Spring Break Part 4 (Days 11,12,13,14)

Day 11

After waking up one last time in beautiful Siena and enjoying our ritual morning gelato, it was to the bus station, Volterra in sight. Still new to the use of buses as transportation instead of trains, we mistakingly took a bus on a half-hour circular trip around the city of Siena. Once we pulled up to the stop in which we started, Steph looked at me and said "Uh...I don't think this is Colle Val D'elsa (our intended layover connection)." Angry about the mistake, we reused our bus tickets and hopped on the right bus. This time, we made it to our layover stop in Colla Val D'elsa before connecting to the beautiful hill town of Volterra.

Unfortunately for us, our lodging was located on the outer corner of Volterra, a 10 minute walk from the town center. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue, but our quickly growing backpacks made it so. We saved money by booking a room in an active convent for only 26 euros. Everything was nice and pleasing, but it was still a bit odd. I mean, it was a true convent. Imagine...staying in a church. The halls were vast and tall enough to hear an echo. Being the only ones staying there only made things creepier.

The stars were not aligned for us to fall in love with Volterra. The town was beautiful, with arguably one of the best Tuscan views we had seen, but weather and health trumped that joy. It was the coldest day of the trip, with sweatshirts and jackets barely keeping us warm enough to explore. An unnecessarily long morning of bus travel had made both of us fatigued and left me somewhat sick. Sick enough to only get gelato twice that day. Needless to say, with bad weather, tired kids, a boring city, and a long walk, we spent a good amount of time in the creepy convent.


Days 12/13/14

It was another morning of bus travel, but by then we were champs. 2 smooth bus rides and we were in the city that may have very well been the biggest surprise of our trip. While not our favorite city, Florence blew our expectations. Unlike Rome, we were not able to both splurge on food and visit all of the historical monuments. For these 3 days, it was one or the other. Did I mention Florence is the capital of gelato? Food won, and historical monuments were neglected. In fact, our stay in Florence may very well be best described by our numerous gelato conquests. All 10 of them.

The town of Florence was beautiful and clean. There was plenty of window shopping as we walked by shops selling things we will never be able to afford. Every gelato stop was a success and we each eventually picked a favorite. Mine was called Grom (and turns out to be an Italian chain) and its specialty is all natural ingredients and a menu that changes in accordance with local fruits and produce. Stephs was the fabulous Festival Del Gelato which provided a parade of amazing flavors (Strawberry Cheesecake being the best).

We treated ourselves to laundry for the first, and only, time this trip. Considering we were surviving out of our backpacks for the entire trip, clothes were constantly re-worn and packed into stench-filled plastic bags. Putting on clean clothes is a beautiful feeling that is taken for granted.

The only thing spoiling our pleasant stay in such a nice town was our lodging. While the price was nice and the location was excellent, the habitat was awful. 1. They made us switch rooms after night one. 2. Our light did not work. 3. The double bed was two twins pushed together. 4. They did not turn on the heat and would not allow us to have a blanket. We saw one in the hall and put it in our room, and they came in and took it out saying that the sheet and the comforter were enough. Above all these issues, however, was the unbearable volume of our hosts. A true Italian couple, these two individuals did not understand the concept of keeping it down. They celebrated and watched TV outside of the rooms until midnight and were up yelling at 7 a.m. Considering how thin the walls in Europe are, this was unbearable. I can sleep through a lot, but not this. And it was nonstop. About nothing to boot. Just simple chit chat that they thought would be better communicated through shouting across the hall. We would've caught up on sleep during the day, but our luck provided construction on the street below from 10 to 5.

Crummy hosts didn't ruin our stay in Florence though. Clearly surpassing Volterra, Florence left us with an unmistakable impression of beautiful Italy at its nicest. A heaven where gelato is on every corner, Florence was a quiet and peaceful Rome.

Before leaving, however, we jetted off to Fiesole simply for the view. On a hill overlooking Florence, Fiesole provided a breathtaking visual and little more. A few pastry shops and gelato rounded off the trip that was unfortunately hindered by the hazy, cold weather. The trip may have been a complete waste had it not been for the curiously humorous event involving an angry Italian and an oblivious tourist. As buses and cars were stopping at the cross walk in front of the bus station, a man on a scooter was doing the all-too-typical Italian driving style and cutting back and forth between cars as he honked his horn. The cross walk signaled to stop walking, which everyone did, as the scooter proceeded to accelerate while honking his horn. This is when I looked up. And this is when I saw a middle aged asian man obliviously walking in the street get hit by a scooter.

It was one of the moments when you don't know what to think. As his coffee and bags flew across the street and the Italian angrily threw down his scooter and walked to the injured man, the severity of the event was unknown. I wanted to laugh but I didn't know if it was because I am a bad person or if it is the psychological argument that says people laugh when they are uncomfortable. Upon learning that the accident was not serious, I felt better about my reaction. Because I laughed. Sheepishly, sure, but a laugh is still a laugh. Thankfully no one was hurt and Steph and I were provided with an innocent mental image of a dramatic Italian moped accident.

Im trying to catch up with these posts, but there is so much to say with so little time and internet access! You guys will be hit with a barrage of updates in the next few days as we get back into our rhythm at Hull. Right now, however, it is 4:36 AM at the Liverpool airport and the computer is about dead. Stay tuned for part 5: Pisa and Cinque Terre!