#25: La Befana and Livorno Adventures
Ciao Nonni!
We've been enjoying plenty of family time for the last couple of weeks, as the bambini have been on school holidays.
In particular I have loved the time with Leo, as he is changing so much at the moment. While he is still a very sweet and content little boy, he is also becoming quite a bit more assertive when he feels strongly about something. Particularly with his older sister! He's also communicating with us a lot more, although we're yet to get any actual words out of him.
At eighteen months, he's late to start talking - but apparently it's very normal for children who are growing up at this critical age in a bilingual environment to take a bit longer. And of course he's also a boy...
Raffy has been getting right into the swing of the Italian festive celebrations. The most fascinating and entertaining of these has definitely been La Befana. I am quite sure it is a uniquely Italian tradition, which involves an old crone / witch-type character on a broomstick visiting the houses of children on the eve of the Epiphany on January 6. La Befana leaves sweet treats and small toys for good children, or coal if they've been naughty.
The tale goes that Befana (something of a cleaning lady) was approached by the three wise men while they were on their way to greet the baby Jesus. They asked her to show them the way, but she turned them down because she was too busy with her sweeping. She then later had a change of heart, and has been searching for the baby Jesus ever since. She leaves gifts for children in the hope that one of them is him.
Italians will leave wine and a sweet treat out for her in the evening, and supposedly she sweeps the floor of each house as she leaves. It is for this reason alone that she will always be welcome in our apartment!
Last week we had a fabulous excursion together to Livorno. I didn't realise how much I had been missing the sea, until we arrived in the port city and wandered down to the waterfront. As it was a moody, grey and cloudy day, we had the whole place to ourselves. The sound of the gentle Ligurian Sea lapping against the stone wall of the famous chequerboard Terrazza Mascagni was very restorative.
I do love a port city here in Italy, because they always have such interesting histories (and cultures as a result). I think if we ever decided to leave Lucca, it might have to be to live in a place like this. Port cities aren't as beautiful as many other Italian towns, but they have a personality to them that is fascinating. But that's purely hypothetical, because we still love our walled hometown and the life we have here!
We also went to the Livorno Aquarium. While it is much smaller than the one in Genova, it had the most amazing pair of giant turtles swimming around that I had ever seen. They alone were worth the price of admission! Both the kids had a great time. We have some fabulous video footage of Leo chasing a large crab up and down the length of a tank, absolutely fascinated by it.
My other favourite (very Italian) thing about the aquarium was that every single tank had a nativity scene submerged within it!
And finally, I must tell you about a new pasticceria that we went to last week. It is outside the walls of the city, and of course (like all of our favourite local spots) it was recommended to us by Ilenia, our favourite Lucchese babysitter / guide extraordinaire!
Pasticcieria Stella has something of a Brunetti vibe to it, with the cabinets of incredible cakes lining the walls of the entrance. The pastries were heavenly, and the cappuccini being frisbeed out from behind the huge coffee machine at a dizzying pace were absolute perfection. I know you would love it.
x
