Day Three (Monday)

---

What a great night's sleep I had! I actually had to pull out the blanket from the armoire as it became freezing cold in my room. I wasn't about to mess with the thermostat and maybe knock out the a/c. I sleep best when I'm a little chilly anyway.

We had to get up early (7:00 am) because we were leaving early in order to drive clear across the country to Florence. Normally it would take a little over 3 hours to drive straight through but remember that the bus driver has to get a break every two hours.

I met Gail and her Mom in the breakfast room. Gail is quite thrilled with these breakfasts since she normally eats cold cereal at home. Gail's mother was hoping for some bananas at least but the only fruit was a few apples. She got by with a little bread and orange marmalade (yeccch). There was even less selection this morning than the day before. I had half a croissant and some butter along with orange water.

Everybody brought their suitcases and themselves out to the bus right on time - all except Jurgen. We were all sitting on the bus ready to go when suddenly our tour guide comes bouncing out of the hotel lobby with soaking wet hair. We started razzing him but he pretended he had been straightening out something with the front desk. As the tour progressed we discovered that Jurgen was definitely not a morning person. He usually skipped breakfast just to get an extra half hour of sleep.

Once the bus started moving out of town Jurgen got on the microphone and went through the day's itinerary. He said we'd get into Florence around 1:00 and check into the hotel. We had no tours scheduled for that time so we'd have free time. The next day we'd have a morning tour with the rest of that day as free time as well. He proposed that we might want to explore a typical Tuscan hilltown called "San Gimignano". On a previous EF tour our Italian tour guide had raved about this town and especially about its wines. Jurgen's suggestion sounded great to me but when he added that we'd have to chip in 5 Euro per person and we'd have to ALL agree to detour that way, I figured there would be no way all the kids would pass up the chance to goof off all afternoon. But they surprised me. Everyone agreed to go.

No sooner did Jurgen count up the votes than he started on one of his long, entertaining personal stories. He was only about ten minutes into it when he turned around in his seat and looked toward the back of the bus where all the kids sat then noticed they were all asleep. It became kind of a joke with him that whenever he started talking on the mike he put half the group to sleep.

We made a quick rest stop at an Auto Grill on the Autostrada where a few in the group bought themselves a "real breakfast". Since it was already getting hot I bought a nice cold Orangina and some candy.

Initially the route toward Florence was through rather flat, irrigated farmland full of corn, wheat, sunflowers and grazing cattle. Near Bologna we started climbing up through the hills into forests full of Cypress trees. There was construction everywhere - road work, offices and factories being built, new homes going up. Italy's economy and population seem to be booming.

We actually passed the exit for Florence and continued on the highway for another 15 minutes. Then we followed a series of confusing signs directing us to San Gimignano. The first sign said "San Gimignano 10 km". Three minutes later another sign said "San Gimignano 10 km". A few miles later it said "San Gimignano 10 km". Right after that sign we saw one saying it was 3 kilometers away.

---

Photos

Heading up into hill country
As we approached San Gimignano we started seeing acres and acres of olive trees. They are easy to spot because they look silvery green. The fields that didn't have olive trees had vineyards. All along the winding road climbing up to San Gimi were little wineries, many of which also advertised "Zimmer Frei" or rooms to rent. One advertised rooms for only 25 Euro a night. That sounds like something to consider on a future vacation.

This is why it's called a "Hill Town"
Salvatore couldn't park the bus anywhere near the town or he'd have to pay a hefty parking fee. He was able to stop for 5 minutes and let us off in a parking lot below the old town. It took us about ten minutes in the nasty heat to hike up to the walls of the town.

And the climbing continued
Once we entered the town gate the ascent steepened. Now we also had to hike over cobbled streets. For once I was smart. Most of the kids in our group wore sandals but this old fart wore socks and sneakers so my feet were quite comfortable. With so much to look at and with so many photo ops I didn't really notice how much of a climb we had to make.

