Orbetello Not Portobello

October 19, 2003-Lucky Lucca
(photos:Basilica and tower,
One man band)

The Ciminis didn’t take the sun. It came back today. I think it didn’t come out because it was sad they’d gone home. We were back in shirtsleeve weather.

Our morning started with a chorus of birds and their rendition of Italian opera and Italian rock and roll. We also got acquainted with squeezable tea, Oscar, and Nutella. The birds outside our window were ecstatic over the worms the rain brought out. Last night we dined to Italian crooners but this morning they piped in more energetic fare for breakfast. Evidently Lipton makes a teabag that has two strings attached to one tab. When the tab is torn you can pull the strings causing the bag to fold up, contract, and squeeze. Oscar was the curly haired blond two-year-old son of German guests. He seemed to have the run of the inn. Nutella is a chocolate morning spread that tastes like frosting. David loves it. I suggested combining American and Italian culture for a peanut butter-Nutella blend ala Resse’s peanut butter cups.

The rain yesterday was good for something besides birds and watering fields parched by a scorching summer. It washed our bird-pooped car, which we loaded up and drove ten minutes to see Lucca dodging long-distance bikers all the way. I think they’re getting in shape for the Venice race. There are 6,000 entered. I’m glad we missed it. We also seemed to have missed the 25th anniversary of the pope in Rome.

Lucca has a tiny old city surrounded by ramparts. It’s a little over a half mile across. No cars are allowed within the walls. It’s known as the birthplace of Puccini. What we didn’t know was that it’s street market takes up the entire town. It was the Antique Road Show Italiano. This wasn’t a flea market. The merchandise was intriguing. Among the items for sale were old cameras, typewriters, lace, household goods, and exquisite furniture. There was even entertainment. A one-man band accompanied by a boom box played “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and other American favorites.

At Duomo St. Martine, mass was being said. We stayed while a nun read scripture and a truly heavenly choir and soloist chanted in Latin. The church was built on the site of a Roman forum during the 11-14 centuries. It’s Pisan-Romanesque in design. Pisan refers to the type of Romanesque style in the area of Pisa.

Under-rated Pisa

We crossed the Arno River in search of that ubiquitous tower built on a salt marsh. Everyone told us Pisa was a drive-through site. We took more time there and are glad we did. We approached the tower from the side of the basilica and duomo. I didn’t even know they were there. The only photos I’ve seen of the tower have made it seem as if it was standing alone in an open space. From our angle it was an incongruous contrast to the mass and symmetry of its neighboring buildings. It’s odd enough on its own but juxtaposed to its surroundings the tilt is even more extreme. We ate “old food” (leftovers) on the steps of a monument and gazed at the tower. We finished the matzo we bought in Pitigliano and the salmon pate.

Our trouble began when we found an Internet café and sent the last emails. AOL invalidated our password. It happened three times before when we were traveling around the world and mailed too many addresses at once. They see it as spam. We had to figure out how to contact them. We didn’t have the number for AOL customer service and couldn’t find it on line. No one here knew what we were talking about when we asked about AOL Italy. Evidently it doesn’t exist. We had a long distance phone card for the U.S. but it won’t take 800#’s so we couldn’t use it to call information. We had a SPRINT card but the access number for Italy had changed. We needed to call Italian information but it was all Italian. Our solution was to go to a hotel in search of someone who spoke English. The desk clerk was helpful but said he only had AT&T numbers. When he got out his list of long distance carriers he was surprised to see SPRINT listed. David bought a local phone card to call SPRINT in Italy so they could get us the number for AOL in the U.S. That accomplished, he called AOL who told us we had one hundred five recipients in our travel group. David told them what we were doing and they’ve lifted the spam block and gave us a new password. Oy!

We wanted to stop south of Rome but the AOL glitch delayed us an hour. We’re now at the Restaurant and Hotel Cacciatore in Ortebello. There was a wedding reception in progress but we were assured it would soon end. It’s a resort of sorts by the sea and a poor sister to Portofino. Everything here is seafood or pizza. David couldn’t face another pizza so we asked a restaurant owner if he could prepare pasta with no pork or shellfish. He asked if we were kosher. It was easier to say yes then to explain. Then he wanted to know if we were Israelis. In any case, he served us artichokes in olive oil and penne pasta arabiata. It was a tangy red sauce. Actually, the red sauce here is more orange. Bella!

Toby