Saturday: Best of Tuscany Tour
I met the bus at the station at 8:30 AM and didn't return to Firenze until 8:30 PM. We made 4 stops: Siena, an organic Tuscan farm, San Gimignano and Pisa. I really enjoyed being on an organized tour and learning a bit about the history of both Firenze and the places we were visiting.
- Siena
-About an hours bus ride away, Siena is Firenze's rival. It thrived in the Middle Ages but after The Plague, like many other Italian cities, died. We got off the bus and walked up into the city, which is still surrounded by walls, and met our tour guide for a walking tour of Siena. On the walk in, the woman in front of me got diarhhead on by a bird. Hilarious; especially because it wasn't me. We visited the main locations--Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (the oldest bank in the world), Piazza del Campo (the main square in Siena where every year in July and August it is transformed into a racetrack for the horse race Il Palio), and went inside the Duomo. We then had some free time to wander around the city before moving to our next stop.
Bell tower in Piazza del Campo
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena - Organic Tuscan Farm
-We drove 45 minutes through the countryside to an organic Tuscan farm where we had lunch. We first toured the farm, walking through the vineyards, olive trees, winery and cattle barn. It was fun to see these sites and think "I'm going to drink wine from these grapes and have olive oil from these olives," and of course walking into the barn all I could think was "lunch." I'm pretty sure the cows they showed us were just for milk, though, not Bistecca Fiorentina. I really enjoyed the winery because they do everything there on the farm--from fermenting to bottling; my favorite part was the bottling machine.
Barrels of wine-Lunch was delicious. I sat across from an Australian couple and we chatted a bit over the bruschetta, homemade pasta, prosciutto, salami, pecorino, salad, 3 different wines and cantuccini dipped in vin santo for dessert :)
Lunch-After lunch I spent some time looking out over the Tuscan countryside and then it was off to San Gimingano, which we could see from the farm up on a distant hill.
- San Gimingano
-Such a cool town! Also a town from the Middle Ages, San Gimignano currently has a population of 400 and is home to a handful of tall, skinny towers (which used to be houses that you could only enter via a window on the second floor with a ladder), incredible panoramic views and "The World's Best Gelato." But really, this shop was named the world's best. I had some (of course), had I not known it was the world's best, I don't know if I would've named it as such, but it was pretty delicious...I mean, it's gelato, people.
-Walked to the top of a fortress and just looked. When I thought about going somewhere else, I stopped and looked some more. It was endless, green, hilly and beautiful. Wow.
ViewNo way was I going to wait in line so I went to a cafe, instead...
Line for the bathroom
Fun bathroom sign
- Pisa
-We took a scenic drive through the Tuscan country side and the beauty just never stopped. The person who puked on the bus dampened the situation a little bit, and the girls from Miami who were freaking out about it and giving everyone the play-by-play were a bit more than unnecessary, but otherwise...it was great!
-When we got to Pisa, the bus dropped us off in a parking lot and we got on this mini train that goes on the road and took it into the religious center of Pisa (The Field of Miracles). I'll admit, it was pretty magical.
-I just walked around, looked at the buildings and took photos. I was tired so I sat in the grass and people-watched instead of going inside the Baptistry or trying to get a ticket to climb the leaning tower.
-There is always a celebration in Italy. As I was walking around, all of a sudden 6 planes with green, white and red smoke flew over the Center. It was unbelievable. So unexpected and cool.-After some time in the Field of Miracles, we got back on the train and took a mini tour around Pisa, to see some of the less famous but still interesting parts of the city. We drove by some palaces, parts of The University of Pisa (which apparently has 57,000 students and makes up more than half the population of Pisa), and some places related to Galileo who was born(?) there.
Planes over Pisa
-Then it was back on the bus and back to Firenze.
It was a pretty full day, so I laid low when I got home--Skyped with my dad and Danielle Bluford, chatted with a few others, and called it a night. Such a fun day!
Sunday
Umm...more unbelievable celebrations.
- Free Steak.
-Yes, you read that right. In Piazza della Republicca there was FREE, and I mean FREE...NO COST WHATSOEVER, Bistecca Fiorentina. There were a few tents set up and they were just grilling steak and handing it out along with bread and wine. AMAZING. DELICIOUS. OUT OF THIS WORLD. INCREDIBLE. Are we sure I'm not dreaming?
-This was also perfect because Bistecca Fiorentina was on my to do list before I leave Florence, but I would have to go out and it's super expensive...so this solved that problem :) INCREDIBLE.
Om nom. FREE STEAK.
Bread in hand, wine on plate, steak in mouth. - TerraFutura
-A sustainability/"go green!" festival at Fortezza di Basso with local, organic food samples, different booths about how to be eco-friendly and numerous green products
Italian eco-friendly products
I went to both of these with Alyssa and my friend Chris. Afterwards we hung out in a park behind the Fortezza. It was such a beautiful day (when in the shade).
I was completely exhausted last night but had such a fun weekend!
Lesson of the Day
I have an accent.
Photo of the Day
Planes and pigeon over Pisa
The Count
Glasses of wine drinken: 56
Gelatos eaten: 13
-->Flavors tried: 28
Pasta dishes eaten: 28
Churches toured: 11 + 1 synagogue
Cities other than Firenze visited: 4
Amazing views of Florence/Tuscany seen: 6Photos taken: 2109
Love the caption on the cow picture.
ReplyDeleteGlad you still likecthings like the bottler at the winery. Remember, you need to finish up IOE at Michigan.