Small cities with great appeal and charm

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to travel around the northern area of Italy for 5 weeks.  During this time, we visited many major centres: Venice, Bologna, Padua, Sienna, Lucca, Pisa, Milan, Lake Como and Florence.  But as much as we loved all of these cities for a variety of reasons, we found that the lesser known towns and cities are the places to which we long to return.

One of my Toronto mavens, Joan Shapero is a well-seasoned traveler.  She and her husband Ted have seen every part of the world and seek out little known places with great appeal.  One such place they sent us to is called Lerici.  This seaside town is breathtaking and one feels as though a remake of To Catch a Thief is being filmed and it is now starring Jerry and me.  Driving up the coastline is a bit frightening but the scenery is extraordinary.  I peaked through split fingers, curious to see this view while swallowing my heart.  
A small section of Lerici is called Tellaro.  It is located at the highest peak and is occupied by Milanese families who have summer homes in the area.  The town itself is very small, consisting of locandi, restaurants, small grocery stores and shops. Locals sunbathe on top of flat rocks overlooking the sea.  We stayed at a locando called Locando Miranda which is owned and operated by a family consisting of the mother, son and father who is a world-renowned chef specializing in local fish dishes. The atmosphere is quaint but make no mistake:  this is a five-star restaurant with a million dollar view.  In fact, the view from the balcony of our room was as good as any view along the Italian Riveria.
We decided to spend two days in the area, exploring Lerici and taking the ferry to Portevenere.  Again, this seaside town on the Riveria is as beautiful as Portofino and less crowded.  You can get by with little knowledge of Italian in Portovenere but you will have to speak some Italian in Tellaro.  There were two other English families staying at our Locando but overall, only Italians vacation in this area.

Tellaro

The view from our locando balcony in Tellaro.

Tellaro

Lerici

Portevenere

We decided to drive to the eastern side of Florence for an overnight stay in Arezzo.  During the first weekend of every month, this gorgeous Medieval town hosts antique dealers from all over Italy.  There are approximately 500 vendors and they are set up in the main piazza as well as all of the hilly streets leading to this square.  I found so many things for my house but chose to leave with nothing.  The prices were excellent due to the fact that presently Italians favor modern furnishings so antiques can be purchased here for very reasonable prices.

The last city I will discuss is Cecina di Mare.  This Etruscan seaside town became our home away from home before our last stop in Florence.  We had contacted a landlord named Laura Merlini regarding her apartment in Florence for the final week of our Italian journey.  She mentioned that she also owned a little summer home in Tuscany in a town called Cecina di Mare.  We looked at the online photos of both places and decided to rent them.  Well, we couldn't have chosen a better place to live than Cecina.

Cecina di Mare

Cecina di Mare

Beautiful sand beach in Cecina di Mare

The larger city of Cecina has a good-sized market and modern stores and of course, great restaurants.  It is a short walk from Cecina di Mare so nothing is too far from the sea.  Our little place was part of a four-plex and we were greeted by Laura, her husband Fulvio and daughter Francesca who prepared a lovely basket of goodies for us.  This is their family summer home which they rent out when they are not using it.  It had a front patio with a table and chairs but we chose to eat our meals in the backyard on a smaller table.  They left bicycles for us which we used to explore the trails in the woods which led us to the sand beach.  

Each day, we would drive to a small medieval town and visit olive oil stores and groves tasting the local oils.  We often returned at lunch time and swam in the sea in the afternoon.  The town has all the conveniences so we were able to buy all of our groceries at either of the two grocery stores or the outdoor markets.  We heard that the local restaurants were good but after spending all of our time in restaurants, I was happy to cook with the fresh ingredients and spend time in our sweet, little home.  A knowledge of Italian is also a plus in Cecina.  Like Tellaro, it is occupied by Italians and not tourists from other countries.  Most families are from Florence who have shed their designer duds in favor of beachwear and flip flops.  Jerry and I still would like to see Sicily but we loved Cecina so much that we have decided to return there during the winter months.  We felt completely at home in this lovely town and I was able to practice my Italian every day.