Certaldo, Tuscany

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I left Cinque Terre early on Saturday lucky for me cause there was alot of delays. Italian trains are cheap but they dont always run to schedule. As i was approching Certaldo i was wondering if this was a good idea it seems very very country and maybe i should go to Siena (a bigger city with more options)... Got to Certaldo and nothing much was open and there was no one around especially since it was saturday. And it was raining heavily.. I called the hostel but no one answered. I remembered that the hostel was 25 mins walk so I walked in the rain in the general direction hoping there would be a sign somewhere. I got to the hostel, it was a old convent and seemed to be deserted, just one dog running around. I waited for afew hours under abit of shelter from the rain and wondering what am i doing here??? it was getting late and my options were looking thin ... then i heard a car door slam and ran to see who it was and it was an aussie guy from brisbane who is running the place relieved!!!. Went inside and there was a bunch of other backpackers inside including a texan woman i had already met in Florence. That night we all went to an italian cooking class. We watched and listened to the chef as she cooked, then we got to eat 3 courses my first proper italian meal, cause i have been eating at touristy places. After dinner returned to the hostel and played drinking games until late.

Next day the texan woman and I explored the small village of Certaldo (it was surrounded by olive trees and colourful houses just as you imagine Tuscany to be) it was Sunday so definately nothing happening today just walked around a local market. During the day the texan woman actually talked my ear off, as americans tend to do but it was good to have company for dinner at the local trattoria (real italian family restaurant).

On the last day i went to Siena by myself and visited one of the best cathedrals in Italy i thought the others were pretty good!!!

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