Meeting new friends

It often happens when one is living abroad, that one is thrown together with other co-nationals just because they happen to be in the same area. Such was the case with my new friends, Frank, Deborah and me. My good friends, Rosemary and Joe Cooley, are good friends with Frank and Deborah and had spoken often to me about them.  They own a house and live in Tuscany for half the year. They also run a small tour business. Rosemary and Joe have been very keen that I should get to know Frank and Deborah. When it became clear that I would be staying in their vicinity, Rosemary orchestrated our getting together. So e-mails went back and forth and it was finally determined that they would come and collect me in Chiusi. I would spend the day and the night with them and they would return me to the station in Chiusi the following day. And so, it happened.

Local entertainment at the sagra

On a bright Sunday morning, a black Pugeot with French plates pulled up in front of the station. We made quick introductions and loaded my bag into the car. We were headed to a sagra, a kind of village festival that typically celebrates a local product. We were going to Vivo d’Orcia on the slopes of mount Amiata, for just such a festival celebrating chestnuts and porcini mushrooms. The village is in the province of Siena; and, in order  to reach it, we passed through some iconically Tuscan countryside. We joined a group of Frank and Deborah’s friends and neighbors for a luncheon in the local community center. All the dishes featured either chestnuts or porcini mushrooms, or both. We sat at long communal tables and chatted amiably while waiting for our food. Members of the local community cooked and served everything. The food was simple but delicious. Outside there was music, dancing and stalls selling various local specialties. There were two huge fires where chestnuts were being roasted. The air was redolent with the perfume of sweet roasted chestnuts. It was very special.We said goodbye to Frank and Deborah’s neighbors and resumed our journey.

Roasting chestnuts

Our next stop was Pienza, a beautiful Tuscan hill town, made notable by the enhancements made by Pope Pius II Piccolomini, who wanted to create a kind of model municipality. He also re-baptized the town with his own name. The town, however, is lovely. On this particular Sunday afternoon, there were a large number of tourists, mostly Italian, strolling through the narrow lanes. We had time to visit the cathedral thoroughly and admire some of the other architecture. While sitting outside for a drink afterwards, there was a noticeable change in the weather. Clouds rolled in and the wind picked up. It seemed like a sign that we should move on. We drove back to Cetona, where I was lodged in a lovely locanda, a type of inn. We parted for a few hours and were going to meet for drink outside before having dinner. The weather changed our plans. It began to rain, so dinner was inside a very nice local restaurant. It turned out to be  a lovely day and a lovely dinner. I truly enjoyed meeting and spending time with Frank and Deborah. We swapped lots of ex-pat stories.  I think it would be fair to say that we were kindred spirits. ( There are no pictures, because my phone ran out of juice)

View from Monte Cetona

In the morning, we spent a few hours together seeing some of the local sights connected with St. Francis of Assisi. His first foundation in Tuscany was in Cetona and he spent a significant amount of time there. Central Italy is a bit like the Mid-Atlantic States. Many towns have a “St. Francis slept here” story, much the way we do with George Washington. It was a cold and blustery morning and it was very evocative to stand on this mountain where St. Francis lived and prayed. We finished with a light lunch in town at a cantina owned by one of the local wine producers. Frank and Deborah drove me back to Chiusi where we said our goodbyes. They left and I boarded the train for Rome, to begin the last leg of my Italian adventure.

Frank, Deborah and me at lunch