Well actually on the tracks again, but somehow that just doesn’t sound right. Since I decided not to rent a car during this trip, I have been doing all my travel by train, which has been an interesting experience. All of Italy’s large cities and many smaller towns are connected by a vast government run train system. There are different levels of service available, but even the second class regional trains, which is mostly what I have used for travel, are quite clean and comfortable. From Lucca, I have been able to get to all my destinations in about 4 hours or less.
Riding in the train, I love just staring out the window, watching the Tuscan countryside go by. There are two iconic images that are present in all but the tiniest villages you pass, at least one church steeple with bell tower, and a soccer field, usually complete with lights and bleachers. Along with the food, these are two of the great passions of Italy, their history lies in the churches and their present lies on the soccer field.
The other part of train travel in this area that I love, is looking at the houses. In Italy, you will rarely see a house painted blue, or green, or other colors so common in the States. It seems that all Tuscan houses are painted one of four colors, ochre, sienna, umber, or ecru, or a variation of one of these shades. I know this is an odd choice of words to describe these basic hues (yellow, reddish brown, brown and off-white), but the colors of Tuscany seem to best be described using the paints found on an artist’s pallet. These houses and villages sitting among green fields just seem to soak in the sunlight, almost as if you were to touch the outside of a house, it would be warm. Even on a cold and overcast day, these houses seem to reflect the warmth of this country.
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