Random Thoughts and Musings

I am alone today as my guests have gone sightseeing.  I haven’t written here in a week and have had some time to reflect upon my time here.  I think I have settled into a rhythm of my own here and developed even more of an appreciation for the Italian way of life.  For the most part, the people do not seem to get stressed about anything.  They take life in stride, just as it comes; they stop to take in and appreciate the beauty that surrounds them.  They enjoy their daily routines and seem to always live in the moment.  We in North America could learn so much from them.  The biggest exception to this frame of mind seems to occur when an Italian gets behind the wheel of a car where they become mad daredevils risking life and limb to get to their destination in a big hurry.  Speed limits and stop signs seem to be meaningless as they recklessly speed ahead, one hand on the wheel and the other holding a cell phone to their ear. When gesturing is required to accent a point in the conversation, the hand leaves the wheel and waves frantically in mid air as if the person on the other end of the phone were sitting beside them.

I am trying to get into the routine of walking every morning but I over did it the other day; walking away from the village downhill (which is the only way to leave a hilltop village), .....the problem with that of course is that it is all uphill going back.  My calves still have not forgiven me, they remind me every time I climb stairs or hills to take it slowly and build up to the hard stuff. Not easy to do here where it seems the only directions to go in are up or down.  Perhaps that is the reason the GPS seems to have such difficulty providing correct directions, it can’t discern up from down which can be an issue when  two streets are side by side, one going up and the other down.  Not that I am making excuses for the GPS, or that I’ve given up on the evil troll idea.

Towards the end of last week I ventured into Pienza to buy some more minutes for my cell phone.  I went to the same bookstore I visited the last time I needed to do this.   The man asked me in Italian how much and what my cell phone number was, so I told him  and he handed me a ticket with some instructions in Italian.  I do not recall him doing this the last time I was there.  He pointed to the number on the ticket and made motions like I should call that number, but I recognized that it was my own cell phone’s number.  When I tried to do what I thought he had instructed me to do, he became very impatient with me, raised his voice still in Italia, and threw my money back at me.  He said “This is Italy, speak Italian!!” He told me to go to the tourist information booth down the street.  I could not believe someone would treat a customer this way.  I went to the info booth and the wonderful woman there explained to me what he wanted me to do in English, apparently he wanted me to confirm that the number on the ticket was indeed my cell phone number.  She also called him to find out why he was so rude to me.  Apparently he is not a very happy man, is discontent with his life, and often treats people this way.  I guess if you own the business you can do what you want and get away with it.  He is definitely not a typical Italian from my experience.   Perhaps if he treated the people in his life better, he would have a happier life.  I do believe that you get back what you put out.

After Pienza, I set the dreaded GPs for Sinalunga as I wanted to buy some groceries at the supermarket there.  Again I was led on a wild goose chase through the beautiful countryside, and told repeatedly to make U turns.  I finally programmed my hand held GPS and followed its directions to arrive safely at my destination.  It was difficult to hear the instructions with both GPS’s talking at once and giving different directions.  I will have to figure out how to disable the on-board GPS system or at least shut it up; but the instruction manual is not in English, after all, this is Italy.

On the way back I found the place where I has previously seen a woman sketching the ruins of a castle and I stopped to take some photos. When I am alone next week I think I will go there and sketch it myself.

  I have 2 paintings on the go at the moment and can’t seem to get back to them to finish what I started.  I guess my mind must be preoccupied with other things.  Drawing and painting requires a great deal of focus from me and sometimes I am just not in the right frame of mind to be able to accomplish that.

Yesterday, Susan and I went to La Foce for a tour of the Italian Gardens on the estate. First, we had a lovely lunch in Chianciano Terme and then strolled around town window shopping.  This place was a favourite destination of wealthy aristocrats back in its day.  It is known for its spas which still exist today, however, like its clientele, the town is showing its age and is in need of a facelift.  The glitz and the glamour of the hotel strip is reminiscent of what was considered classy in the 1960’s.   Today it just looks tired and worn out.  We did discover some interesting stores that were displaying some glitzy estate jewellery as well as other artefacts of the town’s hay day.

After lunch we left town and headed for La Foce estate for the 3:00 tour.  I would not have believed that I could love the beautiful Cypress trees any more than I already did, but to see the impact they make in this gorgeous setting nearly brought me to tears.

  They are like huge exclamations marks drawing the eye to highlight the exquisite detail in the structure of this garden.  The style, scale, and form utilized in the making of these gardens is truly impressive.  I loved the pergolas covered in wisteria and grape vines that sheltered the stone pathways from the heat of the sun.

  Of course, me being me, it also gave me lots of grand ideas for my own property.  Pergolas, grape vines, fountains, neatly trimmed hedges, formally structured ponds, and stone walkways would transform any landscape into a beautiful serene oasis...and let’s not forget the gardener required to care for it all.  Our climate won’t allow for cypress, olive, or lemon trees; but the same style and form could be achieved using other plants and materials.  It is sounding expensive already!  I obviously have champagne taste but only a beer budget!

Today I am noticing that fall is coming, the days are getting noticeably shorter already, and the temperatures are dropping lower at night.  The Chestnut trees’ leaves have all turned a rust colour and their fruit is scattered in the town square below.  The chestnuts remaining on the trees look like small tennis balls, reminding me of my dog Chewie at home.  One of his favourite games is to chase a tennis ball, but they have to be smaller ones as his mouth is too small for the full sized ones.  I wonder if he is still missing me or if he has adjusted to me being gone.  I miss him often.

It is hard to believe that I have only been here 24 days.  It seems so much longer and yet in some ways, not.  Time here takes on a different dimension; faced with a history of thousands of years, even a lifetime seems insignificant.  Living in the moment and appreciating one’s surroundings changes one’s concept of time, it seems almost irrelevant. Could this be the reason the natives here never seem to rush?   The town’s people are used to seeing others coming and going, but seem to notice that I am still here after the normal time period for a visit.  They look at me as if they are seeing me for the first time.  Perhaps they are curious as to why I am still here.  Maybe they wish I would go home and leave them to go about their lives as they have lived forever.  This leads me to wonder if they are in support of the town’s growth and the interest of those who vacation here from elsewhere.  Is it an imposition to them?  Are they afraid that their community will be changed forever if more and more properties are owned by foreigners?  Or, do the welcome the prosperity that tourists spending their money can bring to a town?  I guess I will have to learn Italian to find out.

Ciao for now!

Di.