Under a Tuscan Sun and Valium Haze

Oscar Wilde - Ravenna

"Where flower and fruit to purple radiance blow,
And like bright lamps the fabled apples glow.
Full Spring it was—and by rich flowering vines,
Dark olive-groves and noble forest-pines,
I rode at will; the moist glad air was sweet,
The white road rang beneath my horse’s feet,
And musing on Ravenna’s ancient name,
I watched the day till, marked with wounds of flame,
The turquoise sky to burnished gold was turned."

Okay so maybe we tasted a few honeyed wines and pushed our nostrils deep into the scented bushels but Tuscany certainly surpassed on all accounts.

Driving to Tuscany.... in a manual left drive sardine can certainly didn't surpass anything. We scraped through medieval horse lanes, swerving to avoid "senza traffico" zones, performing 10 point turns in dead end lanes and white knuckled we wove up and down the oldest, steepest city centre in abject silence and horror, the stone walls just inches from our white Munst-like faces. The valium was reached for and calm was briefly restored.

Our 15th century bnb was reached. Ghosts from old and war torn spirits could not be reasoned with and Eric was moved to sleep on 'that' side of the bed.

San Gimignano has slept in a time warp since 1348 when the black plague took most of the town, and then shocked awake by Operation Axis that rubbled all but 7 towers.

Now the streets throng with busloaded tourists and glamour filled shops and long queues for the worlds best and world record gelato.

I'm hoping I can make use of at least one of the 1,000 quintessential photos taken for some artworks.Read more