Lucca - week 4

I've spent the last 2 weeks blogging a little bit every day to catch up. Three days ago I was finally ready to publish. I hit "Publish Post" and everything was gone. Yes, gone! Not sure what happened but I just got the time and energy to retype it all again. Lesson learned................ publish as a I go, even if it's just a little:)

So, last time I left off with going to Benny and Esa's for homemade pizza and vino. Benny and Esa have this amazing remodeled farmhouse just outside the walls of Lucca (about 2 miles). It's, by no means fancy, but it's the authentic Tuscan farmhouse you'd see in a movie or in a travel magazine. Benny made 5 different kinds of pizza. He'd make one and we'd eat that while he made the next. Meanwhile, the vino is flowing. Georgia ran around the house picking up every picture frame, admiring Benny and Esa's family photos while Francesca played on a 300 year old oversized scale that sat in their kitchen (they collect old farmhouse antiques). Aric helped Benny by cutting thinly sliced tomatoes and mozzarella. I helped by drinking vino and chasing after the kids.
We sat (not all at once until the very last pizza) at their farm table that seats 10-12 people (very common here). After our bellies were full of incredible pizza we sat back and enjoyed one another's company. Shortly after, there was a knock at the door and in walked Jane and Ken with 2 different kinds of Italian desserts. It's now about 10:30pm (yes, the girls are starting to get a little too high maintenance ...........can't blame them!). Ken and Jane are a couple from the East Bay that moved to Lucca two years ago. This is where they've decided to spend their retired life. They don't speak a lick of Italian but seem to manage getting by with out using it (not sure how much the locals appreciate that).  We sat around with them for another hour before the girls finally hit their breaking point.
A couple days later Benny and Esa invited us to join them for "a concert at a villa". Yep, that's all we were told. We enjoy their company so much that we didn't think twice before replying yes. They picked us up just outside the walls at 5:45pm. It's the first time since we've been here that we had to "dress-up". As we were driving through beautiful winding roads up into the hills outside Lucca, Benny proceeds to tell us that this villa we are going to rents for $20,000-$30,000 a week.............. A WEEK! Holy cow, we could live off that for a year (ok, well not quite but we should be able to:) At this point we are still not sure of what kind of music we will be hearing. We arrive at the villa about 25 minutes later. Someone met us to open the iron gates. We walk up a gravel driveway lined with Italian cypress trees and covered with ivy draped arches. At the end of this pathway was an ancient church/chapel that was part of the villa. Surrounding the church was the main villa (15 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 2 dining rooms, and several living rooms), and several small villas (3-8 rooms) The central garden area was lit by candles as people served us wine, champagne, and appetizers. Benny and Esa gave us a tour of the grounds which consisted of a beautiful pool guarded by giant stone lions, tennis courts, and a beautiful olive orchard. Once the sun was completely set we were asked to step into the church for the concert. This is about the time when Francesca has had enough. She's known for her impeccable timing. Aric was invited to take Francesca into the main house to sit by the fire while I went into the church with Georgia, Benny and Esa. The church fit about 40 people and there were a few standing in the back (very intimate occasion). The church was lit by beautiful oversized candelabras (everywhere!). It was amazing. All of a sudden everyone is quiet and a dark handsome Italian man begins to sing...................opera. Now, I've never been one for opera but this was the most beautiful moment. The ambiance, the people, the place, and then to hear this amazing voice echo through an ancient church..........it brought me to tears and covered my body with goose bumps. It was just like the scene from Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to see the opera for the first time. It was so powerful it made her cry. Now, I'm still not one for opera, but that experience is one I will never forget and left a lasting impression on me. When the concert was over, I met Aric back inside the villa where he was exchanging numbers with one of the people who runs the villa. They do not have it rented through the winter due to the economy and needed someone there to watch over the place and pick the olives. (I forgot to mention the owners are English and go back to England during the winter.)
They offered this to us! Holy &*^%! We were beside ourselves! They asked us to come over the following Tuesday to discuss. So, now it's the following Tuesday................ we are running late (as usual). Aric is getting Francesca dressed and I am getting the diaper bag packed with diapers, snacks, toys etc. I hear Francesca start to cry and Aric say from the other room, "this outfit you picked out for her is a pain to get on!" Before we left I bought this adorable  outfit hand-made by a woman in Petaluma. It's adorable but a little tricky with it's buttons and ties (sounds foo-foo but trust me, it's cute!). Well, Aric did not know to undo the buttons and tie (he thought they were just decoration). When he pulled Francesca's arm through the sleeve, she began to cry and then her arm went limp. He ran into the living room and told me he thought he had dislocated her shoulder when he was pulling her arm though the sleeve. We called Benny who called an ambulance (they are free and you don't have to sit in the waiting room when you arrive at the ER), then we called the people at the villa and told them we wouldn't be making it. Moments later the ambulance arrives. We tried to explain the best we could in Italian what happened but found it better to just do charades. They had me hold her arm like it was in a sling and off we went. Georgia was silent. Both because she was amazed to be in an ambulance and because she was scared and worried for her sister (who was still crying). Once we arrived at the ER they took us right in. Thankfully so, because the ER was slammed with people. We were surrounded by at least 10 nurses all looking at her arm and speaking in Italian. It felt like they were saying, "What idiots! They dislocated their kids arm just getting them dressed..........ya right...........they beat their kids." Then they'd walk off and new nurses would show up. They'd mumble something, then look at us, then walk away again. Regardless, they were still very wonderful with Francesca and very concerned. Finally, the doctor arrived. He looked at her arm and said it was her elbow, not her her shoulder. He began to massage it and turn it (poor Francesca, she was screaming in pain). Then all of a sudden she stopped. They had us lay her down and hold her arm above her head for 5 minutes. After the five minutes was up, the doctor came back, held a cell phone in front of her and she grabbed it. Aric and I both started to cry. She was fixed! And you'd never know anything had happened. She was running around the ER playing with Georgia and the nurses and eating cookies. She was over it and ready to take on the world. Aric and I, on the other hand, were emotionally exhausted and scarred! The nurses and doctors were fantastic. They comforted Francesca then comforted us when it was all over and done with. Apparently, this is very common with children under the age of two. Their joins and ligaments are so soft that they pop out easily. Now we're overly cautious. As for that outfit..............well, Aric would love to burn it! I say, I'll be the one to put it on next time:)

We ended up going to the villa the following day. The people who owned it, as wonderful as they are, were drunk (pretty funny actually). Come to find out, they're always drunk. The place they wanted to us to stay in was one of the villas that is under construction. No sinks, no kitchen, no heat. Um..............no! They've since called and offered us the villa that the owner lives in when she's in Italy but we've decided to stay at a farmhouse just 30k from Siena. We move there on November 1.

Georgia is liking the Italian pre-school. She goes Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-12:30. Aric drops her off and I pick her up. It's about a 5-10 minute bike ride away. She's made a couple of friends and loves her teacher. It's amazing how much Italian she understands. An old man began to talk to her in Italian the other day and she responded, "I live here in Lucca. Yes, I'm three." He obviously has asked her where she lived and that she must be three years old.

When I was growing up we had an exchange student from Germany live with us for one year. Her name is Regina. I was in 7th grade and she was a senior. I've only seen her once since, and that was 20 years ago. She has come to Lucca to visit us! It's been amazing to catch up and see her again. She is coming with us tonight to go to Benny and Esa's house for another fabulous night of home-made, brick oven pizzas!

During the last few weeks we've taken trips to Florence, Pisa and Siena. I'm out of time, I'll write about that next time. I've learned my lesson...............publish posts as I go!

Wishing you all lots of love and laughter.
Ciao
xo