Florence

Florence, Italy
September 1st-Sepetember 6th

After an hour train ride from Pisa, we were in Florence!  The train station was easy to navigate and soon we were walking to our AirBNB!  Again, Taylor had been here before and new what to expect around every corner.  She kept looking back at me and I wasn't exactly sure why.  Then we saw it, le Duomo, Cathedrale Santa Maria del Fiore.  I had studied this in college and was very excited to see it, but I had no idea the magnitude of its beauty.  Needless to say, I was in awe.  

We arrived a bit early to check in with our AirBNB so we sat in the square and took in everything going on around us.  It was busy but manageable.  I saw the bronze and gold doors of the Florence Baptistry known as the "Gates of Paradise".  I was mesmerized by my surroundings. 

Eventually, it was time for us to head to the place we would be staying.  It ended up being about 2 blocks from the Duomo which was a plus for us.  It was a nice little apartment equipped with a washing machine.  We hit the jackpot.  Before we let ourselves settle in, our clothes from Tomatina went directly into the washing machine.  

We were pretty tired from all of the traveling so we took it easy for a few hours.  We munched on our pizza, sorted through our clothes, called nana and papaw, and napped a bit.  Taylor and I have found that many of the things we brought were not only unnecessary, but a pain to carry around.  We are looking to lighten our loads when mom and dad arrive.. THANKS MOM AND DAD!  After a bit of relaxation we ventured back out into the city.  We walked to the Ponte Vecchio at sunset and through many plazas.  On the way back to our place we picked up a bottle of wine for €4.5. 

Once we were home we finished our pizza along with the bottle of wine.  Around 10pm, Taylor found a wine tour in Tuscany that started the next morning at 10am.  We really wanted to do something like this but only had a limited amount of time in Florence so we booked it!  Quickly we realized we needed to get to sleep so we would be ready in the morning! 

Tay and I woke up and got ready for the tour.  We were instructed to eat a big breakfast before showing up.  Unfortunately, we had a few errands to run and did not make time for this suggested breakfast.   When we met up with our tour group, they again made sure we ate breakfast.. Tay and I were a little worried for what we had gotten ourselves into.  Everyone around us was bragging about what they had eaten and how much.  We have been on a few wine tours before and hoped for the best.  

We got on the bus and headed to the wine country.  We listened to many interesting facts and stories about the area we were heading to.  Our tour guide was great.  He let us know we would be tasting 6 or 7 wines at our first winery and again that he hoped our breakfasts were good ones.. After about 45 minutes we arrived!  It was a lovely place called, Tenuta Torciano in San Gimignano, Tuscany.  We had a great time learning a new way to hold the glass, sniff, and sip.  It is always interesting to see each winery's preferred way to taste their wine.  

We tasted some amazing wines and even some great olive oils.  We made it through our first winery without breakfast!  Luckily they had plenty of snacks for Taylor and I to catch up with.  Before we knew it we were back on the bus and headed to the second winery.  This one was at the top of a mountain called Pietraserena, also in San Gimignano.  It was beautiful and the wines were great as well.  Here we tried a few wines and were suited for the warm weather.  We all sat at a table outside overlooking Tuscany.  We were even served bruschetta and some limoncello at the end!  

Once we were back on the bus we were told we were heading to the small city of San Gimignano to try the "World's Best Gelato".  We were very excited this was a part of our tour!  Once we got to this town, we found a sign that said "World's Best Gelato" and got in line.  The line was relatively small and we considered ourselves lucky.  We got our cups and took a picture to document the moment.  Then we walked out of the store and saw another gelateria with a much longer line..  Apparently we went to the wrong world's best.  Naturally we walked to this shop and took a picture in front to pretend we were eating the most delicious and popular gelato of the land. 

