Alas, Two and a Half Days in Volterra/Tuscany!

      Ahhh is what I thought after we landed in Rome, and while we were driving in our rental car somewhat north toward Florence on the A-1 highway. Everything seemed organized, clean and planned. Even the endless fields of  sunflowers on the right stood all in a row like child-soldiers at attention. Their flower faces pointed in the direction of the 6pm sunlight.... It was striking and odd as I sharply remember " lights out" in Costa Rica at precisely this same time.  Hmm Costa Rica has all that lush beauty but the sun shuts it down shortly after sunset just before 6. Such a switch, Whoa, the extended day! I kept slapping myself in the arm. Almost like I could not believe where we were. Pinching myself would have been too harsh as this was a pleasure trip after all! In the back seat, I caught a hidden glimpse of my daughter, Siena, dancing in her seat to the music on the stereo. She was a happy kid though tired...she did not know she had jet lag yet. Liam, our 16 year-old had the unimpressed look he usually does but this time it had a little half grin. I believe it was meant to be unseen by us. We were joyous, stopping at the Auto grill and getting new sodas in our favorite flavors: Lemon, orange, and strawberry-kiwi.  Buying a road map, getting cheeses and just fooling around. We were so enamored with arriving that we were unaware of the fact that we jumped into the car and nearly drove straight to Florence.
    With Bill behind the wheel and tired me in the passenger seat, we were destined to get lost. All the while, we did not realize that we were having a beautiful homemade Italian dinner made for us. Nadia had messaged us while we were in flight that she would have dinner ready once we arrived. Wish we had checked email and even logged-in to touch base with the world. Made sense, 4:00 arrival, 3 hour drive. We should have arrived just in time. Nadia was making a zucchini parmesan with a savory tomato sauce, mushroom quiche with a flaky-feathery crust, and a traditional Farro salad complete with capers, hard-boiled egg, olives, mini salamis mixed with balsamic vinaigrette and garnished with full leaves of Basil (so beautiful, I had to take a picture! see below). And Selene's father, Raphelle was visiting, too. Nope, we never knew and we never made it for dinner. Instead, we drove back from Arezzo and"back tracked" across Tuscany the longest way possible until, we found Siena, our daughter's namesake. We got out of the car, made a pit stop and called dear, sweet Nadia to apologize for our delay. That's when we found out that what we missed. Oh dear! We felt horrible! We knew we had an hour's drive but it was already 11pm. Yikes! So, with Siena super proud to see her name everywhere she went...the hospital, the pharmacy, the street signs, we jetted off to Volterra. We were surprised when we arrived that at midnight, there were still so many people walking the streets, returning home from a night out...my kinda town, I thought! After we crested the hill of Volterra, our quest was to find this little jewel of house, built to look old just like it's neighbors...we found it, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards on the back hill of the quaint yet, glorious city. Nadia met us in the street and motioned for us to park. Her newer home was beautiful, modern in it's effectiveness to conserve energy resources yet, old in conforming to municipal mandates that the home be built in a stone-faced, traditional style. Perfect. We were so tired, we were ready for bed...the sleep of one thousand years. We spoke with Nadia for a while and apologized for the missed opportunity and she politely commented with a smile "oh, no worry, it will be great for Lunch tomorrow!" what a relief! Nadia informed us that we had a big day together. We would be learning about the house and the community in the morning. Rest was in order.
     Morning broke with bright sunlight and lavender-scented air. Heaven for me. After a light, European breakfast, we headed to town taking in all the sights of what Medieval life left behind: Squared, cobblestone roads, flags of the contradas hanging high along the paths, Bell towers, Italian word spoken, smiling friends of Nadia greeting us. Nadia and this opportunity were truly heaven-sent. In one morning, we registered Siena for school at San Lino, visited the Medieval festival coordinators, met with hardware store owners, sought out the best public water supply source, paused at the dance and musical schools locations and got to know the ins and outs of our new community and our new home. Whew, what a whirlwind!
In all the hustle-bustle, we realized we had not contacted anyone to say we were safe and sound plus we had no electrical appliance converters to charge all our computers and devices. Whoa, buy 'em, charge, and get communcatin'! Check!

     We settled into what dinner the night before should have been. Such a lovely aroma while it heated up! Nadia set it all up, sweet soul. Lunch was fabulous! Later, we drove

 

to return our rental car to Cecina, a beach community on the Meditteranean. Best of all worlds right at our convenience!  We were understanding what Dolce Vita meant. We have yet to eat at a restaurant. Selene, your mom is an awesome cook! In love with this location. Tomorrow, we go for a walk and explore the neighborhood, neighbors and vistas. Oh what is to come is just more dreams!

    

5 days 'til euphoria! Goodbye Costa Rica, Hello Tuscany!

                                                                                                                      July 24, 2013

      As I type this morning, I sit here restless, hungry, nervous and almost nauseous. The kind of nervous nausea that is very meaningful. Similar to when you are about to take to a stage and make a performance. The feeling you have when you are about to embark on something you were meant to do your whole life. This is excitement! This is what we've always wanted. So, allow me to introduce myself: Lynore Soffer,  daughter of a Louisiana, French-Creole speaking mother and a self-made painting contractor. I am the youngest of five children and I am nothing like my siblings. I am sure they do not understand me one bit. I have always known I was unique but, I never completely knew my truth. I enjoy Psychology and writing but never before have I felt compelled to express myself in this manner.

