My Bramasole Love Affair
You know those moments in life that change you? Those big, fat, bold moments that shake you down, strip you bare, rip you open and wrench something from you that’s been waiting to come out…
Those moments where your future self instantly time-travels back to that precise second in history. Where you smell the smells and feel the feelings. The sounds, the sun, wind or rain on your skin and your hair. The taste and feel upon your tongue – was it dry and parched from thirst, or salivating with delight over an insanely delicious delicacy tasted for the first time, or from the kiss of a lover?
Those moments of raw human anguish, or intense joy. The painful and happy moments that live within you and always know just when to re-surface and visit with you as an unexpected reminder, much needed, or a warning. Or simply to bring you gently back to centre.
You know those moments. They define you. They create the gorgeous little puzzle pieces of your life that make you who you are.
I have had many such moments in my life, and one in particular I adore! J’adore! It was particularly emotional and powerful. I treasure it forever. It always comes back to me when I stray from my path – a path that took a lifetime to discover and understand.
It literally jumped up and bit me! The words “Baby, look where you are” softly said to me by my then fiancé (now husband) are burned in my brain.
Many years ago, in 2003, I watched a film that spoke to my heart and embedded itself there to live with me always. I fell in love with Francis and her story, which resonated with me in multiple ways. To this day, I cannot watch “Under the Tuscan Sun” without it being like the first time (except I know it line by line, word by word, scene by scene!). I laugh, I cry, I rage, I get frustrated, and I whoop for joy every single time. Her life seemed to run alongside mine. She seemed to feel and react to things in much the same way I tend to. The fact that she was a published writer and critic just added to the love story!
Since that magical day so long ago, I had longed to travel to Italy and find the real Bramasole, my symbol of hope, guts, determination and the realisation of dreams.
Well, 15 years later, in 2018, I did! The real one, not the one they used in the movie. On our fantastic trip through France and Italy, my said fiancé/husband and I made sure to include this adventure in our itinerary.
I had researched the writer, Frances Mayes, and her home before we travelled. To see the home from the movie set would have been great; however, it was the true Bramasole that had captured my heart and that I longed to see.
We spent the day strolling through the streets of Cortona, visiting all the sites in the tiny town where the film was made, stopping to talk to locals, before resting in a little restaurant through the heat of the day for much-needed food and an Aperol Spritz (actually a few….). And completely fell in love with the gorgeous people and their town. I would have been content never to leave the delight that is Cortona.
Our rendezvous in the village over, we decided to just start walking in the general direction we thought Bramasole would be.
It was amazing! Such gorgeous countryside, little laneways and warm sun on our skin. We came to a crossway on the road, where a house/café was perched on a very sharp corner. Our choices were to turn and go back from where we came, keep going straight ahead, or veer right around the house/café. The last option was our choice. We were walking around the top of the hill, outside the ancient walls of Cortona. There was a valley below us on our left, green countryside delighting our eyes, with a dotting of homes (one with a pool a long way down tempting us with its azure water – it was such a hot day). We strolled along, hoping we were going in the right direction to find Bramasole.
Walking down the hill on the old road, we took ourselves up what appeared to be tracks leading to somewhere, only to find they led nowhere, so turned around and went back onto the road. We continued like this, strolling and chatting happily, hopefully, admiring everything around us.
There was a stone wall on our right now. A beautiful garden running along the stone wall had me mesmerised with its lavender and butterflies. It was a charming scene laid out before us, and as usual, I had to stop and admire and take countless photos.
While admiring nature, my fiancé quietly said those words that are burned in my memory… “Baby, look where you are…”.
I looked and could only see the garden and gate and really didn’t know what he was getting at. The garden was so pretty! There were more butterflies in one place than I had ever seen before, all fluttering over the vivid purple lavender. He repeated, “Baby, look where you are…”.
I went up to the gate and there, written in the stone, was the name “Bramasole”! I turned around to look up the hill behind me. There was my gorgeous dream come true, right in front of me!
Huge sobs wracked my body. I was utterly undone, overwhelmed and overjoyed. I cried emotional, happy tears. Every thought and feeling that had drawn me to this place for so many years came rushing to the surface. It is difficult to put into words the intensity of that day. The deep joy and beauty. The unexpected amazement it brought just seeing Bramasole for the very first time.
A dream come true. It was wonderful. Even more so as it was just the two of us, with not another soul on the planet there to interrupt the moment or influence it in any way. It unfolded as it was meant to.
I had always been hugely impatient and, at times, frustrated that it had taken such a long time for this moment to arrive. However, now I am thankful for the passing of all those years before embarking on that adventure, for it made the experience all the richer, all the more amazing and most definitely, deeply appreciated.