Sun of Tuscany

I have a friend from my Uni that I truly like. She met an Italian boy she fell in love with, I was dancing at her wedding and then she moved to Italy, Tuscany to be exact (not the worst place in the world,huh? :D). I am not good in keeping in touch, I write, but then I forget to write again. I guess that there’s so much going on, I was moving so many times through the last years, that it just happens to make me a very bad pen friend. But somehow Agata was very patient with me. She always was, as she’s an awesome human being. I wanted to visit her in Tuscany for about 12 years, plus/minus. But it was never on a way. Two weeks ago I had this urge to run away from freezing Berlin, so I bought my flights and asked her if she’s around because I’ll be. Somehow it turned out that the day we were supposed to give her a hug, there was a 40th birthday party of her husband Renato. Can you imagine an Italian birthday party? If no, there was A LOT of delicious food and a lot of great wine. There were also beautiful people. I remember Agata from a small kitchen in her apartment in Warsaw. I met her 13 years later with two kids, being a super happy person, but looking exactly the same, not even one year older. It was a great but also bizarre experience. How could she not change even a bit! I think that there must be something in a Tuscany air. Or is it wine and food? Now I want to move there and make my own research.

We left the party around 6pm and traveled to our home for the next few days with the most magical light. I could not believe how beautiful it it around. We stayed at Villa Lena, a very beautiful place, obviously I checked it all out on the internet. But what I did not know is how extremely cool this place is. First and for most they love children over there and it’s all been all created to help young parents have a breath of fresh air. There is a play room in which your kid will refuse to leave (happened to us), so many rooms to run around and discover without an apprehension that he can destroy something. They have a giant rabbit, pigs and a pool for little ones. For parents, they have pool to chill, views to watch, minimalism to relax and food… Oh food… All meals are there, you don’t have to move anywhere. And believe me it was so tempting. When I was born the doctors thought that everything is ok with me, but they did not realise that I had an extra part in my butt – an engine that makes me move around like crazy. So I had to experience each hill in the area. Oh, and they have an hour when you meet next to a pool and drink bubbles with other guests, I love the idea of this one. I also like that you feel like in a Mad Men tv series while hanging around the pool. Don’t understand me wrong, this place is so much more, they have an art foundation, art residents, millions of great ideas, but for me the part that I can actually relax over there was most important. And I want to spread the world. If you have kids and are looking for a haven with great views, as you seriously need to rest, this will be a perfect spot for you.

And now few tips:

What I had to see and experience was the not so straight tower in Pisa. I have no idea why, but I wanted to see it for a very long time, so did 10.000 of other tourists. Yes, it was so crowded, but also so worth it. Everyone around, literally, was making pictures standing with hands in the air and pretending to support the tower. Mia started to do it not knowing why. Yep, a power of the crowd. I saw it, I am happy, checked. It is a tourist attraction, so decide yourself if it’s something you like to see. For me it was a must.

Then I got a tip about Volterra, a beautiful town on a top of a hill. It took us far too long to get there, as the road itself was stunning. I took hundreds of pictures and felt like stopping each 2 minutes. In Voltera there’s this one delicious restaurant La Carabaccia with outstanding food. I tried a lot, as we ordered shared plates and it was delicious.

There is this amazing girl that can teach you how to cook real Italian. Her name is Giulia and she does workshops in her kitchen. Check out Juls’ Kitchen for more. Not only she’s a sweetheart, she knows how to cook aaaand she organises Fettunta Party each year!

Tuscany is beautiful, even more, breathtaking. What I learned from my short stay is:

– don’t drive there without gps or internet, as it’s difficult to find your way

– you need more time than 3 days, more like 3 years to get to know it

– do your research and if you come for a short period, know where you want to go and what you want to see

– 30km distance may be 1h drive

– don’t plan too much as most probably you will get stuck 100 times over a stunning view.

What I also noticed is that it’s good to have a car in Tuscany, it does help a lot. And that the cheapest flights will take you to Milan. From there you can rent a car or take a train to Florence and rent a car over there. But whatever you do, having a car is a good idea.

You also want to eat in random places. Is it possible that each tiny local restaurant is delicious? Or was I so lucky?