A Tuscan Block-Party

Nestled between the towns of Poppi and Bebbiana lies the village of Giocalto. I use the word 'village' loosely, as Giocalto is really nothing more than seven houses from the 13th century stacked beside one another on a olive-tree covered hill in the middle of Tuscany. It is here that Todd and I have found ourselves, finishing up the second week of our travels, as we spend an absolutely magical day and night with our friend Marlena and her family, whom we befriended during our UN stint.

Marlena and her two older brothers grew up all over the world, as their parents are teachers a international schools. Marlena was born in Los Angeles, then moved to Rome, Venezuela, Burma, and finally back to the US for college and law school, while her parents moved to Turkey for their final stint of teaching and administration before they retire. Their home in Giocalto is where they plan to retire in a couple of years, and because of our visit (and the visit of Marlena's college roommate Emily), they decided to throw the equivalent of a Tuscan block-party in our honor. You see, the village of Giocalto is made up entirely of friends of Marlena's parents (including Peter Rockwell, son of artist Norman Rockwell, who originally purchased the 15 acres of land in the 1980s and has been gradually selling the homes to his friends). They are all friends from college, and many of them plan to retire there, or at least spend the summers there during their retirement. Their is something incredibly attractive to me about retiring in a community of my life-long friends, and I think they are very lucky to have had this opportunity.

Giocalto and the surrounding countryside is even more beautiful than the fairytale that you imagine Tuscany to be -- being raised Catholic, I almost felt guilty to be able to visit and see such beauty. Shortly after we arrived, friends from Giocalto and some of the other neighboring villages stopped by with their families and guests, and we ended up having a lovely party with blind wine-tasting of wines of the region, eating typical Tuscan cuisine, and enjoying the company of people from literally all over the world.

It was most certainly one of the highlights of the trip to stay a night at a friend's house, in the company of family -- even if they aren't your own family, it's been one of the most peaceful nights sleep I have had in a long time. I have missed being in a family environment -- waking up to pancakes and coffee for breakfast, to the sound of roosters crowing (a sound I have not woken up to since my Grandparents Ogdon passed), and then just seeing that families are the same no matter where you are. It was a blessing to be with a family for a day.

We fly back to the US in less than a week, and I look forward to seeing many of you soon. We miss you very much!