Under the Tuscan Sun

Amidst the process of unpacking and organizing over the past month, we were able to take a 4 day break and drove throughout Florence and Tuscany. Ben had told me that he was going to surprise me in terms of where we were staying. At 7 PM on a Thursday night, we packed ourselves, luggage, and Athena into the car and began our 5 hour journey. This was not an easy drive folks. Well, any drive that consists of Italians behind the wheel is no an easy drive. Though I did my best to keep my mouth shut Ben had to keep instructing me to look away from my side view mirrors (he was driving, I wasn't) because he knew how antsy I was getting. You laugh now but wait til you come visit!

Anyway, after an interesting drive through the dark hills of tuscany at midnight Ben proceeded to tell me that the key would be left at the door for us. Hmm...I was very curious as to what kind of facility he was taking me to. We removed our bags and the dog from the car and hiked up the stairs to unlock our room. Ben went in first and he peeked his head out at me and said Uh oh..... I knew exactly what that meant and braced myself for the room. There are Agriturismos which are somewhat luxurious or even have clean bathrooms and beds. This was a full on farm. It was definitely an Agristurismo experience though, and that was the full intention so neither one of us regret it. :)

The next day he took me to San Gimignano which is absolutely one of my most favorite places in the world.
http://www.sangimignano.com/
It is a quaint little town in northern Italy set amidst the picturesque rolling hills. Everything is rustic and timeless and it truly a town one could never forget. They specialized in Chianti wine because of the region so Ben and I made sure to offer our services and test the wines for them:) And the cheese- AMAZING! How I have not gained any weight yet is beyond me but this food is to die for. I better not jinx myself. P.S. If you ever go to Tuscany do not order Ribollita. I'm not even going to tell you what it reminds me of but it's not appealing or tasty.

Along the way, Athena made a Chihuahua friend named Robin. Robin is Slovakian and Athena was able to learn some new words: botsem means come here, sadnut si means sit down, and so on. Even our little 5 lb dog is learning other cultures and meeting other "foreigners". It's crazy! The funniest is when Italians ask me if she (Athena) can speak Italian. In other words, does she know how to sit, stand, walk in Italian. Ummmm...no!

When you watch movies it is easy to assume that the location is just as beautiful in person. Often times when you actually visit, you realize that is not the case. Tuscany is one of those regions that is just as beautiful in person as it is onscreen or in pictures, if not more gorgeous. It is serene and the perfect spot to visit when you need to relax and enjoy the scenery.

After spending a full day in San Gimignano, we left for Lucca which is a city surrounded by four walls.
http://www.italyguides.it/us/italy/tuscany/lucca/lucca.htm
The story is that the four walls were built to protect the city from any sort of military attack in the 17th century. We arrived in the evening so unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity to tour Lucca but we did have dinner in one of the piazza's. If we have the opportunity to go again, we would definitely take advantage of the bicycle rentals and ride throughout the city, which is very popular.

We arrived in Florence "Firenze" early Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel which was conveniently located within walking distance to all of Florence's attractions. It was my second time in Florence after having been there years ago and I love it. Ben and I walked to Ponte Vecchio- the bridge across the Arno river- and explored the area. It is filled with gold shops and touristy items and we didn't buy anything but it was wonderful to be able to admire Florence's scenery from the bridge. We made our way to the Uffizi museum where we were able to view the work of all of the famous artists from Michaelangelo to Leonardo da Vinci. After a 45- one hour wait in line we finally entered the museum. When you visit Europe be sure to take full advantage of the option to purchase tickets online. It will save you alot of time! It was interesting to see how the Renaissance world and art have created Florence's history and the city it has become. We chose to forgo a tour guide and followed along with our guide to Florence, a Rick Steve's book- by the way, if you have the opportunity to travel buy his books- he is amazing and helps to narrow down which sights are worth seeing. It was fascinating to see some of the paintings I had studied in Art History class in person! That evening we had dinner in a busy piazza and enjoyed a bottle of wine and people watching.

After dinner we made our way back to the hotel and, as cheesy as it sounds, almost fell over in awe when we came face to face with the Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. I've seen the Duomo before but completely forgot about how magnificent it is, especially when you don't expect to bump into it at night after a bottle of wine. It glowed from every angle. I don't know what kind of lighting they use but Ben and I both feel like it is one of the most beautiful structures we have ever seen. It is massive, gothic, and incredible. We read that it can hold 20,000 people- that is crazy! That and San Gimignano are definitely our two favorite parts of the trip.

On Sunday we did something different and purchased tickets to ride the "Sightsee Florence" double decker bus. The bus drove through the city and offers it's passengers headphones so that you can hear about what you are seeing. The bus took us to a region near Florence that we had never seen, and that most people never visit, called Fiesole. Fiesole is a town directly above the city with Etruscan roots, Roman ruins, and amazing views of Florence. It is mellow and a great option for those to get out of the city and explore other parts of Florence. We drove by cathedrals, monasteries, and museums galore. I don't think I've ever seen so many cathedrals in my life. And it's amazing to see the effort and money that have been put into them!

After Fiesole we went to the Boboli gardens which remind me of Balboa Park in San Diego, but even more beautiful. It was a mini hike and we realized it is an area where most of the students and possibly locals go to relax, have quiet picnics, and enjoy nice weather. Speaking of students, much of Florence is comprised by Exchange students from all countries and tourists. I'm not kidding when I say that when it comes to language, Ben and I felt like we were back in the US. As much as we love Italian, it was such a nice break to be able to speak English everywhere we went.

For our last dinner, we went to ZaZa's, which comes highly recommended to us by my girl friends back home. Thanks for the recommendation, girls! It was the best meal we've had since we've been here, no joke!

On Monday we made the five hour drive home, stopping at the US War Memorial outside of Florence. It is the cemetery of 2,000 US soldies who were killed in battle during World War II. It was quite the emotional experience, and very meaningful to us considering that not only was it Memorial Day (coincidentally) but something that hits close to home because of Ben's military service. We got alot out of walking around the site and paying homage to the soldiers that died in battle. If there's one thing I can say about living in Europe it's that it makes you a heck of alot prouder to be an American than you have ever felt before!

We truly enjoyed our weekend away and were so happy to have had the opportunity to visit Florence! I'm sure we will go there again within the next three years and look forward to seeing even more sights next time. We decided that we are going to go to another country next and booked a trip for the 21st through 25th of June. Next on the list: Prague!