Why a Booktrail?
1990s – Following on from 1000 Days in Venice, Marlena and Fernando have now moved to Tuscany and life and recipes take a new twist…. Best not to read if on a diet!
A Thousand Days in Tuscany
What you need to know before your trail
Marlena and her Venetian husband, Fernando, have now moved from the Venice which brought them together and are making a new life for themselves in rural Tuscany.
Tuscan life is very different to what they both know and life is difficult at first without electricity and comfort. But soon they are building their own traditional brick oven wit the help of one of the locals Barlozzo who takes them under his wing. He shows them where to find the best chestnuts and mushrooms, grapes and olives.
For Marlena and Fernando, this is a new and exciting stage in their life together and a whole new one to taste!
Travel Guide
In “A Thousand Days In Venice,” Marina De Blasi first visited Italy where she met a mysterious stranger who fell in love with her on sight and preceded to do everything he could to ‘woo’ her. Having returned to the US, he goes out to meet her and bring her back to Italy where they live in Venice and marry. Marina believes in taking the bull by the horns, life by the scruff of its neck.
So when banker Fernando quits his job in the bank and tells her they’e moving to Tuscany, this is another step on the ladder of adventures right? With biblical overtones, they move to a deserted stable of sorts with no amenities.
Welcome to San Casciano dei Bagni!
“Life here is simple in style but not substance. With no oven, electricity and a house that is not even clean or empty, the couple even describe the furniture as “all in the form of irrefutable junk.”
However, seeing this as merely a blank canvas, Marina is soon adding Venetian curtains to the windows, flowers on the table or fried zucchini blossoms to the plate.
Socially, they get out and meet the locals in the bar where they bond and chat over an early morning coffee and pastry. Fernando slowly becomes less of “the Banker” and more of the “paesano” as they immerse themselves in their new world.
Barlozzo is the man you would want to meet when you’re in a strange and foreign land – never mind the tour guides – he shows you where to find your best mushrooms, or the best grapes. He’s not only read but written the book on ‘the ways of the land’
A small village and community where time has forgotten but where the spirit of Italy, Italian food and the Italian culture shine through.
Where Next?
