Flashback to Italy

I recently visited Charleston, SC, traveling with someone I met on my tour of Tuscany and Umbria last fall, so Italy was on my mind as soon as she greeted me at the airport.

Then, the Italian cypress trees reminded me of Tuscany and all the cypress trees we saw there. On our walking tour in Charleston the first day, the tour guide called them “Italian Cypress trees,” so maybe they are a specific type of Cypress. It was the first time I remember seeing Cypress trees in the States (perhaps because I have not spent much time in the deep South).

Then I saw shutters that reminded me of the “eyelash” shutters in Lucca, Italy.

And then we attended a Luncheon Lecture – Behind the Gates: Beloved Gardens of Charleston, which was part of the Festival of Houses and Gardens. Glen Gardner (love the name), is a landscape architect, and he presented pictures of local gardens and talked about garden design. He also shared that he had studied in Italy and returns regularly for inspiration as well as buying pots, planters and other garden accessories. He specifically mentioned visiting Lucca and Florence, two places I visited last fall.

I am by nature a connector, and I love when a new experience connects me to a past experience.

After the lecture, I asked Glen if he was familiar with Sergio Ricceri’s terra cotta studio near Florence. He was not, but said he is going to Italy in the fall and will be sure to check out Sergio’s workshop.

Italian marble quarries

Our first excursion outside Lucca was to the Carrara Marble Quarries, about an hour’s drive northwest. I had never given any thought to where marble comes from, so I was awestruck when I learned that what I thought was snow on the mountain top was actually a mountain of marble.

We were greeted by the company’s owner and given hard hats.

And then we walked inside the quarry. As in the limestone quarry in Les Baux, I was entranced by how high the quarry walls are. In this working quarry, we learned about the history of marble and watched marble being cut into huge slabs.

Marble being cut.

This is the blade used to cut the marble from the mountain.

Looking up along the saw blade, inside the quarry.

A wall of marble

The doors of Lucca, Italy

I found lots of interesting doors in Lucca, Italy, in different colors, shapes, heights and widths.

And this lovely door knocker.

The “eyelash” shutters of Lucca

The shutters in Lucca caught my eye because there were unlike any I had ever seen, and they reminded me of eyelashes. There were so whimsical, as though the windows were fluttering their eyeslashes at me.

True love lasts a lifetime

True love lasts a lifetime, Emma Thompson declares in Love Actually, (my second favorite movie) referring to her love of Joni Mitchell, a love I share.

My favorite movie, though, is Dirty Dancing, and I have loved it since it was first released in 1987. Dancing-in-the-basement was part of my teen years in my working-class neighborhood in Detroit, and, well, Patrick Swayze as a dancing, working-class hero hooked me.

Soon after the movie was released, a woman I knew through work wanted me to apply for a job in Atlanta, where she lived. Atlanta didn’t particularly attract me, but this woman had grown up in Houston, near Patrick Swayze, and had taken dance classes with Patrick’s mother. She actually knew Patrick Swayze!

I said that if she could arrange lunch with Patrick I would move to Atlanta (my decision-making criteria was fairly superficial). She could not pull that off, but a few months later, this picture arrived in the mail.

The inscription is faded; it reads “To Madeline, Best wishes, Patrick Swayze.”

I was in heaven. A signed photo from Patrick Swayze. I have carried this picture with me through all my moves and placed it on my desk at every job. True love does last a lifetime.

All of this came back to me when I was in Lucca, Italy, buying a scarf at Zazzi Dalamano. Vladimir is one of the company’s owners, and he was in the store the day I bought my scarf. When Vladimir discovered I was from Michigan, he gasped and said his favorite singer is from Michigan.

“Who is that?” I asked.

“Madonna,” he said, with a sigh that reminded me of how I say Patrick Swayze’s name—somewhat dreamy and wistful.

The person I was travelling with, also from Michigan, actually lived near Madonna and went to the same high school although not at the same time. This information brought another gasp from Vladimir—his connection to Madonna had just gotten closer.

He then told us the story of how he has loved Madonna since he was eleven years old and how he took the train to Rome (about three hours away) to see Madonna in concert when he was eleven. He didn’t say he used his First Communion money, but where else would an eleven-year-old get money to buy a train ticket and a concert ticket?

Anyway, he told his mother he was going to Rome to see Madonna, and she didn’t believe him. I can imagine her rolling her eyes and saying, “Of course you are going to take the train to Rome to see Madonna,” her voice dripping with skepticism.

But he did it, and he has not missed a Madonna concert since then.

I offered to try to connect with Madonna and have her visit his store the next time she is in Italy.

“Oh, no, don’t do that,” he said. “I would have a heart attack and die if Madonna walked into my store.”

Okay, then, I will try to get a signed picture.

True love does last a lifetime.

Sights on the streets of Lucca

I was in Lucca, Italy, for six days and walked the twisting, turning streets (and often felt lost, although I was following Goodle maps). I enjoyed the sights along the streets and fell in love with the City.

A canal runs through the city.

One of the early gates into the city. Later the city walls were moved out to enlarge the city.

A sculptor on the street.

The streets of Lucca twist and turn.

Towers were once a symbol of wealth.

I thought there might be something magical or miraculous about the water in this fountain, but it is just water the locals drink.

Puccini’s hometown

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), was born in Lucca and spent a substantial part of his life there.

Statue of Giacomo Puccini in front of the Puccini Museum

In a joint venture between art students and professional artists, twelve store shutters were painted with the women of Puccini’s operas.

Unfortunately, the exhibit was not meant to be permanent and some of the shutters have been painted over, but here are the ones I noticed as I walked the streets of Lucca.

Next stop, Tuscany, Italy

After twelve days in France, I flew to Florence for an Overseas Adventure Travel (O.A.T.) tour of Tuscany and Umbria. The tour began in Lucca, a walled city about an hour west of Florence.

I arrived three days before the tour began, and I used those days to explore Lucca.

On my first day, I took a walk on the top of the walls and also visited the Palazzo Pfanner, a home and garden inside the walls. Even though it was November, there were plenty of flowers and lemons (I stopped counting the lemon trees at 25. I thought maybe they used all those lemons for limoncello, but I was told they just like lemons).

Palazzo Pfanner as seen from on top of the city wall. Those are all lemon trees lining the walkways.

I stayed at the San Luca Palace Hotel inside the walls. It was a great location and a wonderful hotel. The staff was extremely welcoming and helpful. Since I was on my own those first few days, I appreciated their suggestions and directions. I highly recommend staying at this hotel because their attention to service was outstanding.

I arrived in early afternoon, and even though it was not meal time, one of the staff offered to make me something to eat (a delicious ham and cheese panini).

Then, I needed a manicure, and the Hotel receptionist recommended a nearby salon. Even though no one in the small salon spoke English, we were able to communicate through gestures, and I got the best manicure I have ever had!

Day one in Italy was the beginning of a wonderful adventure.

St. Donato’s gate.