Day Five: Tuscany Or Bust!

I headed out of Genoa at 9 am, determined to take the shore road down to Livorno. First things first: the Mediterranean is absolutely, flat out gorgeous! The water is much clearer than I expected, but the waterfronts in all the cities are marred by heavy commercial and industrial use. But outside the cities? Spectacular views from rolling hills, punctuated by roads the swoops and climb up the hillsides before diving down into the next valley. It really is something to see.

But after 2 hours or more of crawling along, I had gone all of 25 miles. Time for the autostrada. This highway is a marvel of engineering. In this part of the country, it is little more than an unending procession of tunnels and trestles, constructed in such a way as to make the entire roadway remain at one elevation. Sadly, the Italian engineering that designed this was not so great at telling time and temperature. As I was drifting through the coastal towns, the digital clocks and thermometers varied wildly from place to place. I can see why the Italians were thrilled when Mussolini made the trains run on time!

I got off the highway at Pisa, but it was just a gritty city with a famous tower, so I continued on to Livorno, which is just like Pisa, only larger and without the tower. But my perseverance paid off, as I finally broke out of the city and found the road became an enchanting seaside drive that reminded me of the California coastal highway south of Monterey.

But now it was time to head inland, up into Tuscany. This is what I had been waiting for. And I was not to be disappointed. The land rose gently up from the sea to much higher hills inland. Not anything as high or impressive as the Alps, but mile upon mile of rolling hills and green valleys. The Tuscan forebears obviously knew the old maxim about taking the high ground to protect against attack, because all of the towns are on the highest ground around with virtually no communities in the valleys in between.

To get around, the roads all wend their way uphill through a series of switchbacks and hairpins until they reach the top, then plunge downward again to the inevitable stream or rivulet below. Then across a small bridge and start climbing again. If you enjoy driving, these roads are immensely entertaining. It's all 2d and 3rd gear work for the most part, with first used occasionally and 4th sparingly. 5th gear? Fugheddabowdit!

The road I took brought me to Volterra, an ancient walled city on the highest peak around. There are lots of pictures in the attachment. Volterra has the feel of a feudal society about it, except for the Coop supermarket right outside the walls. Here, you can understand that the people were all dependent on the local duc for protection against the savages from the next valley over.

From Volterra, I headed for the farmhouse where I will be staying for the next week. And then I got lost. Once again, the road signs are excellent, but the towns were too small to appear on my map. But by keeping the sun at my back and by engaging in a very entertaining conversation with a local fire chief in English, French, Spanish and Italian (!), I was able to blunder my way here.

Here is an absolutely lovely old Tuscan farm literally out in the middle of nowhere. It's just what I wanted - perfect in every way for letting the ambiance of Tuscany surround me and sink into my bones. Tomorrow, Paul Jaray is going to meet up with me and take me for a tour of Tuscany. I can't wait!

For photos from today's journey, please visit this link:  Day Five