A little R&R in Tuscany

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After the Vendange in Switzerland I was seriously needing some R&R - and to get away from men! French men are VERY persistent! Even with no encouragement! I had it in my head that I wanted to find a nice quiet little retreat in the Tuscan countryside to just relax, regroup and recuperate so from Vevey I caught the train to Florence.

I spent a day seeing the Uffizi Museum, the Duomo, and the statue of David (so much for getting away from men ;-) ) and booked a place online out in the middle of the Chianti region for 15 Euro a night - bargain! It was exactly what I’d hoped for - an enormous pool to read my book by, sunshine, clean air, and no men (except for the odd guy managing the place). Actually, other than the 28 year old chick who arrived the same day I did, there was no one else - we had the huge villa to ourselves (and the staff/owners). Aside from an 8 hour walk to the town of Vinci and back (via the house Leonardo de Vinci was born in) we Spent 3 days doing a whole lot of nothing - and loved it!

For the first time on this trip I struggled for what to do next. It’s almost surprising that it took that long. In an instant I could’ve boarded a train/plane/bus to anywhere and yet I was stuck for where to go. I think you warned me about this at about 3 months, Darian & Julie. All is well though cos after a day wandering aimlessly around Siena and a winery tour of the Chianti region, I jumped back on a train and headed back to Switzerland. It was the adrenalin capital - Interlaken - that appealed this time, which is said to be like the Queenstown of Europe. But that’s the next chapter...

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