Tuscany, The Etruscan Coast, Italy - A little R&R under the Tuscan Sun.

As silly as it sounds, we have to build in vacations to our grand vacation. Filling every day with adventures grows tiresome, so it's nice to find a place off the beaten track to do a whole lotta nothing. That time is now, and we are spending the next couple weeks chilling under the Tuscan Sun. Our first week of R&R is in Livorno along the Etruscan Coast (history lesson - the Etruscans settled the Tuscany region in 700BC before the rise of the Roman Empire).

The drive from Florence to our place in Livorno was eerily similar to the drive from Sacramento to San Francisco, complete with rolling hills, orchards, and those power poles that look like Space Invaders marching through the fields.

Our Airbnb is perfectly Tuscan, with an outdoor patio, and clay tile everywhere. The place was once the servants quarters for a 19th century mansion that owned vast lands for sheep farming. Amazingly, a sizable chunk of ground is still in place to make the perfect outdoor playground for Zane and Bryce, complete with ping pong, a huge grass field for soccer, a tennis court, a pool, several friendly cats (one of which was clearly suffering from some kind of vertigo, and another that Bryce named Nudger), a flock of free ranging chickens, a friendly deer, and a trampoline! Boy did we luck out again.

This is Nudger 2 (or Nudgilio). Very friendly villa cat.

Zane may have a future as an Irish dancer (see bottom left photo)

This is all the rage in Italy. These are hollow chocolate eggs with a surprise toy inside. It's a Pasqua (Easter) thing. 

Instead of a detailed day by day account of our time along the coast, I think I'll just hit the highlights...

1. Grocery Shopping: First grocery shopping trip in an American sized grocery store in... well, it's been too long to remember. New Zealand, I think.

Top pic... The grocery store had a whole section dedicated to the seasonal chocolate egg market. 

2. Kite Surfing: We stumbled upon the kite surfing capital of Italy near Vada and Cecina. It was crazy windy (a storm was just off the horizon), and the surfers were out in force. Autumn had a field day taking pictures of these daredevils.

This is a particularly captivating shot from Autumn.

3. ‎Bolgheri: We visited the small town of Bolgheri perched up on a hill. It's the prototypical one lane old timey town with a center square that everyone hangs out on. On the way we stopped in La California, a town of no particular consequence other than it has a cool name.

This was a gnarly 300 year old olive tree hanging over the roadway. 

Funny how designers will fake the exposed brick behind stucco look in the states, when it's just the way it is everywhere in Italy. 

Couldn't resist. While the world has so much to offer, our hearts will always be in California. Home is a wonderful place. 

4. Homecooking: Ever since the new year (all throughout Asia) we have been seriously hampered in preparing a home cooked meal. We finally had a decent grocery store and fully equipped kitchen to be self sustained. We only ate out once in five days.

Under the Tuscan Sun... A highlight of this stint was getting back to a little home cooking and outdoor BBQ.

5. ‎Zane finished 4th grade math! Stay tuned for ceremonial burning of his workbook.

6. ‎Autumn finished 8th grade science! No ceremonial burning, just happy dances.

7. Lucca: We rented bikes and road atop the city walls surrounding the old town of Lucca. We also dropped in to town to peddle thru the narrow, curvy, and carless roadways. Lucca is a particularly charming town. It is like a Baby Florence placed inside a bassinet just down the way from Mama Florence. The only thing missing is the artwork and that magnificent Duomo. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a cool day trip from Florence (possibly tacked on to nearby Pisa).

They have turned the top of the city wall in to a 4.5km long park with green space everywhere. It's really a great thing.

Nicole snapped this beauty from the top of the wall. Off in the distance is a snow capped mountain. 

There is a really cool center town "square" that is an oval. It was once an old Roman coliseum. 

Wrapped up our ride with a stop at a Gelato shop. Again, Nicole snapped this cool shot with the reflection of the buildings across the street. And the name is particularly cool as one of our favorite restaurants in the Napa Valley is called Bottega. 

8. ‎Terrazza Mascagni: Livorno is otherwise a completely charmless town (Lucca must have stolen all the charm). It's a working port town with grim looking people just going about their daily lives. Of our four hour stint in the heart of town, the only thing of note, and it's quite noteworthy, is the Terrazza Mascagni. This is a really well done checker boarded walking promenade along the Mediterranean coast.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers? 

Bryce can't resist a run through a flock of pigeons. 

9. ‎The Leaning Tower of Pisa: We had heard mixed reviews about visiting this world renowned landmark that has been defiled and mocked by millions of crafty photographers. Boy are we sure happy we went. The tower and adjacent cathedral are surrounded by a castle wall, and as you walk through the main entrance (after fending off the annoying souvenir hawkers), you can't help but be transfixed by the tower. It is impossibly leaning.

This is five degrees:

It doesn't look like much. But when it's applied to a 180ft tower of marble, you can't help but wonder how it doesn't topple over.

The tower is probably worth a visit even if it was bolt upright as it's quite fetching with it's symmetrical columns scaling up the side and topped with it's "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti" bells. But nudge it a bit, and it's definitely a one-of-a-kind worldly monument.

Little known fact (well at least it was to me), the tower is not just leaning, it's curved too. In 1178, after completing the first three levels, the tower was already starting to lean and construction was halted for 100 years. When the project continued, the geniuses at the time simply went straight up from there. All that additional weight and height made the tower tilt further, thus creating the curve. It really does add to the feeling of disorientation.

We hadn't planned to join in the cliche funny picture taking, but it's impossible not to join in the fun.

We plunked down a small fortune to climb the tower, and it sure was worth it. While it's not the tallest tower, nor does it have the best views, it's the ascent up the exceedingly worn marble spiral staircase that is most fun. As you spin from one side of the lean to the other, the indentations creep from side to side, and for parts of the journey upward, you're not actually gaining elevation.

Without an external reference, it's actually tough to capture how wacky it is in photos. After all, you can make anything lean in a camera if you just tilt it slightly...see, here is the Leaning Statue of  David:

He's still quite fetching even at an angle, huh? 

It's hard not to anthropomorphize the tower because it's so odd. As we left for the day and we looked back on the curved tower, it appears to be poking it's head out from behind the cathedral saying, "Hey guys, can you see me hiding behind this church? I'm right here. Behind this church. Hey! Where ya going? We're not done playing! Don't leave me!"

All for now...Next Stop: Siena Area