All Steps and Hills in Tuscany

Most of us New Yorker consider our physical shape is in top form, myself included. We work out constantly with one continuous dieting all of our life but are we really in top physical form?

We try our best to keep ourselves looks younger than our age, an American obsession. Therefore at what point are we going to stop having our hair dye, dump the body wrap, forego the heavy make up, cut down on prescription that promise youthful appearance, stop using hair growth products etc. Just let it all go? Is that ever going to happen? May be not, I hate to wake up in the morning and not recognize my bed partners. This is not one of those too much drinking and by the way what is your name again kind of thing neither.

However with this entire beauty obsession aside are we really health and fit. I ate more than entire acre of salad a year, work out every day, run three miles three times a week, and swim every night, torturing my body to the breaking point, in return is many trip to the sport clinic. In my mind it is still worth it until my recent trip.

On my first visit to Florence and Tuscany many moons ago, I was in my prime, I remember I ran all over town and climbed every single tower that was available to climb. In those days I was not into work out and I drank heavily and smoke here and there, never had enough sleep, but my keens never gave up. On my recent rip that was an entirely different story, thanks to all the exercise I was still able to climb up every tower available for climbing, but I was huffing and buffing all the way up, just short of stopping on the middle of the narrow passage and held up eager travelers does feel my pain. Even with all that, the reward was still great surpass the pain. When I finally got to the top, it is worth the 16 euro they charged.

I felt the pain for those their job is to regulate visitors at the top of these monuments, I wanted to ask them how they feel about climbing up there everyday, were there ever a day they wanted to give me all up, and say say that I am not going to do this job any more? Perhaps they were into physical fitness, they do not have a second thought. May it is a job they desperately needed to feed themselves, or just insane. Well my Italian is borderline at best, I do not have enough vocabulary to ask them the complicated question like that. How ever I am still wondering if they take their lunch and stay there all day? What about washroom, there isn’t any in sight?

Never mind the guards, think of the poor monk, they had to climb this bell tower for life, every hour by the hour so they can ring the bell to report time, incase of attract, they had to race up these stairs, I do not know how they can do it. After all that racing up the tower, they still had to go attend to their orchard. Collecting olives and grapes. I think I will skip that life for now. Get up at the crack of dawn is already tough enough for me. Getting the room service to deliver coffee is more of my life.

If that is not bad enough exercise, every single Tuscan town we visited were hill towns. Example at Siena, the Palazzo comunale in Pizzadel campo, (the site of the famous horse race), you will think the main town square where the race was held, would be on flat ground, How wrong was I, it is located on the  top of the hill.

In Brunell Di Montialcino renowned for it Brunell di Montialcino (red wine) all over the world, the up hill climb was steep, after we got to the top and ready for the tasting, we were the lead to the side of the hill and start descending hale way before we can get to the tasting house. Is that for real?  Never the less it was authentic, because the tasting room was located in a vintage farm. However the view of the Val d’ Orcia valet below will let you forget the pain on your ankle, at least until you sample enough wine.

Then there was Pienza, a papal town famous for its Pecorino cheese and  Montiepulciano, famous for it vintage Nobile di Montirpulciano all have hills as steps as in the 35 degree climb. While the vineyard is down on the fertile plan it was the same story, we had to track up to the top of the hill, just to get to the entrance of the town, then we had to hike some more to get to the top of the town center. There was no car, no motorbike, not even a donkey in sight, just bus number 11, (your own two sore feet). If you decided to join the wine tasting you started descending into the dark rock cut cellar, where original barrels were placed. Some of these cave were even older than the Roman Empire. It may sound horrible with all the walking. We were so captivated by the landscape and the beautiful sight we did not notice it until we got into the tour bus on our way home. There were even snoring coming from all corners.

It is time to say goodbye again Italy, the country I never had enough of, I am blessed with may good friends that lives there, that give me reason to keep coming back. Perhaps I will write about the Italian country wedding I attended on this trip as well, the experience came right out from a movie script. By the way since I wrote some thing for the boys last time, let me add this, In Italy, gone are the days for single girls being chasing around when they walk down the streets alone. Sorry girls, I don’t think they are that romantic any more. However unwedded mother were everywhere, and the boyfriend, father of the child is still around. I don’t get that. But that is another topic some day.

For now stay tune for more later.

Chance Encounter Tuscany