An Italian summer
We've been living our dreamlife this year in Italy. The perfect temperatures of the fist days of summer, cold aperols in the evening breeze and homemade pasta for every dinner. Warm skin, gelatos and beautiful drives through the undulating hills of the Tuscan countryside. This is our postcard from an Italian summer. I admit I always had a crush on Italy and we dream of moving there someday. I guess we could easily get used to la dolce vita. As there is something so magical about this place... the way the traditions are kept, the rich culinary history, the ever so charming pastel coloured houses, the vintage doorways, the clotheslines and the well dressed nonnas. The small shops, restaurants and family owned businesses. The way the Italians respect their riposo time and decide to close their shops and go rest or have lunch with their families. That's the real slow living...in the Italian way. And although finding ourselves in the middle of an empty square at lunch time, with two hungry kids and only some panini shops opened, was not so great during our Italian trip, I still have to say that I admire and respect their lifetyle. In the end, after a few days with cheap pizza slices for lunch, we got used to this "medditerranean lifestyle" and had our lunch earlier in a proper restaurant.
So we started our journey in Bologna. Four adults, two kids and pretty tight itinerary from Emilia Romagna to Tuscany and the Ligurian coast. The perfect combination for discovering all the hidden beauties of these regions, just beyond the classical tourist hotspots, which were clearly overcrowded. The small fishing villages, the family restaurants and the empty beaches at the end of the coastline. This is the Italian summer that we were looking for.
Bologna: tangerine walls and the perfume of linden flowers
a cool evening breeze in the garden surrounded by linden trees at Savoia Hotel and Bologna had our hearts forever. So much that we stopped for lunch in this beautiful garden once again at the end of our journey. The city in itself is very pretty, with all its tangerine coloured walls and cosy terraces with large canvas umbrellas hidden between the large and crowded piazzas and the medieval towers.
Florence : il dolce far niente
just like Venice, the Tuscan capital is a city of eternal beauty. Serene and enchanting. Breathing art and history every step of the way. But just like Venice, Florence fell in the tourist trap and is quite difficult to enjoy all of its beauty because of the thousands of tourist. We did however find our way to explore the city. It's true that when you visit a historical city with the kids, you don't put any art museum on your must see list, so no Uffizi and Michelangelo for us. Instead we booked and airbnb in the historical builing with a view over Ponte Vecchio and woke up at 7 o'clock every morning to enjoy a bit of real florentine life, without the crowds. And it was magical. The small shops opening their doors, serving coffee and fresh parties. The artists sketching the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore in Piazza del Duomo. Ending the morning with a capuccino at Caffè Gilli, before starting our roadtrips through the Tuscan countryside. Just driving through the green hills on the way to Siena. Stopping for ice cream in San Gimignano and watching the sun set over the beautiful Val d'Orcia.
Pisa: Romanesque art and oriental influences
There's more to Pisa then the leaning tower and the thousands of tourist trying to take the perfect picture in Piazza dei Miracoli. Once you enter the city you realize there's a great difference between Florence and Pisa, although they're less than 100km away. The buildings and the leanders, the different architectural style and the oriental culinary influences make you feel like in a Southern mediterranean coastal city, although geographically your're still in Tuscany.
Ligurian Coast : basil ice-creams and colourful parasols
Contrary to what everyone might expect, when we think about our days on the Ligurian coast our mind doesn't go back to Cinque Terre. Not at all. It's the small fishing village of Portovenere that stole our hearts. With only a few tourists, little ceramic shops and that amazing Focacceria on Via Capellini. The pink pastel houses, the fishing boats and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks every time a bigger boat approached the small coast.
The famous 5 villages suspended over the sea also have their charm, but you must make an effort to forget all those bright coloured cliff homes that are invading the instagram (because the colours are not so bright in reality) and to make your way throught thousands of tourists to get off the train and catch a seat at a terrace with sea view in Manarola. Luckily all the tourists are usually tired and with bags full of souvenirs and cameras full of photos, by the time they reach the last village, Monterosso al Mare. So this is where we could really enjoy some quiet time. On the beach, eating basil lasagna and drinking aperols under the shade of coloured canvas umbrellas. This is also the place where we discovered the basil lasagna, so it will definitely stay in the family's travel journal forever.
And then there's Portofino. Like an old Italian romantic song. Subtle and sophisticated. The pink sunset light and that drive between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino are probably the most beautiful memories we have from the Italian Riviera. The restaurants with white tableclothes and chilled wine, the hanging buntings and the small boats floating on the calm waters of the golf. Portofino is not only about fancy yachts. If you're lucky enough to visit it when there's no famous celebrity around you'll discover a magical place that Guy de Maupassant described perfectly:
"a small village, Portofino, stretches crescent-shaped along the edge of this calm bay.”