A Thousand Days in Tuscany..

Finally living my Italian dream..

I’ve finally got a copy of “A Thousand Days in Tuscany” by Marlena de Blasi!! Unfortunately, I could only find it in Spanish, so I suppose this is as good a time as any for me to start practicing the language of the land I live in. I first heard about the book in Pelusa Molina‘s cooking class, when we were one day engaged in a conversation about beautiful boot-shaped Italy, and its exquisite Mediterranean cuisine. Agustina, a cooking classmate, then told us she had started reading Marlena’s book and how the book was intricately laced with Tuscan recipes and mouthwatering descriptions.

It sounded like the perfectly ideal book for me – since I fell in love with Italy after first visiting it in August 2007 five years ago. I’ve always wanted to return to Italy, and am pretty determined to live there one day, but in the meanwhile, I shall live my dream through this book.

Here’s a quick summary of the book:

With more resolution than resources, Marlena de Blasi and her husband Fernando decide to leave Venice (where they have everything – including a house, work, and security) in order to live surrounded by 200 neighbors and thermal springs, in a small little mountain village called San Casciano dei Bagni.

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Marlena and Fernando settle in a small stable which has neither a telephone nor central heating, and only a small kitchen. In San Casciano, they quickly strike up a friendship with Barlozzo (who is more famous than the duke), a peculiar villager who helps them soak up Tuscany’s deep soul through his anecdotes and abundant knowledge of local folklore.

With Barlozzo as their guide, Marlena and Fernando discover little inns in the village in which they serve the day’s fresh catch and harvest. Through their time in Tuscany, we follow them in learning about rich Tuscan history and tales, smelling the aromas of traditional Tuscan recipes and see how love triumphs in spite of any circumstance, obstacle, or impediment in this dream land.

However, Barlozzo also has his own secrets, one of which is related to a beautiful neighbor in the village named Floriana, and as we read on an old love story unfolds..

I CAN’T WAIT TO START READING IT ON MY KINDLE!! I hope it’s as good as I want it to be!
Xoxo.