Yearning for Tuscany
In April, Niko and I finally got to take our long awaited trip to Italy. It was originally scheduled for 2020, but we all know how that year went…and the year after. So 2022 was finally our year to make Italy happen, and we went all out. My family is Italian, and I spent a month traveling around Italy in college, so it felt like a kind of homecoming. We planned a route through the northern half of Italy, with some spots I’d been to and others I’ve been dreaming of. Niko immediately fell in love with Italy as well (as one does when they visit Italy), and it was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken.
One area I’m already longing to go back to is Tuscany. Honestly, this was the one time throughout our entire trip that I was disappointed. Not with Tuscany itself, but with a wine tour we had signed up for. We only had two full days in Tuscany (which was obviously our first mistake) so I wanted to take advantage of them. I’m normally not someone who signs up for tours, but I figured it would be more responsible to sign up to have someone drive us from vineyard to vineyard than to be drinking and driving, and having a friendly Italian tour guide chauffeuring us around to local spots seemed exciting. I won’t get into it here, mostly because I don’t want to relive it, but I wouldn’t recommend the tour again. The worst part of it was that it lasted hours longer than expected due to driving unexpected distances, so we had less time to wonder around our Agriturismo (which is basically a bed & breakfast on a vineyard) and enjoy the peacefulness of the countryside.
Our trip to Tuscany wasn’t all disappointing, it just wasn’t quite as relaxing as I had hoped. I’m already mentally planning a trip back to Italy in which we just find an Agriturismo in each town we want to go to, and stay in each one for a few days. Relaxing, slow, and lots of wine. That’s probably why my first Italy collection is focused around Tuscany. I feel teased by it and I want to go back. These paintings transport me back to those peaceful moments there. Painting them, I can forget the disappointments and only remember the beauty.