Avery woke up to the call of the donkey, popped his head up and said “The donkey is calling us. He is waiting for us, all three of us, to go feed him.” Our kids have become very attached to the animals, and apparently the animals to them. Even as we were leaving Casa Rossa a couple of hours later, we took photos of the kids, sad to leave, with the dogs.
We were on our way to Pisa, but first we drove around to the other side of the nearby lake – Lago Massaciuccoli. The town on the other side is called Torre del Lago Puccini. I guess they tacked their famous composer’s name on to the end of the pre-existing name of the town, so it’s easy to guess that this is where Puccini lived. He was born in Lucca but from the age of 31 on lived in Torre del Lago. There is a huge (ugly) amphitheater set up next to the lake where they host Pucccini’s operas in the summer. It was a quick stop before we headed onward to Pisa.
Campo dei Miracoli -- Field of Miracles |
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Upon arriving in the Field of Miracles, everyone was immediately able to see the leaning tower. I forced Josh to take the pre-requisite photos of his family holdng up the tower. We picked up some provisions at a local alimentari and had a picnic on the lawn with the best of view of the Tower. The Duomo and the Baptistry are quite beautiful and ornate, but we didn’t buy tickets to go inside. The whole place is sort of surreal – but very much like a Disney park attraction. The Field of Miracles with its Torre, Duomo and Baptistry sitting on its own on a grassy lawn is completely disconnected from the rest of the town, and from reality.
After our picnic we strolled out of the piazza and back to our car. I stopped with the girls to get a frozen yogurt while Josh marshaled Avery back to the car without a treat. Once again, the sweet boy who woke up talking about the donkeys in the morning, had now been hitting and kicking all of us as we sat having our picnic. It’s clear Avery has a very limited range – it’s about 2 hours tops.
Now, we headed south for the drive to the Maremma region of Tuscany. We had plans to visit a house we are considering renting for part of the summer. It was about a two-hour drive. Despite not napping, Avery handled himself quite well in the car, as did the girls. I think the movie helped. We met the agent in the hamlet of Marsiliana and followed her to the house. It was better than advertised. We liked the layout and the property. This property, as well as a dozen others between Rome and Florence, is owned by the Corsini family and rented to guests. The history of the Corsini family dates back to 14th century Florence, and in 1730, Lorenzo Corsini became Pope Clement XII – as in the Trevi Fountain Pope. The house is set amidst a vineyard from which the Principe Corsini wines are harvested. The kids had a ball playing on the lawn and running around. It was hard to get them to leave, grass stains and all, especially after the babysitter showed up with a couple of dogs.
Capalbio sculpture |
As we left the house, we drove up the rode to Capalbio, the medieval village set up high on a hill. The town has sweeping views over the pretty landscape, as well as over the sea, which is only 15 km away. We were hoping to find a snack bar and take a Panini break, but the town was dead and we didn’t find anything open. We had been thinking about staying in Capalbio for the night, or possibly the nearby sea resort town of Orbetello, but with Rome only an hour and 40 minutes away, it was tempting to sleep at home too. It was 6pm and we couldn’t go out to dinner anywhere until 7:30pm anyway (this is Italy), so we opted to drive home. The fact that Avery hadn’t napped today aided our decision.
So, we ended up in Rome but promised to continue our “vacation” from home. The Etruscan towns we’d wanted to visit on our way back from Capalbio (Cerveteri and Tarquinia), can just as easily be seen by making a short trip from Rome.
By the time we arrived back at Michele Mercati 24, the kids were dumped into a bath to scrub up, and subsequently dragged their tired bodies straight to bed. Their plea for panini had been answered when we stopped at the Autogrill on the way home. Josh ordered a couple of pizzas from Pariolini for dinner and we enjoyed them along with a cold beer.
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