     Nearly six short years ago, our family made a decision together to move from a suburban Philadelphia community named Cheltenham township, more specifically, a town named Wyncote to Central America...Costa Rica. What an adventure! We chose to live in the Philly suburbs the previous 12 years because it was unique, like our family is biracial. The community boasts of excellent public and private schools, ethnic diversity and so many cultural activities in and around the metropolitan area. So, why did we choose to leave the US for such a change. That's just it, change! We wanted to live in a land that could turn back time a little bit, where life is freer and where there are not as many rules. We wanted to live in a land where neighbors are truly friends, life is more appreciated, and the weather is tropical. Well we found that! As Costa Ricans (Ticos) call it: Pura Vida! Pura Vida means Pure Life. So, after much planning and deliberation, in 2008, we bought land in Esterillos, 20 minutes south of Jaco...an Atlantic city-like place but on a much smaller scale. We moved in April, 2009 and decided to rent while we figured out the building process, the Costa Rican legal system, how to complete the residency process and much more. After about a year, we decided that our choice of community: school, the adult-like scene of Jaco and too many fisherman,  needed a change...a more wholesome approach to raising our family. So, we moved to Monteverde. High above, in the cloud forest. A place my dear friend, Bally, calls the lungs of the planet. It was lovely, lush, mysterious and completely safe. The kids thrived, running in the forest, greeting monkeys and toucanettes on their way to school. What an experience for a 18 months. We made lasting friendships and grew to understand that the warmest temperature up on the green mountain would never exceed 80F degrees for too long, nor would there ever be a 'heat wave'.  I actually had an electric blanket on my bed. We said to ourselves, "we did not move here to be cold!" So, we bought a little weekender: a two-bedroom Cabina in a quiet beach town called Surfside. Gorgeous town, right on the Pacific Ocean with a calm beach called Playa Potrero. Playa means beach in Spanish...The Cabina is located in this beautiful area of the country called Guanacaste! Rich with many different beaches, communities, festivals, fresh fruit, flora & fauna, the sound of Howler monkeys in the woods and such friendly people from all over the world. It was the global community filled with diversity that we were searching for! The weekends were fabulous, our neighbors welcomed us so freely! So, with one foot still in Monteverde and another now in Guanacaste, we had to make a decision. Move from rural mountain purity to rural beach warmth and community? okay then, let's do it! We decided to buy a larger house and keep the cabina as rental income. So now, here we are in 2013. We have a beautiful Mediterranean style home on a quiet street in Surfside/Potrero and a little cabina across town. This past May, we all attained residency in Costa Rica! Whew what excitement!
   
     So, now that's the back story... I can not help but think our experiences here in Costa Rica have utterly prepared us for what we are about to do. So, why do we want to leave Costa Rica and head off to Italy, now? Please explain? right? Well, a long while ago before we decided to move to Costa Rica, we had a definite fondness for antiquity. We bought and renovated a 1920's mission style home, we would go on historic walking tours wherever we would vacation, and we would visit American historic sites, no more than 300 years old. Okay, honestly, we were a little crazed for the smell of moldy, historic bricks at historic sites such as Mt. Vernon, Virginia. Like we could feel and embrace another dimension of time. It felt so familiar and comfortable.That left us longing for more. So, way back when our oldest son was 4 years old  and after Bill, my husband, had completed several art history courses and architecture schools, we decided to visit Italy. Yes, back in the year 1998 we were young and spellbound and returned  there 4 years later!! So now, 12 years later...with three children, our oldest, a Junior in University, a 16 year-old in high school, and a 10-year-old named Siena ( yes, my favorite city on earth)  are making the trip to Italy but not quite like tourists. But, in a manner that helps us to understand Dolce Vita. We knew it was meant to be when our oldest son, Grant, called and surprised us with the news that he was headed on a COOP for 6 months on an education/employment adventure through Drexel University. He called us late May to tell us he had accepted the position to work in Rome for the Professional basketball club: Pallacanestro Virtus Roma directly under the General Manager of the team; Nicola Alberani. my jaw dropped, I think I drooled... then, my true self asked him; " Grant, how would you feel if our whole family came to live there while you work?" his response was dead silence. Afterall, he is now 20 years-old, a man. He need not have his parents around. So then, my second question came: "...okay, how about if we live in Tuscany while you work in Rome? We can see you some weekends and we can spend Christmas there together?" Grant, breaks his silence and says "Now you're talking!" It was the one of the greatest days of my parenting life!

   So, here we are nearly two months later: After turning over various stones on-line and otherwise, our house is rented for 5 months by a local school family, our cabina has a tenant/college student who will care for our two dogs, Blossom and Chupacabra, while we are away, we found a home to live in in Volterra, Tuscany. Ironically, the Tuscan home belongs to one of our son's classmates who lives here in Costa Rica. The classmate, Selene, will continue to live here in Costa Rica and her mother, Nadia, will travel here from Tuscany to live with her for 6 months. She will drive our car here, we will drive her car there. So very elementary, so quick, so amazing!

     We asked the kids "what's the first thing you want to do when we arrive in Volterra? " Our teen son, Liam, said "Use the bidet of course" we laughed really hard and then got a bit more serious and decided as a family we would run inside the ancient city walls and just get lost. Find local coffee shops, places to enjoy time with friends who are planning to visit, scout out a corner for Liam to do street performances ( he's not shy), just be present in our wonder.  We have so many plans! To go to the Palio August 16 in Siena, a dream for our daughter since she was born. To visit Mallorca, Spain, France and Holland. We are spellbound knowing that we have 5+ months to spend living out a dream. Our Son, Grant, arrives in Rome mid-September, We arrive in Tuscany, August 28th!

                                                                Pura Dolce Vita!