Eccomi, Toscana!

Caution: this is a long update, but these stories of this weekend are too good to shorten.

This trip started with a bus strike and a man in a café who sounded like he swallowed a small amphibian, built to a Shakespearean mid-climax (except not tragic…. just wonderful and mind-blowing), and ended with running to the train station for a train that did not exist.

For a story that seems full of pitfalls, they were actually all very minor and easily recovered. I’ll spare the anxiety to say that we were picked up at the Terontola station to be driven up the hill to the city of Cortona by our incredible hotel manager, Sergio. We jammed out to some Phil Collins on his favorite Miami Vice cd on the way back, and in all of our minds Sergio was belting out when it got to the swelling drum part. And there was a train that came an hour and a half after we arrived to the train station, so we were always in fine shape.

After Sergio gave us a little car tour of the town and showed us the house where Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed, we got to the adorable Hotel Sabrina and climbed to our top floor family suite where Katherine, Kristine, Sara and I had a minor freak out moment at our view and the sweet a deal that we had.

We then took on the 3 mile hike to the Eremo De Le Celle which is a hermitage/monastery founded by St. Francis that is tucked away in the woods of Tuscany. We took several wrongs turns along the way only to be helped by a kind runner who looked fabulous and was talking on the phone the whole time. Darn Italians. We pilgrims arrived at our destination, which must be the real life version of Rivendell.

I have never felt so at peace. The sound of rushing water, the request for silence in the whole area, the effect of being in such contact to nature… I would definitely join this order if I were a man. We ended up joining some of the monks for a mid-day prayer for the Stations of the Cross and one very old man with a cane painfully knelt down every time. Feeling the atmosphere, praying with our fratelli, realizing how much of their lives these men have dedicated to worshipping the Lord, we were already filled with emotion. The final straw on the camel’s back was when a sweet young 30’s friar stopped us and asked where we were from and then said, “I have something for you!” We expected pamphlets or something involving the Stations of the Cross, but he came to us with 4 cd’s of his band and asked us to find him on facebook (Their band name is Janua Coeli… check them out). He then said the most sincere “God bless you” I have ever felt and disappeared into the back. We all stepped out of the chapel into the little courtyard and all burst into tears. We assume he was touched to know that 4 young people would hike all the way out there and go through the whole stations of the cross with them without popping out like tourists, but if only they knew how much they and this place touched us.

Here is a quote from the paper inside another little chapel where there was a little cell where St. Francis had actually slept in and prayed in:

“Many come here to discover spiritual benefit which St. Francis bequeathed to all who seek with pure and sincere heart. Probably, you many also recover something… bow down humbly and PRAY!”

It was actually in caps. So I did just that. 

We then hiked a little into the woods, read Isaiah 55, and then unwillingly left this heaven on earth, feeling more peaceful and restful than we have ever felt.

That night we had gelato from a place called Snoopy’s which was way up there in the quality-of-gelato-scale. My first combo was strawberry and crema (an orange and egg combo) and the next was pistachio, coconut, and fior di latte. Rocked. My. World. The feast continued when we got dinner at a local favorite called Dardano’s, which was already awesome because they were playing one of my favorite musical artists, Jamie Cullum. I got Tuscan wine, pasta con cinghiale (wild boar… I had to get it after seeing all the taxidermy wild boar heads on many of the streets in Orvieto), and delicious stewed Tuscan white beans. Treat Yo Self, 2013.

The next day held just as many wonders. We got breakfast at this pastry shop where Sergio paid for our cappuccinos and pastries (you love Sergio too now, don’tcha?) and then visited the Church of Saint Francis. I’m not sure of his actual connection to this church, but they had relics of his tunic, a pillow, and a New Testament that he used. The church also had a reliquary that claimed to house a piece of the cross. But despite being a pretty big deal, the ceiling was made of rugged logs instead of golden angel babies, in true Francesco-swag.

We then walked up tons of VERY steep streets (how do these people do it every day?) to arrive at the Chiesa di San Margherita and the Fortress seated at the top of the city. We took a random elevator up to the fortress and found some open doors and explored the inside. We were a little confused by the fact that we were the only people there, but we kept opening doors and ended up outside at the top tower of the fortress… the highest point in Cortona. We only learned when we tried to go to a bathroom at the bottom that we weren’t supposed to be in that area at all…. Whoops. But some of the men apparently working on one area saw us and didn’t really stop us, so we have no regrets.

We also popped in to a convent for an impromptu midday prayer where the nuns sang some breathy, beautiful prayers. If I had a euro for the number of masses and random religious services I’ve been to and will go to here in Italy, I would be in possession of a lot of gelato.

After basking in the sun for a bit, we left dear Cortona to hop on the train to Castiglione del Lago where we would have some seafood, which is pretty rare for us so far. It was a 20-minute walk or so from the station to the lake but dipping my toes in the water was well worth it. I got pasta with homemade egg noodles and 4 types of seafood from the lake and some delicious grilled vegetables. I wish I could have had more time in this cute little lake town.

A perfectly restful yet adventurous weekend with new friends.

Basta. Alla prossima.