We have breakfast as usual this morning and go for another long walk. We find Villa Laura, the home that was renovated for the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun”. It’s not as easy to see and enjoy from the street as Villa Bramasole was. The day is hot and we find ourselves on hillside trails, making our way around the mountain, and hoping we are not encroaching in anyone’s backyard along the way. We admire beautiful hillside villas with their vast grape fields, groves of olive trees and lush, green gardens. Many have in-ground pools which look as though they are inviting us to plunge in!
We stop for pizza at a local café and eat on the patio, still overlooking the valley below. When we get back to our hotel, the pool area closes due to rain soon after our arrival so we opt to rest in our room for the afternoon.
In the evening, we go out for gelato and drinks. While in line for gelato, we meet a dark haired beauty from Argentina who is there with her parents and her four-year-old daughter. They are in line in front of us but after they get served and leave, she comes back into the store to ask for napkins. There are none on the counter. She turns to us and asks where we are from. She tells us that in Argentina, like here in Italy, napkins, as well as toilet paper, are scarce. She knows that in America, both are given freely. She says they have learned to put toilet paper and tissue in their bags before they go anywhere because often, places don’t have either. When she gets to the counter and asks for a napkin, the lady behind the counter gives her one. I am picturing the four-year-old daughter outside with her melting gelato. She accepts the napkin, turns to leave, but then thinks to ask, “Can I please have a few more?” Without a word, the lady turns, goes to a room behind the counter, and returns with a long, single piece of industrial-type paper towel, like what would be used to fill a paper towel dispenser in a public restroom. The lady hands it to her without a word and says nothing when the girl tells her, “Grazie!” We exchange farewells and step up to the counter to order our gelato. Shawn and I later laugh and decide that when applying for a job to serve gelato, having a cheerful disposition would be a desirable qualification!
It’s dark in the village and everyone is out and about. There is a singer/guitar player in the piazza and a young child is dancing with her pregnant mother.
A couple sits at the table next to us and we begin to talk. Jenny and Tony are from the US and live in Florida. They tell us that they’ve been friends in business for almost 30 years and have been seeing each other romantically much more recently than that. We share stories about marriages, children and work. We all enjoy adult beverages and the music on the piazza.
Jenny tells us that three years ago, she told Tony she wanted to get a dog, which he was in support of as he loves animals. He is a pilot and owns a small plane so he told her the dog needed to weigh less than 20 lbs. since the dog would be with her when she came to visit him. At the time, she was living in Alabama and he was living in Florida.
She tells us that she was disappointed that she had to get a small dog because she had always had big dogs. Still, she found Leo, who looks to be a miniature terrier, and she fell in love, and understandably so. He is very responsive to them and very well behaved throughout our time with them. Many people here have dogs and many of the dogs are not well socialized, often barking loudly and consistently and confronting other dogs.
Tony picks up from here and shares that all had been well until that first visit, after Jenny found Leo. She brought Leo for the weekend and the three of them did everything together. Leo flew well and showed great love for both of them. Jenny and Leo returned home to Alabama after that first weekend. Tony called her and told her, “This isn’t going to work. With Leo in the picture now, we’re going to have to change something.” Jenny agreed, sold her house in Alabama and moved to Florida where she, Tony and Leo became a little family. Tony and Shawn exchange contact information when the evening ends, and so our Tuscan group of friends continues to grow.