Day 4 iRomiti

This morning started with an 8am alarm for another beautiful run around the marina. I wanted to make sure I was back in time to shower and get ready for breakfast as I knew it was going to be yummy and ends at 10:30. We sat outside in the shade and chatted with a lady from Virginia. She asked what my plans were for the day and we told her we hoped to go on an adventure to an art class, and told her a bit of my story. She encouraged me to at least drive there and we said we would. After breakfast we went to the reception and the guy there was a bit busy, explaining his reason for not hearing out exactly why I needed to call the iRomiti, but he did call and yes, someone answered. They told him they were busy and to call back after 4pm. So confirmed, someone was there, but no confirmation they were still expecting us. (Note: Lindsay thought he was a telemarketer...LOL...I wish he had told her why he was calling)

We decided to go ahead and pack up and say farewell to Rapallo, just in case we didn't have a place to stay tonight, that would give us time to get back on the road to head toward San Gimingnano. Our GPS estimated just over a two hour drive time.  As we headed out, we again went through tunnel after tunnel, guessing maybe around 50 or more for our trip in and out of Rapallo. The speed limit is 110 KPH and I stuck to it as that was a comfortable speed for me. The GPS in the car was still talking and FINALLY Guy got out the manual to see how to shut it down. That was gonna get on my last nerve and it had to stop. It did.

The drive was easy and we saw some beautiful scenery. Guy, for an instant, thought he saw snow on the mountains, but instead it was white marble being mined. I couldn't take a picture, and I couldn't possibly describe it, but I found it to be sad as the long zig zagging roads lined the huge mountainside, peeling away nature to get to the treasure. Guy said he was sure they'd been mining it since Roman times. I told him he was crazy and so he wiki'd it. Yep, it had been mined since Roman times. Darn him...factoid boy strikes again. We were seeing the famous Carrara marble in it's purest form. Wiki says there are over 500 mines dotting the Apuan Alps and over half of them mined out and closed. Probably an interesting view from a satellite. 

As we made our way now off the beaten path, we were definitely seeing parts of Italy that most tourists probably don't see. The Apuan Alps are gorgeous and we were headed straight for them. The roads started getting tinier and tinier and eventually more like a one way street. We did this, well, for a very long time. My palms began to sweat and my chest started to feel tight. A panic attack was knocking on my door. Not because we'd drop off a huge cliff and die, but the road was next to the mountainside and the rail was close and it was very claustrophobic. Remember the scene is "The Holiday" where Cameron Diaz is in England in the tiny car on a tiny street and the car approaches her and she squeals "Please don't hit meeeeeeeee". Yeah something like that. At one point there were two tunnels just big enough for one car to go through. Dark and narrow. I just can't really explain it unless you had been with us. We didn't meet anyone, but if we had, someone would have had to have backed up...out of the tiny long dark tunnel. Next we saw a beautiful green lake that had a very large dam and for a moment took us back to some of our sights in New Zealand. As the GPS was still hanging in there, we only made one wrong turn and of course on the tiny road it was several back and forths until we could point in the other direction. Thank you God above for an automatic transmission. He knew this road and I would meet today and he definitely took care of me. Once turned around we went where the GPS told us to go and we ended at a dead end with just a foot bridge. We backed up and Guy pulled the map up with Google maps. We could see the road we were on and we could see the iRomiti, but didn't know for sure how to get there. Just then a truck drove by and an Italian man, who spoke no English, told us (we think) no, can't go up there. So we went back into the town and found a restaurant bustling with people. There were at least 15 people in there, including the local police, and horray, someone spoke enough English to tell us that yes, we were headed in the right direction and no, that wasn't a foot bridge. We were to drive over it.  Silence. Guy, at this point, looks at me and says, if this were a submarine museum we were going to, you'd be so mad at me right now. He was right. It was my idea to come here, so he was off the hook from any kind of repercussions.

