wine, statues, and tandies- oh my!

What a weekend! I went on my first trip away from Florence this past weekend, and it was so great. I'm loving exploring more of Italy; there is so much to see and do in this country alone. Seeing everything that I want to see on the entire continent of Europe is becoming more and more overwhelming!

On Saturday, Laura and I rose at the crack of dawn (6:30 in less dramatic terms) to meet up with our Florence for Fun group, the tour group we booked our Chianti trip with. We took an 8am bus to the lovely village of Panzano in the Chianti region. From there we took a trail away from the town into the grape groves, and hiked down into the valley. We stood in the center of Chianti, which is also the center of Tuscany.

the center of the world!/Tuscany

The hike took about 3 hours, and the scenery was unreal. Olive trees and grave vines grow together in the valley, and there are random villas throughout them. I was pondering if life would ever seem real if you lived in one of them...probz not man. So, after that little stroll down and up the mountain around Chianti, we went up to a church that overlooks the whole thing. I don't think I'll ever get used to the scenery.

After our hike we went into town to go to a Villa where we were going to have lunch and wine tasting. We got all settled in and our hungry tummies were ready when, nope, time for the wine cellar tour. Sooooo, we did that for half an hour and finally sat down for lunch and it was delicious! Of course the prosciutto and salami came out first, so I waited with my empty plate for the beans to arrive. These white cannelini beans here are everywhere, and they're delicious! They're cooked with some fort of oil and onion sauce and they are oh so tasty.

The rest of the lunch included bread with the homemade olive oil, pasta with pesto and marinara sauce, and then an almond cookie for dessert. And of course, the wine tasting! The winery was small and family owned, and it was called Azienda Agricola Sala di Lorenzo Sassolini (Farm Room of Lorenzo Sassolini). We were given three red wines (Chianti Classico, Granducale IGT and Granducale Ferdinando III), a dessert wine (Vin Santo), and grappa. I bought a bottle of the Granducale IGT to have with my parents when they come to visit. It wasn't necessarily my favorite, but it was good and definitely one of the most unique reds I've ever tasted. I can't wait to get my dad's thoughts on it!

After that we mosied on down to the bus stop to catch the bus back to Florence. Laura and I were exhausted so, upon boarding the bus, we promptly fell asleep. Then, when I woke up I found myself surrounded by people. Fun fact about buses between cities in Italy– apparently they overbook. There was standing room only for at least half the passengers. I felt badly for the standing people, but mostly I was just exhausted. So we enjoyed our seats and wore sunglasses to avoid eye contact. We scurried on home, went to the store for more adult juiceboxes and got our comfy pant time on.

while wondering the courtyard around the villa, Laura and I obviously decided to be the statues

Despite the exhausting day that was Saturday, Laura and I rose once again at the ass crack of dawn (aka 7:45), and ventured to the train station with a bunch of other kids in the program to go to Lucca with a school sponsored trip. Obviously, two early mornings earned us McDonalds breakfast, which I swear tastes better here. Even though the woman taking my order's expression when I said "Egg McMuffin with no meat" made me feel a teensy bit judged.

We arrived in Lucca and took a tour of the town with a guide. The tour lasted 2 and a half hours. Suffice it to say, I was less than listening the entire time. I believe this picture Laura took sums up our feelings during the tour.

Grace, me and Olivia

So, after that we dragged ourselves off to lunch. I had a side of beans, as well as vegetable soup with corn meal. Then, feeling much re-energized, we rented bikes for an hour! It was so fun. Kodia and I had singles, and then Grace and Vero, and Laura and Olivia had tandems (or affectionately, tandies). It was a great way to see the city, not to mention the hilarity that ensued with them on the tandems was well with the 3 euros. I loved being on a bike again, I've missed riding so much since being here. But Italian driving is an excellent excuse to stay off the roads!

the tandems

After our bike ride through, and getting lost in, Lucca, we returned the bikes and found our way to a tower on the edge of the city that you could climb. We trekked up the stairs and found ourselves overlooking the town. I'm not sure if it's an Italy thing, or it's unique to Tuscany, but there's some ordinance that all the roofs in town have to be red. It makes for an amazing look over the city.

zee group

my roommates, Kodia and Laura

It was a great and exhausting weekend! My day concluded yet again with a bus nap and comfy pants time.

New thing(s): Grappa (liquor made from grapes, and also disgusting) and brie cheese