After our last Italian breakfast of sliced meats, cheeses, bread, and fruit we said goodbye to Federica and Paolo and hopped on a train to Florence.
When we got to Florence it was raining, the museums were closed, and we weren't sure we had a place to stay. Thankfully Florence held some beautiful and smelly surprises that made it an incredibly memorable experience.
Let's start with our CouchSurfing host. Colin was his exact 1,000th surfer and he was hosting 9 travelers at once while we were there. Our host was a little quirky, had some interesting stats on the visitors he'd had over the years, and generally made all 9 of us a little uncomfortable; on the bright side we got to stay for free! We met a group of thee French students who were biking from Paris to Croatia. They had done some really cool things like working on farms along the way, and camping in the middle of nowhere. We also met another CouchSurfer who had stayed with a host who had a "no clothes" policy... after that story the grimy bathroom didn't bother us as much.
While in Florence we took two trips out of the city. One to Pisa and one to Sienna. We loved Pisa even more than Florence. Pisa is much smaller with a university vibe, and beautiful streets. We bought newly picked heirloom tomatoes and ate them like apples with fresh mozzarella cheese. We shared our 100th gelato and saw a gorgeous sunset from the leaning tower. We got in trouble with our CouchSurfing host because we weren't back for dinner, but Pisa was worth it.
The trip to Sienna was the highlight of our Italy adventure. We rented bicycles in the city and rode through the rolling Tuscany hills. Around every corner and at the top of each hill the relaxed beauty of the vineyards, flowers, and green pastured became more beautiful to us. We loved the biking.
On our way out of the city
On the first day of biking we did around 100 miles and were racing against the day light to get to our AirBnB. We accidentally veered the wrong way once, and had to back track, and then for some reason I thought we needed to go on the highway for a small stretch. That was not a good idea. It was scary biking right next to the cars, and I just stared straight in front of me and hoped for the best. Cars honked, and when we took the first available off ramp (after about 10k), the police followed us and gave us a stern talking to about not biking on the highway.
Police volunteered to take this one for us (just kidding!)
The AirBnB was a dream though. We had the whole downstairs apartment of a farmhouse and the host gave us a refreshing plate of the softest mozzarella, salami, bread and apples. The windows were framed by purple flowers with the Tuscan hills in the background.
AirBnB breakfast
View from the AirBnB
The second day of biking we finished the trip into Sienna and celebrated with gelato and pizza. Sienna was a stunning city. The houses and shops were brightly painted. The main church was a light pink against the blue sky, and cobble stone streets make any city feel romantic.
After Sienna we got back on the road towards Florence. We saw a parade of 10 Ferraris going through the hills. We told each other that biking was more enjoyable, but I wished I had a gas pedal on the big hills. Again, were were racing against the sunset to get into Florence. We were jubilant when we started to see city lights, and then city parks, and finally the water around the city. Nothing compares to sitting on the Florence bridges with a 105 miles of Tuscan roads behind you, the city lights all around you, and your best friend by your side.
