Bolgheri & Florence, Day 12 + 13

I must admit that at times I felt a little old and prudish when I was in Italy. In comparison to North America the laws are very relaxed, as are the people's attitude towards them. Like a mother ready to scold her child, I felt the urge to warn people not to do certain things that appear so dangerous to me : son, you shouldn't drive 185 km on the highway, especially not when you insist on dangling your arm out the window! And wear a helmet when riding your bike, if only when speeding like a maniac between cars and scooters! And who let this kid jump into the water over and over when there are obviously a gazillion large rocks just below?

I was only in Italy for two weeks, but I did not see any accidents and, come to think of it, everything appeared to be far from chaos. Perhaps our North American laws are simply a little too uptight. Definitely. I can only assume that my attitude would loosen over time as well considering that, by the time I left, I probably would have jumped that cliff into the rocky water myself. But then again, it's hard to be uptight about anything when your life and work takes place in an environment like this one...

Our last two days in Italy were fabulous but we were nowhere near ready to leave. We toured vineyards and beaches in Bolgheri and explored Florence, where we did exactly what every tour book tells you not to do: we arrive in the city with no reservations to any of the important museums and galleries and not one organized activity. It was great anyway. I rejected the idea of reserving a ticket for a museum a month ahead of time, as is recommended by most tour books. That kind of planning will never be my thing. I like museums, they are important and often fascinating but there is no way that I will commit to doing something, during my vacation, a month before I leave for it. So we walked around, went for dinner and went home. Sometimes just looking around and not planning anything can be at the top of the most relaxing things to do.

For the record, cocktail hour is very lovely and civilized in Italy. Any glass of wine comes with a mini buffet or platter of tasty surprises, all of which were top quality, just what we needed on a sunny afternoon.

Who needs galleries anyway, in Florence, the beauty and architecture of the city is a museum in itself.

It can even be a little overwhelming. There is so much to see and no wide angle lens can capture it all. The only thing you can do to take it all in is look up.

I have a small confession to make. I started to feel very embarrassed about the food countdown a week into this. The truth is, it was often difficult to get anything to eat other than pizza or pasta. On the way back in the plane, I swore that it would be weeks before I touched another noodle. No more pizza, no pasta, no anchovies, no tomatoes, no olives, no bread, no artichokes. Now I'm craving sushi.

Italy Countdown, Day 13

Pizza: 6

Pasta: 9

Gelato: 9