Entrance to the inner city
When we reached the top of this hilly alley we still weren't in "downtown" San Gimignano. We had to enter an inner wall to get to the town's center square.
You can see Tyler and Cassie's old grade school teacher, Mr. Bashore, wearing the blue and orange EF backpack. He brought his family along and was the prime instigator of the dinner wine club.

A view from the top
Jurgen led us to the town square, explained what we might want to see and do, gave us a leaving time and then left us on our own. By now I was starving. We saw a couple signs at the end of an alley which mentioned a tavern and a couple restaurants. We followed them to the very peak of the hill where we took this photo.
But alas, there was no place to eat that we could find.
We returned back to the town square where we had seen a rather crowded little bistro. There were no seats outside but the 5 of us found a table inside. I ordered panini with prosciutto and provole. More importantly, I got a nice big cold beer. Everyone else got sandwiches too. Not too exciting but with the sandwiches only costing around 5 Euro each, the price was right.

On my own for awhile
Gail, Gen and Tyler decided that they wanted to climb to the top of this clock tower in order to see the whole town. I had enough of climbing. While Gail's mother went shopping for postcards I wandered off and explored some of the side streets. There was something interesting everywhere I walked. San Gimignano reminded me of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Both are walled Medieval towns whose current economy is dependent on tourism. There were tourist traps all over San Gimi but what the heck, I AM a tourist.

The road not traveled
I didn't want to wander too far away from Gail's mom since we were supposed to wait for the others in the town square. This little street seemed especially festive and inviting.

Shopping in San Gimignano
It turned out that Gail, Gen and Tyler didin't climb the tower. There was an entrance fee plus a long, long line. Instead we decided to partake in what is now becoming our favorite holiday pasttime - shopping.
We rreversed back through the inner gate and started down the long alley. All along the way we found interesting little shops. I wanted to sample the local wine so we stopped in this wine store. The samples didn't really bowl me over but they were good. My unsophisticated palate prefers sweet wines like those of the Rhine and Mosel. The Italian and French stuff is a bit dry for my liking. But when it's inxpensive I'll drink it and even buy it. I bought a bottle of the local speciality, Vernaccio.

Crazy Jimbo
While we were in the wine shop Jim and Mike Karchner came wandering in. On their explorations through town they had sat down at a park bench where they found the Bluetooth headset from a cell phone. No one was around to claim it so Jim decided to stick it in his ear and wander around town pretending he was talking to someone. At the time I thought he actually spoke Italian but learned later that he was just making up some sort of pidgin language. Since he still had no money he was desperate to entertain himself.

The wine and boar shop
This store featured items made from wild boar: sausages, bacon, prosciutto, hams and jerky.

Painted plates are another San Gimignano specialty
We saw a number of shops that sold beautifully painted pottery, usually in vry bright yellows, blues and reds. If we didn't have so much unused junk already laying around our house I would like to have bought an entire dinner set with matching water pitchers, serving plates, candle holders, oil containers and salt & pepper shakers. It was really pretty stuff.
Just as we were ready to head back to the bus I suddenly decided I had to at least buy an olive oil jar. I had to walk-run back up the cobbled hill to a shop that had reasonably priced ones.
After I bought it I headed back to the bus parking lot wishing I had saved a couple Euro for a nice cold soda. I passed this interesting looking pottery shop just as I was about to exit the outer gate.

The best way to get around in San Gimignano
We saw more than a few of these three-wheeled buggies on our trip through Italy. They are great for darting in and out of traffic plus they can carry a decent payload in the truckbed. This one was apparently being used at the nearby vineyard.
We ended up waiting more than half an hour in the blazing sun at the bus lot. Thankfully the inside of the bus was cool and comfortable. Within 5 minutes most of the kids in the back of the bus were asleep.
We were at our hotel in Florence in less than an hour. We unloaded our bags, checked in at the Palazzo Vecchio Hotel and were soon headed off for dinner.

