, even on a Sunday morning with a GPS system and Monika to navigate, but we did it and drove through the hills of Tuscany, 2 hours south of Florence.  Bagno Vignoni is an old Roman town built around a hot spring.  You can still see it in the middle of the town, but apparently, you can't go in the springs, you have to go to one of the spas in the few hotels surrounding it.
We booked a day pass at the Albergo di Terme which has a mineral water sauna, a hot mineral bath with waterfalls and a warm mineral bath with jet streams.    It's a good thing we were inside because it was pouring rain.  We padded around in a robe and flip-flops, drank herbal tea and ate something in the so-so restaurant.  After, I walked around the tiny town to check out another spa for future reference, visited an herbal store and a bookstore.  The sun reappeared as we made our way back to Florence. 

Nicole had just flown in from Amsterdam, so I met her back at the apartment.

Fiesole and riding a bike through Florence

     Alyssa and I took a bus up to Fiesole, a beautiful hill town perched high above Florence.  Fiesole contains the ancient ruins of an Etruscan village.  The Etruscans were a magical sort of people that lived before the Romans, made beautiful pottery and little fetish-like healing dolls.  After viewing the museum, we ate on the terrace of a Loggeria that not only had a stunning view of the sunset on the valley below, but delicious home-made pasta, too.

     Today, I went with some friends from my language class on a bike ride through Florence.  We dodged the masses of motorcycles, cars, and people to look at the different sights.  Here is a picture of Dawn on her bicycle.

Santa Croce and Balance

      L'equilibrio is the Italian word for balance.  I've been thinking again and this time it's about how we maintain a balance in our lives.  My Florentine friend, Lucia, whom I met on the Tibetan Buddhist Retreat is a wonderful, very spiritual person.  She works for the Himalayan Institute in Florence, and is a healer, massage therapist and teacher.  She spent last month in India at an ashram.  The problem is she gives a lot and gets depleted.  We contracted to do an exchange--she gives me a massage and I teach her Qigong.  I got my massage yesterday and it was wonderful.  I do hope it's an equal exchange.

     Every morning I pass through the Piazza del Signoria (the statues) and in front of Santa Croce on my way to language class.  I pass throngs of school children, but I far prefer them to the crowds of tourists (and I know I am one of them) that I will press through in the afternoon.  I love my morning walk because much of Florence is still sleeping and there is so much room!!  I have also become aware of the history I am walking on and around.

   For instance, Santa Croce is a famous church built in the Middle Ages over a smaller, more ancient church that was created in the order of Saint Francis.  I had a tour this afternoon with Francesca, one of the teachers from the school, but it was all in Italian, so I may not have understood everything.  One of the reasons why Santa Croce is so famous is because Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and many others are buried in tombs there.  So, every morning, I pass by the remains of Michaelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo!

     Finally, to get some exercise, Alyssa and I ran up to Piazzale Michaelangelo and the church of San Miniato (built in the 11th century) again.    You can see some of the bridges on the Arno River behind me.
    

Piazzale Michelangelo, Piazza della Signoria

     My daughter left and then my niece, Alyssa came after her semester in Bordeaux from Middlebury College.  Here are some pictures by the Ponte Vecchio and then climbing to the Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato Church where you get an amazing view of Florence.

     We wandered around the Piazza della Signoria looking at statues depicting violence:  Perseus cutting off Medusa's head and the Rape of the Sabine Women.  All of a sudden, a band from Berlin dressed in red ran into the center of the square playing really good funky jazz.  You can see "David" watching the trumpet player blow his horn.  A great contrast.

Wandering

  After I put Nicole in a taxi at 4 am this morning (she was flying to Vienna to meet Katrina) I spent the day wandering.  Thoughts and questions came up in my loneliness as I dodged people in the street:  Why are we here?  Everyone needs connection whether or not they are aware of it.  Am I still desirable?  Why do we get old?
  I sat on a park bench in the Piazza del' Azeglio and communed with the trees as pigeon families strutted around me and felt much better even though I had no answers.  This was after I had a helathy little lunch at the Dolce Vegan cafe where I managed to lock myself in the bathroom.  When claustrophobic panic set in, I was about to start pounding on the door, but I forced myself to take some deep breaths and after I relaxed, the door unlocked magically.

   Heading back to my apartment, I passed the Giardino di Borgo Pinti Borgo, a little oasis of trees and gardens on the Borgo Pinti.  The gates were open and people were setting up chairs for a free concert.  "Woerdens Kamerkoor", an a cappella group from Holland, all dressed in white, were about to sing.  I sat and listened to them perform Mendelssohn, Monteverdi and a host of others and began to cry.  Listening to their angelic harmonies, I realized how fortunate I was to be where I was and at the end of the concert I thanked one of the singers and told her how touched I was by the concert.  However small, I had made a connection.

The Young and Stylish in Florence

Florence and Cooking Class with Fiametta

Cooking

So we are cooking four course meals with Fiammetta, who was a chef and now teaches in Florence in her apartment.  Last night, we made crostoni con verdure miste (bruschetta with tomatoes, olives and spices); pasta con zucchini e formaggio (with zucchini and cheese), Saltimbocca (beef carpaccio with proscuitta and a sage leaf wrapped in the middle); patate (sauteed yummy, thin potatoes) and torta di miele gratinata ( apple torte with almonds).  Nic and I were blissfully stuffed as we rolled out of the apartment and back to our place.  (Forgive my Italian spelling because I am still learning.)  Tonight my favorite was the pomodori in forno (tomatoes stuffed with breadcrumbs, parmesano, black olives, capers, wine vinegar and olive oil) and pollo con aromi (chicken sauteed in onion, sage, rosemary, oil, garlic, and wine vinegar).  The tortini di cioccolato (little chocolate lave cakes) weren't so bad, either. 
Tomorrow, Nic and I have sworn to eat only fruit and salad until dinner.
We sat in four hours of Italian language and grammar classes.  My brain ceased to function during the third hour.  Very humbling for me, an English teacher, to be a student in Italian!!

Firenze\Florence

Celebrated May Day in the Tuscan countryside with 26 other Italian women.  We gathered flowers, lay them on an altar and threw the Motherpeace Tarot cards.
Left the beautiful retreat center yesterday.  Lucia, a Florentine, also at the retreat, drove me into Florence.  Nic and I are staying in the White apartment--all white, light and airy--high ceilings.  There is a little balcony off the living room with a table and chair.  I sat there this morning for my breakfast.  We had our first language class, also, this morning.  Very humbling to be a student again, learning a new language.  I was exhausted after 2 hours.  We had lunch, went back to the apartment to wait for Alessandro ( apt. owner) to show up because the wifi was not working.  A no show.
Ah, it was time for our first cooking class, about a mile away.   The sky opened up and poured, but Nic and I perservered on.  And it was a damn good thing....