The town I live in was a market town a thousand years ago and we still have a market in the piazza at least once a week. I first came here, for a six year visit, about thirty years ag0. In those days the tourists came for a brief stop; a coffee break or a lunch on their way from Florence to Sienna…in search of Cathedrals, museums and the like. Back in those days, American tourists first went to Rome, Venice, maybe Milan. If they liked the trip they might come to Tuscany on the second or third Italian visit. Today, many Americans come to Tuscany straight off – to see the beautiful landscapes, to drink the wine, to eat the good, non-processed food and to enjoy the pace. So. what’s changed in the past thirty years? The cars are bigger. That’s a MINUS: (-). There are more dogs. That’s a PLUS: (+). Half the tourists are constantly looking into their phones – not really being here (-) and the other half are using their phones to take pictures of themselves in front of the view (-). I don’t recall seeing these phones thirty years ago. People had to look right and left and see what was going on around them. Today’s tourists tend to pay with credit cards – not so in my neolithic days. (tip: the locals prefer cash payments.) Thirty years ago, you had to eat everything on your plate. Today you can take leftovers home “Portare Via” (+). You can still smoke, but outdoors only (+). This part of Tuscany used to be called “Chiantishire” because of all the British x-pats. Today there are many American x-pats in the hills. I don’t know what they are called by the locals. (+/-?). There are also: Germans, French, South Africans, and more living in the countryside. There are Albanians and Romanians who have come here to live and work. It is a true Mosaic and Melting Pot – just as Americans used to boast about their past(+). There are many BNB’s in the heart of town, (-) which is creating a shift in the ratio of ‘Locals’ to tourists residing in the area (-). The coffee has not changed (+). There are more small restaurants (+). Nine places to get a fresh pizza: (I am told 80 years ago there was no pizza in Tuscany) (+). The lady who used to sell threads & needles for a living has gone out of business and is replaced by a Real Estate agent (-). No matter how many changes there are here, the Tuscan life is still very, very good…enen though no one here is creating a slush fund to pay me for doing bad things.