Buckling in we headed for the foot bridge that supposedly our car would go over. Our modern car has sensors when you get too close to something. Yeah, it sounded like an air raid. Up and over the tiny bridge we are now on a dirt road, with what else but a couple of hairpin switchbacks. When we turned one corner we saw men working and a little black Jeep. There was a blonde woman in it. It HAD TO BE LINDSAY. And it was!! She came over and apologized she had to run to the post office for a mold we were going to use tomorrow, so she said only two more really bad turns and we'd be there.The road was just two poured concrete strips I was driving on. Lord have mercy on me at that moment. THIS is the part that I will not drive down again. Lindsay said Steven will drive us down it on Friday. 

When we arrived, we didn't think anyone was there. Guy decided to walk around and I just sat on the steps in the shade trying to recuperate from what had just happened to me. Alas, there was another young British couple here by the pool and Guy chatted with them. Apparently some people just walk up the hill or have Steven come pick them up. Gah, who knew? I think life here is pretty relaxed, and the hill and roads are nothing to them. If only to feel this comfortable on these roads....

Now, the iRomiti. Steven is from the US originally and LIndsay is from the UK. Steve left the US in his twenties to study his art and never went back. Still yet to know his last name, but per our conversation tonight he has his artwork in galleries around the world. He is a glass blower. I'm intrigued. He did have a home near Lucca, hince his connection to the area and finding this place - in absolute ruin. They restored it from the ground up. I asked if they had to abide by Italian rules for the remodel and she said absolutely. It has been open and functioning for three years, but it took 11 years from the time the land was purchased to the time they completed the project. I can only imagine the time and tears it took to build this place. It is an old monastery and I'm currently in the chapel area. The ceilings are all wooden beams and the walls are stucco and exposed brick. It has a minimalistic feel with the furniture and fixtures, and has no tv nor air conditioning. It has a cool slightly damp feel like you'd experience in a tour of an old castle. The kitchen is big and gorgeous with an Italian villa flair like you'd expect. I feel like the adventure to remodel this would have been like the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun".  I can't imagine their patience. But the end result is exactly what I would have hoped for had I been the one to restore it. Simply amazing craftsmanship.

We unpacked most of our bags and I'm leaving my big one out in the car. I'll just open it up and grab what I need. This will be a place of relaxed clothes and hair. Of course with just one day of class, I will only be able to learn some basics of torch work, but when Lindsay gave me a tour of the art studio, a few of the items she had out - that we would try to learn - are super cool. SO EXCITED for tomorrow and our adventure tonight. Lindsay said there are two other couples here and a friend of theirs from town was going to venture up tonight for pizza in their outdoor wood burning oven. Around 8pm. 

Guy and I read by the pool, but when the sun went down behind the mountain it got a bit cool, so we headed for the terrace that was still in the sun. Guy was telling me about the history of the area that Steven had shared with him. During WWII, the Germans built the tiny little one-way road we drove in on and actually had ammunition stored in one of his buildings here on the property. The Italian resistance was heavy in this area causing problems for the Germans, so in retaliation, just one mountain over, in the town of Santa Anna, the Germans pretty much gathered up all the children, women and elderly and killed hundreds of them in horrific ways. So Guy is totally intrigued about the WWII history in this area. I'm glad, because I'm going to owe him for this little side adventure. ;)

Now for dinner. It was so much fun. We went down about 8pm and Lindsay was making pizzas. While at the pool Guy pointed out the dough raising in a bowl outside in the sun, so we were excited to try it. The pizza was thin and crunchy and we had several toppings to choose from. We all would take a piece or two and then wait for the next pizza to be ready. Even tho stuffed, dessert was a lemon custard with peaches and cherries. The night went by in a flash as we all sat on a table outside chatting about politics, the US, the UK and Italy. Before we knew it, it was nearly 11pm and we all carried in the dishes and offered to help, but they told us to head to bed and they'd see us in the morning around 8:30 or 9. 

So what started out as a very difficult day, ended with a day spent with very interesting people, very interesting conversation and delicious food. Memories we wouldn't have gotten any other way. So far, it has totally been worth the drive. I can't wait for tomorrow. Glass class for me and Steven hinted he might take Guy out for a drive around the area. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Ciao from Tuscany.