One of my neighbours, an elderly woman, was out on our street wearing a heavy wool skirt and sweater with a fluffy toque on her head as she beat a carpet. She called out, “Giorno!” as I closed my door and I called back, “Buon giorno!” and grinned the whole way to the car. It's those moments that make me love life a little bit more.
I set the GPS for San Gimignano and arrived over two hours later. San Gimignano is basically a big tourist trap made out of a hilltop medieval town. The travel books highly recommend it and a friend back home also suggested I go there. Thankfully with the winter weather there are very few travellers so much of the time I was exploring the streets alone. I love visiting places where I can just wander and take photos and let my mind wander.
The town is well-known for the high number of towers dotting the streets. One of the museums houses the tallest tower and a 5 Euro admission ticket allows access to the extremely boring museum and a chance to climb the tower for a breathtaking view.
The view from the top of the tower.
When I first entered the town through a large gate, I noticed a man entering at the same time. I mostly noticed him because of his striped toque and I thanked him when he moved around to walk behind me and stay out of my shot when I was taking a photo. I saw him a few times as I wandered around and he ended up climbing the tower a little while after me. While we were on the tower I saw him trying to take a self-portrait so I offered to shoot it for him. I asked him where he's from and he said Argentina. I told him I taught English in Bolivia for five months about ten years ago. We ended up talking for twenty minutes about our travels and the various areas of Bolivia where we've visited (he's been to Potosi, the city where I taught English). His name was Marcos and just to clarify for those of you hoping this story ends with romance, he looked like he was in his late forties. Between his Spanish or broken English and my English or broken Spanish we managed to communicate quite well!
It was fun to have a connection to Bolivia as I've been thinking about it a lot over the past few days. Potosi was a very wealthy city at one time and the mountain dominating the city's landscape contains a silver mine which once produced all the coinage for Europe. This brought in a strong colonial Spanish influence in the architecture. Being in Italy reminds me so much of being in Bolivia! It takes a lot of effort for me to not assume this is a third world country. I'm realizing there's an undercurrent of stress and mistrust which creates confusion because I shouldn't be feeling that way while on vacation in Italy! Not sure if it'll go away, but it helps to be aware of where the reactions are coming from.
The tower I climbed.
Inside I found a walled garden with olive trees and rough window openings overlooking the surrounding countryside.
After visiting San Gimignano (which I've yet to spell correctly on the first try) I drove off into the countryside to some exploring and just enjoy the sight of rolling hills, vineyards, and huge homes.
Discovered this fun door knocker upon my return to Panicale.
1 comment:
And being in his late forties automatically rules him out? Come on, Amanda! Okay, I agree with you. :)
I'm sure the area in the 4th picture has been in a movie somewhere. I'm thinking "Return to Me" or something like that. Or a Bourne movie. Maybe both.
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