Have you ever been lost?
Maybe you were on your way somewhere important and you were late getting started. Maybe your dinner reservation, which required that it be made 3 months in advance, was about to be released and you've taken some wrong turns and you've lost your bearings. I know these are frustrating experiences.
But it doesn't always have to be frustrating if you're lost in the right places, and have the time to be lost.
“We’ve been lost, only to be found in some amazing place! ”
In Italy, we’ve been lost…hopelessly. And hopefully, we'll be hopelessly lost again soon.
Being lost can be frustrating or it can be fascinating. Our Italy wandering experiences have been of the fascinating variety.
Radda in Chianti
Take the small road just south of Radda in Chianti that we mistakenly took in a driving rain. What we thought was a road (at least it looked like one on Google maps - I learned something from that experience - but to be fair, in retrospect, it did suggest that our driving speed would be only 8mph!) soon transitioned into nothing but a two track trail. Lost again, dang it. Our small, low slung rental was complaining about the high center, but there was no way to turn around. We eventually made it through a circuit on which we really shouldn't have been driving. But, as the rain let up, the estate in the photo below was spread before us, with mist rising from the trees to the left with a villa located on a hillside in the middle of a vast vineyard. Our breath was taken away!
Gorgeous vineyard after a rain
And as we drove on, we came upon other photo opportunities like these two:
The remains of the rain
Tuscan cypress and vineyard
Once again, we were lost, only to be found in some amazing place!
Val d'Orcia
Then, let’s take a wrong turn near Pienza in the Val d’Orcia. We should have gone right, but went left. Lost again. We could have turned around, but experience has taught us to go with the flow and continue on down the road. It was getting close to the end of the day, which brought us this gorgeous Val d'Orcia sunset.
Val d'Orcia sunset
Lost again! Only to be found in another amazing place!
Near Castello Brolio
Should we take that little gravel road just before getting to Castello Brolio? After all, we want to see the castle and taste their wine? Sure, why not - we've got time!
We got this nice view of the castle and some images which we would have missed from the highway. Technically, we weren't lost, but as we want to accomplish certain things during the day, we were taking a bit of a risk.
Castello Brolio
Raodside shrine
Winding Tuscan road
Small roadside chapel
The little country-side chapel just above was found tucked away off the gravel road in the previous photo - just beyond the poppies and before the tall cypress trees - just off to the right. We would never have known it existed if we hadn't dared to take that little gravel road to who-knew-where?
Venice - Anywhere in Venice!
And then there’s Venice, where getting lost is not an art, but a normal occurrence. When in Venice, just plan on being lost. I mean, when you look up and find two signs, both reading “Per San Marco”, one with an arrow pointing left and one with an arrow pointing right, you don’t have much choice but to get lost. But along the way, plan on finding some hidden-away gem. Like the one in this photo below – which I came upon taking a ‘short cut’ after turning into one of those dark, low ceiling’d sotoportego - a tunnel-like passage - this one about 50' long. Once found, I’ve returned many times, whether it is a short cut in my travels, or not.
So, while in Venice, Tuscany, or near the back-roads in your travels at home, forget going from Point A directly to Point B. Once starting toward Point B, don’t worry if you happen upon Point G, Point V or Point R, before making it to Point B. Allow enough time to enjoy the journey.
And then like us, you will find yourself lost, only to be found in some amazing place!
Ciao, for now!
Steve