Woken this campervan morning by what has now become the almost ubiquitous Tuscan morning calls of church bells, cockerel cries and birdsong. The sun rising to the west clears the hills, but we are tucked beneath a Maple which is giving us much needed shade. The sky is as blue as it as ever been, rich and stretching to the horizon not a cloud to be seen. Of Tuscany the poet Colette O’Mahon in her book ‘The Soul in Words’ writes :
“ Pathways meander through the vale Inviting travelers its height to scale Sunset rewards as evening ends And pilgrims to the night descend. “
It is another beautiful setting in which to sit and write. Magpies flit here and there, a few swallows, crows and sparrows are busy on morning forages, tractors already at work. Driving further east and the objective, as much as possible, remains trying to stay off the beaten path, which brings us to the small town of Vinci ; the town that Leonardo Da Vinci was raised in until he left for Florence as a teenager. A warm Sunday drive through Italian wiggly country lanes and byways, not necessarily good for your own self care. Over nighting at the foot of the village, surrounded by olive trees, lines and lines of vines uniformly streaming up and down hills and rows of olive trees ; the town sits unseen behind a canopy of trees above us. A few harem scarem moments on the drive, which remains par for the course, but here we are anyway. Everyday is an attempt to be immersed in Italian culture, but yesterday was one of history too and taking in the sights and sounds of Vinci’s history and connection to the great man, his ideas, machines, art and study of human form. So to wander around the small commune of Vinci in his footsteps, stand beneath arches and walls was quite special. An exceptional museum, including a couple of original drawings tells his life story, his influences and those that influenced him. A proper tourist moment, before disappearing again into the countryside. Guerrilla tourism so to speak, a quick hit and then retreat into the countryside to regather and plan the next adventure or experience. My kind of tourist experience, trying to stay away from the areas that have , has Douglas Adams wrote :
“ Been made almost exactly the same as everywhere else in the world for the sake of people who have come all this way to see… “
Well we try our best. Lovely days people.
"Being here is a kind of spiritual surrender. We see only what the others see. The thousands who were here in the past, those who will come in the future. We've agreed to be part of a collective perception. It literally colors our vision. A religious experience in a way, like all tourism."
Don DeLillo.
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