This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

I took the featured photo on the last of my many weekends in Tuscany, during a wonderful trek in the ‘ Pratese Apennines. That trailer could have been:

• a magic
• something like Hansel and Gretel‘s chocolate house.
• inhabited by a maniac with a chainsaw
• only the support of loggers with dusty but barely invoked chairs for lack of non-wet place to have lunch.

With presumed or would-be girlfriends, arranging a weekend in Tuscany (or Marche and Umbria, close to my home) has also often been a way to better gauge a possible understanding.

So many weekends in Tuscany (mostly city)

I happened to consider distant but not too far away, interesting friends who could then be met halfway, taking advantage also to visit especially cities and towns. I happened to return to certain places because perhaps on a first visit I had visited them too superficially; sometimes because I had put too much meat on the fire. Other times I have returned to please my field trip companion as well, and for example to choose a place that I missed and one that she missed. A case in point was for Lucca and Livorno; especially the former which was really nice and which I could appreciate only after I had taken more time to tour it.

A funny case occurred to me for Anghiari. I had accepted it as the first place to meet a Tuscan girl, partly because I had never been there. Wandering around the beautiful town, I initially thought I was experiencing a dejavu, but instead realized that I had been there before! And not even too long before!

These are my favorites, and where I have been several times

• Florence (obvious, but now too crowded, enough)
• Siena (even better when they uncover in cathedral floor)
• Pisa (but not only Piazza dei Miracoli)
• Arezzo (with the sloping square)
• Pistoia (where once in the bar they wouldn’t give me a bottle of water because: they were out of it)
• Lucca (around its elliptical square, the ancient Roman amphitheater)
• San Gimignano (seeing its towers from afar)
• Volterra (and its views)

In general what I like most about a weekend in Tuscany.

As with Marche and Umbria, for me a weekend in Tuscany is mostly about driving through rolling hills with picturesque villages on the peaks.

I’m not even going to go into how much I appreciate the cuisine, although as I get older now I’m a little hard on cured meats, and unfortunately fennel has become a beautiful reminder of the past.

Despite a few more frequent than usual episodes of unkindness on the part of tour operators, probably because they have too many tourists; when I hear a Tuscan accent I always get in a good mood. This is probably due to the fact that in my adolescence certain Tuscan comedians were in vogue.

For example, I sometimes laugh to myself thinking about certain scenes in Francesco Nuti’s fantastic Caruso Paskoski (by a Polish father). Speaking of that and also of fennel, the following video is emblematic .

The Chinese photographer

For a short time I dated a Chinese girl who lived in Rome, and being far apart we would meet more or less halfway.

The first time we opted for the spa of Rapolano plus surrounding villages(Pienza and Castiglione del Lago); after that experience I decided that I could only hold it for the spa having very different times.

You know the stereotype we have that the Chinese, or perhaps Orientals in general, are very fond of photos and are always there to take pictures of anything? That’s it..just like that! Although by now this craze I think has spread to all bipeds in possession of smart phones.

I don’t judge and I’m not saying I do better than others, however, that’s just the way I am and if for a cute, but tiny hamlet (Serre di Rapolano) I’m there for more than an hour because whoever is with me has to photograph all the cats, pots and gates, well…we are simply not compatible because while she was photographing I was pawing in pain.

Weekend in Tuscany, also in nature

In more recent times I have also learned to appreciate nature and thus weekends all about the green. One summer weekend formula, also to take a respite from the muggy Padana heat, is camping near the Tosco-Romagnolo ridge.

I choose a leg of the Italy Trail that has nearby facilities, starting there one day I go in one direction and then return; the second day I go in the other direction. Not doing a loop gives the advantage of being able to choose the length of the walk, and thus adjust for any time requirements. Also, as mentioned, almost all the stages are on the ridge, so spectacular scenery and well-maintained and often fairly easy trails.

For the choice of campsite, I look for one with a restaurant attached or close by, I also happened to have it 2 meters from the tent, like at my house from the bedroom it takes me longer to go to the kitchen.

Some campsites are more like adapted cottages or caravans by people (often retirees) who own or rent them for the whole season; thus, they know each other and it feels like a small town.

The dog Osvaldo and General Vannacci

Once I found myself in the middle of a confrontation between two families about what and how to prepare for dinner. It was difficult for me to stay the least bit focused to read Albert Einstein’s biography, especially since they had a distinctly high tone of voice. One of the two couples had a dog named Osvaldo, who shyly approached me, but was taken back by the owner who justified to me that the dog was deaf; no wonder, if they always yell!

I would have liked to tell him that I preferred him to the masters. By the way, poor Osvaldo was constantly rebuked with a: you are as stupid as a Vannacci voter.

The next day as I was starting my walk, a guy asked me if I could help him, he had to move some bins full of brine inside a van; thanking me, he suggested: aren’t you free today, and do you want to come with me to sell olives at the market?

Home set of travel center Italy On the road into center Italy, marriage proposal (Italy and Vatican)

Previous stop Visiting Tuscan islands, umbrella talk

Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent

Countries visited in my travel stories

Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives

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Fabio Viroli

Ho sempre avuto tante passioni, ma da sempre più o meno latenti, le principali sono viaggiare e scrivere. Tra le altre cose ho una laurea in psicologia; ho fatto per più di 30 anni l’allenatore di basket; leggo tanti libri; sono stato molto appassionato di sport e di musica rock; e faccio improvvisazione teatrale

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