A Taste of Tuscany

After gladly leaving Pisa, we were immediately in a good mood upon arrival in Florence. Not only was it easy to find our hostel, but the hostel was big and clean and they spoke good English! We checked into our room (which had a personal shower and a blow dryer!) and then headed out for some dinner. We found a great pizza place nearby then headed up to the rooftop terrace of our hostel to see the breathtaking view and watch the sunset with a glass of wine. We called it an early night because we had a big day of sightseeing ahead of us.

We awoke early to have some breakfast before the bus for our tour left at 8 am. We discovered this great cafe nearby that had great breakfast sandwiches and arrived back at our hostel just in time to board the bus. The night before, when signing up for the tour, we told Stephano, our guide, that we may be a bit tired at 8 am and he informed us that it would be okay because it was an hour drive to our first destination. Therefore, armed with our ipods we prepared ourselves for a nice morning nap. WRONG. Immediately, Melissa was called out by Stephano on the microphone so everyone could witness her getting a few Zs in the backrow. Needless to say, we remained awake for the remainder of the trip.

(Stephano was a lively tour guide who loved his microphone. He also continued to tell jokes the whole time but proceeded to laugh at them before he even said the punch line. Stephano also looked like he just rolled out of bed which added to the entertainment. )

Our first stop was in San Gimignano, the famous walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, where we had free time to wander through the narrow and characteristic streets and check out the local shops selling the delicacies of Tuscany. And of course we had to stop at the world champion gelato place: Pluripremiata Gelateria. There we experienced gelato flavors like no other including raspberry/rosemary and blackberry/lavender. Delicious!

The second stop was at a local winery located in a stunning area of the Tuscan countryside well known for the production of the D.O.C.G Vernaccia white wine. It faces the famous towers of San Gimignano and surrounded by rolling hills, vines and olive grooves. Here we learned about the production of wine and olive oil from the wine maker, tasted some of the best wines produced in the Chianti region and enjoyed a home style lunch based on local Tuscan ingredients. The lunch was a little disappointing as we were expecting hearty dishes of pasta and tomatoes, etc but received a few crackers with some spreads on it and some bread mixed in a bowl with tomato sauce. It did provide us though with the opportuniy to bond with the new friends we had made though: 2 girls from Texas and 3 boys from LA.

After lunch we stopped in a second winery, 20 minutes from Siena, for a chianti wine sampling. This was a brief stop but was a great location in the Chianti area to admire the walls of Monteriggioni, one of the most preserved medieval towns of Tuscany, and help ourselves to the remaining bottle of wine from the tasting with our new friends. :)

Last but not least we headed to the historic city of Siena where we were amazed by the architectural styles of the Cathedral and the Palazzo Comunale in Piazza del Campo, the stage of the famous Palio horse race held twice a year.

As soon as we got back from the long day of sight seeing, the boys invited us to watch the sunset with them at Piazza Michaelangelo. We grabbed a bottle of wine and headed out for the 40 minute walk to the Piazza that culminated in a steep staircase. It was such a breathtaking view! Probably a hundred people joined us on the stairs that overlooked Florence and its major attractions. This is a sight that pictures will barely do justice for it really is a different sun in Florence.

We continued our night at the hostel bar where we danced at what seemed to be a middle school dance party. Not only did we feel old, but also felt like we were chaperoning. Nevertheless, it was a great day seeing the sights and meeting new people.

Following an exhausting day, we decided to listen to our bodies and take a day to relax. We curled up with our books and had much needed down time in this whirlwind of backpacking we have been doing.

Day 3 in Florence brought us David. After searching the city for a place that made omlets, we stood in line for 2 hours because we didnt make reservations for the Accedamia museum. Michaelangelo's David was worth the wait. It lived up to the hype more than most of the other art pieces we have seen. And we learned that the David was created to show David after his defeat of Goliath! Who knew it was the same person!

After realizing that it would be impossible to see the Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Museum since reservations had to be made at least a month in advance, we ended our evening climbing up to the Piazza once more to watch the sunset.

Day 4 was very stormy. The thunder and lightening storms seem to be following us wherever we go! We got trapped in a cafe nearby (our favorite restaurant of the trip) for about an hour as the streets practically flooded from the water. As soon as it calmed, we rushed back to our room to throw on our rain jackets and hopefully beat the crowds as we climbed the Duomo. We were lucky the clouds had cleared so we were able to witness the incredible view!

Overall, we had a great experience in Florence and recommend it to all! It was both relaxing and filled with sightseeing. The locals were very kind and the food was great. Our next stop from Florence was Sorrento and we were excited to see this beautiful beach town!

Ciao for now.

We are still trying to figure out how to upload pictures without a computer! Stay posted.