Florence
Jurgen led us on a short walk from our hotel to the center of Florence. On the way we passed the enormous Duomo (Cathedral).
The Duomo complex features three buildings: In the foreground is the Baptistry, behind and to the left you can see the cathedral and rising above it all is the bell tower.

Main entrance of the Duomo (Cathedral)
In my opinion this cathedral and St Paul's in London are the two most beautiful in the World. What makes the Florence Duomo so special is the green marble worked in with the white.

The "real" Palazzo Vecchio
Our hotel was named for the famed town hall of Florence, the Palazzo Vecchio. It sits in the large central square next to the famed Uffizi art gallery. In front of this building Michelangelo's David once stood. It's now kept inside a museum while a copy stands outside the Palazzo Vecchio.

Plaza della Signoria
This is the main town square and EF's central meeting place whenever we've been to Florence. In one corner is the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio while in another corner are a number of high-priced outdoor restaurants. During the day this always seems to be the hottest part of town but at night it becomes the main gathering point for kids.
Jurgen led us to this area then gave us some free time before dinner. Our usual group of five (Gen, Tyler, Grandma, Gail and I) strolled by some of the fashionable stores that line the streets radiating off the plaza. For awhile we watched some of the African and Arabic merchants selling designer knock-off watches, purses and sunglasses. They would set up little tables made up of cut down cardboard boxes with their merchandise pegged to it. As soon as they got the signal that a cop was approaching, they folded up their tables with the merchandise and sauntered away.
In a couple places we saw African guys laying out 20-30 fake Gucci or Prado purses over blankets spread out on the street. They too could gather up their stuff and disappear the second they sensed the authorities were coming.

Ponte Vecchio
The "Old Bridge" spans the Arno river in Florence. This is probably the most photographed site of the city. In the Middle Ages all the buildings situated on the bridge were owned by Jewish merchants selling gold and silver. To this day all the shops only sell jewelry.

Florence's most beautiful tourist attraction
It would be over an hour until we had dinner. After we watched the street merchants, then walked over the Ponte Vecchio, we browsed around the shopping area. In one of the many gelato shops we passed we spotted this display. The gelato piled-up below the cones is called "Stracciatella" (Chocolate Chip). In my opinion the best and most expensive gelato in Italy is from Florence. We passed it up thinking we'd come back after dinner.

Italy vs. Australia
While we were killing time we were aware that Italy was playing an important World Cup soccer game against Australia. The game was tied going into the final minutes. You could almost hear a pin drop throughout the entire city. I was beginning to think maybe the Italians weren't such big soccer fans because there seemed to be plenty of people shopping and walking around. I didn't hear much noise coming from the restaurants and bars. Suddenly we heard a loud cheer then everyone came running out of buildings laughing and waving Italian flags. The Italians somehow managed to score another controversial win against a supposedly inferior team. All of a sudden EVERYONE was a soccer fan. The only team the U.S. soccer team didn't lose to was going on to the championship rounds.

The phoney David
Eventually we returned to the Plaza della Signoria and to the corner of the plaza where the Palazzo Vecchio stands. In front of the entrance stands this reproduction of Michelangelo's David.

The city of the arts
Just to the right of David stands this statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa. It sits inside a high-roofed pavilion that shelters a number of other statues. None of them look like anything I remember as being famous but the police always have four or five guys guarding the area.

Off to dinner
Once our group was reassembled Jurgen led us down a couple blocks to our restaurant. I didn't do a very good job of recording the names of restaurants or what we ate on this trip. I remember we ate in a backroom of a large bar. I think we had risotto and chicken or turkey piccata. I know for a fact that I had a Peroni lager with my meal and that it tasted very good on that hot sticky night.
We walked around for awhile after dinner then headed back to the hotel. Gail escorted a bunch of the kids to a disco. I walked into town and spent some time on the internet reading about the NHL draft and checking my e-mail. After that I ran into some of the ladies in our group and we sat outside a gelateria eating hazelnut gelato.