Easing In – With Both Feet

Dude – we scored! Finding and choosing our new residence in a Tuscan agriturismo turned out to be one of the best, or luckiest, decisions we made. The property, Bellavista Insuese, consists of 700 hectares (approximately 1,700 acres) of “completely organic unspoiled nature, among woods, lakes, plains, and rolling hills surrounded by cypresses, fields of ancient wheats, and a natural oasis”. It is located in the small town of Guasticce, midway between Pisa (the Leaning Tower) and Livorno (the New Venice with a bustling port and market). The property offers innumerable trails for walking (which I will talk about in a later episode) and the town has everything we need to get by in our new home (from a barber shop – another story – a mechanic – who already had to work on our car – and some nice shops and restaurants). And similar to our stories in trying to get out of our country, the people were the most important thing. The owners are great. We rented our apartment, fully furnished and including utilities and services. They gave us a tour of the property and some contacts in the village; both would come in handy as we tried to navigate day-to-day life in our new home. If you have ever moved within the US, you know it can be hard setting up in a new location – doing it in another country with different rules, requirements, and a language barrier is hugely more challenging – just saying. Our new hosts helped us through the whole process. And while getting us comfortable and connected were important, the coolest thing they did (initially) was, they invited us to a wine exposition.

A Wine Expo

As the agriturismo where we live is a working farm, with over 70 hectares of ancient wheats, for the production of integral grain breads and products, and hillsides covered in olive trees for oil, the owners are involved in several organizations marketing and promoting both the products and farming techniques. Through this involvement, they are invited to participate and display their wares at various expositions around the area. One such exhibition, Wine Destinations Italia, was being held the weekend we moved into our new abode, and our hosts extended an invitation for us to attend. The main focus of this expo was wines from around Italy, and it ran from Saturday morning through Sunday evening with four sessions, two each day. We decided to go first thing Saturday morning – after all, we were looking to fill our time now focused on the food, wine, and culture since the beach and golf resort aspect had not come to fruition.

The event was being held just 15 minutes down the road, in the arrival center at the port in Livorno. This is a busy area, especially in the summer, as ferries depart for places from the islands off the coast to coastal cities in Spain and France and where cruise ships bearing passengers hoping to see the Leaning Tower just up the road disembark. Our first challenge was figuring out exactly where the expo was, we really couldn’t read the Italian directions on the website, signage was not plentiful, and Google maps just showed where the port was, which we already knew. Once we located the expo hall, we had to figure out where to park – with a reconstruction of the same challenges as before. The event started at 10 so we figured we would arrive 10 – 15 minutes early, since we didn’t have tickets and in case there was a line. When we got to the doors, nothing was open – 10 was closer to 10ish, and not many people were crowding to get in at that ungodly early hour on a Saturday morning – it’s not like many places in the US (we have to keep reminding ourselves, even though this isn’t our first rodeo); life is different here.

When the doors finally opened, we bought our tickets – we figured we might as well get the Whole Day Saturday ticket – and received our tasting glasses to sample the wines. We were excited to go in and meet winemakers and producers from across the nation and to try various wines from the different regions. We were also interested in discovering other places to visit, some areas that we were unaware of, even with our previous travels to many regions across this country. There were upwards of 40 different producers spread across the event area, all with large tables to showcase their many different areas and wines. Upon starting out, we discovered two things – first, we really don’t speak the language and most of the discussions and information were in Italian (which was great, that’s why we are here and not in Florida or Arizona; we caught the gist of most of the talks and we picked up brochures that we were able to read at our speed (slowly) to pick up the main points) and second, the wine “tastings” were pretty large.

Starting a little after 10, we made it through about five tables, and several glasses of wine, by the time the first session ended at 1, and all the vendors closed up for an hour for lunch. This was a good thing, it allowed us to take a walk outside, try and talk through and digest what we had thought we heard, and put a sandwich in our stomachs – showing up to an all day wine tasting after a breakfast of little more than a couple cappuccinos was a little ambitious, kind of like our initial planning to start out on this Later Gap adventure. After lunch, we reentered the fray around 2, with a plan to maybe try and talk, using a translator app on our phones, and share wines – this approach worked a little better, we managed to make it to several more tables and discover several other agriturismos, from Bari (with nice reds by the heel of the Boot) to Padua (with spumantis near Venice) to local Tuscan producers (with whites from San Gimignano to reds from the Chianti Trail). By the end of the afternoon, we had a shoulder bag full of new areas to visit and new places to stay and experience. We also stopped and said hi to our hosts, and thanked them for opening these new doors so early in our time here. Thanks to wonderful people, our Italian adventure has expanded beyond the borders delineated by the Tuscan sun.

Although most of the people we met, wines we tried, and places we found gained their way onto our list of things to do and enjoy while here, one idea might have been a bit of a reach. One of the tables we stopped at, ENDU, a sports network dedicated to endurance and outdoor, was advertising an adventure run – a 45 kilometer loop through the mountains and villages along the Cinque Terre. This seemed like an opportunity too good to pass on, so we signed up. I hope you are thinking what I should have been – bad idea, you really shouldn’t make these kind of rash decisions later in the day at a wine tasting exhibition; and you would be right. The next day, when we looked into it a little more, we found that there are over 3,000 meters of vertical, the course needs to be completed in under 8 hours, and parts of the trail are washed out and under construction – and we are not really runners, we like to take a hike now and again, but this is quite a bit more than that. Within a couple days, I tucked my tail between my legs and made the smart move; I bravely withdrew our names from the sign up list. This in no way means that we do not want to travel up to this area and hike these beautiful trails – we just figure that trying to do so in under 8 hours this April won’t work. We will tackle this challenge at a slightly more relaxed pace with a bit more planning (maybe I am learning).

A Taste of Tuscany

Two weeks later, the base where my wife works held a smaller event, a Taste of Tuscany, where vendors from the more immediate area came and displayed their offerings and wares. Armed with the recent experience from the wine expo, we were excited to explore and discover other opportunities closer to home. Unlike the previous event, the Taste of Tuscany had representatives from city tourist bureaus, spa/tourist resort owners, a brewer, and meat/cheese makers, along with a couple wine producers. The event, which had been a staple of the base and local community previously, but which had not been held for the past couple years due to the base drawdown and COVID, previously allowed individuals who were assigned here to bring a Taste of Tuscany home to loved ones at Christmas while learning about possibilities of places to visit in the local area. However, due to bureaucracy, and poor coordination within the hosting organization, attendees were not allowed to buy any products – vendors were solely allowed to market their wares and provide cards and contact information so people knew about them and could later visit the properties or businesses. Although we were saddened to hear about the restrictions, we knew these things happen, and our inability to try and buy at the event reinforced our desire to take the opportunities to get out and visit these various producers in our local area. We took cards and commenced our quest – and from just the first two tables, our circle of local friends, experiences, and understanding of what life is, or can be, has flourished.

By starting with trying to meet and learn about as many different opportunities as possible, through hearing about them and being invited by friends or individuals who we just met or taking advantage of the offerings near where we live or work, we have been able to learn about many more places that we need to travel to, see, and visit – we have been exposed to offerings that, although some may be daunting, provide a framework to explore in our own way and at our own pace. Our Later Gap Travel, to live and enjoy life in another corner of this world (although not in the way we originally envisioned) has quickly expanded. We have extended the boundaries of exploration while simultaneously deepened our awareness of what our small little corner of Tuscany has to offer. We have met many more interesting and wonderful people, all of whom are gracious enough and excited to share their culture and their passions with us. I can’t wait to continue on this adventure – and share the journey, and the stories, with you. Until next time – arrivederci.