Just a small town girl...

It's official. I'm a small town girl. I arrived in Florence on Thursday at about 3:30, and after the stress of the huge metropolis that was Rome, Florence was a breath of fresh air. I loved it immediately. But really, I'm obsessed with Florence. I would move there in a heartbeat. Too bad I don't speak Italian... a minor detail.

So, I got to my hostel and met Rollando, the hostel owner. He was a bit sketchy. Especially because I was the only guest, and he lived there, so it was kind of like I was a guest in his house. But I had a key to my own room, so I was good. Then I wandered around Florence a bit... that's what I liked so much about it was that I could wander around and not have to use mass transit to do it. I went to the market, was glad that I didn't have any money or space in my suitcase because I would have bought everything, bought a much-needed pair of sunglasses, pointed someone in the wrong direction for the Accademia (oops...), kept wandering and found the Duomo, gawked and took pictures (yes, I was one of those people. sorry Ellen...), kept wandering, found the Santa Croce, took more pictures, wandered up to Piazelle Michelangiolo and San Miniato del Monte (I couldn't find the monks who are supposed to chant every day at 5:40... I was very sad), gawked at the amazing view, wished I had enough money to eat at one of the amazing restaurants overlooking the city, wandered back down to the river and walked across the Ponte Vecchio, took some more pictures, and then wandered back to the hostel.

At this point (about 7:30), I was getting a little worried because I hadn't gotten in touch with Katie yet, and she was supposed to get out of school at 5:00. When I still hadn't gotten in touch with her at about 9, I started to get really worried, and was trying frantically to call everyone I knew who might know how to find her. I'm not going to lie... I was kind of a mess. It was a strange and scary feeling to be in a foreign city and to have the only person who really even knew I was there be Rollando. BUT thanks to Ellen, I got Katie's mom's number in Raleigh and finally got in touch with her at about 11, and we just made plans to meet up the next day. So, my birthday was not the best of days, but the next day was really the BEST day I've had yet, so it more than made up for it.

So I had made a reservation for this bike tour through Tuscany back in about March, and I have been SO excited about it since then... it was all I had dreamed and SO MUCH MORE! Here is my shameless plug: if anyone is ever anywhere near Florence, you MUST do this bike tour. Seriously. It was amazing. Worth a trip to Italy in it's self. I'm not lying. I did take some pictures, but the sad part is that the whole day I kept wishing you were all there because there will be no way I'll be able to describe it to you! But I will try.

So, we started out and took a van about 15 minutes out to the countryside (it was so fabulous to drive through a neighborhood) and arrived at Castelle di Poppianno, home of the Guiardinni family for the past 900 years. The Count and Countess still live there (they welcomed us) but they now use it to produce wine and olive oil. We went on a tour of the winery and tasted some of the wine and olive oil (SO GOOD) and then went up to the tower and gawked at the view for a while. After that, we walked down the street to get our bikes. The town where the castle is is exactly what I thought Italy would be like... charming little winding streets, beautiful antiquated buildings, window boxes, etc. The ride was mostly downhill (we rode along the ridge surrounding the castle and then down into the valley for lunch) and every turn we made was a new amazingly beautiful scene. Streets lined with tall cedar trees, fields of sunflowers, rolling hills of olive groves, thousand-year-old castles dotting the landscape, etc. etc. etc. It was indescribable. Riding through the Tuscan hills reminded me of mountain biking class in Mentone this summer... there was even some Queen Anne's Lace lining the road! We ate at this fabulous little family-run restaurant that was delicious, then rode back up to the castle. There was a mile-long very steep hill at the end. I feel very confident about my decision to ride the van up the hill with the older women, less-than-skilled cyclers, and urchin-footed. It was absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite experience so far.

Then I met up with Katie and she took me shopping in San Lorenzo market for my birthday! She was way too sweet to me and got me a purse and a beautiful leather journal... which I will somehow find room for in my suitcase. I mean, the day was alright... I guess.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Ufizzi and Accademia to see lots of old art and the David. It was great. I love art. But I'm a little museumed-out, so I enjoyed it less than probably should have. Then we caught a train to Venice!!

I'll leave you hanging on how Venice is because McKinley is ready to go to dinner, but just a few things I've learned from the past 4 days: I love small towns, the countryside, being around water, boats, and church bells. All for now... I probably won't have internet until I'm in Granada, so more then!