Florence and San Gimignano

It is proving increasingly difficult to keep my blog updated, though I think this is a great problem to encounter. I will try to bring you up to speed as best as i can.

After our first day in Florence, we decided to take a day trip to San Gimignano. We encountered a slight delay, though, when I remembered that I had left my train pass in my backpack, which was at the hostel. Fortunately this was no big problem as we were able to take the train an hour later.

San Gimignano does not have a train station itself. Instead you take the train to a town called Poggibonsi and then transfer to a bus. Well, we (actually I) were not sure where to purchase the bus tickets and so by the time we realized how to buy them we had to wait two hours for the next bus - they only came once an hour. I continue to be reminded that plans should be regarded as tentative.

All of this waiting was very frustrating, and I was tempted to let myself fall in a bad mood. However, I realized that I would much rather be stuck in the beautiful Tuscan countryside than be working a summer job, so after stopping to buy a ridiculously cheap 25 cent bottle of lemonade we finally got on the bus and arrived at San Gimignano at around dinner time.

The town is set on a small hill and is more of a village than an actual town. After walking for a couple of minutes we reached the two interconnected town squares which formed the heart of the town. We grabbed a couple of slices of pizza to eat on the steps of the village church and then walked up a small street to the highest point of the city. The views here were almost postcard material. The sun was setting over slightly rolling hills which were covered in vineyards and pastures; the horizon stretched out for miles and the scenery consisted of a scattering of houses, squares of farmland and the iconic Italian trees whose name I do not know (the skinny coniferous looking ones). 

Without a doubt my favorite part of the town were its famous towers. Originally there were 72, but now there are only 12. They were built hundreds of years ago by individual families for protection against raids from neighboring villages, and boy, they were a neat sight to behold. They were all built within a couple hundred feet of each other and had narrow windows, bells, and crenellated roofs. I definitely would love to visit again.

My last day in Florence was more laid back and was a good way to conclude my visit to the city. Ashley had already been to the Galleria dell'Academia, but she insisted that we go again. The hour-long queue was well spent, for inside the museum was Michelangelo's most famous work, the statue of David. I was surprised at how tall he was, and realized that even my high expectations were not enough to prepare me for how awesome a sight it was. It is easily the most impressive statue I have ever seen.

We ate lunch at a Pizza shop along the edge of the main leather market, and it was quite good. I ordered a slice of eggplant, zucchini and tomato and Ashley got cauliflower and ham (unconventional choices I know, but they were very tasty). After eating, we walked down toward the Uffizi Gallery, which was commissioned by the Medici family. There were several statues in and around the nearby piazza, and quite a crowd was gathered around a mime who specialized in grabbing unsuspecting passers-by, carrying them and placing them into the laps of random people, dropping them into the passenger seats of random cars, etc. 

We walked again along the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and after three days i believe that it may be my favorite single spot in the city. After searching for the botanical gardens and finding that admission was a hefty 12€, we headed back to the river and stopped at a panini restaurant for dinner. We finished the evening by going back to the Piazza Michelangelo, where we joined a crowd of similar-minded locals and tourists to watch the sun set over Florence. It is an incredible city, and that's saying a lot coming from a country boy.