La Pieve is, we think, the name of our neighborhood. Not sure how cities, states, or communities work but Pieve is about halfway up our mountain where we shop at Lilia’s and discovered this restaurant. Though reviews were mixed, it allowed us to dine out and get back up the mountain before dark. It turned out to have great service and food and their own, very delicious wine. One negative review was regarding the struggle to understand the menu, which had English descriptions , and we had two English speaking servers. We were reminded not to put too much stock in reviews. It must have been our night. We watched the sun sink behind the mountain as we arrived at our door.
Before this, I was considering becoming a vegetarian. Not any more.
Doing laundry is a pleasant challenge with the cool mountain breeze and the view. Tiny, efficient machines wash but do not dry! The wash cycle can take two hours and I have heard stories of being unable to open door when machine finally stops. Fortunately, that’s not happened to us but we did have a moment of panic at not finding Gary’s phone and fearing it was in the wash cycle. It was under the bed. It can take two sunny days for clothes to completely line dry, not just for me, but for everyone and clothes hang out windows and on balconies everywhere.
Karen Smith, this, for you. I could not keep my hands off this fine linen!
Lemons grow large and nearly year round.
Our new favorite cafe with everything we need, toilette, wifi, espresso, pastries, Aperol Spritzes, and ring side seats for local traffic of characters and parades.
Camaiore Character . Everyone who passes seems to know him. You might recognize him from earlier pic where he is singing to the cat.
We have shopped at the local Supermarket, very small by comparison to Harris Teeter, however, our favorite shopping experience is the tiny market run by Lilia, who tries her hardest to communicate with me in rapid fire Italian. Somehow, I leave with the pecorino and prosciutto for which the area is known and the invitation to try Nonna’s bread, just made and still warm. Lilia runs from her shop and next door to her Nonna’s and returns with this “ piccolo” loaf of still warm, crusty bread. I would estimate its weight at 2 pounds.
Shops close between 1:00 and 4:00 and many restaurants do not open until 7:00, thus, siesta in the park. We lightly dozed to the hum of considerate, high schoolers nearby, who, keeping their voices low, talked with each other, I assume, about their school day. A sweet Italian moment. Earlier, walking by an elementary school, we had the little jubilee of excited Italian children’s voices pouring out the classroom window. Later, while sharing a birra, sitting outside a Bar ( mostly stand -up space where locals order espresso and or wine), we tried to record the raucous chanting , “ Napoli, Napoli,” and laughter from inside. Ahh, the sounds of Italy.
To take a cooking class in Tuscany. It truly was a dream come true and could not have been in a more beautiful setting. I found it via AirB&B experiences near by. La Forestaria.
Not only are there cooking classes but the owner, Eleanora, has a restaurant an AirB&B , a winery, makes olive oil and has a wedding venue!
Eleanora is a gracious, engaging, witty, bossy, chef/ host, who, once she realized Gary does not cook, assigned him the most difficult tasks.
Looks like Stanley Tucci dropped in on our class. His name is really Chris and he DOES look like Stanley Tucci! He is from England and has run 5k every day for 894 days, having been a smoker and never having run before. His goal is 1000 days. My guess, after the way he cut and placed his tortellini shells, is that he will never miss a 5k day. Everyone who cooked with us was equally interesting.and FUN!
These “chefs” are from Switzerland, Arizona and Australia, respectively.
Fun videos if you’d like. Email me at susan@timetraveler.us
Lucca is the small, walled city recommended as ” off the beaten path,” and where we began our search for our place to live for two weeks. Lucca is no longer off the beaten path but was a fun place to visit. Our 4 mile walk around its wall reminded us of New York’s Central Park. Lucca is about a forty minute drive ( more hairpin curves) from our Camaiore home , which, happily, has yet to be discovered by tourists.
Italians can be identified by their fine linen clothing.
I have had the recurring thought that international travel is not for the faint of heart, always followed by “ but it is, oh, so worth it.” Our day in Pisa is a perfect example, challenged by pay toilets, purchasing fuel for our unfamiliar Fiat and making a very illegal u-turn on the Autostrada.
The bag on my back is Italian! Purchased at least 20 years ago at TJMaxx😉
We, who always share one meal, ordered both Specials, likely because we could read both. We ate every bite and they were equally delicious. Someone else deboned the sea bass.
Best part of travel is meeting people like this young couple, he from Scotland and she from France. They were happy to have us to practice their English and we were equally thrilled to have a conversation with someone who understood us. Adventurers they are, finding work wherever they want to be and saving for their next country of choice. A delight!
A rainy day in Camaiore. We are happily spending much of our time enjoying our view from the veranda. I believe I can see cruise ships on the horizon , perhaps taking the route of friends who are heading to Italy later this month. We may venture down the mountain and drive to Pisa or, we may stay right where we are and be very content, listening to birds, real birds, not seagulls, a rooster, the occasional bah of sheep and I just heard the beautiful singing voice of an Italian woman. Yesterday, we heard a man singing in Italian and learned he is the gardener of nearby AirB&B property where new neighbors are expected later today. We hope they speak at least a little English. It is not true that all Italians speak English, especially off the path of most tourists.
Time-Traveler 