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Published: September 7th 2010
The train was suppose to be a very quick trip from Florence to Certaldo (the station we were getting off at), but of course, it was longer for us. We gathered our things as our train entered the Certaldo train station...standing by the doors waiting for them to open, the train stopped for maybe 30 seconds, then continued on without even opening the doors. We had missed our stop! We rode and rode, hot and sweaty, with backpacks in tote we were not in the best moods. We eventually stopped at some ho-dunk town in Tuscany and had to wait another HOUR before a train to Certaldo came. Of course, just our luck.
Fattoria del Bassetto was our new home for two nights. In the heart of Tuscany, this “hostel” is in a tiny town called Certaldo. This 14th century building was a convent for monks, then an olive oil farm until 1998 when the family decided to open it to travelers. The same family has owned this beautiful piece of property for hundreds of years!!
We arrived at the train station with the impression that cabs would be lined up outside ready to take travelers to their destinations—wrong,
wrong wrong. It was dusk as we wandered across the street of the Certaldo train station into a small tobacco shop to as for directions. As we told them we were going to Fattoria del Bassetto they all mumbled in Italian and rolled their eyes as it is much too far to walk to. Eventually we communicated enough to find the number of a taxi.
The taxi system here seems strange…you are not calling one company, you are indeed just calling one person. So we called, and an older man came and picked us up. He was very jolly and delightful.
We drove up a long dirt road and then emerged the buildings—old brick buildings with greenery surrounding in every direction. It was just beautiful!
Greeted by a man with an English accent, he showed us to our room, which we were sharing with two other people—a Canadian guy and a Michigan girl.
We were hot, sweaty and ready for a shower when they invited us to come into the living room to watch a movie. After cleaning off, we put on our pj’s and watched Meet the Fockers with our fellow hostel-ers. It was really
fun!
Off to bed we went expecting a lovely day in Certaldo tomorrow!
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Court92
Courtney
Hey Em, so I just sent you an email without realising I wasn't signed in haha sorry! I was just saying I've been trying to find a place in Tuscany that seems exactly like how you describe Certaldo, it sounds and looks beautiful! You said it's in the centre of Tuscany though so were things quite expensive? eg. restaurants etc? I've been told to try book hostels a few minutes out of the centre of towns as prices can drop dramatically. I'm heading to Europe alone late July 2012 and will hopefully be in Italy around mid August and I'm trying to plan which areas to visit. I've only got probably a week in Italy so I want to go to some worthwhile places, definitely Rome, but anywhere else you recommend for a young traveler? Any info would be appreciated thanks!