Under the Tuscan Sun

Literally. So I spent a long time in Florence... and it was well worth it. I stayed an extra day because I didnt want to be in Paris alone. The hostel I stayed in was out of this world though. It was called Plus Florence and it had every amenity known to man, even a cheap spa that I wish I had taken advantage of, my feet arent lookin so hot after traveling for 3 weeks. They had a pool, a steam room, a club/bar, and a roof terrace that looked over the entire city. Thank you Joe, from Australia, for telling me about this fantastic place:).  I stayed with my friend Sami until Sunday when I came to this fantastic city. It was great to do some traveling with a friend that I had known for awhile and not just someone I met from the hostel. We were able to do Cinque Terra together and also hike up the 480 something steps to the top of the Duomo. Every roof in Florence is made from terracotta--which was a beautiful view from the top of this church. I also found out that every church was modeled after this specific duomo (around Italy that is). I had a lot fo fun doing some artsy photos with Sami and her roommate Lisa in the dark shadows and crevaces of the cathedral; and of course afterward we had to get some Gelato. Mmmm... I do believe I have gained about ten pounds solely from eating gelato during my travels. Ill work it off when Im home, it's been so worth it for now because I do believe I would have keeled over and died from the heat in Italy.

Sunday morning I saw Sami and Lisa off, as they left with their fifty bags, and I headed over to my new home for two days, the Plus Palace of Florence. After dropping my bags off, I was off to see the sites of Florence. First stop, the Uffizi, the museum that is full of various works by Leonardo da Vinci, Boticelli, Michaelangelo, and Raffaelo. These were all pieces that I never thought I would be within arms length from in my entire life. After walking through the museum I headed down to pass over the Ponte Vecchio, which was filled with stores overflowing with jewelry, strolled over to the Pitti Palace, but I didnt want to pay the 8 euro to enter so I turned around and hiked up the Piazza Michaelangelo... it was hot, and it was worth it, but I could literally feel my heart beating through my entire body like my skin was bursting off. ehh. I sat at the top and looked over the entire city of Florence while I drank a nice Fragola Shake (strawberry) and ate a delicious artichoke, mozzarella and tomato sandwhich. Once I was done I decided to take the hike back to the hostel. Upon checking in I met a nice Aussie behind the counter that was nice enough to tell me about a wine tour through Chianti the following day. I jumped on the offer. For 35 euro I loaded onto a bus at 9:45am that took us out to the countryside of Tuscany to taste wine and other delicious treats. The first winery we stopped at taught us how to smell and taste wine, we had one white and three reds... they were all delicious; we had extra virgin olive oil on crackers, truffle oil on chips (which did you know is an affrodisiac?) our guide, Paul, and the owner of the winery really wanted us to know this), and finally we had the most brilliant balsamic that I have ever tasted, it was aged for 35 years. Once we were finished we headed down a dirt road to another winery where we learned about the detailed process of making wine and how the older the vine is (this one was 35 years old), the better the wine is. We then sat down for a Tuscan lunch under the trees and the sun, with Saint Germanaino ( I dont remember the exact spelling). After a delicious meal we had dessert... which was cheese and honey.. I took a lot of photos of this, it was my favorite part and was joined with a rosa wine. Once we were finished with it all we went into the town and walked around, tasted the award winning gelato of Italy there, and also took some photos of the majestic view. This town once had 72 towers, but when you lost your wealth, your tower was torn down. This fact tells you why there are now only 14 towers standing. The town was probably the cutest town I have ever been to, I kind of fell in love with it. The bus ride home was about an hour and I took a much needed nap. Upon returning to Florence, we said our goodbyes to friends leaving and headed back to the hostel to catch the sunset with a bottle of wine up on the terrace.

I had one of the most memorable trips around Italy, I think I might come back and never leave. I am now in Paris with the fam, and although I am more than thrilled to see them I wish I was still backpacking across the world. Anyone up to come back in a few months?