Firenze

ciao everybody! It's my last night in Firenze (Florence for all you gringos... Just kidding :) ) and I finally have time to write an entry. Thankfully this hostel has wifi, but only on the first floor. But hey, works for me. Actually, the hostel itself is an interesting story. Ah yes, Interesting story #6 (and yes, I know it's ridiculous to try to keep track because obviously I have more than 6 interesting stories to tell. And I know the first "interesting story #3" got cut off and I don't remember what it was but bear with me): I was originally planning to stay in a hostel from a list mika gave me. But. There are a couple of train stations in firenze, and of course, being me, I got off at the most remote one because I was afraid the train wasn't going to stop again. So it was going to be a 6k walk with the backpack to the hostel. I thought, "ok, it will be training for my trekking". The pack doesn't even feel that heavy because most of the weight is on my hips. Anyway, I started walking and it was beautiful, even with 30 pounds on my back. I'll upload photos when I have a chance. I want to give a special "shout-out" to barabara because it was the gps on this very iPod that helped me find my way. I don't know how I would navigate these crazy European cities without maps and gps. Anyway, I was about 2/3 or 3/4 of the way there when a random guy on the street came up and started asking me where I was from and where I was going (it's pretty hard not to be picked out as a tourist when you have a frame pack almost as big as you are). I tried to be both polite and evasive, in case he was a creeper. He told me there was a hostel down the street about 5 minutes next to a church. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not, but then I thought what the he'll, worst comes to worst he's lying and I lose 10 minutes. Turns out there are actually is a hostel there, and now I'm also there. I literally walked in off the street, asked if they had a room and how much, and decided to stay. Quite the achievement for this tightly-wound-hyper-planner. Woo-hoo!

Wow, that was long. What else? There are way too many good stories. Until this morning I had two roommates, a mother and daughter, from Minneapolis, MN. Sma world, no? They were a little strange. But anyway. This hostel is a little jank. The window of my room doesn't shut all the way, and so mosquitoes get in. Apparently it was really bad a couple nights ago before I got here, but I still have to sleep with everything under my sleeping bag.
Today rented a bike a went for a spin around Firenze. It was great! Of course the city itself and all the churches (there's a beautiful synagogue too!) are beautiful, but I think my favorite was the horticulture garden. I was already missing the color green (and I don't mean postacchio gelato). I guess I'm a farmer at heart (more on that later).
Interesting story #7: today I went to the post office to send a postcard, but it was closed. But the courier truck was just leaving, and he told me where there was another post office that was open. He said I could follow the truck too if I wanted. So that's what I did. Raced after a postal truck on my rental bike. It was hilarious.
Let's see... I had some really good filled croissants today for a snack. They were filled with apricot or nutella. Tasty. Other than that I've been grocery shopping for my food. Traveling is unbelievably expensive, and food is one area where I can minimize. So I've been eating my new favorite travel meal, tuna and tomato sauce with oregano-marjoram salt, for many meals, including breakfast. Of course, I've been frequenting the produce section, but it's hard to eat grocery store produce after farm-fresh veggies for a month. Especially tomatoes.
On a more philosophical note, I've discovered that while cities (especially in Europe) are beautiful and interesting, they aren't as fun when you're alone. I'm still enjoying myself, but it's a different kind of satisfaction. More up-and-down excitement than farm-tranquility. And it's hard to stomach how much money I have to spend just to live a basic existence onVmy own. Yup, I kind of feel like I've had my fill of urban/tourist/costly Italy. I love love LOVED working on the farm. It made me so happy and content. Like I said, it's a different kind of enjoyment than a city. But I want to get back close to the earth again, I miss it. I'm even thinking about seeing if I can arrive early at the next farm. The only thing to change that would be Elba. I really want to see the island, but I've been having a hard time finding a place to stay the night that is close enough to make a day trip. Because all of the little tiny towns near the coast only have really expensive lodging. And especially on such late notice. So we'll see. I'm headed to Siena tomorrow morning. From there if I can't find an easy way to get to Elba, I'm going to see if I can get to Azienda Agricola millefoglie a day or two early.

So that's quite the full update. there might be another one in Siena. I can't remember if the hostel I booked has wifi or Internet. If not, there might not be one for a bit. Oh yeah, that reminds me. It's been so nice getting all your comments and messages. It's great to know that so many people think what I'm doing is cool. And it's fun to know that my crazy stories are serving for more than just entertaining me.

Love you all! Wish me luck!

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Part of trip: The GAP Year

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