January 26

As promised! The cheesy, touristy Leaning Tower photo. Today was awesome! I had trouble choosing a photo for today--what a great problem to have. A few of us organized to go on a tour of greater Tuscany (wiiiiine country) through a company called Walkabout Florence. It was great to have all the details worked out for us--transportation, where to go, food, timeline, etc! We left Florence via charter bus at 8:30 and arrived in Siena about an hour later. Siena was charming (I don't like that word, but it really suits the place)! The main piazza--il Como--was huge and open and full of locals. Much quieter than Florence. Almost had the "feel" of an American college town. Yes, Mom, you'd love it there. Then, we went to an organic farm and winery near San Gimignano (which I like to call San Jimmy John's) where we ate lunch. Bruschetta, pasta with fresh tomato sauce, mixed salad, Pecorino, an egg omelette, almond biscotti and 4 kinds of wine! Did you have to unbutton your pants just reading that?! I sat next to a couple from Australia who owns a raw foods cafe and a family of jewelry importers from China. We got on the bus again to head into San Gimignano. It was a bizarre mix of Middle Ages and tourism. There were essentially no locals, a few tourist shops, and just a sprinkling of people crossing through the streets. Beautiful, yes, but it seemed like it was frozen in time just for tourists. Then, on to Pisa! Pisa was almost beachy with it's palm trees. The Leaning Tower is surrounded by a Cathedral square--I always pictured it being much more isolated. Surreal to see something in person that I've seen so many photos of since childhood. Loved doing so much in one day!