Twilight in Tuscany

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At the heart of the Tuscan countryside, I sat inside of a crowded local bar. Rowdy with Italian farmers squeezed in wall to wall and poorly lit by antique sconces.  Shadows danced on the cracked clay color walls as chatter and thick tobacco smoke filled the large dark hovel.

My prior visits to Italy had been the tourist experience... Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome.

But not this time

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But not this time. This time, I planned to experience Italian rural life. The steep hillsides and twisted backroads of the valleys. The quirky corners where tourists rarely roamed. My very own unique experience which no one else could claim.

My best friend and travel blogging partner, Nylah Brooks, and I rented a place off AirBNB... A little risky... perhaps even down right idiotic. But worth it. And the gamble had paid off. Our place ended up being a quaint little fully stocked villa just off the beaten path. More like a leaky farmhouse with all the Italian trimmings; a two acre olive grove, and a yard with six little chickens, a rooster, and a scrawny milking cow. It even had a young farmhand who spoke no english but unashamedly flirted with Nylah who spoke no Italian.  And I pulled out my rusty rarely used Italian to get acquainted with the neighborhood.. or our one neighbor. A friendly elderly couple who lived about two miles over in the next leaky farmhouse.

On the dusty road that first warm sunny day, we met a young handsome man from the nearby village named Francisco.  He spoke broken English well enough to be charming and offered to show us around his hometown. We spent the next few days exploring the countryside with him. Then this evening he took us to the bar at the center of his village to experience the infamous Tuscan wine.  Little did I know when we arrived, this simple visit to the local hole-in-the-wall pub would become one of the most pivotal moments of my life.

"So thanky for the company of two beautiful lady.  Let me treat you." Francisco continued to charm us with his thick Italian accent, ordering a bottle of his favorite local wine, three long stem glasses and a deliciously sweet tiramisu.

Nylah leaned over to me and winked, whispering, "I hope he doesn't think this little get together is about to turn into a freaky threesome."

I rolled my eyes.  Handsome Francisco with his black onyx curls, tanned olive hues, and thick eyelashes surrounding seductive dark soulful brown eyes, had been staring wantingly at Nylah for most of the day. They shared drags of a single cigarette while whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears at our small table. There was no doubt about who and what Francisco wanted tonight. 

 

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