Nov 25, 2021

With Covid lingering on for close to 2 years, the desire and will to travel was getting unbearable. Every possible plan for a quick get-away was faced with further restrictions and disappointments. An opportunity arose when a friend invited me to a home he was renting in Tuscany. Nick had recently retired in the summer of 2021, and renting a home in Tuscany for a month, was on his bucket list. With his month stay almost over, I accepted his invite and headed to Tuscany for a long weekend.

The adrenaline and excitement felt while preparing my backpack was a testament that my urge and passion for travel keeps amplifying. With the Covid test result on hand, the adventure began. Quick flight from Montreal to Atlanta, followed by the main leg Atlanta to Rome, the journey was off on a grand start. The gate agent in Montreal was very thorough in verifying all my documents, but completely relaxed and quite frankly “couldn’t be bothered” attitude in Italy. I’m not sure if my Italian last name was of any reasoning, but they simply called out my name, stamped my passport and out the door I went. No digital tracking document was requested nor any questions of my visit was asked.

As free as a bird, no baggage and only a backpack, I met up with Nick at the arrival area. Taking the driver seat of his Fiat 500, we headed towards the Bolgheri region via the scenic ocean route to catch the sun setting along the Tyrrhenian sea.

For those who traveled along the 401 from Montreal to Toronto, the OnRoute rest areas are scattered every so distance giving road travelers amenities and services to facilitate their journey. These usual include a Tim Hortons or a Starbucks. Similarly in Italy, these family owned rest areas, not only do they provide services for the traveler, but actually give character and promote story telling with locals. There was no way that we’d stop at one of these local rest areas and not take in an espresso.

We continued our journey to San Gimignano, a gorgeous hill top town in Tuscany encircled with 13th century walls and towers. With the light rain, fog and silhouettes from the street lamps, the gothic medieval appearance gave us a true sense of that era. We enter a quaint restaurant with only 3 tables, and as 2 were already taken, we maxed their capacity and enjoyed a great dinner. Their “on the house” Toscana Bruschetta was exceptional. A quick ride along Cypress Alley and we end the night at Nick’s favorite night cap café.

What I’ve come to realize is that taking a coffee in an Italian café is not only the taste of great ground beans, nor the aroma of espresso in the air, but more along a sign of calmness, friendship and story telling. As Nick and I sit recounting the day’s events, we can’t help see and hear the locals engaging in conversations. This may be similar in our home town but doing it in another country simply gives it another dimension.

The next morning, as we planned for a full day, we start with yet another espresso and drive towards the Val d’Orcia region. An impeccable drive with twist and turns along side the mountain tops. With Fall/Winter temperatures, the leaves were coloured in a rustic shade adding to the beauty of the area. We visit Sorano’s old part of town that is carved along the mountain side. With the high elevation and the abrupt steep descents, one wonders on how the locals can go about their daily routines.

Pitigliano and Pienza were next on our list and each adding more beauty to the landscape. Perhaps a little biased but is there truly a nicer country than Italy where the fine balance of art, food, architecture and history come together? We see structures still erected dating from the 13 hundreds revealing resiliency at its best.

One great advantage traveling in November is that the town squares are practically empty. One has the liberty to walk around freely without possible worries of any Covid infections as a departure test was mandatory to board the flight back home. No matter how involved you are in the present moment and enjoying the trip, the possible thought of testing positive and not permitted in returning, slightly tampered the usual joyous mood when traveling.

We decide to continue our journey by driving south of Tuscany to the Madonna di Vitaleta Chapel. A small chapel perched on the top of a hill in Val d’Orcia. It is one of the most iconic spots in the area and often chosen by photographers as the quintessential Tuscan landscape.

With not much daylight left, as the sunset happens quite early in November, we head for supper in Siena. We find ourselves at Piazza del Campo, Europe’s greatest medieval squares and while having a local pizza, Nick recounts the history of the square to which the renowned horse races happen. Palio di Siena!

Next morning, after a boost of cappuccino and a pistachio cannoli, we visit San Gimignano by day, Volterra and Monteriggioni.

The cozy and charming small town of Monteriggioni is perched on Monte Ala and towers majestically over the Tuscan landscape. The impressive medieval city walls and well preserved defense towers dated from 1213, were built for the Republic of Siena as a base against Florence.

As quickly the day started, the evening was fast approaching. We head for Siena for supper and decide on a local bar restaurant. The main floor with its basic café look, while the second floor for intimate dining. Wanting to relax and enjoy a sit down meal, we’re greeted by Rosa, and sets aside a nice table for two. Conversation runs smoothly about life in general and our order was taken. What happened next was synchronized clockwork at its best.

As she returns with our dishes, we lower our masks to eat and more conversation is had amongst us. The very last moment as she is presenting us with the bill, she mentions she was feeling very sick the passed 3 days and had lost all her sense of smell and taste. As if totally oblivious to what the current heath affair is at, her passive demeanor of such game changing news had our hearts stop. Shouldn’t she be home! Nick and I look at each other, place our masks back on and felt sick to our stomachs. Great….we’re here for another 14 days.

With all different scenarios running through our heads, we leave the restaurant and try to digest what has happened. Trying to stay calm back at our home, we research the closest clinic or certified Covid test facility. With no opened clinic at 9pm in the Tuscan area, we decide to drive to the Rome airport where their testing facility opened at midnight. We’re always up for a road trip and away we go. 3 hours later, Nick and I are sitting in a chair with a Q-tip up our nose deciding our faith. 4:30am we’re back in Tuscany and anxiously waiting for our results.

After a short 4 hour sleep, we start our last day back in Volterra for coffee, drive to a shopping mall for a gift pickup and spend the rest of the afternoon in Florence. As no call was received by late afternoon, the chances of us contracting Covid was slim. Nevertheless, it still put a doubt in the back of our mind that kept us from truly enjoying every moment.

Florence was definitely more busy than the smaller towns we visited and no matter how often one returns, the sites are as impressive as the first visit. We have the best sandwich ever for a late afternoon snack and head for the Castellina Chianti Village for our last supper. We couldn’t have picked a more quaint restaurant to conclude a marvelous 4 day escapade. A great plate of pasta with a wood oven pizza!

Ironic enough, we return to our rented home that evening and an email is sent indicating both our results are negative. Great accommodations for our return flight and we’re ready for our next adventure.

Nov 25, 2021