After walking through this little town, we hopped back on the bus.  This concluded our tour and we were headed back to Florence!  We survived with no breakfast!  We spent all day on this tour and were extremely tired by the time we got back at 5pm.  We trekked back to the AirBNB to take a nap before heading back out for dinner later this evening.  We met up with a few people we met on the tour at the market where we ate dinner.  Taylor and I each had a salad with a glass of wine.  One of the girls sitting with us had gotten truffle pasta and we knew we would be back to give it a try.  We shared and listened to stories and then headed home for the night. 

The next morning was a relaxing one.  We didn't have to get up to run anywhere by a specific time.  I hadn't slept well either, it felt like I was getting sick.  We eventually left the house with one goal in mind: eat truffle pasta for lunch.  We walked through a few markets before heading in to try this truffle pasta.  Once we ordered and had a seat, our lunch came out shortly after.  We had a great waiter named Sebastian who made sure we enjoyed every part of our meal.  He showed us how to get a euro off on a glass of wine as well.  We tried this truffle pasts and about fell out of our chairs.  It was ridiculously good.  We thoroughly enjoyed every bite of the meal along with the service.  Sebastian offered us many things to try has they had truffle infused EVERYTHING.  Taylor even tried a chicken liver pate on bread!! After getting to sample a few items, Taylor and I each left with a jar of Truffle Olives and Truffle Pesto.  

Later this evening, we headed to a gelato place recommended by Hannah.  It was easy to find.  We trusted Hannah's judgement as she went on a quest to find her favorite gelato in Florence.  Man, it was good!  THANKS HANNAH! 

If you cant tell by now, Taylor and I revolve around food.  We are Herrings after all.  Later this evening we were looking for a restaurant that had great reviews.  We walked all around town trying to find this restaurant before we realized it didn't exist.  It must have closed down.  Anyhow, we ended up at the "Yellow Bar" to have some pizza and wine and were pleasantly surprised.  On our walk home we saw a bar that looked like fun and walked in to have a beer.  It turns out this a bar that the US Army that is stationed over in Italy hangs out at.  It felt like we were back in the states.  After another beer we headed back home to get ready for our move in the morning.   

The following morning Taylor and I had to be out of the AirBNB by 10am sharp.  Our parents were going to be in Florence later that evening and we were headed to their place!   After another long walk carrying way to many things on our backs we made it.  The place wasn't ready for us but the owners were kind enough to let us store our luggage there for most of the day.  Taylor had planned this day to go to the top of the Duomo.  I was beyond excited. 

We had already bought out tickets and got straight in line.  Being it was Sunday, access to the top of the Duomo opened up at a later time.  We ended up waiting an hour, which was not too terrible.  Then we headed up the stairs.  All 400+ of them. It was worth it. 

After getting to experience the Duomo, Tay and I had planned to stop by All'Antico Vinaio.  We heard it was popular and affordable.  The street was lined with people eating sandwiched from here so we knew we were in the right spot.  The sandwiches were as good as everyone said they were!

We headed back to the apartment to rest a bit before our parents and the Jara's showed up!  Tay and I walked to the train station to meet everyone and a new adventure began.  It was nice to see familiar faces and to share this journey with them!  We all headed back to the market Taylor and I loved so much to have dinner before getting a good nights rest.  

The next morning we all woke up and walked around the city.  We walked around the Duomo, the leather market, and then went inside the Cathedral.  It was very special to get to go inside such a place.  Taylor and Dad lit a candle for Grampa Herring and even with a ton of people there, it was very beautiful. 

We had to get back to the apartment pretty early because we were all about to have a once in a lifetime experience.  Well, twice for Taylor, but whose counting.  We all were going to a personal chef experience with Jeffrey Thickman.  We took a tram to the end of a station and were picked up by Jeffrey and Igor.  They brought us up to their lovely home where we would be learning to cook an authentic Italian meal of Tuscany.  It was amazing.  

Before we started cooking, we had Prosecco and olives.

Fresh buffalo mozzarella from Naples.

Once the class was over, many hours later, Jeffrey and Igor brought us back down to the tram to send us on our way!  We were all full from the delicious food we made that we went straight home.  We had a big day the next day as we would be headed to Rome!

Peace & Love, 
Savannah