MAPPING TUSCANY

No news from the boot. We're still in the midst of an economic crisis and the political tohubohu is as reckless as ever. Thank god not only the bad things stay the same. The good stuff doesn't change either. Like Italian coffee. Every time I stop in one of the bars of a Tuscan off-the-beaten-path town, I know that even though pensions are higher in Sweden, child-care better in France and public toilets cleaner in Switzerland - I couldn't live anywhere else. Because... a good old Italian sign is just so endlessly more attractive than all the neon in the world red fly curtains make me smile the winter sun never fails to put me in a good mood (and she just isn't around too much further up north) washinglines (so simple and so ecological) will always remain one of my must have items life at the bar is yes, about good coffee, but above all about having a common ground and meeting place for young and old alike I like to ditch the crowd. And you can in...

A couple of weeks ago I sat over Cappuccino in the local bar when  overhearing the village plumber talking about antibiotics. No, I didn't eavesdrop. That would be an impossible thing to do in a Tuscan bar where people generally shout as if everybody present was wearing a hearing aid. Therefore anybody, whether closest in kin or total stranger is invited to join the conversation. Not that you have to. You're free to keep your head buried in the local newspaper. And that's exactly what I did that particular morning. Not for long though. As a homeopath I'm obviously as concerned about the over- and misuse of antibiotics as the man who installed our shower box.  Every inhabitant of a Tuscan village has a nickname. Behind his back the plumber is being called Il Professore - the professor. Now I know why. Who else could be bothered to publicly address the growing nightmare of antibiotic resistance  first thing over coffee on a Monday morning?

I know you are all ready to jot down an address in Rome, Florence or Venice. Sorry to disappoint the foodies between you, but the best Italian ice-cream is neither to be found in the eternal city nor on a canal in Venice.  The prize goes to a little gelateria (a shop that only sells ice-cream, gelato in Italian) called  Oasi del Goloso , with a a fig/ricotta ice-cream to die for!    

Never heard of my favorite bar in the beautiful Tuscan coastal town Castiglione della Pescaia? Understandably. Even though the bar is in prime position in front of the small harbor, there's not much else to be seen than the odd Fishermen having a quick drink before unloading his boat and a few holiday-makers strolling up and down the harbor front. And that's exactly where the charm of this bar lies. Perfectly unspectacular - bar il Porto, in Castiglione della Pescaia Why bother with crowded bars in Portofino or Capri if you can sit in front of the much more authentic  Circolo Marinai? With the elderly couple who runs the bar service can a bit slow and the interior design hasn't been changed for ages. So what? Sit down, have your Campari (or an alcohol free Crodino) and you'll finally understand what the concept of Dolce Vita is all about. Where : Castiglione della Pescaia, in my opinion the most beautiful town on the Tuscan shore.  When : The bar is normal...

Starting the day with caffè shakerato (ice coffee) at Fiumara Beach No doubt, my favorite time to hang out at Fiumara is the early evening. Grab your Prosecco and wait for the delicious fish to arrive whilst everybody else is swearing under their holiday apartment's lousy shower.  Fiumara's beach can get busy with locals and tourists during the day, but it is an oas is of calmness at aperitivo time (happy hour). Kite-surfers leave once the wind drops in the early evening, and everybody else seems to desert the beach once it's not sizzling hot anymore (I'll never understand it). Perfection really: with the wind gone you'll have the ideal te mperature for an early evening swim and once dried off a marvelous view and sunset  all to yourself.  Even the shower has style Should you not be able to get a table for dinner try for lunch, which is a simpler DIY affair from the counter, but food tastes still great and nobody worries if you look a bit dishevel...